• coffee life,  coffee shops,  fountain pens,  Humor,  journal,  writing/reading

    Anyone else …

    January 7, 2022

    … still looking for the perfect camera bag? 😂 A quick google search for “perfect camera bag” gives me 118,000,000 hits. There is always someone suggesting the best camera bag for travel, backpacking, street photography, weddings and so forth. But I’m afraid we are all going to be disappointed because there ain’t one.

    Daily, I normally carry a camera with a lens attached, a journal, my fountain pens, a kindle paperwhite, sometimes a book, a smartphone, spare battery and SD cards. I seldom carry my 13″ Macbook Pro anymore. If’n I’m going to the coffee shop with the above then all I need is camera bag A or A1 or A2. If’n I’m going to a natural area for nature photos then a camera body with two lens and binoculars are what I need and fits in camera bag B, or B1 or B2 or B3. Maybe what I need is a bag that morphs into what I want for that day. I just put in what I’m going to carry for the day and it shapes itself to my needs. And all for only $49. Or maybe I need to give up. But I’m still looking. Sigh!

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  • clouds,  landscape,  natural areas,  Pineridge Natural Area,  Plants,  quotes,  sunrises,  trees

    It’s a way of life…

    January 6, 2022

    Inner peace is more
    than a state of mind!
    It is a way of life.

    Native American

    It’s Wednesday evening. I am scheduling this post for just after midnight. It has been snowing all afternoon, a nice silent snowfall that makes it all seem even quieter. I plan on sleeping in late. Have no desire to get up early and drive somewhere so looked in the archives for this image taken last year. If it’s cheating then I’m guilty. At my age I can break the rules.

    Had a doctors appointment yesterday because of increased back pain and some loss of feeling in my buttocks. My scoliosis I’ve had for decades is degenerating. X-rays showed bone spurs and the disks are in very poor shape. We will try some anti-inflammatory medicine first and continue my stretching and strengthening exercises. If these do not help then maybe an injection in his office. I’ve lived with it for many years and probably live with it until I die. Could be one of the driving factors where I look for inner peace as a way of life.

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  • landscape,  natural areas,  Plants,  Reservoir Ridge Natural Area,  seasons,  snow,  trees,  winter scenes

    Let it snow….

    January 2, 2022

    We had our first measurable snowfall this winter on New Years Eve. Fort Collins had received 0.7 inches of snow so far this season, compared with a normal of 12.4 inches by this time of year. So the snow was welcome. Only downside is cold always comes along with snow. Snowpack in the mountains is well below normal. It has been so dry and the primary reason for the tragic Marshal Fire a few of days ago.

    Fort Collins: 6 to 8.1 inches
    Loveland: 4.3 to 9.9 inches

    Sun came out yesterday afternoon so I drove to Reservoir Ridge Natural Area to find this image of blue sky against snow covered cottonwoods. It was -7 degrees this morning at 6:15 am. Sun is out and we’re at 21 degrees now. Guess I can take a couple pairs of the socks off.

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  • Arapaho Bend Natural Area,  Avian,  Canada Goose,  landscape,  natural areas,  quotes,  sunrises

    Happy New Year!

    January 1, 2022
    Sunrise at Arapaho Bend Natural Area

    May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you’re wonderful, and don’t forget to make some art — write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself.

    Neil Gaiman

    Hoping you surprise yourself in 2022!

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