Swinging into Spring

It's spring in the Rockies.

But, I won't be swinging anytime soon.

I've been running/walking the main trail behind my house on top of the packed snow. I go in the early morning before the sun's warmth penetrates the forest, and the snow gets slushy and unstable. I'm staying alert for bears just out of hibernation. So far, I've only encountered bossy squirrels that chatter at me for intruding. I know there will be more snow, but for now I welcome the warmth of spring. We are in the melt and freeze cycle that signals the change of seasons at high altitude.

Spring at High Altitude

Spring is elusive in the Central Rockies of Colorado. High altitude means winter white usually reigns until late May. However, in this low-snow year possibly we'll see bare earth a bit sooner. Traditionally, we get wet, heavy snow storms in March, April, and May sometimes changing to sleet, hail, or rain. So far, March's precipitation is minimal.

 There are no cold, white pillows on the evergreens. Snow on the high peaks glistens like merengue melting in the sunshine.

Seed pods left over from fall announce their prickly presence in early-morning's sepia glow.

Tiny pine trees sway unencumbered, casting graceful blue shadows.

 Creatures venture out of their high rise condos to sun themselves and search for food.
Bears awaken famished after their long slumber. Coyote, fox, moose, elk, and deer find secluded spots to give birth. Perhaps the female moose who frequents my back yard will soon bring a gangly baby to graze. The air warms and the light softens. Animals, humans, and finally plants begin to stir in spring's slow caress. We start waving goodbye to winter hoping it won't overstay its welcome. We know it's in no hurry to leave.

Life as Story

Two (possibly) unrelated happenings:

I was sitting in the sun today at an urban coffee shop reading on my Kindle. A woman passed my table wearing so much perfume that I nearly gasped. I don't know what the scent was, but my senses registered "Too Much." In her defense, she was a woman perhaps close to my age, and she looked very chic (compared to myself). However, she reeked (which I do not). 

As I was trying to think of One Good Thing about the woman (I decided on stylish), a man approached my table and asked if he could take a seat. Thinking he meant literally take the seat I wasn't using and place it at another table, I answered, "I'm waiting for my husband." 

"Too bad," he said and went to sit on a nearby bench.

I looked around and there were plenty of seats available. So, I wondered if he actually meant, "Could I sit here with you?" I could see him in my peripheral vision - he seemed to watch me, but maybe I was imagining it. Here's the thing - my white hair is short and spiky and on this day as on most days I'm wearing running shoes with black yoga pants and an exercise t-shirt under a fitted lightweight black jacket. Alas, I'm not stylish, but I do think I have a fetching smile. As I sat mulling about both the woman and now the man, my husband finally arrived on his bike. The guy on the bench got up and ambled away when my husband approached the table. We sat and talked for awhile as people came and went and the sun warmed our backs. I didn't mention the woman or the man. Finally, when I walked home, I thought of stories and how Life is made up of interconnected happenings. Eventually, we make a book of them in our heads to amuse ourselves or to remember. Today, there was a woman whose scent outranked her appearance and also a man with dark hair who may or may not have been hitting on me. 

Life's happenings come spiraling at us and somehow we connect them into Stories.

Early Morning, Tenmile Range

the mountains wake

craggy peaks catch first light

reflecting from rising sun

molten gold leaks down slopes  

glows along serrated ridges 

inky dark recedes

a chilly day is born

Never Ending

Occasionally, I meet someone in the wilderness behind my house. A question I'm often asked is, "Where does this trail lead?" Usually, I give a straightforward answer based on where they want to go and how much time they have to spend. But, the truth is I believe that the trail goes on forever. One path leads into another until a lifetime could be spent exploring the vast forests, high peaks, and lush meadows. That's how I like to think of it, as an unending possibility waiting to be admired and investigated and as a wild adventure poised to happen. 

rabbit tracks in snow

in the midst of your busy day

remember the deep silence

of winter's wild places

and feel renewed

Granddaughters Reading

watch carefully

capture small moments

to hold in memory

Ghost Traveler

The trails behind my house lead into wilderness. Usually, as I trek well-known routes, I'm alone with my thoughts, only encountering animal tracks or small critters as I move through the forest. Recently, I saw someone in the distance as I steadily climbed upward. He was bent over a full pack, rearranging his gear. He didn't hear me approaching. I called out to him when I was quite close so he wouldn't be startled. As he turned to face me, I took in his appearance - old-fashioned wool pants sharply creased, stylish cable knit sweater tucked under red suspenders, and heavy newsboy cap with ear flaps pulled snugly over tousled blond hair. Ancient wooden touring skis, polished to a luster, were stuck into the deeper snow just off the trail. With his boyish good looks, he could have stepped right out of a photo shoot for a fashion mag or perhaps an ad for LLBean. It flashed into my mind that I'd crossed a time warp and was back in the late 1800's. But the spell was broken when he smiled broadly and asked if I knew the trail. Could I tell him where he was headed? I thought perhaps he was going for an overnight at Francies Cabin, a back country hut that's accessed from the trail we were traveling. But, no - he was just heading into the wilderness. Would he pitch a tent or build a snow cave to spend the night? I didn't ask, but as I waved goodbye my mind was already making up stories about who he was, where he'd acquired his dated gear, why he was alone on the trail, and what his fate would be. A meeting of a few minutes can entertain me for days.

ghost traveler

will I see you again

shouldering your pack

gliding effortlessly into wilderness

perhaps returning to that long ago time

from whence you came

I wish you safe journey

Spreading the Love Challenge

Deli Lady - Spreading the Love Challenge

It's bad timing to go to the grocery store over a holiday weekend in our ski resort town, but I'm expecting guests tomorrow so I had to brave the crowds. Recently, the deli counter began a new practice of slicing all lunch meats to order. The to-order slicing takes an incredible amount of time, and the woman who usually provides the service is always in a bad mood. She reminds me of the Soup Nazi on Seinfeld: never smiling, avoiding eye contact, barely acknowledging the customer's presence. People waiting often raise their eyebrows at each other. In a way, her bad mood amuses the rest of us. Lately, I've been smiling broadly at her, thanking her profusely,  and sending her positive vibes. Today, I mentally concentrated on sending her hopes for finding One Good Thing. I figure her problems must be much worse than waiting for sandwich meat!

I can't avoid her scowl

I can choose my reaction 

maybe with enough kindness

handing out my please and thank you's

suddenly one day she'll surprise me

by looking into my eyes

 acknowledging me

 and

smiling

Spreading the Love Challenge

Searching

a prickly little tree

a shadow show

tiny perfection

in the big woods

there is always one good thing - it's my job to find it 

Pillars of Strength - A Special Tribute for K

I try to be more Present in my life. 

I talk about living in the Now. 

Each day I search anew to find ONE GOOD THING.

Today, I'm celebrating a very special Chocolate Lab named K who lives with my Blog friend, KB (Romping and Rolling in the Rockies). K is a sensitive, loyal canine companion who is currently battling osteosarcoma. Daily, when I read KB's Blog and see her luminous photos of the Colorado paradise she calls home, I smile at K's beautiful fur lit by the morning sun, her soulful amber eyes looking out at me from the pictures. I laugh at her "batty" ears flying upward when she runs. K doesn't fret about past mistakes. She doesn't worry about the problems tomorrow might bring. In fact, K is a perfect role model for living in the present - for enjoying Life now. Bonded in spirit to her humans, K shows us what it means to be selfless. Well loved, she poses on boulders that look out over high peaks and knows she's queen of her domain.

I'm joining with other bloggers to celebrate the life of a very special dog. K is my One Good Thing today. For her family, she's the one good thing every day. With her big heart and her zest for life, she teaches all of us how to live to the fullest.

On this day and on many other days, may K romp with her rascally "brother" R and her beloved humans in the outdoor wilderness they all love. 

Sending along hugs to KB who must make the decisions and handle the stress of K's illness.

Small Wonder

Alone on the trail at dawn,

I pause to look closely at an aspen leaf glowing on a bed of crystal. 

Did it hang on somehow since fall so it could show its final radiance in just the right setting?

There are always small wonders if I take the time to notice.  

Nightfall - Skywatch

As dusk wraps the landscape in blues and ties it with a flourish of pink, we walk down the ski trail into town. We're meeting friends for dinner. A ski lift climbs toward the pale glow in the western sky. We quickly cross the divide between day and night. Luckily, we've brought our own source of light.

Skywatch

Memory

Don't get lost in the labyrinth of memory. It's possible to get stuck there forever.

Hanging sculpture in San Francisco, photo enhanced in Picasa

My last observation for

A River of Stones

(Thank you Kaspa and Fiona.)

Dancing in Darkness

Night photo of my back yard processed in PIcasa

Half asleep, I felt my way from the bedroom to the back door, the howling wind keeping me company. As gusts hit the trees, sheets of snow flew sideways, the whole forest a turmoil of bending and shaking. Mesmerized, I watched a waking dreamscape of nightmarish dancing.

A River of Stones

Questions

if someone pushes

do you push back

what does it mean to

"turn the other cheek"

if you are wronged

must grievance last forever

can simple kindness

always (ever?) be enough

I have the questions

but not the answers

(interpretations may vary)

A River of Stones

Chief

old Chief watching for 22 years

carved from a block of wood

solemn with squinting eyes

sentinel behind the Umbrella Plant

looking out for me

a silent presence

A River of Stones

Alpenglow

light leaks from the day

warmth of sun on the high peak

mountain alpenglow

A River of Stones

Spooky Woods

On the trail behind our house is an area of tight-growing Lodgepole Pines with leaning deadwood that we've named "Spooky Woods."  When the wind blows, the trees rub together, creaking and moaning, sending a distress call into the cold shadows of a winter afternoon.  After a snowstorm, the trunks are spackled white. Limbs beckon us to enter a wooded maze. In dim light, my imagination creates an entrance to another dimension. The trees whisper their warnings as we forge ahead, the woods closing around us.

During the month of January, writers from around the World are participating in
A River of Stones

Attitude

Cape Kiwanda, OR, spring 2011

I've been thinking about perspective:

how sometimes a small change in how I view something makes all the difference.

If I can just be a bit more flexible, make some minor alterations,

I might see things in a novel and fresh way. 

Perhaps pausing and making a small adjustment would make a big difference.   

Possibly I can view a situation in more than one fixed way.

It's worth a try.

A River of Stones

Waking

Dawn, Cape Kiwanda, OR, spring 2011

floating on sleep's still waters, slowly sensing the surf of wakefulness 

gathering to cast me into
a new day

A River of Stones