• Cityscapes/Urban,  Documentary/Street,  lifestyles,  seasons

    Finally…

    Focus is on the raindrops and not the busyness beyond

    … we are receiving some much needed rain this morning. It began raining just after I went to bed. Sometime during the night I could hear it pounding against my window. Awoke to lovely puddles of water. The little boy within was enticed enough to want to jump in them.

    A light mist was falling as I walked to the bus stop. About an hour later it was a steady rain again. I sat in one of the lounge chairs at the coffee shop, looking out the window and watching the refreshing gift descending. Like snow there is a certain silence in gentle rain, when we pause and listen. I listened this morning. Everything smells fresh and new. I feel the coolness on my body and there is rejoicing in my spirit, even a giggle. Have a wonderful day!

    Looking out the bus window at transit center on campus

    “Let’s just sit quietly and listen to the secrets the rain wants to tell us.”

    John Mark Green
  • Annie Dillard,  clouds,  landscape,  natural areas,  Pineridge Natural Area,  quotes,  sunrises

    Try to be there…

    “The answer must be, I think, that beauty and grace are performed whether or not we will or sense them. The least we can do is try to be there.”

    Annie Dillard, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek

    These are the predawn colors at Pineridge Nature Area this morning. A strong wind was blowing from the north, robins were singing and magpies were squawking. At first one may think the magpies are complaining but I like to believe it’s their way to greet me in the morning. Just maybe they are thanking me for being there. After some journaling at the natural area I made my way for my morning mocha. They also thanked me for being there.

    Back home and clouds now fill the skies. A steady rain is being offered to our parched land and souls. This rain is welcomed, a wonderful sign of spring, so I have a thankful heart. Hope you have a great day and try to be there.

  • clouds,  landscape,  natural areas,  poems,  poetry,  Reservoir Ridge Natural Area,  writing/reading

    the many gifts of nature…

    sitting on a bench at the natural area
    I look out across the open meadow

    a light wind blows from the south
    softly whispering through golden grass

    taking simple breaths I remain present
    far from those places thoughts beckon

    a blue jay chatters from a pine branch
    joined by a chorus of barking prairie dogs

    I’m listening…

    but all goes silent with my unexpected sneeze
    an engulfing quiet settles upon the meadow

    silence is broken with a chickadees two-note song
    inviting the prairie dogs and blue jays back

    a squawking magpie joins in and so the
    concert continues much to my pleasure

    within this simple experience I am
    offered one of the many gifts of nature

    I’m listening…

    ms
  • flowers,  haiku,  Plants,  writing/reading

    Busy Sunday

    touch of morning dew
    stamens reaching for the sun
    walk in the garden

    ms

    It is cloudy and overcast this morning but still warm. Rain is possible later and welcomed. Have a rather busy Sunday which will help keep me out of trouble. This image is from Friday mornings walk at The Gardens on Spring Creek. Have a great Sunday!

  • Dewdrops,  grass,  Mary Oliver,  Plants,  poems,  poetry

    Lingering in Happiness

    After rain after many days without rain,
    it stays cool, private and cleansed, under the trees,
    and the dampness there, married now to gravity,
    falls branch to branch, leaf to leaf, down to the ground

    where it will disappear–but not, of course, vanish
    except to our eyes. The roots of the oaks will have their share,
    and the white threads of the grasses, and the cushion of moss;
    a few drops, round as pearls, will enter the mole’s tunnel;

    and soon so many small stones, buried for a thousand years,
    will feel themselves being touched.

    Mary Oliver, from Why I Wake Early
  • Albert Einstein,  leaves,  Plants,  quotes

    Deep Into Nature

    Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.

    Albert Einstein

    Yesterday was a cooler day with refreshing rain and more rain is forecasted for today. It is overcast, damp, and foggy in Colorado this morning. The fog mixed with the smoke filters the sun to glow bright orange through it all. Wish I knew a good way to photograph that color but I haven’t come up with one yet. But, that’s okay because I was able to just sit and experience nature doing its thing, and just for me.

    My prayer this morning is for more of us to take a deeper look into nature which means spending time there and on a regular basis. Seems to me Albert knew what he was talking about. Leaving in a few minutes to meet a special friend for coffee and conversation. Have a great Sunday!

  • insects

    Remembering….

    Widow Skimmer Dragonfly (I think)

    It rained yesterday afternoon and through most of the night, with a soft gentle rain here. However there was major rain in the mountains in the burn areas from last years forest fires. Major flooding took place and a flood warning out for today. Interesting that 45 years ago today we had the Big Thompson Flood that took 144 lives. A 20 foot wall of water came down that canyon almost completely taking out Highway 34 between Loveland and Estes Park. I remember how it sounded like a war zone with helicopters constantly flying overhead. I know those who lost loved ones in that flood and have a sister who survived those waters.

    Data for those who want to know: Fujifilm X-T3 and XF 16-80mm f4.0