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

    What Can’t Be Defined

    Sunrise at about 6:01:13 am

    Despite what dictionaries would have us believe, this world is still mostly undefined.

    John Koenig

    The wind blows from the west, it’s cold penetrating my windbreaker. A small flotilla of pelicans drifts along the reservoir’s shore. I watch the sun quietly rise above the horizon announcing the new day’s arrival. There’s a serenity over the meadow, wrapping itself around me. I hear the song of one lone meadowlark and a couple of chattering magpies who are not lost for words. Yet, I am lost for words in this experience. Expressing how nature affects us seems impossible. Truth be it’s more about the gift of experiencing it, rather than words. Yet, the poet puts words to paper in their attempt to define what they experience and see. The artist also puts brush to canvas in their attempt using visual words. Makes me wonder if the meadowlarks and magpies are just as lost for words but simply doing the best they can. Maybe it’s all about the attempts by poets, artists, magpies and dictionaries to define what can’t be defined. 

  • clouds,  horizons,  landscape,  quotes

    The silence and the darkness…

    Until we understand what the land is, we are at odds with everything we touch. And to come to that understanding it is necessary, even now, to leave the regions of our conquest – the cleared fields, the towns and cities, the highways – and re-enter the woods. For only there can a man encounter the silence and the darkness of his own absence. Only in this silence and darkness can he recover the sense of the world’s longevity, of its ability to thrive without him, of his inferiority to it and his dependence on it. Perhaps then, having heard that silence and seen that darkness, he will grow humble before the place and begin to take it in – to learn from it what it is.

    Wendell Berry

    Twenty years ago in May of 2004 I made a motorcycle trip to the Badlands for a few days of tent camping and photography. It was my first trip there and I loved it. The vistas, the rugged landscape (they call it Badlands for a good reason), the silence, the sheer beauty, all left a permanent imprint on me. I distinctly remember the experience of silence! Every once in a while I feel the pull to return and experience its presence one more time. But I also want to return because I need time away from the chaos of what Berry calls the “the regions of our conquest.” I can also say this about other places of nature I’ve experienced, including the local natural areas. I wonder if that pull is because of our one-on-one encounter with nature, the silence and the darkness? And who knows, maybe the whisper I hear is nature calling me. What will I learn when I return?

  • clouds,  horizons,  landscape,  quotes

    One With Everything

    “Wherever you are, you are one with the clouds and one with the sun and the stars you see. You are one with everything. That is more true than I can say, and more true than you can hear.”

    Shunryu Suzuki

    Light rain moved into the area yesterday afternoon and is hanging out along the front range. Snow is falling in the high country. We need it all. I have friends living in a Class A RV who arrived in Estes Park earlier in the week. They could see as much as a foot of snow up there. The rain has been gentle and refreshing, the best kind to recieve. Just before the rain began I spent some time journaling at Reservoir Ridge. Before I left the clouds began to build up produce lightning and thunder then rain. The rain has been steady every since.

    A dark bank of clouds looking like they were full of rain sat on the eastern horizon on my drive to meet Eric for coffee and conversation this morning. It was another reason to stop the car and stand in the rain for a few minutes. Our forecast is to see this all day. So it’s a day to stay inside sit back in a comfy chair, read, journal and binge on some unhealthy snacks (chips, cookies, chocolates).

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

    Our Gifts and Needs

    When we arrive on earth, we are provided with no map for our life journey. Only gradually, as our identity forms and we get an inkling of who we are, do possibilities begin to emerge that call us. It is one of the weightiest decisions: to decide what to do with our life. The challenge is to find a way of life that will be in harmony with our gifts and needs.

    John O’Donohue

    Today’s life journey started with prayer and meditation then moved on to include time at Pineridge Natural Area. The stunning clouds had a softness to them where I wanted to reach out and touch them. There was also a hint of pink in them when I first arrived. The quiet over the meadow was only broken when the blackbirds would sing along the shallows of the reservoir. I was given a special gift as a break in the clouds allowed the sun to send a ray of sunlight upon the earth. I have a crockpot of cabbage and sausage cooking, enjoyed a mocha latte and a barista smile! Who knows, maybe a nap later. Enjoy your day’s journey!

  • landscape,  natural areas,  Pineridge Natural Area,  sunrises

    Morning Prayer

    “I pray to the birds because they remind me of what I love rather than what I fear. And at the end of my prayers, they teach me how to listen.”

    Terry Tempest Williams

    I listened to it raining during the night so I was surprised to see an almost clear sky this morning. Since I woke early I made my way to Pineridge Natural Area to enjoy the beginning of a new day, bringing my camera just in case. Listening to the choir of meadowlarks and robins this morning lifted my spirits, setting the tone for the day. Listening seems to be a theme for me this morning, so I better listen. I stopped at Starry Night later and enjoyed a mocha latte made by Hannah. I listened as she excitedly shared about the blossoms on the tree outside her bedroom window, even showing me photos. And, I listen as they play In My Life by the Beatles. Hope you have a wonderful day!

  • Blossoms,  quotes

    Contemplation

    Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature — the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter.

    Rachel Carson, Silent Spring