• fall season,  insects,  leaves,  quotes

    A quiet light…

    November 4, 2025
    The gift of a ladybug and yes, they do have a heart.

    There is a quiet light that shines in every heart. It draws no attention to itself though it is always secretly there. It is what illuminates our minds to see beauty, our desire to seek possibility and our hearts to love life. Without this subtle quickening our days would be empty and wearsome, and no horizon would ever awaken our longing. Our passion for life is quietly sustained from somewhere in us that is wedded to the energy and excitement of life. This shy inner light is what enables us to recognize and receive our very presence here as blessing. We enter the world as strangers who all at once become heirs of a harvesting of memory, spirit and dream that has long proceeded us and will now unfold nourish and sustain us. The gift of the world is our first blessing.

    John O’Donohue, Benedictus
    Read More
  • bicycling,  campus,  fall season,  sunrises

    makes them stop and look…

    October 28, 2025
    CSU Oval

    The poet Mary Oliver suggests in one of her poems (A Lesson From James Wright) that when you sit very quietly in some lovely wild place and listen to silence, that is a poem. I really like that idea. So carrying that further and thinking of our life as a poem, a prayer, a blessing for ourselves and others, maybe adds some aromatic fragrance to who we are and can touch another life. For me this includes creatives such as poets, artists, mystics, photographers, authors, family, friends and others who have done that in my life. I like that idea, also.

    I took this image at the CSU Oval on my ride home this morning. In these later years of my life I am seeing and experiencing this beautiful world in a new way. Something inside me does not want to miss the chance of being a part of it, whether that is being an observer, a poem, a prayer, a blessing, a better loving human, or a silly photographer on a bicycle who stops for photos at the oddest times and makes people stop and look.

    Read More
  • quotes

    A Blessed Day

    October 22, 2025
    Sunset at Reservoir Ridge Natural Area

    “Those who bless and serve life find a place of belonging and strength, a refuge from living in ways that are meaningless and empty and lonely. Blessing life moves us closer to one another and closer to our authentic selves. When people are blessed they discover that their lives matter, that there is something in them worthy of blessing. And when you bless others, you may discover this same thing is true about yourself.”

    Rachel Naomi Remen

    I needed to spend some time this evening in one of the natural areas for quiet, journaling and some sunset time. For the past several months I have been writing a paragraph of things I am grateful for each night before I go to bed. I find it a nice way to reflect back over the day and put my mind in a good place before going to sleep. This gratitude list reminds of how blessed I am, how often I need to bless others, and that someone, somewhere is also blessing me. I hope your day has been a blessed day!

    Read More
  • clouds,  leaves,  natural areas,  nature,  quotes

    The Strength of a Touch

    September 23, 2025
    Cottonwood leaves
    Cattails and reflections
    Clouds over Big Bass Pond

    The healing of our present woundedness may lie in recognizing and reclaiming the capacity we all have to heal each other, the enormous power in the simplest of human relationships: the strength of a touch, a blessing of forgiveness, the grace of someone else taking you just as you are and finding in you an unsuspected goodness.

    Rachel Naomi Remen, Kitchen Table Wisdom

    I sit on a rock bench looking out across Big Bass Pond at Arapaho Bend Natural Area. It’s about 1:57 pm. I feel the warmth of the 77 degree temperature but accepting the grace of relief provided by the cloudy skies. I notice the small world of life all around me that I so often overlook. Bees, butterflies, and beetles feasting on the nectar of the rabbitbrush. Ants, spiders, grasshoppers and unnamable bugs scurry or jump around me. Cottonwood leaves become intricate works of art as the autumn equinox arrives. And the cattails showing the golden tips of their swords. I am grateful to slow down and experience the healing given by being present to this world. It is a gift that has much to teach me. Now a rumble of thunder gives notice for me to move on. By the time I reach the car, raindrops have begun to fall. (Entry from my journal.) So here are three images from the afternoon.

    This morning a steady, gentle rain falls. It began just after I got up, around 4:30 am. My weather app predicts it will continue until mid afternoon. I have my front door open so I can hear and take in the fragrance of this refreshing rain. It’s a good day to journal, read and work on this blogs transformation. Thanks for being here and have a great day!

    Read More
  • clouds,  landscape,  natural areas,  quotes,  sunrises

    Mornings are a Gift

    August 22, 2025

    The sage would remind us of the following:
    None should rule who hold themselves above the people.
    Only by living, working, suffering alongside them can one truly be a leader.

    Tao Te Ching (78) By Lao Tzu by: Julian von Bargen, John Braun, Jr., David Warkentin

    One of the blessings of growing older for me has been the discovery that mornings are a gift. Since I’m not the party animal of yesteryears, going to bed early and getting up early are the norm. There is something that comes alive in me when I experience the quiet and stillness of this time of the day. I feel more alive than I did when chasing things that I expected to help me be alive. I am aware of the need to participate within the world, to experience it, and receive it as a gift.

    It’s interesting to note how clouds are always shifting, changing shapes and colors. It is almost unperceivable to the human eye. Yet, a 28 second exposure lets us know of their gradual changing. Observing that is a gift to me. I am heading out to meet friends who are in town and catch up. Have a wonderful weekend!

    Read More
  • Dewdrops,  leaves,  poems

    Happy Halloween!

    October 31, 2024
    Leaves outside the coffee shop

    Let me embrace each dawn as gift.
    Let me walk the hours of day unafraid
    With grace and faith unbounded.

    Let evening find me close to those I love
    Warming my soul by the fires of their laughter.

    Let me sleep believing tomorrow will be a blessing.

    Steven Charleston, Spirit Wheel

    We had our first snowfall last night. I awoke to a heavy fog and mist this morning. There was a dusting of snow on rooftops and frost on windshields. I agree each morning is a blessing whether a brilliant sunrise or fog and mist. And, my walk through today will include lunch with my oldest daughter, Christine, reading a new book and journaling time. Seems to be that kind of day. Happy Halloween!

    Read More
  • clouds,  landscape,  quotes

    With Love, Admiration and Respect

    March 8, 2024

    It may be important to great thinkers to examine the world, to explain and despise it. But I think it is only important to love the world, not to despise it, not for us to hate each other, but to be able to regard the world and ourselves and all beings with love, admiration and respect.

    Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha

    I have several favorite places where I go to spend an afternoon with nature. In these sacred places I watch silent clouds move across the sky, casting shadows on the farmer’s open field. I watch the clouds reshape themselves with the wind and I hear the blackbirds share their whistles and “chack” calls with me. I wonder, are they glad I’ve come to visit? I give thanks, take a few photos and accept the blessings nature offers with love, admiration and respect.

    I took this image a couple weeks ago in Weld County. Today it looks different as we had snowfall during the night, overcast skies all day and it is cold. Hope you had a good end to your week.

    Read More