Standing Into Danger: November 2024

Friday, November 29, 2024

A Little Post-Thanksgiving Fun!

American Thanksgiving was yesterday.

I hope that everyone who celebrated it had a happy and safe time.

Terry and I had a quiet celebration and a small meal at home,

because today we are in Cloud Land again.

The bad thing about our small meal is that

we have no Thanksgiving leftovers to indulge in.

Are you "yay" or "nay" on Thanksgiving leftovers?

I'm a definite "yay." I love them!

Especially a big, fat sandwich stuffed with turkey, dressing, and cranberry sauce.

So, in honor of Thanksgiving leftovers, I'm sharing a little post-Thanksgiving humor.

If you don't get the last funny, this will video will explain it.

If nothing else, its happy beat can lift your spirits!

Megan Trainor ~ All About That Base

YouTube

And because I'll forever be grateful for all the laughs Grumpy Cat has given me:

I'm linking to Rain's Thursday Art and Dinner Date, Tom's Aloha Friday, and Nicole's Friday Face Off.

For Rain: Packages ~ I never know what to expect when I search my photos for one of Rain's themes. For packages my search yielded "packages containing the embalmed organs ... ."

Packages ~ Egyptian Embalming Practices

The British Museum

London, England, UK

June 3, 2014

Wooden Statuettes of the Sons of Horus

Imsety (a man), Hapy (a baboon), Duamutef (a jackal), and Qebhsennuef (a falcon)

The British Museum

London, England, UK

June 3, 2014

For Tom: Aloha in a package ~ Who's in the package? It's Laki (Lucky), a Scottish Fold kitty at Cat Café MOFF at the International Marketplace in Waikiki.

For a little kitty aloha visit Cat Café MOFF

The International Marketplace

Honolulu, O'ahu, Hawai'i

March 5, 2024

For Nicole: Smoke ~ In memory of dear Smoke, a beloved pet belonging to my sister Barb, loved and enjoyed by our family. She died two years ago, but Smoke is not forgotten.

A Beautiful Kitty ~ Smoke

Calgary, Alberta, Canada

July 15, 2015

Photo by M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue

And a favorite turkey face:

An Annual Thanksgiving Visitor

Aurora, Colorado, USA

November 25, 2021

Photo by M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue

Have a great weekend!

Till next time ~

Fundy Blue

Standing Into Danger https://selkiegrey4.blogspot.com

My next post will be

Wednesday, December 4th. 🤞

On the Bay of Fundy
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved

Friday, November 22, 2024

Let's Have Some Compassion for Others!

This week I received a distressing email from the Heritage Eagle Bend Board of Directors.

I've lived here twenty years, and I have never received such an email.

It arrived not too long after we began digging out

from one of our largest November snowstorms in decades.

It came in two waves, lasted three days, and dumped a good two feet of snow in HEB.

Snow and More Snow

Aurora, Colorado, USA

November 9, 2024

In the email the Board of Directors asked HEB residents to

"please consider exhibiting patience and understanding

for the employees who work long, difficult hours

to plow snow and keep our roads and sidewalks open."

Buried

Aurora, Colorado, USA

November 9, 2024

Snow Keeps Piling Up

Aurora, Colorado, USA

November 9, 2024

Remarking that "patience seemed to be in short supply,"

the HEB Board of Directors went on to say,

"Some residents chose to take out their frustrations with cursing, insults and other verbal abuse aimed at our snow removal employees."

This sickened me!

Winter after winter I have been privileged to live in HEB,

a retirement community for people over 55.

And over all these years, hardworking, usually Hispanic men have turned out

in the bitter cold and often at night to shovel us out and plow our streets.

How can people not appreciate their hard work under miserable conditions?

How can people not feel some compassion for them?

I don't usually take pictures of the men, because they are often working

when I am asleep or when I'm snuggled up in front of the fireplace downstairs.

Here are several I took during a bad spring snowstorm on March 14, 2021.

Hard, Cold Work

Aurora, Colorado, USA

March 14, 2021

We are living in a difficult time, when much that seemed certain is not.

Our country is divided, the world order feels unstable, the climate news is frightening,

and the specter of a world war looms larger than at any time I can remember.

I am just one small person, and I have no power or control

over the national and international events sweeping me in their tides.

Strong Waves

Panama City Beach, Florida, USA

April 9, 2024

What I do have is power and control over how I interact

with the people I come in contact with every day.

I do have the ability to choose to smile or to say a kind word.

I can feel respect, empathy, and most of all, compassion for them.

I am just one small person, but I can have a positive impact on others.

I'm a big believer in the power of many ordinary people

choosing to feel compassion for the people they meet daily.

My prescription for a difficult time is a strong dose of compassion.

Google

I know I'm a work in progress, and I fall far short of the person I would like to be.

But I do try.

The world would be a better place if we all tried to treat others with more compassion.

Compassion is just one of a number of positive human traits we could choose to practice:

courtesy, kindness, respect, humility, caring, and empathy.

For an inspiring book on character, I highly recommend

The Road to Character by David Brooks.

I'm linking to Rain's Thursday Art and Dinner Date, Tom's Aloha Friday, and Nicole's Friday Face Off.

For Rain: Pizza ~ Our extended family gathers for pizza, beer, and music at Lazy Bear in Smith's Cove. The brewery is located on the property where our Grandmother (Cossaboom) MacDonald and her three sisters were born.

Pizza for Every Taste

Lazy Bear Brewery

Smith's Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada

August 2, 2024

For Tom: Aloha ~ The joy of hula and traditional music!

The Kilohana Hula Show at Kapiʻolani

Honolulu, O'ahu, Hawai'i

February 26, 2024

For Nicole: Aloha Face ~ Crown Princess Kaʻiulani (1875–1899) was named Heir Apparent to the Kingdom of Hawaii on her 16th birthday. She died tragically of inflammatory rheumatism when she was 23. She fought for the rights of the Hawaiian people and was known for spreading aloha wherever she went.

Colorized Portrait of Crown Princess Kaʻiulani

Courtyard by Marriott

Honolulu, O'ahu, Hawai'i

February 8, 2024

Photo by M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue

Have a great weekend!

Till next time ~

Fundy Blue

Standing Into Danger https://selkiegrey4.blogspot.com

My next post will be

Friday, November 29th. 🤞

On the Bay of Fundy
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved

Friday, November 15, 2024

A Storied Creek and Canyon

One really good thing that happened for Terry and me in the past month

is that we bought a new car, a pretty ice silver metallic Forester.

We very quickly tried it out on a drive up Clear Creek Canyon into the mountains.

Trying Out Our New Car on Interstate 470 Colorado

Littleton, Colorado, USA

October 27, 2024

We used to drive up Clear Creek Canyon to Black Hawk a lot.

It's an historic mining settlement that declined during the 20th century,

but revived when casino gambling was approved in Colorado in 1990.

We had lots of fun in Black Hawk and nearby Central City over the years,

exploring the history and hiking the trails around these two towns,

as well as enjoying some low-stakes gambling and great entertainment in their casinos.

But we hadn't been up there since years before the pandemic.

As we drove up into the foothills and by the town of Golden,

I realized that we've have flown over this area many more times

than we've driven through it in the past eight or nine years.

Approaching Red Rocks Amphitheatre

a Popular Open-Air Music Venue

(Red Rocks Just Above the Green Fairplay Sign)

Morrison, Colorado, USA

Colder Weather (Live) (feat. Little Big Town)

Zac Brown Band at Red Rocks Amphitheatre

YouTube

Heading into Clear Creek Canyon

Golden, Colorado, USA

We didn't make it to Black Hawk or Central City.

We were hungry to destress in nature after some challenging days.

Beautiful Clear Creek

A Fisherman's Delight

Evergreen, Colorado, USA

Fishing in Clear Creek Canyon

We pulled off the road at Big Easy Trailhead in Clear Creek Canyon Park,

because there was lots of room in the parking lot.

Terry did not want our new car scratched or dinged. Me neither!

Big Easy Trailhead in Clear Creek Canyon Park

Jefferson County Open Space, Colorado, USA

The park is part of the Peaks to Plains Trail (P2P) which is under construction.

One day this ambitious project will connect Denver's South Platte Trail

to Clear Creek's headwaters which rise at the continental divide in Loveland Pass.

The planned 65-mile P2P trail will link seven cities in four counties,

climb more than a mile in elevation (≈ 6747 ft. to 11,990 ft. or ≈ 2056 m. to 3635 m.),

and serve more than 3 million people who live in the Denver Metro Area.

Beautiful Clear Creek

Clear Creek Canyon Park

The geologist in me loves the rocks in Clear Creek Canyon!

Steep walls of Precambrian igneous and metamorphic rocks

confine the creek to a narrow canyon in the portion of the park we walked through.

A Gneiss Boulder Along the Creek

Evergreen, Colorado, USA

Gneiss is a foliated metamorphic rock

which forms under extremely high temperatures and pressures.

Because the pressure is greater in one direction than in the others,

the minerals in the original rock line up with the long and flat minerals

perpendicular to the direction of greatest pressure.

This gives the resulting coarse-grained rock a banded appearance

with alternating light and dark layers.

In early 1859 prospector John Gregory panned placer gold

from the water at the confluence of Ralston Creek and Clear Creek,

precipitating the 1859-1860s gold rush in Colorado.

John H. Gregory Trekked Upstream in Clear Creek and Struck It Rich

History Colorado

FaceBook

Shortly afterwards, the first major gold ore discovery in the Rocky Mountains

was found in "Gregory Gulch," and Black Hawk sprang up near the bottom of the gulch.

Central City, farther up Gregory Gulch, was founded at the same time

and was once called the "Richest Square Mile on Earth."

Today people can pan for gold in designated areas along Clear Creek.

Posted, Clear Creek Canyon Park

One thing that I really appreciate about Clear Creek Canyon Park

is that it is ADA compliant (The Americans with Disabilities Act, 1990).

This means that people who have disabilities can enjoy

the most pristine canyon along the Front Range,

via four miles of 10-foot-wide paved trail along Clear Creek.

I was once married to a paralyzed veteran,

and I understand the pain separation from nature can cause.

It was wonderful to see fishing areas with access to people in wheelchairs.

People can Access the Creek Bed in a Variety of Ways

Easily Accessible Fishing Spots

Enjoying the Walk

Terry Crosses Clear Creek Via Vasquez Bridge

The View Upstream from Vasquez Bridge

The View Downstream from Vasquez Bridge

Terry Checks the Peaks to Plains Trail Map

The Paved Portion of the Trail Allows Access to Wilderness Trails

Terry Walks Along Clear Creek

From big to small, there are endless things to observe and enjoy.

Cones and Needles

Autumn Leaves

Rough Bark

Trees and Rocks

Lichen Flourishing

Resilience

We paused for a welcome snack at our turn around point.

Terry in Leaves

Reflections of Autumn Colors

Listening to the Rushing Water

A Lush Forest

A Parting Look

I'm linking to Rain's Thursday Art and Dinner Date, Tom's Aloha Friday, and Nicole's Friday Face Off.

For Rain: Perfect for Charcuterie ~ I love a good charcuterie plate!

Pasticceria Papa

‎⁨Bondi Beach⁩, ⁨Sydney⁩, ⁨Australia⁩

November 4, 2024

For Tom: The Spirit of Aloha

It's Getting Closer!!!

Honolulu, Hawaii, USA

January 18, 2023

For Nicole: Skittish Faces ~ Off My Deck This Morning

Two Does and A Buck

Aurora, Colorado, USA

November 14, 2024

Have a great weekend!

Till next time ~

Fundy Blue

Standing Into Danger https://selkiegrey4.blogspot.com

My next post will be

Friday, November 22nd 🤞

Books Read in 2024

"5 Languages of Love: The Secret to Love That Lasts" by Gary Chapman
"At Home in the World" by Joyce Maynard
"Cockroaches" by Jo Nesbo
"Death's End" by Cixin Liu
"Eruption" by Michael Crichton and James Patterson
"In Darkness" by L. Diane Wolfe
"In My Time of Dying" by Sebastian Junger
"Nothing to Fear" by Julie McFadden, RN
"The Bat" by Jo Nesbo
"The Dark Forest" by Cixin Liu
"The Frozen River" by Ariel Lawhon
"The Last to Vanish" by Megan Miranda
"The Montauk Monster" by Hunter Shea
"The Road to Character" by David Brooks
"The Song of Achilles" by Madeline Miller
"The Twist of a Knife" by Anthony Horowitz
"The Uninhabital Earth: Life After Warming" by David Wallace-Wells
"The Women" by Kristin Hannah
"Where the Crawdads Sing" by Delia Owens
"Writing the Shadow" by Joanna Penn

Pages

Friday, November 29, 2024

A Little Post-Thanksgiving Fun!

Friday, November 22, 2024

Let's Have Some Compassion for Others!

Friday, November 15, 2024

A Storied Creek and Canyon