• landscape,  mountains,  nature,  quotes

    Learning to Listen

    August 12, 2024

    Learning to pray is learning to listen. Within the heart we learn to wait with patience for God’s words, which may come even when we have not asked. Listening itself is a form of prayer, in which our whole being is receptive.

    Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee

    I always thought that it would nice to live near a river and fall asleep each night listening to the song of the river. But that’s not the reality in my life. However, when given the opportunity I am learning to listen to the rivers and streams. If that’s prayer then so be it. This is an image of the Big Thompson River in Moraine Park in Rocky Mountain National Park taken back in May. Happy Monday!!

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  • landscape,  natural areas,  Pineridge Natural Area

    A Steady Drizzle

    August 8, 2024

    Yesterday afternoon brought rain showers, cooler temperatures, and a refreshing scent that rain brings. And this morning we have a steady drizzle falling and high humidity which makes it cool. Expecting more of this over the next 7 days. This will help extinguish any remaining fires and prevent others. Could be a day of warm soup, journaling, blogging, reading and laundry (already started). After coffee and a scone, which I didn’t need, I drove up to Pineridge for a look-see and an image. Weather app suggests this could be the norm for the next 7 days. Sure will help with our drought. Enjoy this day!

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  • clouds,  landscape,  quotes,  sunsets

    Grateful Living

    August 7, 2024

    “At every moment, life gives you the opportunity to do something with what life gives you, and, therefore, Grateful Living means learning to avail yourself, moment by moment, of that opportunity.”

    Brother David Steindl-Rast

    I got together yesterday with some friends for one of those corn boils which I’d never been to before. They make up this big pot of corn on the cob, sausage, potatoes, and onions. Everyone was supposed to bring a side dish or a dessert. Not sure about you, but I always seem to overeat at shindigs like this. I was so stuffed when I left, I went out by Reservoir Ridge Natural Area to walk around a little bit and enjoy those beautiful clouds. I am so grateful for the friends in my life and for the beauty of nature. I am also grateful for the opportunity to experience both.

    Update: the Alexander Mountain Fire is 83% contained, so our blue sky is back, and air quality will continue to increase.

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

    Living in the present…

    August 1, 2024

    If you are depressed you are living in the past.
    If you are anxious you are living in the future.
    If you are at peace you are living in the present.

    Lao Tzu

    It’s O’dark thirty or about 5:21 am. I’ve been up since about 3:33 am. After prayer and meditation, I am now sitting at Pineridge Natural Area. Bats quickly and silently feast above me. Smoke sits in low lying areas of the eastern horizon while a pink and blue glow rises above them. A Waning Crescent Moon hangs delicately in the sky. It is quiet and peaceful here. The new washer and dryer arrives today. Finally, clean underwear. May you shine your light brightly just as this moon this morning. I am so grateful to be living in this beautiful present moment.

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  • landscape,  mountains,  quotes

    Another one… wait make that two

    July 31, 2024

    I took this image on a ridge that looks out over an open space and a large farmland area that has not been scrapped and “developed” into housing. It shows we have two fires burning near us. The Alexander Mountain fire is on the left and the new one, Stone Canyon fire, is on the right. As of last night the Alexander fire was at 5080 acres and 0% contained. The Stone Canyon fire started yesterday and is about 1300 acres and 0% contained. Sadly there has been one death in the Stone Canyon fire. Neither fire grew during the night but today is going to be hot and dry. Then this morning I find out a third fire ignited last night in Jefferson County called the Quarry fire. Sheesh!! Stay safe.

    Evolution means that nature does not operate according to fixed laws but by the dynamic interplay of law, chance, and deep time; that is, one cannot understand natural processes apart from developmental categories. The interaction of forces creates a dynamic process of unfolding life, pointing to the fact that nature is incomplete; there are no fixed essences. Instead, nature is consistently oriented toward new and complex life.

    Ilia Delio
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  • Arapaho Bend Natural Area,  clouds,  landscape,  natural areas

    Alexander Mountain Fire

    July 30, 2024
    Alexander Mountain Fire – 7/29/2024 @ 7:22 pm

    Good morning! We have our first forest fire of the season burning called the Alexander Mountain Fire. It is burning just west of Loveland and was estimated at 1,820 acres with 0% containment as of 10:00 a.m. this morning. I took this image around 7:00 pm yesterday evening from Arapaho Bend Natural Area. 

    This morning I was awake and up by 4:00 am. After my quiet time I drove up to Pineridge to watch the sunrise. What a gift with a cloudless sky. I could see the smoke from the fire drifting gently out to the east but not smell it. On my way back into town, I came across a house on West Mulberry with a large fire burning in the backyard of the home. I pulled over as the four fire trucks and ambulance pulled up and just cried, and cried hard. Think I’m feeling too much of the pain of this world with natural disasters and man’s incessant need for killing, so the dam burst. Hope you have a good day! 

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

    This Colorful Display

    July 23, 2024

    “Peace cannot be achieved through violence, it can only be attained through understanding.”

    Ralph Waldo Emerson

    For three days now we have had unusual colors in the sky because the smoke and ash from forest fires in Wyoming and Montana are drifting our way. The colors are eerie. I got up early this morning and headed to Pineridge Natural Area. I was hoping that after the sun had risen I could expect some reflection of the sun in Dixon Reservoir. Geese and ducks fed along the waters edges. In between the cross talking magpies, I could hear the robins and meadowlarks singing. And, I was not the only one out with their cameras for this colorful display by nature. The tables outside the coffee shop had a light dusting of ash on them. Air quality warnings are out for today. And, I pray for world peace!

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