<![CDATA[Stories and Songs - Blog]]>Wed, 24 Jun 2026 02:56:20 -0700Weebly<![CDATA[Summer Solstice 2026—Whispering Pines]]>Tue, 23 Jun 2026 23:54:02 GMThttp://www.moenkopimemories.org/blog/summer-solstice-2026-whispering-pines          There is a subtle shift in the wind this solstice morning.  I can feel a coolness flowing down from the high reaches where snowfields still give their precious water to the seeps and springs and creeks and mountain wildflowers.
            As the morning progresses, the breezes begin to whisper through the pines. A coolness from the North washes over the parched land, bringing a few clouds and the hope for much needed rain in the arid West.
            Those whispering pines are speaking today about change and transformation, both which begin as a nearly imperceptible shift in the air currents. They are unmistakable, however, to anyone careful and aware enough to listen to nature, to feel the early winds of change.
            The change I sense coming will begin to restore the balance between man and nature. It will begin to return humanity to a member of nature rather than the ruler of nature. And it will begin to place all people on earth on an equal and fair plane of existence. I relish this form of change. I live for this form of change.
            No doubt certain stages of such change will be violent and stormy beyond anyone’s wildest imaginings. But the world that will someday emerge after the storms will be a much finer world than our world of  today.
            So on this Solstice day  I take a deep, celebratory breath of fresh mountain air and remain ever so patient, watching and listening for the breezes whispering through the pines heralding the great winds of change. ]]><![CDATA[Vernal Equinox 2026—Calming Objectivity]]>Wed, 18 Mar 2026 15:17:11 GMThttp://www.moenkopimemories.org/blog/vernal-equinox-2026-calming-objectivity              As the first day of Spring arrives amidst tumultuous weather and climate extremes, constantly must I remind myself that nature (and weather) are completely impartial and neutral forces. You might call them just plain natural. There is never any malevolence in any storm or weather event—damage and destruction, yes—ill intent, not a trace. So dealing with climate change becomes simply and objectively the challenge of adapting to change, sometimes rapidly and radically adapting.
            Now dealing with the cause of climate change is another matter.  It’s much more difficult to view global warming and all its impacts and causes with objectivity.  But it’s very important to indeed think objectively, otherwise what is happening to our planet will consume us with anger, fear, and hatred. I know, I’ve felt anger and fear and even hopelessness trying to conquer me lately. So again and again I seek an objective, even a distanced view.
            That view includes realizing that humanity as a whole is part of earth’s overall biological picture. This means that humanity as a whole is not immune to any of the countless rules that govern life on our planet—including species extinction. This also includes species population reduction and culling to fit into a survivable ecosystem. Objectively thinking, it seems that we as humans are headed that way. Sad as it might seem, most or even all of the human race is likely to run headlong into the natural rules of biology and ecosystems.  That is a hard one to accept.
            So what about the greed, the selfishness, the politics and power that now rule and are ruining both our natural world and our social contract? Objectively thinking, they are all products of diseased brains, and we know what nature does to diseases.
            And what about the innocent humans caught between the storms and the wars? Subjectively it is so very sad.  It can consume a person.  But objectively, well, some will adapt to change and survive. And the rest of the innocent?  I can only hope for them that they can find moments of joy amidst the chaos. Calm follows storm, rebirth follows death, and nature always survives.
            So today as I objectively welcome spring, I’ll continue to adapt.  But I’ll also continue to dream about gentle soft rains, sweet smells of the earth, and inspiring rainbows.
]]><![CDATA[Winter Solstice 2025—Drifting With Snowflakes]]>Sun, 21 Dec 2025 14:02:36 GMThttp://www.moenkopimemories.org/blog/drifting-with-snowflakes-winter-solstice-2025            When the air is just cold enough, when the storm gentles into windlessness, and when  snowflakes drift like light lazy earthbound feathers—when all that happens and I happen to be wearing a dark colored coat—well, I become engrossed, even lost, staring down into the perfection of singular snowflake crystals resting for an ephemeral second or two on my arm.
            Within many of those special snowflake seconds that occur between a single crystal flake alighting and its inevitable transformation into a melty droplet of water, I experience an altered reality. I travel with the essence of water into cloud and rise above the wintry world below. Then I drift slowly down to earth, watching the white mountainy world below come nearer and nearer until I float through the trees and alight, unscathed, upon a special sleeve. There I melt into warm wintry sleep.
            Every interlude between snowflake and droplet that I allow myself to dream within yields a woundrously new wilderness vista. Soft snowy hills, steep sharp jagged peaks, tumbling glaciers, vast ice sheets, white cones of dormant volcanos—always a new vista.
            These instantaneous journeys remind me that the concept of time is more complex than we can ever understand while walking this earth and living with the seasons as they change. And they remind me that there is no better time for drifting and dreaming and imagination and creativity than during the depths of winter.
]]><![CDATA[Autumn Equinox 2025—Swirling Stormclouds]]>Sun, 21 Sep 2025 20:26:36 GMThttp://www.moenkopimemories.org/blog/swirling-stomclouds-autumn-equinox-2025             There are storms all around me these days, but few of them hold any thirst-quenching rain.  Few bring relief from the drought and heat of climate and political change that is sweeping our world.  Most days I simply cannot stand to watch the weather, nor can I watch the news—either local or national or world.
            But I can still watch the birds as they prepare for their ageless quest to migrate to warmer climes.  I can still watch the leaves as they inexoribly show their colors in preparation for fall and winter.  And I can hope that beyond Earth’s current swarm of insatiable humanity lies a true balance of nature.
            On this particular equinox, more than ever before, I sense the impending extinction (or near extinction) of the human race. How else can one explain the surge of human ignorance, selfish power-hungry fascism, and complete lack of connection to and awareness of the natural world from which humanity arose?  Humankind has lost its way, and the biological clock is ticking—we have overused our environment, overstepped our place in the natural world, and overestimated our omniscience and power.
            In reality, we are no more than a swarm of insects, a stampede of lemmings, or a blossoming of bacterial matter.  It’s a bit painful for those of us who have brains to realize this truth.  It’s a bit easier if we simply accept that no matter how powerful our minds are, we cannot change the biological course.  The fall (not just this year’s autumn) is upon us. And most of humanity will soon go the way of the dinosaur.
            I do believe a few will survive though, and perahps there will be another epoch of life’s diverstiy on Planet Earth where all living things find a harmonius balance.  If I’m lucky enough to have my genetic imprint move forward into a world beyond the Anthropocene, I hope to wake one Autumn Equinox morning and look out at the world with love, and joy, and peace, and balance.  I hope to walk with my fellow living creatures in harmony and relish in the season’s change as has been done for millions of years.
            Meanwhile, you’ll find me somewhere beneath the yellow leaves of a turning aspen tree waiting patiently for the first snows of Winter.
]]><![CDATA[Summer Solstice 2025—Accelerating Changes]]>Wed, 18 Jun 2025 02:31:47 GMThttp://www.moenkopimemories.org/blog/summer-solstice-2025-accelerating-changes
          By walking dusty dirt roads on warm summery days in the foothills of the Colorado Rockies as a youngster, I learned to appreciate how much I could observe and enjoy while traveling on foot. Each new scene along the way would unfold slowly, allowing time to look, listen, smell, touch, and taste along the way. Moving through any setting, natural or man made, on foot, also allowed time to ponder and to think and to meditate.
          As I moved forward in life, and as life accelerated, I began to seek out special times for a return to a slower pace through walking, bicycling, paddling, sailing, or just sitting in a quiet natural place watching the world reveal whatever it held at that particular moment.
            Summer Solstices eventually became for me a special time dedicated to my desire to simply slow down. After all, there is so much daylight this time of year, why not take a little time to just decelerate, stop, and simply be?
            But as the years pass I see the world around me moving ever faster, accelerating in frantic motion and chaos. And when I slow myself down, the rest of the world seems to be blurred with speed. Development, population, climate, and world crisis all seem to be barreling with ever increasing speed down a steep grade, out of control, heading for a curve that simply can’t be negotiated.
            I don’t know what the future holds, but I do sense that the curve at the bottom of the hill is getting closer and closer. And I know I cannot stop the momentum.
            But I can, almost as if by magic, jump off this massive accelerating force from time to time to simply take a simple walk or just sit and think. Summer Solstice is the perfect time for this. And if the rest of the world falls off that menacing curve, well, I'll be firmly grounded and I’ll still remember how to walk. 
]]><![CDATA[Vernal Equinox 2024—Finding Peace Amidst Crisis]]>Wed, 19 Mar 2025 10:37:08 GMThttp://www.moenkopimemories.org/blog/vernal-equinox-2024-finding-peace-amidst-crisis     At this point in time there is little I can do to combat the political storm sweeping over what feels like a failing America and an ever more destabilized world.  At times it seems like this is a spring without hope.  But despair is pointless, and so I seek ways to give my mind and heart and soul respite from worry and fear. I’m watching nature slowly transition into spring, like nature has done for millions of years, and I know that above all, nature will survive, even if mankind ceases to exist.  And I’m continuing with plans to publish my latest book which is not in any way reactionary to the current crisis we face, but rather a celebration of lyrical poetry and song.  It is all about how poetry and song can inspire and teach and bring such great joy.  During times of chaos, crisis, fear, and poverty everyone needs moments of joy and inspiration—everyone needs to see and smell and touch the early spring blossom and feel the hope it inspires. Strength comes from the ability to rest between challenges and battles.  Hope comes from finding beauty amidst or between the storms.
            And so bolstered by the hope of nature, which transcends the strife of humanity, I will be strong in mind and body and ready to fight, with words or weapons, for all that is good and right and healthy for all life on Earth. Spring is nature’s revolution, which will always rise again.]]><![CDATA[Winter Solstice 2024—Wanting Winter]]>Thu, 19 Dec 2024 15:19:28 GMThttp://www.moenkopimemories.org/blog/winter-solstice-2024-wanting-winter           The snow is again late in coming this year here in Salt Lake City, and I find myself truly wanting some real winter to appear. I probably would feel differently if I lived downwind from the Great Lakes and six foot snow drifts covered my driveway!
         But snow and cold are so essential in the hills and mountains because they provide so many critical functions to our natural ecosystems. Not only does the snow insulate many roots and plants, but it protects countless hibernating animals. Then when it melts in spring, the aquifers and rivers and lakes are all recharged, the flowers grow, and the forest flourishes. Furthermore, the bitter cold days and nights from a classic winter in the mountains provide a cleansing of insects from the great forests.  It’s as if the trees get to take a cold shower to remove all pests from their buds and bark and limbs.
         For humans who live in seasonal climates, winter not only brings joys like sledding, snowshoeing, skiing and snowboarding, but it also brings beauty and balance to our lives. Whether it be the susurrant murmur of falling snow during near silent moments in the trees or the crystalline diamonds glistening in the slanted low angle sun on fresh powder, there are countless moments of pure clear clean beauty in winter settings. One of my favorites is the bright phosphorescence of snowflakes falling on a snowy night that makes the whole world glow as if bathed in moonlight. And whether it be the biting cold and bitter wind or the blue and white ice and drifts almost too deep to shovel, there are other manty winter moments that make us appreciate the coming spring and summer so much more passionately.
         And so on this Solstice a quarter of the way into the 21st Century, I wait longingly for a winter just like the ones I used to know as a child growing up in Colorado.  
]]><![CDATA[Autumn Equinox 2024—Learning Sunflower Wisdom]]>Sat, 14 Sep 2024 14:10:47 GMThttp://www.moenkopimemories.org/blog/autumn-equinox-2024-learning-sunflower-wisdom       It’s one week before the Autumnal Equinox, and everywhere I go I see those happy faces of the resilient and charming wild sunflowers.  They consistently keep blooming through the heat, the winds and rain, the snow, and some even through a few frosts of autumn.  They adapt to almost every kind of space that gathers just a little bit of rain whenever it rains.  And they decorate the dusty dry roadsides on every country lane or highway running throughout the West.
       These wonderful sunflowers are drought tolerant, storm tolerant, heat and cold tolerant, tough as nails, and still beautiful.  Furthermore, they are an important food source for countless wild birds and other small rodents and mammals.
       Lately I’ve found it difficult to keep a positive outlook while being beaten and battered by climate change’s searing heat, howling winds, and crushing storms.  I’ve found it difficult to remain upbeat while watching ignorance rear it’s ugly head in America’s political arena.  And it’s tough to navigate the swirling currents of changing technology and AI.
       But when I look at those wild sunflowers smiling brightly throughout it all, following the rain and the sun and freely feeding the wildlife, I gain from them the simple wisdom of quietly doing the best I can to simply adapt to changes, keep intellectually blooming, and dedicate my life to any and all wild things that come my way.
       And so this Autumn Equinox will find me out walking or cycling or perhaps roller skiing along a sunflower-graced roadway basking in their happy glow.

]]><![CDATA[Summer Solstice 2024—Seeking Balance]]>Mon, 17 Jun 2024 12:28:11 GMThttp://www.moenkopimemories.org/blog/summer-solstice-2024-seeking-balance       As the summer solstice nears, I find myself seeking balance in a society that is so badly out of balance that it spins with  violent vibrations and forces that threaten to shake it apart.  I turn to the balance of the seasons, the harmony of the natural world, and the rhythms of all forms of life to bolster my spirit amidst such troubled times.
       I just finished reading Daniel James Brown’s book Boys in the Boat for the second time and am reminded so clearly of the titanic struggles humanity endures between good and evil, love and hatred, honesty and lies. Brown quotes boatbuilder, rower, and philosopher George Yeoman Pocock in that wonderful book with this simple wisdom: “Harmony, balance, and rhythm.  They’re the three things that stay with you your whole life. Without them civilization is out of whack.”
       Well, today's civilization is out of whack. The natural world is in transition, moving as nature always does, to find new rhythms, harmonies, and balances to compensate for the messes humanity has wrought.  The question is, will those new balances of nature have a place for humankind?
       Meanwhile, I must find my center in nature in order to keep strong, keep writing, and keep fighting the corruption that threatens our lives, our constitutions, and our natural world. I’ll bask in the summer sun on a mountain lake for the Solstice, and then I’ll return to wield my pen as a soldier in this battle for truth, beauty, and justice.
            
]]><![CDATA[Vernal Equinox 2024 Reaching for the Sun]]>Tue, 12 Mar 2024 00:21:12 GMThttp://www.moenkopimemories.org/blog/vernal-equinox-2024-reaching-for-the-sun​            I love the simplicity of fresh new green plants breaching the cold, saturated soil and reaching for the spring sun and trusting in the warmth to come.
            Each day as the vernal equinox nears I try to spend a few moments simply observing and enjoying the burgeoning buds and newly visible greenery of spring. And yes, I kneel in the moist earth to smell those first crocuses or daffodils or tulips, even if their smell is more of dust and fresh dirt than sweet floral fragrance. Perhaps it’s just the act of getting close to them, like a bee searching for pollen, that feels so enriching.
            And when I rise again to face the new day, it’s easier to bear the chaos and storm of culture, humanity, politics, and power that surges around me and threatens to sweep everything away.
            Springtime allows me to assert my human right to revel in nature. Some rights should never be taken away. And so I also pray daily that my constitutional rights will survive the big spring storms of society that loom on the horizon.
            Inspired and bolstered by the sun and plants and flowers, I continue to write for hope and faith and devote myself to the great tasks that still lie before me.]]>