• bicycling,  campus,  clouds,  coffee life,  landscape,  sunrises

    This Morning’s Sunrise

    October 31, 2025

    Jeff and I switched things up and met for coffee at the Lory Student Center this morning. The 30 degrees made it a cool ride for both of us but the sunrise colors were stunning. I shot this image by resting my camera on my bicycle seat and holding it as still as I could in the cold. It was shot at ISO 3200 and .4 sec exposure at f8.0. I used Lightroom’s Denoise to clean it up and think it did a fair enough job. Happy Halloween! And, I’ve decided to wear the same costume today that I wore yesterday.

    Read More
  • flutes,  horizons,  landscape,  Pineridge Natural Area,  quotes

    …and stayed present

    October 30, 2025
    The flute and the boulder
    Image taken from the boulder

    I am alarmed when it happens that I have walked a mile into the woods bodily, without getting there in spirit… The thought of some work will run in my head, and I am not where my body is — I am out of my senses. In my walks I would fain return to my senses…

    Henry David Thoreau in WALKING

    There is a voice deep within me that I need to listen to more often and I am not talking about the never ending chatter of my mind. That voice nudged me to get out of the house and out of my head to enjoy this beautiful day with some quality time in nature. So, after lunch I made a visit to Pineridge Natural Area taking my journal, camera and one of my flutes. As I pulled into the parking lot I was greeted by a group of Magpies lined up on the parking lot fence letting me know they were glad to see me. Turning off the car I looked out across the almost empty reservoir and watched gulls floating over the water in search of food. There was not a cloud to be seen, just a blank blue canvas waiting for a cloud. I began to settle into the present moment slowly letting go of distracting thoughts. I noticed the green of the meadow fading and the brown, yellow and gold of fall replacing it. I walked to a familiar, and comfortable enough, boulder that works as a chair and sat down. I allowed my body to relax and soak in the sun’s warmth. I opened my journal and began writing down a few thoughts on those blank pages rather than keeping them in my head. I then picked up my flute and began to practice. The blowing wind wanted to also play the flute so I didn’t practice that long but laid the flute across my lap, took in deep breaths and stayed present. While Thoreau went to the woods, I went to the meadow. I’m glad I listened to that voice and stayed present. 

    Read More
  • fall season,  leaves,  quotes

    I don’t know, maybe tomorrow…

    October 29, 2025
    Image edited with Color Efex Pro

    The contemplative life is not a way of knowing.
    It is not the path of certitude.
    In fact, that’s what makes it so alive, so necessarily active.

    Cassidy Hall

    I did not ride to the coffee shop this morning as the 23 degrees convinced me driving the car was a warmer option. Maybe tomorrow. We have blue skies, sunshine and not expecting it to get above 55 degrees. I guess you can say I fit into a contemplative life since I am not into the path of certitude, and shun away from those who are walking that path, and I do say “I don’t know” more often.

    Read More
  • bicycling,  campus,  fall season,  sunrises

    makes them stop and look…

    October 28, 2025
    CSU Oval

    The poet Mary Oliver suggests in one of her poems (A Lesson From James Wright) that when you sit very quietly in some lovely wild place and listen to silence, that is a poem. I really like that idea. So carrying that further and thinking of our life as a poem, a prayer, a blessing for ourselves and others, maybe adds some aromatic fragrance to who we are and can touch another life. For me this includes creatives such as poets, artists, mystics, photographers, authors, family, friends and others who have done that in my life. I like that idea, also.

    I took this image at the CSU Oval on my ride home this morning. In these later years of my life I am seeing and experiencing this beautiful world in a new way. Something inside me does not want to miss the chance of being a part of it, whether that is being an observer, a poem, a prayer, a blessing, a better loving human, or a silly photographer on a bicycle who stops for photos at the oddest times and makes people stop and look.

    Read More
  • quotes

    Stillness and Quiet

    October 27, 2025

    In the stillness of the quiet, if we listen,
    We can hear the whisper of the heart
    giving strength to weakness,
    courage to fear,
    hope to despair.

    Dr. Howard Thurman

    I took this image at noon today at Red Fox Meadows Natural Area which is a 40-acre urban wildlife refuge that is less than half mile from my condo. It also is an important stormwater detention area for the city. It truly is a corridor for wildlife as I have seen fox and deer here on many occasions. There are plenty of hawks feasting on mice that consider this their home. Yet, there are houses and traffic to the north and south of me but with the right composition I can pretty much eliminate any sign of man’s intrusion. I really need to visit more often for its stillness and quiet, for the photography, a place to journal and I can practice my flute there. Have a wonderful Monday!

    Read More
  • bicycle rides,  bicycling,  campus,  clouds,  fall season,  gratitude,  leaves,  sunrises

    Filled with gratitude…

    October 26, 2025

    We are having wonderful fall weather here in Colorado. However, next week we will see colder weather. Late yesterday morning I stood on my porch enjoying a glazed donut and glass of milk, soaking up the sun’s warming rays and watching the constant falling of leaves, twisting and spinning on their short journey. It’s a mesmerizing experience to be aware of my breath while being a witness to nature changing, creating. I felt filled with gratitude. And this morning is just as lovely of a fall morning. As soon as I stepped out the door into the darkness I was met with a captivating quiet and stillness. I then accepted the gift of the sunrise colors over the CSU campus as I rode to Mugs for a wonderful Old Town mocha made by my barista Ethan, then conversation and laughter with Jeff.

    Sunrise colors over campus
    Fall colors at the CSU Oval

    On the way home I rode through the CSU Oval listening to the sound of my tires rolling through the fallen leaves. Again, I felt filled with gratitude. Yet, I am aware that not all of the world has this state of silence, peace, and serenity. Nor are are all my days this way. Chaos, death, fear and suffering fills their days instead. My heart cries for them and I grapple with my feelings of helplessness. So even though I do not understand prayer or the prayer as I was taught in my youth, I do as Joyce Wilson-Sanford says, “I pray anyway.” Somehow, someway the prayer is given. May you enjoy this Sunday!

    Read More
  • clouds,  Humor,  landscape,  Pineridge Natural Area,  quotes,  sunsets

    Profanity and Ire

    October 24, 2025
    Sunrise from last week

    Sometimes we are at one with our fellows in brotherly love and peace.
    Sometimes in the unity of traffic, profanity and ire.

    Brenda P

    I was down to one Dove’s chocolate yesterday morning so I made a run to the grocery store. I drove east on Prospect where construction had traffic down to one lane in two locations in that one mile stretch. Crazy drivers were speeding and trying to cut in front of other people. Angrily I began to call them names, which did not make me feel any better nor could they hear me. Once I got to the grocery store, I could not make the self checkout thingy work for me. The anger I was still holding on to when I walked into the store now included frustration. After finally getting checked out I took Drake westbound home to avoid the construction on Prospect. But…. they had construction on Drake down to one lane near Shields. Now I’m angry, frustrated and spewing profanity all over the dashboard of my car and totally away of my behavior. I turned north on Shields only to discover they had traffic down to one lane near Prospect due to construction. So in that four mile square trip to the grocery store I had one lane traffic in four places due to construction. And the construction was really nothing more than a cable company burying cable. Oh, the measures we go to for chocolate! Gladly, no one got hurt and I got my chocolate fix.

    I put myself in timeout when I got home (20 minutes of meditation time) and calmed down. I reflected on my childish reactions to my first world problems and how insignificant they are compared to other world problems. I laughed at my silliness and went to a place of gratitude for the life I live, began to be excessively gentle with myself and aware of the growth that I still need in moving away from my self-centeredness. Thanks for listening. I hope you’re having a wonderful day!

    Oh, and the quote is from a text message with my friend Brenda after she heard about my experience and rather childish behavior. I think it fits perfectly with my story.

    Read More
  • quotes

    A Blessed Day

    October 22, 2025
    Sunset at Reservoir Ridge Natural Area

    “Those who bless and serve life find a place of belonging and strength, a refuge from living in ways that are meaningless and empty and lonely. Blessing life moves us closer to one another and closer to our authentic selves. When people are blessed they discover that their lives matter, that there is something in them worthy of blessing. And when you bless others, you may discover this same thing is true about yourself.”

    Rachel Naomi Remen

    I needed to spend some time this evening in one of the natural areas for quiet, journaling and some sunset time. For the past several months I have been writing a paragraph of things I am grateful for each night before I go to bed. I find it a nice way to reflect back over the day and put my mind in a good place before going to sleep. This gratitude list reminds of how blessed I am, how often I need to bless others, and that someone, somewhere is also blessing me. I hope your day has been a blessed day!

    Read More
  • fall season,  leaves,  Plants,  rants

    Communities of Leaves

    October 21, 2025

    One of the routes I ride to coffee takes me across campus. But before I move on I want to give you some idea about the campus. The CSU campus (urban forest as they call it) has approximately 9,000 trees distributed over three campuses, comprising 1,886 acres of land. The majority of CSU’s managed urban forest (7,207 trees) is located on the Main Campus within 191 acres of irrigated landscape. This 191 acres, where I ride to the coffee shop, provides a beautiful canvas for those 7,207 trees on campus to put on their fall season show of colors. I consider it a gift to watch these leaves of colors flutter and drift to the ground, swirling and dancing with the wind and forming small communities (piles) of leaves.  A community here and one over there. Though these leaves are no longer connected to their branches they are still connected by these small communities (piles) of leaves, happily dancing and singing with the wind. I sometimes wonder where they will be tomorrow or even later today? But this fall show is shortened and the end of the next stage of life for these leaves is altered as the groundskeepers quickly move in to remove the leaves, and I understand the reasoning. We also do it with our parks and lawns. But being the sentimental person I am, I personally like to see the leaves being blown all over the campus into small communities of leaves, living out the rest of their lives in decomposition, rather than seeing the ugly bare asphalt, concrete or the manicured green grass. It’s almost like the leaves have become refugees and are being sent to the landfill. I’ve ranted about this before and probably will again. We had a wonderful fall day here in Colorado and hope you did as well.

    Read More