Standing Into Danger

Friday, March 15, 2019

Before the Blizzard: A Different Palette

Tuesday, March 12th brought our area welcome warmth from the winter cold,
even if the sun shone through broken clouds.

The thought of a coming blizzard pushed me outside
and into the open space along Piney Creek to enjoy the 62º F (16.6º C) weather.

Middle Pond along "My" Stretch of Piney Creek

Aurora, Colorado, USA

March 12, 2019

Aside from the sky and water,
nature had painted the landscape with a palette of taupe.

Some people consider taupe a bland or dull color,
but to me it speaks of rest and regeneration:
a pause, a breathing space before bursting into action.

A Breathing Space along Piney Creek

March 12, 2019

Taupe is not a single color somewhere between brown and gray.

It is a continuum of colors from brownish gray to dark tan,

and can be tinged with rose, mauve, or sand.

A Pop of Rose Taupe in Sere Cottonwood Leaves

Along Piney Creek

March 12, 2019

A Continuum of Taupes

Along Piney Creek

March 12, 2019

Taupe Tinged with Mauve and Sand

Along Piney Creek

March 12, 2019

When I wander in this pale landscape, I relax.

Its soothing colors remind me that it's good to take a time out,

to forget about all the MustDos and ShouldDos that drive me daily,

to just be and roam peacefully,

to browse with my camera like winter deer on twigs, stems, and dry grasses.

A Deer Browses in the Open Space

Along Piney Creek

March 12, 2019

Twigs, Stems, and Dry Grasses

Along Piney Creek

March 12, 2019

Some may think the winter landscape is drab and dead,

but not me; it is a place of quiet wonder and beauty,

if one takes the time to look with curious eyes.

Life on the Edge ~ "My" Lower Pond

Along Piney Creek

March 12, 2019

Canada Geese on the Move

Along Piney Creek

March 12, 2019

Water Drop

Along Piney Creek

March 12, 2019

Taupes Blending in Taupes

Along Piney Creek

March 12, 2019

Taupes and Complementary Blues

Along Piney Creek

March 12, 2019

Winter Cottonwood Buds ~ A Promise of Spring

Along Piney Creek

March 12, 2019

Doves

Along Piney Creek

March 12, 2019

Ice Melting on "My" Upper Pond

Along Piney Creek

March 12, 2019

A Winter Muley

Along Piney Creek

March 12, 2019

Corrugated Cottonwood Trunks

Along Piney Creek

March 12, 2019

Snowmelt along a Rivulet

(More Taupe, including the original color: that of the "average French mole")

Along Piney Creek

March 12, 2019

A Stand of Cottonwood Trees

Along Piney Creek

March 12, 2019

Fluffy Winter Bullrushes

Along Piney Creek

March 12, 2019

A Portrait in Taupes

Along Piney Creek

March 12, 2019

No matter the time or season,

this beautiful and special open space restores my soul.

Till next time ~

Fundy Blue

Yours Truly
On the Bay of Fundy

Westport, Long Island, Nova Scotia

Notes:

1. The Original Taupe:

The word taupe is derived from the French noun for mole, and originally the color taupe referred

to the average color of the French mole (European mole or Talpa europaea). It wasn't until the

1940s that the color taupe began to include a variety of shades.

Wikipedia

The "French" Mole: Talpa europaea

Wikimedia

2. Some Shades of Taupe:

Source for color information and color chart: ColorPsychology.org (at site: click on gray in top bar)

Article Title: Taupe Color

Author: Dena Przybyla

For Map Lovers Like Me:

Location of Aurora, Colorado, USA

Wikimedia

"My" Open Space Along Piney Creek

Where I Often Walk

Google

Aurora Open Space Along Piney Creek

Google

Thursday, March 14, 2019

Our Bomb Cyclone Blizzard: March 13, 2019

The wind has been rocketing along the sides of our home
and howling around its corners for over twelve hours,
driving horizontal snow before it.

We have experienced a "bomb cyclone" blizzard,
and some eight inches of snow has accumulated in Aurora.
Accumulated seems a misnomer though,
because the fierce winds have stripped some areas bare
and have swirled the snow around and around and around in the air.
Drifts are piling up in odd areas; and, of course in front of our garage door.

Terry watches out the window

as the blizzard moves in.

Aurora, Colorado, USA

March 13, 2019

A blizzard is a snowstorm with winds of 35 miles/hour (56 kilometers/hour) or more,
and visibility reduced to 1/4 mile (0.40 kilometer) for at least three hours.

We had winds that blew steadily at 45 mph (72 kph)
and gusted to 60 mph (96 kph).
At Denver International Airport a few miles north of us,
the top wind gust recorded was 80 mph (128 kph).

Terry and I watched in amazement at the total whiteout conditions
that lasted well over an hour.
At other times during the blizzard, the snow would thin briefly,
and we could see a hundred yards or more (91 meters),
catching glimpses of ghostly conifers and indistinct houses.

Whiteout!

Aurora, Colorado, USA

March 13, 2019

We also watched in amazement, as winds ripped past our windows nonstop for hours,

and this one little sprig with four berries lying on our deck
never moved or disappeared in a drift of snow.
It's still out there now.

Tenacity

Aurora, Colorado, USA

March 13, 2019

A bomb cyclone is a storm with rapidly plunging atmospheric pressure,
defined as a drop of 24 millibars (units of atmospheric pressure) in 24 hours or less.

According to a number of sources, including CNN,
our storm intensified explosively,
as the atmospheric pressure fell 33 millibars in some eighteen hours.
Usually these storms occur near large bodies of water like the Atlantic Ocean
and rarely in places like Colorado.

Burrr!

Aurora, Colorado, USA

March 13, 2019

While I spent time making baked beans and blueberry lemon bread,
working on a jigsaw puzzle, and running outside to take pictures,
Terry hung out close to the fireplace.

I Hate Winter!

Aurora, Colorado, USA

March 13, 2019

We're lucky because we spent the day in a warm house,
and we didn't lose our electricity or get stranded on a highway.
Others were not as fortunate.

Our Colorado State Patrol lost a trooper today
as he attempted to help a driver who had slid off the road.
Corporal Daniel H. Groves was stuck by by another car
and he died later in the hospital. cbslocal

The dedication and sacrifices of our first responders are remarkable,
and they should never be forgotten or taken for granted.

Snow begins to pile against our garage door.

Aurora, Colorado, USA

March 13, 2019

Wherever you are tonight, I hope you are safe and warm.
Hug your loved ones!

Tuesday, March 5, 2019

IWSG Day: Wednesday, March 6, 2019 ~ Protagonist or Antagonist?

It's the first Wednesday of the month,
the day that members of the
Insecure Writer's Support Group
share their writing struggles
and writing successes
and offer their encouragement
and support to fellow writers.

To visit the IWSG website, click here.

To become a member of the IWSG, click here.

Our wonderful co-hosts who are volunteering today,
along with IWSG founder Alex Cavanaugh are:
Beverly Stowe McClure, Lisa Buie-Collard, Erika Beebe, and me: Fundy Blue!

I hope you have a chance to visit today's hosts and thank them for co-hosting.
I'm sure they would appreciate a visit and an encouraging comment.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Every month the IWSG that members can answer with advice, insight,
a personal experience, or a story in their IWSG posts.

Or, the question can inspire members
if they aren't sure what to write about on IWSG Day.

Remember the question is optional.
This month's featured question is:

Whose perspective do you like to write from best, the hero (protagonist) or the villain (antagonist)? And why?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Happy IWSG Day, Everyone!
I don't know about you, but I'm so ready for spring!
We're in the middle of a deep freeze,
and I wish spring would hurry up and get here.
My Grandmother MacDonald always warned me not to wish my life away,
but here I am ignoring her again.
Only nine or ten weeks to go!

So Done with This!
Out My Front Door
Aurora, Colorado, USA

Winter 2016

So Ready for This!
Along Piney Creek
Aurora, Colorado, USA

Spring 2017

Right now we're supposed to be in Honolulu, Hawaii,

but instead we are at home hanging out near the fireplace.

All our traveling in the past several years caught up with us,

and we had a pile of put-off-things to take care of.

We realized that life would be a whole lot calmer and less stressful,

if we hit pause and took care of things now instead of being even more crunched later.

I find myself going back and forth between feeling blue and feeling relieved.

Out with White and in with Green!
Along Piney Creek
Aurora, Colorado, USA

Spring 2017

I'll be interested in reading fellow members' answers to this month's IWSG question.
I typically write non-fiction, and the work I'm focusing on currently is a memoir
with my father and myself as the main characters.
I consider us both flawed protagonists.
The longer I live, the more I see the world in shades of grey
and less in black and white.

I also have a novel in the works; and again,
I'm writing from the perspective of a flawed protagonist.
I'm fascinated by the internal struggle
between the light and the dark in a protagonist,
about the overcoming or the failure and why.

Longing for May Skies

Along Piney Creek

Aurora, Colorado, USA

Spring 2017

While we're taking making decisions and taking care of responsibilities
(not bad, just complicated),
I'm working on two other beneficial outcomes,
closing in on achieving several long-term health goals
and clearing my mind so I can work my way out of a quandary
I've encountered in writing my memoir.
Accomplishing these is worth the sacrifice of a trip to Honolulu.

At least I hope so!

A Favorite Pool in Spring

Along Piney Creek

Aurora, Colorado, USA

Spring 2017

Happy Writing in March!
I'm looking forward to visiting around!

The Conservatory

Bellagio

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

February 7, 2018

Photo by Terry Barbour

Friday, March 1, 2019

Out and About in Venice

I can't tell you how much I love Venice!
I never tire of roaming along its canals and narrow passageways.
Here are some photos I took while wandering last fall.

Installing New Glass

Venice, Italy

September 12, 2018

Please, Ma'am, May I Have Some?

Waiting for a Ferry

Venice, Italy

September 13, 2018

Companions

Venice, Italy

September 13, 2018

Private Garden

Venice, Italy

September 23, 2018

Masquerade Ready

Venice, Italy

September 22, 2018

Delivering the Mail

Venice, Italy

September 13, 2018

Farmers Market

Venice, Italy

September 22, 2018

Colorful Wares at the Farmers Market

Venice, Italy

September 22, 2018

An Argument for Traveling Light

Ponte degli Scalzi

Venice, Italy

September 22, 2018

Night Alley

Venice, Italy

September 12, 2018

Feathered Diners Unwelcome!

Venice, Italy

September 13, 2018

Terry Along the Grand Canal

Venice, Italy

September 22, 2018

Eve Tempts Adam in the Garden of Eden

and Their Expulsion (in the background)

"Original Sin" by Tintoretto, Early 1550s

Accademia di Belle Arti

Venice, Italy

September 13, 2018

Passing Gondolas

Venice, Italy

September 13, 2018

Window Display

Venice, Italy

September 13, 2018

Eterna

Venice, Italy

2018

On Duty on A Shop Stoop

Venice, Italy

September 13, 2018

An Unexpected Surprise

A Walk in a Wooded Public Park

Venice, Italy

September 21, 2018

Wedding Photographer

St. Mark's Square

Venice, Italy

September 2018

Newspaper Stand

Venice, Italy

September 22, 2018

Quiet Evening along a Canal

Venice, Italy

September 22, 2018

Till next time ~

Fundy Blue

Yours Truly

St. Mark's Square, Venice, Italy

Note: Somehow earlier this evening I accidentally published an unfinished post I am working on.

It was full of mistakes and cut and pastes, so I quickly took it down when I realized what had happened. My apologies if you saw it. Thanks for leaving kind comments, Jean and Alex. They'll probably repost when I finish it.

For Map Lovers Like Me:

Location of Italy

Wikimedia

Location of Venice

Google Maps 2018

Venice, Italy

Wikimedia

Books Read in 2026

"18 Days in Heaven" by Gale Poirot
"A Serial Killer's Daughter: My Story of Hope, Love, and Overcoming" by Kerrie Rawson
"Eat Your Ice Cream: Six Simple Rules for a Long and Healthy Life" by Ezekiel J. Emanuel, MD.
"Is Math Real? How Simple Questions Lead Us to Mathematics Deepest Truths" by Eugenia Cheng
"Project Hail Mary" by Andy Weir
"Tell Me Everything" by Elizabeth Strout
"The Covenant of Water" by Abraham Verghese
"The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity" by David Graeber and David Wengrow
"The Life Impossible" by Matthew Haig
"The Lord go the Rings" by JRR Tolkien
"The Match" by Harlan Corben
"The Night the Path Disappeared" by Terri Bergen
"The Notebook: A History of Thinking on Paper" by Roland Allen
"Theo of Golden" by Allen Levi
"Think Twice" by Harlan Corben
"Why Christianity Must Change Or Die" by John Shelby Spong

Standing Into Danger

Pages

Friday, March 15, 2019

Before the Blizzard: A Different Palette

Thursday, March 14, 2019

Our Bomb Cyclone Blizzard: March 13, 2019

Tuesday, March 5, 2019

IWSG Day: Wednesday, March 6, 2019 ~ Protagonist or Antagonist?

Friday, March 1, 2019

Out and About in Venice

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