• clouds,  lake,  landscape,  quotes

    Time with Friends

    September 16, 2025
    Lily Lake

    “To see takes time, like to have a friend takes time,”

    Georgia O’Keeffe

    I enjoyed my day with Earl and Bonnie yesterday and we made it a full day. Since we did not sign up in time for the timed entry into Rocky Mountain National Park we made some adjustments on the tour. Earl did the driving while I shouted directions. The tour included spotting three Bighorn Sheep in a meadow and able to take a few images. We made it a loop up to Estes Park, Allenspark, Lyons, then back down through Loveland, and Fort Collins. We stopped several times including a nice Restaurant called La Mariposa in Lyons for lunch. The tour also included include showing a couple of the Naturala Areas I visit. We were not able to meet up today but I will have breakfast with them in the morning. They are wonderful, warm, and good people which makes for rich, deep and open conversations. It’s nice to meet our virtual friends face-to-face. I wish we could have had more time.

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  • bicycling,  campus,  landscape,  moon,  quotes

    Every Choice

    September 9, 2025

    “…it is not who or what we pray to but what we pray for that reveals and redeems our lives; that what we pray for, not on our knees but in our choices and the stories we tell about them, conjures up the world we yearn to live in and it is our yearning that we act upon to make the world. Every choice we make in our political and personal lives is a prayer.”

    Maria Popova

    I had a beautiful bicycle ride to Mugs. A full moon was setting over the mountains so I had to stop and took a photo. A few Canada Geese decided to enter the scene which added another little touch. Emily was my barista and an Old Town mocha is my drink. I sipped on my drink with my journal and pen are in my lap. It was a good start to the day and has continued. We just had nice little rain shower with the sun shining. I hope you are having a good start to your day, also!

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  • clouds,  landscape,  natural areas,  quotes,  sunrises

    Positive Silence

    September 7, 2025

    Silence has many dimensions. It can be a regression and an escape, a loss of self, or it can be presence, awareness, unification, self-discovery. Negative silence blurs and confuses our identity, and we lapse into daydreams or diffuse anxieties. Positive silence pulls us together and makes us realize who we are, who we might be, and the distance between the two. Hence, positive silence implies a choice, and what Paul Tillich called the “courage to be.”

    Thomas Merton

    After my meditation and quiet I ventured up to Pineridge Natural Area to spend time in the silence I find in this sanctuary. Baby cottontails greeted me as I arrived. Rabbitbrush and sunflowers danced with the light wind. No words in this silence but so much is said and heard. To me this is positive silence. As I stood there and watched the sun break through the clouds a light rain began to fall. The light rain was refreshing with both its feel and fragrance. May you have a wonderful Sunday and the “courage to be.“

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  • landscape,  natural areas,  nature,  quotes,  sunrises

    … with each moment

    September 2, 2025
    Cloudless sunrise at about 6:31:38 am

    Mindfulness is an ancient form of meditation in which one pays attention to the present moment and all that’s unfolding in that moment, both within and around one. It’s known also as conscious living because the person practicing it is forming an aware and intimate relationship with each moment.

    Sue Monk Kidd
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  • clouds,  landscape,  sunrises

    The Clouds

    August 29, 2025

    I stopped near Arapaho Bend Natural Area to soak up the sun and the clouds. I came to journal before going to my annual checkup this morning with my PCP. I bought a mocha latte on my way which added to the joy of journaling.

    I watched as fog settled low among the trees that line the banks of the Poudre River. A few geese and ducks were having their morning conversation on the small pond just to my left. The clouds had this beautiful pattern that seemed to be reaching out across the sky. As any good photographer would do, I took a few photographs of nature’s artwork. The sun sat behind the clouds, the radiant globe it is. I soaked up its warmth, medicine to my soul. At that moment I felt gratitude for being alive.

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  • horizons,  landscape,  natural areas,  quotes,  sunrises

    Mystery of This Universe

    August 28, 2025
    Sunrise at 6:26 am this morning

    Just as darkness brings rest and release, so the dawn brings awakening and renewal. In our mediocrity and distraction, we forget that we are privileged to live in a wondrous universe. Each day, the dawn unveils the mystery of this universe. Dawn is the ultimate surprise; it awakens us to the immense “thereness” of nature. The wonderful subtle color of the universe arises to clothe everything.

    John O’Donohue, from Anam Cara

    After prayer and meditation, I drove up to Pineridge Natural Area for sunrise. I found a new and more comfortable rock to sit on and set up my tripod. I loved the scent of the wet grass and sagebrush that surrounded me. I then enjoyed my second period of prayer and meditation this morning. Have a wonderful day!!

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  • campus,  clouds,  landscape,  quotes,  sunrises

    To be an inner artist…

    August 24, 2025

    Each one of us is doomed and privileged to be an inner artist
    who carries and shapes a unique world.

    John O’Donohue

    Jeff and I both noticed our bicycle ride to coffee felt like fall this morning. I have been getting up 15 minutes earlier than I usually do and checking to see if the eastern sky looks promising. It did this morning so I drove up to Pineridge Natural Area. My morning there was a calm, serene place and time. Just what I needed. And, I spent time journaling which helps shape my unique inner world as an artist. I did return home with a couple of images I liked. I’m noticing there are fewer birds in the natural areas as some head south. As I wrote that, I comically wondered if maybe the birds know the students are back in town and that’s why they are headed south. The noise level and traffic definitely increases when they arrive! Anyway this was a scene on campus this morning while riding to Mugs at CSU. I hope you have a wonderful Sunday!

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