• bicycle rides,  nature

    A gift I did not expect

    Spring Creek Trail

    A gift I did not expect when I bought this e-bike is being able to hear more of the natural world. Her voice has always been there, hidden in the bustle of the city, drowned out by the sound of man’s machines. My ebike has a small and almost silent motor, so I feel its assist more than hear it.

    I like riding on the city’s hard surface trails where I am no longer in the midst of traffic but become more immersed in nature. Now the sounds of the natural world begin to dominate when I ride alongside the river on the Poudre Trail or follow the creek along Spring Creek Trail. In some areas I am surrounded by a canopy of trees and shrubbery, which are wonderful sound barriers to the pollution of traffic noise. This allows me to hear the water sing it’s melody on its journey; hear songbirds as I tootle along; hear squirrels barking and squeaking as they hide atop the trees; hear the alert prairie dogs barking warnings; hear the caw of a crow soaring above; hear the wind rustling cottonwood leaves along the trail; and every once in a while hearing the song of a bird I’m not familiar with. And one sound that strikes a note in my soul is the almost complete moments of silence found on these trails. I love the gift of this language of the natural world.

  • nature,  quotes

    The Cosmic Dance

    When we are alone on a starlit night, when by chance we see the migrating birds in autumn descending on a grove of junipers to rest and eat; when we see children in a moment when they are really children, when we know love in our own hearts; or when, like the Japanese poet, Basho, we hear an old frog land in a quiet pond with a solitary splash – at such times the awakening, the turning inside out of all values, the “newness,” the emptiness and the purity of vision that make themselves evident, all these provide a glimpse of the cosmic dance.

    Thomas Merton

    And today is National Coffee Day.

  • animals,  nature,  quotes

    Those Brown Eyes

    I want not only to observe but to know living beings, and this implies a dimension of primordial familiarity which is simple and primitive and religious and poor.

    Thomas Merton, The Trees Say Nothing

    I would add that this familiarity needs to be in their natural environment; the city park, the mountains, prairie, desert, yards, and gardens. All living beings share this world with me so spending time with them is the gift.

  • bicycle rides,  nature,  quotes

    A gift to others

    … to be human is to become visible while carrying what is hidden as a gift to others…

    David Whyte

    It was a 2.2 mile ride to coffee this morning but I decided to take the long-cut home and added 9.3 miles. It was wonderful! We had another beautiful day here in Colorado. I spent time at Reservoir Ridge this afternoon for some much needed reading and journaling. It was one of those days. Nature is a gift!

  • bicycling,  clouds,  landscape,  nature,  quotes,  reflections

    A Time in Wilderness

    “It is a commonplace of all religious thought, even the most primitive, that the man seeking visions and insight must go apart from his fellows and love for a time in the wilderness.”

    Loren Eiseley

    Fort Collins is a Platinum-rated Bicycle Friendly Community and maintains more than 200 miles of dedicated bike lanes and 50 miles of marked or signed bike routes. I have been riding them the last week or so and finding gems everywhere. You may be seeing more images taken along these trails and blog posts about them. I can be on the Spring Creek Trail after a short 2 block ride from my condo. Yesterday evening I headed east on the Spring Creek trail then connected to the Poudre Trail. I had the pleasure of having a white tail doe and her two fawns pass in front of me, and squirrels and rabbits darting in front of me. The fawns were still in their spots. It will be interesting to ride these trails in the different seasons and watch how things in nature change. I am realizing how easy it is to be close to nature within this city when on these trails. Enjoy your Sunday!!

  • landscape,  mountains,  nature,  quotes

    Learning to Listen

    Learning to pray is learning to listen. Within the heart we learn to wait with patience for God’s words, which may come even when we have not asked. Listening itself is a form of prayer, in which our whole being is receptive.

    Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee

    I always thought that it would nice to live near a river and fall asleep each night listening to the song of the river. But that’s not the reality in my life. However, when given the opportunity I am learning to listen to the rivers and streams. If that’s prayer then so be it. This is an image of the Big Thompson River in Moraine Park in Rocky Mountain National Park taken back in May. Happy Monday!!

  • animals,  natural areas,  nature

    Those Black Eyes

    I read the other day that God finds a thousand ways to tell us that we are sought after. In many ways I’d like to believe that. And please don’t ask me to define what God is because I can’t. All I can do is share my experiences where I have moments with a something bigger than me.

    While out shooting the sunrise last week at Pineridge Natural Area I was startled by some movement at my feet. When there’s movement that close to me, I am startled because we do have rattlesnakes in the area. However, looking down, I watched this baby cottontail move closer and closer to me, seemingly a bit quizzical about me and unafraid. As I looked into those black eyes, with no words needing to be exchanged, I felt something, a connection. Was I being sought after? I went home clearly touched in some way by Nature and those gifts she offers. I’m grateful to say the God of my youth has evolved into the God I can experience today through the black eyes of a cottontail. I wonder, who sought who? Have a wonderful Monday and a great week.

  • flowers,  nature,  Plants,  quotes

    Serenity

    Solitude… is what sustains me and protects me from my mind. It renders me fully present. I am desert. I am mountains. I am Great Salt Lake. There are other languages being spoken by wind, water, and wings. There are other lives to consider: avocets, stilts, and stones. Peace is the perspective found in patterns. When I see ring-billed gulls picking on the flesh of decaying carp, I am less afraid of death. We are no more and no less than the life that surrounds us. My fears surface in my isolation. My serenity surfaces in my solitude.

    Terry Tempest Williams

    The Oxford Dictionary defines solitude as: the state or situation of being alone. I relate to her quote because there are times when enjoying my coffee life, surrounded by people in conversations, baristas foaming milk, and piped music, I can feel isolated. A major contrast to the city’s natural areas which provides a place for me to be in solitude. Yet, I am never really alone as I am surrounded by plants, birds, animals, clouds, and people, who add their presence and sounds to my solitude. So, while I’m in solitude with nature, I too find serenity. Happy Friday!