• clouds,  horizons,  landscape,  mountains,  nature,  poems

    We never belonged to you…

    June 24, 2026

    The moment when, after many years
    of hard work and a long voyage
    you stand in the centre of your room,
    house, half-acre, square mile, island, country,
    knowing at last how you got there,
    and say, I own this,

    is the same moment when the trees unloose
    their soft arms from around you,
    the birds take back their language,
    the cliffs fissure and collapse,
    the air moves back from you like a wave
    and you can’t breathe.

    No, they whisper. You own nothing.
    You were a visitor, time after time
    climbing the hill, planting the flag, proclaiming.
    We never belonged to you.
    You never found us.
    It was always the other way round.

    Margaret Atwood, The Moment

    Like so many of my images, something called me to stop and press the shutter button. I pulled into the Running Deer Natural Area parking lot and took the image from there. I did not create any of the beauty in this scene, nature did and lovingly shares it with us. Our task is to accept the gift of its presence and beauty with grateful hearts! May we come to realize we belong in this world not as conquerors but as integral parts of it. 

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  • bicycle rides,  nature,  Spring Creek Trail

    A Saturday Ride

    May 2, 2026

    We have a beautiful day here in Colorado. I mounted the red steed and took a bicycle ride along Spring Creek Trail out to Spring Canyon Park and back, about 7.6 mile round trip. Lots of people were out enjoying the weather so the trail was busy. And the park was busy with little kids’ soccer, and the pickle ball courts and tennis courts were full. I spotted a couple of young girls sunbathing in bikinis and almost rode off the trail. I’m gonna call it wildlife. No image but I did stop for this image on the way back because I like the idea that we can feel like we’re in a natural wooded area outside of the city while still in the city. I hope you are enjoying your Saturday!

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  • nature,  quotes

    The web of all life

    May 1, 2026

    My God is too vast to be contained by theology, too mysterious to be defined, too holy to be personified. My God neither punishes nor rewards, but invites me into a living relationship that unfolds in the heart of all that is. My God belongs to everyone, and this belonging connects me to the web of all life.

    Mirabai Starr

    It has been a beautiful day with clear blue skies, sunshine and a gentle cooling breeze. I used yesterday and today to recover from the traveling. I got some grocery shopping done and made tuna salad. This afternoon I spent time at Pineridge Natural Area for the silence, solitude, and journal time. I believe my time at the coffee shop and in these Natural Areas are places where I do connect with the web of life. They are essential in my life! And hope you had a Happy May Day! Enjoy your weekend!

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  • bicycle rides,  bicycling,  landscape,  moon,  natural areas,  nature,  quotes

    To See Another View

    April 8, 2026

    “The humble person is open to being corrected, whereas the arrogant is clearly closed to it. Proud people are supremely confident in their own opinions and insights. No one can admonish them successfully… Filled as they are with their own views, the arrogant lack the capacity to see another view.”

    Fr. Thomas Dubay

    It was an amazingly warm morning at 57 degrees when I headed for the coffee shop. I decided to take the Fisher Nature Area then connect to the Spring Creek Trail and was greeted with the moon sitting in the southern sky. So glad I took a different route as it offered me another view. It will be a day for reading and writing, a short meeting with friends at noon then meet a friend at 4 pm. May you enjoy this day and the view it offers!

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  • a gift of life,  journaling,  lifestyles,  nature,  rants,  spirituality

    … not always my best thinking

    March 20, 2026
    Starburst from my porch this morning

    I have been glancing at Google news and NPR news for the past month thinking I would stay better informed. I made sure not click on any of the links or read articles, I only read the headlines. But that wisdom showed me that some of my best thinking is not always my best thinking. In no time at all I found myself both angry and weeping for the world. So today as I journaled on my porch I wondered when was the last time we saw headlines with news of hope, love, compassion, tolerance, peace, forgiveness, acceptance, and stories of people who are making a positive difference in the world? Maybe that voice must come from each of us. I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

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  • flowers,  Metro Parks,  nature,  Plants

    Live this day in peace…

    February 17, 2026

    It was a cool and humid morning when I left for the coffee shop. And, when I returned home the wind began blowing and a mist is now falling. It looks like the foothills are already starting to receive snow and I understand the mountains are already receiving snow. We are about 50% below our average snowfall in the mountains so this is a welcomed gift. The only thing on my calendar today is a noon zoom meeting. I have eggs boiling now to make tuna salad today. It is simple to make and I enjoy it especially on toasted sourdough bread. May we live this day in peace and serenity. May we be a shining light in somebody’s life today. Our world needs it!!

    The best I can come with in identifying this plant is a allium ampeloprasum. It is a member of the onion genus Allium. It is commonly known as wild leek or broadleaf wild leek. Its native range includes southern Europe, southwestern Asia and North Africa, but it has been cultivated and naturalized in many other countries. Allium ampeloprasum has been differentiated into five cultivated vegetables: leek, elephant garlic, pearl onion, kurrat, and Persian leek. I took this image in 2008 at Inniswood Gardens.

    POD (Pen of the day): Blue Marbled Pelikan M205 with Pelikan Edelstein Topaz ink.

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  • clouds,  landscape,  nature,  Pineridge Natural Area,  sunrises

    The Gift That It Is

    November 1, 2025
    This morning’s sunrise

    So I rose early on this first day of November to watch the darkness of night give way to today’s sunrise. I felt the cold air that blankets the meadow and took several deep breaths of that cold air into my lungs. I savour this moment not as an observer but as a participant. Nature’s beauty awakens something within me as I witness the new day bringing the hope of blessings to come. And I find myself falling in love with the sky, the quiet, the stillness, creation and the gift of it all. May you have a wonderful November!!

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  • clouds,  horizons,  landscape,  nature,  Pineridge Natural Area,  prairie,  prayer

    … take as needed

    October 12, 2025

    Plant seeds of happiness, hope, success, and love;
    it will all come back to you in abundance.
    This is the law of nature.

    Steve Maraboli

    Feeling restless so I ventured out to Pineridge Natural Area again yesterday afternoon. When I turned off the engine I found myself surrounded by quiet. The water was low in Dixon reservoir. Seagulls silently floated over the water. The rabbitbrush swayed in the gentle breeze. Fall colors of golden leaves and brown grass stood in contrast to the now blue sky filled with clouds that silently drifted over the meadow. As soon as I began to write in my journal, the sun broke through the clouds spreading its warmth over my body, and I smiled. As words appeared on the pages they became the seeds of happiness, hope, success, and love. Gradually my restlessness shifted into a much needed peace and serenity. These times in nature on a beautiful October afternoon have a way of doing that. I took this image just before leaving. And if you’re interested, the directions for this medication is to: take as needed.

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