Friendship

Friendship is a special state of being with another. I think of it as another flavor of love, different than your soul mate or sister, but just as real. The interesting thing about friendship is that it is entirely optional. There are no strings of family ties or marriage vows. The only thing binding you to this other person is a genuine bond of goodwill to the other. I am lucky to have a couple friends of this caliber that I have known a lifetime. They are the ones that endure through the hard times and even when apart for a time, the conversation picks right up as if it never stopped. If you are lucky enough to have an enduring friendship than you are lucky indeed.

Amigos
Two reservation dogs square off and discover that they are friends with the touch of a nose.
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Friendship
Two men in blue plaid venture off from their wives in a brotherly embrace to share a moment of friendship.

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Less Traveled Road

The sky was grumbling and growling as I made my way on the less traveled road. The wind was buffeting the truck and a gust brought the sweet scent of rain in through the window and moistened my face with its coolness. The pickup crested one hill and plunged down another before laboring up the next one. I was heading right for the churning clouds. It was time to stop and watch as the line of pines marched off into the maw of the storm.

Less Traveled Road
A black and white landscape photo of a back country dirt road in Colorado stretching toward a stormy sky with silhouettes of pines marching in the horizon.
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By the way, I have a free drawing for two photographs going on over at Facebook. If you are not yet following me on Facebook now is the time. All of my Facebook followers who RSVP the 500 Fans Celebration Event will be eligible! Good luck! Deadline is midnight August 27, 2010.

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The Grass is Always Greener

The ranch is resting. The last two summers the climate has been generous with abundant rain. The number of cattle has been reduced to allow the land to heal and replenish itself. The high mountain valley is getting greener and the grasses are reseeding, reducing the noxious weeds that like to take over in an overgrazed pasture. The old cattle trail scars are disappearing from the hillsides and are being replaced with trails of prairie flowers. A few horses are lucky enough to be able to reach the yellow flowers between the rails of a fence. And the golden seed heads of tall prairie grass rustle and sway in the sweet breeze of a Rocky Mountain dawn.

Sweeter Grass
A dark horse finds the grass greener on the other side of the fence. Rocky Mountains of Colorado.
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Golden Grass
A western fence transects the amber grass heads in the early morning golden light as they gently sway in the breeze. Rocky Mountains of Colorado.
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Farmers Market

Going to the Farmers Market is one of my favorite summer time activities. I love looking at the rows of fruit and vegetables just waiting for a taste. Anyone that has ever eaten a peach off of a tree or sweet corn picked within hours knows what I am talking about. Today's corporate farms have nothing over these small farmers when it comes to taste and nutrition. Tomatoes happen to be one of my favorites and I love them paired with sweet corn. What is your favorite?

Red Tomato
There's nothing like a fresh red tomato from the Farmers Market. This photo would be a great addition to a kitchen setting.
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Farmers Market
A gray and rainy day at the Pike Place Market in Seattle highlights the bright red market sign and clock.
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Hummingbird Repose

The other day I was watering plants on our deck and spotted this little hummer girl sitting peacefully and enjoying the day. I was so taken aback by her unusual behavior. Most of our broad-tailed hummingbirds are blatantly feisty, constantly diving and chattering over front row seats at the three feeders that I refill a couple times a day. (We go through over ten pounds of sugar a week!)

I went inside to get my camera, thinking she would surely be gone when I returned. But she was still there, tilting her head and blinking at me. She sat there for several minutes completely unperturbed by my close proximity. Then a big gust of wind blew her right off her perch and she was gone, leaving me to ponder what I had just witnessed.

Hummingbird Repose
A larger than life size photo of a female broad-tailed hummingbird with green iridescent wing feathers rests next to a pine in Colorado.
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Wild Rose

The wild rose found in Colorado's mountain woodlands has five pale pink petals. I also find it growing along the dusty road and often think of trying to transplant it to my perennial garden, where only the hardiest plants survive the cold and long winters. This delicate flower of the rose family is very tough. I have seen in growing up in the middle of the road only to be scraped off each winter by the snow plow and emerge in the spring unscathed, albeit a bit shorter. Maybe this year I'll try moving one to the good life of a watered garden and occasional weeding. Enjoy!

Wild Rose
A close up of a wild rose in petal pink with golden yellow stamens catches the light.
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Colorado Horse Country

Summer afternoons in the Colorado Rocky Mountains are typically prone to thunderstorms as the heat from the plains rises and meets the cold mountain air. This afternoon was not different. I was on my way home and my neighbor's beautiful horses were out in the front pasture enjoying the sweet green grass of the high mountain valley. I could not resist their sweet innocence and elegant forms as a thunderstorm rumbled in the distance and I stopped to photograph them. The wind kicked up and tousled their manes. A little brown bird was perched on the back of the gray and white appaloosa hitching a free ride. I was taken in with the view and lost myself in the herd as another perfect Colorado Rocky Mountain day lazily unfolded.

Horse Country
Two appaloosa horses graze in a green mountain valley in northern Colorado under a storm threatening sky.
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Shyness
A beautiful dun horse shyly turns her face as the wind blows her mane and the sky turns dark in the northern Colorado mountains. If you look closely you might be able to just make out the tiny brown bird on the gray appaloosa on the left.
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Pretty Girl
A pretty dun horse stands at a fence looking for a treat in the northern Colorado Rocky Mountains under a stormy sky.
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Tropical Beauty Hibiscus

Every year I buy plants to decorate my deck and make it into our favorite outdoor room. Even though we only get to use it a few months every year we always look forward to outdoor dining and relaxing. This year I found this tropical hibiscus at the grocery and could not resist that beautiful coral red color. It has given me one or two new blooms every day all summer. I intend to bring it inside for the winter. Does anyone have any tips? Thanks everyone!

Tropical Beauty
A tropical hibiscus in luscious coral red on a dark background holds its blooms briefly, but the large blossoms are eye stoppers when fully open.
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Yellow Sweet Peas

The breeze gently stirs the fragrant wild bouquet of yellow pea creating the sound of sheets stirring in the night. I stoop to gather in the subtle perfume and feel the soft blue green leaves tickle my nose. A sudden urge envelopes me to simply lie down on the covered hillside and sink beneath the green blanket of blossoms. A lazy bee impossibly hovers nearby and adds his own splash of yellow to the melee. The moment continues and is forever part of me.

Sweet Peas
Wild yellow sweet peas, a common wildflower that grows on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains, is found growing in a lush profusion of blue green leaves. This plant also goes by the names; Yellow Pea, False Lupine, and Buck Bean.
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