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Archive for the ‘Nature’ Category

National Trails Day

Posted in Favorite Hikes, Favorite Places, Journeys, Nature, tagged , , , , , on June 1, 2013| 2 Comments »

      “Happy trails to you, until we meet again. Happy trails to you, keep smilin’ until then. Who cares about the clouds when we’re together? Just sing a song and bring the sunny weather’ .Happy trails to you, ’till we meet again. Some trails are happy ones, others are blue. It’s the way you ride the trail that counts, here’s a happy one for you.”  — Dale Evans

Take a Hike

Back in my youthful 40s, I did a couple of 10-miile hikes in Kauai's Waimea Canyon, aka Hawaii's Grand Canyon. -- Wikipedia Photo

Back in my youthful 40s, I did a couple of 10-miile hikes in Kauai’s Waimea Canyon, aka Hawaii’s Grand Canyon. — Wikipedia Photo

I got to sing the above lyrics last week when I attended the promotion celebration of two of  my Tucson Elementary grandsons at Coyote Elementary. It’s their school song.

I can’t hear it without an image of my childhood hero, Roy Rogers, popping into my brain. It was his theme song.

It’s also an appropriate song to sing today because of it being National Trails Day, an event that takes place annually on the first Saturday of June. This year all 50 states have planned events to celebrate it.

I did my own celebrating this morning as I took a longer-than-usual easy walk with Pepper in sight of Arizona’s Catalina Mountains. As I walked, still babying my ankle that I broke earlier this year, I thought back to when I was capable of hiking 20 miles in a day.

This morning I took delight in a blooming ocotillo, which until it flowers looks like little more than a bunch of sticks stuck together in the ground. -- Photo by Pat Bean

This morning I took delight in a blooming ocotillo, which until it flowers looks like little more than a bunch of sticks stuck together in the ground. — Photo by Pat Bean

I only did that long a hike a few times, much preferring to do a more enjoyable 10 miles, which eventually dropped to five miles as time caught up with my body. The truth, however, is that the slower my steps became the more enjoyment came with each of them.

I had time to marvel at the ladybug on the underside of a leaf, to watch the tadpoles swimming in a pool of water in a shallow brook and to take time to photograph a flitting butterfly.

So, Happy Trails to everyone, whether they be short or long, or easy or hard. It’s all good.

The Wondering Wanderer's blog pick of the day.

The Wondering Wanderer’s blog pick of the day.

Bean’s Pat: Tinkers Creek http://tinyurl.com/jw4jquu This would certainly be on my places to hike list if I lived anywhere near its Ohio location.

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Western Tanager

Posted in Birds, Journeys, Nature, tagged , , , on May 30, 2013| 1 Comment »

“Tiger got to hunt, bird got to fly, Man got to sit and wonder ‘why, why, why?’ Tiger got to sleep, bird got to land. Man got to tell himself he understand.” – Kurt Vonnegut, “Cat’s Cradle

 

Western tanager -- Wikipedia photo

Western tanager — Wikipedia photo

 

I Think I saw a Pretty Bird

            I spent most of my life totally unaware of the birds that live around us. Then I caught the bird-watching virus.

Sage Grouse: The bird that addicted me to bird watching. -- Wikipedia photo

Sage Grouse: The bird that addicted me to bird watching. — Wikipedia photo

It happened in 1999 when I was doing a newspaper story on sage grouse at Deseret Ranch in Utah. It required me to wake at an ungodly hour — even for me an early riser — and then hike a mile or so across the landscape to a sit behind a blind so I could watch male grouse show off for the gals at a lek.

“It is sort of like when the guys drag Main Street on Saturday night,” birding guide Mark Stackhouse told me.

I found the strutting, puffed out males, an awesome sight – and laughed at how most of the girls ignored the boys. From that day forward I was hooked, and these days my binoculars are usually close by.

So it was this afternoon, as I sat at tree-top level on the balcony of my third-floor apartment talking on the phone to my daughter-in-law in Texas, when a bright colored bird flew in and sat on a branch not too far away.

“OHhhhhh. A pretty bird,” I screeched into my daughter-in-law’s ear, and grabbed for by binoculars..

It was a western tanager, the first I’ve seen here at my Catalina foothills apartment. I usually see them in a more forested setting, but there are a lot of trees here, and a fountain in one of the courtyards where the birds can drink.

It’s a beautiful bird, don’t you agree?

The Wondering Wanderer's blog pick of the day.

The Wondering Wanderer’s blog pick of the day.

Bean’s Pat: Cantankerous Puffs of Adorable http://tinyurl.com/l7sphvv Juvenile green herons

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Canyonlands: Island in the Sky

Posted in Favorite Hikes, Favorite Places, Journeys, Nature, Weekly Photo Challenge, tagged , , , , , on May 24, 2013| 6 Comments »

         ” May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds.” — Edward Abbey

The view through Mesa Arch shows off a rich, red-rock background. -- Photo by Pat Bean

The view through Mesa Arch shows off a rich, red-rock background. — Photo by Pat Bean

Weekly Photo Challenge: In the Background

I always find Canyonlands National Park, located in Southern Utah where four other awesome national parks vie for attention, surprising. One visit it is the deep blue, cloud-dotted sky above a red-rock landscape that captures my awe. On another visit, it is the emerald green of the Colorado or Green rivers off in the distance as seen from a high viewpoint. The confluence of the two rivers takes place within the park.

A more distant view of the arch shows off the La Salle Mountains in the Background. -- Photo by Pat Bean

A more distant view of the arch shows off the La Salle Mountains in the Background. — Photo by Pat Bean

I’ve visited Canyonlands’ Island in the Sky section many times, as it is located on the shortest route from Utah to Texas, the one I took many times when I worked and lived in Utah and visited family members in Texas.

This week’s photo challenge gave me an opportunity to show off its Mesa Arch, perhaps one of the most photographed scenic sites in North America. Reached by an easy half-mile round-trip hike  just off the park’s main road, I never visited the park without walking out to see it.

And then there is always the emerald green of the river in the background as seen from one of the park's many viewpoints. -- Photo by Pat Bean

And then there is always the emerald green of the river in the background as seen from one of the park’s many viewpoints. — Photo by Pat Bean

The season, time of day and weather made each viewing a one-of-a-kind experience, not to mention the varying wildflowers and dry or wet potholes scattered along the hike that gave a different mood to the trail.

Bean’s Pat: The Road Ahead http://tinyurl.com/p6jzvvu This blog describes perfectly how I feel the first day of a road trip. I see more, write more in my journal and am awed more by the landscape than any other day on a trip. But of course that’s not to say I don’t also enjoy all my traveling days.

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Words of Wisdom

Posted in Books, Journeys, Nature, Travel, Writing, tagged , , on May 14, 2013| 4 Comments »

Nark Twain lives on in memory and on this Garden City, Kansas, bench.

Nark Twain lives on in memory and on this Garden City, Kansas, bench.

         “Life is short, break the rules. Forgive quickly, kiss slowly. Love truly. Laugh uncontrollably and never regret anything that makes you smile” – Mark Twain

From Mark Twain

I collect quotes, and Mark Twain’s words are not only worth repeating, they’re worth living by.

What’s your favorite Twain book. Mine is “Huckleberry Finn.”

Samuel Clements, aka Mark Twain, said:

The Mark Twain Bridge across his beloved Mississippi River in Hannibal, Missouri, -- Photo by Pat Bean

The Mark Twain Bridge across his beloved Mississippi River in Hannibal, Missouri, — Photo by Pat Bean

“Don’t go round saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.

            “Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.”

            “Suppose you were an idiot, and suppose you were a member of Congress; but I repeat myself.” 

            “Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect”

            “If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything.”

            “Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.”

            “A person who won’t read has no advantage over one who can’t read.”

            “The secret of getting ahead is getting started.”

But Twain’s “Prayer for War,” which was not allowed to be published during his life time, is, I believe, his best work. I cry every time I read it, and think it should be read daily by all who think war is the best solution to this world’s problems.

I didn’t plan on quoting it when I started what I thought would be a fun blog. But now I feel a responsibility to share it.

The War Prayer

By Mark Twain

“O Lord our Father, our young patriots, idols of our hearts, go forth to battle – be Thou near them! With them, in spirit, we also go forth from the sweet peace of our beloved firesides to smite the foe. O Lord our God, help us to tear their soldiers to bloody shreds with our shells; help us to cover their smiling fields with the pale forms of their patriot dead; help us to drown the thunder of the guns with the shrieks of their wounded, writhing in pain; help us to lay waste their humble homes with a hurricane of fire; help us to wring the hearts of their unoffending widows with unavailing grief; help us to turn them out roofless with their little children to wander unfriended the wastes of their desolated land in rags and hunger and thirst, sports of the sun flames of summer and the icy winds of winter, broken in spirit, worn with travail, imploring Thee for the refuge of the grave and denied it – for our sakes who adore Thee, Lord, blast their hopes, blight their lives, protract their bitter pilgrimage, make heavy their steps, water their way with their tears, stain the white snow with the blood of their wounded feet! We ask it, in the spirit of love, of Him Who is the Source of Love, and Who is ever-faithful refuge and friend of all that are sore beset and seek His aid with humble and contrite hearts. Amen.”       

The Wondering Wanderer's blog pick of the day.

The Wondering Wanderer’s blog pick of the day.

Bean’s Pat: The Iris and the Lily http://tinyurl.com/crn8hbt After that I needed a bit of Mother Nature to calm my soul. Perhaps you do too.

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Patterns Within Patterns

Posted in Birds, Nature, Weekly Photo Challenge on May 14, 2013| 2 Comments »

“Creativity involves breaking out of established patterns in order to look at things in a different way.” — Edward de Bono

Weekly Photo Challenge: Patterns

The shadow in this pattern tells you what you're looking at. Want a hint? It's a bird. -- Photo by Pat Bean

The shadow in this pattern tells you what you’re looking at. Want a hint? It’s a bird.

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Posted in Adventures With Pepper, Journeys, Lakes, Nature, Travel, tagged , , , , , on May 11, 2013| 2 Comments »

Walks by the Water

Water and birds often go together, just one more reason I like walking beside water. I found this great egret at the Sea Center in Lake Jackson, Texas. -- Photo by Pat Bean

Water and birds often go together, just one more reason I like walking beside water. I found this great egret at the Sea Center in Lake Jackson, Texas. — Photo by Pat Bean

            “Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.” – John Lubbock

Wet Your Eyes and Drink in the Ripples

I’ve been told that a monsoon is coming to Tucson soon. It’s hard to imagine as I pass by dry gullies and creek beds — and even rivers with nary a drop of water to be seen.

sight.

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Book Friday: Anne Bishop

Posted in Books, Journeys, Nature, tagged , , , , , on May 3, 2013| 7 Comments »

The woods play a big role in the Tir Alainn series by Anne Bishop, so I thought I would illustrate my blog with a couple of my favorite tree photos. -- Photo by Pat Bean

The woods play a big role in the Tir Alainn series by Anne Bishop, so I thought I would illustrate my blog with one of  my favorite tree photos. — Photo by Pat Bean

Across bridges and into the woods, just like in "Shadows and Light." -- Photo by Pat Bean

Across the bridge  and into the woods, just like in “Shadows and Light.” — Photo by Pat Bean

            “The gift of fantasy has meant more to me than my talent for absorbing positive knowledge.” – Albert Einstein

I  Kept Turning Pages

I’m a bit groggy today. It could be because I stayed up way too early – like until around 3 a.m. – to finish reading Anne Bishop’s “Shadows and Light,” the second in her Tir Alainn trilogy.

I only discovered Anne last month when I was browsing the science fiction and fantasy section of the local library. I’m always looking for good fantasy books and new authors. And after I had read the first in this series, “The Pillars of the World,” I was hooked on Anne.

The  main characters are the Fey and Witches – and strong women. What’s so fun about the creativity allowed in fantasy writing is that Anne’s characterization of Witches and the Fey are quite different from how other authors portray them.

It reminds me of the many different King Arthur versions floating around out there. My all time favorite is Mary Stewart’s Merlin series that begins with “The Crystal Cave,” published in 1970. I was a big fan of Mary long before that, hooked on her historical fiction, with mystery thrown into the mix.” I think I read just about everything Mary ever wrote, including “Nine Coaches Waiting, “My Brother Michael” and Moonspinners.

Just thinking about Mary makes me want to go and revisit some of her work, particularly the Merlin books.  But then there’s also my desire to read Anne’s third book in the Tir Alainn trilogy, “The House of Gaian,” – and her other books as well. I find that if I like one book by an author, I usually like their almost everything they write.

I wonder how much sleep I really need?

The Wondering Wanderer's blog pick of the day.

The Wondering Wanderer’s blog pick of the day.

  Bean’s Pat: Life’s Total Immersion http://tinyurl.com/c23slef This blogger better expressed some of my own thoughts about why I like fantasy.

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Morning Walk with Pepper

Posted in Adventures With Pepper, Birds, Dogs, Nature, tagged , , , on May 2, 2013| 5 Comments »

         “Adventure is not outside man; it is within.” — George Eliot

Think all doves do are coo. This white-winged species has a nest in a tree that I walk beneath and screeches loudly at me every time I walk past. -- Photo y Pat Bean

Think all doves do are coo? This white-winged species has a nest in a tree that I walk beneath and screeches loudly at me every time I walk past. — Photo y Pat Bean

Letting my Mind Wonder as My Legs Wander

            I’m recovering nicely from my broken ankle, but still not up to the adventure of a trail hike. Instead I have to get my kicks from walking on level ground. Mostly, on the four daily 15-20 minute walks I take with Pepper around the apartment complex, she and I retrace the same territory over and over.

Pepper off on one of her scent trails. -- Photo by Pat Bean

Pepper off on one of her scent trails. — Photo by Pat Bean

But each walk is different because of the people we meet along the way, a suddenly blooming plant, an old sight seen in a new way, the variety and activity of birds at the time, and always the varying thoughts in my head.

My best and brightest or most absurd and ridiculous ideas bounce through my brain like a ball in a pinball machine when I’m walking.

Pepper, who sniffs every twig, every new flower and urine bulletin board messages left behind by her doggie colleagues, always adds a layer of fun to the walks.

This one little flower in a big pot seems awfully lonely/ == Photo by Pat Bean

This one little flower in a big pot seems awfully lonely/ == Photo by Pat Bean

So far she’s never met another canine or human whom she didn’t like, although thankfully she’s come to know which four-footed and two-footed beings don’t want anything to do with her, and has learned to sit quietly by my side while they pass.

Dogs, I’ve come to believe, have much better instincts than we humans

But a smile or a tail wag from any of our apartment neighbors is enough to make her deliriously happy and playful. She is forever bringing smiles to my face.

The Wondering Wanderer's blog pick of the day.

The Wondering Wanderer’s blog pick of the day.

Bean’s Pat: Like a moment from Midsomer Murders: http://tinyurl.com/d2rrved  A First of May sunrise. I suspect the reference to Midsomer Murders is because there is always one village celebration or another taking place in the English TV mystery series, which is one of my favorite shows. The blog’s title is what caught my attention, but the photo is awesome.

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Bull Snot!

Posted in Journeys, Nature, Travel, Writing, tagged , , on April 27, 2013| 16 Comments »

I've seen the Pacific from Maine' coast ... -- Photo by Pat Bean

I’ve seen the Atlantic Ocean from Maine’ coast … — Photo by Pat Bean

“I always pass on good advice. It is the only thing to do with it. It is never of any use to oneself.” Oscar Wilde

“A word to the wise ain’t necessary – it’s the stupid ones that need the advice.” Bill Cosby

 

You Shouldn’t Always Follow Advice

I’ve wanted to use the phrase bull snot for a long time. I translate it as meaning: “Ha, you’re wrong,” but more dramatically.

And the Pacific Ocean from California's coast ...

And the Pacific Ocean from California’s coast …

I came across the perfect instance this morning when I read an article called “The Biggest Blunders New Retirees Make” from U.S. News and World Report. I name the source so you’ll know it wasn’t written by some fly-by-the-seat-of-his/her-anus.

If I had followed most of the advice in the article, I wouldn’t have had the awesome life I lived for the past nine years.

Don’t jump the gun into a new life, the writer recommended. I jumped. Bought an RV two weeks before I retired, quickly sold my home and took off for the road. It was something I had dreamed of doing almost my whole life and I wasn’t about to delay it one more minute.

I also didn’t take the article’s advice to wait until I had accumulated more money than I could have in another lifetime, and by ignoring the advice not to spend too much on travel and hobbies.

The only financial advice I had followed was that I did make sure I had adequate health insurance before I took off.

My financial solution to limited money was to downscale my wants and needs, and come up with the least amount I would eventually need to live on when I quit the road, and then try to make the rest last for as long as I could.

And now I'm watching the desert bloom -- because I didn't follow anyone's advice. -- Photo by Pat Bean

And now I’m watching the desert bloom — because I didn’t follow anyone’s advice. — Photo by Pat Bean

Having recently traded in my nine-year road life (well I still have my RV,  and a few trips left in me) for a small apartment in a nice area of Tucson, I think I succeeded in that.

But then I broke yet another piece of advice in doing it. Don’t move where you don’t know anyone, the article said.

Except for one daughter, who lives on the other side of town, I didn’t know anyone else in Tucson when I settled here in January.  I use the past tense in saying that because I’ve already made friends, and I find starting my whole life anew energizing and fun.

But then I’m me and not you. The article’s advice might actually be good for some of you. Just don’t lose your dreams over the wrong advice.

The Wondering Wanderer's blog pick of the day.

The Wondering Wanderer’s blog pick of the day.

Bean’s Pat: Why Blog? http://tinyurl.com/ccfzx3j I sometimes ask myself this question, and this blogger answered most of them.

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What Makes a Perfect Day

Posted in Birds, Books, Journeys, Nature, tagged , , , on April 26, 2013| 1 Comment »

            “If  you laugh, you think, and you cry, that’s a full day. You do that seven days a week, you’re going to have something special.” — Jim Valvano

The Difference a Half Century Makes 

It's got to be a perfect day if I get to go out birding with old friends. -- Photo by Pat Bean

It’s got to be a perfect day if I get to go out birding with old friends. — Photo by Pat Bean

A perfect day at 24 and at 74 is like two different worlds. In one I would be rafting down the Colorado, and making mad, passionate love under the stars with a soul mate that night.

In the other, I would be happy to have just met my writing goal for the day and to have learned or seen something new.

Watching an awesome pink and purple sunrise and a fiery orange and red sunset would be included in both worlds, however, as would be a good book to read, a nice stiff Jack and Coke (well it would have been a Virgin Coke in the first world because I didn’t drink until I was 37) before a gourmet dinner that someone else cooked.

And seeing birds, like this California quail only makes the day more perfect -- is that even possible? -- Photo by Pat Bean

And seeing birds, like this California quail only makes the day more perfect — is that even possible? — Photo by Pat Bean

A perfect day would also include feeling loved, which is easy at 74 but was nigh impossible at 24.

The truth is I’ve had many days I would consider perfect – and the closer to 74 I became the more abundant they’ve become. Hmmmmm?

Sure it would  be grand to tackle the Mighty Colorado through the Grand Canyon as the lead paddler in a six-person raft once again, but that’s something I’ve had to accept my 74-year-old body isn’t up to doing.

The end of  all my days on the river were all perfect days, but for some odd reason I find today’s  mellower activities  have a way of leaving me content and satisfied with my life in a way that I never was at 24.

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