Flower for the Day Whats Blomin' Today 10-5-22

 Take a look at what’s blooming today.

                           Black-Eyed Susan

                           Rose of Sharon

                          Coxcomb

                          Verbena

                          New England aster

                 

Thought Work

Off course from the frail music sought by words 

And the path that always claims the journey,

In the pursuit of a more oblique rhythm, 

Creating mostly its own geography,

The mind is an old crow

Who knows only to gather dead twigs, 

Then take them back to the vacancy 

Between the branches of the parent tree 

And entwine them around the emptiness 

With silence and unfailing patience

Until what was fallen, withered and lost 

Is now set to fill with dreams as a nest.

 

  John O’Donohue, in Conamara Blues, 2001.

 

 

Flower for the Day A Time for Being with Flowers 10-3-22

 

After a walk in the deep hardwood forest its a treat to just sit and BE with the flowers.We leave a chair near a field circle in the meadow, a great place to settle in.

I have been watering this small patch of mainly zinnias which are thriving.

They are like Joseph’s coat.

and on the edges there are Tatarian Asters which draw in butterflies great and small.

How long can you sit and just BE until you move on to the command of your inner voice to DO something else.

Don's Blog A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood 10-2-22

 

Almost every day I walk through my neighbors woods. Its a hardwood forest.This is what the trees are producing today.

This is a walnut. The squirrels love them. Sometimes it sounds like a thump beat as they fall.

 

My neighbor has a grove of persimmons which are also dropping in great abundance.Below is what the persimmon seeds look like, when squashed by a car or eaten by a coyote.

 

On several areas of the walk there are many hickory nuts.

 

And finally a longtime favorite - acorns from the mighty oak. I still imagine the miniature figures of the Teeny Weenies comic strip wearing the acorn as a hat.

Flower for the Day Globe Amaranth 10-1-22

 

Well here we are back after a brief sabbatical. Globe amaranth (Gomphrena globosa) is in the
Amaranthaceae family. These have been blooming for more than two months.

Within the flower heads, the true flowers are small and inconspicuous.

Who doesn’t love small purple balls. I collect the dried flowerheads after the frost and replant in the spring.

Don's Blog A Holy Rest 9-20-22

 This material is from Katies Post. Queen Elizabeth's committal service was at St.Georges Chapel Windsor and was on the BBC.

 

It was remarkably humble and solemn.

As soon as the choir of men and boys began to sing the eyes began to tear up.

And the solitary piper doing the slow walk...

The Service was impressive -  ending with:

"Into your hands, O merciful Savior, we commend your servant Elizabeth. Acknowledge,

we humbly beseech you, a sheep of your own fold, alamb of your own flock, a sinner of

your own redeeming.Receive her into the arms of your mercy,into the blessed rest of

everlasting peace, and into the glorious company of the saints of light.  Amen"

Lake Irene II 8-12-22

 

Walking around the lake we always come upon wildflowers.This is King’s Crown (Rhodiola integrifolia) which is a stonecrop.

 

 

Purple stem angelica (Angelica atropurpurea)

Hulten’s licorice root (Ligusticum scoticum), a species of Lovage.

And finally a wild foxglove (Penstemon cobaea).

We love this lake.

 

Lake Irene I 8-12-22

 Jan and I drove over Trail Ridge road to Lake Irene which is on the right beyond the Milner Pass parking lot.

The Lake is only about 50 yards down hill from the car. 

It started to rain as we approached the lake.

Its a really pleasant little mountain lake and is almost never crowded.

We like to walk around the lake,

and also take our pictures.

Camp Dick 4WD Adventure I 8-12-22

For our final adventure Gordon took us (Blake, Will and Muns) on the Camp Dick 4 WD road. 

Gordon and I had done this trip several yers ago. The Camp Dick turnoff is opposite Pleasant Valley on the Peak to Peak highway. Camp Dick is a National Forest Campground. Its trails are popular because you can take your dogs along.The road starts at the Camp Dick trailhead and parallels the Buchanan Pass hiking trail with a beautiful stream, the Middle St, Vrain River, in between. Gordon and I were in his ’89

Range rover and the boys and Muns (Dave Monroe, who is Gordon’s High School friend and hockey teammate on the Kirkwood Pioneers) were in Daves new Jeep. Here is the Range Rover at the trailhead.

Afte adjusting the air pressure in the tires down to 22 we accessed the start of the road which is made extra difficult to keep out the two wheel drive cars and trucks.

 

To make it passable some small and medium sized rocks were moved to create several mini ramps. A new found friend who was also about to start gave us a hand.

Then with Blake as the spotter of the day Gordon led the way through.

Followed by Dave.

The road was entirely different than the last time Gordon and I were here. It was much more difficult and chaotic. The saving grace was that by airing down , this time the ride was much smoother so I was much less twisted than the last time. There were very few easy stretches - always a huge boulder threatening our differential. Blake was a truly expert spotter getting us through impossible stretches.

 

The Middle St. Vrain River  was ever present to our right.

 

And the frequent ponds on the road made it interesting.

Camp Dick 4WD Adventure II 8-12-22

On our previous Camp Dick trip Gordon and I met some ingenious 4WD guys from Omaha. They have become famous for introducing us to what they called “The Game Changer”. They had a RoadPro portable oven which cooked their lunch while they were navigating the rocky road. I bought Gordon one that Christmas and he has gifted most of his adventurous friends.

So as we got to our lunch spot we unveiled the Game changer. It plugs into the cigarette lighter and had been cooking our lunch of brats and hot sausage all morning. It maintains a temp of 300 degrees. 

 

A hot lunch was ready.

Relaxing with our lunch beside the stream we were at the top of our game.

 

The Middle St. Vrain didn’t care.

 

Gordon surprised us with a gourmet treat for dessert: a Milky Way.

 

 

Camp Dick 4WD Adventure III 8-13-22

 

After our sumptuous repast we were ready for the more difficult part of the road. There was a fork in the road and as Yogi Berra has suggested, “We took it”.The road got narrower and steeper and of course it started to sprinkle.

We arrived at the 'major obstruction' remembered from our last trip as a ‘graveyard’. This had taken us the better part of an hour and a half to get through for various reasons the last time. We got stuck in one spot for twenty minutes where someone finally helped us out by strategically placing one stone  the size of a softball which allowed us to go through.

 

After moving a few rocks to make some mini ramps Gordon went straight up the middle this time despite some rain making the rocks slippery. Muns had no trouble either.

Soon we were at Coney Flats with a beautiful view of Sawtooth Mountain in the background.

 

And Will drove the Rangie through a large pond with some hidden obstructions.

Unbelievably the road got worse on the way down to the exit at Peak to Peak Highway. 

After some hairy spots we came to the Reservoir at the bottom and pressured back up. Still it was easier than a few years ago. Great fun with my boys.