My online journal where I share my interests in photography, nature, coffee life, journaling, fountain pens, bicycling, spirituality and asking deep questions.
What lies before us today is an unpainted picture.
Touchstones
Stopped at the Cobb Lake State Wildlife Area while driving around the other evening. It was quiet and calm so I listened and took a few photos. I have never hiked these trails but will need to explore them soon.
It’s a brisk 33 degrees this morning and a beautiful full moon. Hope you have a great day!
Everything is a gift. The degree to which we are awake to this truth is a measure of our gratefulness, and gratefulness is a measure of our aliveness.
Brother David Steindl-Rast
The most beautiful things in life are not things.
Unknown
They’re people and places and memories and pictures.
They’re feelings and moments and smiles and laughter.
I read yesterday something that resonated with me, “… nature heals. big time.” I know I go to nature for healing of many things. There is a solitude and silence there not found in the city. But the quote also caused me to reflect on things I do to help me move through any troubling state I can find myself in. When I feel anxious it’s time to walk or hike. When I’m angry or resentful I can let go of those thoughts by “taking a photograph.” When I get caught up in mental chatter I find relief through “meditation and quiet.” When confusion and the need for discernment ties me in knots then I can untangle myself through “journaling.” All of these simple things I can do at any place but nature is such a pull for me. Loved the gold and pink I found last night in these two images.
Today is the Autumn Equinox. The word “equinox” comes from Latin aequus, meaning “equal,” and nox, “night.” On the equinox, day and night are roughly equal in length. The equinox is a seasonal signpost in Earth’s orbit around the sun. During the equinox, the Sun crosses what we call the “celestial equator”—an imaginary extension of Earth’s equator line into space. The equinox occurs precisely when the Sun’s center passes through this line. When the Sun crosses the equator from north to south, this marks the autumnal equinox; when it crosses from south to north, this marks the vernal equinox. After the autumnal equinox, days become shorter than nights as the Sun continues to rise later and nightfall arrives earlier. These shorter days bring cooler weather. You can feel the chill in the air. This ends with the December solstice, when days start to grow longer once again.
And, we had the Harvest Moon two days ago. As I mentioned yesterday it was so bright in the morning that it cast shadows across the meadow at Pineridge Natural Area.
“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
This is the time of the year when mornings begin to get cooler and afternoons stay hot. We call it fall. Met with a friend this morning at Pineridge Natural Area to watch the sunrise and sip on our chai lattes. We wore jackets. Made a crockpot of vegetable soup this morning before I left the condo and shared that with another friend at noon. When it reached 92 I decide it was time to visit Reservoir Ridge Natural Area. Without a jacket. As I took it all in, nature provided a nice wind to bring relief from the heat and provided some soothing sounds and sights for me to enjoy. A blue jay squawks from the cottonwoods behind me. A starburst shoots through the trees. I’m noticing leaves beginning to change colors. A hawk circles above. Clouds lazily drift overhead. Soon the sun dropped behind the mountains and I felt the coolness of the air. As this busy day comes to a close I reflect on both the good choices and poor choices I made today. And, I smile because there is a peace within. ❤️
After rain after many days without rain,
Mary Oliver, from Why I Wake Early
it stays cool, private and cleansed, under the trees,
and the dampness there, married now to gravity,
falls branch to branch, leaf to leaf, down to the ground
where it will disappear–but not, of course, vanish
except to our eyes. The roots of the oaks will have their share,
and the white threads of the grasses, and the cushion of moss;
a few drops, round as pearls, will enter the mole’s tunnel;
and soon so many small stones, buried for a thousand years,
will feel themselves being touched.
My time in Phoenix with my mother and then the 8 hour drive to Texas and back, was far more sedentary than I realized. I did not get in the steps like I needed so need to get back into a routine again. I’m sure more walking will increase also with the coming of cooler fall temperatures.
After a burst of lightning in Colorado over the past 48 hours aircraft from Colorado Fire Prevention and Control have spotted 37 small fires. We only have a couple that are of concern but the smoke is having a negative impact on our air quality. We will be dry and warm today with moisture arriving on Wednesday.
I received word yesterday afternoon that my dad and brother-in-law have tested positive for COVID-19. Both are tired and have little energy. My sister Marcee tested negative and my sister Sheree will test today. I’m scheduled for testing Thursday morning. Life is topsy-turvy right now. 😍