HARMONY
I have to apologize for the length of my posts lately I want to show the world what a beautiful place I'm in right now...of course it's not all hunky dory as daily Mom continues to forget who we are, where she is, and how to go about her daily life. All the things we learn as we grow up and age, if we live long enough, we forget in almost the exact way. She asked me yesterday, "what is your mother's name?" Sigh
We enjoy breakfast in our jammies on the back deck
We enjoy breakfast in our jammies on the back deck
So every single thing I can see that brings more beauty, harmony, and balance into my life I want and need that. I am trying hard to stay balanced but it is difficult. It is not like having a two year old because as I have mentioned before a two yr old learns, you can show them, tell them, or help them and before you know it they are doing that all on their own, it is the opposite with an Alzheimer adult, each day they forget something and each day they do less for themselves and you have to take up the slack...
My journey for harmony, balance, and beauty continues! Hozho as the Navajo call it. And in that search we found Divide Creek on Saturday, and West Rifle Creek WMA on Sunday. Here's what we saw...
(beauty)
the mountain views are always there each one beautiful in it's own way...look at this cemetery what a place to spend eternity...
(harmony)
For all the cemetery-ing that I have been involved in I plan to be cremated! I could def see sprinkling someone's ashes here as well. And right next to the cemetery is this awesome hay field. Hay growing and rolling is in full swing here as the rains have spurted growth!
there is an abundance of life everywhere we look...
and the promise of continuance helps me with this balance of life and loss that plagues my thinking...
This photo is a little shaky as I tired to swing the camera around but the deer were quickly running for cover... look at the velvet...soon they will not be best buds they will be defending a territory against each other and those antlers will be sharp and unfriendly...and is that not the way life is sometimes, one day we are surrounded by velvet the next sharp pointy objects!
NOT just another Red-Tailed Hawk, but part of the grand scheme, an individual with a life, a family, a purpose... they don't get the red tail till they're about 3 yrs old...and I read they can live to 13-ish or so years...
this inanimate object below seems to clutter the landscape for eons...wonder how long this old ford has been in this gully??
...and we wondered how it came to be here in the first place?
ahhhh there is that beauty again....
The mountain stands tall and protects the smaller rounded hills and the trees on it, then the grass waves in the wind outlined with fragrant sage. Balance.
One thing I like about fencing is it provides a spot for birds to perch (look for the positive when possible)...I found these 2 birds.
I am no expert, far from it, never professed to one, but it does not stop me from trying to figure out what the heck these birds are called...I came up with Gray Flycatchers. If I find our later it's called by another name I will retract that ID. (so far ebird is happy no response is a good response?)
In the big scheme of things birds have no name at all...they know who they are without our labels.
heavy crop here
in fact in the real scheme of things this may not be a bird at all! Who knows how they think of themselves? I sure don't. They probably hold the secret to life but we will never know that...that's why I need to see as many as possible maybe one of them will let me in on the real meaning of life on Planet Earth.
This beautiful Kestrel sure brought me into the moment with his gorgeous feathers, his piercing look ...
I read over at Laura Erickson's Blog about how Kestrels get shot at a lot...go read it and see what she has to say...kinda got me to feeling like saving our birds from the right is almost an impossible task as harmony, balance, and beauty is celebrated in a different way they collect the heads, the skins, the feather, I just count them! NOW she is an expert so take her word for it not mine. Our political lean matters!!
...and this red tail has some raggedy feathers but he is still out there making hawk majik all over this awesome place! Yep he's not perfect but he knows in the big scheme that doesn't matter in the least. Imperfect is not worthless or something to be discarded, covered up, or denied life!
ooops don't fly out of my frame please....
so here we go up the West Rifle Creek area...there's land for sale up here...no idea what it is worth in terms of paper money....much more than I can imagine I'm sure but for me in this moment it is a gift straight out of a fairy tale.
Do you see yourself in this cabin, shaking off the dust, opening up those long ago closed windows?
What if a flower was the center of your world.... if your entire life could be spent on top of a flower...wow
or safely hidden in the reeds near a mountain fresh stream...when a cool sip of water is all that is on your mind...now that is peace.
...all too soon it's time to go....the road continues but we make a right and head back to the highway...
...don't forget there is beauty out there sometimes you have to go look for it!
PEACE
Every day is a new adventure!
I'm sorry things are going in a direction none of us wants to experience, you and your sisters are doing the best you can I know. So this little trip to this most beautiful place can rejuvenate your heart for a bit. Your pictures say it all and your words are felt.
ReplyDeleteThe Kestrel is a gorgeous bird, bucks in velvet so majestic, the horse in the trees, the way you captured the butterfly over the purple flowers and of course the old shack yes I can see clearing the dust and making it a cozy place to wake up and smell the clean air and only the sounds of birds and wind in the plants.
I don't mind your posts being long I am traveling with you as always. Maybe someday you can come this way and I can take you to my favorite places. Hang in there Sondra, peace to you and yours.
Thank you Jo your words are so appreciated. It is a melancholy sort of post, due to my vivid memories of my Mom loving these same things now she can barely figure out what we are doing "way out here" is how she put it, I always called her the reluctant traveler, but she never said NO I don't want to go...she had the heart of an adventurer as long as someone else took the lead.
DeleteIt can be very hard when parents loose their memory, and I'm sure we all hope we never get to that. But your Mom is in the heart of her family and is loved and well looked after.
ReplyDeleteI dont mind long posts as I enjoy reading them and looking at the photos. I've been very lax posting myself even though we have been away to some very interesting places. We've just come back from a few days camping with my daughter and her family and managed to fit in a visit to a nature reserve.
Our kestrels are decreasing too, years ago they were plentiful especially alongside the motorways which harbored lots of wildlife, but they then started to use pesticides and the wildlife died and so did the kestrels. Now they are a rare sight.
Looking forward to some more long posts.
Thank you Dave! Your insights are always a pleasure to read, and I look forward to your posts of your latest adventure with your daughter and her family. The spraying of ROUNDUP has a lot to do with the decimation of our plants, bugs, and birds!
DeleteSorry to read about your Mum Sondra, I have several friends in a similar position at the moment, it's a lot to deal with but it seems this trip is helping you somewhat :)
ReplyDeletehi Pam Thank you for your comment, the main reason I made this trip was to help get my mom relocated and settled here in CO at my sisters house. I have spent the past 10 yrs caring for her and I finally burnt out! I just couldn't do it anymore so my sis came and spent 6 months in SC at my mom's home and we shared the care giving, when I return to SC after labor day I'll be alone. BUT our plan extends farther with them returning in the winter....so we have a loose plan and we hope to be able to hang on as long as we are able.
DeleteAh yes I can imagine you did, it's not easy is it, i'm glad you're able to have your sister help out now and I hope she settles well with her. It will be odd going home alone but at least you know your Mum will be in good hands and you have the plans for winter too :)
DeleteI can only imagine the heartache you're experiencing with your sweet mother. It's good you can balance the pain a bit with your love of nature.
ReplyDeleteThank you Barb...I know your father is 94 and still sharp, I had hoped Mom wouldn't go through this stage of aging, but there seems to be no way to guard against memory loss.
DeleteNever apologize for the length of your beautiful posts I love how you write -- ... and this post is wonderful ... how could you possibly even think of editing any of it out ... every word and picture separately and together made it great. I'm glad you are in this beautiful spot right now because I know you are like me and being out in nature helps everything. And I am glad the three of you sisters are together in caring for your dear mom (and taking care of each other) .
ReplyDelete