fall

Somehow

/ Cliff / 5 Comments

I am noun made whole
by your verb made flesh

accompany my spring

flower my summer

come to my falls and
envelop my winter

all grass leaps for your laughter

all fires cry for your breath

all trees ache for your mystery

all water boils at our death

soil me with your presence
and cleanse me with your smile

leave me all the better
and stay with me awhile

9/23/10

/ Cliff / Leave a comment

Well, it was another evening of mountain biking! I went to what has become my favorite ride of this season.

I got out of the truck and looked up at these aspen trees…

Soon into the ride, I had to stop, pull my phone out, and try to capture some of the color I continue to see develop on this trail week in and week out:

I wish my phone took better pictures sometimes! The red here really popped, I thought, even to my color insensitive (color blind) eyes.

One of the things that I love about mountain biking the same trail, again and again, — if it has challenging sections — is how you can monitor your fitness progress over a period of time. Tonight, I made it all the way up and through a challenging section that I had yet, this year, to make it all the way through without clipping out of my pedals. At the top of the challenge, I had to catch my breath. Throwing my head back these trees looked especially green, against the blue sky.

It was just a great ride tonight on all counts. Some of the soft dirt, with the help of moisture and a lack of traffic, was quite firm tonight. I especially liked the leaf fall that is just starting on this little section of the trail. In a few weeks, I can imagine it will be a bed of yellow.

After getting back from tonight’s ride, I showered very quickly. I wanted to head back out to see tonight’s harvest moon. I was disappointed that it was up, before the sun had completely set, but it was still worth the trip out. Perhaps it makes a better photograph when there is still a bit of sunlight available to light up the landscape anyway. (I know nothing about moon photography, other than I’ve heard it is tough!)

Is it easy to tell this picture was NOT taken with my cell phone camera?

While taking this picture, a somewhat creepy young fellow pulled up beside me in his pickup. I had seen him circling slowly around on the same dirt road I was parked on. His greeting just seemed a bit off, and he made me nervous. I guess he just wanted to strike up a conversation and tell me about the great deer he had seen over yonder. Having watched too many Dexter episodes lately I was sure he was going to pull a gun from off the seat and do a thrill kill for himself, but instead he pulled up some camouflaged binoculars instead and looked away. I’ve been noticing what I imagine to be hunters, out scoping out sites. I don’t know when hunting season starts, but it will likely overlap with my mountain biking. Ugh… I better start riding with an orange vest in a week or two.

Tomorrow night I’m going to chase the moon again. I believe it will come up a bit later, after the sun has actually gone down. I want to see that flaming red-orange ball surface just above the horizon line.