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

    Living in the present…

    August 1, 2024

    If you are depressed you are living in the past.
    If you are anxious you are living in the future.
    If you are at peace you are living in the present.

    Lao Tzu

    It’s O’dark thirty or about 5:21 am. I’ve been up since about 3:33 am. After prayer and meditation, I am now sitting at Pineridge Natural Area. Bats quickly and silently feast above me. Smoke sits in low lying areas of the eastern horizon while a pink and blue glow rises above them. A Waning Crescent Moon hangs delicately in the sky. It is quiet and peaceful here. The new washer and dryer arrives today. Finally, clean underwear. May you shine your light brightly just as this moon this morning. I am so grateful to be living in this beautiful present moment.

    Read More
  • landscape,  mountains,  quotes

    Another one… wait make that two

    July 31, 2024

    I took this image on a ridge that looks out over an open space and a large farmland area that has not been scrapped and “developed” into housing. It shows we have two fires burning near us. The Alexander Mountain fire is on the left and the new one, Stone Canyon fire, is on the right. As of last night the Alexander fire was at 5080 acres and 0% contained. The Stone Canyon fire started yesterday and is about 1300 acres and 0% contained. Sadly there has been one death in the Stone Canyon fire. Neither fire grew during the night but today is going to be hot and dry. Then this morning I find out a third fire ignited last night in Jefferson County called the Quarry fire. Sheesh!! Stay safe.

    Evolution means that nature does not operate according to fixed laws but by the dynamic interplay of law, chance, and deep time; that is, one cannot understand natural processes apart from developmental categories. The interaction of forces creates a dynamic process of unfolding life, pointing to the fact that nature is incomplete; there are no fixed essences. Instead, nature is consistently oriented toward new and complex life.

    Ilia Delio
    Read More
  • landscape,  natural areas,  Pineridge Natural Area,  quotes,  sunrises

    Capacity for Gratitude

    July 15, 2024

    What is the duty of humans? If gifts and responsibilities are one, then asking “What is our responsibility?” is the same as asking “What is our gift?” It is said that only humans have the capacity for gratitude. This is among our gifts.

    Robin Wall Kimmerer

    Sometime during the night flashes of lightning and thunder filled my room and raindrops tapped against my window. Not sure I slept very well after that. As I lay there I realized how few sunrises I see this time of the year. Daylight savings now has the sun rising a bit too early for this older body. I was unable to return to the land of dreams and deciding not to fight it, I threw the covers off about 4:03 am and began the day. 

    When I arrived at Pineridge Natural Area it was a warm 68 degrees according to my car’s dashboard. A refreshing and gentle breeze caressed my face as I sat on the bench to journal. A few light clouds hovered just above the eastern horizon offering a mix of pink and silver that eventually gave way to an orange sunrise. Darker clouds rose above the mountains in the west, hinting of possible rain later today. A baby cottontail nibbles on leaves near me and Magpies chatter endlessly. After a while I took the camera for a walk, looking with the child’s eye. Before leaving, I rubbed sagebrush between my fingers, wanting to carry its scent with me into the day. I felt a rush of gratitude flow through me. I then headed for the coffee shop, hoping to share this gratitude with others. It’s been a good but early start to this day. Hope you have a great Monday!

    Read More
  • clouds,  landscape,  quotes,  sunsets

    The smell of fresh cut hay

    July 12, 2024

    “To love a place is not enough. We must find ways to heal it.”

    Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass:

    It was nothing spectacular but I happened to catch a glimpse of the sun breaking through the clouds just before dropping below the horizon. I had to stop and in fact I need to stop more often because I don’t want to miss anymore of these gifts of nature. As I stepped out of the car I took in the fragrance of summer, that smell of fresh cut hay. I stood there and let it sink into my memory senses. I can still smell it this morning!

    Read More
  • clouds,  landscape,  mountains,  quotes,  sunsets

    Open-mindedness

    July 4, 2024
    Sunset near Ted’s Place along Hwy 287

    Usually when you listen to some statement, you hear it as a kind of echo of yourself. You are actually listening to your own opinion. If it agrees with your opinion, you may accept it, but if it does not, you will reject it or you may not really hear It. That is one danger when you listen to someone.

    Shunryu Suzuki: Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind

    Happy 4th.

    Read More
  • clouds,  horizons,  landscape,  quotes

    First we need to look…

    July 2, 2024

    Form is certainty. All nature knows this, and we have no greater adviser. Clouds have forms, porous and shape-shifting, bumptious, fleecy. They are what clouds need to be, to be clouds. See a flock of them come, on the sled of the wind, all kneeling above the blue sea….How can we ever stop looking? How can we ever turn away?

    Mary Oliver, Upstream
    Read More