My online journal where I share my interests in photography, nature, journaling, fountain pens, bicycling, coffee life, spirituality and the mystery of it all.
They are predicting poor air quality over the next few days as the smoke from the west coast fires are carried into our area. The eastern horizon has this brown haze to it and therefore the sun has an orange glow to it, so surreal. Today is a new day. A gift, even though we may not see it that way. May we live it to the best of our abilities.
Well, so far I am pleased with the Fujifilm XF70-300mm f4.0-5.6 OIS WR. In the reviews I’ve read they talk about the close focusing ability of this lens and I find it to be true. All of these images were taken at 300mm and handheld.
I am noticing quicker battery drainage but that may be caused by shooting more images as I learn, practice and experiment with thisl ens.
This spider is about the size of a quarter. I am about three feet away and maybe could have gotten closer so the close focusing distance is good for me.
Also, all images are cropped to some extent.
I had a quiet walk at Reservoir Ridge Natural Area yesterday evening. It was a hot and muggy day so I was sweaty by the time I returned to the car. May have to take my monthly shower a week earlier than scheduled.
It was also very quiet. In the hour I was there I only heard one meadowlark, far off in the pasture, a half dozen red-winged blackbirds chattering in a tree and this mourning dove, who was mourning.
We are living in what the Greeks called the kairos – the right moment – for a ‘metamorphosis of the gods’, of the fundamental principles and symbols. This peculiarity of our time, which is certainly not of our conscious choosing, is the expression of the unconscious man within us who is changing.
Carl Jung
Although we have been made to believe that if we let go we will end up with nothing, life itself reveals again and again the opposite: that letting go is the path to real freedom.
Sogyal Rinpoche
low lying clouds
ms
sea of suspended water
silent waves of fog
Had a short night of sleep but slept sound for most of it and feel rested. Headed out early and discovered a bit of fog on the eastern plains. A world of clouds and haze until the sun burns it off. Very humid and cool morning with 96% humidity and 57 degrees. It is fascinating to watch fog as it changes and moves like a wave ever so silently and quickly. Fog does not hang around for too long. It is a cloud at the earth’s surface. A wave moving over bales of hay.
A touch of pink in this image as the sun is about to rise behind the low clouds in the east. We are seeing fields of both the ripening wheat and three foot tall stalks of corn. Farmers are irrigating the fields of corn so lots of surface moisture to generate the fog. Where I’m standing is a ditch full of gurgling water, almost like having my own little stream. Have a great day!
I arrived at 5:06 am. It was still dark. Warm enough not to need a jacket. It seemed much quieter than usual. I sat in the silence with my journal on my lap and camera sitting next to me. A mule deer pasted in front me and not sure she was aware of my presence. If she was I was not a threat to her. A cottontail came up and sat down in front of me, eyes riveted to mine in the silence. Soon the sky began to turn a soft pink. These moments are a gift then quickly gone. So, we must be present to each of them. I pressed the shutter button three times then went back to my journaling. Will meet with a friend in about an hour for good conversation.
Testing has shown I have mold in my condo and will now need to deal with having that fixed before having the new vinyl flooring put in. It was scheduled for Aug 2nd. Hope there is no delay in that.
It is preoccupation with possessions,– more than anything else — that prevents us from living freely and nobly.
Bertrand Russell
Wonder if the freedom from possessions is why birds enjoy singing, everyday.
No clouds this morning but plenty of haze from the smog and smoke drifting from the west coast. Unable to smell them but sure can see their effects. Interesting how the camera sensor does not record the red/orange sun in the sky the same as the reflection in Dixon Reservoir. Hope you had a good weekend and a great week ahead.
Started reading the book Nomadland by Jessica Bruder and finding it interesting. At times it’s sad, at times disturbing, at other times informative and other times funny.
“The Utah deserts and plateaus and canyons are not a country of big returns, but a country of spiritual healing, incomparable for contemplation, meditation, solitude, quiet, awe, peace of mind and body. We were born of wilderness, and we respond to it more than we sometimes realize. We depend upon it increasingly for relief from the termite life we have created. Factories, power plants, resorts, we can make anywhere. Wilderness, once we have given it up, is beyond our reconstruction.”
Wallace Stegner
I believe Stegner’s quote is valid for any place. Wilderness is always close by even in our cities but becoming smaller all the time. And we mistakenly call the elimination of these places development. Sigh!
I noticed some Campanula rapunculoides, also known by the common name of creeping bellflower, in a greenbelt and canal area on a walk along Shields Avenue. I felt a closer look was necessary. After a few photos I spotted these mushrooms. Since I was already on my knees I decided they also needed to have their photo taken. I took three photos of the mushrooms and later discovered the fly is only in one image. Guess the fly wanted their photo taken also. 😁