A castle of dreams

It stands, a monument of time and days gone by, a deteriorating reminder of love, loss and tragedy. 

Built for his family in 1909 by the West Virginia transplant John Brisben Walker, it was meant to be a haven, a treasury of laughter and vivacity that would call the family back to it's hearth in times of trouble.  

 With stunning vistas of Red Rocks and the high plains on one side

 and the stalwart Rocky mountains on the other, it is no wonder that the entrepreneur chose this spot for his private domain.  

Sadly, the castle walls had not time to settle before Walker's wife and partner was taken from his side, leaving him bereft on his mountain aerie.  

 A couple of years later, the goddess Fortuna visited them once more, dashing what was left of the would-be king's hopes for the future on Mt. Falcon. Lightning struck the home and broke what was left of the man's grief-stricken heart.      

Packing up his four motherless children, he abandoned the charred remains of the hideaway and extinguished his plans to build a summer home for the President on the neighboring high point. Having lost another fortune and with WWI darkening the horizon, he left Colorado for the last time. And though his successful ventures had given him the means to build his dream home on Morrison Mountain, John Walker lost his golden touch and died penniless at age 83.

  The foundation of the house still remains, beckoning hikers of all ilk who wish to behold the stone tribute. Fortunately not all of the businessman's schemes were reduced to ash. It was because of his vision that the Denver Mountain Park system was established and it was his land purchases that founded Jefferson County Open Space which has given pleasure to so many Denver & Jefferson County Residents.

   Canopied by azure skies, you will find a quiet dignity dwells in the broken walls and tumbling chimneys. 

And if you pause to lend ear...  

  the whooping of children playing amidst the trees, the call of a mother to come in for supper and the echo of a father's footsteps descending from his observatory can almost be heard by those willing to listen. 

Tongues of gold

If you look at my header, a sliver of gold laps toward the heavens between the evergreen on the mountains in the background. They are the same type of tree as in the foreground... the Aspen. The Aspen is tasked with filling in the woods of Colorado after they have been ravaged with bark beetle (and thus cut down) or fire. They are known for their rapid growth and long lives and of course their beautiful yellow and golden leaves in the fall which is even more pronounced when it is framed by the brilliant green of the Colorado Blue Spruce.

Their silver trunks are stuff of legend for it is only with the stake of an aspen that it was believed you could kill a vampire or a werewolf. A bigger stake could be used to drive into the grave of a condemned person to keep them from rising from the dead.   

It was purported to be a tree that could ward off evil spirits which is why it was often planted near dwellings. The small heart shape leaves shiver melodically in the wind and it's no wonder that in Eastern Slavic Apocryphal literature that a legend sprung up that it was in an Aspen that Judas Iscariot hung himself and the leaves have trembled with fear ever since.*

Golden and beautiful against the azure blur skies, the Aspen is the perfect tree for the Halloween season!

*Legend: Wikipedia link

The Road Goes Ever On

Our day in the mountains gifted me with a camera full of gold and green and memories to cherish. The sun was golden warm and the path was quiet. We headed out listening to the call of hawk and the song of sparrow. The laughter of a little boy filtered down the road behind us and we turned to see a father and son pell melling it down the path, the tot almost head-over-heeling as he came near us. The father slowed the boy down, warning him not to interfere with picture taking, but of course we weren't bothered. They galloped off and I watched them head off into the hills, the song of Frodo and Bilbo taking hold in my head. 

The Road goes ever on and on

Down from the door where it began.

Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,

Pursuing it with eager feet,

Until it joins some larger way

Where many paths and errands meet.

And whither then? I cannot say.

The Road goes ever on and on

Out from the door where it began.

Now far ahead the Road has gone,

Let others follow it who can!

Let them a journey new begin,

But I at last with weary feet

Will turn towards the lighted inn,

My evening-rest and sleep to meet.
~J.R.R. Tolkien

Monday, Monday

Every other day, every other day

Every other day of the week is fine, yeah

But whenever Monday comes, but whenever Monday comes

A-you can find me crying all of the time

When I was girl I used to sit by the stereo with a hairbrush nestled close by my mouth bellowing out Karen Carpenter songs at the top of my lungs. The albums (remember those? the large black disks that you could actually watch turn and you could play backwards?) were my father's but we were allowed to play them as long as we were careful to keep fingertips off of the vinyl and never, never, never, let them drop onto the floor (oh, there was pain of DEATH if we let the albums drop onto the floor!!!).

These weren't the only songs I remember from childhood- it's just that she has the famous 'Rainy days and Mondays' song that most people remember when they think of Karen Carpenter. And I sound quite a lot like her (I was a music major in college and I was a singer for most of my adult life). But The Mamas and The Papa's 'Monday, Monday' is another classic from my childhood which I love so I thought I'd make that the theme today. Little depressing but Monday seems to get a bad rap that way. It's hard to find an upbeat Monday song (in fact is there one? I mean a GOOD one.) 

 Mondays aren't so bad for me. I am off every other Monday and on the other week I work a 5 hour day. That's because on Tuesday I will work a 10 or 11 hour day and we at the library will be working our asses (excuse my English!) off because the people in the neighborhood will be jonesing for computers and the holds they put on over the weekend. So I'll take Monday... somebody write me a bluesy Tuesday song!  

So theoretically I try to get some writing done on Monday. Theoretically. But there is also housework to be done, a son to pick up from school, errands to be run and blogposts to post. So we'll see if I get any writing done today. I hope to. 

 But this was Saturday in the Rocky Mountains on our way up Mount Evans (although we didn't go to the top. We'd had to park further down than we'd thought because of hunting season).

We were in the mountains to view the changing of the guard. It happens at the equinox... The god of darkness, Tanist, (in Celtic mythology) defeats the god of light, Lugh. It must be a fantastic battle because things change dramatically. In other words, Autumn comes and soon thereafter Samhain- which is when Tanist will take his throne as Dark King. (Makes me shiver just thinking about it!)

 Fall is a bittersweet time for me. I love the beauty of fall, the crisp scent of drying leaves... sap eking out of the bark. But the change of season is difficult for me (I have suffered from seasonal depression for many years) and I know what cometh... lurking around  the corner like Lugh's dark spirit!

 Nevertheless, how can anyone not appreciate this heart stopping beauty? 

What did you do over the weekend? Get any writing done? Or did you put it off because Mother Nature beckoned like I did? 

Ch-ch-ch-changes and why DO I blog????

So we went to the mountains yesterday and my new banner (do you like???) is just a taste of what we saw (I'll be posting them in the next day or so).  I am still not ready for fall but I am ready to accept that we are heading toward winter and I fully appreciated the beauty of the day. I was also deeply grateful for the long warm fall we having again but... 

Folks, if the significant changes in the weather patterns don't convince you that there is something deeply wrong then nothing will. Here in Colorado, I think we have been fortunate that we have experienced mostly good weather. Where it was really dry before, we have had extra rain, our warm weather has lengthened and the cold weather is not nearly as cold before (I am not sure the ski resorts would be as excited as I am about this!) but that's good news to a warm weather baby like me. I dread the cold! (though I love Christmas as you shall see and be tortured with!!!) But not everyone has been so lucky! In the last year alone the US has had $35 billion in damages from the extreme weather conditions and the government is now in the process of making sure we won't have the money to help communities who have been flooded or destroyed by tornadoes. Could be rough times ahead! 

 

At any rate, I thought I would take a stab at the prompt for yesterday... briefly. 

I began blogging because of NaBloWriMo. Amy Kalinchu of Craft-E Revolution suggested I start a blog and join NaBlo. Why would I want to do that? Because you're a writer and it's a good way to get good writing habits started of writing every day. It seemed logical so I did. That's how this blog started. I wasn't writing for anyone but myself and I didn't really comment on anyone else's blog. I didn't know the proper etiquette and was a little taken aback when I got comments. I ranted a bit and did some real writing on my fiction work here.  It was a real work in progress. I started making some connections though and saw the benefits of blogging. The blogging community is a fine one! 

Last year after NaBlo, I did a Blogfest and connected with more writers and I quickly made a whole bunch of friends. The community has been a warm one! I enjoy all my friends immensely.

I now have my blog as more of a display for my pictures, as you will see. I do comment on the world around me occasionally and I do sometimes insert some of my writing, but since writing is a passion that takes time which I hope to be paid for some day I don't want to offer it up for someone to steal. And since putting hot topics up for the public to view could wind up in the hands of my bosses at work, I try not to be too intense publicly. I save that for twitter actually! lol. So on this blog, you will generally find the expression of my eye, perhaps if I had had the passion of an artist with the paint brush. So I hope you enjoy and stop by now and then to comment! 

A final look back at spring!

 

Day ONE of NABLOWRIMO annnnnd....

Happy Blogiversary to me! 

Happy Blogiversary to me! 

Happy Blogiversary to meeee! 

Happy Blogiversary to me! 

(Oh yeah it's a video of fireworks! Nothing but the best!!!)
So... it's my blogiversary and I have been racking my brains on what I should do to celebrate. You might tell me it's too late but... not so! I have the entire month to celebrate my blogiversary! Why is that? Because I began blogging on October 1, 2008 (Three years! OMG!!!) for National Blog Writer's Month (NABLOWRIMO!) and since it's an entire month of blogging I think I can easily say, I can celebrate my Blogiversary for the entire month! So, there. And since I am a mere 2 followers away from having 200 followers there is plenty to celebrate!!! SO WOOHOOO!!! Lots of exciting things happenin' round here. (now I just need to come up with prizes and... fun things! um, I'll keep thinking.

Shew! Where is my champagne! Oh, yeah, right here. Take a glass! It's a celebration)  And here we are kicking off NaBloWriMo and guess what? I am cheating and prepping this post on the night before because I am somewhere in the Rocky Mountains (you know pictures will follow!), enjoying Colorado blue skies, the red & golden tints of fall and fresh mountain air. (Ahhhh!!! Come on, breathe in! Can you smell the fresh pine???)

At any rate, I'll be checking in with you later but obviously I wanted to kick off the day right with an early post to this big event started.

A final shot of some of what you are missing because you are there and
I am here...

See you soon!

A secret garden...

Sometimes it feels as though I have found a secret place that has been, if not untouched, unspoilt by humans. The sounds are all of nature: bees humming, birds coohooing, trees whispering and a breaking limb as a lithe creature steps gingerly through the undergrowth...

The cute...

Sometimes you get to photograph the cute. This was one of those days! 

Smile for the camera!!!

Plus, political blogging at Meanderings of a Wandering Mind! I know I said I was going to put that stuff here, but I am still waffling. Today it's there. Anyway, good stuff from Keith Olbermann.  

On the mountaintop...

Come sit with me, my friend
with pen and paper we shall sit
and from such views we shall write
wondrous tales of
Crossing the harsh Rocky Mountains in the dead of winter,
     skeletons along the way their stories untold

Wild flower

"Diff'rence 'tween a weed 'n a flow'r is which side of the fence it's on." Back bowed, she grips the porch's wooden support to ease her heavy frame down the step, white hair waving in the wind. 

Welcome to Colorful Colorado

Saturday dawned clear and bright. The pied piper skies beckoned us toward the great outdoors and without a second thought we loaded up in the car and headed out. We didn't have far to drive (just thirty minutes!) before we were in sight of vistas that are quite breathtaking (but then many are!)

The peaks in the distance are snow-capped but the temperatures break records. A winter with little snow leaves this semi-arid climate mostly brown when it should be greening in abundance. Fire danger is already high and a careless cigarette could result in evacuation.

I gaze out at the Flatirons, amazed at the wedge shaped features behind me. Their sharp angles in contrast to the mountains beyond. They earn their name from pioneer women who felt they resembled an upended household flatiron. (the likeness more obvious when viewed farther north in central Boulder- like in this picture)

 Consisting of a similar rock (conglomerate sandstone) as the aforementioned Red Rocks amphitheater, the uplifted earth reveals stories that are nearly 300 million years in the making: the dinosaurs that roamed here, the sealife that hatched. Tales that are written in stone and will endure longer than the humans that would come along to read the biography.

  It was a busy day on the trail- the trail abuzz with conversation and bicyclists straining. The first really warm spring day awakens the hibernating Coloradans from the winter doldrums in a wave of outdoor frenzy. And warm it was, shattering the previous high temperature by 6 degrees, topping out at 84!

click on the picture to get the effect of this panorama 

But in true Colorado fashion, the weather did an about-face as swiftly as a marching band. The next day there were snowflakes fluttering to the ground! Much needed moisture but a change so dramatic that one might be excused for fearing they'd been transported to another planet.
But that is what makes Colorado so colorful- not the green landscape as they might try to advertise- (it remains brown for most of the year except for the spring and only then if we've had enough snow) but the weather.