My online journal where I share my interests in photography, nature, journaling, fountain pens, bicycling, coffee life, spirituality and the mystery of it all.
Meditation, so I’ve heard, is best accomplished if you entertain a certain strict posture. Frankly, I prefer just to lounge under a tree. So why should I think I could ever be successful?
Some days I fall asleep, or land in that even better place — half asleep — where the world, spring, summer, autumn, winter — flies through my mind in its hardy ascent and its uncompromising descent.
So I just lie like that, while distance and time reveal their true attitudes: they never heard of me, and never will, or ever need to.
Of course I wake up finally thinking, how wonderful to be who I am, made out of earth and water, my own thoughts, my own fingerprints — all that glorious, temporary stuff.
Today was daylight savings so we lost an hour of sleep. So, how does that save time? I guess the best thing would be to move to a state where there is no time change. Anyway, we have our second day in a row of spring like weather with temperatures in the high 60’s which makes up for the lost hour of sleep. Even sat in my adirondack chair soaking up the sunshine. I can see clouds in the northwest as rain is supposed to arrive this evening. Good medicine physically and spiritually for all of creation. These past two days have made me look forward to Spring. I’m ready.
I go and get the camera and do it. Photography is a medium in which if you don’t do it then, very often you don’t do it at all, because it doesn’t happen twice. A rock will probably always be more or less there just the way you saw it yesterday. But other things change, they’re not always there the day after or the week after. Either you do it or you don’t. Certainly with things as changeable as sky and landscape with moving clouds and so on, if they look wonderful to you on a certain day and if you don’t do it then, you may never see them again for the rest of your life. So as a photographer you become very conscious – at least I do – that everything is in movement.
Here are a couple of images from Rowland Moore Park taken about 7:30 this morning. I will guess we have 4-6 inches of snow from this storm. While wandering around the park this morning I was surprised with how much water is flowing into the ponds. They will be full before this day is over. Thankfully we are not cold and therefore it will melt quickly and give us much needed moisture. One weather station said we have 3.8 inches.
It is time for my yearly physical and I also need one before the cataract surgery. So, that will happen this morning. No coffee or food for right now. Stay warm!
My creative process begins when I get out with the camera and interact with the world. A camera is truly a license to explore. There are no uninteresting things. There are just uninterested people.
Jerry Uelsmann
The above quote is one reason I take my camera for walks. My last post was a sunset from my friend Kay’s back porch. As I watched the sun drop below the clouds and just above the mountains, I figured there could be a nice sunset so I grabbed my camera out of my backpack. Kay made some remark about having my camera. Yes, it is almost an appendage. Maybe I need to refer to the camera as a friend. Anyway!
We are expecting showers this afternoon and need the moisture. Hope everyone is enjoying the weekend.
Happy Friday! Clear skies this morning after three days of cloudy skies and rain that brought over 2 inches of much needed moisture. The mountains received snow with as much as 2 feet in Rocky Mountain National Park. That will put a smile on the farmers faces in eastern Colorado as well as golfers in Phoenix.
Jessup Farm was a turn of the century farm owned by Joseph and Mary Jessup. In 2011 it was developed into an innovative, adaptive reuse plan to preserve, restore, and rehabilitate the historic integrity of the farmstead. It’s been developed into the Buckingham housing and the Artisan shops. One of these shops is Bindle Coffee. 🙂 There is a barber shop, dress shop, couple of restaurants, portrait studio, brew house, fitness place. Needles to say there is no more farming. However, they do have a chicken coop with chickens that roam around outside.
“And the world cannot be discovered by a journey of miles, no matter how long, but only by a spiritual journey, a journey of one inch, very arduous and humbling and joyful, by which we arrive at the ground at our own feet, and learn to be at home.”
Wendell Berry
Just as nature and a spiritual life have become important to me so have words, words I read, hear, and write. Grateful for words!
It is a nice spring day so thought I’d post this springlike image. Grateful for spring! The college does a wonderful job of planting tulips all over the campus. Grateful for tulips!
Fifteen years ago I had two life changing events occur in my life: one was provided in a 12 Step Recovery program and the other was purchasing my first digital camera. I purchased a Nikon D100 in October of 2002 and I stopped drinking in January 2003. Life changing because both have given me tools to begin to see myself, people, institutions, and all of creation when properly using these tools. I am grateful for both of these tools.
We are experiencing spring weather but know that nature can and does change rather quickly. They have predicted temperatures in the mid 70’s today and tomorrow, while snow is possible on Friday.
My schedule today is a quiet one. Now at the Lory Student Center to write and enjoy a mocha. Will have lunch with my youngest daughter today and then meet a friend later this afternoon. Hope you enjoy your day!
The Cottonwood Tree on Fischer Nature TrailPicnic Tables at Rowland Moore ParkTree Damage at CSU Campus
It has been snowing for that past 24 hours, a heavy wet spring snow. Schools closed down yesterday afternoon as the snow accumulation was much more than predicted. There was no need or desire to be out in the mess, so yesterday I sat in my condo reading and writing while listening to tree branches snapping and cracking. I took down the soup from the freezer and put it on the stove. Nothing better than a winter storm outside and the smell of soup cooking inside. This storm has brought some heavy damage to our trees.
This morning I ventured to Rowland Moore Park in the interest of seeing how much damage to the trees. I was surprised to see only small to medium branches were broken and no trees down. But, I also could see the amount of snow accumulation on the picnic tables. I read this morning the snow accumulation on Fort Collins was 5 inches. However, I estimated 8 inches at my condo and by looking at this table that seems accurate.
The campus at Colorado State University took some heavy damage. This sidewalk is along Shields Avenue on the west side of campus. I was shocked as I drove along and needed to stop a few images of the damage. In this image you can see multiple tree branches down and one tree completely uprooted and laying in the parking lot. Just around the corner from here was a massive tree that had come done and was on top a someones car. They are not going to be happy. 🙁
