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

    … and the meadowlarks sang

    April 13, 2023

    Ten times a day something happens to me like this – some strengthening throb of amazement – some good sweet empathic ping and swell. This is the first, the wildest and the wisest thing I know: that the soul exists and is built entirely out of attentiveness.

    Mary Oliver

    The sky looked promising this morning so I grabbed my camera, made a chai and headed out the door. I also knew that we are expecting rain later today and possibly turning to snow after midnight which is an indication of a colorful sunrise. I was not disappointed. The temperature was a wonderful 50 degrees. After taking a few images the wind began to pick up and clouds began moving in. In the distance a woodpecker hammered on a tree. I watched a solo pelican drift across the waters of Dixon Reservoir. And, the meadowlarks sang to me.

    This image of the predawn colors is from the same spot but was taken 8 minutes earlier than the image above. Demonstrates how nature is continuously creating. May you stay attentive and have a blessed day!

    Read More
  • clouds,  landscape,  natural areas,  Pineridge Natural Area,  quotes,  reflections

    Look at the record

    April 5, 2023

    “If you make a mistake and do not correct it, this is called a mistake.”

    Confucius

    Although it never got over 40 degrees today, we enjoyed blue skies and sunshine. Sure was a change from yesterday’s cold and snow. This reflection is from Dixon Reservoir about 4:00 pm this afternoon. And, it was taken with that old Fujifilm X-T10 and the old 27mm f2.8 lens.

    I agree with Confucius that mistakes are a necessary part of life, they have lessons to teach us. My life experiences show that when I don’t learn the lessons, we can expect I will make the same mistakes, again and again. Thankfully that has changed quite a bit as I’ve grown older more mature. As they say, “Just look at the record!” Hope you had a good Wednesday!

    Read More
  • landscape,  mountains,  Plants,  seasons,  sunsets,  trees,  winter scenes

    Post Surgery Update

    March 16, 2023
    A cold blue sunset back in February 2021

    Overcast skies dominate and it’s windy, definitely a bad hair day. Want to update my status after surgery. The TAVR procedure went well. They were done in just over an hour. Surgery started at 7:00 am and I was home about 5:00 pm. They fractured the original valve that was installed back in 2018 and inserted a new valve inside of that one. All done through the arteries. Amazing! My body seems to know nothing about a new aortic valve being installed. However, my groins are well aware of the three catheters invasive entry into my body, one in my wrist and one in each groin. I walk with pain, bent over like an old man, slow and deliberate, one foot in front of the other. Getting up and down from a chair is a slow process also. All tests done so far show the valve working perfectly and the gradient numbers of 40 we saw before surgery are now below 20. That tells us the heart is not working as hard pre surgery. I cannot say enough for the care I received from the medical staff and all the support and outreach from family and friends. Now comes the slow recovery process but this is nothing like I had with my open heart surgery four years ago. More to follow. Hope you are having a wonderful day!

    Read More
  • clouds,  gratitude,  lake,  landscape,  reflections,  sunsets,  writing/reading

    Four years ago today

    December 5, 2022
    Sunset over Rigden Reservoir

    … I had my heart surgery, where they replaced my aortic valve. So, I thought I’d share my gratitude list with you today as it follows the theme of my last posting: 

      • Thankful for a healthy heart and it’s as full as it is 
      • Thankful for time with family and friends
      • Thankful for the opportunity to enjoy the things that have become such a gift in my life such as time with nature, photography, blogging, conversations with family and friends
      • Thankful for my prayer and meditation times
      • Thankful for my journals, fountain pens and the words I uncover with them
      • Thankful I can experience and enjoy each new sunrise and sunset
      • Thankful for another day to venture into a coffee shop to visit my favorite baristas
      • Thankful for the chance to read poetry, which I’d never done before
      • Thankful for the chance to try my hand at poetry, haiku
      • Thankful for the chance to create more of my photo books to share my photography and my words
      • Thankful for my home and the remodeling this past year
      • Thankful for blueberries in my Irish Oats 😂
      • Thankful for DQ Blizzards 😂
      • Thankful for my camera upgrade 2 years ago and a lust for the next upgrade 😂
      • Thankful that what I have is enough and in all honesty do not need anything more than what is already in my life
      • Thankful that there are still those who embrace love, compassion, serenity, joy, hope, peace and …. ❤️
      Read More
    • clouds,  horizons,  landscape,  mountains

      Trust Me…

      September 15, 2022

      This was taken north of Rock Springs, Wyoming along US Highway 191 on my trip to West Yellowstone last month. A lot of open sagebrush, no trees and almost endless blue sky. You can see for miles and the sagebrush dominates the landscape. You may look at this and think of it as a barren and desolate place, especially if you’re from anywhere east of the Mississippi where trees abound. And when you stop to take in this view you won’t believe the silence that surrounds you. But, even though it is a rugged and harsh environment what you see is a complex of ecosystem. These sagebrush ecosystems provide important food and cover for mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians, and especially winter habitat for big game species and other wildlife. So probably somewhere in this image is a Black-footed Ferret, Great Basin Gopher Snake, White-tailed Prairie Dog, Greater Short-horned Lizard, Red-tailed hawk or Sage Thrasher. And trust me, somewhere in there is an ant or two or three…

      Read More
    • landscape,  reflections,  sunrises

      They’re Loving It!

      September 1, 2022
      Hebgen Lake

      My primary reason for this trip was to visit my friends Duane and Jan at Yellowstone Holiday. They retired a couple years ago, sold their home and living fulltime in their RV and have been working in RV camps the past two years. They are loving it. Last year they were working a camp along the California coast. This is the Sunday morning sunrise at the small marina they work at. The dim lights on the left are from the marina lodge and store. This view is looking outside of their RV on Hebgen Lake.

      “As a Wanderer, you must be true to yourself. You cannot continue to follow the crowd.”

      Bill Plotkin
      Read More