Waiting

Waiting
In the hospital hallway an oil painting
Of a plant and pears
Scattered on a patio table

Still life in muted sunlight

Sipping tall chai tea
Inner courtyard outside
Surrounded by windows
Finch eating under my feet

Reading poems written down on rocks and trees
By old Chinese legends
Telling tales of cold mountain trails
And waiting with the moon

A man brings water in a pitcher
Pours upon the potted plants
It seeps through the dark soil
And leaks out upon the tiles

I get up to go back
The door opens automatically in front of me
Before I can reach the handle
Caught off guard again
Inside all seems foreign

On the monitor screen
Mountains and valleys form endlessly
Everflowing in peaceful succession
Waiting for their stories to be written

Oregon

Oregon of greens and golds
Of summer rains and unfurled folds
Of crested peaks and heavy snows
Of biting winds and sand that blows

Of desert lands with crumbled rock
To the blue mountains and hardy stock
Of foggy shores with velvet fern
To Astoria with bow and stern

And in those days a driving through
As trees a blur and worries few
Along the road a traveled on
Past endless forests gazed upon

Past rivers' wide unending view
With gentle banks and crossings few
Waters here hold center stage
Their words spelled out across the page

Past Shasta's mount and wonderland
Into the meadows from God's hand
By Klamath Lake we roll along
To glory in the Bend of song

One sister lost, two sisters found
Three Sisters rise above the ground
And on to dams and bridges built
Where waters swirl and worlds tilt

We make past Dayton's quilted hills
As afternoon sunlight spills
To Potlatch barns and Coeur D'alene
Pastoral scenes that still remain

Past the lands of Nez Perce
Through Lookout Pass Montana way
To Helena's blankets of snow
Where night's as soft as candle glow

Back to Sandpoint's frozen sky
Through ghosted trees we float on by
Where whitetails bounce by Curlew Lake
We gather together for goodness sake

To the west and Puget Sound
Along the coast and back on down
And back and forth and round and round
Where rainforest springs and falls abound

Up to Eugene town we go again
For time with traveled friends we spend
To center square wares bought and sold
And rustic comfort in houses old

So many mountains and so much green
So many memories and so much seen
Thank God my paths of days so long
Took me on the trails of Oregon

Alta Meadow

I finally got around to finishing the video for this overnighter in Sequoia National Park back in August haha. It took me a while to figure out which direction to go with it. In the end, I chose to turn up the dramatic meter quite a bit :) so enjoy!

The dust from harvest I leave behind

And smoke from all surrounding hill

For lofty meadows to clear the mind

And building storms to slightly chill

My journey begins in a woolly wood

Through forests deep in shadow dark

Where stream side clearings long I stood

In glory of each vibrant park

Oh how the mountain air so clean

Is needed now within my chest

And resting here on steep serene

Under this ruck my heaving breast

I make my humble traveler's home

Tucked away with hearth and fire

Where deer are likely apt to roam

With stars to ease and help retire

For in the morn with water clear

I'll look to gain the lands beyond

And make them ever oh so near

Like reflecting back upon a pond

As rock faces rise and water falls

And the path winds round its way

To sights of grand Valhalla's halls

Forever long I'm here to stay

Fair meadow stretching to the sky

To thunder clouds and tufted hair

With granite dust sparkle the eye

And flowers enough to hold one there

Bewilderment the entrancing tune

Of mountain and sky and field and tree

Tranquil as the boulders strewn

At rest at last below the scree

Rains fall as scattered notes

Cooling the face flushed and red

Quenching the lilies among the oats

Who's beauty quiets like words unsaid

In the Beginning

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth
The earth was formless and empty
And darkness covered the deep waters
And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters

Then God said "Let there be light"
And there was light
And God saw that the light was good
Then he separated the light from the darkness
God called the light "day" and the darkness "night"

And evening passed and morning came
Marking the first day

Then God said "Let there be a space between the waters
To separate the waters of the heavens from the waters of the earth"
And that is what happened
God made this space to separate the waters of the earth
From the waters of the heavens
God called the space "sky"

And evening passed and morning came
Marking the second day

The God said "Let the waters beneath the sky flow together
Into one place so dry ground may appear"
And that is what happened
God called the dry ground "land" and the waters "seas"
And God saw that it was good

Then God said "Let the land sprout with vegetation
Every sort of seed bearing plant
And trees that grow seed bearing fruit
These seeds will then produce
The kinds of plants and trees from which they came"

And that is what happened
The land produced vegetation
All sorts of seed bearing plants
And trees with seed bearing fruit
Their seeds produced plants and trees of the same kind

And God saw that it was good

Musical Intermission IV

Bloggin's been slow to say the least. So here's a little musical intermission to break the silence.

Haven't been to a concert in a long time. But a few weeks ago, the wife and I were able to witness the power that is..... Hillsong

Not my video, but this was similar to our view of the show

Coarsegold Creek

Available in 720 HD

First,
You feel the breeze.
Easy and gentle as a baby's sleeping breath.
The ravages that storms can bring
Don't occur in these parts.
Semi-arid, semi-drought conditions are the norm.

No temperate rainforest for the Sierra's.
Hot, peaceful almost weather to say the least.
With sometimes enough wind to stir the oak leaves and rattle the grasses.
The sound of flags and banners flapping in the wind.
Raised outposts spread upon the southern boundary waters,
Of the mother-lode of the old empires.

As the rains sweep clean the gardens low,
We turn our eyes towards the hills in velvet.
The sound of a thousand bells in the distance.
The fountains welling up in the ephemeral.

Pumping to the heartbeat of the hillsides.
Lifted with the springs as the mountain releases.
Thundering in brooks tumbling over coarse gold.
Reverence brought to the surface.

Sons and daughters racing American Paints
Down evergreen hills christened in succession.
Hoofs shod with rose quartz
To grind the granite and stir the dust.

Generations rushing at our feet
With the power to move mountains.
As if to outrun the words.
Stories of grace and mercy and victory
Following one after another.
Welcoming those who journey West.

Spirit breathes life into these moments.
Floated by the currents and pulled along.
Cooling this furnace fired glaze
That's sealed in hopes and prayers.
Grains showing through the polish.

And as these waters rise,
They gather stones to swirl holes in boulders.
They create light reflecting off the surface,
To shine above the fog settling in the valley.

What is a creek, becomes a river.
Becomes echoes in the wilderness.
Cheers of thanks between deep, deep breaths.
Taking in the cool sweetness of it all.

These seasons turn, and turn once more.
Each time wearing grooves upon the surface.
Making round from what was square.
Bringing peace like a creek born again.

Through glens and dales and hills and streams,
The gardens shake awake from dreams.
To follow down to river bend.
The greens with whitened lace to mend.

For little Dashiell. My brother's boy. Welcome to the world young man.

Manzanita

Button Bush

A Spring Day Out With The Emberlit

Only took one pic this time I guess. Just a quick outing on a nice day testing out my new Emberlit stove. Burns through wood hot and fast. Nice little addition to the kit I would say.

Thanks for watching

Available in 720HD