• grass,  landscape,  natural areas,  Plants,  Reservoir Ridge Natural Area,  seasons,  shadows,  snow,  winter scenes

    Another Cold Morning

    February 24, 2022

    sun illuminates
    floating ice crystals
    storm has passed

    ms

    Minus 1 degree this morning and overcast skies at 7:00 am. By 8:30 the clouds gave way to blue sky and sunshine. I drove out to Reservoir Ridge Natural Area to capture the beauty of nature’s wintery scenes. Just before reaching the natural area there is a farm, always with a dozen or so horses. I’ve posted images from this area before. This morning they were being fed fresh hay while two hawks were perched high in the tree tops, also hungry on this cold morning.

    I so loved the blue sky this morning and how it contrasted with the white snow.

    There were almost no tracks in the parking lot of the natural area which means I can find snow scenes without any signs of mans intrusion. It has been almost too cold for anyone to be out and about in it. Having said that I saw a hard core bicyclist riding his fat tire bike this morning on my way home. I plan on staying inside the rest of the day since we are only going to reach a high of 15.

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  • Art,  Art/Design,  landscape,  natural areas,  Pineridge Natural Area,  Reservoir Ridge Natural Area,  seasons,  snow,  winter scenes

    Blue Skies, Trees and Cold

    February 3, 2022
    Reservoir Ridge Natural Area

    It was -9 degrees this morning at 6:33 am. I knew it was cold by looking outside but had to check with my weather app. I promised a friend I’d help him get his car to the repair shop so I needed to be out in the weather. It was well worth helping him as we then went to a coffee shop to warm up and a bit of conversation.

    Pineridge Natural Area

    Our snow storm left about 8-12 inches of snow across the city. Due to the cold it was a light powder so easy to shovel for those who have to. With blue skies and sunshine I headed to the natural areas because I knew nature would still be creating art. Was drawn to these two images of trees cloaked in snow with blue skies. This is true art. I didn’t really notice the cold that much but, then again, it had warmed up to 2 degrees by the time I took them. Hope you have a great day, Stay warm and dry!

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  • landscape,  natural areas,  quotes,  Reservoir Ridge Natural Area,  seasons,  snow,  winter scenes

    Words to live by…

    January 22, 2022
    Afternoon walk at Reservoir Ridge Natural Area

    The Earth is everywhere. You may be used to thinking of the Earth as only the ground beneath your feet. But the water, the sea, the sky, and everything around us comes from the Earth. Everything outside us and everything inside us comes from the Earth.

    Thich Nhat Hanh

    Colorado does have some beautiful blue skies. We haven’t seen much of it for the past couple days. Today is one of them. May Thich Nhat Hanh’s words cause us to pause, reflect on the world around us and then let them set deep roots within us to live by. Have a wonderful weekend.

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  • clouds,  landscape,  mountains,  quotes,  seasons,  sunsets,  winter scenes

    Well said

    January 19, 2022

    Modern life seems to recede further and further away from nature, and closely connected with this fact we seem to be losing the feeling of reverence towards nature. It is probably inevitable when science and machinery, capitalism and materialism go hand in hand so far in a most remarkably successful manner. Mysticism, which is the life of religion in whatever sense we understand it, has come to be relegated altogether in the background. Without a certain amount of mysticism there is no appreciation for the feeling of reverence, and, along with it, for the spiritual significance of humility. Science and scientific technique have done a great deal for humanity; but as far as our spiritual welfare is concerned we have not made any advances over that attained by our forefathers. In fact we are suffering at present the worst kind of unrest all over the world.

    D. T. Suzuki
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  • fall season,  grass,  landscape,  mountains,  natural areas,  Plants,  quotes,  Reservoir Ridge Natural Area,  sunsets

    Our Deepest Calling

    December 6, 2021

    “Our deepest calling is to grow into our own authentic self-hood, whether or not it conforms to some image of who we ought to be. As we do so, we will not only find the joy that every human being seeks–we will also find our path of authentic service in the world.”

    Parker Palmer

    I believe this authentic self Parker talks about is something more than being the sports hero, rock star, truck driver, doctor or whatever fantasy we’ve had. He also suggests it’s a calling and not something we attain. Nor is our authentic self found in our attempts to be accepted in some way, to fit in. Seems we need to do some self-examination to be who we were meant to be. This was taken at Reservoir Ridge Natural Area on a sunny beautiful Saturday.

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

    A paragraph at a time…

    December 5, 2021

    “The acceptance of oneself is the essence of the whole moral problem and the epitome of a whole outlook on life. That I feed the hungry, that I forgive an insult, that I love my enemy in the name of Christ — all these are undoubtedly great virtues. What I do unto the least of my brethren, that I do unto Christ. But what if I should discover that the least among them all, the poorest of all the beggars, the most impudent of all the offenders, the very enemy himself — that these are within me, and that I myself stand in need of the alms of my own kindness — that I myself am the enemy who must be loved — what then? As a rule, the Christian’s attitude is then reversed; there is no longer any question of love or long-suffering; we say to the brother within us “Raca,” and condemn and rage against ourselves. We hide it from the world; we refuse to admit ever having met this least among the lowly in ourselves.”

    C.G. Jung

    Philosophy has had my interest for the past 25 years but reading some of it can be daunting for me. Yet I have this desire to know myself at a deep level, to gain some enlightenment of the struggles all humans face and more. I have read small bits and pieces of Carl Gustav Jung and know he has impacted many authors I read. I am currently reading my first of his books, The Undiscovered Self. With my thinker this may be a paragraph at a time. Wish me luck.😂

    It was three years ago today that I had my open heart surgery where they replaced my aortic valve. Emotional. Grateful.

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