• fog,  landscape,  Plants,  trees

    Two Trees Revisited

    The Two Trees at Sunrise

    These are the two trees I’ve happily photographed this past sumer. The crops surrounding them have been harvested. The leaves have begun to drop exposing bare branches. The Rocky Mountains are hidden in the background by the morning fog. What a glorious morning it was. I’m grateful for this morning experience and look forward to many more.

  • Plants,  trees

    Moving on to Winter

    Cottonwood Grove

    I paid another visit to the grove of cottonwood trees near Mary’s Lake at the Rocky Mountain National Arsenal. My last visit, two weeks ago, showed the vibrant colors of yellow-gold of the leaves. Since then we have had snow and wind, so I expected to see some barren trees. The leaves of the cottonwood are shiny and triangular with rounded teeth on the margin. The nearly heart-shaped leaves are similar to poplar and aspen, also members of the Poplar family. We are moving on to winter and then I will try and get a photo of them in a blanket of white.

  • animals

    Early Moonrise

    Moon and Deer

    This image was taken in the early afternoon at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal. The moon had risen about an hour earlier and the sun is just setting behind me. Even though the deer within the refuge are protected and accepting to us visitors, they always seem to keep a wary eye on us. If we were to study animals more we would see how adaptive they are to the world around them while man seems bent on changing the world around him.

  • lake,  landscape,  Plants,  quotes,  trees

    Ladora Lake

    Ladora Lake looking South

    “My goal as a person and, consequently, as a photographer, is to witness, participate in, and hopefully share the delicate beauty of wilderness – those moments in time when nature and spirit transcend the make-believe world of politics, economics, religious squabbles, fleeting fashion, mass “entertainment,” and other means of wasting the precious gift of thought and inspiration we are each endowed with.” – Guy Tal

    I just observed a young boy, maybe 6 years old, walk into this coffee shop with his eyes glued to a smart phone or game boy? He never looked up. Unfortunately, he had been sucked into that small box with its dings, dongs, chimes, bells and whistles, blasting away to kill as many opponents as quickly as his nimble fingers could move. It was obvious he was no longer “witnessing or participating” in the world around him. His mother sat passively beside him with no attempt or chance of a conversation and I’m not sure she even wanted any of that. I wondered what that conversation would be like. Could he even have a conversation with her? Does he have, or will he ever have, the precious gift of thought and inspiration? Just watch our children, and unfortunately many adults, as they walk through life looking down at their handheld devices. Addicted?

    Anyway, I wanted to share the above quote from Guy Tal. His words so resonate with my heart and soul in this misguided world. If you have a chance to visit his website and blog, I highly recommend it. He’s a very good photographer and very much in touch with the world around him. I enjoy his little quips called, “Just saying.”

  • animals

    Watching

    Watching

    A doe checking me out last week at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal MWR. Even with no hunting on the refuge the wildlife always keeps a close eye on us, usually seeing us before we see them. Hope everyone enjoys the coming week!