My online journal where I share my interests in photography, nature, journaling, fountain pens, bicycling, coffee life, spirituality and the mystery of it all.
We did not regard the mountains and forests as wilderness; we called it home.
Luther Standing Bear
Sunrise on the Foothills Parkway, Great Smoky Mountains Park
I found this quote and realized how truly distant we are from nature. It would be interesting to know how many people in the world never step foot into nature or even consider calling it home. Anyway, I roamed around in my archives to find images of mountains and forests to go along with the quote. I found the pickings rather slim because I am attached more to the open landscapes of the prairie rather than mountains even though I live in Colorado. Go figure! I found this image taken on the Foothills Parkway in the Great Smoky Mountains back in October of 2003 with my trusty Nikon D100. It has been cool and cloudy here today but no rain. I put on a crockpot of chicken tortilla soup this morning since it was going to be a cooler day. I got my Covid and RSV shots about 4 hours ago and no side effects so far. I hope you are enjoying your day!
I would love to live Like a river flows, Carried by the surprise Of its own unfolding.
John O’Donohue
This is a sunrise image taken on the Madison River from a road trip in August of 2022. It was my last day of the trip and I was heading home when I saw this scene. I had to stop. It really didn’t matter if I took a photo or not I just needed to experience the moment. This part of the river is calm while both up river and down river there are rapids and surprises. As a metaphor of life there are days when the flow of life is as calm as this river while there are times when it ain’t and we face surprises. I’m learning to be a part of its unfolding. So, this poem is my prayer for today!
For us, there is not just this world, there’s also a layering of others. Time is not divided by minutes and hours, and everything has presence and meaning within this landscape of timelessness.
Joy Harjo
One of the gifts I’ve found from visiting National Parks is the mystery of the time it has taken nature to develop the landscapes we photographers enjoy photographing. I also have always come back changed in some way with the silence and learning to be present with nature. She has much to share with us! And look at those layers of time she is showing. I hope everyone is staying warm, safe and dry!!
The shape of a landscape is an ancient and silent form of consciousness. Mountains are huge contemplatives. Rivers and streams offer voice; they are the tears of the earth’s joy and despair. The earth is full of soul.
Sunset Lake McDonald in Glacier National Park – 2004
I want to be part of a system in which wealth means having enough to share, and where the gratification of meeting your family needs is not poisoned by destroying that possibility for someone else. I want to live in a society where the currency of exchange is gratitude and the infinitely renewable resource of kindness, which multiplies every time it is shared rather than depreciating with use….
Taken with a Nikon D100 using a Nikon 24-85 mm f2.8-4.0D AF-D lens at 85 mm. Exposure: 4.0 seconds at f 16, ISO 200.
The breaking of day, the silence between words, the light emanating from a real conversation, and kindness, truth, love and the apparent random hand of grace: I want to remain gobsmaked by all of it. Rendered speechless by wonder, I await the next unfolding.
Richard Wagamese: Embers
This image was from a week long trip I took back in October of 2003 to Smoky Mountains National Park. It was my first and only visit to the park. I had only owned my Nikon D100 (6 megapixel sensor) for less than a year. It was my first ever digital camera so I was still early in my digital photography formation, getting to know the camera and using Photoshop Elements. A slight break in the clouds on an overcast day offered a gold glow on the water of the Roaring Fork River that lasted just a few seconds before it was gone. It is still one of my favorite moments on that trip and ignited the desire to experience the next unfolding in nature. I find it interesting that I just happen to remember these images and that experience. So I went back into my archives to see what Lightroom enhancements could do today. I also wondered how would I approach this scene today? I also believe that photography has helped me see the world with new eyes and I can easily get gobsmakedto be extremely surprised or shocked, almost to the point of being speechless, like being smacked in the mouth by something I see in the viewfinder.
“One thing I have felt confident about for a good portion of my life is that it is mainly on the surface that we are different. We are not nearly as separate as we sometimes feel ourselves to be. Underneath our supposed differences we experience many similar emotions, longings, hopes, and dreams. The cosmic dance goes on in each and every one. It is the externals of appearance in behavior that divert our attention from the inner radiance and dynamic goodness within every being.”
Joyce Rupp
I feel sadness, anger, even rage, due to the insanity of political powers who are steeped in their own fears, hatred and insecurities, while continuing to believe the lie that violence will bring peace. Insanity. Man has proved for thousands of years that violence does not bring peace, whether that’s a fist fight on the school playground or dropping bombs on innocent people. It only increases our suffering. Insanity. I believe Joyce Rupp is spot on when she writes, “Underneath our supposed differences we experience many similar emotions, longings, hopes, and dreams.” We are more alike than different.
Our world seems quite insane at the moment. According to this report, in the past seven months an estimated 35,000 people have been killed in Gaza. They are also estimating about 52% of those killed have been women and children. Insanity. And, that my friends, is a lot of emotions, longings, hopes, and dreams that will never be fulfilled. How can we possibly believe there will be peace when that kind of thinking only brings more resentment, hatred and violence? Insanity. Meanwhile over in Ukraine, the death toll of Russian soldiers is estimated higher than 50,000. And, Ukraine said in February that it had lost 31,000 soldiers. Insanity. According to the Geneva Academy more than 45 armed conflicts are currently taking place throughout the Middle East and North Africa. Africa has more than 35 armed conflicts taking place. Asia has 19 armed conflicts. Europe has seven armed conflicts at this time. And, six armed conflicts are taking place in Latin America. All of this is Insanity at its highest level. When will it end? And, this insanity is alive and well within our country.
Well, what if we shower them (and all of creation) with kindness, hope and love instead of hatred, fear and bombs. And, what if we embraced a spirit of forgiveness. What if we embrace our innate courage to look at “the inner radiance and dynamic goodness within every being”, including ourselves, rather than outward appearances. What if we enter into an open dialogue with a focus on understanding one another? Are we willing to believe there can be change or are we to continue living with this insanity? I’m willing to believe we can make that change!
Seems that about 50% of my elk photos I’ve taken are butt shots. They are usually more interested in grazing than posing. However, I do understand.
Elk eat green grasses and forbs during the growing season. They need these to achieve a nutritional level that allows them to grow and develop well. When elk and other ungulates eat shrubs, they typically select the tips of branches which comprise the current year’s growth and offer the most nutrients. It is estimated that Elk eat an average of 3 pounds of food per day for every 100 pounds of body weight; therefore, a bull elk weighing 800 pounds would eat about 24 pounds of forage each day. As you can tell in this image they are interested in the new spring grasses. So, here is my butt shot for this spring!
“If you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere.”
Laura Ingalls Wilder
My friends Duane and Jan are working in an RV park in Estes Park so I made a day trip up there yesterday. We grabbed a bite to eat then headed into Rocky Mountain National Park. It has been a while since I ventured into the park for photos. The day was wonderful and fulfilling as we got to see moose, elk, deer and the beauty of nature. We took a nice walk around Sprague Lake where this image was taken. Sprague Lake is a very shallow lake built up by Abner Sprague to support the lodge he operated here from 1920-1940. Most of the lake is no more than a few feet deep and at times you may see elk or moose out in the middle of it. It has a 3/4 mile walking trail around the lake with many photo opportunities.
Bison are so iconic of Yellowstone National Park, and the Black Hills. They appear peaceful, unconcerned, even lazy, as in this image, yet they may attack anything, often without warning or apparent reason. They can move at speeds up to 35 mph and cover long distances at a lumbering gallop. So make sure you can outrun the person you are with! As I look at this image I wonder how many photographs have been taken of this bison.
