• clouds,  landscape,  panorama,  quotes

    …not the way of Tao

    July 5, 2025
    Kryger Reservoir

    To follow the path of Tao does not require extraordinary effort,
    Yet it is easy to be diverted from it.

    Governance and justice are purchased by a relative few,
    As the most powerful in society bathe themselves in disproportionate wealth.
    Poverty, famine, and war point to a corrupt and dishonest system
    maintained by corporate and government collusion.

    Wealth is funneled upward.

    This is known as legal theft.
    It is not the way of Tao.

    Tao Te Ching By Lao Tzu Rendered by: Julian von Bargen, John Braun, Jr., David Warkentin

    This is a 9 image panorama of Kryger Reservoir on the west side of Windsor. This open Space features a 1.5 mile trail that loops around Kyger Reservoir. It is a favorite fishing area for bald eagles. One is perched behind me on large cellular tower as i took these images. I hope you enjoyed your 4th of July.

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  • clouds,  horizons,  landscape,  nature,  quotes

    Refrains of Nature

    June 26, 2025
    Panorama of four images

    Those who dwell, as scientists or laymen, among the beauties and mysteries of the earth are never alone or weary of life. Whatever the vexations and concerns of their personal lives, their thoughts can find paths that lead to inner contentment and to renewed excitement in living. Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of the birds, the ebb and flow of the tides, the folded bud ready for spring. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature–the reassurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter.

    Rachel Carson in THE SENSE OF WONDER
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  • clouds,  landscape,  natural areas,  sunrises

    Behold This Day

    April 8, 2025

    Behold this day. It is yours to make.

    Black Elk

    It’s always a good way to start my day by watching the dawning of a new day. It helps me to filter out the bulls**t the world will throw out there. So, after making a chai latte I made my way to Pineridge Natural Area. There is something healing and nurturing about sitting above Dixon Reservoir and being a witness to its gifts. Yes, the day is ours to make.

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  • clouds,  landscape,  quotes

    Symptom of Maturity

    June 20, 2024
    Another panorama before the rain

    The awareness of the ambiguity of one’s highest achievements – as well as one’s deepest failures – is a definite symptom of maturity.

    Paul Tillich

    Someone shared the above quote with me the other day that has me grappling with what ambiguity Ambiguity: the quality of being open to more than one interpretation; inexactness. really means to me. I’m also aware it may mean something different to others. I find myself saying “I don’t know” much more than when I was younger and smarter. I want to believe I say, “I don’t know” more often because I’m wiser rather than smarter. It also takes away the worry of being right or wrong. Maybe that’s a symptom of maturity.

    Well, the prep has begun as I stopped the eliquis Tuesday night and will start again Sunday morning. I begin the laxative today at noon then start my first cocktails at 6:00 pm. Colonoscopy Friday at 2:00 pm. Fun times at this age!! I know you’re jealous.

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

    True Wisdom

    April 17, 2024

    Of course, a great deal of our onslaught on Mother Nature is not really lack of intelligence but a lack of compassion for future generations and the health of the planet: sheer selfish greed for short-term benefits to increase the wealth and power of individuals, corporations and governments. The rest is due to thoughtlessness, lack of education, and poverty. In other words, there seems to be a disconnect between our clever brain and our compassionate heart. True wisdom requires both thinking with our head and understanding with our heart.

    Jane Goodall, The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times

    A drive to Pineridge Natural Area this morning and a few minutes of computer crunching produced this panorama of 8 images (handheld I must add) over Dixon Reservoir. I missed a sky full of pink because I was late. But being late made no difference because being there for any part of sunrise with Mother Nature is the experience. Not only did I enjoy this view but the meadowlarks were in full concert in the open meadow. It was a wonderful way to start my day. I will meet my friend Mark for breakfast in about an hour. I resonate with Jane Goodall’s last line in this quote, “True wisdom requires both thinking with our head and understanding with our heart.” My comments on that statement could take another post or maybe a conversation with friends at the coffee shop. Have a wonderful Wednesday!

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  • clouds,  landscape,  natural areas,  panorama,  Pineridge Natural Area,  quotes,  sunrises,  Thomas Berry

    It’s Happening Now

    September 4, 2023

    The greatest of human discoveries in the future will be the discovery of human intimacy with all those other modes of being that live with us on this planet, inspire our art and literature, reveal that numinous world whence all things come into being, and with which we exchange the very substance of life.

    Thomas Berry

    A host of thoughts can run through my head while standing before this pre-dawn scene as I worked at capturing the image. This image is a panorama of 7 images using Lightroom Classic. I wanted the whole cloud bank in the image and my 16mm lens wasn’t wide enough so I decided to try a panorama. It works on this blog but not for printing purposes. When I came home and saw this panoramic image on my monitor my thoughts shifted from the craft of the image to the scene itself. It’s easy to look at this open field, even to the distant horizon, and see it as something separate from me. I’m here, it’s there. But that’s just not true. There is a multitude of ecosystems comprising this image and the world. Maybe that’s what makes this scene so appealing and beautiful to me. Because as Berry suggests there are other modes of being: birds of all sorts, insects, animals, the plants and of course, humans. For me the future of discovery Berry is talking about is happening now.

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  • clouds,  landscape,  natural areas,  Photography,  Pineridge Natural Area,  Software

    Pretty Darn Easy

    August 20, 2021

    Yesterday in memory of my mother I went to the Dairy Queen and ordered her favorite flavored blizzard, a Butterfinger Blizzard. I then drove to Pineridge Natural Area to journal. A light rain began falling followed by this full rainbow. I like how nature gives us these gifts. This is my first attempt at a panorama, three images – handheld, done in Lightroom Classic. Pretty darn easy.

    We had a nice refreshing rain during the night with lightning and thunder, making it much cooler this morning. It was 52 when I left the condo at 5:30 am. And, we had snow yesterday in RMNP. Have a great day!

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