Halloween kids

On Halloween, he really knew how to scare people, smiling and waving. It's pretty clear to me she wants to pick it up and take it home. Shopping runs in the family. This is one of the sports in which her mother has a black belt!

Where to go on vacation

The government tells us to go to friendly countries. I can't find any! So we go to the mountains. I know a few things now. Knowledge is what's left after we smarten up!

Pessimists and Horses

Nancy and I went biking a few weeks ago near our house. Seeing this reminded me of the definition of a pessimist. A pessimist is an optimist on the way home from the track! I remember the last horse I picked at the track. He was so slow, I think they made him a mascot for the post office. I like to follow horses - which follow other horses.

Winter Night - for Jerry

If glory almost in excess
Is what makes heaven fair,
Then here along beside this pond
I might perhaps be there.

The rocks, the stumps, the leafless shrubs,
And all the plainest, drabbest things
Must rival in their robbing white
The shimmer of a Gabriel's wings.

And all the trees ensheened in ice,
The moon-kissed oaks and snow-bowed pines,
Are doubtless bright as any jewel
That in the heavenly city shines.

And God omnipotent, I think,
Would find it a creative strain
To duplicate the diamonded sky
That scintillates above the lake.

A frozen hush lies on the hills;
The tired wind has ceased to blow.
I shiver! Yet my kneeling heart
With flaming worship is aglow.

- Vernon Grounds

My friend, Jerry Driesens

After a long fight with cancer our dear friend Jerry goes home to be with the Lord in heaven. For now, we are robbed of Jerry and his love for us, his zest for life and the outdoors, and his beautiful example of the Christian life. I know he's in the sunlight of eternal happiness which has always shined brightly in his eyes. God our Lord "brightens" everything. And when everything becomes darkest - for what's as dark as the grave - God truly "brightens." And so it's this promise of God we cling to; "For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus."

Biking with Joe

Yesterday I went biking with Joe (pictured below) and his neighbor. We rode about a 30 mile loop through Chatfield, up to Titan road and back North on Wadsworth. Most of the time I ride with Joe at the Y... in a cycling class. We go pretty slow there, and not very far.

Health Care "Reform"

In the words of John Lennon, "Imagine all the people, living for today." Yea, but what if I get sick tomorrow? Don't worry, tranquilizers let you go around with your head held... high. And WOW, have we got some good dispensaries now. But the new health care plan really is okay because we'll all be in poverty after this. Poverty is helpful in medicine. If you have it, the doctor cures you faster!

The fig tree may not bud

The route to God never takes us around our problems. We can either force something that isn't there, and be under huge pressure to improve and by our will of strength try to change, or we celebrate God's grace. In Habakkuk 3:17-19 you can read:

Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls
yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
The Sovereign LORD is my strength;
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
he enables me to go on the heights.

Blue Dogs

Just change parties John. You wanted compromise but where did it get you? Now look what every Colorado citizen is facing:

Currently, the U.S. Debt is estimated at:

$13,050,588,009,652.62

Every Coloradan shares in this debt to the tune of:

$42,350.18

Government Motors

Turns out the new "GM" volt isn't turning out to be the plug-in electric as promised. Read Here. I guess I'll put my money in Ford. At least they deliver what they say they will.

Afternoon in October

Here's another fine poem of Dr. Vernon Grounds.

For this day's glory. God above,
My heart rejoices.
My breath, enraptured, mingles with
The woodland's voices
In ecstatic prayer.

Of maple's flame and chestnut's amber
Sing I, O God.
A copse's coloured aisles and nave
Form Thine abode;
Thou broodest there.

For sight of mounts bedizened
Humbly I praise.
Upon their slopes, reflected now,
Thy grandeur plays.
I hush; I stare.

Today we delve into the seas;
We penetrate the stratosphere;
We uproot mountains ruthlessly;
We smash the hills and atoms here.

And notwithstanding finite bounds
And limits to our mastery,
Without conceit we claim the right
To rank ourselves, O God, with Thee.

More on Herman Lake

Chris took this photo of me up at Herman Lake on Saturday. Hiking up to a place like this is a lot like exercise, which of course I need. You know, I may not jog or play tennis, but I'm a very brisk eater! Chocolate Gelato is a favorite. I do like to hike, but I don't believe in jogging. When I die, I want it to be from an illness.

How to balance the budget? - tilt the country!

A constituent called his congressman and asked, "How long does it take the government to spend a hundred billion?" The congressman, busy for the moment on another phone said, "Just a minute."
The constituent said, "I figured," and hung up.

I know one congressman left Washington for good, and many more are on the way out. There's nothing left to steal!

Spring Song

Here is one of Dr. Grounds poems which I really liked. Although, the poem may leave you cold if you don't recognize what God has done. For me, it deeply touches my heart and captures my mind.

Blossoms are beautiful
Blossoms are white,
Over the orchard - wall
Wind - spawned tonight.

Blossoms are beautiful,
Blossoms are cheap,
Crushed, when tomorrow dawns,
By dull - eyed sheep.

Life, too, is beautiful;
Life too, is cheap:
Cities are atomized,
Gaunt Rachels weep.

Ah, world of bloom and bomb,
Precious thou art:
For thee with hands fast - nailed
God broke His heart.

More hiking in Colorado

Hiking down from Herman Lake last week, we had some very nice views. However there were so many dogs brought up there by so many people, I found myself looking down all the time to avoid stepping in something. One guy avoided the pooper-scooper laws by dressing his dog in a tree suit. I asked another guy what his dog's name is. He said, "I think it's Down Boy."

When I wasn't looking down I was looking up at this; Torrey's Peak was rising above the ridge to the West. One more reason to live in Colorado!

Hike to Herman Lake

Our little group hiked up Herman's Gulch Trail to Herman's Lake today. When we got to the lake and sat down for lunch, these five girls and their five dogs decided to have lunch right next to us. One of the girls kindly offered to take a group picture of us. When she put her sandwich down on a rock she commanded her pooch: "don't touch it." Before she could point the camera in our direction the sandwich was gulped down whole by her dog. A little later she called the dog to her but he completely ignored her. I suspect the dog was bred by a waiter. He never came when she called him, and he tasted her food.

The hike up was beautiful. We enjoyed this view of the Continental Divide and Pettingell Peak all the way up. Herman's Gulch Trail runs concurrently with the Continental Divide Trail for 3 or so miles I think.

This was the only cloud on the way down. The weather was fantastic at 12,500 feet or so, even as late as October 16! We did encounter a little snow from earlier last week, but overall the trail was great.

Nancy met us a little later in the morning and then after the hike we all went to Idaho Springs and enjoyed some really good homemade Gelato.

Taxes

Back to Will Rogers for more words of wisdom uttered in 1934: "Finding things to tax is becoming quite a problem. You see when taxes first started, (who started 'em anyhow?) Noah must have taken into the ark two taxes, one male and one female, and did they multiply bountifully! Next to guinea pigs, taxes must have been most prolific of animals."

Well as it turned out, 76 years later there is plenty more to tax. Why, in Denver we have a head tax! For crying out loud! Now that Congress has left with no tax bill we get the old one Bush tossed out. Guess what? The tax bracket going up the most is the lowest bracket! It goes up 5%. Who is hitting the poor people on the head now?

Drilling off shore again

In the words of Will Rogers, "If you ever injected truth into politics, you'd have no politics." He also said, "If stupidity got us into this mess, then why can't it get us out?"

Autumn Matins in the Rockies

If in after years my eyes
Must blind become or dim,
Ah, may I still see sun-up, Lord,
From this high canyon's rim;

And aspen making mountain slopes
A gleaming surge of gold,
A glory which the guardian pines
In changeless green enfold;

And all these sky-upbearing peaks
With day-dawn pink aglow,
Like kings who proudly wrap themselves
In robes of ermine snow;

And deep, deep down a shimmering streak,
The river's twisting track.
Ah, God, this range can lightly bear
A continent on its back!

So paint upon my mind, I pray,
This cloudless, shining morn
That old and far-away I still
Can thank Thee I was born

- Vernon Grounds

Funerals

This yard sale brought new thoughts to my demented mind. The new economy has changed everything. With the cost of funerals today, going down is going up. The best way to get somebody to live is to lean over and whisper the cost of a funeral in his ear. The way things are going there is one smoker in Washington who will no doubt be buried in a flip-top coffin!

Views of Colorado

Hiking in the Mosquito Range has its rewards. This view of the West side of Quandry Peak from the base of Pacific Peak was a nice one. Now the snow is starting to dust the high country and I'll have to wait for late spring to enjoy more of these views. Unless I strap on the back country skis... hmmm.

More on fire

It rained last night. And, even though it still smells like a campfire and there is no visible smoke, it appears that the fire is out. The hogback is blackened and nature has taken its course, or maybe some careless human. Anyway, it looks okay now.

FIRE!!

We had to go to the store this afternoon and on the way back I took this photo at Wadsworth and Deer Creek. The winds picked up and so did the fire. Of course Nancy's birthday is on Monday and I couldn't resist the temptation. I reminded her that getting old has its advantages. Your friends can come to your birthday party and warm themselves around the cake. She said, "I don't want a cake, I want to get something at Dairy Queen." It's still getting closer to our house.

C-470, Wadsworth Fire, near my house!

This fire is about 1 mile from our house. I took the photo from the community mail box down the street on Independence St. It was burning yesterday afternoon at the far end of this ridge near the entrance to the Lockheed-Martin facility. This morning when I got up it smelled like a campfire burning and there were red glows and burning sections I could easily see in the dark.

This is a closeup view and apparently it's burning on the other side too. Hopefully it won't burn the hogback behind our Trailmark division. However, it's certainly headed in that direction. I'm not sure yet what's being done to control it, if anything. There is no evidence of anyone working on it.

U.S. Health Care Plan

Let me get this straight. We're going to be "gifted" with a health care plan we are forced to purchase and fined if we don't. It's written by a committee whose chairman says he doesn't understand it, passed by a Congress that hasn't read it but exempts themselves from it, to be signed by a president who smokes, with funding administered by a treasury chief who didn't pay his taxes, to be overseen by a surgeon general who is obese, and financed by a country that's broke!

The Senate has but one rule, which is that the Senate will do whatever it wants whenever it wants to. The good news is, the public has but one rule, which is that it will elect whoever it wants every couple of years.

Adlai Stevenson said...

According to Adlai Stevenson, "An Independent is someone who wants to take the politics out of politics." Good luck. Stevenson also said, "Change is inevitable. Change for the better is a full-time job." So get busy people!

Take a nap

Sometimes work takes on new meaning. You work hard, long hours, try to make a difference but at the end of the day, and it's still the same... that new normal everyone talks about. So, a nap may really be in order. Treat yourself today!

Cabin in the woods

Nothing bugs a woman more than when friends drop in and see the house as it generally is! The trail to Mohawk Lake goes by this old cabin. Evidently, you can spend the night there and enjoy the wood stove inside, along with places to sit and sleep (plywood). I suppose it would be cozy warm on a winter night and be a perfect place for another adventure. It might also be a nice place for hearing mice in the middle of the night! I think in cabin you can scratch wherever it itches.

A Cutthroat

Saturday, as I was sitting by Mohawk Lake, I couldn't help notice this Cutthroat Trout. He was swimming near the shore snapping up the insects carelessly flying too close to the water. There were some fishermen nearby trying to catch these guys. After watching them, I decided that there are sport fishermen, and then there are those who catch fish. I told one guy, "there's nothing you can do if you're worm ain't trying!"

A reflection

We should be able to speak of drawing a thought, just as we speak of drawing a breath. We draw thoughts from the Word of God and from others. In one sense it holds true that a believer is never more than a reflection of Christ. But what a reflection it could be! We do have a unique and special relationship with Him. For one thing, we see Christ; in His Word, and in the lives of others. He is reflected there.

Mohawk Lake

Our group hiked up to Mohawk Lake yesterday. It was a great hike and the weather was really nice. When we got to the mid way point I took this photo of our destination... the high ridge just this side of the far mountain! We still had a ways to go. The trail wound its way up these rocky crags to the lake perched above.

Below is a shot of some of our group coming down from upper Lake Mohawk.

Here we are on the hike back down. We stopped at this little creek which soon will be frozen.

Mohawk Lake is a lovely spot. It is incredible that God has created such beautiful places to enjoy here in Colorado. Even the trees carry on the most pleasant, the most refreshing conversation. It lulls the external senses and awakens the inner ones.

Unemployment

Unemployment isn't all that bad. When you get up in the morning, you're already at work. Unemployment is due to a shortage of money to pay people who work because these people have no money to buy things that could be made if they got paid to make things. And these people look forward to the yawn of a new day! So, let's extend their unemployment benefits another year!