• Arapaho Bend Natural Area,  clouds,  horizons,  landscape,  natural areas,  quotes

    Quiet Times

    September 3, 2026

    It is in the quiet times that we build our strengths and know we have something to rely on. Solitude is not withdrawal into a place where no one and no sound can penetrate. It is a sweet moment of peace with or without other people that lets us re-center and reset the rhythm of the mind, body and spirit. It is wisdom to stay close to the solitude of nature to keep us young and pliable.

    from A CHEROKEE FEAST OF DAYS by Joyce Sequichie Hifler

    It was a brisk ride to the coffee shop this morning but it took very little time to warm up. About mid morning I made a trip to Arapaho Bend Natural Area for some journaling time, finding quiet and hoping to find a photo of clouds. I found all three. I hope you are having a wonderful day and doing your best to keep cool.

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  • clouds,  landscape,  quotes,  sunsets,  trees,  winter scenes

    Silhouettes

    January 21, 2026

    We have had clear skies most of the day with sunshine but on the cold side. Sure looks like most of the nation is on the cold side and it’s going to get worse in many places. Single digits for lows at night calls for two blankets. My day has been quiet. I was able to drive my car for the first time in three weeks so I went to the coffee shop then the grocery store. All went well and nobody got hurt. Actually it was a good experience to see what life would be like if I did not have a car, which I’ve wondered about. I am still being cautious in what I do and discovered today that I may have overdone the walking as I am a bit sore. This sunset image of two hawks silhouetted in the trees was taken in December of 2020 along Weld County Road 15, one of my favorite locations for sunsets. The image is simple, nothing fancy, but the location is a place of quiet and solitude. And, I believe Mr. James is spot on. Stay warm!!!!

    If you can change your mind, you can change your life.

    William James
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  • fall season,  insects,  leaves,  quotes

    A quiet light…

    November 4, 2025
    The gift of a ladybug and yes, they do have a heart.

    There is a quiet light that shines in every heart. It draws no attention to itself though it is always secretly there. It is what illuminates our minds to see beauty, our desire to seek possibility and our hearts to love life. Without this subtle quickening our days would be empty and wearsome, and no horizon would ever awaken our longing. Our passion for life is quietly sustained from somewhere in us that is wedded to the energy and excitement of life. This shy inner light is what enables us to recognize and receive our very presence here as blessing. We enter the world as strangers who all at once become heirs of a harvesting of memory, spirit and dream that has long proceeded us and will now unfold nourish and sustain us. The gift of the world is our first blessing.

    John O’Donohue, Benedictus
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  • clouds,  landscape,  natural areas,  Pineridge Natural Area,  poems,  quotes,  sunrises

    More Patience

    February 6, 2023

    The mind is but a visitor;
    it thinks us out of our world.

    Rilke’s Book of Hours: I, 51

    I saw last night that the morning hours could have scattered clouds so I drove to Pineridge Natural Area thinking nature could offer me some colors. I waited for a few minutes in the cold penetrating wind but my thinking mind, who Rilke suggests will think us out of our world, told me nothing was going to happen and a better choice would be to head for the coffee shop. By the time I was halfway there that pink streak you see on the horizon burst into a blazing pink sky. Sigh! This post actually follows up with yesterday’s post about going out with my camera and seeing what nature offers. Seems there’s a need for patience, even in a cold wind, to see what nature has to offer. Oh well, I enjoyed my mocha and told myself, tomorrow morning. And, it has been overcast and windy all day.

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  • Arches National Park,  landscape,  musings,  National Parks,  writing/reading

    “From my experience….”

    March 26, 2018
    Arches National Park
    Arches National Park

    All of us have heard people say, “I know…” when they really don’t. And, if we’re honest, we are well  aware of the times we say it, and don’t. There is a saying that “what I think I think I know, ain’t so.” Reality is we do not know what another thinks or feels unless they share that with us and that is filtered through their ability to articulate and how we listen and understand. We do them an injustice when we assume to know. Our assumptions can easily be our imagination or a thought which we quickly make into a false reality. We’ll believe it. I’ve not found this to be a good foundation for a conversation or relationship. So, what if we were to say, “From my experience….” or something similar. Seems the mind wants to know, plan, or control the next moment, as if it’s real, rather than stay in the present and find out what we don’t really know.

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