Perversity!

It's been rather hectic
in my part of the world.

I'm coming from behind
in every direction.

Don't let this peaceful photo fool you.
It has me gnashing my teeth.

This is how my prairie pocket looks
every day I have time on my hands.

Mount Evans from the High Plains

But when I'm running late
for an important date
 ~ again!


Suddenly there they are!

Standing on the horizon 
and laughing at me ~
I swear I can hear them!

Sometimes I think the Universe
is downright perverse!

Pronghorn

You blankety-blank perverse pronghorn!
Well, darn-it-all,
I'm just going to have to 
be really late
for that important date!

You speak to me in your wild beauty.

And were they there on my return trip?
Nope, nowhere to be found.
They're over the hills in some hollow 
~ laughing!

One day I'm going to get some really great closeups!
I swear!

Oh Canada!

Divided Heart

Sometimes it's hard to be a Canadian American.

Especially during the Winter Olympics

The Winter Olympics is my absolute favorite

sports event in the world,

and the 2014 Sochi games 

have thrilled my Canadian American heart!

Sochi Winter Olympic Games

February 7, 2014

Source:  Wikipedia

But, if it's Canada against the USA,

I have to root for Canada!
I just can't help myself.

It's primal.

Vladimir Putin Visits Canada House

at the Olympic Park in Sochi

February 14, 2014

Source:  Wikimedia

Go Canada!

I've been missing from action
for the past seventeen days.
I've been glued to our TVs, upstairs and down.

Upstairs

 And Down

I've hardly moved in days!

But the past several days have been the best!

The quintessential winter events for Canada

have to be Curling and Hockey.

And Canada's teams came through!!!!!

Olympic GOLD

for Canadian Women and Men in Curling!!!!!

Rank	NOC	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Canada	2	0	0	2
2	Great Britain	0	1	1	2
	Sweden	0	1	1	2
Total		2	2	2	6

                                                                                                     Source:  Wikipedia

Canadian Women Go for the Gold!

Source:  Wikimedia

Canadian Curlers Celebrating the Win!

Source:  flickr ~ Andy Miah

Can't find a usable photo of the men.     :(

So here's an historical touch.

Curling on a Lake in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia

Circa 1897

Source:  Wikipedia 

If you didn't grow up Canadian,

you may be scratching your head.

What's with brooms and stones?

Check this video for a quick intro to curling.

 

Source:  You Tube ~ DNews

Of course The Most Important 

Winter Olympics Event of All 

for Canada and Canadians is hockey.

Source:  Wikimedia

And Canada's teams came through!!!!!

Olympic GOLD
for Canadian Women and Men in Hockey!!!!!

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Canada	2	0	0	2
2	Sweden	0	1	0	1
2	United States	0	1	0	1
3	Finland	0	0	1	1
3	Switzerland	0	0	1	1
Total		2	2	2	6

Source:  Wikipedia

Canadian Women Take Olympic Gold!

Wikimedia

A Famous Nova Scotian!

Source:  topwalls  

My TV Has Had a Workout!

Canada's Uniforms

wikimedia

I'm already going through withdrawal,

and the Closing Ceremony is still hours away.

B.C. Place ~ Closing Ceremony ~ Vancouver

Winter Olympics, Canada, 2010

Source:  Wikipedia

The 2014 Winter Olympics has been awesome!

How am I going to wait another four years?

Sochi Olympic Rings

February 14, 2014

Source:  Wikipedia

Monday Morning Music Break ~ Quiet Your Mind

I was going to post this song last Monday,
but things have a way of getting away from me.

Zac Brown Band

Quiet Your Mind

Source:  You Tube ~ TrueIrish83

My brain moves way faster than my body,
and it's rarely quiet.

I often feel like 
I have a squash ball court inside my head.

I wish I had poet Martin Silenus's thought processor,
but that's centuries into the future
in the Hegemony of Man
in Dan Simmons' Hyperion.

I've been spending way too many late nights
delving deeply into The Hyperion Cantos
which results in way too many off-kilter days!

So sometimes I have to stop and listen to this song!
I have to remember to quiet my mind.

You Get What You Give contains the tracks
Quiet Your Mind and Knee Deep.

Source:  Amazon.com

I took me a while to appreciate the Zac Brown Band.

I'm not crazy about big beards and wool caps.

LTG Cone Introduces the Zac Brown Band

Camp Liberty, Iraq

Source:  Wikimedia

But I have learned  

that you have to look deeper than the surface;

and when you do,

you can find something amazing.

The Zac Brown Band is amazing!

Here's a bonus slap upside my head

from the same album,
Knee Deep.
It never fails to lift my spirits!

Zac Brown Band and Jimmy Buffett

Knee Deep

Source:  You Tube ~ RumShopRyan

Last Monday I was going to call this post Contemplation,

and provide a link to someone

who has his Contemplation Head screwed on right.

So here's a belated link to my friend Jim's blog Ocean Breezes

and one of his regular Contemplative Monday posts.

Jim gives us a great start to each week
at his Ocean Breezes blog!

A contemplative Terry stands (yellow) 

on my favorite beach in the world!

Enjoy the ride!!!!!

The Gift of an Ordinary Day

Every day has a special magic,
if you only open your eyes to see it.

I certainly wasn't thinking that this morning
when I stumbled out to the kitchen 
and started grinding coffee beans.

Source: knowyourmeme

I was grumpy
because Terry usually makes
the morning coffee,
and he was blissfully sleeping in.

Arrggghhhh!!!!!

Source: knowyourmeme

While the coffee was collecting in the pot,
I happened to look out the window.

Yes!!!!!
I ran for my camera!

Things were definitely looking up!

Muley Doe

Muley Buck

Coffee?

What coffee?

Canada Geese

Sometimes you just have to open your eyes

and see the beauty of ordinary around you.

And then something surprising landed on the deck's rail.

A meadowlark in its winter colors!

I had never seen one before at this time of year.
Meadowlarks usually winter further south.

Then you realize what an extraordinary gift

another ordinary day is.

Back to Breckenridge and the Burro Trail with the Lovable Labs!

I started this post several weeks ago in Breckenridge.
But I've had many distractions,
and I never got it posted.

And little else posted!

I'm hoping things settle down,
and I can get back in a routine of posting 
and of visiting all the blogs I'm missing.

So here's a blast from the no-so-long-ago past!

Woop!  Woop!
We're back in Breckenridge,
visiting in the Land of Big Snow.
This sight greeted me this morning
when I looked out my bedroom window.

And this heading down the stairs.

With a little playing,

I managed to get some detail.

Oh so black Rufus is a challenge to photograph,

but he is such a sweet and handsome guy!

Right now, Breckenridge is covered in heaps of snow.
This is the deck next door.

And this is just down the street:

The buds waited patiently
for me to do some chores.

And then we were off!

It was drop dead glorious in Breckenridge today.

Mounds of snow cover everything.

On a brilliant sunny day 

at 10,000 feet (3,048 meters),

the air is clear and the light is intense.

The contrast between sunlight and shade

can take your breath away.

Snow glows.  

This is one of the trailheads to the Burro Trail.

All three of us couldn't wait to get into the forest.

I think I was happier than the labs to get their leashes off.

It is a challenge to take photographs

with 165 pounds of labs

grasped in one hand, 

while I try to hold, focus my camera, and shoot

with the other.

Freedom and beauty for all of us!

Along the maze of paths that crisscross the Burro Trail,
we three intersected a forest service road
and watched the skiers and snowboarders glide by.

A day like this makes my heart sing!

And I know that Gracie and Rufus feel the same way!

                 

Wait for me, guys!

Me and my shadow ~

The two buds are happiest together!

Just around the corner, home waits;

but it won't be long before we're back in the woods again

on another perfect day.

Epic snow has fallen in Breckenridge this winter. 

I thought there was a lot of snow

when Gracie, Rufus, and I romped in the woods.

Five or six more feet of snow 

has buried Breckenridge even deeper!

Breckenridge's Official Snow Stake

has recorded 297 inches of snow this season

(as of 5:02 a.m. today).

297 inches!        754.38 centimeters!

24.75 feet!           75.43 decimeters!

8.25 yards!            7.54 meters!

44 inches or 1.11 meters has fallen in the last seven days!

With more on the way!

Good thing my sister-in-law bought a snowblower last fall!