The Sign Says It All
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This sign describes the situation spot on -
Among the Trees
From a walk at the Arapaho Bend Nature Area when I am among the trees,
Mary Oliver, When I Am Among the Trees
especially the willows and the honey locust,
equally the beech, the oaks and the pines,
they give off such hints of gladness.
I would almost say that they save me, and daily.
I am so distant from the hope of myself,
in which I have goodness, and discernment,
and never hurry through the world
but walk slowly, and bow often.
Around me the trees stir in their leaves
and call out, “Stay awhile.”
The light flows from their branches.
And they call again, “It’s simple,” they say,
“and you too have come
into the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled
with light, and to shine.” -
Sprinkling of Hearts
A sprinkling of hearts to cheer the heart I found these two hearts in the trunk of a large cottonwood tree along Fisher Nature Area a couple days ago. Since then I have found several others. I’m not sure but I think it is peoples way of saying thanks to first responders and front line health workers. Or, just passing along some love.
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The new norm
Dixon Reservoir and the Pineridge Nature Area I have always loved to watch white, fluffy, billowing the clouds. This morning at Red Fox Meadows the clouds seemed whitier, fluffier, billowingier, and dramatic, against the blue blue sky. Not sure if that’s due to my time in isolation or the cleaner air or both. But, it seemed to me everything was crisp, felt clean and fresh. I apologize because I’m unable to express what it is. I will say this, if this is the new norm then I don’t want the old norm.
Later I drove to the Pineridge Nature Area and glad I did. It’s a nature area of mixed trails around the Dixon Reservoir and along the small ridge in the background of this image. People were out walking and running these trails. It is up against the foothills so away from traffic. It was serene for me and I plan on returning. It will be a good place to exercise and get me out the neighborhood. You may see a few more images from this area.
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A few words from this morning
My journaling from this morning’s walk at Fisher Natural Area -
Happy Earth Day
Mid-afternoon clouds over the Colorado Front Range The Indians knew that life was equated with the earth and its resources, that America was a paradise, and they could not comprehend why the intruders from the East were determined to destroy all that was Indian as well as America itself.
— Dee Brown -
Temporary Sojourners
Sunset on Larimer County Rd. 3 “We rush through our days in such stress and intensity, as if we were here to stay and the serious project of the world depended on us. We worry and grow anxious; we magnify trivia until they become important enough to control our lives. Yet all the time, we have forgotten that we are but temporary sojourners on the surface of a strange planet spinning slowly in the infinite night of the cosmos.”
John O’DonohueI broke the stay-at-home orders and headed out of town. Don’t tell anyone. I know how much quieter it is in town with half the traffic but it is even quieter on a dirt road in eastern Larimer County. Meadowlarks were singing their hearts out which made my heart sing. Not sure I have ever photographed these trees before. So, expect more of them.
I am reading a second book by John O’Donohue called Eternal Echoes: Celtic Reflections on Our Yearning to Belong. It is as good as his first one and that’s where this quote comes from. Good night. I’m off to bed.
