nibbling on grass
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black eyes alert to danger
nothing but cuteness
nothing but cuteness
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One of the regulars
This is my reflections on Sunday morning from Starry Night. A young man sat against the south wall, phone in hand and a latte sitting on his table. He was not familiar to me. Sitting next to him was a couple who come here often, what we call regulars. A couple men sat in the lounge chairs near the front window deep in conversation, more regulars. Then Lucy came in who is one of the solid regulars. I see her almost every time I come to this coffee shop. She usually is out walking and stopping here is part of her routine. Sometimes she meets up with friends and sometimes she reads the paper. The baristas know her, as do us regulars. I asked if I could take her photo today. So meet Lucy!
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What a Mystery
Nature is a part of our humanity, and without some awareness and experience of that divine mystery man ceases to be man.
Henry BestonA search of Doctor Google showed this to be Widow Skimmer Dragonfly. Unlike other species of dragonflies where males guard egg-laying females, Widow Skimmer males leave the female by herself, ‘widowing’ her as she lays her eggs just under the surface of the water. I stood in the sun and waited for them to land, hoping to get some images. This is a female as the males have a silver-grey body. What a mystery it all is! If you’re so inclined, reading this link will add to the mystery. Hope you enjoy your Saturday!
- Arapaho Bend Natural Area, landscape, natural areas, poems, poetry, quotes, sunrises, writing/reading
Whoever that may be
In the late summer season of life, I found
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authors, guides, and teachers who have made me
aware of the gift of my wandering soul and spirit
within my own inner landscape.
With no knowledge of an inner landscape
I went seeking in the enticing outer landscape
yet this wandering soul and spirit of mine
was never satisfied, never fulfilled, always lost
Now in my winter season of life
my soul and spirit wander my inner landscape
seeking the Unknowable,
that source of life,
Whatever and
Whoever that may be.I’ll end this with a thought from C.G. Jung, suggesting that our wandering has and is the thirst of our being for wholeness, expressed in medieval language: the union with God.
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Something so simple
cloudless predawn sky
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silhouetted needlegrass
something so simpleThis image is from Pineridge Natural Area a few days ago. I went for the predawn meditation, to empty my monkey mind and allow nature to fill me with that sense of awe. It’s always a great way to start my day. I was entertained by a half dozen bats demonstrating their aerial acrobatics, silhouetted against the sky. Then I noticed this solitary needlegrass silhouetted against the orange and blue horizon dancing in the light breeze. Grabbed my camera since I had it with me. Something so simple. Have a great Friday!
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In harmony with the Tao…
In harmony with the Tao,
Lao Tzu
the sky is clear and spacious,
the earth is solid and full,
all creatures flourish together,
content with the way they are,
endlessly repeating themselves,
endlessly renewed.
when man interferes with the Tao
the sky becomes filthy,
the earth becomes depleted,
the equilibrium crumbles,
creatures become extinct.And to think the Old Sage Laozi or Lao Tzu (Old Master) wrote this around 400 B.C. This translation is from Tao Te Ching: A New English Version by Stephen Mitchell. I believe this to be a juba skipper who was hanging around my ponds, so I
shotphotographed it. But, I don’t believe I interfered with the Tao. -
Moments of Awe!!
The spiritual journey is a constant interplay between moments of awe followed by a process of surrender to that moment.
Richard RohrWhile reading and journaling at Rolland Moore Park I noticed the wind rustling through the cottonwood trees above me. It caused me to look up and have one of those moments of awe. And, I just happened to have my camera with me.
- Arapaho Bend Natural Area, clouds, landscape, natural areas, poems, poetry, reflections, sunrises, writing/reading
The Power of Practice
To live a life grounded in God
Meister Eckhart’s Book of Darkness & Light
you don’t need information;
you need to be informed by
the spark of divine presence
you always carry within you.
But you’ll have to practice
this, with concentration,
like you would if you were
learning a skill or art.To grow in this craft of photography requires practice. At the present moment I have over 90,000 images in my archives. A rough guess would be that less than 5% of them are good images. I’ll define good as images I’d want to print, frame or sell. And, I post many images on this blog that I would not define as good but want to share them anyway. There is something about them I like. Which means I have a large number of keepers that are lessons and teachers. The lessons they teach may not be something I understand while looking at the image on my computer. Some lessons may be unconscious and only known or understood until I’m in the field and something intuitive, that spark within me, tells me to change my composition or some technical aspect of my equipment. And, that is the lesson practice offers!
This morning’s clouds, predawn colors and reflections at Arapaho Bend Natural Area were a good way for me to start this day. My only hiccup was making an 8 ounce pour-over rather than a 12 ounce pour-over. 😂 I hope you also have a good day in whatever you do!
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The Grandeur of God
“The world is charged with the grandeur of God.”
Gerard Manley HopkinsThis scene was taken along Weld County Road 90. I drove around this morning in search of new locations to experience and photograph sunrises which offer wide open spaces, solitude, and silence. As I stood there knee high in grasses, a Dove cried out its mournful sad song while a Meadowlark sang to me. A coyote crossed the road and I must have seen a dozen Red Tailed Hawks. And one proud white tail buck stared me down. It is quite isolated, which is one thing I am looking for. I may have found what I was looking for. So be warned you may see more images from this location. Since it’s about 35 miles round trip it’s not going to be a daily visit. Anyway, I am grateful for this morning’s sunrise and the visible grandeur of God. Hope you have a wonderful day!
Sorry for placing the horizon so close to the center (Well not that sorry.). 😂
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A Second Post…
Poets have always been the ones to see most deeply into the human soul, because they are the ones most unafraid of knowing their own depths.
Maria PopovaYes, this is my second post for the day. Nature is like a poet in that it is not afraid to show its depths and knowledge as an artist using the sky as a canvas and clouds as its medium. This image was taken about 50 minutes after the previously posted image.
