Colorado ~ A Joyful December…

Happy Holidays! It has been a fun filled and very busy December here in Colorado! Holiday Season has been magical, so many creative displays of holiday lights in the neighborhoods. I have never seen anything so extravagant in my lifetime, these Coloradoans really love to decorate! Winter has arrived with many days of snow cascading over the Rockies. In between the cold and frigid days, we have had some spring like days too! The temperature fluctuations here are bizarre. Just last week we had minus 50 wind chill and then the next day it was 50 degrees and sunny! Layering is the way of the land, when it comes to wardrobe! I enjoyed so many fun visits with friends, for lunch and dinner, birthday celebrations, a Chanukah party, tree lighting in Olde Town, and so much more!

I got to visit a few other areas too, I call them the “L Towns”, Longmont and Louisville. I have been to Loveland a few years ago, so I have only one “L Town” left to explore, in Lyons. I had fun baking my favorite holiday treats, and sharing them with new friends. We had a new housemate for the holiday season, a life size Grinch has been hanging out, and he changed his mindset, and now loves Christmas. I made him a heart for his transformation to being a happy loving Grinch! I have picked out some photos to document this busy month.

Nature has been my elixir here in Colorado for the past 9 months, and I am so grateful to live in such a glorious place. I have been walking my favorite labyrinth, making hearts in the snow, and enjoying all the open spaces and parks in the area. There is one more day in December before the New Year begins. My plans are to go snowshoeing with a good friend, I am looking forward to giving it a try! I bought myself some hiking boots for Christmas, so now I am really an official Colorado woman! It will be a fun way to say so long to 2022, and welcome in the New Year.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing at all!~Helen Keller

Go for it now, the future is promised to no one. ~Wayne Dyer

Gratitude & Colorado November Nature Adventures…

The month of November I spent an enormous amount of time out in nature, deliciously walking in the crisp snow, drawing snow hearts along my path. Yes, even though it is still autumn here in Colorado, we have had a few snow days already! I enjoyed a heartfelt Thanksgiving with new friends, and am so grateful for the new memories created.

I have begun to gather many nature photographs for my first Colorado PhotoArt Calendar. I have taken so many photos, the editing process has become mind-numbing!!! So far I have chosen these 12 in the collage below, but I’m sure the final published calendar will include other favorites in the coming weeks. Many of these photos are available on my website at Fine Art America.

I have designed a collage of Denver street art/graffiti that a friend has shared with me from his many photo excursions. It will be a surprise gift as these have been photos sent over the past nine months, now incorporated into a collage.

Here are a few collages of more glorious nature walks in November and hearts that I am inspired to draw in the Colorado snow. I also find them created by Mother Nature!

I wish everyone a wonderful Holiday Season enjoying all the festivities with friends and family. I hope you get out and breathe the fresh air, take some nature walks, and if you are inspired, draw some hearts in the snow, or in the sand, depending on where you live! Keep an eye out for the serendipity hearts already designed by Mother Nature!

Namaste

Colorado October Autumn Adventures!

Time goes by so fast these days! The seasons are changing and now we are deep into Autumn, and with a hint of winter showing up last week when we had our first measurable snow. Thankfully it was short lived and melted away quickly! Autumn will still be around for awhile according to the forecast. I am not ready for winter yet! I have selected some highlights of my month in photos and videos to share.

October started with a visit to Golden Gate Canyon State Park hiking the Burro Trail, a moderate hike, but for me it was a breathless trek and I could only go so far. My friend continued on to the end, and I stayed behind relaxing on a comfy rock creating en plein air drawings of the autumn beauty. The aspens were beginning to show off their golden beauty mixed in with the evergreens. It became cloudy with a threat of rain so I headed down the trail and met my friend closer to the entrance where we began. I had fun collecting leaves creating photo collages while I waited for my adventurous and fearless friend to meet me. She has hiked a 14 er on Longs Peak, so we were not matched for a day of hiking! It was glorious to be out in nature and continuing to feel as if I really do live in Colorado.

Spent the afternoon with a friend enjoying the beauty of Evergreen, Colorado. We went to a wonderful exhibit at the Evergreen Art Center featuring Water Media paintings. I found a serene Labyrinth near the Church of Transfiguration near a pond surrounded by an evergreen forest. I have wanted to finally make my way to that Labyrinth since I heard it was in a beautiful natural setting. It did not disappoint. I would like to return on a warmer and sunnier day, since it was a bit chilly in the shade. It would be a lovely place for a picnic spending time in the serene location with a beautiful Labyrinth to enjoy, I will return soon. There are so many historic old structures in downtown Evergreen, it was fun to drive though and we stopped at the famous Beau Jo’s Mountain Pizza Pies for lunch.

I took another fun adventure with a few friends going to Boulder for an event that occurs nationally and annually on the third Saturday in October: World Singing Day! It was so wonderful, young and old singing their hearts on the Pearl Street Mall! It was a gorgeous Autumn day, sunny with perfect cool breezes. There were handouts with the lyrics and music blasting as we all sang along, and danced to the beat. I will definitely mark my calendar to repeat this fun event next year.

I continued to explore my neighborhood going to Standley Lake Trail and Two Ponds Wildlife Refuge. See some photos below of my walks in those glorious nature areas. I feel so lucky to have such amazing access to these places so close to home. I had quite the experience at one of my walks in Two Ponds when I came upon a Deer Couple, a doe and a buck. I think we startled each other, and for a moment I got a bit anxious being out there all alone at dusk. I hustled my way back down the trail getting home safe and sound…and not chased by deer! I do love them, they are my spirit animal! I used to see them all the time when I lived in Sedona. I know they are gently creatures, but maybe not when they are startled and possibly in mating season!

Last but not least I continue to visit my favorite Labyrinth and Park in Arvada. The Labyrinth is now covered in crunchy maple leaves, since we had a few windy days and then a mini snow event. I enjoyed walking in the crunchy leaves, love the sound effects, it is one of my favorite things to do in Autumn. I have included a short video below so you can enjoy the fun! I also went to Majestic View Park for my weekly meditation class, and took a few photos this week on a very cold windy day with spectacular majestic views as always!


I hope you enjoyed my October Adventures in Colorado! I will soon be uploading some full size photos of these glorious nature spots that can be purchased as prints, etc. at Fine Art America.

Thanks for coming along on my adventures, hope you enjoyed!

Rocky Mountain High~6 Months in Colorado!

Rocky Mountain National Park

Hello Colorado! Yes, I finally feel like I LIVE in Colorado after my visit to Rocky Mountain National Park and Estes Park. Here in Arvada I have been admiring the view of the Rocky Mountain Front Range everyday and salivating at the chance to get closer into the mountains. Last week on a beautiful autumn day I realized that dream. It was 48 years ago that I fell in love with Colorado, and that long since I was up close and personal with the glorious terrain. I probably took hundreds of photos and it is overwhelming to begin editing my favorites. I found heart rocks covered in multi-colored layers of lichen that thrilled me. We saw a herd of Elk in the throes of their mating season and listened to the bull bugling for his herd to follow him! We went to the timberline, about 13,000 ft. altitude, and I was slightly out of breath, albeit it was about 25 mph wind and freezing cold! Along the road up to the mountains the Aspens were showing off their beautiful autumn colors, mostly yellow, but some orange bits and still some green. We took a short hike in a meadow with the mountains surrounding us and it reminded me of why I fell in love with Colorado! A few wildflowers were left in the meadow and of course I found a few heart shaped stones as souvenirs. As a bonus in Estes Park we found a lovely Labyrinth to walk with amazing views. I am so grateful to live here amongst the magnificent Colorado nature, and for new friends to share these wonderful adventures with. Here are a few photos to enjoy.

Longs Peak 14,259′
Rocky Mountain HIGH
Estes Park Labyrinth ~ MARS PhotoArt
Autumn in the Rockies with friends!

I celebrated living in Colorado for six months on September 4th with a month of fun filled adventures with new friends, enjoying cultural outings, taking art classes, continuing my weekly “meditation in nature” class that I love, listening to live music at a few venues, going to the theater, visiting some galleries, taking in the First Friday Art Walk in Denver along the Sante Fe Arts District, holiday barbecues, nature walks in the neighborhood along the trails near my house, walking the Labyrinth, and the path in Majestic View Park, savoring the breathtaking sunsets over the mountains. I will include more pictures for you to enjoy.

Majestic View Park Sunset
Sunset Labyrinth Walk
Trees framing Longs Peak over Standley Lake
Standley Lake Gem
Standley Lake Sunset

Last but not least, I celebrated my Honda’s 32 year anniversary! I bought it brand new in 1990 in Los Angeles, and it has been with me on all my life journeys ever since! It only has 61,000 miles on it and will outlive me for sure! I went to Standley Lake for a photo op and Mother Nature gifted us with a rainbow in the distance! I also celebrated a 6 month anniversary with my friend Alan who has a similar Honda. We met on March 12th at Majestic View Park, and for a moment as he drove up, I thought my Honda was being stolen until I realized his car was too dirty! He has almost 333,000 miles on his! We have been “car” friends ever since, and he came for visit to take a photo of what I call, “The Meeting of the Honda’s”. Here are a few more pictures for you to enjoy!

Happy 32nd Birthday to my Honda!
The Meeting of the Honda’s!

I am looking forward to October with many more Autumn Colorado Adventures! So until then I hope you enjoyed reading about my September fun filled adventures! 

Happy Autumn & Enjoy!

Colorado Cultural & Creative Fun…

I don’t know where this month of August disappeared to. Thankfully, I have a lot of photo art creations and fun memories to look back on. Much of the month had to do with learning my new cell phone and fun camera editing apps, causing many challenges, but also a lot of serendipity along the way! I’ll post some of my favorite photo art and a serendipitous video of my first rainbow sighting here in Colorado. I enjoyed so many glorious nature outings and of course taking photos along the way! I also enjoyed some fun cultural outings with friends. We went to a one-man comedy production in Lakewood, Colorado at their lovely Cultural Center. It was a laugh riot entitled: “My Mom’s Italian, My Dad is Jewish, and I’m in Therapy! It resonated with me since I happen to be all of those things! Also, with friends we enjoyed some live Americana folk music at La Dolce Vita, a cool coffee house in an eclectic part of Arvada called Olde Town. Just the other evening with one of my newest friends, we went for a walk along the labyrinth and out for dinner back in Olde Town. And last night a belated birthday dinner with my housemate, and girlfriend at my favorite sushi restaurant. My life has been so enriched during these almost 6 months of living in Colorado, making new friends and sharing in such fun cultural and creative activities.

Fun with photo filters!
A view of the Rocky Mountains!
The labyrinth with the Rocky Mountains in the distance! Another fun photo filter photo art creation!
Out for a lovely evening sunset walk in my neighborhood, with the Rocky Mountains in the distance! This was my first attempt creating photo art with my new filters!
Photo Art Creation – August Full Moon – Supermoon

I took more enjoyable walks in the neighborhood savoring the amazing clouds and sun after a few thunderstorms. The month of August has been extremely hot here with thunderstorms almost every afternoon it seemed!

Amazing clouds, sky and sun!
An afternoon of Meditation in Nature at Majestic View Park a few weeks ago.

My new cell phone camera surprised me with this video of a time-lapse rainbow, the first rainbow sighting I’ve had since I’ve arrived here! Apparently it’s just something my phone does if it finds a landscape photo that it can turn into a time lapse with music in the background! Quite serendipitous to say the least!

Serendiptious Rainbow Video!

I’ve also had even more fun with my new camera apps, experimenting with new techniques, and lighting, which I am calling painting with my camera!

I found a beautiful heart cloud in the sky and then I used my filters to create it into an ethereal looking cloud!

And last but not least some other interesting sites and new furry friends I found along my walks in the neighborhood in the month of August!

Mars May Adventures in Colorado! “Springtime in the Rockies?”

Celebrating One Year later: May 14, 2021 – May 14, 2022. Left Sedona, AZ, 9 Months of Life in NY, and finally giving birth to my new home in Colorado!
Happy Birthday Mars! March 4, 2022 making Colorado my home, and May 28, 2022 celebrating my first birthday in Colorado!
Serendipity! Sun Dog with a Heart Cloud!
Majestic View Park, my view of the Rocky Mountains while in meditation in nature class!
Adventures in Boulder, Colorado! Found a labyrinth to walk, and happy to be back after 30+ years!
Springtime in the Rockies?! On May 20th we got 8 inches of snow! Mother Nature did quite the remodeling job of the trees. Many branches with the new growth couldn’t take the weight. So happy the lilacs and iris survived.
Hiking Standley Lake Trail after the Spring Snow storm. So many trees got remodeled by Mother Nature, and might I say, haphazardly!
Sunset Walk at Majestic View Park.
Birthday Eve sunset walk at Standley Lake Trail, and creating art on a bench!
En Plein Air creation with markers.
“Rocky Mountain Majesty” by Mars

Autumn in New York!

Mill Pond Autumn, Long Island, NY

Mother Nature has begun to put on a spectacular show of her true Autumn colors here on Long Island the past few weeks. This visit to Mill Pond was breathtaking and rejuvenating for my soul. It has been many years since I have experienced Autumn on the East Coast in New York State. I grew up in Buffalo and fondly remember scrumptious autumn colors there, but it has been almost 5 decades since I lived there. My GPS encouraged me to move to the West Coast in 1977 after a massive blizzard. I lived in Southern California for almost 3 decades, never looking back except for annual family visits to Buffalo, and on Long Island. I also lived in Portland, Oregon for almost 8 years and enjoyed beautiful autumn colors especially at the gorgeous Japanese Gardens.

Now it has been five months since I have made New York my temporary home, ever since having to leave my home in Sedona, AZ this past May. It has been quite the adaptation to say the least! Next week is daylight savings time, not something I’ve been used to for almost 8 years living in Arizona! Hopefully my new full spectrum lamp will help add a daylight effect for the dark days of winter coming! I have no idea where my next adventure will take me, I await the Universe to reveal all the details! In the meantime, I am grateful to experience this glorious nature here on Long Island.

“Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing at all.” Helen Keller

Autumn Leaves in New York!

Mother Nature’s Healing Gifts…

I have been inspired to photograph and digitally paint these lovely rock specimens compliments of Mother Nature! I discovered a sweet neighborhood park that has various sized rocks along the river bank, and began photographing them for their interesting and unique markings. I am used to the red rocks of Sedona, Arizona, and these are nothing like them, these are New York grey rocks! I have found several that are heart-shaped or with heart markings that of course excited me, being Mars The “HEART Lady”!

I am enjoying the first week of this beautiful autumn season in New York, and continue to explore and become inspired by my new area. The trees are getting ready to show off their true colors of the season, but for now I paint these sweet rocks! I am grateful for this healing gift of inspiration from Mother Nature! Click on the images to purchase prints on Fine Art America.

Rock Art Abstract #493
Rock Art Abstract #513
Rock Art Abstract #525
Rock Art Abstract #490
Rock Art Abstract #469

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