The smell of wet pine needles mixed with a potpourri of wild flowers, ferns, mountain meadow grasses and mud produced a heady fragrance beyond anything one could find bottled on a store shelf.  I inhaled the aroma deeply, stirring imaginations of cozy winter cabins warmed by fireplaces ablaze with crackling wood.

     White tennis shoes contrasted with deep dark brown dirt as we trod up the gentle slope.  A neatly manicured trail led us along this sky-high peak at 9100 feet.  The adventure was not in the hiking but in the gazing.  Although it was still summer on the desert flats, here in the high meadow, wild flowers bloomed in the cool 60 degree temperatures.

     With noses glued to camera screens and eyes peering through viewfinders, we hunted flowers, dew-drop blades of grass, mushrooms squeezed beneath downed tree trunks, daisies growing on spindle stems, tree stumps creased like accordion bellows.   Above us danced quaking aspen leaves against billowy white clouds steaming across the rich blue sky.

A few years ago, a fire destroyed many pines atop the peak

     Four ladies forging a new bond of friendship, clutching cameras in hand, praising God for His handiwork, learning from each other, and promising to gather again for a fall mountaintop experience.

     “For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies.:  Psalm 57:10 NIV

     Thank you, Lord
     191) for friendships formed of common bond in You and like interests
     192) for the glory of your creation from the tiniest flower to towering pines
     193) for cameras to capture the moments that will refresh our spirits somewhere in the future
     194) for generous, caring hearts moved by Your Spirit to plan an enormous event benefiting a grieving wife and mother and her four children
     195) for raindrops and hail pelting the desert sand
     196) for cooler temperatures that beckon us outside
     197) for the start of a new job
     198) for the remarkably joy-filled team with whom I am working
     199) for your special gift to me~an answered prayer
     200) for friends who share my joy

     So many blessings from the Father’s heavenly love~rich friendship and His glorious creation counted among them this week.  What blessings have found you beneath the Father’s all-encompassing love?