• Art,  Art/Design,  landscape,  natural areas,  Pineridge Natural Area,  Reservoir Ridge Natural Area,  seasons,  snow,  winter scenes

    Blue Skies, Trees and Cold

    February 3, 2022
    Reservoir Ridge Natural Area

    It was -9 degrees this morning at 6:33 am. I knew it was cold by looking outside but had to check with my weather app. I promised a friend I’d help him get his car to the repair shop so I needed to be out in the weather. It was well worth helping him as we then went to a coffee shop to warm up and a bit of conversation.

    Pineridge Natural Area

    Our snow storm left about 8-12 inches of snow across the city. Due to the cold it was a light powder so easy to shovel for those who have to. With blue skies and sunshine I headed to the natural areas because I knew nature would still be creating art. Was drawn to these two images of trees cloaked in snow with blue skies. This is true art. I didn’t really notice the cold that much but, then again, it had warmed up to 2 degrees by the time I took them. Hope you have a great day, Stay warm and dry!

    Read More
  • haiku,  landscape,  seasons,  shadows,  snow,  winter scenes,  writing/reading

    Canvas of Snow

    February 2, 2022

    day fading to night
    sun casts long blue shadows
    a canvas of snow

    ms

    I love the art of light and the shadows. Scenes like this are the reason I carry a camera with me almost all the time. I took this a week ago as I stepped out my front door. However, today looks much different. Snow moved in yesterday afternoon and continued through the night. Today the sun is nowhere to be seen and therefore neither are shadows. It is presently 9 degrees and we have at least 6 inches of snow. It’s a snow day. I will probably spend much of the day in this chair. Stay warm.

    Read More
  • landscape,  natural areas,  quotes,  Reservoir Ridge Natural Area,  seasons,  snow,  winter scenes

    Words to live by…

    January 22, 2022
    Afternoon walk at Reservoir Ridge Natural Area

    The Earth is everywhere. You may be used to thinking of the Earth as only the ground beneath your feet. But the water, the sea, the sky, and everything around us comes from the Earth. Everything outside us and everything inside us comes from the Earth.

    Thich Nhat Hanh

    Colorado does have some beautiful blue skies. We haven’t seen much of it for the past couple days. Today is one of them. May Thich Nhat Hanh’s words cause us to pause, reflect on the world around us and then let them set deep roots within us to live by. Have a wonderful weekend.

    Read More
  • landscape,  quotes,  seasons,  shadows,  snow,  winter scenes

    We have to change…

    January 18, 2022

    A lot of our fear, hatred, anger, and feelings of separation and alienation come from the idea that we are separate from the planet. We see ourselves as the center of the universe and are concerned primarily with our own personal survival. If we care about the health and well-being of the planet, we do so for our own sake. We want the air to be clean enough for us to breathe. We want the water to be clear enough so that we have something to drink. But we need to do more than use recycled products or donate money to environmental groups. We have to change our whole relationship with the Earth.

    Thich Nhat Hanh

    I guess if I were to have a resolution or goal for the coming year it would be to continue the change in my relationship with Mother Earth, not just in my thinking but in my actions.

    Read More
  • landscape,  natural areas,  Plants,  Reservoir Ridge Natural Area,  seasons,  snow,  trees,  winter scenes

    Let it snow….

    January 2, 2022

    We had our first measurable snowfall this winter on New Years Eve. Fort Collins had received 0.7 inches of snow so far this season, compared with a normal of 12.4 inches by this time of year. So the snow was welcome. Only downside is cold always comes along with snow. Snowpack in the mountains is well below normal. It has been so dry and the primary reason for the tragic Marshal Fire a few of days ago.

    Fort Collins: 6 to 8.1 inches
    Loveland: 4.3 to 9.9 inches

    Sun came out yesterday afternoon so I drove to Reservoir Ridge Natural Area to find this image of blue sky against snow covered cottonwoods. It was -7 degrees this morning at 6:15 am. Sun is out and we’re at 21 degrees now. Guess I can take a couple pairs of the socks off.

    Read More
  • landscape,  Plants,  quotes,  seasons,  snow,  trees,  winter scenes,  writing/reading

    Learning to Be a Listener

    December 15, 2021
    A gentle snow storm at Arapaho Bend Natural Area in 2014

    Generous listening is powered by curiosity, a virtue we can invite and nurture in ourselves to render it instinctive. It involves a kind of vulnerability – a willingness to be surprised, to let go of assumptions and take in ambiguity. The listener wants to understand the humanity behind the words of the other, and patiently summons one’s own best self and one’s own best words and questions.

    Krista Tippett, Becoming Wise: An Inquiry into the Mystery and Art of Living

    Over the years I’ve discovered how poorly I listen. Some of the discovery is from encountering people who are poor listeners, enabling me to see the reflection of myself in them. Becoming a better listener allows me to be the student rather than thinking I need to mansplain it. I agree with Krista that listening is a virtue we can invite and nurture and overtime becomes instinctual. It seems to me listening is the very foundation to any healthy relationship with another human and all of creation. With that in mind, my curiosity begs to ask the question, what do we learn when listening to the silence of a winter snowfall?

    Read More
  • clouds,  landscape,  natural areas,  Pineridge Natural Area,  seasons,  snow,  winter scenes

    I Have a Headache

    April 22, 2021
    Snow squall at Pineridge Natural Area at sunrise.

    This morning we awoke to overcast skies, light snow again and cold. Yet, I could just see a bit of glow in the east so drove to Pineridge Natural Area. I could see the snow squall moving to the northeast, the city shrouded in the aquall. It was quiet and peaceful up there. Saw three mule deer passing along the trail just below me and saw a fox.

    Mule deer keeping an eye on me because I could be danger

    I listened to a podcast between two professional landscape photographers talking about SEO (Search Engine Optimization). I’ve never really thought much about SEO because I never thought of myself as a professional photographer so why bother. But after some reflection I admitted the real reason was sloth. So I did some reading on it to try and understand it better. Now I have a headache!

    Read More