My online journal where I share my interests in photography, nature, journaling, fountain pens, bicycling, coffee life, spirituality and the mystery of it all.
It’s still cold here as can bee seen in the above image. Most ponds and slow moving streams are still thick with ice. However we are predicted to have three days of temperatures in the high 40’s with clouds. I needed to have my emissions tested yesterday so I stopped at the Riverbend ponds because of the look those clouds were giving me.
There are some who think
killing another human
will bring peace.But, I believe
the power of love,
mws
surely is far greater
than anything else.
“I am a hole in the flute that the Christ’s breath moves through listen to this music. I am the concert from the mouth of every creature singing with the myriad chorus.”
Hafiz, The Gift
Had to stop and get a photo of the pond at the North Shields Natural Area this morning.!
A sunset taken in 2005 at Riverbend Ponds with a Nikon D100, my first digital camera.
Prospect Ponds are one of the nature areas co-managed by Fort Collins Utilities and the Natural Areas Department for flood control, water quality improvement and wildlife habitat. For those with a fishing license you will find large-mouth bass, crappie, and channel catfish to add to your stringer. The Poudre Nature Trails follow along the western edge of the ponds and in fact that is where I am standing. It’s located on east Prospect Road and Sharp Point Drive along side of the business park. I dragged my butt out of bed at 4:30 am, made a french press then drove the three miles out there and setup my tripod. There were 4 pelicans floating on the south end of the ponds which I left alone. I watched a heron fly in on the far side of the pond, land in one of a trees then a few minutes later move into the waters edge for breakfast.
Love should be the reason behind everything you do, if it is not, you should question why you are doing it.
Well, it’s a new week. Seems like each week flies by faster. A friend gave me a copy of Outdoor magazine which was directed towards black and white landscapes. While reading one article I remembered a series of images I made of sunrises at Arapahoe Bend and Prospect Ponds nature areas. I was stirred to see what they looked like in black and white. After about an hour this is one of the images. Hope everyone has A Good Week.
“The earth is our mother. She should not be disturbed by hoe or plough. We want only to subsist on what she freely gives us. Our fathers gave us many laws, which they had learned from their fathers. These laws were good. I have carried a heavy load on my back ever since I was a boy. I realized then that we could not hold our own with the white men. We were like deer. They were like grizzly bears. We had small country. Their country was large. We were contented to let things remain as the Great Spirit Chief made them. They were not, and would change the rivers and mountains if they did not suit them.”
Chief Joseph
Mark Graf led me to read an interesting and moving letter written to Mother Earth by photographer Youssef Ismail. If anyone is inclined here is a link to the letter. Youssef puts into words what I feel.
There is a voice inside of me that has been attempting to get my attention for the last 20 or 30 years. I’ve done a pretty good job of avoiding that voice by keeping myself busy with the externals of life: making money with the hope it will bring me happiness, or that a party life would take away loneliness and insecurity. In a way I’m like the little puppy chasing it’s tail. With my focus on the externals I’ve avoided looking at our natural world or taking any responsibility for the damages I am doing. And, worse yet, what am doing to help bring an awareness to it? My upbringing did not direct me to look at the consequences of our advancing technologies and consumerism. In fact my culture wanted me to focus more on the consumerism, placing my wants as a more important aspect than caring for this earth. So, I also apologize for my role in harming Mother Earth.
For almost 3 weeks we saw no rain and high temperatures while a High Park Fire raged just 15 miles west of us. Now over the past few days we have had afternoon clouds move into the area bringing light rain until yesterday. Yesterday the light rain took on a new look, such as heavy, and dumped on us. The storm built up in the mountains and along the front range then just sat there. That is not good because we have about 87,000 acres of burnt forest with a lot of debris and very few plants to keep the soil from rushing down hill.
These two images are of the pond out my front door. I live along the low area of Spring Creek. There are two holding ponds for runoff and both were full to the brim. The first image is about 75 feet from my front door and the other is at the far end of the pond. As you can see the culverts are struggling to handle the excess water. I had my camera gear and laptop ready for evacuation if needed and I was trying to find out how long a cubit really is. It continued to rain lightly throughout the night but all is well this morning. Enjoy your Saturday!
Prospect Ponds as a series of ponds encircled with trails and located along East Prospect Road. The City of Fort Collins maintains the ponds and trails. It is used by fishermen as the ponds have plenty of small bass, crappie and perch. The natural area is a haven for waterfowl, birds, mice, foxes and raccoons to see in the early mornings and late evenings. As I walked along the edge of one of these ponds on a cool fall morning I had my attention captured by these reeds and the early morning light. After setting up and taking a few images I was given something extra by nature as a fish rose to the surface to make this pleasant splash and ripples, adding more sparkles to the image. Yes, a morning splash with nature.