• Avian

    Western Kingbird

    May 24, 2022
    Western Kingbird

    Took an evening drive to Weld County for some bird photos at a marshy area along County Road 13 and County road 78. Had an enjoyable evening watching, listening and photographing plenty of birds. This is a Western Kingbird. They belong to the flycatcher family so you can understand why they hang out in the insect laden marshes. They are actually a very lovely gray-headed bird with a yellow belly and a whitish chest and throat. The tail is black with white outer tail feathers. An easy bird for me to spot. I normally see them on fence wires or single branches such as this. They make this cute little repeated “kit, kit” sound.

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  • clouds,  landscape,  natural areas,  Pineridge Natural Area,  sunrises

    One of Those Nights

    May 23, 2022
    Taken about a half hour after sunrise

    Awake at 3:00 am and couldn’t go back to sleep. Up at 4:13 am. Made a chai latte then found myself parked at Pineridge Natural Area at 5:16 am listening to the birds sing. There is something magical that happens around and within me when I listen to their songs in the predawn darkness. There were a dozen pelicans cruising the reservoir. While near by two Great Blue Herons waded along the shore. Must have been a good morning to fish. I am lucky, blessed to have these natural areas near me to enjoy.

    I heard it rain during the night but it had stopped by the time I got up. I knew I was taking a chance for a break in the clouds but I felt the desire to be there rather than my condo. We who obsess with photography chase those moments of light no matter how fleeting they are. It is raining again as I get ready to post this and the sky looks nothing like this image now. Luckily I can take a nap today.

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  • flowers,  Plants,  quotes

    Be Alert

    May 21, 2022

    Everything can be used as an invitation to meditation. A smile, a face in the subway, the sight of a small flower growing in the crack of cement pavement, a fall of rich cloth in a shop window, the way the sun lights up flower pots on a windowsill. Be alert for any sign of beauty or grace. Offer up every joy, be awake at all moments, to “the news that is always arriving out of silence.” Slowly, you will become a master of your own bliss, a chemist of your own joy, with all sorts of remedies always at hand to elevate, cheer, illuminate, and inspire your every breath and movement.

    Sogyal Rinpoche

    I spotted this Iris from a distance because it was the only one in bloom at this small island on the entrance to the Lory Student Center. The flower takes the name from the Greek word for rainbow primarily because of the wide variety of colors they come in. It is also a favorite pollinating flower of insects. Yes, be alert to the beauty around us.

    I was surprised to awaken to clear skies and sunshine this morning. They were predicting 4-12 inches of snow. We so need the moisture whether in the form of rain or snow. We do have the cold, though. Have a great weekend!

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  • landscape,  natural areas,  Reservoir Ridge Natural Area,  seasons,  snow

    Springtime in Colorado

    May 20, 2022

    Springtime in Colorado includes snow in May in case you didn’t know that. This was taken at Reservoir Ridge Natural Area about an hour ago. Rain began about midnight and is slowly turning to snow. Snow is already on the foothills at probably 6500 feet and the higher elevations are shrouded in clouds and snow. Forecast this morning says 4-12 inches of snow will accumulate throughout the day and end tomorrow by noon. My weather app says it’s 37 degrees. The meadowlarks were singing as I took this image. Seems each day is a day to be grateful to them. We can learn from them. I’m now having a bowl of hot Irish Oats with blueberries. Seemed appropriate. Turned the furnace on, too. Meanwhile Phoenix and Charlotte will be in the 90’s.

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  • Black and White,  Mary Oliver,  poems,  poetry,  Self-portraits

    Temple of Thought

    May 19, 2022

    Not quite four a.m., when the rapture of being alive
    strikes me from sleep, and I rise
    from the comfortable bed and go
    to another room, where my books are lined up
    in their neat and colorful rows. How 

    magical they are! I choose one
    and open it. Soon
    I have wandered in over the waves of the words
    to the temple of thought.

                      And then I hear
    outside, over the actual waves, the small,
    perfect voice of the loon. He is also awake,
    and with his heavy head uplifted he calls out
    to the fading moon, to the pink flush
    swelling in the east that, soon,
    will become the long, reasonable day. 

                           Inside the house
    it is still dark, except for the pool of lamplight
    in which I am sitting.
                      I do not close the book. 
    Neither, for a long while, do I read on.

    Mary Oliver, her poem The Loon from What Do I know?
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  • animals,  natural areas,  Pineridge Natural Area,  quotes

    They Teach Us

    May 17, 2022

    In the Western tradition there is a recognized hierarchy of beings, with, of course, the human being on top—the pinnacle of evolution, the darling of Creation—and the plants at the bottom. But in Native ways of knowing, human people are often referred to as “the younger brothers of Creation.” We say that humans have the least experience with how to live and thus the most to learn—we must look to our teachers among the other species for guidance. Their wisdom is apparent in the way that they live. They teach us by example. They’ve been on the earth far longer than we have been, and have had time to figure things out.

    Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass

    What a beautiful morning we have here in Colorado. Blue skies and sunshine. I have not read her book but think it’s one I do want to absorb some of her words and spirit. I also noticed Krista Tippett has a podcast with her that I want to listen to. Hope everyone has a wonderful day, enjoy it!

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