Small Stone #26

Baby antelope run across the sage
Choke cherry blossoms scent the air
Frogs at night
Sandhill Cranes call in the morning
Walks along the Green River
                   we crave being outdoors

Words in the Week: Cowboy songs in June #3

The perfect song for a road trip, however I would insert the word Wyoming to personalize that need to find open space...

Words in the week: Cowboy songs in June #2

When I listen to the song "Across the Great Divide" by Kate Wolf, I think of the many miles I have driven over the plains, on up into the mountains, only to come down again into the prairie lands to view the very mountains I just drove over in my rear view that now drift away into the distance.

The lyrics of this song lament on how quickly life moves from today into yesterday, just as a drive across the state of Wyoming causes my mind to see the visible changes of the landscape taking place as I go along. The song has several meanings: finding oneself at a crossroads, realizing life's changes from who you once were to who you are today, and several others you're sure to pick up on as you listen along to the beautiful voices of Emmylou Harris and Naci Griffith. The whole song is worth reading, but my favorite lines come at the very end of the song:

"The finest hour that I have seen
Is the one that comes between
The edge of night and the break of day
It's when the darkness rolls away"

Enjoy...

Small Stone #25

Soon my family and I will be moving to Laramie, Wyoming, and this is what Small Stone #25 is in regards to.

I'm going to spend every last
morning that I have here
up at dawn
enjoying the birds, the soft light,
and the very day that breaks
over the Wind River Mountains.

Words in the week: Cowboy songs in June #1

I love Pandora radio and have a very eclectic list of radio stations.  One I've been listening to a lot lately is Ian Tyson- which primarily plays not only his music but old cowboy songs from a variety of artists.  Maybe my recent drive to listen to these old songs is my own nostalgic wish to have been able to live as free on the range as the cowboys in days gone by did.  No cell phone. No demands from the outside world. It's also the time of the year when ranchers begin moving their cattle up to the forest on horseback. We'll drive alongside them and hear the clop of a horses hooves on the pavement, the swish of the grass as the cattle move along, and the low voices of the cowboys, or girls, as they talk to the cattle encouraging them along.

Any cowboy will tell you it's not an easy life, and they have demands of a different nature, but very few would choose any other way of life.  I like the song "Night Riders Lament" because it expresses the very reasons a cowboy chooses this particular way of life, even when the world views them as being crazy. Their choice lies not in monetary income or worldly gain, but instead follows a desire to be close to the land and have a life full of freedoms most people only dream about.

Performed by Nanci Griffith and Don Edwards.

Small Stone #24

Dinner for two
A walk around the square
Expensive shops and only a
window shopping budget
Ice cream, quiet
Two people, usually four
For a moment life combines to one again

Finds in the week: Summer reading

Browsing through my local thrift shop I always find exciting things, especially books.  I'm glad someone nearby likes to read what I do. Even after taking this photo my summer reading stack continues to build.  A cool drink in my hand, a river nearby, and a place in the sun- let the summer begin!