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

    …honor the world

    September 18, 2023

    Photography by nature is spiritual considering, it comes from the darkness to show the light.

    Kevin Russo

    I was told the other day by someone that they no longer look my sunrise images. However, I’ve come to know that the beginning of a new day offers a unique sunrise, there is no other like it, and if I’m present to it then it’s another opportunity to live one more day. So for me a sunrise is a sacred moment, where we move from darkness to light. In a Mary Oliver poem called The Swan she writes, Of course the path to heaven doesn’t lie in flat miles. It’s in the imagination with which you perceive this world, and the gestures with which you honor it. My presence and the photographs I capture is my act of receiving this morning’s predawn sky and is my gesture to honor the world. I will probably keep doing that to my last breath.

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

    One of my favorite…

    May 26, 2023

    Sitting on this rock, watching the sunrise with awe and wonder. The grass around me is wet from the mornings dew and also from the rain we had yesterday. The temperature is perfect. There is almost no wind. I take sips of my chai latte, listening to a meadowlark perched atop the fence singing its morning praise. The sun rises behind the clouds, offering hints of pink and letting me know the new day is here. I’m grateful for this moment, this place, this experience, this life, all the green that surrounds me, the clouds, the new day, even the cold hard rock I’m sitting on. This is one of my favorite times of the day… one of my favorite places…

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  • haiku,  landscape,  sunrises,  writing/reading

    Light of a New Day

    October 22, 2021

    dark blue pre-dawn sky
    fades to the light of a new day
    a meadowlark sings

    ms

    It was 32 degrees and clear skies when I left the condo this morning. I sometimes wish I could completely eliminate the hand of man in my landscape images but it’s almost impossible. However, I believe these towers added something to this image. A meadowlarks song then brightened my spirit, and added even more to this cold morning. Yes, the gift of a new day!

    Had to laugh at myself, though, because I placed my coffee mug on roof of the car when I put my tripod away and then drove off. I went about a quarter of a mile before I remembered it. Still sitting there. Have a wonderful Friday! 😂

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  • haiku,  Plants,  trees,  writing/reading

    Given a New Day

    March 26, 2021

    given a new day
    accepting the gift offered 
    feel special again

    ms

    If you look close you will see an eagle perched atop the tree on the left. A half dozen or more eagles have been hanging around these trees on the east side of town for the past few weeks. A large cement plant has been moved so there is now a large gravel pit partially drained which has allowed for the gift of easier fishing for the eagles. I wonder if this eagle feels special.

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  • clouds,  haiku,  landscape,  natural areas,  sunrises,  writing/reading

    Predawn Mystery

    March 25, 2021

    in stillness and silence
    colors begin to appear
    predawn mystery

    ms

    I sit in the upper parking lot at Pineridge Natural Area for this morning’s sunrise. Below me the city slowly stirs awake. Here, in this natural area, nature has already begun stirring as chattering magpies sit atop cottonwood tree branches. The geese and ducks make small waves across the reservoir. The wind is still. In the cold I listen to the silence and experience a calming that I will carry into my day. This is becoming an integral part of my morning prayer and meditation. A few years ago I couldn’t imagine spending mornings like this. Now, living in the present is how I choose to begin my day. For each new dawn offers the mystery of this day’s events that only we can live and experience in the present moment.

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  • haiku,  landscape,  natural areas,  sunrises,  writing/reading

    Pre-dawn Pallette

    March 9, 2021
    Predawn colors at Pineridge Natural Area taken back in January

    predawn palette…
    awaiting the new day
    cloudless sky

    ms

    I awoke early, had quiet time, made a chai latte then headed to the nature area. Robins were singing their spring love songs. Magpies chatting atop a barren tree with buds just beginning to appear. A half dozen mule deer grazed along the Viewpoint Spur trail, ears always perked and alert. A couple cottontails chasing one another and making me laugh. It was rather quiet, one of my favorite sounds. It is overcast as a weather system moves our way bringing much needed moisture in the form of rain and snow over the next three days. Have a great day!

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