My online journal where I share my interests in photography, nature, coffee life, journaling, fountain pens, bicycling, spirituality and asking deep questions.
there’s a calm over the meadow feeling the warm rays of golden light illuminating the mountain brome
nature creating abundant beauty and with gratitude rising within me start this new day on the bright side
ms
A late arrival to Pineridge Natural Area but just in time to catch the sun cresting the horizon. Followed quickly by a warm golden glow illuminating everything. I sat on the bench to journal but when nature provided this glow on the mountain brome, I had to pull out my camera. Have a great day!
The most beautiful things in life are not things. They’re people and places and memories and pictures. They’re feelings and moments and smiles and laughter.
Unknown
I read yesterday something that resonated with me, “… nature heals. big time.” I know I go to nature for healing of many things. There is a solitude and silence there not found in the city. But the quote also caused me to reflect on things I do to help me move through any troubling state I can find myself in. When I feel anxious it’s time to walk or hike. When I’m angry or resentful I can let go of those thoughts by “taking a photograph.” When I get caught up in mental chatter I find relief through “meditation and quiet.” When confusion and the need for discernment ties me in knots then I can untangle myself through “journaling.” All of these simple things I can do at any place but nature is such a pull for me. Loved the gold and pink I found last night in these two images.
Today is the Autumn Equinox. The word “equinox” comes from Latin aequus, meaning “equal,” and nox, “night.” On the equinox, day and night are roughly equal in length. The equinox is a seasonal signpost in Earth’s orbit around the sun. During the equinox, the Suncrosses what we call the “celestial equator”—an imaginary extension of Earth’s equator line into space. The equinox occurs precisely when the Sun’s center passes through this line. When the Sun crosses the equator from north to south, this marks the autumnal equinox; when it crosses from south to north, this marks the vernal equinox. After the autumnal equinox, days become shorter than nights as the Sun continues to rise later and nightfall arrives earlier. These shorter days bring cooler weather. You can feel the chill in the air. This ends with the December solstice, when days start to grow longer once again.
And, we had the Harvest Moon two days ago. As I mentioned yesterday it was so bright in the morning that it cast shadows across the meadow at Pineridge Natural Area.
Information on the Equinox was stolen from the Farmers Almanac and EarthSky
You only get one sunrise and one sunset a day, and you only get so many days on the planet. A good photographer does the math and doesn’t waste either.
After rain after many days without rain, it stays cool, private and cleansed, under the trees, and the dampness there, married now to gravity, falls branch to branch, leaf to leaf, down to the ground
where it will disappear–but not, of course, vanish except to our eyes. The roots of the oaks will have their share, and the white threads of the grasses, and the cushion of moss; a few drops, round as pearls, will enter the mole’s tunnel;
and soon so many small stones, buried for a thousand years, will feel themselves being touched.
From a weekend walk at Reservoir Ridge Natural Area
“Nature, too, supports our personal blossoming (if we have any quiet exposure to her) through her spontaneities, through her beauty, power, and mirroring, through her dazzling variety of species and habitats, and by way of the wind, Moon, Sun, stars, and galaxies.”
Bill Plotkin
It is a desire of mine to spend more time in nature. Hopefully, you already knew that. It is now obvious to me how deep these roots of solitude with and in nature have always been present. There is an awareness, also, that the more time I spend in the natural world, the more I desire to be there. My condo of bricks and sticks is not where I want to spend my life. It has provided a place of comfort but at a price. For many the house is all they need and want. Our culture stresses that. I’m not one of them. There is a desire to blossom. Have a great day and wonderful week!
