• clouds,  landscape,  natural areas,  Pineridge Natural Area,  Plants,  rants,  sunrises,  writing/reading

    A good start to the day

    September 3, 2021

    The other morning I did not read or journal as I normally do when I arrived at the natural area. Instead I sat on the bench with my chai and camera, just watching and listening. In the predawn darkness I could hear an owl hoot but never saw them. I felt the colors slowly change from the cool predawn blue to the warm golden sunrise. The absence of any wind to move leaves, the thistle or the grass presented a calm. All was still. There was a embracing quiet around me and within me. Every so often I would listen to my muse and lift the camera, compose and press the shutter button. Another good start to the day.

    I enjoy experiencing sunrises, in case you haven’t noticed. I photograph a lot of them, in case you haven’t noticed. After I saw this image on my computer I asked myself the question, “What can I do to be a part of creating sunrise images that have my signature to them, that are not just repeats of yesterday or someone else or do I already have my own signature?” I want to experiment in more creative ways with images that really say something to me and about me. Which means you’ll probably see more sunrise images. 😁

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  • Plants,  poems,  writing/reading

    Sometimes You Hear a Voice

    June 11, 2021
    Blue Flax

    Sometimes you hear a voice
    through the door calling you.
    as fish out of water
    hear the waves,
    or a hunting falcon
    hears the drums
    Come back. Come back.

    This turning toward
    what you deeply love saves you.
    Read the book of your life,
    which has been given you.
    A voice comes to your soul saying,
    Lift your foot. Cross over.

    Move into emptiness
    of question and answer and question.

    Rumi
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  • haiku,  landscape,  natural areas,  Pineridge Natural Area,  storm clouds,  writing/reading

    Cold North Wind

    December 1, 2020

    wind ruffled feathers
    hawk sits on barren branches
    a cold north wind blows

    ms

    Spent the morning at Pineridge Natural Area this morning. A cold wind blew from the north so I had the area all to myself. Brought coffee and sat in my car listening to the wind whispering all around me and did some journaling. A robin perched on the fence letting me know they were watching but there was no song. The wind was ruffling their feathers. I watched Red-tailed hawk soar in over the reservoir and perch on a barren tree. You can barely notice them. I could see the wind ruffling the feathers of the hawk. The overcast skies and wind made it feel colder than it really was. For me it was a good way to start my day. Stay warm.

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  • natural areas,  Plants,  quotes

    …be yourself

    October 15, 2020

    “Within yourself is a stillness, a sanctuary to which you can retreat at any time and be yourself.” Hermann Hesse

    A quick update on the Cameron Peak fire. On Tuesday night winds picked up gusting to 65 mph and caused the fire to make a 15-17 mile run in a easterly direction in about 12 hours. Several mandatory evacuations to the east and south were issued. The city of Fort Collins was socked in with smoke. It looked like 6:00 pm all day while smoke, ash and soot fell like snow. Everyone was wearing a mask due to the poor air quality. Had a friend over for lunch and made him smoked pasta with smoked marinara sauce and a smoked caesar salad. I have not heard but I’m pretty sure some homes were lost in that run yesterday. The fire now has become the largest in Colorado history with 167,000 acres. Not a record we want to boast about. The high winds brought in a cold front, dropping temperatures and we will have a good freeze tonight. Today has been much better with air quality and even given us some blue sky with sunshine to enjoy. We also have another fire that started yesterday afternoon, the East Troublesome Fire, west of Boulder. It has already grown to 3,700 acres due to the winds. We are so dry out here.

    Many of us have had to look for that stillness, that sanctuary within because the external sanctuaries are not accessible and in some cases gone.

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  • flowers,  Plants,  quotes

    Art of Attention

    August 16, 2019

    “Spirituality is the art of transfiguration. We should not force ourselves to change by hammering our lives into any determined shape. We do not need to operate according to the idea of a predetermined program or plan for our lives. Rather, we need to practice a new art of attention to the inner rhythm of our days and lives.”

    John O’Donoghue
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  • flowers,  People/Portraits

    Moral Compass

    August 13, 2019

    “Today we are engaged in a deadly global struggle for those who would intimidate, torture, and murder people for exercising the most basic freedoms. If we are to win this struggle and spread those freedoms, we must keep our own moral compass pointed in a true direction.” Barack Obama

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