• clouds,  landscape,  natural areas,  Pineridge Natural Area,  quotes,  reflections,  sunrises

    A nice start to this day…

    August 13, 2026

    Within each of us there is a silence, a silence as vast as the universe.
    And when we experience that silence, we remember who we are.

    Gunilla Norris

    I have not been to Pineridge Natural Area in quite some time so I changed that this morning. It is supposed to rain later today, which means there would be a chance for colors with clouds at sunrise. I parked, turned off the car and was met with silence. I was given a bit of pink color along the horizon and the air was clear of smoke. Dixon Reservoir was calm and offered a nice reflection. I took a few photos then left to meet Jeff at the coffee shop. Sunrise and silence, coffee and conversation with a friend, always a nice start to the day.

    Read More
  • Dewdrops,  leaves,  quotes

    Capable of Great Love

    August 10, 2026
    Edited with Lightroom then enhanced with Jetpack Image Editor

    We can make a difference when we draw on our courage and creativity to stand up for our beliefs. Our small actions carry a cumulative power that can shift the planet onto a more positive course. We only need to tap our innate creativity and connect with expression not only through a particular medium like paint or clay or words; the other medium we all have to express our creativity is our lives. As human beings, we’re innately creative, capable of great love, and creatures of community. When we draw on our natural gifts and act together, we have enormous power to ease suffering and invent new possibilities for a better world.

    Kim Ridley

    I post a lot of quotes here. I struggle sometimes to post long ones because too many words can confuse, distract and make a difference in how the reader understands what the author intended. The above quote is an example. What I was moved by in the quote was the fact that mankind is capable of great love, while knowing in my mind mankind is also capable of great hatred. But, I will keep my focus on hope and belief in great love! I hope you are having a great day!!!

    Read More
  • flowers,  Plants,  quotes

    … life could be otherwise

    August 1, 2026
    Columbines from my sisters back yard – 2015

    “If we think we are our thoughts and feelings, we go through life simply reacting to what is going on around us, with little awareness that we are even doing this or that life could be otherwise.”

    Martin Laird

    Hope you are staying cool!!

    Read More
  • fountain pens,  JetPack,  quotes

    Writing

    July 31, 2026
    Edited with Lightroom then enhanced with Jetpack Image Editor

    Write only if you cannot live without writing. Write only what you alone can write.

    Elie Wiesel

    This is a beautiful glass blown fountain pen holder that was given to me as a gift. The fountain pen is a Meisterstück gold-coated 149 by Montblanc that was also given to me. It is a piston filling pen and has a handcrafted Au750 gold nib. The pen and nib are much bigger than my Pelikan so it’s not as comfortable a writing pen for me. I did clean it up today and put some Pilot Yama-guri ink in it. We will see how it feels using it for a while. It is going to be a hot weekend for us here in Colorado.

    Read More
  • leaves,  Plants,  quotes

    Taking Care of My Soul

    July 28, 2026

    l have come to think that care of the soul requires a high degree of resistance to the culture around us, simply because that culture is dedicated to values that have no concern for the soul.

    Thomas Merton, Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander – 1966

    It is Tuesday and starting out as a much cooler day. They say it’s only going to reach 90 degrees. I’m okay with that. The cooler air made it another lovely morning for a ride to the coffee shop. I enjoy riding through the cool low lying areas along Spring Creek. The temperature changes perk me up. I am one of those bicyclists who meanders along the trails. My bicycle is considered a commuter/urban ride. Which means I’m not a rider racing to get somewhere as quickly as possible. There is too much to miss when speeding along. Nor, none of us are as safe at higher speeds. And that’s also true of our cars. The bicycle gets me around easily and economically, puts less stress on my lower back than walking does, allows me to get my cardio exercise, gets me closer to nature, and I have much less stress when I get to the coffee shop. And bicyclists who race along the trails seem to think a certain dress attire is required. I personally do not want to see what I’d look like in spandex tights. So, I meander along taking care of my soul and with the camera ready. Who knows when I may encounter dewdrops clinging to dogwood leaves and need to stop.

    Read More
  • coffee life,  coffee shops,  digital art,  fountain pens,  JetPack,  journal,  journaling,  lifestyles,  Photography,  quotes

    My Daily Companions

    July 26, 2026

    These handwritten words in the pages of my journal confirm that from an early age I have experienced each encounter in my life twice: once in the world, and once again on the page.

    Terry Tempest Williams
    Edited with Lightroom then enhanced with Jetpack Image Editor

    I slept well and had a lovely quiet time before making myself a smoothie. I then did some reading and journaling to move me into the day. It is expected to be another 100 degree day here in Colorado. We reached 102 degrees yesterday and maybe the same today. No rain forecast until Tuesday. I enjoyed my early morning bicycle ride to the coffee shop and the social life I experience there. As the journey of this life moves along I have come to enjoy the world my journaling offers. Even though I’ve mentioned it before I feel the pages of my journals are a sanctuary, another world I daily enter into. Some days my journaling takes me to new worlds of confusion and sometimes it grounds me so I can see more clearly the reality of this world. My journals and pens are my daily companions. And, while this world was bringing words to these pages this morning I grabbed a photo to share with you then wanted to take you to a place of fantasy with this image. 

    Read More
  • Arapaho Bend Natural Area,  Art,  horizons,  landscape,  natural areas,  quotes,  sunrises

    It’s All Stories

    July 25, 2026
    Still waters at sunrise at Arapaho Bend Natural Area – May of 2023

    There’s always a story. It’s all stories, really.
    The sun coming up every day is a story. Everything’s got a story in it.
    Change the story, change the world.

    Terry Pratchett

    As photographers and creatives, I imagine we all hope that our images tell a story. On many of my blog posts, I also add content to express my experience of that moment, that morning, that evening, that day. In other words, I am telling a story. Was I cold? In a place of gratitude, or wonder? What birds were singing to me? What was I thinking or feeling? And hopefully the photograph, the content, or both have the potential to be a story capable of changing the world in some small way, including myself.

    Read More
  • bicycle rides,  bicycling,  leaves,  Plants,  quotes,  Spring Creek Trail

    Today Was the Day

    July 23, 2026
    Dogwood leaves along Spring Creek

    No one will protect what they don’t care about;
    and no one will care about what they have never experienced.

    David Attenborough

    When I rode to the coffee shop this morning it was 67 degrees and 91% humidity with a 30% chance of rain. There was a short moment of confusion as I felt like I woke up in Ohio or maybe North Carolina or Florida. Sure was not a normal Colorado morning. On my way home I took this image at one of the bridges that crosses over Spring Creek. I’ve wanted to stop here before and get a few images of the dogwood plants and those lovely leaves in this area, but never have. Well, today was the day. In these later years of my life I now enjoy making time to stop and experience, and not just take a photo, of what I normally just glance at. Everything is green along the creek which has plenty of shade and the constant flowing small creek. It is a much different scene than our open prairies where the sun has been bearing down on them for 3 weeks now. We need rain. I hope you are enjoying the day!!

    Read More