Sounds

I haven't been able to figure out how to adequately capture in words the sounds to convey meaning and thought and feeling.

I think it is raining outside (not sure why the phrase often includes "outside" ... because if it were raining inside I would just freak out about a leak) and then the rain is confirmed by the spinning of tires and the spitting of water. Yup, the forecasters were right, it would be a rainy Halloween. It began early in the morning. Not quite sure when as I decided there was really no need for a clock in the bedroom. After dosing again I begin to hear an alarm from the cell phone far away in another room ... it must be 5:30. But it is Saturday and I'm not getting up early (ha). A bit more sleep then again I awake. Time to get up .... no sense tossing and turning and not having "meaningful" sleep and images flying through the depths of my soul into my awareness.

Gurgling water sputters into coffee grinds

Singing front porch chimes

An 18 wheeler along 590

The refrigerator says time to cool again

The chimes in a gentle rhythm

Teddy settling on his pad

Breathing into the floor

George Winston on the ivories

The gurgling becomes aroma

All is quiet

Then a gentle rhythm of keys

Morning has broken

Time for coffee.

Care to join me?

Am on Day Six of my journey

Morning Has Broken

A wonderful fall morning. There I was just doing what I do in the morning, taking Teddy for a walk. Heading north on Shaftsbury and turning right at Clover. The leaves were crisp and while Teddy was busy with his zig zag sniffing and smelling I was kicking the leaves enjoying the sounds and feeling young. He was heading toward a favorite smell spot when I looked up and saw the silhouette of the tree against the colors of the sky. Pretty amazing. Oranges, pinks, blues, white.

Could I make it home to get the camera? I broke a personal rule and walked across my neighbor's lawn and got home ... Teddy wanted nothing to do with going in the house (he wasn't finished) so .. well you don't need to know the details.

Grabbed the camera and headed back to the "spot" and God kept the show going a bit longer! The shot has been on my desktop all day ... it takes my breath away and I slow down whenever I would catch a glimpse of it.

The glory of the heavens.

The painting of the skies.

The clouds gliding along.

The bareness of the tree.

Thanks be to God.

Contemplation

Where do you go to think?

The Haunting

As approaching my morning reading chair with coffee in hand there snuggled into the back corner of the chair was a Ball Wide Mouth jar. I am being haunted. What was it doing there? How did it get there? Have I really gone over the edge with all this canning?

Side, random thought: Why do they call it canning when we put it in jars? Shouldn't it be jarring?

As I write this ... the chicken stock has been simmering for three hours. Close your eyes and imagine the smells filling the air. its a cross between soup ... and roasted turkey. Carrots, celery, bay leaves, onion, salt and pepper. And of course the chicken.

I straightened up the living room tonight ... ... and the canning storage area (aka dining room) ... it seemed that everywhere I turned there was just one more thing that I had used or will need this weekend. Then there are the jars that are in the car ... at the office ... and I am sure elsewhere.

Canning in my sleep

Canning in the office

Canning in the kitchen

I am haunted by all the cars ...

But I must say ... I am loving this canning!

Colors

Meghan, Sue, Faye!

Soon winter will be here (don't groan).

The last three days have been amazing ... leaves are at their peak in the area and the sky a brilliant blue. The only thing needed is the full moon!

But it is the COLORS of the season that call to me ... red, green, yellow, orange, blue ... and every shade in between. They call one me into their warmth ... even as the days grow cooler. It is as if they soak the warmth from the air and leave "a chill in the air". In turn, the air soaks the humidity from the leaves releasing their bond with the limbs and they fall to the ground and we get the crunch.

All of this in preparation for the winter ... when the colors disappear and we experience the blacks and whites of winter ... the humidity comes back as rain, hail and snowflakes ... and the crunch turns to the softness of snow.

Sue and the girls ... they fit so well in the fall colors ... they exude the warmth of the season ... they laugh, the jump in the piles ... and the crunch ... mmm ... thanks Barbie for helping make the leaf pile! Maybe tomorrow we can do it again!

Ellensberg, WA

What was I thinking?

I wanted to put up apples this year (after I had already done a bushel of tomatoes and some peaches). So one Saturday I stopped at a farmer's market and told my regular vendor my plan. Two friends were coming over the next day and I needed a blend of apples for sauce and another for just what would become apple pie filling! What was I thinking?

I left with four, count them, one, two, three, four bushels of apples. Sue assured me that if I kept them cold I could put off doing all of them ...

So here I am four weeks later. The applesauce is done ... I'm thinking about 48 quarts ... plus the apple butter.

Next week ... apple pie filling.

What was I thinking?

I think I will go walk Teddy.

p.s. I used a quart of my own tomato sauce in soup tonight. Will see how it turns out at lunch tomorrow.

p.s. again ... There are at least 10 more quarts that have been given away already!

My Eyes Looks to the Hills

Bonanza, Wenatchee National Forest

I seem to be looking down a lot these days ... seeking that paths, looking for clarity. My neck is even getting sore!!! So thought today I should look up .. enjoy the beauty. Its that balance thing! I do notice though that when the head is looking down ... the whole body and motion keeps has a downward spiral. So today ... it is time to look up.

The hills are alive!

Lift your eyes on high!

Clarity

Walking the lake

It seems so clear

Reflecting the a tree line

The changing sky

Give it a minute

Toss a stone

Canadian geese come in for a landing

The image is blurred

So quickly it changes

From clarity to rippled

Sitting here for hours

Looking for answers

Distorted ... muddied

Clear ... concise

Life

God grant me strength to step forward.

As the lake will forever be changing

A well marked path

oh how I wish my path was this clearly marked. The entrance to the labyrinth is clear and it is "simple" to follow ... although it does take some time.

The Road Not Taken ...

by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

What road have you taken?

Or did you take them both?

Who was your guide?

Listen

Sounds are bombarding from every direction. The loudspeaker, people talking to one another, the tapping of fingers on the computer, a phone rings, paper crinkles, ice in a glass, a zipper on a backpack, the hum of an airplane engine, the unfolding of foil, the biting into a sandwich.

I don't think that was what this message was what was intended when it was left at the labyrinth.

Listen to God ... listen to others.

Shhhh walk away from noise pollution.

Find time today ...

Home On The Range

I've been gone a week .... wonderful away time ... no computer, no phone, just reading, writing and walking. Now time to go home. Tomorrow will have limited access again tomorrow, which is good ... as today was here to much.

How to you manage disconnecting from the electronic age we are in?

I bet there is no internet access in either of these buildings.

Welcome

Signs of welcome ... They way we say we are are glad you are here. This welcome pole sits at a center point in the village. Reaching to the sky it offers a place for families to meet, for newcomers to explore, and for returning guests to know they have come back.

What signs of welcome have you in your home? in your office?

How do you greet those who are strangers and those you know?

Silence

Today is the day to sit ... reflect ... to be.

Care to join me?

Running to the Mountain

I took this picture a year ago Monday. The first snow had fallen on Buckskin ... and fall was descending on the village. It was a quiet time at the mountain and the village was shifting from summer to winter mode. The colors will be changing, Railroad Creek beginning to run low, the fawns grown, the children in school, the village settling into a new routine.

Someone said "Have fun!" Fun ... that seemed an odd word. I'm not looking for fun, I'm running to the mountain to seek quiet and disconnect and reconnecting. I'm contemplating a day of silence. Walking, writing, reading. No meetings, no reports, no budgets. Walking, writing, reading. Who knows ... perhaps I can calm and move through the labyrinth. Your prayers are sought ....

Seasons

Living in an area of the country that has four seasons is such a delight. We are transitioning through fall now. A drive through the Adirondacks gives meaning to "fall colors" And even as I drive I wonder how those photographers manage to capture the right picture. This one .. was only one of 20 I maybe took yesterday ... and it is further south about an hour outside Utica. The sun was finally out and there to my right was this lake. But not only a lake, but the colors and the dock. Down I went ... walking through marshy waters to get as close as possible to both the lake and the dock. The trees in their variety of colors sure seem to get along a lot better than folks of different colors.

Another sign of the season. Apples. Now I got a bee in my bonnet to "can" this year. I have already put up tomatoes and peaches. Now time for the apples. My first experiment included apple chutney. I loved it. Then this weekend I decided it was time for apple sauce. What was I thinking ... four bushels I bought! By the end of Saturday we were almost done with the first two ... 28 quarts of applesauce later ... and 11 pints (or 22 1/2 pints of apple butter). Now what will I do with the rest? Friends have assured me they will last on the back porch where it is just like "cold storage" ... until I am ready to tackle the rest ... Perhaps by Sunday the 25th I'll be ready to being again.

Now ... run out ... make a big pile of leaves ... jump in it ... and just laugh!