My online journal where I share my interests in photography, nature, journaling, fountain pens, bicycling, coffee life, spirituality and the mystery of it all.
Back in August of 2015 I house sat for some friends for a week. It was a strawbale house on 20 acres in the eastern plains and a lovely place of solitude. This was one of the sunsets I enjoyed while there. I’ve heard the sunset is the sun’s fiery kiss to the night. Seems appropriate for this late posting. May you sleep well tonight!
l have come to think that care of the soul requires a high degree of resistance to the culture around us, simply because that culture is dedicated to values that have no concern for the soul.
Thomas Merton, Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander – 1966
It is Tuesday and starting out as a much cooler day. They say it’s only going to reach 90 degrees. I’m okay with that. The cooler air made it another lovely morning for a ride to the coffee shop. I enjoy riding through the cool low lying areas along Spring Creek. The temperature changes perk me up. I am one of those bicyclists who meanders along the trails. My bicycle is considered a commuter/urban ride. Which means I’m not a rider racing to get somewhere as quickly as possible. There is too much to miss when speeding along. Nor, none of us are as safe at higher speeds. And that’s also true of our cars. The bicycle gets me around easily and economically, puts less stress on my lower back than walking does, allows me to get my cardio exercise, gets me closer to nature, and I have much less stress when I get to the coffee shop. And bicyclists who race along the trails seem to think a certain dress attire is required. I personally do not want to see what I’d look like in spandex tights. So, I meander along taking care of my soul and with the camera ready. Who knows when I may encounter dewdrops clinging to dogwood leaves and need to stop.
I enjoyed a few raindrops on my ride to the coffee shop this morning. It was not even close to being called rain. As I ride onto campus off Center Ave I always see these blanket flowers but I’ve never stopped. But this morning I changed that. Their beauty was blanketed with drops of water from the sprinklers that probably ran during the night or early morning. So I quickly turned around and went back to accept this photo. It is hot today with a minimal chance of rain this afternoon or evening. I hope you are staying cool!!
These handwritten words in the pages of my journal confirm that from an early age I have experienced each encounter in my life twice: once in the world, and once again on the page.
Terry Tempest Williams
I slept well and had a lovely quiet time before making myself a smoothie. I then did some reading and journaling to move me into the day. It is expected to be another 100 degree day here in Colorado. We reached 102 degrees yesterday and maybe the same today. No rain forecast until Tuesday. I enjoyed my early morning bicycle ride to the coffee shop and the social life I experience there. As the journey of this life moves along I have come to enjoy the world my journaling offers. Even though I’ve mentioned it before I feel the pages of my journals are a sanctuary, another world I daily enter into. Some days my journaling takes me to new worlds of confusion and sometimes it grounds me so I can see more clearly the reality of this world. My journals and pens are my daily companions. And, while this world was bringing words to these pages this morning I grabbed a photo to share with you then wanted to take you to a place of fantasy with this image.
There’s always a story. It’s all stories, really.
Terry Pratchett
The sun coming up every day is a story. Everything’s got a story in it.
Change the story, change the world.
As photographers and creatives, I imagine we all hope that our images tell a story. On many of my blog posts, I also add content to express my experience of that moment, that morning, that evening, that day. In other words, I am telling a story. Was I cold? In a place of gratitude, or wonder? What birds were singing to me? What was I thinking or feeling? And hopefully the photograph, the content, or both have the potential to be a story capable of changing the world in some small way, including myself.
Every new morning gives fresh hope, for great is the mercy of the new day.
Lailah Gifty Akita
No one will protect what they don’t care about;
David Attenborough
and no one will care about what they have never experienced.
When I rode to the coffee shop this morning it was 67 degrees and 91% humidity with a 30% chance of rain. There was a short moment of confusion as I felt like I woke up in Ohio or maybe North Carolina or Florida. Sure was not a normal Colorado morning. On my way home I took this image at one of the bridges that crosses over Spring Creek. I’ve wanted to stop here before and get a few images of the dogwood plants and those lovely leaves in this area, but never have. Well, today was the day. In these later years of my life I now enjoy making time to stop and experience, and not just take a photo, of what I normally just glance at. Everything is green along the creek which has plenty of shade and the constant flowing small creek. It is a much different scene than our open prairies where the sun has been bearing down on them for 3 weeks now. We need rain. I hope you are enjoying the day!!
It has threatened to rain most of the afternoon but we’ve received only a few drops. We really need it! However the clouds have definitely cooled things down. We have had rain during the past two nights but again nothing measurable for us. Last night Nature put on an exciting thunder and lightning show. I could see the flashes even with my eyes closed and on a couple of occasions felt the thunder. The above image was taken yesterday morning just before leaving for the coffee shop. I could have just as easily taken it this morning as I saw the same scene. It again shows how easily I am drawn to shadows and lines.
There is a section along Spring Creek where water backs up creating this calm pond-like area. For me it offers a feeling of mystery when looking into the depth of this area. It is a complete ecosystem teaming with life we cannot see. I ride slowly through this area because of the feeling it offers me and stopped several times for photos. But this morning I stopped and took a few images with the intention of playing with them when I got home using AI. I worked on them in Lightroom then settled on enhancement with the Anime style in WordPress. I added the white egret because last week I saw one feeding in Spring Creek not too far from this scene. I did not stop for a photo because I didn’t want to disturb them. So, I asked Jetpack to add the white egret. I added a frog to the seen but before I knew it the egret had eaten them. So far most of the results I like and post here are using the anime and fantasy styles which create a completely different image from the original and dramatically transforms them. I’m still not sure how I feel about all this stuff but I am getting a kick out of it and finding some creative juices. It’s much cooler today but still warm.
It’s a hot day, reaching 100 degrees at about 2:00 pm. I did however enjoy my ride to and from the coffee shop this morning. Always a great way to start my day. I took an image last Thursday morning of the sun bursting through oak leaves just outside the coffee shop. I like the original image but for the fun of it I asked Jetpack to enhance it and was amazed how it changed it. It removed the street and house from the background and created a fantasy forest, added dancing fireflies, something I did not expect! I then asked it to add the sleeping elf. I really like the way it turned out and maybe because it adds a cooling feel on this hot day. I must also admit this AI editing feels very strange to me. Again I hope everyone is staying cool.