• clouds,  landscape,  quotes,  silence,  sunrises

    Listening Carefully

    February 10, 2025
    Predawn at Pineridge Natural Area – April 2021

    Have you ever heard the wonderful silence just before the dawn? Or the quiet and calm just as a storm ends? Or perhaps you know the silence when you haven’t the answer to a question you’ve been asked, or the hush of a country road at night, or the expectant pause of a room full of people when someone is just about to speak, or, most beautiful of all, the moment after the door closes and you’re alone in the whole house? Each one is different, you know, and all very beautiful if you listen carefully.

    Norton Juster
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  • clouds,  natural areas,  Pineridge Natural Area,  quotes

    A Journey of Discovery

    January 14, 2025
    Predawn sky at Pineridge Natural Area

    When you regain a sense of your life as a journey of discovery, you return to rhythm with yourself. When you take the time to travel with reverence, a richer life unfolds before you. Moments of beauty begin to braid your days.

    John O’Donohue

    As I parked the car at Pineridge Natural Area this morning, I realized I was moving in autopilot mode. I only took two photos then headed to the coffee shop. Any inspiration to be there was lacking. I know one reason was the cold. Another reason was because my chattering mind kept me from being present to any journey of discovery or reverence. That’s not my norm. The above quote has been sitting in waiting for the right time to be posted and this seems to be the day. This morning there was almost no reverence of my presence to myself or the natural world I am a part of. As I have journeyed through the day, and that is what each day is for, a sense of peace and reverence has settled in and I am grateful for my life! I hope you had a good day and stay warm!

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  • landscape,  natural areas,  quotes,  reflections,  sunrises

    The Love of Sunrise Reflections

    August 25, 2024

    It was unusually quiet this morning at Pineridge. Seemed like everyone slept in late. Almost no one at the natural area and no traffic sounds from the city. A few magpies and blackbirds along the shore were excitedly chatting about the colors in this mornings sunrise. It was a peaceful and silent time to me. I was loving and being loved by the reflections in the water.

    Just as the sun broke the horizon, a light breeze out of the northwest sent small waves across Dixon Reservoir. Yet, the water still offers it’s reflection. I stood in awe and wonder as a lone pelican gracefully and silently flew over the water. How do they do that? Nature is amazing. After allowing nature to fill me with love and refreshing my soul I headed home. I had my prayer and meditation time, put on a crockpot of 16 bean soup, then rode the bicycle to meet Jeff for coffee and conversation.

    “Love is the inheritance of mystery that we leave to the universe—the proof that consciousness is more than chemicals and fire, but rather a song that sings the why and how of all creation. Love sings it now and will sing it until the end of time.”

    Steven Charleston
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  • clouds,  landscape,  natural areas,  quotes,  reflections,  sunrises

    Taking Care of the Soul

    August 19, 2024

    “When you practice solitude, you dedicate yourself to the care of the soul.”

    Stephen Batchelor

    I took care of my soul this morning with solitude and silence at Pineridge Natural Area. Afterwards I made my way to Mugs for coffee where there was a lot less solitude and silence since classes at CSU started today. It was a surprising 68 degrees this morning when I left the condo. The moon was just dropping behind the mountains when I arrived. Bats silently circled above me. Grateful for these moments. This is an HDR image of two images at +/- 1 stop. I like how it turned out.

    I’m roasting up a pan of vegetables with andouille sausage this morning. I’ll let you know how that turns out. While having my mocha, I wrote in my journal that I felt like crying and wasn’t exactly sure why. But as I began to write this post at home I realized my mom died 3 years ago today. Makes me believe the soul knows. Hope you have a wonderful Monday and week!!

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  • natural areas,  Pineridge Natural Area,  quotes

    The Beauty and Mystery

    July 27, 2024
    Storm clouds over Dixon Reservoir

    To the attentive eye, each moment of the year has its own beauty, and in the same field, it beholds, every hour, a picture which was never seen before, and which shall never be seen again. The heavens change every moment, and reflect their glory or gloom on the plains beneath.

    Ralph Waldo Emerson

    No matter how often I come here, each photograph is one that has never been seen before. That is the beauty and mystery of nature. That is the beauty and mystery of our photography. What an amazing gift! Enjoy your weekend!

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  • clouds,  landscape,  natural areas,  Pineridge Natural Area

    Morning Clouds

    May 10, 2024
    An image from the parking lot at Pineridge Natural Area looking out over Dixon Reservoir just after sunrise.

    Clouds are one of Nature’s most beautiful mediums for creating art, and it never ceases. I also believe they are one of the ways Nature speaks to us. There was nothing spectacular about the clouds this morning. Yet, they touched my soul. And, so I found myself smiling after morning time with a few clouds in the eastern sky. Enjoy your Friday!

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

    What Can’t Be Defined

    April 30, 2024
    Sunrise at about 6:01:13 am

    Despite what dictionaries would have us believe, this world is still mostly undefined.

    John Koenig

    The wind blows from the west, it’s cold penetrating my windbreaker. A small flotilla of pelicans drifts along the reservoir’s shore. I watch the sun quietly rise above the horizon announcing the new day’s arrival. There’s a serenity over the meadow, wrapping itself around me. I hear the song of one lone meadowlark and a couple of chattering magpies who are not lost for words. Yet, I am lost for words in this experience. Expressing how nature affects us seems impossible. Truth be it’s more about the gift of experiencing it, rather than words. Yet, the poet puts words to paper in their attempt to define what they experience and see. The artist also puts brush to canvas in their attempt using visual words. Makes me wonder if the meadowlarks and magpies are just as lost for words but simply doing the best they can. Maybe it’s all about the attempts by poets, artists, magpies and dictionaries to define what can’t be defined. 

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