Currently Listening
In My Hands
By Natalie Macmaster

Home, again, but this time I'm spending the night because tomorrow I take Sam down to her counseling job at church camp. You know, that sounds super religious, church camp... and I guess it is when you are there, but I don't think I could belong to a more liberal denomination, unless I was Unitarian. Even the liberal churches have church camp too folks!

I wrote this poem in January that I read again recently and thought was so applicable to my being out here in CO when so many people I know and love I left in Kansas and others I know and love have moved away from F/C (eg: Naomi to Texas this week). I wish I could type it here for you to read, my friends to whom this poem applies, but sadly I didn't bring my (real) journal with me and you will just have to wait in suspense till I 1) have my journal and 2) am simultaneously at a location with internet access. I think I like the poem being more appropriate to the present than the reason why I wrote the poem.

The weather is hot and sticky in Colorado. Our high was 98o today. It's the kind of weather that makes me feel drained and dull. Weather that makes me take my car and then sweat profusely when I should really be riding my bike (which would be cooler). The brightness in the surroundings seems to have become more dull as well. I'm hoping for some more rain to brighten things up again. The grass is turning brown.

I really like fall. I know it is the season that everything starts to go dormant and loose its color, but before it all goes nature gives us such a spectacular explosion of dying color! I'm looking forward to my first fall in Colorado in four years, Colorado has a very distinctive "fall smell." The breeze seems to come straight off the mountains and the scent of pine fills the air along with a clear quality that seems to blow the ozone away from our cities (which is beginning to become a very big problem here along the Front Range). The air feels lighter and on occasion you start to smell burning fires from fireplaces. I'm so glad we get a fairly lengthy fall, from late September to (sometimes) early December. But the best month of all, by far, is October (and no it isn't because of my birthday). This month is when the weather finally comes out of the late Indian Summer and begins to cool down. Sometimes we get small snowstorms, usually around Halloween (I've been a Snow Bunny for Halloween before... not of my own choosing). This month is when the leaves are the most brilliant and the smell in the air is most unique to the season. Then November arrives and we get dreary grey days and rain. Real Colorado snow often doesn't arrive till January, at least along the Front Range.

I guess it is the best thing that I came back to Colorado. I must be in love.
I think that's the end of that. You've put up with enough musing.

I love Heather musings about the weather, the environment, life in general...hehe always enjoyable! I'm going bridal dress shopping today with the gals- should be tiring but fun!
Posted 7/9/2005 8:01 AM by steph421