• bicycle rides,  bicycling,  leaves,  Plants,  quotes,  Spring Creek Trail

    Today Was the Day

    July 23, 2026
    Dogwood leaves along Spring Creek

    No one will protect what they don’t care about;
    and no one will care about what they have never experienced.

    David Attenborough

    When I rode to the coffee shop this morning it was 67 degrees and 91% humidity with a 30% chance of rain. There was a short moment of confusion as I felt like I woke up in Ohio or maybe North Carolina or Florida. Sure was not a normal Colorado morning. On my way home I took this image at one of the bridges that crosses over Spring Creek. I’ve wanted to stop here before and get a few images of the dogwood plants and those lovely leaves in this area, but never have. Well, today was the day. In these later years of my life I now enjoy making time to stop and experience, and not just take a photo, of what I normally just glance at. Everything is green along the creek which has plenty of shade and the constant flowing small creek. It is a much different scene than our open prairies where the sun has been bearing down on them for 3 weeks now. We need rain. I hope you are enjoying the day!!

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  • Anime,  Avian,  bicycle rides,  bicycling,  JetPack,  landscape,  Photography,  pond

    … a feeling of mystery

    July 21, 2026
    Edited with Lightroom and enhanced with Jetpack Image Editor

    There is a section along Spring Creek where water backs up creating this calm pond-like area. For me it offers a feeling of mystery when looking into the depth of this area. It is a complete ecosystem teaming with life we cannot see. I ride slowly through this area because of the feeling it offers me and stopped several times for photos. But this morning I stopped and took a few images with the intention of playing with them when I got home using AI. I worked on them in Lightroom then settled on enhancement with the Anime style in WordPress. I added the white egret because last week I saw one feeding in Spring Creek not too far from this scene. I did not stop for a photo because I didn’t want to disturb them. So, I asked Jetpack to add the white egret. I added a frog to the seen but before I knew it the egret had eaten them. So far most of the results I like and post here are using the anime and fantasy styles which create a completely different image from the original and dramatically transforms them. I’m still not sure how I feel about all this stuff but I am getting a kick out of it and finding some creative juices. It’s much cooler today but still warm.

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  • bicycle rides,  bicycling,  landscape,  mountains,  nature,  Plants,  reflections,  Spring Creek Trail,  trees

    Another Hot Day…

    July 12, 2026
    Edited with Lightroom and Jetpack Fantasy Art

    The original image for this scene was taken this morning on my bicycle ride home from the coffee shop. I am standing at a concrete detention wall that creates a small pond used for water control. I must say the bicycle ride home from the coffee shop, almost two hours later, was much hotter than the ride to the coffee shop. Today is expected to be in the upper 90s and I can feel it now. Same forecast for the next 5 days. And for anyone interested I found out Dairy Queen was closing about 45 franchises due to some franchise issues, primarily Alaska, Texas and Montana. Luckily the closures do not affect my area. Whew!! I hope you stay cool and calm today!

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  • bicycle rides,  nature,  Spring Creek Trail

    A Saturday Ride

    May 2, 2026

    We have a beautiful day here in Colorado. I mounted the red steed and took a bicycle ride along Spring Creek Trail out to Spring Canyon Park and back, about 7.6 mile round trip. Lots of people were out enjoying the weather so the trail was busy. And the park was busy with little kids’ soccer, and the pickle ball courts and tennis courts were full. I spotted a couple of young girls sunbathing in bikinis and almost rode off the trail. I’m gonna call it wildlife. No image but I did stop for this image on the way back because I like the idea that we can feel like we’re in a natural wooded area outside of the city while still in the city. I hope you are enjoying your Saturday!

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  • bicycle rides,  bicycling,  landscape,  Spring Creek Trail

    Taking a short trip…

    November 18, 2025

    This is an image taken along the Spring Creek Trail. I have wanted to stop on several occasions and take this image for quite some time but I seem to always tell myself tomorrow. The morning’s ride became that tomorrow. I plan to stop more often in an effort to catch the light at different times. I have seen the water glisten with sunlight around mid-morning and I would like to capture that. Anyway this is the scene with overcast skies.

    My sister and I fly out tomorrow for Phoenix to spend Thanksgiving a week early with my dad, sister and brother-in-law. It will be a short trip, coming back on Saturday. That should give me enough time to enjoy my family and overeat. I will not be posting much so I will catch up when I get back.

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  • bicycling,  landscape,  moon,  quotes,  reflections,  Spring Creek Trail

    Living in the moment…

    November 9, 2025
    The moons footprint in the sky

    To live in the moment… is the onlyfootprint one must follow..

    Oglala Lakota- Hinhan Wakangl

    After coffee and conversation with my friends Terri and Jeff I rode home via Spring Creek Trail. The moon set its footprint in a clear blue sky over the mountains in the west. It seemed to be happy! Because it was happy I couldn’t let the opportunity pass for a photo. Now, I was happy! I hope you have a great day and I see snow is falling up north now.

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  • bicycling,  fall season,  landscape,  moon,  reflections,  Spring Creek Trail

    A Beautiful October Day

    October 9, 2025
    Moon reflected in Spring Creek

    It is a beautiful October day here in Colorado. It was a much warmer morning on my bicycle ride to coffee than yesterday. I was grateful to see the waning gibbous moon watching over me on my ride to coffee. When I saw its reflection in Spring Creek on my ride home I had to stop, take some breaths and receive the gift. Yes, it’s a beautiful fall day in Colorado! And, it has been a nice slow day that has included getting my hair cut and then stopping at the Bread Chic bakery on the way home and buying a loaf of their sourdough bread for toast in the mornings. It is still early in the day so I just may get in another bicycle ride before this day ends.

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  • bicycling,  quotes

    Sunbathing

    June 1, 2025

    It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them.

    Ernest Hemingway

    I so enjoy my bicycle rides, even the sweating. I took the long-cut home from the coffee shop this morning, so I got in an 11.9-mile bicycle ride. I noticed this turtle sunbathing on the way home and of course needed to take a snapshot. Have a wonderful Sunday and happy June 1st!

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  • bicycling,  quotes

    Thanks

    December 12, 2024

    Whoever invented the bicycle deserves the thanks of humanity.

    Lord Charles Beresford

    It was 23 degrees when I rode my bicycle to the coffee shop. I missed the past two mornings because it was below 20 degrees, windy, and humid. I’m not tough enough to go any colder. This image was taken from a foot bridge on the Mason Trail over Spring Creek. As I’ve mentioned before I am able to stop almost anywhere along the trails for photo opportunities, which I can’t do in my car. I also am closer to nature scenes on the bicycle trails.

    In reference to the quote I am at a place in life where I have much more appreciation for whoever invented the bicycle. There are several claims on the invention but the first verifiable claim for a practically used bicycle belongs to German Barón Karl von Drais Sauerbronn1, a civil servant to the Grand Duke of Baden in Germany. Drais invented his Laufmaschine (German for “running machine”) in 1817, that was called Draisine (English) or draisienne (French) by the press. Karl von Drais patented this design in 1818, which was the first commercially successful two-wheeled, steerable, human-propelled machine, commonly called a velocipede, and nicknamed hobby-horse or dandy horse. I wonder what he would think of the e-bike and our bicycle trails. Anyway, I offer thanks to whoever!

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