• Black and White,  Camera Equipment,  fountain pens,  Fujifilm X-T3,  John O'Donohue,  Photography,  quotes,  writing/reading

    Giving Thanks

    February 10, 2021

    A gracious mind has compassion and sensitive understanding. It is without greed; rather than concentrating on what is absent or missing, it is able to celebrate and give thanks for what is present.

    John O’Donohue, Beauty: The Invisible Embrace

    It’s 10 degrees outside. Drove to the natural area for the quiet and to journal. Did not stay long, though. Grateful to be warm and inside. Overcast sky and a few snowflakes have been sited. It has that cold wintery feel. And, it’s going to be cold for the next 4 days or so, very cold. I have coffee, chocolate, peanut butter, a new book of poetry (Devotions by Mary Oliver) and plenty of fountain pen ink. I’m good and giving thanks. Stay warm.

    The above image was shot with the Fujifilm Acros film simulation. The Fujifilm website describes Acros as: a recently introduced black & white mode that’s richer in clarity and sharpness, and was inspired by our NEOPAN 100 ACROS film, which was known for its fine grain, rich gradation, and outstanding sharpness. Like the MONOCHROME mode, it’s also available in yellow, red, and green versions, but ACROS also has an embedded graininess that matches the film emulsion original. I like it.

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  • Avian,  John O'Donohue,  landscape,  natural areas,  quotes,  sunrises

    A Quiet Predawn

    January 31, 2021

    All holiness is about learning to hear the voice of your own soul.

    John O’Donohue

    What a beautiful Sunday morning. Orange glow on the eastern horizon. A cloudless sky. A silence coming from the Canada Geese still sleeping on the open water. There are no Magpies chattering. The only sound being my breaths. I wish, and you can even call it a prayer, that more people would seek out and cherish these predawn moments in nature to experience and hear the voice within our souls. Possibly find more peace in the world.

    May you all have an Awesome Sunday! Yes, it’s a blue theme again. 😊

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  • clouds,  John O'Donohue,  landscape,  natural areas,  quotes,  sunrises

    That is a Gift

    December 14, 2020

    “Only the blindness of habit convinces us that we continue to live in the same place, that we see the same landscape.”

    John O’Donohue

    Had an early meeting at Pineridge Natural Area with God, a few magpies, low clouds on the eastern horizon, silence and a cup of coffee to keep my hands warm. I watched nature put on a beautiful show of colors that helped keep me warm in the 15 degree cold. As O’Donohue suggests as long as I do not stay in a place of the blindness of my habits the landscape will provide something new for me to experience, and that is a gift. I stayed until the sun rose above the clouds and my hands and feet were cold. Have a great day and stay warm.

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  • cattails,  haiku,  John O'Donohue,  natural areas,  Plants,  trees,  writing/reading

    Along the Trail

    December 8, 2020

    along the trail
    cattails aflame in sunlight
    field of candles

    mws

    John O’Donohue in his book Beauty asks a couple of questions about landscape that cause me to smile, to pause and wonder. He asks the following questions: “Could it be possible that landscape might have a deep friendship with us? That it could sense our presence and feel the care we extend it?” These questions may never enter the minds of some, especially for those who ravage the landscape for profit. To them landscape is an object to consume that has no reasoning, intelligence as we do. These questions may seem like a waste of time because our ego has convinced us into believing we are the ultimate of all creation, and for many are playing god themselves.

    I have not always believed in having a friendship with the landscape as something more than an object. Maturity, drawing closer to the end of life, and experiencing the landscape with more than my physical senses has brought on this change. Sharing in this friendship with the landscape is the reason I have spent more time within it. I want to protect, respect and care for this friend of ours. I like how O’Donohue is asking us to be open, moving beyond our finite thinking. How different would our world be if we treated the landscape as our friend that wants to be our friend?

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  • John O'Donohue,  landscape,  poems,  poetry,  seasons,  snow,  winter scenes

    Sharing a poem with you

    November 3, 2020

    In Praise of the Earth

    Let us bless
    The imagination of the Earth,
    That knew early the patience
    To harness the mind of time,
    Waited for the seas to warm,
    Ready to welcome the emergence
    Of things dreaming of voyaging
    Among the stillness of land.

    And how light knew to nurse
    The growth until the face of the Earth
    Brightened beneath a vision of color.

    When the ages of ice came
    And sealed the Earth inside
    An endless coma of cold,
    The heart of the Earth held hope,
    Storing fragments of memory,
    Ready for the return of the sun.

    Let us thank the Earth
    That offers ground for home
    And holds our feet firm
    To walk in space open
    To infinite galaxies.

    Let us salute the silence
    And certainty of mountains:
    Their sublime stillness,
    Their dream-filled hearts.

    The wonder of a garden
    Trusting the first warmth of spring
    Until its black infinity of cells
    Becomes charged with dream;
    Then the silent, slow nurture
    Of the seed’s self, coaxing it
    To trust the act of death.

    The humility of the Earth
    That transfigures all
    That has fallen
    Of outlived growth.

    The kindness of the Earth,
    Opening to receive
    Our worn forms
    Into the final stillness.

    Let us ask forgiveness of the Earth
    For all our sins against her:
    For our violence and poisonings
    Of her beauty.

    Let us remember within us
    The ancient clay,
    Holding the memory of seasons,
    The passion of the wind,
    The fluency of water,
    The warmth of fire,
    The quiver-touch of the sun
    And shadowed sureness of the moon.

    That we may awaken,
    To live to the full
    The dream of the Earth
    Who chose us to emerge
    And incarnate its hidden night
    In mind, spirit, and light.

    from To Bless the Space Between Us
    by John O’Donohue
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  • clouds,  Documentary/Street,  John O'Donohue,  Plants,  poems,  poetry,  sunrises,  Transportation,  trees,  writing/reading

    The New Day

    October 21, 2020
    Pink sunrise from 2 days ago

    I give thanks for arriving
    Safely in a new dawn,
    For the gift of eyes
    To see the world,
    The gift of mind
    To feel at home
    In my life,
    The waves of possibility
    Breaking on the shore of dawn,
    The harvest of the past
    That awaits my hunger,
    And all the furtherings
    This new day will bring.

    On Waking
    by John O’Donohue

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  • clouds,  John O'Donohue,  landscape,  quotes,  rants,  sunsets,  trees,  writing/reading

    Artists of Our Days

    August 10, 2020

    Each of us is an artist of our days; the greater the integrity and awareness, the more original and creative our time will become.

    John O’Donohue

    Thought I would share a few reasons I enjoy spending more time in nature, whether that’s dreaming of living in an RV or taking a short drive to one of the natural areas near me. Some of these I’ve written about before so I apologize if I’m repeating myself.

    Connection: My experiences in nature have always brought a deeper feeling of connection with nature. Connection with nature is a pleasurable experience for me. Sometimes I wonder if we are drawn closer to nature as we age, with some unconscious knowing we are nearing our time of returning to the earth. Finding a greater separation from the busyness of the city brings a deeper connection with nature. The connection includes not just observing through sound, smell, touch and sight but I also talk to creation. I used to see that as weird but seems so natural to me at this stage of life.

    Solitude: Solitude is a vital part of my spiritual life. As an introvert the solitude helps recharge my batteries. I like my condo and consider it a place of solitude, a sanctuary, but there are those times I must move away from the comforts it brings and the external noises around me.

    Silence: I find a deeper silence by driving to some place in the country where there is less man-made noise, allowing for the sounds of nature to dominate and heal. Once I passed the 60 year mark I needed fewer days listening to traffic, lawn mowers, leaf blowers, refrigerator, furnace, and trash trucks.

    Journaling: Journaling is also a part of my spiritual life and a daily exercise. What few times I’ve missed journaling was due to hospital vacations or where words could not be heard from within. I also find the writing on this blog to be fun and enjoyable. I was a horrible English student as a youth and disliked reading and writing. Now both reading and writing make up a majority of day. Never thought I would enjoy reading poetry but find I do, even venturing into attempts at writing in a poetic form.

    Photography: Photography is a real interest or goal for time in nature. I have loved nature photography since I was a teenager with my first twin lens reflex camera. Over time, photography has help develop what some call the eye of the heart, so that I see nature from a new place. A much larger world for me to experience.

    Discovery: There is a world to discover beyond the small world many of us spend most of our time living in. For many years I chose my world that consisted of a cubicle with a paycheck. There are new horizons of discovery and adventure yet to be seen and fully experienced. Time in nature helps me stay alive as a fulltime student.

    And, what are yours, if you care to share?

    May we be the artists of our days! 😎❤️

     

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  • architecture,  Barn,  John O'Donohue,  landscape,  quotes,  sunsets

    The Heart of Wonder

    August 6, 2020
    Setting sun at the Arapaho Bend Natural Area. I took this image back in 2013. Since then this old barn/shed has been taken down. I’m glad I have this image so I can remember it’s presence.

    For Presence

    Awaken to the mystery of being here
    and enter the quiet immensity of your own presence.

    Have joy and peace in the temple of your senses.

    Receive encouragement when new frontiers beckon.

    Respond to the call of your gift and the courage to
    follow its path.

    Let the flame of anger free you of all falsity.

    May warmth of heart keep your presence aflame.

    May anxiety never linger about you.

    May your outer dignity mirror an inner dignity of
    soul.

    Take time to celebrate the quiet miracles that seek
    no attention.

    Be consoled in the secret symmetry of your soul.

    May you experience each day as a sacred gift woven
    around the heart of wonder.

    John O’Donohue from To Bless the Space Between Us
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