~upon the subjects of the wind and wildlife~

All day long yesterday the wind seemed to blow like crazy.  It was weird to look out last evening and find the 14,000 ft.  mountains obscured from view because of all the dirt/dust that was being sent our way from a number of states to the south west of us.  Nothing stayed put outdoors, including outdoor furniture, plants and my already unruly "mop" of hair.  I know that I for one was pretty tired of it before the day was through.  This early morning things are much quieter and as I gaze out the kitchen window, there they are once again.  The San Juan Mountains have magically reappeared and things look pretty much back to normal.  You know, I always thought that I was used to the wind from living in Kansas for so many years.  Sometimes it seems so different here in Colorado.  Funny thing about we humans and wind.  We always figure to want the wind to blow in just the right direction and at just the right speed and at a convenient time for us.  On a hot summer's day, we want a slightly noticeable  breeze to come up and use the sweat from our bodies to provide that little cooling effect.  When the wind doesn't do as we deem the "right" thing, we pretty much complain loudly.  Human nature, I suppose.

This was the view last evening about 8:00 or so.  Some very majestic peaks were made nearly invisible to sight by the power of the wind and a whole lot of dust.

The summer is flying by us, so very fast it would seem.  Now the calendar says that we are over halfway through the month of June and truly it won't be all that long before school begins again in mid-August.  This summer is so much different than the last one was here along the Western Slopes.  My purpose here is a whole lot more focused and since I am determined to make it here living as a Coloradoan, things are going so much more smoothly.  It's not like life is absent of any trials, challenges, or hardships because there continue to be my share and then some.  But my plan is to stay the course and to not give up.  Life goes a whole lot smoother that way and I suppose the sooner we all realize that, the better off things will end up going for all of us.

We haven't seen so much of the deer this summer.  There is a small herd that frequents the field of grass growing to the north of us on the other side of the road.  They never seem to want to get very near to the road and the few times that I've tried to get a photo of them, they pretty much shy away and take out even further to the north.  The group that came through here last summer always stayed on the south side of the house and got so close to the fence that separates our house from the alfalfa field they were grazing in, that you could have almost felt the warm breath of their nostrils.  Shoot, they were so friendly that you might have expected them to knock on the door and ask if they could have a drink of water or something.  I've been thinking about why there is such a difference this summer, why the lack of wildlife so close at hand.  You know, I always figured that the deer from last June-August were sent to me.  Like a gift from God, a distraction from being so lonely and homesick in my new life here.  When I hadn't the time or opportunity yet to make new friends, I could at least look forward to their visits each morning and evening.  Their appearance gave me something else to think about, to focus upon rather than how much I missed Kansas and home.  Picture after picture I took of them and I still smile when I think of how excited I would be as I yelled to Mike....

"Oh my gosh!  They are back.  Where's my camera?"

 

 

I learned quickly to appreciate their beauty but to always remember to treat them as the wildlife that they truly are.



 Although I no longer rely on them for their companionship and ability to make my day go a whole lot better, I would still love to see them from time to time.  Perhaps later on in the summer a herd or two will come back and provide the daily entertainment that they did during the summer of 2013.  I remember the day that my camera broke and I momentarily panicked, afraid that I wouldn't be able to take any more photos.  A couple of days later, with a new camera in hand, I was back at it as I filled up an online album with the images of these wonderful creatures.

 

Well, the morning is moving along rather quickly and from the 5 hours since I began this post in the early morning darkness the wind has returned with a vengeance. The clean laundry that I hung out to dry is having a dickens of a time staying pinned to the clothesline.  The sun is shining, the sky a beautiful shade of robin's egg blue, only broken up by the presence of fluffy white clouds that are moving along rather quickly in the sky.  The flowers we have planted are surviving and a good thing that they can take the brunt of the wind that passes through here on any given day in the summertime.  They are alive and thriving.  The truth be known, so am I.  May you have a wonderful day my dear friends and family wherever this time in life should be finding you.   Our destiny awaits us on this good Tuesday, the 17th day of June.