• clouds,  horizons,  landscape,  quotes,  silence

    Living in Solitude

    November 7, 2025

    I live in that solitude which is painful in youth, but delicious in the years of maturity.

    Albert Einstein

    I embraced solitude in my youth while at the same time I was blessed to have close friends and savor memories of times with them. But I remember spending time alone where I used my imagination to create worlds I could control but also kept me from living in reality. In my youth the reality of the world had people in it that did not think or see as I thought and therefore my youth has painful memories. I can recall the wounds inflicted from bullies and the adults who would find fault when I didn’t think as they did and even a God, who I was taught, was finding fault in me. I remember believing there was something wrong with me if I didn’t want to be a part of the crowd and so I would fearfully make the effort to try and fit in. So it is in gratitude that my years of maturity have allowed me to enjoy the delicious gift of healthy solitude in my life while also living in healthy relationships and the gift to have both. 

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  • Arapaho Bend Natural Area,  clouds,  fall season,  landscape,  quotes,  reflections,  trees

    Respect

    November 6, 2025

    Respect for the environment, and respect for what was naturally occurring in nature:
    that was the bedrock of all original peoples. Harmony, coexistence, not conquest and conquer.

    L.A. Banks

    The wind has been blowing since early this morning bringing a snowfall of yellow and gold leaves. It is a bad hair day and not suited for bicycling or photography. I met my friend Nancy for coffee and an enjoyable conversation. I’ve been inside the rest of the day doing things such as laundry, a shower and cleaning. Therefore this image was taken in November of 2017 at Arapaho Bend Natural Area. I have had several people compliment me on the gift of the natural areas near me. I must say I am lucky to have these areas and support them with my money and vote which I hope keeps the conquest and conquering fans at bay. May we respect natures ways and enjoy time with her!

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  • Arapaho Bend Natural Area,  landscape,  quotes,  sunrises,  sunsets

    Sacred Places

    November 5, 2025

    To encounter the sacred is to be alive at the deepest center of human existence. Sacred places are the truest definitions of the earth; they stand for the earth immediately and forever; they are its flags and shields. If you would know the earth for what it really is, learn it through its sacred places. At Devil’s Tower or Canyon de Chelly or the Cahokia Mounds, you touch the pulse of the living planet; you feel its breath upon you. You become one with a spirit that pervades geologic time and space.

    N. Scott Momaday

    These are two images taken at Arapaho Bend Natural Area, just one of the natural areas that I consider a sacred place. The natural areas are where I enjoy attending sunrise and sunset services or an afternoon’s walk. These sacred places I enjoy do not have stained glass windows, pews, organs, a pulpit, or membership requirements. I stand or sit on the ground or a rock and experience the presence of the Spirit through the wind, a red winged blackbirds song or the warmth of the setting sun. But more often than not, just the silence. If I am fully present, I am never the same after spending sacred time in nature. Sacred places like this are where I go and sit to be one with the Spirit and feel alive. Both images were taken in 2013. May you have a wonderful day!

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  • landscape,  meadow,  Pineridge Natural Area,  quotes

    Walking in the World

    November 3, 2025
    Taken on a walk ar Pineridge Natural Area – September 2020

    I have learned that the point of life’s walk is not where or how far I move my feet but how I am moved in my heart. If I walk far but am angry toward others as I journey, I walk nowhere. If I conquer mountains but hold grudges against others as I climb, I conquer nothing. If I see much but regard others as enemies, I see no one.

    Anasazi Foundation, The Seven Paths: Changing One’s Way of Walking in the World

    Yesterday we had blue skies, sunshine and mid 70 temperatures. Today we have overcast skies and mid 50 temperatures. And tomorrow back to the mid 70s. Whatever the day is like I hope you get a chance to get out and walk. May you have an Awesome week.

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  • clouds,  landscape,  nature,  Pineridge Natural Area,  sunrises

    The Gift That It Is

    November 1, 2025
    This morning’s sunrise

    So I rose early on this first day of November to watch the darkness of night give way to today’s sunrise. I felt the cold air that blankets the meadow and took several deep breaths of that cold air into my lungs. I savour this moment not as an observer but as a participant. Nature’s beauty awakens something within me as I witness the new day bringing the hope of blessings to come. And I find myself falling in love with the sky, the quiet, the stillness, creation and the gift of it all. May you have a wonderful November!!

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  • bicycling,  campus,  clouds,  coffee life,  landscape,  sunrises

    This Morning’s Sunrise

    October 31, 2025

    Jeff and I switched things up and met for coffee at the Lory Student Center this morning. The 30 degrees made it a cool ride for both of us but the sunrise colors were stunning. I shot this image by resting my camera on my bicycle seat and holding it as still as I could in the cold. It was shot at ISO 3200 and .4 sec exposure at f8.0. I used Lightroom’s Denoise to clean it up and think it did a fair enough job. Happy Halloween! And, I’ve decided to wear the same costume today that I wore yesterday.

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  • flutes,  horizons,  landscape,  Pineridge Natural Area,  quotes

    …and stayed present

    October 30, 2025
    The flute and the boulder
    Image taken from the boulder

    I am alarmed when it happens that I have walked a mile into the woods bodily, without getting there in spirit… The thought of some work will run in my head, and I am not where my body is — I am out of my senses. In my walks I would fain return to my senses…

    Henry David Thoreau in WALKING

    There is a voice deep within me that I need to listen to more often and I am not talking about the never ending chatter of my mind. That voice nudged me to get out of the house and out of my head to enjoy this beautiful day with some quality time in nature. So, after lunch I made a visit to Pineridge Natural Area taking my journal, camera and one of my flutes. As I pulled into the parking lot I was greeted by a group of Magpies lined up on the parking lot fence letting me know they were glad to see me. Turning off the car I looked out across the almost empty reservoir and watched gulls floating over the water in search of food. There was not a cloud to be seen, just a blank blue canvas waiting for a cloud. I began to settle into the present moment slowly letting go of distracting thoughts. I noticed the green of the meadow fading and the brown, yellow and gold of fall replacing it. I walked to a familiar, and comfortable enough, boulder that works as a chair and sat down. I allowed my body to relax and soak in the sun’s warmth. I opened my journal and began writing down a few thoughts on those blank pages rather than keeping them in my head. I then picked up my flute and began to practice. The blowing wind wanted to also play the flute so I didn’t practice that long but laid the flute across my lap, took in deep breaths and stayed present. While Thoreau went to the woods, I went to the meadow. I’m glad I listened to that voice and stayed present. 

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  • bicycling,  campus,  fall season,  sunrises

    makes them stop and look…

    October 28, 2025
    CSU Oval

    The poet Mary Oliver suggests in one of her poems (A Lesson From James Wright) that when you sit very quietly in some lovely wild place and listen to silence, that is a poem. I really like that idea. So carrying that further and thinking of our life as a poem, a prayer, a blessing for ourselves and others, maybe adds some aromatic fragrance to who we are and can touch another life. For me this includes creatives such as poets, artists, mystics, photographers, authors, family, friends and others who have done that in my life. I like that idea, also.

    I took this image at the CSU Oval on my ride home this morning. In these later years of my life I am seeing and experiencing this beautiful world in a new way. Something inside me does not want to miss the chance of being a part of it, whether that is being an observer, a poem, a prayer, a blessing, a better loving human, or a silly photographer on a bicycle who stops for photos at the oddest times and makes people stop and look.

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  • clouds,  Humor,  landscape,  Pineridge Natural Area,  quotes,  sunsets

    Profanity and Ire

    October 24, 2025
    Sunrise from last week

    Sometimes we are at one with our fellows in brotherly love and peace.
    Sometimes in the unity of traffic, profanity and ire.

    Brenda P

    I was down to one Dove’s chocolate yesterday morning so I made a run to the grocery store. I drove east on Prospect where construction had traffic down to one lane in two locations in that one mile stretch. Crazy drivers were speeding and trying to cut in front of other people. Angrily I began to call them names, which did not make me feel any better nor could they hear me. Once I got to the grocery store, I could not make the self checkout thingy work for me. The anger I was still holding on to when I walked into the store now included frustration. After finally getting checked out I took Drake westbound home to avoid the construction on Prospect. But…. they had construction on Drake down to one lane near Shields. Now I’m angry, frustrated and spewing profanity all over the dashboard of my car and totally away of my behavior. I turned north on Shields only to discover they had traffic down to one lane near Prospect due to construction. So in that four mile square trip to the grocery store I had one lane traffic in four places due to construction. And the construction was really nothing more than a cable company burying cable. Oh, the measures we go to for chocolate! Gladly, no one got hurt and I got my chocolate fix.

    I put myself in timeout when I got home (20 minutes of meditation time) and calmed down. I reflected on my childish reactions to my first world problems and how insignificant they are compared to other world problems. I laughed at my silliness and went to a place of gratitude for the life I live, began to be excessively gentle with myself and aware of the growth that I still need in moving away from my self-centeredness. Thanks for listening. I hope you’re having a wonderful day!

    Oh, and the quote is from a text message with my friend Brenda after she heard about my experience and rather childish behavior. I think it fits perfectly with my story.

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  • quotes

    A Blessed Day

    October 22, 2025
    Sunset at Reservoir Ridge Natural Area

    “Those who bless and serve life find a place of belonging and strength, a refuge from living in ways that are meaningless and empty and lonely. Blessing life moves us closer to one another and closer to our authentic selves. When people are blessed they discover that their lives matter, that there is something in them worthy of blessing. And when you bless others, you may discover this same thing is true about yourself.”

    Rachel Naomi Remen

    I needed to spend some time this evening in one of the natural areas for quiet, journaling and some sunset time. For the past several months I have been writing a paragraph of things I am grateful for each night before I go to bed. I find it a nice way to reflect back over the day and put my mind in a good place before going to sleep. This gratitude list reminds of how blessed I am, how often I need to bless others, and that someone, somewhere is also blessing me. I hope your day has been a blessed day!

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