My online journal where I share my interests in photography, nature, coffee life, journaling, fountain pens, bicycling, spirituality and asking deep questions.
angel blue sky
ms
sun kissing the horizon
gift of a new day
I’m hoping you are not getting tired of seeing these sunrise images from Pineridge Natural Area. Took this one a week ago. I shoot raw so all my images are in a 3:2 format. Almost everything I post is cropped to a 16:9 format, especially if it’s a landscape. I seem to be drawn to it. I therefore find myself framing my images with knowledge that I will probably crop the image when processing.
along the trail
ms
cattails aflame in sunlight
field of candles
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?
morning shadows
ms
gifts from window sunlight
warms the home
inhale deep breaths
ms
journal and pen in hand
words rising within
It was 17 degrees at 7:33 am when I took this image. I was bundled up while the geese, well, they seemed to be singing a song of joy while drifting in frigid water or sleeping on thin ice. Pure insanity to us humans! After taking this image, I headed to Pineridge Natural area to bask in the sun’s bright warmth and journal. Picked up a mocha on the way so it took me about 25 minutes to arrive at the natural area parking lot. It had already warmed up to 18 degrees. Not toasty yet but an increase nonetheless. Some will think I’m insane for starting my day this way but both the geese and I say to heck with them. I enjoy these gifts of silence, the clear blue skies and the warm sun shining on me. To make it complete, when I got home I enjoyed a rather dry day old donut. 😁Do I know how to live or what?
wind ruffled feathers
ms
hawk sits on barren branches
a cold north wind blows
Spent the morning at Pineridge Natural Area this morning. A cold wind blew from the north so I had the area all to myself. Brought coffee and sat in my car listening to the wind whispering all around me and did some journaling. A robin perched on the fence letting me know they were watching but there was no song. The wind was ruffling their feathers. I watched Red-tailed hawk soar in over the reservoir and perch on a barren tree. You can barely notice them. I could see the wind ruffling the feathers of the hawk. The overcast skies and wind made it feel colder than it really was. For me it was a good way to start my day. Stay warm.
red hair with freckles
ms
on a dare and not for love
innocent first kiss
One perk of reaching 70 years of age is how many people I have encountered in life. Some I will keep as lifelong friends while some will only be a part of my life for a season or two. But, what I have from each of those encounters are memories and the awareness of how they changed my life in some way. I encountered a lot of people during my seven years working as flight attendant, both crew and passengers. And, I was lucky enough to photograph several of the flight attendants I worked with, both men and women. This young lady is Lori and the image was taken in 2009. Because she is outgoing and comfortable with herself we came away with some very good images. This is one of my favorites.
Now about the haiku. I wrote the haiku this past week while reflecting on a few experiences of my childhood. I started a project a a couple years ago to write a simple memoir for my grandchildren. One of those experiences needs to be the first kiss. The first kiss I remember was with my red haired neighbor, Carolyn. I’m suspecting I was 8 or 9 and she was 6 or 7. Her brother, one of my classmates, put us up to it with a dare. I’m posting this image of Lori because she has the red hair and the perfect amount of freckles to go along with my haiku and story.
sun rising in east
ms
a cold blue blanket of frost
few leaves hanging on
Cold morning, 19 degrees at 5:45 am. That’s too cold so I waited until it reached 21 then went outside for this photo of a cottonwood leaf with frost. Not the best but… Anyway, everything is pretty much shut down now in Larimer County as it is one the counties to go into Level Red due to high increase of cases and hospitals almost maxed out. Our two week positivity rate was 12%, so I guess you can say we graduated. Anything over 10% put us into that level. This means restrictions on numbers in businesses, churches, music events, etc. Most coffee shops and restaurants have no more indoor seating unless they go against the mandate. I am concerned about our small business owners and those who work for them.
Hope you have a safe Thanksgiving Day!