My online journal where I share my interests in photography, nature, coffee life, journaling, fountain pens, bicycling, spirituality and asking deep questions.
“There are moments when troubles enter our lives and we can do nothing to avoid them. But they are there for a reason. Only when we have overcome them will we understand why they were there.”
Paulo Coelho
It is cold and the wind continues to blow this morning. Made my way to Pineridge Natural Area for the predawn colors. I watched as the wind scattered the ever changing clouds across the canvas sky. I felt within the sense of drama in nature as she constantly reshaped the clouds according to the wind’s whims. I’m now enjoying my mocha latte at Starry Night then will meet Mark for breakfast as he and I continue our fantasy quest of solving the world’s troubles. I say that with tongue-in-cheek as he and I realize changing the world always starts with ourselves. I feel I am finding that facing and overcoming troubles is much more of an adventure than just an unwanted task. In my past I had the tendency to run from them. Now there is more of a desire to learn from the lessons. Just facing them is a lesson. May you have a wonderful day, overcoming any and all problems while learning life’s lessons! Stay warm!
Trees are poems the earth writes upon the sky, We fell them down and turn them into paper, That we may record our emptiness.
Kahlil Gibran
It’s always a good day when I can get in a nice walk with my camera at one of the local Natural Areas. I do enjoy these cottonwood trees anytime I walk along the east side of Arapaho Bend Natural Area, especially late in the afternoon or at sunset. This time of the year when the sky is clear and the sun is bright the afternoons are the warmest time for a January walk. So I walk, watch and do my best to listen to the wordless poems of the trees. Can you hear them?
Often when something is ending we discover within it the spore of new beginning, and a whole new train of possibility is in motion before we even realize it. When the heart is ready for a fresh beginning, unforeseen things can emerge. And in a sense, this is exactly what a beginning does. It is an opening for surprises. Surrounding the intention and the act of beginning, there are always exciting possibilities.
John O’Donohue
I’m not going to offer a list of my favorite images for 2023 because they’re all my favorites. That is not arrogance but an acknowledgement of a love I have for this craft of photography that even the ones you don’t see are teachers for me. This will be my final post of 2023. It is time to say goodbye to the year and look to the possibilities in 2024. Last year began with a lot of unknowns with my health and this year I have other unknown health issues. Seems to come with this age thing. Yet, I am looking to this coming year with exciting possibilities in all areas of my life. I’m not sure where this year will lead me, what spirit of adventure awaits, whether those are good or bad, what adjustments to my sails I will need to make, what will I need to learn, and what new ground will I walk? Exciting possibilities.
I started this last day of 2023 at Pineridge Natural Area to take in the cold, in the silence and the amazing colors of predawn. Nothing more energizing for me than beginning the day and ending the year with time in nature. And, I also enjoy witnessing creations ever changing works of art. I then made my way to Starry NIght for an Americano and a croissant. I end this post with a prayer and wish for all your new possibilities in the coming year.
The God of our understanding is just that: the God of our understanding. What we need is the God just beyond our understanding.
Rami Shapiro
As I set up my tripod this morning, the full moon was setting behind me and the sun had not yet risen. Predawn or twilight are the names we call this time of day. It is a favorite time for me. An orange glow sat along the horizon, a color I have come to know as the gift offering of the day’s mysteries. And today I think I will call those mysteries: adventures. As I returned home and walked to my front door the sky above me became filled with the sight and sounds of hundreds of Canada Geese. I just stood there with a bag of groceries in one hand and 12 roll package of toilet paper under the other arm. I watched them zig and zag in their attempt to keep perfect formation. And, as always there are those one or two or three that wander off course, then hustle to get back in formation or join another formation. I watched the rising sun begin lighting them with its glow against the clear blue sky. I accepted another of the day’s offerings!
When younger I did not use the name God in any form or shape of reverence or awe, but usually out of anger or frustration with life. I’ll just say it was profanity. I could not understand a God that would cause or allow the pain and suffering I saw in life. However, I reached a point in life where, as Rami Shapiro suggests, I began to seek a God just beyond my understanding. As I experience moments of reverence or awe like this morning, I have a sense this is what God is all about. Yes, it is just beyond my understanding. Hoping you have a wonderful day!
A beginning is ultimately an invitation to open towards the gifts and growth that are stored for us. To refuse to begin can be an act of great self-neglect.
John O’Donohue
After quiet time at home I started a crock pot of vegetable soup. Then enjoyed an early morning mocha made by Hannah. Was able to get in some reading and journaling before meeting Mark for breakfast. Hannah and I both agreed she did a good job with her latte art and improving each day. Believe they call it practice. Christmas was good this year. Spent time with family and friends and those who are both. Not sure how you faired but I over indulged in food consumption, enjoyed myself while consuming though but paid the price. So, I was miserable later in the evening, both Christmas eve and day.
John O’Donohue’s quote says a lot in those two short sentences. We are quickly closing in on the end of the year which means a beginning of a new year. What will it hold? Reflecting on this past year I am grateful to have had both gifts and growth. I’m now wondering what gifts and growth will we encounter this year? Maybe lots of both.
This is a five image handheld panorama of Dixon Reservoir this morning about 10:30 am. The high winds over the past 48 hours have moved all the smog and crud sitting along the Front Range out to Kansas and beyond. And it still blows. Sure makes things look bright and clear. Going for a walk!!
Thoreau understood that wildness is not dependent upon a vast, unsettled track of land. Rather it is a quality of awareness, and openness to the light, to the seasons, and to nature’s perpetual renewal.
John Elder, Introduction to Nature Walking by Ralph Waldo Emerson
Needed a Natural Area fix yesterday so I drove out to Arapaho Bend Natural Area. I wanted to get in some steps so I walked along the ponds with camera and tripod. I had no real goals. I just needed to be there. My time there was healing. just what I needed. Beautiful clouds directly above me and over the Front Range. A touch of color after the sun had set. And the water was calm providing inspiring reflections. Nature does that!
My fix was needed because I have felt a bit down. I do that once in awhile. But, I am grateful for the gift of this awareness of feelings. I’ve come to know my feelings are not my reality, they point to something deeper. There is no need for me to worry, or be fearful, or greedy, or resentful, since those are just thoughts. My life is good! Heck we just got a 3.24% increase in our SSA check. My IRA made money this past year. Although I spent part of that on car repairs. The reality is I have everything I need. I am privileged. One year ago I was a very sick man and in the hospital which let me know of health issues that have since been addressed. Today I meet with my cardiologist for a nine month checkup after the TAVR procedure they did last March. I enjoyed a taste of the Christmas season Tuesday evening as I dressed up as Santa for the baristas at Starry Night’s employee party. What a gift that I would be asked to be a part of their celebration. It was way kool! I’m aware I’ve drifted off course with my eating during this season but eagerly accepted a gift box of almond truffles. No, I’m not sharing them!!
I’ll end with this by applying the words of John Elder to my life. I have a quality of awareness in my life, what is reality and what isn’t. I am learning to be open to the light of new tomorrows, new horizons and venture towards them for as long as I can. I am also aware that each season of life is always preceding another season of renewal. So, my fix in nature lifted my spirits. I do have a desire to live the brevity of my life the best I can. Hope you have a great day. Thanks for listening to me ramble or is it babbling.
And, Happy Birthday to my youngest granddaughter, Madie!!!
I know plenty of people who find God most reliably in books, in buildings, and even in other people. I have found God in all of these places too, but the most reliable meeting place for me has always been creation.
Barbara Brown Taylor
The only sound was from my boots crunching the gravel under my feet as I walked to a favorite location along the ridge above Pineridge Natural Area. I like this spot because I can look out to the eastern horizon and find the skies reflection in Dixon Reservoir. When I arrived I setup my tripod then stood, listening to the silence. I like this meeting place in creation. I also didn’t want to take a photo but as you can see I did. Hope you have had a good day.
