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!