Moments D626: Hiking the Mojave Desert

On the way back from Vegas, EQ and I stopped to hike in the Mojave desert.  Why not?  It was near the end of my work day, it was gorgeous outside and we both love the outdoors.

So, with one last round of conversations with my team at work, EQ took this photo of me saying goodbye:

The sun bright and low in the sky we hiked for about 40 minutes before I returned to work.  (Ooh the joy of a hotspot in the car!)  What a beautiful moment our hike was.  The temperature was cool, but it was perfect for a hike.  We stopped and enjoyed the fauna & flora.  I picked up a couple of stones to take home with me, to add to my collection.  EQ found one too.  We picked up a piece of jumping cactus too.  Carefully of course, after all, they bite!

The best part of the hike?  The silence.  We soaked in the sunny, cool silences, breathed in the dusty winter desert air.

Now that's what I call a "coffee" break.

Moments enjoying the world around you.

Moments at one with nature.

Moments D596: Volcanic Sunsets

Funny.  I actually had another moment blog drafted.  And then I stepped outside to head out to a show with EQ.  We were running a touch late, but I couldn't help myself.  I stopped and stared at the beautiful sunset over the Ortega mountains.

Stunning.

The world stopped spinning for a moment.

And I snapped a couple of photos.

And within a couple of minutes, the moment was gone.  That magical angle of the sun hitting the ocean on the other side of the mountains, reflecting upon the perfectly positioned clouds.  Gone.  Five minutes, at most, of one of the most beautiful sunsets I've ever seen.

A perfect reminder of how fleeting life can be.  Hold on tight to things that matter.  Focus on the things the things that matter.  Share your energy in places where it will be amplified and reflected back.  Because life is too short to be sad.

Moments running late, but pausing to experience the joy of natural beauty.

Moments where natural beauty reminds you to appreciate the things that matter most.

Moments D503: Praying Mantis Surprise

Today was a pretty laid back day.  Late to rise, with a little work done in the day's heat before heading out to an evening ride around the city.  Unfortunately we missed sunset at the lake (as we had planned) due to something that popped up, but that's okay because in the end, it's only because of me having time to kill that I found a unique moment to share with you today!

As I was killing time, I was sitting on a big boulder in the parking lot.  Close to the boulder was a praying mantis cozied in a bush.  Being clever, I snuck up on it and took a few pictures of it.

It was as still as a statue!  It was the perfect model.  I was impressed.  (Little did I know at the time.)

After sharing the praying mantis with a couple of other people in the parking lot, and a round or four of photos taken, we came to the realization that the poor thing was dead!  After a good laugh, we all agreed that it was still the perfect model for a photo shoot and continued to take pictures.  Mother nature's joke on us.

Moments respecting nature's space.

Moments realizing that you were wrong and laughing about it!

Moments D498: Riding in the dark

Today was a travel day.  A day to say goodbye to Milwaukee, I found myself wishing we had more time to explore the pretty city of Milwaukee!  With only a brief tour of Milwaukee, but it looks quite beautiful.

What I look forward to?  Is seeing Milwaukee nights:

Today was also a day to say hello to California! Our travels from Milwaukee to California were thankfully uneventful and we managed to sit beside one another on both flights.  (A big bonus since we weren't sure that would happen!)

After a couple of movies, we found ourselves at the John Wayne airport in Santa Ana and we were packing the trailer on EQ's bike.  Now, for a gal that's only been on the back of a bike twice before, and for very short rides, this was a new adventure in its own right and its the moment I share with you today.

Within a few minutes we were on our way to EQ's home.  I've never been on a bike at night.  It was quite interesting.  The lights, the smells, the mini changes in the temperature of the air enveloping us.  Incredible. The one moment that really sticks with me is as we were heading to the highway home.  As we entered the on ramp there was a flock of birds (late to rest for the day) that flew above us.  It was incredible to see it all out in the open and watch them on their path without a roof above me as we sped past.

After 50-60 minutes of riding, I was feeling a lot more confident on the back of the bike.  Good thing considering we'll be travelling up the coast in a few days!

Moments enjoying a new experience.

Moments pausing on the back of a powerful bike to enjoy the softness of nature around me.

Moments D496: Storm clouds rolling in

Today has been a fun day watching EQ in his element.   Meanwhile I spent most of the day soaking in the sun . 

But the moment I want to share with you today is when I was all alone watching the storm clouds roll in.  It was a beautiful quiet,  introspective moment.   As the pretty white fluffy clouds moved out, the dark rain heavy clouds moved in.   

It took about 30 minutes for the sky to darken completely.  And then she unleashed.   It poured!   

As others ran for cover, I made my way to a chair under an extended roof.  It didn't save me from the wind rain when it picked up,  but at least I could sit outside and enjoy the sound of the storm hitting us.  The eaves troughs were overflowing, the kids at the drop zone were out splashing and playing in the rain.   I was jealous!   Had I had dry clothes with me, I would have joined them in playing in the deluge. 

And when my love finally found me, we watched the end of the storm arm in arm.   As fast as it rolled in, the storm moved out and the skies cleared.   Perfect for one more jump of the day at sunset.  And what a beautiful sunset it was with the lightning filled storm clouds in the distance. 

Moments enjoying a storm rolling in and out.

Moments enjoying the sunsetting.

Moments D210: Fog

Today has been a terrible day. I kept hoping that there would be a moment that light away the darkness that descended upon me today. It just seemed like Mercury's retrograde was in full force on me today. Who knew that the best moment of my day would be early this morning and not something from later on in the day. I certainly didn't have a clue of what was to come today!

And so, as I sit and reflect upon this challenging day (on so many levels it hurts my head!), the moment I share with you is fog.

This morning, our fine city was blanketed in a fog. This doesn't happen very often, but this morning it was quite thick. So much so that my car was covered in moisture from its grasp.

I remember the morning clearly. I opened my front door and as the view came before me I smiled. I couldn't see the tennis courts across the street and I could barely see my car not steps away from me. Fog is a type of weather that I don't see often and yet, strangely, I've enjoyed its company a couple of times in the past week. (I drove in it on my way to my friends 3 hours away last weekend. THAT was fun driving in and out of the valleys on the back roads!) But I digress.....

The fog, while beautiful, comes with some negative symbology attached to it. Hidden obstacles, eerie moments (horror movie anyone?) and general sense of foreboding. Hmmm. Perhaps I should have paid better attention to the symbolism of the fog today instead of its beauty.

I found this summary of the symbolism of fog. It's pretty comprehensive and explains (better than I today) what I'm thinking in terms of fog's negative symbology. Enjoy.

Moments connect with nature.

Moments to move beyond.

Moments D179: Birds Above

Today was a great day and I spent a few hours in one of my favourite places in Niagara Falls -The Butterfly Conservatory. It was amazing to sit and just enjoy them fluttering about us. Beautiful. So much that I’ll share a picture.






But, that wasn’t the biggest moment I had today. That came when I was driving home. I had my sunroof open as it was warmer and sunny and these types of days will be fewer and farther between as the fall days roll into winter. I was enjoying the cool breeze.

As I stopped for a red light I noticed that there were birds directly above my head on a wire singing their beautiful song. That was the smile of the day. Birds chirping and twittering above my head on a busy 4 lane street. So cool.

Moments with nature.

Moments to smile.

Moments D164: Falling Leaves

Today was a lovely day.  Late(r) to rise and slow to get out of bed…..homemade coffee that went cold before I got to it.  But it was worth it, I very much enjoyed my luxurious time in bed.

Later, after a delightful brunch and running a few errands I found myself in slow traffic.   As I cruised slowly along the busy street a gust of wind came along and tickled the trees lining the street. 

I watched as the bright yellow leaves twirled and danced around me.  And as traffic started to move I found myself mesmerized by the floating, drifting, yellow slivers in the air around me.

That was my moment today.  Surrounded by a twinkle of yellow.

Moments to appreciate the fall colours.

Moments with nature.

Moments D162: Tai Chi

This morning on my rainy, gloomy drive into work I was treated to a visual delight.

Traffic was heavy (it’s still construction season around here) and slow past one of the local parks. The trees are just starting to turn. Bright reds peeking through the green foliage and blasts of golden yellow align the park.

On the edge of the park there was a solo Tai Chi practitioner, slow and methodically going through his moves. I was quite happy to be in slowly moving traffic so I could appreciate his purposeful and thoughtful movements. It was a beautiful sight watching him move the energy around while surrounded by the beautiful turning trees.

It brought me a moment of peace and a smile during a tired, gloomy drive into work. Definitely a moment worth sharing.

Moments with nature.

Moments enjoying other’s energies.

Moments D150: Sunrise

The thing about staying at my BFFs post volleyball, is that she lives a 45-50min drive away from work. That’s WITHOUT any traffic. So the trick was to leave uber early to miss the worst of it.

I was out of bed by 5:45am and on the road with a traveler coffee (thank you BFF for getting up to make me coffee!) shortly after 6:30am . That’s nearly 2 hours earlier than normal for me to jump out of bed. Honestly, I don’t know how the commuter crowd does it. Blarg!

The drive was easy for the first 35min or so and around 7am the traffic began to thicken and slow. The drive alone was a great time to ponder life and to pause and reflect. And then, as if the universe were listening in, as highways merged, the trees parted and I had a moment to fully appreciate the sunrise to my left. It was stunning. And, with traffic dead stopped, I managed to capture a picture.

With the autumn solstice around the corner I thought it was fitting to appreciate the natural beauty around me.  The faintest of red on the valley trees. A smattering of yellow here and orange there. The low laying clouds sitting in the valley, waiting for the sun to burn them away. All. So. Beautiful.

A glimpse. A moment. Pause.

What a fabulous way to start my day and better yet, what fabulous way to start my weekend.

Moments alone to reflect.

Moments to appreciate nature.

Moments D116: Dragonflies

Today was day one of a weekend long baseball tournament. It was the perfect weather. Sunny and bright, but not scorching hot.

I was playing left field and during the first game, which started at 9am and was 1.5 hours long, there was a point that I was surrounded by dragonflies. It was marvelous. Everywhere I looked they were zipping about, chasing one another. I fully admit, it was hard to focus on the game at times as they were simply beautiful to watch. They really are magical. (I loved this picture - and had to share it!)

They reminded me of a new soul in my life. She collects anything dragonfly. You can find them all over her home/cottage. A beautiful soul that I was lucky to be introduced to nearly two months ago now. 

They also reminded me that I hadn’t finished setting up my bedroom in my new apartment. When I first moved in, I did a shop at a storage solutions store. They had the Umbra Wallflutter with dragonflies. I had to buy one! I have yet to install them. Perhaps later this weekend!

Moments with nature.

Moments to pause & reflect.