My online journal where I share my interests in photography, nature, journaling, fountain pens, bicycling, coffee life, spirituality and the mystery of it all.
A free afternoon found me
mws
lying in the grass at the park.
Above me a canopy of leaves
offering the gift of cool shade.
I take deep breaths and stay present
while leafhoppers jump around me.
I inhale the scent of freshly cut grass
and hear the unseen blue jay’s call.
Clouds drift above me in a sea of blue sky
as I take in the awe and wonder of nature,
a sanctuary without walls, doors or windows.
I close my eyes in reverence, gratitude, prayer
… and I’m never the same!
No people went through an environment faster,
Donald Worster
and more destructively and wastefully,
than Americans have gone through North America.
I again took the long-cut home from coffee shop, making a loop around Spring Creek Park. Round trip is about 11.5 miles. The bicycle trail runs through Rolland Moore Park where people can picnic, toss frisbees, baseball diamonds, playgrounds, basketball and tennis courts. I loved the clouds this morning and stopped to take a quick snapshot. This looks out over a field of grass and wetland. Behind these trees is the park and some apartment buildings. Behind me are houses that go west for about two miles. Also behind me was a guy on a four-wheeler spraying for weeds. The smell was repulsive! It seems wthin cities we find very little natural environments.
The spiritual journey is a constant interplay between moments of awe followed by a process of surrender to that moment.
Richard Rohr
While reading and journaling at Rolland Moore Park I noticed the wind rustling through the cottonwood trees above me. It caused me to look up and have one of those moments of awe. And, I just happened to have my camera with me.
snowstorm has passed
mws
now clear skies and sunshine
bench in cold shadows
Slept in late so I got out late. Headed to Rolland Moore Park for a few winter images. I’m always a sucker for solitary benches and found one. Roads are icy this morning. So, I drive according to what I consider safe (slower than others). I am aware I can irritate some drivers who think I drive like an old man. But, that’s okay because I am! 😁
I had Reservoir Ridge Natural Area all to myself this morning. It had warmed up to 20 degrees by the time I got there, which could have been the reason I had it to myself. Low clouds sat atop the mountains and some snow is falling in the higher elevations. We are expecting to have more snow this afternoon at the lower elevations and cold temperatures, mid-teens, again tonight. No wind. Stillness and quiet. It’s a good way to enjoy a coffee.
Have a question for all my wise friends out there. Is it acceptable, if they cancel the two-on-two basketball matchups at Rolland Moore Park because to a couple inches of snow and temperatures of 18 degrees, cop a resentment and eat Oreo cookies and drink chocolate milk for breakfast. Asking for a friend. 😁Stay warm!
May Day celebrations first appeared in pre-Christian times, with the festival of Flora, the Roman goddess of flowers. May Day may be best known for its tradition of dancing around the maypole and crowning of the Queen of the May. It is traditionally a summer holiday in many pre-Christian European pagan cultures. May 1 was considered the first day of summer. Well, so much for the feeling of a summer. We woke to 6 inches of snow this morning and the white stuff is still falling. I just hope it does not get cold tonight.
By the way, does anyone remember giving “May baskets” with candy to some unsuspecting girl from your class? I was so afraid she would find out it was me. 🙂 Stay warm!
It is not only the tool that makes a good photograph. It is the person behind it.
Norman J. Piluke
I have invested good money into my tools for photography and I hope to spend the rest of my life investing in the person behind those tools and every once in a while in front of those tools. Anyway, it’s Friday and another week has quickly come and gone. I’ve gotta quit blinking so much these weeks are blazing by.