Snow and Sunshine

From Winter to Spring in less than three weeks. Snow in the backyard that had our tree break in half and land on our neighbors car to spending the day in the mountains at our favorite spot. 

Columbines, Indian Paintbrushes and Mountain Lupine cascaded on the hillsides. Colorado Mountains are spectacular.  But the area surrounding the campsite is still recovering from the Hayman fire that happened in 2002. According to the Denver Post article written by Johns Ingold "By the time firefighters gained control of the Hayman fire — more than one month after it began — it had charred 137,760 acres in Park, Teller, Jefferson and Douglas counties, a footprint nearly twice as large as Colorado's second-biggest fire. On one day alone, it ran 19 miles. It put up a smoke plume so massive that it created its own weather."

I can remember that summer where ash rained down on us, our clothes, homes and cars  in the suberbs of Denver. The orange looking sun was hidden behind the hazy skyline of smoke all summer long.

 Another hard week with my back still giving me trouble. But even moreso as my sister, the one I traveled through London with lost her mother-in-law. As her husband and two sons along with others escorted their mother/grandmother's casket out of the chapel, my heart broke as her teenage sons broke down in anguish of heart.

It was a sweet service. So beautiful that it hurt especially as white doves were released and then circled around the cemetery until the last bird was released. And then they altogether flew out of our sight. Just as Marlene had.

While we were at the cemetery, we went to visit my grandmas. The three ladies that were cousins to my grandpa that took over raising my dad when his mother passed away when he was a teenager.

And now onto writing, I'm starting to plot scenes in my mind. New ideas are coming again. So I have great hopes of starting the process again. It's hard to start anew when I'm still re-writing the first book. Still mining for the right words to set the scenes the way I want them to look instead of how they actually are.

I have left my greatest news for the last. I have wanted someone from the UK to look at my blog for the longest time. To follow my journey of writing and life. Just this morning my first UK viewer came online. I can only assume they arrived by mistake and quickly left but the numbers are the numbers and someone from the UK opened my blog. Yay!!!