Mountains and Ice

Tag: nature

  • Poem – Shelter

    Tall guardians of sticks and leaves. The winter sky weighs heavy on the canopy. Rain appears from nowhere and everywhere the ground becomes the horizon. The faster I run up and down hills in circles and through fields of grass I am still myself and I still exist in this form but where this is…

  • If Jackson Pollock was a photographer, #4

    I imagine one of his photos would look like this:

  • Poem – Beyond the Clouds There is Hope

    After the smoke clears and unnatural sounds dissipate the valley, mountains, and river return. The mountain shadow continues the journey started millions of years before and the river moves animals and earth further downstream to fertile lands and eventually to the delta spreading its fingers for miles with long threads reaching into the sea. For…

  • Looking for Peace

    An early morning walk through a November-drenched park with Leroy, Alaskan coffee, and music. As the wind blew hard off the lake, yet the pace was slow and purposeful, I chose “Lost in the Chambers of the Sea”, by Startle the Heavens (Ben Leopard). Starting off brisk and cloudy, we watched thousands of ducks float…

  • Poem – Moon

    Silent clouds reveal the moon and the still water absorbs the light. Behind the moon the tree line casts shadows across our faces as we listen to distant coyote cries.

  • Looking Forward

    Whatever is forward becomes the present before becoming the past and with eyes open we absorb nature in all of its glory.

  • Poem – Snow Always Proceeds the Fall

    The depth of days, carrying the memories from the past through the present into a future laid bare in our hands. Silence precedes the chaos we create, but until that moment the silence is unsettling, daunting, and disarming. Snow comes first with a message of peace and hope a subtle warning from the winds originating…

  • Perspective

    As the wind blows across sand, rocks, and driftwood I marvel at the change within me that I am aware of. Time has not softened the being, but strengthened through experiences and exposure to a world so scary as a child. Reaching out beyond the close-knit sphere I sought to understand the blood and tears…

  • The Dream That is the Big Lake

    Testing out some new gear and setting up a tent in preparation for the next trip to Alaska.  Of course, being on the big lake and my need to be close to the water, I always get wet and nothing like the sun to take care of the drying. Another beautiful fall day on the…

  • If Jackson Pollock was a photographer, #3

    I imagine one of his photos would look like this:

  • A Fall Day in MN

    The day started early just before the sunrise with enough time for coffee to get us warm before venturing out to the shoreline. The sun spread its fingers across the horizon, the water, and our faces. We continued to a state park and found a calm and secluded lake surrounded by nature’s palette. So many…

  • If Jackson Pollock was a photographer, #2

    I imagine one of his photos would look like this:

  • Poem – Machines That Move Earth

    (1) Putting aside hollywood notions of machine versus man – September morning is hidden in fog, coated with an early frost. Subdued sun scattered across fields, meadows, and prairies. The sky becomes the land becomes the horizon. We head north, leaving behind city lights and traffic for pine trees and winter in the air. (2)…

  • Essay – Judgment

    Why do we continue to judge ourselves and our actions against a written word and faceless God when the only entity we should measure against is life around us, how we impact them, and the face in the mirror? When you wake, can you think back, reflect on the previous day, your actions, your impact,…

  • Poem – When the Tree Speaks My Name

    Weeks have passed since my last visit. Jack pine needles blanket the pole barn’s roof a painting of solid green and brown slivers. The front porch is covered with maple and oak leaves, spider webs and left-over wood that was cut for fires. What used to be a driveway is now in the beginning stages…