• clouds,  landscape,  mountains,  quotes,  Reservoir Ridge Natural Area,  sunsets

    How we see life…

    January 30, 2026

    I made a drive out to Reservoir Ridge Natural Area this afternoon to journal while looking for the possibility of a photo of the setting sun. It was quiet out there even though it has been a beautiful day. I saw two pairs of dogs walking their owners and that was it. It has also been a day for seeing raptures. As I left my condo for coffee shop this morning there were two bald eagles soaring above me and sending out their shrill and high pitched calls. Their size, beautiful flights and calls always stop me in my tracks. I saw two more again about mid day on the other side of my pond. Then this afternoon I watched a falcon hunting while at Reservoir Ridge.

    “Helping, fixing, and serving represent three different ways of seeing life.
    When you help, you see life as weak.
    When you fix, you see life as broken.
    When you serve, you see life as whole.
    Fixing and helping may be the work of the ego,
    and service the work of the soul.”

    Rachel Naomi Remen

    I would like to remove the words “may be” in Remen’s quote and replace them so that line reads, “Fixing and helping is the work of the ego.” For those of you in North Carolina, North Berwick and Sterling Heights stay warm and safe this weekend.

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  • quotes

    A Blessed Day

    October 22, 2025
    Sunset at Reservoir Ridge Natural Area

    “Those who bless and serve life find a place of belonging and strength, a refuge from living in ways that are meaningless and empty and lonely. Blessing life moves us closer to one another and closer to our authentic selves. When people are blessed they discover that their lives matter, that there is something in them worthy of blessing. And when you bless others, you may discover this same thing is true about yourself.”

    Rachel Naomi Remen

    I needed to spend some time this evening in one of the natural areas for quiet, journaling and some sunset time. For the past several months I have been writing a paragraph of things I am grateful for each night before I go to bed. I find it a nice way to reflect back over the day and put my mind in a good place before going to sleep. This gratitude list reminds of how blessed I am, how often I need to bless others, and that someone, somewhere is also blessing me. I hope your day has been a blessed day!

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  • fall season,  quotes,  Reservoir Ridge Natural Area

    Nature-time

    October 8, 2025

    “There is only one way to make others more loving and that is by loving more ourselves.”

    Eknath Easwaran

    Yesterday I needed some nature-time so I went to Reservoir Ridge Natural Area. I brought both my camera and my flute. With the temperature in the mid-fifties, overcast skies and high humidity it made it a cool walk. Shortly after I began walking I noticed the changes in the colors, the sounds and my mood. Each step west took me further away from the hum of traffic and the more silence that surrounded me. I became aware the meadowlarks had moved on to warmer climates taking their beautiful song with them. A few starlings offered me their high-pitched “chip” but it was not the same. I began to repeat a short prayer/mantra in stride with my steps, a lovely form of walking meditation. My destination was to the “rock” that sits along the trail. This rock is near a pond surrounded by cattails and is a haven for blackbirds and ducks in the spring and summer. I sat on the rock for a few minutes taking in the silence then practiced on my flute in that silence. This nature-time was just what I needed.

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  • landscape,  natural areas,  quotes,  Reservoir Ridge Natural Area,  sunsets

    Breathe in the smoke

    August 6, 2025

    When we know ourselves to be connected to all others,
    acting compassionately is simply the natural thing to do.

    Rachel Naomi Remen

    Yesterday evening I headed to Reservoir Ridge Natural Area to journal, watch the eerie look to the sky, Maybe find a photo and breathe in the smoke. All tasks were accomplished. And the air quality this morning was very poor due to the smoke and fossil fuel pollutants, red zone in fact. Warnings were out for those with breathing issues. The warnings have come down some but still warning us that it is unhealthy for sensitive groups. If my memory serves me, we did not experience this type of air quality when I was younger.

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  • clouds,  landscape,  natural areas,  quotes

    Afternoon Prayers

    May 23, 2025

    How good it is to pray to God and meditate in the meadows amidst the grass and the trees. When one goes out to the meadows to pray, every blade of grass, every plant and flower enter into his prayers and help him, putting strength and force into his words.

    Rabbi Nachman of Breslav

    I drove to Reservoir Ridge Natural Area yesterday afternoon to journal but that’s not what happened. Instead I watched and listened. The the air was full of birds and their songs of prayer. And, the grass in the meadow was making music and praying with the wind. I never touched the journal but watched and listened to the concert of songs and whispers of prayers for about 45 minutes. It had to be afternoon prayers.

    And today is my youngest sisters 70th birthday. Happy Birthday, Sheree!

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  • landscape,  mountains,  quotes,  storm clouds

    Waiting for my attention…

    May 5, 2025

    Once we discover that the ‘book of nature’ is an ancient idea—that this really was God’s first way of reaching out to us—then it’s like we’re stepping into this giant prayer book when we step out into the natural world. This makes it impossible for me to be anywhere in creation, now, and not be aware of this God who is crouching down low, just waiting for my attention.

    Barbara Mahany
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  • clouds,  landscape,  snow

    Living Life

    April 19, 2025

    After two days of overcast skies, cold, rain and snow, the skies are clearing. And, the weather app predicts we are going to see warmer weather this coming week. A morning drive out to Reservoir Ridge Natural Area after coffee lifted my spirits. Loved seeing a touch of blue sky peeking out from behind clouds and listening to meadowlarks singing from the meadow. It was a moment to experience real life, cold and all, and grateful to be alive. I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

    What is saving my life now is the conviction that there is no spiritual treasure to be found apart from the bodily experiences of human life on earth. My life depends on engaging the most ordinary physical activities with the most exquisite attention I can give them. My life depends on ignoring all touted distinctions between the secular and the sacred, the physical and the spiritual, the body and the soul. What is saving my life now is becoming more fully human, trusting that there is no way to God apart from real life in the real world.

     Barbara Brown Taylor
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  • landscape,  natural areas,  quotes,  snow,  sunsets

    The Heart of Reality

    January 25, 2025
    January 2022

    I am continually challenged to stop arguing with reality and instead soften into what is. Over time, I learned to find beauty, meaning, and wholeness in the heart of reality. Unpredictable, ever-changing, humiliating, and humbling reality.

    Mirabai Starr

    It began snowing last night and is still snowing as I write this evening. We do not have much accumulation, 3-6 inches, but roads are messy and slick. Morning will probably be worse. I met friends earlier this morning for brunch and have been inside the rest of the day. I am wrapped in a blanket and curled up in a cozy chair with a cup of hot tea. A day of reading, journaling, and grazing. That is the reality of my life. Stay warm and I hope you had a good day!

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  • landscape,  mountains,  natural areas,  quotes,  silence

    Art of Presence

    January 20, 2025

    Prayer is the art of presence. Where there is no wonder there is little depth of presence.

    John O’Donohue

    I stood in wonder this morning at the scene before me. A silence surrounded me. With almost no wind I became aware of the stillness, the beauty, and the penetrating cold. I felt alive. There was a voice inside reminding me that I was an integral part of this world. And, my presence in this world is to love all of creation, to be anchored in justice and compassion, to accept our interconnectedness with all things, to listen and observe our natural world as a teacher, and that living life, being present with all its ups and downs, is a spiritual experience. So, if prayer is the art of presence, then I wish to practice this art of presence until my heart beats for the final time! I guess you can say even that is a prayer.

    If you enlarge this image of the frigid morning at Reservoir Ridge Natural Area you can faintly see the setting of the waning gibbous moon just to the right of center. Stay warm, be safe and pray.

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  • landscape,  natural areas,  quotes,  shadows,  silence,  winter scenes

    Winter’s Shadows

    January 19, 2025
    Winter’s shadows and fresh snow

    This is a time (winter) when action becomes non-action, sound becomes silence. We see the essence in things, within ourself and within the world. It can be a time when we consider what is essential in our own life, and what needs to fall away, or we left behind. The ability to let go is a wisdom that belongs to Winter.

    Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee

    It was a frigid morning here in Colorado. My weather app said -7 degrees at 4:26 am. We received 3-4 inches of snow the past 24 hours and may get another inch later this evening. I took this image at Reservoir Ridge Natural Area about 9:45 am when we had warmed up to 2 degrees and the sun popped out. This arctic blast is a reminder that we are in the midst of winter and its gifts of silence, non-action, and repose. Winter is time for nature to slow down and rest before the onrush of rebirth and new birth of spring. And, how relevant that is in our lives, society and the world. Stay warm wherever you are!!

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