• clouds,  landscape,  natural areas,  Pineridge Natural Area,  reflections,  Uncategorized

    Lines

    September 6, 2022
    Dixon Reservoir

    “Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.”

    Terry Pratchett

    Lines are a draw for me in my photography. The line of the shoreline, the line of the horizon and the line of the log, all pull me to this scene. And, their parallel paths take me from one side of the image to the other.

    An important practice of a photographer is walking around a scene several times to get new perspectives. And this needs to be done on a regular basis, say several days or weeks in a row.

    Read More
  • Meister Eckhart,  natural areas,  Pineridge Natural Area,  quotes

    The Sunbeam

    August 23, 2022
    From a late afternoon walk at Pineridge Natural Area

    “We usually miss You, cluttering our minds with expectations about where and how and who You are, but if we trust giving up our seeking and let ourselves know You in everything that is, even what’s concealed from us, we come to find You everywhere, at all times and in an equal way, no matter how strange this might seem to us.”

    Meister Eckhart’s Book of Secrets

    I believe the above is written from the perspective that You is referring to God. Even though the author is Christian his concept of You is not confined to a box but goes way beyond that. His You is not an object or deity. I also feel that way. I find it interesting to reread this and each time replace the word You with God, Love, Reality, Great Spirit, Compassion, Beauty, Nature, Creator, Truth, Justice, Peace, Serenity… and none of these are objects or material things. Thanks for listening…

    Read More
  • clouds,  landscape,  Mary Oliver,  natural areas,  Pineridge Natural Area,  poems,  poetry,  sunrises

    Predawn Pinks

    August 9, 2022
    Predawn pinks this morning

    Praying

    It doesn’t have to be
    the blue iris, it could be
    weeds in a vacant lot, or a few
    small stones; just
    pay attention, then patch

    a few words together and don’t try
    to make them elaborate, this isn’t
    a contest but the doorway

    into thanks, and a silence in which
    another voice may speak.

    Mary Oliver, from her book Thirst
    Read More
  • clouds,  horizons,  landscape,  natural areas,  Pineridge Natural Area,  quotes

    I believe he’s right

    July 31, 2022

    “The plain fact is that the planet does not need more successful people, but it does desperately need more peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellers, and lovers of every kind. It needs people who live well in their places. It needs people of moral courage willing to join the fight to make the world habitable and humane. And these qualities have little to do with success as we have defined it.”

    David Orr

    At the very core of who I am I believe he’s right. I was talking with a friend who teaches at our local college. Our discussion was along this line. He does want his students to be able to think and reason with ethical and moral values when they finish his class rather than successfully pass the test from memorization.

    Side note: I began having body aches, headache, chills and runny nose Friday morning. Tested at Uchealth in the afternoon. Woke Saturday feeling good but fuzzy thinking. Test results were: not detected. Feeling good today.

    Read More