acceptance settles
as we see the bright blue sky
(first time in two weeks)
An expensive hike
yet easy, green, glacial blue
make it worth millions
where can you see ice
floating from nearby glacier
as You eat your lunch?
Alaska wins us
though it can’t fully win her
(my pup will save me)
we can’t have autumn
without the vibrant colors
of all that is lost
trees casting shadows
that can’t be hidden by cats
seasonal comfort
a calming cycle
on a rails-to-trails flat path:
way to start the day
more history learned
at a medieval castle
built, burned, lost, rebuilt
my man boating us
back down the river, towards home
our heritage left
a castle day trip
cycling on sketchy roads
yet worth the visit
hidden Irish gems:
four hundred years of earls
residing in stone
science surprises:
this telescope discovered
distant galaxies
and Bruce got to stand
in the largest redwood grove
outside the U.S.
night ends with laughter
in a 1500s pub
kindness in their blood
we’re the post office:
through wind, rain, sleet, clouds… weather
we weather the storm
just another day
in the life we’ve created
in sickness and health
botanic gardens
will forever be compared
to Monte’s beauty
tropical magic
trees and blooms of every shade
giving us NO shade
two thousand years old:
a tree planted by Romans
to bring us olives
on all future trips
beating Madeira? so hard
blue-green amazement
1.8 million:
the years laurel has lived here
giving life to all
enchanted forest:
the only words to describe
Madeira’s true gold
traditional homes
give homage to these laurels
simple thatched roofs
a magical place
waits for you on this island
hidden in the sea
ten thousand stone steps
slippery at dawn, at noon
as mist never stops
ten thousand reasons
to be afraid of this hike,
yet we keep trekking
ten thousand peak views
all in different shades of light
just like our marriage
ten thousand questions
when we married at twenty
look how far we’ve come
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