• landscape,  natural areas,  quotes,  reflections,  sunsets

    Experiences

    September 9, 2024

    Faith does not begin in what we imagine
    But in what we experience.

    Steven Charleston

    I am not able to explain my faith. I could try, but any words would fall short. However, experience has brought me to believe the sun will rise and set each day, even after I’ve taken my last breath. And, I believe the seed of these experiences change and transform me. Because somehow, when I returned to my car after watching a sunrise or sunset I believe I am a different man. I would try and explain that, but any words would fall short. And, it happens a lot. 

    Read More
  • clouds,  landscape,  quotes

    And, I call it prayer…

    August 21, 2024
    Clouds at Riverbend Ponds Natural Area

    “There comes a time on our mystical journey when prayer embraces all of life. We are always inwardly in a state of prayer….How can one not live a life of prayer when we have so much need, when so much is given?”

    Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee, Prayer of the Heart

    I know that some viewers of this blog will be tired of all my landscape images that include clouds. I’ve actually been told that. I also know some won’t. But I never get tired of being there, experiencing all of it, taking a few images when I can to share, because we truly are given so much. And, I call it prayer…

    Read More
  • landscape,  quotes,  sunsets

    Last night’s sunset

    August 20, 2024

    You are the only you that has ever lived; your idiom is the only idiom of its kind in all the existences and if you cannot hear the sound of the genuine in you, you will all of your life, spend your days on the ends of strings that somebody else pulls….

    Howard Thurman

    I took my camera for a short walk at Riverbend Ponds early yesterday evening. The clouds were amazing and I knew it could be a good place to watch the sunset. I hope you have a wonderful day!

    Read More
  • landscape,  quotes,  sunrises

    Soaked in Dew

    May 16, 2023

    “By means of all created things, without excaption, the divine assails us, penetrates us, and molds us. We imagined it as distant and inaccessible, when in fact we live steeped in its burning layers”

    Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

    Good morning from Colorado. We had an almost cloudless sunrise this morning but… we had some really enjoyable fog. I left early and headed to Arapaho Bend then made my way to the open fields around Riverbend Ponds. The ponds are located just beyond the trees. I like this vantage point and have shot from it many times before. I included the grass in the foreground because they are soaked in dew. I took about 40 images and had a difficult time deciding which one I liked the best. I think that’s a good thing. Again, I like what creation does as I stand in awe of it’s beauty. I followed this experience with a chai latte and chocolate muffin at Cups Community Coffee. Have a great day!

    Read More
  • clouds,  landscape,  natural areas,  Plants,  quotes,  trees

    Good to be Alive

    May 26, 2022

    “To be alive in this beautiful, self-organizing universe — to participate in the dance of life with senses to perceive it, lungs that breathe it, organs that draw nourishment from it — is a wonder beyond words.”

    Joanna Macy

    I ventured out to Riverbend Ponds the other night because the sky was filled with clouds and I love clouds. It was rather quiet out there, maybe a half dozen people fishing. The water was very peaceful without the wind. Birds were singing all around me. And those clouds! Yes, it’s good to be alive!

    Read More
  • clouds,  landscape,  natural areas,  Plants,  quotes,  reflections,  trees

    More questions…

    April 23, 2022
    Sunset over Riverbend Ponds Natural Area

    Walt Whitman wrote over 150 years ago in his book Leaves of Grass that the United States: is not merely a nation but a teeming nation of nations. It seems like a good question to ask ourselves: How well does each of us hold to the idea we are a nation of nations? It’s also interesting that the first word in our Constitution is we. Which leads to another question: how and who defines “we”? Yes, I’m a thinkin and asking questions again this morning. Hoping you have a wonderful weekend!

    Read More
  • clouds,  landscape,  natural areas,  reflections,  sunsets

    Take My Photograph

    October 24, 2021
    Riverbend Ponds – 7.5 second exposure at f16.0

    I have often photographed when I am not in tune with nature but the photographs look as if I had been. So I conclude that something in nature says, ‘Come and take my photograph.’ So I do, regardless of how I feel.

    Minor White

    Happened to me with this image last night. I wanted to get out east to see if I could find a sunset image. Because I left late I stopped at Riverbend Ponds and walked to a spot I’ve shot from before. The sun had set but the clouds looked promising. I felt no urgency only a need to be there. It was cool enough that I was glad I wore my coat. Nothing spectacular but oh so beautiful. A few geese and ducks honked and quacked. I wondered if they liked the scene also. I smiled. Only took 16 images but have three keepers I like. So, I went and took the photograph.

    Read More