mountains

The mountains have been very clear the last few days. The normal mist and haze, not to mention occasional brown cloud, between my life and home in Aurora and the dominating peaks in the west was reduced to wisps this past weekend when it rained and sleeted for about 10 minutes on Saturday. The rest of the day featured a sky of pure crystal, and it's remained more or less for the past two days. The mountains are deep blue and grey with white peaks, bold and obvious, dominating the Denver skyline more persuasively than usual.

It's a nice way to start the day. It gets me to thinking that I'd like to sit outside and stare at them for a while, but this is in fact not true, for the longer you stare at them the more you wonder why you're starring at them, and the less you appreciate them. It's better not to stare - it's rude, afterall - but to let yourself be surprised to catch them in the corner of your eye or feel shocked to round a corner and face them full on. Their size and silence speak softly to your own insignificance while inspiring a sense of awe for beauty, and this effect is diminished or lost in starring.