A Week of Weather

May 24th - 
A lovely hike in the hills of my hometown. 

Homemade dinner of vegetables and broth.

There's just something about dining in the mountains...

Started out the afternoon in shorts and a t-shirt

& ended with three layers on by the time we returned to the vehicles.

May 21st - 
Was introduced to a new-to-me hike above Manitou Springs. 

Almost climbed it as opposed to hiked it, as the grade was steep.

May 22nd - 
Did the hike for the second time - this time at dusk and
with different company. 

We wanted to see the lights above the city. 

What we failed to remember was our headlamps,

 so heading down in the dark was a little dangerous. 

So was the thought of the mountain lion recently seen roaming through town. 

We scared each other with what-ifs and did-you-hears. 

But the view was unsurpassed.

May 19th - 

Tried to climb, tried to 

avoid the weather by heading south. 

But it hit there, too, and right above where we were. 

Thunderheads rolling with - yes, thunder - meant lightning was probably close. 

Too close when you're carrying a rack of metal gear. 

The sun is deceiving. By the time we'd hiked back to the car

it was gone and those dark black cirrus clouds blanketed the sky. 

Drops hit the windshield, diverting our attention from the cliff walls...

 

To apartment walls. 

We took them from bland beige...

To beautiful blue.

A little too pastel for me, but 

everyone else loves it. 

So I'm gonna live with it for a while

and see if it grows on me.

If not, I'll just paint again. 

(I do love to paint). 

Found a new-to-me chair.

Exactly what I wanted. 

Recliner, without looking like that fat, overstuffed kind

that could swallow a fat man whole.  

 

Lovely place to read to the kids. 

Where the Red Fern Grows, currently. 

Also added the gallery wall on the right. 

May 26th - 

Braved the winds that took the state by storm.

Kids, parents, Tim, and I

back at 11 Mile.

Mom and Dad had wanted to see me climb.

Boys just wanted to find something in the river. 

After two hours of the wind

whipping stinging grains of sand across 

backs of legs and arms

we called it quits.

But only until next weekend... 

Lesson Learned: If the weather doesn't cooperate, beautiful things can still happen on the inside.