poetry

Moon Creek Breakup

Moon Creek Breakup

it was explosive
I looked up from my book
to find the white mass had caved in
it clogged the stream
and the creek gobbled it up
licking the white grey
smoothing it like a snow cone
spinning and tumbling it
until it had been consumed

a few minutes later
the next performance
the creek first more constricted
then more free

this will go on all spring
heat + light = thaw
all the frozen forms in this world
eventually expand to breaking
collapse from their own need to flow
go rushing headlong
away from where they were bound

poetry

ice: traveler’s temptation

ice: traveler’s temptation

the slick angular cubes and prisms
beg a tongue to lick and linger
to feel the polar opposite
of oppressive equatorial heat
thick with humidity, deferral, languor

don’t think about the risk
the bubble-studded beauties plead

and we weak temperate beings
succumb to their promise of cold
berak-berak be damned

photography

Sunset and Turquoise Lake Ice

As you saw on the Rambles page, we went on a walk near Turquoise Lake yesterday. The shoreline was coated with lots of ice, providing several photographic opportunities, such as ice shards, minute cracks, and flowing water. Then, near the end of the day, we had a wonderful sunset, just above the mountains, providing more photos. Here are some of my best photos from both events.

A lizard-shaped hole in the ice at Turquoise Lake revealed water flowing down the shore to the lake.
Not all of the water was iced over; in several places there were mini-rivers, often with very nice reflections and red-colored sand underneath.
Due to the profusion of ice, we found many piles of ice shards, like small icicles, that made a very pleasing sound as they rubbed against each other.
From the cabin, we had an amazing sunset just over the mountains.
The sunset was blueish, purple, pink, and orange at the same time.
The darkness of the mountains was very nicely offset by the soft sunset light.
photography

Coulson Gulch & Leadville Arrival

A Sand Lily on the trail out of Coulson Gulch
A Delphinium also on the trail out of Coulson Gulch
The trail into Coulson Gulch with a view of the foothills
A weird ice formation off the side of the shed in Leadville
A male Pine Grosbeak in a pine tree in Leadville
A female Pine Grosbeak in the same tree in Leadville