Standing Into Danger: November 2018

Friday, November 30, 2018

On the Move

A bad weather forecast for four days of snow in Flagstaff, Arizona
had us on the move from Colorado three days early.
Talk about a mad scramble to pack!

Somewhere on I-40 and Route 66 South

Arizona, USA

November 28, 2018

Terry and I are both past the days when we plow our way

through snow in the wide open spaces of desert lands

and zip through icy mountain passes.

No Place to Be Caught in a Snowstorm

Arizona, USA

November 28, 2018

Dropping 6,000 feet, step one, as we head for warmth and sunshine.

I'll be back as soon as I get some sleep!

Don't Want to Navigate This on Icy or Snow-Packed Roads!

Arizona, USA

November 28, 2018

Friday, November 23, 2018

Thanksgiving Along Piney Creek

If you celebrated American Thanksgiving yesterday,
I hope you had a happy time.

It's one of my favorite holidays,
because it's a time to spend with family and friends,
a time to be grateful for all that is good in life,
and a time to enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving feast.

Mule Deer Buck

Aurora Open Space, Colorado

November 22, 2018

We've shared many Thanksgivings over the past thirty years
with our close friends Cheri and Gary, their son Jeff,
and one, two, or three of our nieces and nephews.

The kids have grown and scattered,
so it was just we four celebrating yesterday;
and we went for a family style dinner at Maggianos,
an Italian restaurant that we all enjoy.

So, of course, in addition to turkey and all the trimmings,
Maggianos offered a tempting array of pastas:
a groaning board for sure, and boxes of leftovers to take home.

Hawk High Overhead

Aurora Open Space, Colorado

November 22, 2018

We each had a strategy to shed some of the calories we consumed at this feast.
Gary and Cheri planned a long walk with their Shih Tzu, Sam.
Terry played a fast round of pickleball with friends in the chilly mid-morning air,
and I meandered with my camera along Piney Creek once we returned from Maggianos.

Our Thanksgiving day was cool and cloudy,
not the best circumstance in which to go hunting with my camera.
A cloudy late November day colors the high prairie spaces
with dull browns, grays, and faded yellows.

Icy Pond and Reflections

Aurora Open Space, Colorado

November 22, 2018

Nevertheless, I layered up with warm clothes and headed down to the creek,

grateful for the gifts of unstructured time and peaceful solitude.

At first the riparian area seemed drab and lifeless

with its sere vegetation, splotchy patches of snow,

stripped stands of cottonwoods, and slow waters.

Dead Cottonwood Leaves, Horsetails, and Grasses

Aurora Open Space, Colorado

November 22, 2018

Gone to Seed

Aurora Open Space, Colorado

November 22, 2018

Remnants of Snow

Aurora Open Space, Colorado

November 22, 2018

Stripped Cottonwoods

Aurora Open Space, Colorado

November 22, 2018

A Small Pool Along Piney Creek

Aurora Open Space, Colorado

November 22, 2018

But as I jumped the creek and wandered from the path,

I heard the soft twitters of birds in the cottonwoods
and spotted big ears in bleached gold thickets.

Birds Among Cottonwood Branches

Aurora Open Space, Colorado

November 22, 2018

A Mule Deer Buck and Doe

Aurora Open Space, Colorado

November 22, 2018

It is a joy to lean against a corrugated cottonwood, close my eyes,
and hear whispered conversations among the birds gathered in its branches;
then to open them and see muleys motionless in the underbrush,
their outsized ears swiveled toward me, their dark eyes fixed on me.

Although the world around me has faded to muted colors,
it is vibrant with rich textures:
sawtoothed leaves, layered or fluffy bullrushes,
billowing rabbitbrush, and pocked skims of ice on smooth water.

Ridged Cottonwood Trunks

Aurora Open Space, Colorado

November 22, 2018

Cottonwoods in a Puddle

Aurora Open Space, Colorado

November 22, 2018

Weathered Bullrushes

Aurora Open Space, Colorado

November 22, 2018

Billowing Rabbitbrush

Aurora Open Space, Colorado

November 22, 2018

A Skim of Pocked Ice

Aurora Open Space, Colorado

November 22, 2018

Sometimes, if I'm lucky, I see more than thick limbs,

withered leaves, slender branches, and winter buds against a steely sky;

I catch a scamper of fur racing along dark, heavy highways:
an energetic squirrel patrolling its territory and adding food to its caches.

A Speedy Fox Squirrel

Aurora Open Space, Colorado

November 22, 2018

As I ramble throughout the long, narrow open space along Piney Creek,
the sun lowers beneath the cover of cloud,
burnishing small shrubs and washing the landscape with gold and ruddy tones.

Lowering Sun

Aurora Open Space, Colorado

November 22, 2018

Sun-Silvered Shrubs

Aurora Open Space, Colorado

November 22, 2018

Magical Light Brightens the Landscape

Aurora Open Space, Colorado

November 22, 2018

Following a tip from a fellow walker,
I round a corner and find what I have been seeking:
a herd of deer browsing among dry grasses, brushes, and milkweed.

Thanksgiving Feast

Aurora Open Space, Colorado

November 22, 2018

Mule Deer Buck

Aurora Open Space, Colorado

November 22, 2018

A Muley Doe Browsing

in a Wild Wetland Meadow

Aurora Open Space, Colorado

November 22, 2018

A Milkweed Pod

Aurora Open Space, Colorado

November 22, 2018

I turn and backtrack for home, refreshed by a quiet walk on the wild side.

We're Watching You!

Aurora Open Space, Colorado

November 22, 2018

A Female Red-winged Blackbird

Among the Bullrushes

Aurora Open Space, Colorado

November 22, 2018

Magic Moments for an Amateur Photographer

Aurora Open Space, Colorado

November 22, 2018

For Map Lovers Like Me:

Location of Aurora, Colorado, USA

Wikimedia

The Open Space Along Piney Creek

Where I Often Walk

Google

Aurora Open Space Along Piney Creek

Google

Thursday, November 22, 2018

Happy Thanksgiving 2018

Happy Thanksgiving to all my blogging friends
who celebrate American Thanksgiving!

I hope you're enjoying a special day with family and friends.
If you're traveling, travel safely,
and if you're in the northeast, bundle up and stay warm.

Sending all my blogging friends, celebrating or not, hugs and love.
I am thankful for each and every one of you!

Aurora, Colorado

Fall, 2018

Friday, November 16, 2018

Moody Morning in Venice

Whenever I hear the word Venice, my mind leaps
to gondoliers and their graceful gondolas gliding over its myriad canals.

I have taken hundreds of pictures of gondoliers, gondolas, and canals.
This is my favorite.

Gondoliers rowing on the Grand Canal

looking toward St. Mark's Basin

Venice, Italy

September 13, 2018

God willing, I'll take hundreds more.
Venice is magical, especially on a foggy morning.

For Map Lovers Like Me:

Location of Italy

Wikimedia

Location of Venice

Google Maps 2018

St. Mark's Basin

Venice, Italy

Google Maps 2018

Sunday, November 11, 2018

Remembering

On this cold and snowy Veterans Day in Colorado,
I am remembering that I am safe and free
because of the tremendous sacrifices of others,
strangers, friends, and family members
who chose to serve to preserve our freedom and way of life.

It's the 100th Anniversary of the end World War I,
and I am remembering this simple, poignant tribute
to the One Million British Empire Dead in that horrific war.
The memorial graces a column in Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.

Tribute to the British Empire Dead of WWI

Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris, France

May 2014

Seeing Canada and Newfoundland on that plaque
brought tears to my eyes in May 2014.
Among these one million dead are members of my family
whom I know only from old photographs.

One Million Dead

Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris, France

May 2014

I am also remembering the simple, poignant, poem

of Canadian John McCrae, a physician from Guelph, Ontario,

who died shortly after penning these words of life, love, and loss:

In Flanders Fields
by John McCrae

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

Wikipedia

Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae

Wikipedia

Most of all I am remembering my parents,
Donald and Sara (MacDonald) MacBeath who served in the Canadian Forces,
my mother during WWII and my father shortly after WWII.
My mother was just old enough to enter WWII,
my father just young enough to be unable to serve in that war.

I like to remember them, not in their uniforms,
but on their honeymoon when they were young, optimistic, and full of hope.

Don and Sara MacBeath

Sandy Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada

September 4, 1948

We must never forget the sacrifices of those who served,

who were injured or maimed physically and mentally,

or who died for us.

Whether you mark this day as Veterans Day, Remembrance Day,
Armistice Day, or by another name,
I hope you are remembering
these selfless sacrifices with gratitude and love.

Lest We Forget

Flanders Poppies

Pexels

Friday, November 9, 2018

The Art Lover

I call myself a photographer,
but real photographers might roll their eyes at that statement.

My camera is a point-and-shoot Canon SX620 HS,
bright red, of course!

I rarely use my iPhone as a camera
because it's much more expensive and visible,
and I don't want to be targeted by a phone snatcher,
especially when traveling.
Furthermore, I don't want to be encumbered
with a heavy camera, equipment bag, and tripod.

I go for the candid shot on the fly,
hoping I won't have to edit too much to get a photo that pleases me.
I have no qualms about editing a photo with my computer.
If I share a photo, I want it to be the best I can create.

The Ever-Patient, after years of me and my camera,
just keeps slowly moving forward,
while I stop and run to catch up, stop and run, stop and run.

When I'm out and about, my Canon is snuggled in my right hand,
its strap looped around my wrist and thumb.
I'm on the hunt for anything that catches my eye.
I believe there are interesting, funny, or emotional shots anywhere.

Terry and I arrived in Florence for the first time on a morning train from Padua.
We dropped our bags on 500-year-old tiles in our room in the Residence Bellevue
and raced to explore the historic center of Florence,
a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1982.

After hours of wandering from square to square
and marveling at the art, sculpture, architecture, and monuments
that grace one of the most beautiful cities in the world,
we found ourselves walking down the Piazzale degli Uffizi toward the Arno River.