(Watercolor study of the Snowy Range, WY)
This is where I stood in July...on the trail up Medicine Bow Peak in southern Wyoming. It was a great gift to me to travel with my brother Robert and my niece Noelle out to Wyoming to meet up with two of my sons, Joe and Elijah, to climb Medicine Bow. This peak has been a family favorite for several generations now. My dad first took us up to the top when I was in high school, and a number of us have been back to make the ascent through the years.
(With my two sons Joe and Elijah and Elijah's dog, Lucy)
I am thankful for the health to climb, for the upbringing that started in me an appreciation for the outdoors, but most of all for the God who created this beautiful world. This Thanksgiving holiday is a great time to reflect on our lives and what we value and treasure most...like family and friends and freedom. May you enjoy some moments for that process! Happy Thanksgiving to you all!! Here's a wonderful hymn composed by John Rutter called "For the Beauty of the Earth" to help you express your thanks:
Snow geese in migration near Lynden, WA
(Canada geese sketches)
I continue to enjoy watching the skies for migrating geese heading south for winter. Here is a poem by my great uncle, Elroy Roffe of Toronto, Canada:
Summer's Farewell
The blue of sky is flecked with clouds
And on a distant hill
There stand some trees like waiting crowds,
For either good or ill.
The sun looks down upon mankind,
A breeze blows fitfully
And fallen leaves rise like a blind
Then sink in misery.
Then on the air a sound is heard
It is a farewell cry
That comes from many and many a bird
As they go passing by.
They know, if we perchance forget
That winter's on its way
And so without a vain regret
Alone we're left till May.
Full soon the air will fill with snow
For children what a sight
And we into our homes will go
Good bye then, and good night.
---F. W. Elroy Roffe.
Live bravely and beautifully!
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