• clouds,  landscape,  natural areas,  Pineridge Natural Area,  sunrises

    One of Those Nights

    May 23, 2022
    Taken about a half hour after sunrise

    Awake at 3:00 am and couldn’t go back to sleep. Up at 4:13 am. Made a chai latte then found myself parked at Pineridge Natural Area at 5:16 am listening to the birds sing. There is something magical that happens around and within me when I listen to their songs in the predawn darkness. There were a dozen pelicans cruising the reservoir. While near by two Great Blue Herons waded along the shore. Must have been a good morning to fish. I am lucky, blessed to have these natural areas near me to enjoy.

    I heard it rain during the night but it had stopped by the time I got up. I knew I was taking a chance for a break in the clouds but I felt the desire to be there rather than my condo. We who obsess with photography chase those moments of light no matter how fleeting they are. It is raining again as I get ready to post this and the sky looks nothing like this image now. Luckily I can take a nap today.

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  • landscape,  natural areas,  Pineridge Natural Area,  quotes,  silence,  sunrises

    Stillness of Morning Light

    May 16, 2022
    Sunrise at Pineridge Natural Area with a dirty lens

    Communing with God is communing with our own hearts, our own best selves, not with something foreign and accidental. Saints and devotees have gone into the wilderness to find God; of course they took God with them, and the silence and detachment enabled them to hear the still, small voice of their own souls, as one hears the ticking of his own watch in the stillness of the night. 

    John Burroughs
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  • Avian,  landscape,  natural areas,  Pineridge Natural Area,  sunrises

    Happy Sunday Morning

    May 15, 2022

    Good morning from Pineridge Natural Area. Clear skies and sunshine to start the day. Meadowlarks were sharing songs of joy with all the world. In fact birds were singing all around me. Over time I will come know them but for now I’ll just enjoy their music. This image shows how the rains from last week sure gave the meadow a touch of green.

    When I leave the natural area I need to turn north on Overland trail and drive by an open field that is a Frisbee golf course. About a half mile after I’d turned I noticed this eagle sitting in the open field. I stopped and watched for several minutes with binoculars. The bird seemed rather nervous so I kept my distance. I finally decided to see if it would stay long enough for me to get my camera out and put on the longer zoom lens. I was able to take about 20 images then put my camera gear away because I did not want to disturb the bird anymore than I already had. I then watched them for another couple minutes with binoculars before it lifted off. I was shocked to see in its talons a large fish. Now, that would have been the shot but alas… This is about a 100% crop so it’s not all that sharp.

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  • clouds,  gratitude,  landscape,  natural areas,  Pineridge Natural Area,  sunrises

    Nature’s Invitation

    May 1, 2022

    Waking early I took my camera to Pineridge Natural Area to watch the sun rise. It was cold this morning at 36 degrees. A frigid breeze was enticing the brown grass of the meadow and rabbit brush to joyfully dance together. I was greeted with a meadowlark singing its song of happiness, then joined by a second meadowlark. A couple of robins perched themselves on the fence in front of me and joined in with their glad tidings. I watched a goose smoothly paddle across the reservoir leaving behind its v-shaped wake. A pair of mallards circled above as if not sure where to go. A half dozen white pelicans used their webbed feet to silently float along the north end of the reservoir in search for food. I wonder if that’s where the big fish are?

    I offer thanks as I am never disappointed with the gifts nature gives me at these sacred places and times. I like to call these times gifts but they seem to be more than that. Could it be nature’s invitation to share our presence in all of creation? Maybe these times are the most natural thing we can do with nature. By now my hands were cold and I could picture in my mind wrapping them around a hot mocha latte. It has been a good start to a wonderful Sunday! May you have also have a wonderful Sunday!

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