So fellow travelers, it took a Fire Dragon who appeared in the sky after a powerful thunderstorm,
daring me to chase the sunset, to shake off the sadness of this passing of an extraordinary summer of adventures. As I ran through wet grass and puddles in the street words tumbled out in to this haiku~
Summer adventures
Joy ignited heart and soul
Forever ablaze
Time to welcome a new season of discovery.
Walk gently on the path my friends and may adventure find you ready.
Posted by sagemtnmom on September 3, 2018
https://dhrahalski86.com/2018/09/03/summers-gift/
So fellow travelers, today marks the start of a new solar year in this grand adventure of life. Reflecting on the bookends of the first and last days
Team Fairbanks-Rahalski at the summit of Pinnacle Peak Trail in Rainier National Park
I can see the origami of insights and growth created by the challenges weathered in-between two foundations: friends and family. As I embark fullspeed into the coming years of this sixth decade of solar returns I have my sights set on the adventures made possible by that foundation.
The road we travel
is made lighter by the Love
carried in our hearts
To all the beautiful points of Light in my community of family and friends here is a heartfelt haiku of gratitude for the love and support which has and will continue to bless my journey. You are the best gift anyone could ever receive.
Walk gently on the path my friends and may adventure find you ready
Posted by sagemtnmom on July 16, 2018
https://dhrahalski86.com/2018/07/16/bookends/
So fellow travelers, mindful of the childhood lesson “If you can’t say something nice, it’s best to say nothing at all,” I’ve been silent here.
Truth be said I have little which is positive I could say about work, this creative funk or lack of trail walking due the weather.
There was this moment on our deck this morning when words bubbled up into little burble of words.
Paw prints in the snow
Birds sing faithfully for warmth
Spring is deaf this year
Walk gently on the path my friends and may adventure find you ready.
Posted by sagemtnmom on April 18, 2018
https://dhrahalski86.com/2018/04/18/desperately-seeking-spring/
So fellow travelers, this Easter Fools morning greeted me with a joyous serenade. Sweet notes, bright enough to wake me just before dawn.
As I watched Light gently transform the last shadows of the night through the window I caught a glimpse of orange as the solo songster flew off towards another tree. So clear and bright was his song, I could still discern the notes as they drifted across the greenspace in front of my parents little townhouse. I drove to Philly yesterday to celebrate my Mom’s 88th birthday. My two brothers and their wives (who have become more sisters than sisters-in-law to me) and nieces and nephews and their partners all gatherered around a table toasting the blessing of being family.
Immersed in the glory of it all I uncharacteristically missed grabbing a photo, although when it was time for the cake we did grab a photo op with Mom and the grandkids.
When I shared the photo online a friend asked if it made me miss my daughters. No, I said, not as much anymore. Of course I’d love to have them here, but in their absence being with my nieces and nephews is a joyous experience. They each shine in their own unique ways and the older ones have chosen partners who are so genuine and funny. I feel renewed by their spirit and humor.
It has been a long winter, harsh in ways beyond weather. The silence here in my blog is a measure of its toll. Yet struggles, like seasons, shift and eventually pass. Today’s predawn solo songster found me waking to a heart filled with gratitude, rhythmic words spontaneously taking form, affirming a time of renewal.
The wait feels endless
Light shrouded in mists of doubt
Until robins sing
May the blessings of Spring bring renewal to you all.
Walk gently on the path my friends and may adventure find you ready.
Posted by sagemtnmom on April 1, 2018
https://dhrahalski86.com/2018/04/01/rejoice/
So fellow travelers, hush….listen
can you hear it?
Uh huh, that is the legendary “sound of silence.”
I’m not sure it’s what Simon and Garfunkle had in mind when they penned their iconic song, but anyone who lives in deep snow country knows it and it is what I woke to this morning after hours and hours of constant snow. Sixty-six hours for anyone keeping track, which of course the airport weather station does for us.
66 hours and 19.5 inches later our yard is an arctic landscape, minus the glaciers, although if our sub zero windchills continue those may be coming soon. Stay tuned.
Lake Effect bands like this are common here. Unlike Winter Storm Grayson which blustered up the East coast earlier this week they are a not product of specific low pressure systems, but the result of several conditions (cold dry air, open waters of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, shifting winds) which combine to create streams of snowfall over areas of Upstate New York. Our weather teams don’t refer to them as “storms,” they call them “events.”
How feastive!
I suspect it will be a while before I can put away the outdoor Christmas decorations.
It’s been a while since we had such a severe start to a winter season. Favorite Youngest Daughter commented it’s the first white Christmas we’ve had in a while. Oh we always get snow well before Christmas, but in recent years it seems it melted right before we most wanted it. Not so this year, in fact winter is ramping up to be one long, brain freezing endurance test.
So, if Old Man Winter is laying down the challenge, I’m determined to summit those wind driven snow drifts and seek wonder wherever I can.
Like the quiet “chip!chip!” outside my kitchen window,
drawing my attention to a flash of red, revealing a brave yard resident reminding me to check the feeders,
where little tracks are my thankful reminder not only birds are counting on me
and a burst of early morning color shines with anticipation for the coming year.
Dawn comes silenced winds
leave glistening gems of Light
Pause Wonder Breathe Be
Walk gently on the path my friends and may adventure find you ready.
Posted by sagemtnmom on January 7, 2018
https://dhrahalski86.com/2018/01/07/on-snow-events-and-wonder/
So fellow travelers, a deep cold snap has settled over our humble home.
My little pond has become a skating rink for the resident squirrels who slide across the surface to drink from little pool which forms around the heated aerators. Below the ice, fish sleep suspended in hibernation until Spring.
Last night when howling winds woke me I thought I was hearing voices singing. The clock showed just past 3am but no ghosts of Christmases past, present or future appeared. Still the eerie chorus must have echoed in my sleep, strange images swirled in my dreams until dawn, fueled a bit by the dynamics of processing the stress from the last month at work and balancing the logistics of family gatherings throughout the holidays.
I’ve been feeling the impact of some personal losses this season too so when I caught the radiant light of sunrise this morning it stirred a desperate longing for peace giving words to this haiku styled prayer.
I want to believe
In every sunrise promise
Dig deeper for faith
Breathe in reach for hope
Deep in my soul I know each of us will find our way forward through challenging times. We have strong bonds of love woven by family and friends near and far. A new year is coming and although it is “just a flip of a page on the calendar,” as someone rather jaded recently pointed out, for me at least it is still a chance to review our direction and reset our course as needed.
The glowing Light of sunrise is my daily reminder every day brings the hope and promise of a new beginning. I will greet this coming year holding strong in my resolve to believe the journey always brings us to where we belong.
Walk gently on the path my friends and may adventure find you ready.
Posted by sagemtnmom on December 27, 2017
https://dhrahalski86.com/2017/12/27/zen-moment-deep-freeze-sunrise/
So fellow travelers, the last of our Candle Night lights has been lit.
Christmas Day has come.
Beautifully wrapped gifts from my dear friend Lisa.
There will be gifts and greetings shared with family near and far. We will linger over hearty meals and hugs. Thanks to the technology of Skype we will be together with all our kids for a little while later today.
Outside winter winds howl and lake effect snow adds more and more inches to the holiday card scenes in my yard but no weather can lessen the warmth and Light of the joy in my heart on this blessed morning.
Treasured ornaments
Lifelong memories shine bright
Bringing peace and joy
Walk gently on the path my friends and may blessings of the season go always with you.
Posted by sagemtnmom on December 25, 2017
https://dhrahalski86.com/2017/12/25/christmas-2017/
So fellow travelers, its easy to lose ones bearings when navigating the maze of life….so many twists and turns, too many conflicting directives and confusing maps which lead us everywhere but where we truly need to be. Yet all we need to find our way back to our true path is just a glimpse of light.
You have wandered so long
misguided by trail markers and maps meant for others
when darkness heightens awareness of how far off path you meandered
you had forgotten you are lost
until a distant glimmer of light beckons you home.
As long we have someone who dares enough to hold love in their hearts for us there is always hope we will find our way.
Walk gently on the path my friends, blessings of the solstice be with you all
Posted by sagemtnmom on December 21, 2017
https://dhrahalski86.com/2017/12/21/winter-solstice-reflection/
So fellow travelers, it is sunny and 53° (F) outside today.
It’s also December 3rd.
About two weeks ago when a deep plunge in temperatures brought an early round of Lake Effect snow, the garden around the edge of my pond took on an early air of Christmas decor.
Today, I spent most of the day clearing out the remnants of the prolonged garden season and tending to a little bonfire in the backyard fire pit where I was burning off the piles of yard debris and many branches which had come down during recent windy days.
All around me, little birds chattered at a few lingering blue jays demanding their turn at the feeders I filled just this morning. Every now and then the nasal “hwonk hwonk” of our resident nuthatch could be heard as it dug into the fresh suet I’d also put out. As temperatures have begun to dip down to freezing most nights, I’m mindful of keeping the feeders stocked with sunflower seeds and suet to provide good energy to help my feathered tenants and visitors refuel after the long cold nights.
Days end so quickly now, as the Solstice approaches, that I am often caught off guard when shades of pink, gold and purple begin to tint the drifting clouds overhead. Today, when I caught the firstglimpse of color I jumped in my Rav and dashed down the road to a field where I knew I would catch a clear view of the setting sun . I was rewarded with this image.
After getting a few photos, I sat in my car and watched the sun sink below the treeline, painting a thin red orange line of light along the horizon. For the first time in several days I felt completely in the moment and totally at peace.
I’ve reached that point of the work year where I am feeling the full impact from the loss of the daily writing time my summer break allows me to follow. I’ve been struggling with a few different pieces of writing for a few weeks, pushing myself to finish something I felt was post worthy, but whatever I was trying to say was encumbered by undefined purpose and heavy emotions. As I drove home with the zen of this moment still wrapped around me like a forgiving hug, I gave myself permission to simply sit down and write about this and leave the other pieces be. In time they will either coalesce or not.
Meanwhile, I will be more mindful of being present in the simple moments of joy, reminding myself they matter more than the “shoulds” on the “get done” list I might impose on myself. Which reminds me the last full moon of the year is about to rise. I’ve got some more joy to fit in before this day is done.
Walk gently on the path my friends and may adventure find you ready.
Posted by sagemtnmom on December 3, 2017
https://dhrahalski86.com/2017/12/03/zen-moment-sunset-calls/
So fellow travelers, early Lake Effect snow has brought a chilling end to a luxuriously warm Autumn.
Snow dusted leaves linger in the trees and the last of my wildflowers have turned into frozen mush from the sudden killing frost which preceded the cold front.
My porch Jack O Lantern looked a bit mournful when I came to put him away.
Oh Jacko cry not
Seasons come and seasons go
Autumn will return
Walk gently on the path my friends and may adventure find you ready.
Posted by sagemtnmom on November 21, 2017
https://dhrahalski86.com/2017/11/21/jacks-lament/
