• National Parks,  Plants,  quotes,  river,  trees,  Yellowstone National Park

    the One…

    September 10, 2022
    Yellowstone River in Hayden Valley

    You recognize your God as everyone’s God. And not only among Jews and Christians and Muslims do you see the reflected face of the One. When the climber reaches the summit and gazes out at a thousand miles of mountains and valleys, there is the One. When the mother pushes through shattering pain to give birth, and the infant sucks in his first breath and expels his wild wail, there is the One. When the father drops to his knees in the military cemetery after burying his son and wraps his arms around his own heaving chest, there is the One. In our first kiss, in our final embrace, there is the One.

    The One shows up in Native lodges and Hindu temples, in the deep quiet of Zen meditation halls and in the ecstatic whirling of dervishes. The One whispers through the words of the poets, through the curving lines of painters, sculptors, and woodcarvers; through symphony and hip-hop, Gregorian chant, hymns in praise of Mother Mary, devotional songs to Lord Shiva; through tobacco and cornmeal offered at dawn to the Great Spirit. The One makes an appearance in the heart of the self-described atheist, who gasps in wonder at the beauty of an unexpected snow that fell during the night, carpeting the garden with jewels of frozen light. The One reveals itself as the compassionate Father and the protective Mother, as unrequited Lover and loyal Friend, residing always at the core of our own hearts, and utterly invisible. The One transcends all form, all description, all theory, categorically refusing to be defined or confined by our human impulse to unlock the Mystery. And the One resides at the center of all that is, ever-present and totally available. You remember, and forget, and remember again: beckoned with a thousand names, limited by none, the God you love is One.

    Mirabai Starr
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  • clouds,  landscape,  Mary Oliver,  natural areas,  Plants,  poems,  Reservoir Ridge Natural Area,  trees

    Everything is His

    August 21, 2022
    Late afternoon clouds over Claymore Lake

    Everything is His.
    the door, the door jamb.
    The wood stacked near the door.
    The leaves blown upon the path
    that leads to the door.
    The trees that are dropping their leaves
    the wind that is tripping them this way and that way,
    the clouds that are high above them,
    the stars that are sleeping now beyond the clouds

    and, simply said, all the rest.

    When I open the door I am so sure so sure
    all this will be there, and it is.
    I look around.
    I fill my arms with the firewood.
    I turn and enter His house, and close His door.

    Mary Oliver, Musical Notation: 2
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  • landscape,  Plants,  sunsets,  trees

    A Photographers Serenity Prayer

    August 18, 2022

    God, grant me the serenity to accept the scenes I cannot change, courage to change the scenes I can, and wisdom to know the difference.

    I have been praying the Serenity Prayer every morning before my feet hit the floor for a few years now. The prayer is about three basic things: serenity (acceptance), courage (to change) and wisdom. I’ve become aware that I’ve been using this prayer in my photography without realizing it, but with a slight twist. I would suggest you may also. Let me explain using these two images.

    I noticed this scene while driving along County Road 19. I knew from the get-go I was not going to have the image I wanted because of the close proximity of the house and tree. I wanted the sun setting behind the tree without the house but with the tree more towards the center. Wasn’t gonna happen in this scene. A couple extreme options were…

    I could burn the house down but there would be court dates to deal with and I didn’t think the image would be worth the outta pocket expenses. Another option was to move the tree but I didn’t have a chainsaw for that task, nor the time. I don’t know about you but I seldom carry a chainsaw in my camera bag. Or I could….

    … accept the scene as it is. So, I began by changing my expectations. The image I wanted when I first saw this scene I was not going to get. But, here is what I could do. I could work with my exposure, making sure it was what I wanted. I had my 70-300mm zoom on my camera because I had been photographing pronghorn antelope a few minutes earlier. So, I took a half dozen images, cropping at various focal lengths with and without the house in it. Again, I had little time to decide before the sun set.

    I’ve been shooting long enough to know that I will not always come home with a keeper. I’m comfortable with that knowledge and therefore do not get as frustrated and lose my (serenity). I knew I could accept the scene as it is, aware I may trash all of them later (courage). Of course this is much easier today with digital than film days (more courage). I also knew that I was there to witness this gift of nature and store this scene in that place Mary Oliver calls the “kingdom we call remembrance.” I also know there would be other opportunities to come (wisdom).

    After bringing the images home I found a couple that worked for me. The top image is without a crop and includes the house. It turned out better than I envisioned. I find it quite acceptable. The second image is the same image but with the house cropped out. Having the tree as far to the edge of the frame really did not take away from what I first saw. Shows you what I know. Both images are acceptable to me. If you are so inclined please let me know which image you like better. And, what experiences have you like this?

    Just for fun, and because Tom stirred the pot, I went back and looked at other images I took to see if I include the whole house. I did and like them as well. I also did not realize how I must have moved along the road in my attempt to eliminate the house because this image has the sun on the opposite side of the tree.

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  • clouds,  landscape,  mountains,  Plants,  quotes,  sunrises,  trees

    All a Truth

    July 21, 2022
    Sunrise at Pineridge Natural Area

    “What if everything you have been taught is all a lie and everything you feel is all a truth?”

    Nikki Rowe

    There was a time in my youth when the things I was taught did not seem to fit with my feelings. That feeling came from somewhere within, a place I was not that familiar with, yet. Later I came to know it as intuition, a gut feeling, voice of my authentic self, the ground of my very being or whatever we choose to call it. I am now aware that when I was younger I was not taught the whole truth in school and church while expected to believe what I was taught. A controlling society does that whether it be a parent, a church, a government or an educational system.

    I’m learning the importance of listening and trusting my intuition. There needs to be a connection between what I think, what I’m told to be truth and what my intuition tells me. With so much access to information it is vital for me to listen to the voice within. Connecting these together has given me much better results in knowing my truth, making decisions while not living to someone else’s truth.

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  • clouds,  John O'Donohue,  landscape,  Plants,  quotes,  trees

    Lush and Green

    June 28, 2022

    “May you recognize in your life the presence, power, and light of your soul. May you realize that you are never alone, that your soul in its brightness and belonging connects you intimately with the rhythm of the universe. May you have respect for your own individuality and difference.”

    John O’Donohue

    Took a drive up over Bingham Hill. I see this view each time I pass through but have never stopped because there is no place to pull over. Well, because it looked so lush and green on this particular day, I decided to stop even with part of my car on the road and put on my flashers. Took about six photos then moved on. Glad I did and no cars came by, this time. 😂

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

    Last Chorus

    June 26, 2022
    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
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  • landscape,  Plants,  rants,  sunsets,  trees,  writing/reading

    Invasive Species

    June 22, 2022

    According to the National Invasive Species Information Center an “invasive species” is a species that is: 1) non-native (or alien) to the ecosystem under consideration and,
    2) whose introduction causes or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health. Another definition of invasive species, and my favorite, is from Wikipedia, “An invasive species is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated with and harms its new environment.” You can do your own research but they all say basically the same thing.

    In these two images you can see the harm done to the environment by an invasive species. I am standing in approximately the same location in both images but a year a part. Top image taken in June 2021 and the bottom image in June 2022. Those beautiful cottonwood trees I enjoyed seeing and photographing in the top image, have been removed. The green lush field is now barren dirt, piles of gravel/sand and about to have sewer lines, water lines buried underground then covered with concrete and cement. Gone.

    I am saddened because earth movers are in the process of destroying complete ecosystems and calling it development. Sorry to differ but it’s called destruction. They both start with the letter “D” but that’s about as close as they get. I will boldly say housing is an environmental issue with its roots solidly based in money! Where we build housing says a lot about our views on and treatment of the land on which we live. And, I would suggest that those developers do not live in this sort of neighborhood. Nor do they care about the debt people will be getting into so they can increase their financial wealth. But more importantly the increases in housing density and associated development on rural forest lands and even farming practices has been linked to numerous changes to private forest services across watersheds, including decreases in native wildlife; changes in forest health, reduced water quality and availability. And, I’ve not even started with the impact of the maintenance of this infrastructure, environmentally and economically in years to come.

    If I go with the definition by Wikipedia then the major invasive species I know is: humans. Interesting how man makes a list of invasive species such as thistle, bindweed, Zebra mussels, garlic mustard and the list goes on, but arrogantly leaves himself off the list. We have had people shouting warnings for years but many humans ignore it. Here’s a simple post by our friend Joe at JWSmithPhoto about this very thing.

    Now that I’ve spent a few days writing and rewriting this post, I’ve uncovered how I really feel and discovered that I’m not just sad but I’m also pissed!

    Stand unshod upon it, for the ground is holy, being even as it came from the Creator. Keep it, guard it, care for it, for it keeps men, guards men, cares for men. Destroy it and man is destroyed.

    Alan Paton

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