• leaves,  nature,  Plants,  quotes

    The Sacredness of Nature

    July 1, 2023

    The world is not a problem to be solved; it is a living being to which we belong. The world is part of our own self and we are a part of its suffering wholeness. Until we go to the root of our image of separateness, there can be no healing. And the deepest part of our separateness from creation lies in our forgetfulness of its sacred nature, which is also our own sacred nature.

    Joanna Macy

    Nature has many ways of calling to us as we move through life. It is not always audible such as a robin’s song. It can be a visual call as well. This branch of cottonwood leaves that were blown down during Thursday’s winds stopped me in my tracks. It was a visual calling. As we spend more time in nature, as we can gain the awareness that nature is sacred, as we realize we are not separate from nature, we come to know we are an essential part of nature. So, I pray we do not forget the sacredness of nature or of our own sacred nature!

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  • fall season,  leaves,  Metro Parks,  Plants,  quotes,  seasons

    Sometimes They’re Even Good!

    February 4, 2023
    Leaves found on a walk at Blendon Woods Metro Park – 2011

    While I often try to anticipate those things that may occur in my little world, there’s always a surprise or two, and sometimes they’re even good!

    Earl Moore

    Wanted to share these words of wisdom from a comment our friend Earl made on one of my posts. He is referring to surprises in life, those wanted and not wanted. I am currently finding surprises in my life that at first seem unwanted but in some ways have turned out to be good. He has reminded me of that. His words also reminded me of the fondness I have for those surprises we can find in our photography. For me they happen most often when I venture out in nature with my camera, open to what my heart can see and accept. While living in Ohio for two and a half years I was able to experience trees and plants I was not familiar with. I loved what I was seeing and experiencing for the first time. As I reflect back it was on these walks when I first began to ask the questions: What surprise is nature going to offer me today? What will I expect and accept? You never know, sometimes they’re even good!

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  • leaves,  Plants,  poetry,  writing/reading

    Entice the eyes…

    January 18, 2023

    again amazed at nature’s flair
    as she creates her shared gifts
    the earth becomes her canvas while
    spreading a tapestry of leaves
    that entice the eyes of the heart

    mws

    A major winter storm is impacting our area. Snow began falling yesterday evening. Looks like we have 3-4 inches this morning and it’s expected to continue snowing throughout the day. Seems the worst of the snow will be farther east. I have an appointment for a CT scan this afternoon and hope the roads are in good condition by then. I took this image a couple days ago outside my condo. I was drawn by the color and pattern. Right now I’m watching it snow from the chair in my bedroom’s bay window. May you have a super Awesome day!

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  • frost,  leaves,  Plants,  quotes

    Life is the subject

    January 8, 2023

    With time, photographers learn that nearly everything within the frame looks different with a change of perspective. A move to the left or right, up or down, controls how elements in the frame relate to each other. The story changes, often dramatically, when we alter the angle from which we view it. A different lens, a different filter, and it changes again. The photographer with some experience understands that vision is not only what we see but how we see, and that’s as true with the camera in our hands as it is without it. In that way, life is not at all like a camera. Life is the subject.

    David DuChemin

    As we face another day of overcast skies and cold weather I thought I’d like to share another image that represents a feeling of the cold. Stay warm.

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  • quotes,  snow,  winter scenes

    Ice Crystals

    November 18, 2022
    A leaf found on campus this morning

    …the care of the earth is our most ancient and most worthy and, after all, our most pleasing responsibility. To cherish what remains of it, and to foster its renewal, is our only legitimate hope.

    Wendell Berry

    We did not get much snow in Fort Collins but we definitely have the cold. It was 5 degrees when I left the condo to catch the bus. Sun came out of hiding around 9:00 so the ice crystals in the air were sparkling, glittering, and twinkling. Ice crystals form when it’s cold and the humidity is high (90% this morning). And, in case you don’t know what an ice crystal is, they are solid ice exhibiting atomic ordering on various length scales and include hexagonal columns, hexagonal plates, dendritic crystals, and diamond dust. Now, aren’t you glad you asked what an ice crystal was. I tried to capture a couple images of them in the sunlight as I left the coffee shop but not happy with them. Definitely need more practice. I saw where we reached 22 degrees but the high humidity makes it feel colder.

    I read about great hope this morning in my meditation time and then found this quote by Wendell Berry. Had to post it because I do have hope!

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  • fall season,  leaves,  Plants,  quotes,  seasons

    Beautiful Nature

    November 17, 2022
    Maple leaves from 2006

    “Nature is beautiful because it looks like Art; and Art can only be called beautiful if we are conscious of it as Art while yet it looks like Nature.”

    Immanuel Kant

    It was 23 degrees this morning at 7:02 am as I left the condo. Snow then began falling around 8:00 am. Intermittently big flakes then soft delicate snowflakes. I sat in my bedroom looking out the bay window as the artist created. It is lovely to my soul. It is also bringing much needed moisture to our thirsty soil. I checked the temperature about 2:16 pm and it said we’re still at 23 degrees but feels like 17 degrees. I’ll agree and it will only get colder! It’s expected to snow all night. I know the image does not depict the weather here but it is beautiful art made by nature. And, this is a second post about the beauty of nature.

    I finished a couple of blurb books that I’ve been working on for awhile. I ordered one each for a look-see copy today. Nothing fancy but small 7×7 size and on subjects I like, Twilight and Journaling. They are for me and will go on my bookshelf.

    I tested negative this morning for covid as I was exposed again this past Sunday. 👍

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  • fall season,  leaves,  Plants,  quotes,  seasons,  Thomas Berry

    Awe and Reverence

    November 12, 2022
    Light, shadows, shapes, patterns, colors of leaves

    There is an awe and reverence due to the stars in the heavens, the sun, and all heavenly bodies; to the seas and the continents; to all living forms of trees and flowers; to the myriad expressions of life in the sea; to the animals of the forests and the birds of the air.

    To wantonly destroy a living species is to silence forever a divine voice. 

    Thomas Berry

    The man made worlds of our homes, work cubicles, television, and phones, cannot fulfill that awe and reverence. Our separation has caused us to see nature apart from us. We no longer hear the divine voice in nature and therefore can and do commit violence against it. All of creation is the divine voice! How many of us stop and just listen to the voice of falling leaves. It was another cold morning in Colorado, 9 degrees at 6:45 am. Sun has set and it will be in the single digits again tonight. Hope you enjoy your day tomorrow!

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