• Arapaho Bend Natural Area,  fog,  landscape,  natural areas

    Happy New Year

    January 1, 2025

    I wanted to spend my first morning of 2025 in nature so I decided to visit the Arapaho Bend Natural Area. In the dim light I could see we had clear skies and the thermometer said it was brisk 13 degrees. This natural area sits along the low lying area of the Poudre River. The closer I got the natural area the more evident of the dense fog I would have. I spent a few minutes walking along the edge of the frozen ponds taking a photo here and there. I had not ventured into this area around the ponds before so it became exciting. There was very little open water. The ice only thick enough to support the geese and ducks. I only took 15 images, but that was enough.

    After loading them on my laptop I found the images to be a metaphor for the first day of this new year. Just as we cannot see through the fog to the other shore, or the path along the edges, we cannot see into the future of the coming year. To reach the other shore requires us to travel towards it facing each challenge along the way. So, I enter into this coming year with both pessimistic and optimistic feelings. May I not struggle with wanting to change people, institutions and principles to fit my desires but make choices that are best for myself and all of creation, not from self interest but the good of all. I guess that counts as a simple prayer but not a resolution! May you have a wonderful year!!!

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  • landscape,  natural areas,  sunrises

    The Last Sunrise

    December 31, 2024
    Last sunrise for this year at Pineridge Natural Area

    A cool 20 degrees and clear skies this morning to end the year. I got up early so I could watch the predawn colors over Dixon Reservoir at Pineridge Natural Area. So beautifully quiet up there. An owl would hoot once in a while, giving notice, or warning, of their presence. I took a few photos of the subtle colors. When my hands got cold I headed to Mugs for an Old Town mocha made by Adrianna.

    I’m not much of a New Years celebration type of guy. And, I have never been one to make new year’s resolutions, probably because I’m not good at keeping them or remembering them. I’m practicing a way of life where each day is an opportunity to step over a new threshold into a world of experiences and lessons. No better gift than that! When I don’t plan tomorrow I will not be disappointed and more apt to enjoy life’s surprises! However, I may gather with friends early this evening and hopefully be sound asleep by nine. I assume that’s due to age and wisdom (those lessons learned)!! May your coming year be full of unimaginable gifts and may you and your families be healthy. Thank you for your presence and comments on my blog this past year.

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  • Arapaho Bend Natural Area,  landscape,  natural areas,  quotes,  sunrises

    I usually learn something

    December 26, 2024
    Sunrise at Arapaho Bend Natural Area – March 2013

    We do not want churches because they will teach us to quarrel about God. We do not want to learn that. We may quarrel with men sometimes about things on this earth, but we never quarrel about the Great Spirit. We do not want to learn that.

    Chief Joseph

    Seems to me a lot of mankind needs to unlearn this idea of quarreling over God. At least it would be one less thing for us to quarrel about. I know in my life when I stopped defending my opinion and listened to the other, I usually learn something I needed to learn.

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

    Merry Christmas

    December 25, 2024

    Well, the cookies and milk I left out for Santa were gone when I woke up this morning, always a good sign. However, there was no XF8mm lens under the tree so there must have been a screw up somewhere. They must have not gotten my letter. I didn’t think I was that naughty this past year. However, I’ve lived without that lens so far and will continue to live without it.

    Overcast skies spurred me to drive to Pineridge Natural Area for possible Christmas morning predawn colors. A mix of rain and snow began and added to the feel of the morning’s cold. I showed up and was not disappointed in nature’s gift of colors. The reflection off Dixon Reservoir was breathtaking and almost caused me to miss the Great Horned Owl perched on the tree. I asked if they were watching the predawn colors or looking for prey or both, but only silence? And, silly me forgot to bring the tripod so this is a handheld image taken at 23mm, 1/10 sec at f8.0 and ISO 12800. I have cropped this image and used denoise in Lightroom to clean up the noise. It works well enough for this blog. I started a crockpot of chili soup after my quiet time and its aroma is filling the house. It’s making me hungry. I hope everyone has a wonderful day in whatever way you celebrate it. Thank you to all who regularly stop by for a visit. I love this world!!! ❤️

    “The biggest gift you can give is to be absolutely present, and when you’re worrying about whether you’re hopeful or hopeless or pessimistic or optimistic, who cares? The main thing is that you’re showing up, that you’re here and that you’re finding ever more capacity to love this world because it will not be healed without that. That was what is going to unleash our intelligence and our ingenuity and our solidarity for the healing of our world.”

    Joanna Macy
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  • landscape,  mountains,  natural areas,  quotes,  sunsets

    December Sunset

    December 24, 2024
    A winter sunset at Reservoir Ridge Natural Area – 12/20/2024

    The Great Work is spiritual at the core. Gus Speth, an environmental attorney, ecologist, and climate advocate, has summarized the problem brilliantly: “I used to think that top global environmental problems were biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse, and climate change. . . . But I was wrong. The top environmental problems are selfishness, greed, and apathy, and to deal with these we need a spiritual and cultural transformation. And we scientists don’t know how to do that.

    Victoria Loorz
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  • Arapaho Bend Natural Area,  landscape,  natural areas,  sunrises

    What is possible between us…

    December 23, 2024

    I can disagree with your opinion, it turns out, but I can’t disagree with your experience. And once I have a sense of your experience, you and I are in relationship, acknowledging the complexity in each other’s position, listening less guardedly. The difference in our opinions will probably remain intact, but it no longer defines what is possible between us.

    Krista Tippett

    I’m finding my task is not to argue or attempt to change another who has a difference of opinion. Nothing builds a wall faster in a conversation than where someone interrupts and tells another they are wrong or rolls their eyes. We miss out on a wonderful opportunity of a relationship. I am learning what is possible between us when we become listeners sharing our experiences. I believe Krista is correct!

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  • clouds,  landscape,  natural areas,  quotes,  sunrises

    To Love Life…

    December 13, 2024
    Predawn at Pineridge Natural Area

    Life is everything. Life is God. Everything changes and moves and that movement is God. And while there is life there is a joy in consciousness of the divine. To love life is to love God. Harder and more blessed than all else is to love this life in one’s suffering, in innocent suffering.

    Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace

    After my quiet time and a bowl of Irish Oats I made a trip to Pineridge Natural Area to enjoy the predawn and sunrise on this Friday the 13th. It has been a while since I’ve ventured up there for sunrise. Instead, I’ve been spending more time riding the bicycle and at the coffee shops. I made a good choice as the clouds to the south were glowing pink and red. And, it was quiet and calm which quiets and calms my soul. I realized how much I missed these moments with nature.  Who knows, maybe nature missed my presence also. Our cold days have left most of Dixon Reservoir with a layer of ice. I then met Jeff for coffee and conversation and will meet Don and Elizabeth for lunch later today. Yes, to love life while we still have time!

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  • Arapaho Bend Natural Area,  quotes,  reflections

    Transformed by the Journey

    December 6, 2024
    Setting sun at Arapaho Bend Natural Area – Nov. 2023

    To journey without being changed, is to be a nomad.
    To change without journeying is to be a chameleon.
    To journey and be transformed by the journey is to be a pilgrim.

    Mark Nepo, The Exquisite Risk

    I love the idea of transformation by the journey. And the journey I am referring to is an inward journey. I tried the geographical change but that didn’t work. I spent way too much of my life being a chameleon and that didn’t work. It has only been in the last few years that looking inward has become a door into an accurate self-awareness. Who I thought I thought I was, was not accurate because the glasses I was using to see myself needed to be replaced. My inward journey has included self-examination, prayer and meditation which have become an unshakable foundation in my life. It’s a regular part of my daily practice and I enjoy being a pilgrim!!

    Hope you enjoy your weekend!

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