seen in simplicity…
mws
sea of sparkling blue snow
leaf riding the waves
Simplicity
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Another Sunrise
Young lady watching the sunrise at Pineridge Natural Area on a cold December morning What’s broken can be mended.
What hurts can be healed.
And no matter how dark it gets,
The sun is going to rise again.Well, back to another sunrise. Took this image yesterday but this one is a bit different. I arrived at predawn when the sky was pink and took a few images of those colors. It was 18 degrees and a slight breeze from the northwest. What is different about this image is the young lady located in the lower left corner of the image. She is sitting on a small bench at the trailhead, wrapped in a blanket and sipping on a thermos of hot coffee or maybe tea. I was there about 45 minutes and she was there when I arrived, sitting on that bench the whole time. We watched this lovely sunrise as well as seeing a couple coyotes walk across the frozen reservoir in search of food. We did not talk. Not sure the reason she needed to be there but for me nature is a place to go when I need to find healing, answers, peace, serenity, silence, a boost, even a good cry and most often the need to slow down the chatter of my thinking. It had warmed up to 19 degrees by the time she left. I departed soon after. We’re expecting light snow today so right now it is overcast and windy. Happy Friday!!
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words rising
inhale deep breaths
mws
journal and pen in hand
words rising withinIt was 17 degrees at 7:33 am when I took this image. I was bundled up while the geese, well, they seemed to be singing a song of joy while drifting in frigid water or sleeping on thin ice. Pure insanity to us humans! After taking this image, I headed to Pineridge Natural area to bask in the sun’s bright warmth and journal. Picked up a mocha on the way so it took me about 25 minutes to arrive at the natural area parking lot. It had already warmed up to 18 degrees. Not toasty yet but an increase nonetheless. Some will think I’m insane for starting my day this way but both the geese and I say to heck with them. I enjoy these gifts of silence, the clear blue skies and the warm sun shining on me. To make it complete, when I got home I enjoyed a rather dry day old donut. 😁Do I know how to live or what?
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Unbroken Silence
Sunset taken in 2012 solitary fence posts
mws
without the meadowlarks song
unbroken silenceOur first forest fire started back in August and every since then I seldom see or hear the meadowlarks singing when visiting the natural areas. I assume they moved farther east onto the plains due to the smoke and ash. And, now that it’s colder we will see less of them. Spent some time journaling about missing their enchanting song this morning.
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listening to leaves
Fall colors that speak without words bent down to observe
mws
heard whispers in fall colors
listening to leaves -
Stepping into silence
The Cameron Peak fire casts strange colors at Reservoir Ridge Natural Area “Stepping into silence feels like I’m getting back to myself. Because from it I can find answers to life’s problems, creative ideas, and deep understanding.” Chelsey Brooks, The Pathfinder
Feeling restless yesterday evening, I drove out to one of the natural areas for a short 2.5 mile walk. I was greeted with a silence and a peacefulness I was not aware I so deeply needed. The sky had a different look and feel all afternoon because of the smoke from the Cameron Peak fire. It was eerie. I don’t expect today to be any different as this morning the eastern sun glows red, the smell of smoke fills my nostrils and I can watch the soot and ashes falling like snow.
Was not alone on my walk yesterday, I saw a few birds but they were not singing, silently darting in the smoke filled air. A lone mallard with reedy quacks called out from the pond. Everything was still, no wind, not a blade of grass moved. At that moment I realized I go to these sanctuaries because I can step into a place of silence. A silence that’s connected to nature, freeing me from the restlessness I felt earlier and getting back to myself. Unaware, I was listening to the voice whispering from within.
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We do not give up hope
This morning’s sun wanting to shine through Smoke hovers over the city
mws
The foul smell of smoke, now choking
The amber color uninviting, otherworldly
So quiet, birds sing in silence or elsewhere
Despairing mood in this darkened world
Close my eyes, pray for a brighter day
Open my eyes, but nothing changed
I go for a mocha, stare at blank pages
I sit in the quiet, seek the light within
Wishing it will shine on this gloomy day
Now write words, they keep me in the present
Even in this blackness we do not give up hope -
Artists of Our Days
Each of us is an artist of our days; the greater the integrity and awareness, the more original and creative our time will become.
John O’DonohueThought I would share a few reasons I enjoy spending more time in nature, whether that’s dreaming of living in an RV or taking a short drive to one of the natural areas near me. Some of these I’ve written about before so I apologize if I’m repeating myself.
Connection: My experiences in nature have always brought a deeper feeling of connection with nature. Connection with nature is a pleasurable experience for me. Sometimes I wonder if we are drawn closer to nature as we age, with some unconscious knowing we are nearing our time of returning to the earth. Finding a greater separation from the busyness of the city brings a deeper connection with nature. The connection includes not just observing through sound, smell, touch and sight but I also talk to creation. I used to see that as weird but seems so natural to me at this stage of life.
Solitude: Solitude is a vital part of my spiritual life. As an introvert the solitude helps recharge my batteries. I like my condo and consider it a place of solitude, a sanctuary, but there are those times I must move away from the comforts it brings and the external noises around me.
Silence: I find a deeper silence by driving to some place in the country where there is less man-made noise, allowing for the sounds of nature to dominate and heal. Once I passed the 60 year mark I needed fewer days listening to traffic, lawn mowers, leaf blowers, refrigerator, furnace, and trash trucks.
Journaling: Journaling is also a part of my spiritual life and a daily exercise. What few times I’ve missed journaling was due to hospital vacations or where words could not be heard from within. I also find the writing on this blog to be fun and enjoyable. I was a horrible English student as a youth and disliked reading and writing. Now both reading and writing make up a majority of day. Never thought I would enjoy reading poetry but find I do, even venturing into attempts at writing in a poetic form.
Photography: Photography is a real interest or goal for time in nature. I have loved nature photography since I was a teenager with my first twin lens reflex camera. Over time, photography has help develop what some call the eye of the heart, so that I see nature from a new place. A much larger world for me to experience.
Discovery: There is a world to discover beyond the small world many of us spend most of our time living in. For many years I chose my world that consisted of a cubicle with a paycheck. There are new horizons of discovery and adventure yet to be seen and fully experienced. Time in nature helps me stay alive as a fulltime student.
And, what are yours, if you care to share?
May we be the artists of our days! 😎❤️
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The Silence
They call them cottontails for a good reason “Nothing in all creation is so like God as silence.”
Meister EckhartStarted the morning with time in nature. The birds were singing. A Great Blue Heron surveyed the kingdom perched on a distant tree. A sunflower looked east greeting the morning sunrise. Cottontails wandered around in search for the best grass to nibble on. I come for the silence and the effect nature has on my soul. It can set me in a good place, clears my mind of irrelevant stuff. Yes, the silence.
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More quiet machines
Clouds and grazing cattle from yesterday afternoon I was not in a good place yesterday. I felt frustration because of the state of our environmental crisis, loss of so much of our natural world, our political mess, economic mess, the entitlement mentality of individuals and corporations, the anger and violence in our world, and my own insecurities and fears along with my own feelings of entitlement. My journal is one of the tools I use when I become aware of these shadowy mental states. So, I took time in the afternoon to write about it. As words began to appear, I noticed a lot of wants and little gratitude for what I already have. Seems my appetite to want “more” crops up again, even in these troubled times, even when so many are struggling, even when I have all that I need.
Yet, through my writing I became aware the root of my frustration is: the noise. Silence has become a precious gift in my life. So, the noise of man’s machines that have grated against me for years, seemed to be even louder, more intense. Part of that has been the reduction of noise during this lockdown. I think I’ve mentioned this before but sometimes I just want to run away. So I did, even knowing there is no away.
The above image is as close to away as it got for me, about 7-8 miles east of town. I pulled over to watch and listen to nature, letting it all sink in, soothing, healing this troubled soul. The birds were singing and the grass eating cow machines were busily working. There is a twitter quote by Neil deGrasse Tyson that says a cow is a biological machine invented by humans to turn grass into steak. What’s really cool is it’s a quiet machine. Why can’t we have more quiet machines? I didn’t want to go back to town.
