• clouds,  horizons,  landscape,  mountains,  nature,  poems

    We never belonged to you…

    The moment when, after many years
    of hard work and a long voyage
    you stand in the centre of your room,
    house, half-acre, square mile, island, country,
    knowing at last how you got there,
    and say, I own this,

    is the same moment when the trees unloose
    their soft arms from around you,
    the birds take back their language,
    the cliffs fissure and collapse,
    the air moves back from you like a wave
    and you can’t breathe.

    No, they whisper. You own nothing.
    You were a visitor, time after time
    climbing the hill, planting the flag, proclaiming.
    We never belonged to you.
    You never found us.
    It was always the other way round.

    Margaret Atwood, The Moment

    Like so many of my images, something called me to stop and press the shutter button. I pulled into the Running Deer Natural Area parking lot and took the image from there. I did not create any of the beauty in this scene, nature did and lovingly shares it with us. Our task is to accept the gift of its presence and beauty with grateful hearts! May we come to realize we belong in this world not as conquerors but as integral parts of it. 

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

    Filled my gratitude bucket…

    “Respond to the call of your gift and the courage to follow its path.”

    John O’Donohue

    We awoke to a light mist that hung around until about 8:30 am. From then on the clouds slowly gave way to blue sky and sunshine, making it a beautiful day. I drove to Pineridge Natural Area about 4:32 pm to journal and listen to the Magpies chatter. The opening blue sky and scattered clouds filled my gratitude bucket. I always seem to feel respect for nature and move into a place of silent prayer. Before I left, a meadowlark sang a simple song for me. I believe it knew I needed one. My day was made complete. I hope you had a good weekend and enjoy your coming week!

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

    To be a listener

    No writing on the solitary, meditative dimensions of life can say anything that has not already been said better by the wind in the pine trees…or the silence and peace that is “heard” when the rain wanders freely among the hills and forests. But what can the wind say where there is no hearer?

    Thomas Merton, THOUGHTS ON SOLITUDE

    So maybe our task is to be present and listen or what Merton refers to as the hearer.

  • clouds,  Humor,  landscape

    Cumulonimbus Clouds

    On my way to the library today I turned too soon and found myself in the Dairy Queen parking lot. Being the wise old geezer I am, and not wasting the opportunity, I bought and ate a mini Butterfinger Blizzard, my mom’s flavorite. After the deed was done I did find my way out of the parking lot, made it to the library and got in some journaling time. As I left the library a large thunderhead, a towering cumulonimbus cloud, was sitting out over the eastern plains in all it beauty. These clouds were providing some much needed moisture around the Pawnee Grasslands. So I grabbed a shot of the thunderhead cloud as I was pulling out of the parking lot. May you have a wonderful weekend and be safe!

  • bicycle rides,  clouds,  coffee life

    The Morning Ride

    Altocumulus Clouds in the west from this morning’s ride to the coffee shop

    When I opened my blinds this morning, I could see the crescent moon in the southern sky and it brought a smile to my face. After some quiet time and cereal I enjoyed an absolutely lovely bicycle ride to and from the coffee shop as can be seen in this image. Meg was my barista which brought another smile to my face. And the conversation at the coffee shop was as stimulating as the coffee. We even stayed longer than normal. I had my monthly luncheon with a few of my classmates later at a park in Loveland. And, again good conversations were shared! After I post this I plan on working on my dad’s photo book, getting in some journaling time and maybe a walk. I loved these altocumulus clouds on my ride this morning. These clouds were along both the east and west horizons and stopping for a photograph seemed mandatory. 

  • clouds,  landscape,  natural areas,  quotes

    … it’s how we live.

    “…the greatest reward for a creative life is not in what you create, but in how you live. It is in how you train yourself to view and respond to the world and internalize the many experiences and meanings and mysteries that come your way. It is about finding peace and satisfaction in a world rife with cynicism, violence, competition and greed.”

    Guy Tal

    I posted the above quote back on June 11, 2012, about 14 years ago. It spoke to me then and it speaks to me now in my photography, blogging and how I try to live my life. Pursuing a creative path is helping me find peace and satisfaction in a world that is rife with cynicism, violence, competition and greed. One of the things I do to live my life and find peace is spend time in nature. So, I spent some time this afternoon at Pineridge Natural Area. They made some changes on me by removing the bench up near the parking lot and putting in another one right next to the rocks I enjoy sitting on. It’s probably only three feet away from those rocks. It is a big, solid bench and just as hard as the rocks. But it has a back on it. It actually is a much more scenic view than where the previous bench was. That’s one of the reasons I liked sitting on those rocks. I approve of the change. You don’t suppose they put in that bench just for me???

    Anway my sister, Sheree, and I are flying down to Phoenix in the morning to spend a couple days with my sister Marcee and brother-in-law, John. Then we will rent a car and drive back with some of mom and dad’s artwork. So I probably won’t be posting much the rest of the month. Hold down the Fort while I’m gone! I better finish packing.

  • bicycling,  clouds,  landscape,  quotes,  sunrises

    In the presence of beauty

    The human soul is hungry for beauty; we seek it everywhere – in landscape, music, art, clothes, furniture, gardening, companionship, love, religion and in ourselves. No-one would desire not to be beautiful. When we experience the Beautiful, there is a sense of homecoming. Some of our most wonderful memories are of beautiful places where we felt immediately at home. We feel most alive in the presence of the Beautiful for it meets the needs of our soul.

    John O’Donohue

    What a beautiful morning for a bicycle ride along Spring Creek to Mugs for coffee and wonderful conversation. This is a good time of the year for images like this due to the timing of my ride and the rising of the sun. I’m sharing this image of what I get to experience on these morning rides. Alissia was my barista and an Old Town mocha was my drink. A few clouds have now moved in as a cold front arrives late tonight which I hope brings us moisture in the form of rain and snow early Friday morning. And, both Friday and Saturday nights could be below freezing. I will be okay with that if we also get moisture. May you enjoy this day!

  • bicycling,  campus,  clouds,  landscape,  quotes,  sunrises

    Sunrise on Campus

    Solitude is important to man…
    It is his refuge when the very foundation of his life are being shaken by disastrous events.

    Margaret E. Mulac

    I stopped and took this image of the predawn colors over the Lory Student Center on campus this past week on my ride to the coffee shop. Posting this late and hoping everyone has a wonderful weekend!