• gratitude,  landscape,  natural areas,  Plants,  poems,  Reservoir Ridge Natural Area,  shadows,  sunsets,  trees

    Last Chorus

    Horses graze as the sun sets behind old Cottonwood trees along Overland Trail

    I watch the sun set behind cottonwood trees while
    the blue sky opens to the coming darkness of night.
    The long shadows of the sun stretch over the pasture
    as my feathered friends sing their last chorus of the day.
    I’m filled with gratitude as this day comes to an end
    full of hope for the new day tomorrow.

    ms
  • animals,  natural areas,  Reservoir Ridge Natural Area

    Keep’n it simple…

    Prairie dog at Pineridge Natural Area

    Not sure how you feel but I have wanted my millions of followers of this blog to have the option to receive notification through email anytime I posted something new and exciting on my blog. So, I tried two different plugins and had difficulty getting either one of them to do what I wanted. I never could figure them out, nor did I feel comfortable with them, nor did I understand all the terminology, nor did it seem simple. So, I decided the best way to keep it simple was not have any of it. When I’m honest about it, I want the half dozen people who do read my blog to just drop by when they want or use an RSS feed. Yes, keep’n it simple.

  • landscape,  natural areas,  Reservoir Ridge Natural Area,  seasons,  snow

    Springtime in Colorado

    Springtime in Colorado includes snow in May in case you didn’t know that. This was taken at Reservoir Ridge Natural Area about an hour ago. Rain began about midnight and is slowly turning to snow. Snow is already on the foothills at probably 6500 feet and the higher elevations are shrouded in clouds and snow. Forecast this morning says 4-12 inches of snow will accumulate throughout the day and end tomorrow by noon. My weather app says it’s 37 degrees. The meadowlarks were singing as I took this image. Seems each day is a day to be grateful to them. We can learn from them. I’m now having a bowl of hot Irish Oats with blueberries. Seemed appropriate. Turned the furnace on, too. Meanwhile Phoenix and Charlotte will be in the 90’s.

  • clouds,  landscape,  natural areas,  Plants,  Reservoir Ridge Natural Area,  shadows,  trees

    Long Shadows

    Late afternoon shadows

    They are repairing some major potholes to the parking lot at Reservoir Ridge Natural Area. One of those holes you could disappear in. On Friday when I visited I parked outside the gate and walked along the fence to get this image. This is a very different perspective than most of the images from the natural area. I like the mystery in those shadows. Happy Mother’s Day!

  • grass,  landscape,  mountains,  natural areas,  Plants,  quotes,  Reservoir Ridge Natural Area

    Happy Earth Day

    Green blades of grass in the open meadow at Reservoir Ridge Natural Area

    “I have been and still am a seeker, but I have ceased to question stars and books; I have begun to listen to the teaching my blood whispers to me.”

    Hermann Hesse

    This low perspective shows some of the green we are seeing in the meadows. We really do need to see some moisture and that may happen this coming weekend.

  • Avian,  clouds,  landscape,  natural areas,  quotes,  Reservoir Ridge Natural Area

    Saving the world…

    Red-tail Hawk soaring above Reservoir Ridge Natural Area

    Would you like to save the world from the degradation and destruction it seems destined for? Then step away from shallow mass movements and quietly go to work on your own self-awareness. If you want to awaken all of humanity, then awaken all of yourself. If you want to eliminate the suffering in the world, then eliminate all that is dark and negative in yourself. Truly, the greatest gift you have to give is that of your own self-transformation.

    Lao Tzu, 4th-6th century BCE

    Seems we were not being very good guardians of the world even back then. However his solution is quite simple: work on our own self-awareness, offering the greatest gift we have.