Did not sleep well as I ate too much yesterday afternoon at the graduation BBQ. Took a morning walk at Pineridge and am off my normal schedule by an hour or so. It is already hot today. Here are some images from my time there.
Morning Walk
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Grass and reflections at Pineridge Natural Area -
More quiet machines
Clouds and grazing cattle from yesterday afternoon I was not in a good place yesterday. I felt frustration because of the state of our environmental crisis, loss of so much of our natural world, our political mess, economic mess, the entitlement mentality of individuals and corporations, the anger and violence in our world, and my own insecurities and fears along with my own feelings of entitlement. My journal is one of the tools I use when I become aware of these shadowy mental states. So, I took time in the afternoon to write about it. As words began to appear, I noticed a lot of wants and little gratitude for what I already have. Seems my appetite to want “more” crops up again, even in these troubled times, even when so many are struggling, even when I have all that I need.
Yet, through my writing I became aware the root of my frustration is: the noise. Silence has become a precious gift in my life. So, the noise of man’s machines that have grated against me for years, seemed to be even louder, more intense. Part of that has been the reduction of noise during this lockdown. I think I’ve mentioned this before but sometimes I just want to run away. So I did, even knowing there is no away.
The above image is as close to away as it got for me, about 7-8 miles east of town. I pulled over to watch and listen to nature, letting it all sink in, soothing, healing this troubled soul. The birds were singing and the grass eating cow machines were busily working. There is a twitter quote by Neil deGrasse Tyson that says a cow is a biological machine invented by humans to turn grass into steak. What’s really cool is it’s a quiet machine. Why can’t we have more quiet machines? I didn’t want to go back to town.
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…that’s a good thing.
The twisted shadows on campus from yesterday Well the damage to my car is costing me $380 and the raccoon got away. Called my insurance and my deductible is $500. I had some anger as I thought through this thing, both the insrance company and the raccoon. This is the first time I’ve filed a claim in my 54 years of paying insurance premiums. So, my insurance has yet to pay anything, they’ve only taken my money. Of course this also means I’ve never been in a place to need it and that’s a good thing.
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I’m set now…
Tall grass at the Red Fox Meadows nature area this morning I played a bit with this image, trying out the texture and dehaze sliders. Kinda funky looking. And, it’s still snowing.
Anyway, when I cleaned off the car this morning I had at least 3 inches of snow on my car. I ran out of the maple syrup that I add to my Irish oats in the morning so things were going to get tense if I didn’t restock before tomorrow morning. So, my first stop was Red Fox Meadows, filled up the car, which I hadn’t done in over three weeks, and picked up the essential syrup. I’m set now. Oh, and I picked up one of my prescriptions.
For anyone interested here is a link to a ten minute podcast by David DuChemin on making art that touches the heart. I enjoyed it, hope you may also.
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Being an artist
Backlit feathered reed grass on campus “Each of us is an artist of our days; the greater our integrity and awareness, the more original and creative our time will become.”
John O’Donohue -
The Peacemaker
Shadows on the fresh snow The job of the peacemaker is to stop war, to purify the world, to get it saved from poverty and riches, to heal the sick, to comfort the sad, to wake up those who have not yet found God, to create joy and beauty wherever you go, to find God in everything and in everyone. Muriel Lester
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Stick with love
The colors in the leaves “I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.” Martin Luther King Jr.
Took this image on Monday morning at campus. Love how nature trimmed the edges of this leaf. Caught my eye immediately. I’m posting this at midnight so by the time you read this it could be raining or snowing here, again.
I had someone thank me on Veterans Day for my time in the military. It rubbed me wrong. Took me a few days to understand some of what I felt. I had been raised to believe the purpose of the military was defend this country, that Vietnam was a security threat, so I joined the military in October of 1968 with all intents to go to Vietnam. Train me how to use this M16 and I’ll use it. Thankfully I did not make it to Vietnam. I have since come to believe how this conflict was not a war to defend our country. I’ve also come to believe that there are no victors in war, all are losers. Seems we send way too many young people into combat for reasons beside defence of our country. Yes, I’ll stick with love.
