Standing Into Danger

Tuesday, May 21, 2019

I Kid You Not!

On Monday afternoon big slobby raindrops, on the verge of turning to snow,
splatted my car as I drove home from an appointment.
As I climbed up Inspiration Drive, the rain thickened to snow,
huge fat flakes setting up for a heavy spring snowstorm.

East Rockinghorse Parkway

Near the Douglas and Arapahoe County Lines

May 20, 2019

Give me a break, I silently groaned. It's May 20th!
But no break was to be had;
by the time I arrived home and hustled into the warmth, the snow was pelting down.

Here It Comes!

Aurora, Colorado, USA

May 20, 2019

By bedtime the wet heavy snow began to cover everything,
silent and surreal on this late May night.

Winter Blanket on a May Night

Aurora, Colorado, U.S.A.

May 20, 2019

A beautiful sight greeted me, when I opened the shades this morning.

Cocooned in White

May 21, 2019

Burdened I

May 21, 2019

Burdened II

May 21, 2019

Nothing moved outside.

My Doorstep Bunny had ventured out, looked around,

and retreated back under the front steps.

Bunny Tracks

May 21, 2019

I retreated quickly too.

This was a great day to be retired and hunkered down by the fire!

Springtime Cottonwood

May 21, 2019

Repetition

May 21, 2019

Our house sits on a ridge and is just shy of 6,000 feet (1829 meters) in elevation;

because of our elevation, we received a good six inches of snow.

So much for my theory that we were safe from snow after Mother's Day!

Curious, I checked the weather records for the Denver area.

This was the latest 3-inch-plus snowfall since May 29, 1975.

Furthermore, this is only the fifth time that three inches of snow or more

has fallen this late in the season since 1882 ~ 137 years!

kdvr.com/2019/05/21

May 21, 2019

As I write this, the trees have dropped their heavy shawls,

and green is poking through the melting snow.

Tomorrow the sun will come out and burn away whatever snow remains.

If we move to the Nevada desert, I shall miss the beauty of snow

and the craziness of springtime in the Rockies.

May 21, 2019

Till next time ~

Fundy Blue

On the Chad and Sisters Two

On the Bay of Fundy
Out of Westport, Brier Island, Nova Scotia, Canada

July, 2018

For Map Lovers Like Me:

Location of Aurora, Colorado, USA

Wikimedia

"My" Open Space Along Piney Creek

Where I Often Walk

Google

Southern Aurora and Northern Parker

Google

Wednesday, May 15, 2019

You Always Think You Have Time ...

You always think you have time, and then one morning
you get an unexpected phone call, and you realize you that you don't.

I received such a call from my sisters Donnie and Barbie, almost two weeks ago.
They broke the devastating news that I was about to lose a special friend.
Then, a few days ago, Donnie called, and I knew my friend was gone.
Actually, all that my friend was disappeared days before her body failed.

My friend lived a long way from me, and my only comfort was
that her family read my final email to her while she was still aware.

I am sharing this to remind you that life is fleeting
and that even the most vibrant, active person can unimaginably be struck down,
that life is precious and you must make the most of it while you have it,
that you must hold the people you love close
and tell them how important they are to you and why,
and that you must never take life, time, and people for granted in the busyness of life
because you always think you have time.

I've been through all kinds of powerful emotions since that first devastating phone call,
but tonight I am feeling peace and a quiet grateful joy.
I've been poring through photographs, and letters, and newspaper clippings for days,
reliving our friendship of almost fifty-one years.
I am thankful that my friend is in a better place and beyond pain and suffering.

We met in early September 1968 in Geology 100,
two of four girls very visible in a class with fifty some guys.
It was a time when few young women tackled geology, and we survived together.

Surviving and Thriving

Yours Truly (left) Lynn (right)

Geology, Acadia

We both thought geology was the coolest thing ever!
The classes, the labs, the field trips, it was exciting,
as was the camaraderie we developed with some great guys.

And most of them were great, although there were a few guys
who did everything they could to drive us out of our major.
They didn't. We were there for the long haul.

Camaraderie at Its Best

Paul and Lynn

Geology, Acadia

The two of us made the front page of The Northern Miner newspaper
in the summer of 1969, Canada's leading mining journal, the bible of the industry.
That was because we were part of the first female crew
hired by a private company to do geological field work in Nova Scotia:
prospecting for gold!

Of course we were teased terribly,
because this was not how girls were supposed to look
or behave in the summer of 1969!

We had lots of geological adventures, but more importantly
we shared the secrets of our hearts and minds,
all the silly boyfriend and love drama,
the hopes and dreams of teenagers changing into young women,
the antics and crazy situations find yourself in when you are young and immortal.

We persevered, we graduated, we married.
We ended up in different countries with a continent between us.
We rarely saw each other, but we remained in constant touch throughout the years
throughout the challenges of life.
She was grounded and rooted; I was the rolling stone.

Camaraderie at Its Best

Me, Lynn, and Elsie (who followed us into geology)

It's unimaginable that my healthy, active, vibrant friend
was quickly struck down by an aggressive illness out of nowhere.

I have another hole in my heart that will never close.

I sometimes feel my heart has turned to Swiss cheese;

I've lost too many people I have loved.

But I have learned to find joy in my memories of those I have lost

and to hope that somewhere in time or outside of it we will meet again.

My friend lived a full and active life, so loved by so many.

My heart aches for all the people who knew and loved Lynn.

I hope, that like me, they are finding solace in their memories and their hopes.

I remember one rainy afternoon in Portree, Cape Breton,

when it was too cold and too wet to work outside in the field.

Lynn, Elsie, some neighborhood kids, and I found a stack of dusty old 78s

in a forgotten corner of our outbuilding office.

We discovered a gem, the original 1957 recording of "Daddy Cool" by the Rays.

In short order we had

our tiny office rocking,

maps, reports, and rain forgotten,

as we all danced around wildly.

Our Tiny Field Office

During the rest of the summer of 1969 we nearly wore that 78 out,

and boy did we dance and laugh!

This is for you, my very-much-missed friend:

"Daddy Cool" by the Rays

You Tube ~ Oldies Al

Till next time ~

Fundy Blue

When I was young and immortal
and danced to "Daddy Cool"

Portree, Cape Breton

July 1969

Notes:
1. My sister Donnie and one of Lynn's sisters also met at Acadia and have likewise remained
close friends throughout the last half century.

2. I won't be publishing another post this Friday. I sat down this evening to begin writing something
entirely different to publish on Friday, and out this came.

Friday, May 10, 2019

Luck Is Most Welcome!

My brain is overloaded with houses, floor plans, and real estate photos.
Outside it's cold and snowy,
I just want to pull a quilt over my head,
and not come out until it's warm and sunny.

The Spring Snow is Back

Our Front Deck

Aurora, Colorado, U.S.A.

May 9, 2019

My better half can tune it all out and nap in front of the fire,
even though he is flying to the Vegas area early tomorrow
(Friday) morning to look at more houses.
He's as comfy as a napping cat!

Cat Nap

May 9, 2019

Cat Nap

Wikipedia: Jacopo Werther License

Usually I'm goal and task-oriented, but I feel aimless today,
like these ducks wandering around at the bottom of our driveway.

Splashing in the Rain

May 8, 2019

Shouldn't You Be Here?

Along Piney Creek, Aurora, USA

April 20,, 2019

One of the bunnies that lives under our front door step
hopped out, looked around, and went back indoors.

One of Our Door Step Bunnies

May 9, 2019

A Good Day to Be Inside

Aurora, Colorado, U.S.A.

May 9, 2019

I could use a little luck in the middle of all this house hunting!
Wait! I've got some luck!

Tuesday night I received a special package
from Debra, a blogging friend in Canada.
Recently Debra, who blogs at She Who Seeks
(a provocative, funny, irreverent, historical, informative,
barrier-breaking blog), held a Tin Foil Hat Contest.

Nine creative and brave individuals entered her contest.
Actually eight, and a ninth who shamelessly pandered to Her Royal Highness,
Debra's dearly departed cat who occasionally posts from above.

The ninth contestant courted help because
she remembered the contest just three hours before it ended.
Furthermore, any creative ideas she had scattered, as she waited
anxiously to learn if her offer on her dream home was accepted.

All she managed were
cat ears in honor of
Her Royal Highness.

Aurora, Colorado, U.S.A.

April 9, 2019

Well, we didn't get my dream house with its amazing view.
Nor the next one, the third one we placed an offer on.
But I did win The Pussy Riot Award in Debra's Tin Foil Hat Contest.

All nine contestants earned a unique award and award gifts thanks to Debra's generosity!
I was delighted with the bee tea towel, note paper, and Spirit Luck Stone!

A Delightful Package!

Aurora, Colorado, U.S.A.

May 9, 2019

The Spirit Luck Stone is most welcome.
It's smooth and soothing to rub in my hands.
Holding it calms my overloaded brain,
and it may even bring me some welcome luck!

Till next time ~

Fundy Blue

On the Chad and Sisters Two

On the Bay of Fundy
Out of Westport, Brier Island, Nova Scotia, Canada

July, 2018

For Map Lovers Like Me:

Location of Aurora, Colorado, USA

Wikimedia

"My" Open Space Along Piney Creek

Where I Often Walk

Google

Cairn

Red-Tailed Hawk Park

Aurora, Colorado, U.S.A.

April 24, 2019

Friday, May 3, 2019

How Not to Get Overwhelmed ~ with the Help of Galileo

If you are familiar with my blog, you know I love to travel.
Last fall I visited Italy for the second time, and I long to return.
I find it fascinating for its rich and significant secular and religious history,
its glorious art and architecture, its scrumptious food and drink,
its geological wonders, and its passionate, animated, and friendly people.

I could spend a lifetime exploring Italy, and I would barely scratch the surface
of all there is to see and to learn in this complex, contradictory, and varied country.
It can be overwhelming, and when I feel overwhelmed exploring one of Italy's sites,
I focus on one object that resonates with me.

Take the marvelous Basilica of Santa Maria Novella
located near the main railway station in Florence.
The church, the cloister, and the chapter house are a treasure trove
of Gothic and early Renaissance art and architecture.

Basilica of Santa Maria Novella

Piazza Santa Maria Novella

Florence, Italy

September 16, 2018

I shrink its treasures down to one object significant to me: the Brunelleschi pulpit.
In fact, it was the Brunelleschi pulpit that made me determined
to find this gorgeous basilica in the narrow mazes of Florence.

Why a pulpit? This pulpit?
Because this is the place where one of my favorite scientific figures,
Galileo Galilei, was first denounced for heresy.

Galileo Facing the Roman Inquisition

by Cristiano Banti, 1857

This painting shows Vincenzo Maculano, the Prosecutor of the Holy Office,

reading the charges of suspicion of heresy to Galileo Galilei.

Image Source: Wikimedia

Information: Museo Galileo

When I was growing up, even into adulthood, I was very critical of Galileo
for recanting his belief in Nicholas Copernicus' theory
that Earth and all other planets revolved around the Sun,
especially since Galileo's belief was based on his scientific observations
of moons circling Jupiter, the phases of Venus, and sunspots on the Sun.

Galileo's Telescopes

Museo Galileo, Florence, Italy

Image Source: Wikimedia

Later I became more forgiving of Galileo,
as I contemplated the reality of being burned alive at a stake.
I realized that, faced with such a choice, I'd likely recant too.
Idealism has its limits.

I learned about the pulpit and the attack on Galileo
in Kim Stanley Robinson's outstanding novel Galileo's Dream.
Robinson wrote of Dominican Tommaso Caccini
denouncing the Copernican system as heresy and implicating Galileo
from the pulpit in Santa Maria Novella in December 1614.
Caccini's verbal attack on Galileo led to the scientist's eventual indictment.

When I exited the train upon arriving in Florence,
I was off to find Santa Maria Novella and its famous pulpit.

Yours Truly by the Brunelleschi Pulpit

Basilica of Santa Maria Novella

Florence, Italy

September 16, 2018

I spent hours exploring the church, the cloister, and the chapter house
of Santa Maria Novella; and if I return to Florence,
I'll return to this amazing site to see its treasures again.
I have it anchored in my mind forever with the Brunelleschi Pulpit.

The Basilica at Night

Piazza Santa Maria Novella

Florence, Italy

September 16, 2018

What would be your favorite country to visit?

How do you handle wonder burnout?

If you were Galileo, would you have recanted or burned?

I highly recommend Robinson's Galileo's Dream.

It's a fascinating melding of well-researched history and science fiction.

I read it before going to Italy, and again when I arrived home.

Till next time ~

Fundy Blue

Sidewalk Cafe

Florence, Italy

September 16, 2018

For Map Lovers Like Me:

Location of Italy

Wikimedia

Location of Florence

Google Maps 2018

Location of Santa Maria Novella

Google Maps 2019

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

Tuesday, May 21, 2019

I Kid You Not!

Wednesday, May 15, 2019

You Always Think You Have Time ...

Friday, May 10, 2019

Luck Is Most Welcome!

Friday, May 3, 2019

How Not to Get Overwhelmed ~ with the Help of Galileo

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