My online journal sharing interests in photography, nature, coffee life, journaling, fountain pens, bicycling, spirituality and asking deep questions.
If you haven’t notice I spend many of my early mornings at Pineridge Natural Area which implies I post a lot of images from this area. I took this image in mid June. I am sure the kayaker is enjoying their morning on Dixon Reservoir. The color is interesting to me. I took several images and they all have this almost dirty gold look. We have no fires burning, thank goodness, so I’m assuming it is a smog/haze mix.
“May you recognize in your life the presence, power, and light of your soul. May you realize that you are never alone, that your soul in its brightness and belonging connects you intimately with the rhythm of the universe. May you have respect for your own individuality and difference.”
John O’Donohue
Took a drive up over Bingham Hill. I see this view each time I pass through but have never stopped because there is no place to pull over. Well, because it looked so lush and green on this particular day, I decided to stop even with part of my car on the road and put on my flashers. Took about six photos then moved on. Glad I did and no cars came by, this time. 😂
The Journey
Mary Oliver, from Dream Work
One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice –
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
“Mend my life!”
each voice cried.
But you didn’t stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do –
determined to save
the only life you could save.
I usually read one or two of Mary Oliver’s poems when I go to bed. This poem called The Journey, kept me awake the other night so maybe I need to rethink that routine. Anyway, the poem rocked me because it’s asking questions that I’m still asking myself at 72 years of age. It’s about transformation of an inner journey. So, it is asking if I’m willing to take all the risks involved, if I dare listen to the voice within, to face a death of some kind, to let go to something I’ve outgrown and the birth of a new self. It’s about learning to trust myself, about leaving the bad advice and demands of other people behind and even the voice of my own insecure egoic self, and to follow my own instincts, my own path in life. What does it say to you?
Today is my 72 birthday. I will most likely spend some time with my feathered friends at one of the natural areas, have a mocha or chai, get in some reading and journaling time. Basically, I’ll continue to spoil myself, even at this age.
I watch the sun set behind cottonwood trees while
ms
the blue sky opens to the coming darkness of night.
The long shadows of the sun stretch over the pasture
as my feathered friends sing their last chorus of the day.
I’m filled with gratitude as this day comes to an end
full of hope for the new day tomorrow.
Up early and off to the natural area.
ms
Wind was blowing hard and cold,
penetrating my fleece.
I was not expecting any colors
with clouds on the horizon but…
creation would not disappoint us.
Love sharing this sacred place
with all my friends,
both human and feathered.
It’s a good way to start each day!
Have a great weekend!
I miss the early days of the pandemic when scenes like this sunrise did not have the dirty brown smog hoovering on the eastern horizon. Sigh!
According to the National Invasive Species Information Center an “invasive species” is a species that is: 1) non-native (or alien) to the ecosystem under consideration and,
2) whose introduction causes or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health. Another definition of invasive species, and my favorite, is from Wikipedia, “An invasive species is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated with and harms its new environment.” You can do your own research but they all say basically the same thing.
In these two images you can see the harm done to the environment by an invasive species. I am standing in approximately the same location in both images but a year a part. Top image taken in June 2021 and the bottom image in June 2022. Those beautiful cottonwood trees I enjoyed seeing and photographing in the top image, have been removed. The green lush field is now barren dirt, piles of gravel/sand and about to have sewer lines, water lines buried underground then covered with concrete and cement. Gone.
I am saddened because earth movers are in the process of destroying complete ecosystems and calling it development. Sorry to differ but it’s called destruction. They both start with the letter “D” but that’s about as close as they get. I will boldly say housing is an environmental issue with its roots solidly based in money! Where we build housing says a lot about our views on and treatment of the land on which we live. And, I would suggest that those developers do not live in this sort of neighborhood. Nor do they care about the debt people will be getting into so they can increase their financial wealth. But more importantly the increases in housing density and associated development on rural forest lands and even farming practices has been linked to numerous changes to private forest services across watersheds, including decreases in native wildlife; changes in forest health, reduced water quality and availability. And, I’ve not even started with the impact of the maintenance of this infrastructure, environmentally and economically in years to come.
If I go with the definition by Wikipedia then the major invasive species I know is: humans. Interesting how man makes a list of invasive species such as thistle, bindweed, Zebra mussels, garlic mustard and the list goes on, but arrogantly leaves himself off the list. We have had people shouting warnings for years but many humans ignore it. Here’s a simple post by our friend Joe at JWSmithPhoto about this very thing.
Now that I’ve spent a few days writing and rewriting this post, I’ve uncovered how I really feel and discovered that I’m not just sad but I’m also pissed!
Stand unshod upon it, for the ground is holy, being even as it came from the Creator. Keep it, guard it, care for it, for it keeps men, guards men, cares for men. Destroy it and man is destroyed.
Alan Paton