Equal Parts Yin and Yang

Ala Garrison Keillor, It's been a busy week in Lovely Ouray. As the  detritus of Lake "Woe-is-me" fades like a bad dream, Life, as I once knew it, is beginning to reemerge from the wretched fog of "complications" like a long lost ship. Thank God for Lighthouses.

If we believe that the Universe and everything within it is comprised of force fields of energy, then it's not a big leap to believe that this "energy" seeks to be in balance. A very smart man taught us that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction; it's one of the principle laws of physics. Think of it as Yin /Yang—tangible dualities that "react" or balance out, dualities such as light and dark, high and low, hot and cold, fire and water, life and death, and, of course, the classic, male and female.

If the Universe is comprised of energy, then so are we…little force fields running amuck. I would like to believe that there is some order, maybe even purpose, for Negative Events that befall our lives, and which always seem to come in threes. I'd like to believe that if the crap can be endured, a trifecta of Positive Events awaits in the wings… an equal and opposite reaction to the crap. This is highly theoretical, but it's how I make sense of chaos...in lieu of just blaming it on the Devil.  

So, as the nightmare of three surgeries and one week in the hospital (under the influence of mind bending but ineffective painkillers) sloughs away like so much dead skin, sure enough three Positive things have moved in to fill the vacuum left by departed crap.  They are, in order of Gratitude:

1. I grow stronger every day and have resumed hiking the vertiginous and beloved trails that surround Lovely Ouray, not to mention that I even remounted my 29'er and completed a "test" ride to Ridgway with none other than the infamous and dastardly Postcard hater, Boonie Boonster. 
2. I am off the "Rat Poison" blood thinning drug, Warfarin.
3. Mine Shack 1, our rental house next door, is under contract. 

Now Boonie suggested that I should keep number three a secret so as to not jinx the deal. But I believe that the consummation of that sale is necessary, lest the Universe be out of balance. Besides, Bobbie and I are in the enviable position of being totally ambivalent as to whether we close or crash. We have found renters that seem responsible and a good fit, and the rental income nets a return of nearly 4 % on our investment, something we couldn't come close to doing with the cash proceeds of the sale of said Mine Shack. In fact, the plain truth is that some days we actually find ourselves hoping the deal falls through and try to find ways to Monkey Wrench it.

 If only I could take that same ambivalent attitude into all of life's adverse circumstances…Like, whatever. 

Boonie, the great derider of Pretty Postcards certainly holds no umbrage against riding through one. I envy his full suspension; maybe someday I will have rear cushioning for my scrawny backside.

Above: Wild roses. Below: Hiking the Silvershield Trail.

Future Dandelions

The Man and his Dog...

Bobbie and Boonie, hiking above Lovely Ouray, looking toward Imogene Pass

Crossing  Oak Creek…not possible three weeks ago

Our cute little Mine Shack that's under contract...

Imogene Pass looks like this later in the summer…
There is a mailbox on top, I assume for "Air Mail"

Bobbie, and our good friends Sandy (from Green Valley, Arizona) and Wandrin' Lloyd. Shot was taken several years ago; Lloyd has since sold his RV and settled into a life of living and hiking in two of the greatest locations in the southwest, Tucson, and Prescott.

Wandrin' Lloyd at lower Blue Lake

Colorado's state flower, Columbine...

"Just for fun" photos….Starting with Bobbie in nearby Utah

Above and Below: Bobbie's watercolors at a gallery showing in Montrose

Longtime friend Dale. We met in the military in Springfield, Missouri, and both dreamed of becoming "writers"someday.
Dale stopped by the Gallery last week and we had lunch. He now lives near Lovely Ouray, and is CEO of Wellspring Publishing. He also is a published author, "Letters from the Pen." Maybe if I grew my hair long like his, and dyed it silver, I could become "published." :))