My online journal where I share my interests in photography, nature, journaling, fountain pens, bicycling, coffee life, spirituality and the mystery of it all.
This was the scene along Spring Creek Trail this morning. The fires west of here in Utah and Colorado are now affecting us. We are seeing ash settling on cars and you can smell it. Sadly I heard this morning at the coffee shop that 3 firefighters have died and 2 have been injured in the 28,000 acre Snyder-Mesa Fire. I am not sure but assume this is the fire where most of the smoke filled air is coming from. In spite of the sad news, may you enjoy your Sunday!
When we know ourselves to be connected to all others,
Rachel Naomi Remen
acting compassionately is simply the natural thing to do.
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.
“Peace cannot be achieved through violence, it can only be attained through understanding.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
For three days now we have had unusual colors in the sky because the smoke and ash from forest fires in Wyoming and Montana are drifting our way. The colors are eerie. I got up early this morning and headed to Pineridge Natural Area. I was hoping that after the sun had risen I could expect some reflection of the sun in Dixon Reservoir. Geese and ducks fed along the waters edges. In between the cross talking magpies, I could hear the robins and meadowlarks singing. And, I was not the only one out with their cameras for this colorful display by nature. The tables outside the coffee shop had a light dusting of ash on them. Air quality warnings are out for today. And, I pray for world peace!
eerie sunrises the past few days as
ms
we continue to experience the smoke
from the Canadian forest fires
weather app said clear skies
but what that really meant
was we had no clouds
from a nearby fence post
a meadowlark sings benediction
greeting the dawn of this new day
from a place of prayer, hope
and a heart of gratitude
I accept the gifts offered
Happy Birthday Sheree!!!
There is One Holy Book, the sacred manuscript of nature, the only scripture which can enlighten the reader. . . . All scriptures before nature’s manuscript are as little pools of water before the ocean.
Hazrat Inayat Khan, “There Is One Holy Book”
This was taken yesterday morning at Pineridge Natural Area. You can see the smoke along the eastern horizon, looking dirty and ugly while blue sky above. Today the smoke is worse and there is no blue sky to be seen. We are unable to see the mountains in the west. The National Weather Service says the smoke is too high in the atmosphere to cause any respiratory concerns but it is visible. If you are interested here is a link to the Canadian Wildland Fire Information website. It is interactive and will show some interesting facts on the fires. The fires are the result of a heat wave pattern — described as an “omega block” by meteorologists. So, if we read nature’s manuscript correctly it is telling us that man’s impact on the climate is taking a toll. Just saying!
Meeting my grandson, Daryian, today for lunch at Hooters. His idea and should be fun. I hear they serve food there, also.
“In a society in which nearly everybody is dominated by somebody else’s mind or by a disembodied mind, it becomes increasingly difficult to learn the truth about the activities of governments and corporations, about the quality or value of products, or about the health of one’s own place and economy.
In such a society, also, our private economies will depend less and less upon the private ownership of real, usable property, and more and more upon property that is institutional and abstract, beyond individual control, such as money, insurance policies, certificates of deposit, stocks, and shares. And as our private economies become more abstract, the mutual, free helps and pleasures of family and community life will be supplanted by a kind of displaced or placeless citizenship and by commerce with impersonal and self-interested suppliers…
Thus, although we are not slaves in name, and cannot be carried to market and sold as somebody else’s legal chattels, we are free only within narrow limits. For all our talk about liberation and personal autonomy, there are few choices that we are free to make. What would be the point, for example, if a majority of our people decided to be self-employed?
The great enemy of freedom is the alignment of political power with wealth. This alignment destroys the commonwealth – that is, the natural wealth of localities and the local economies of household, neighborhood, and community – and so destroys democracy, of which the commonwealth is the foundation and practical means.”
Thomas Berry
Each morning our skies on the eastern horizon are filled with smoke. Air quality is poor and the color is repulsive. We do have a short period of time, 3-5 minutes when the sun is a bright orange orb through the smoke, but other than that it is disheartening. This was yesterday morning’s sunrise. ☹️
song birds are silent
ms
dawns eerie colors from
smoke filled skies
Cooler weather is in the forecast and I’m okay with that. Fall is one of my favorite seasons. I will be on the road this coming week as my sister and I drive to Texas on Wednesday for mom’s graveside service and drive back on Friday.
Unwanted smoke cloaks the distant trees
ms
somewhere beyond is the unseeable horizon
I walk around the pond listening
longing for the birds song of hope
I need the embrace of the natural world
accepting the healing touch it offers
It’s in the absence of the spoken word
that I hear the quiet whisper from within
With slow deliberate deep breaths I
take an afternoon walk at the ponds
No clouds this morning but plenty of haze from the smog and smoke drifting from the west coast. Unable to smell them but sure can see their effects. Interesting how the camera sensor does not record the red/orange sun in the sky the same as the reflection in Dixon Reservoir. Hope you had a good weekend and a great week ahead.
Started reading the book Nomadland by Jessica Bruder and finding it interesting. At times it’s sad, at times disturbing, at other times informative and other times funny.
cloudless horizon
ms
chorus of song birds rising
in meadow of gold
Sadly this image shows the smoky haze sitting along the Colorado Front Range from all the fires burning in the southwest. The haze hovers just above the horizon combined with a mix of emission pollution. There are currently, 47 large fires that have burned 519,761 acres across the country, per the National Interagency Fire Center website. The haze gives everything a golden glow to it. Today is expected to be in the 90’s. Be safe, stay cool!