• Avian,  landscape,  seasons,  sunrises,  winter scenes

    I didn’t question it…

    Cold morning. Another one of those nights, awake at 3:00 am. It said 5 degrees at 5:30 am. Saw the moon and drove to Reservoir Ridge for some full moonset photos. I was given this image on the way home and liked it better. It gives you more of a feeling of what kind of morning it was. Someone has been energetic enough to clear the snow off the ice and created a nice skating rink in the foreground of this image. The Canada Geese were along the open water and in the water enjoying the weather. Not me. When I got back in the car the dashboard said it was 1 degree. I didn’t question it.

  • clouds,  haiku,  landscape,  natural areas,  sunrises,  writing/reading

    Welcome the New Day

    sun rises in the east
    beams of light embrace nature
    welcome the new day

    ms

    Morning sunrise at Topminnow Natural Area. This is one of the newer natural areas and is still not open to the public. The city is presently restoring this old gravel pit and planted about 10,000 wetland shrubs in 2015. It is named after one of the native fish species that will be reintroduced there (plains topminnow). A good start to my day!

  • landscape,  Mary Oliver,  natural areas,  quotes,  sunrises

    Spiritual Side of the World

    “I have begun to look past reason, past the provable, in other directions. Now I think there is only one subject worth my attention and that is the precognition of the spiritual side of the world and, within this recognition, the condition of my own spiritual state. I am not talking about having faith necessarily, although one hopes to. What I mean by spirituality is not theology, but attitude.”

    Mary Oliver, Upstream

    I’ve mentioned before how I am experiencing more nights and mornings of disturbed sleep. Here is an example from a week ago. I awoke at 2:00 am, wide awake. I finally got up around 3:30 am and journaled for a half hour. I quietly prayed, taking in deep breaths. I finally got up, dressed and had my quiet centering prayer. Grabbed coffee then drove to Pineridge Natural Area to watch the sun rise. It was dark when I pulled up in the parking lot. I counted eight magpies perched on the branches of a barren tree and silhouetted against the predawn sky while the faint light accented the frozen reservoir. As the sun began to rise above the horizon the magpies leave their perch in search of food. I take a dozen photos but mostly just watch it all happen. Everything around me begins to brighten as the sun brings forth this new day. I watch a flock of geese fly above the horizon then divide in two groups and circle in search of fields to graze in. Nature on display. A few minutes later the sun has fully risen. Its warm rays are extending out to everything. The warmth feels good to my cold hands and feet. I’m in agreement with Mary Oliver that time in the spiritual side of the world tweaks of my attitude.

    Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas. 🎁

  • clouds,  haiku,  landscape,  sunrises,  writing/reading

    What My Soul Needs

    horizon of colors
    with quiet and solitude
    pre-dawn on the farm

    ms

    I am blessed to have the natural areas so close and with easy access. Yet, this morning I felt the desire to drive eastward, into Weld County. For I can also experience the quiet and solitude my soul needs out here. Taken this morning near Weld County Road 15 and County Road 78. And, I talked myself into stopping at the Bean Cycle on the way back into town for a mocha latte to bring home. This retirement life is pretty exciting!

  • Camera Equipment,  Fujifilm X-T3,  Fujifilm XF16-80mm f4.0,  haiku,  landscape,  natural areas,  Photography,  Software,  sunrises,  writing/reading

    Gift of a New Day

    angel blue sky
    sun kissing the horizon
    gift of a new day

    ms

    I’m hoping you are not getting tired of seeing these sunrise images from Pineridge Natural Area. Took this one a week ago. I shoot raw so all my images are in a 3:2 format. Almost everything I post is cropped to a 16:9 format, especially if it’s a landscape. I seem to be drawn to it. I therefore find myself framing my images with knowledge that I will probably crop the image when processing.

  • clouds,  John O'Donohue,  landscape,  natural areas,  quotes,  sunrises

    That is a Gift

    “Only the blindness of habit convinces us that we continue to live in the same place, that we see the same landscape.”

    John O’Donohue

    Had an early meeting at Pineridge Natural Area with God, a few magpies, low clouds on the eastern horizon, silence and a cup of coffee to keep my hands warm. I watched nature put on a beautiful show of colors that helped keep me warm in the 15 degree cold. As O’Donohue suggests as long as I do not stay in a place of the blindness of my habits the landscape will provide something new for me to experience, and that is a gift. I stayed until the sun rose above the clouds and my hands and feet were cold. Have a great day and stay warm.

  • landscape,  natural areas,  quotes,  sunrises

    The World We Belong In

    “When your eyes are tired the world is tired also. When your vision has gone no part of the world can find you. Time to go into the dark where the night has eyes to recognize its own. There you can be sure you are not beyond love. The dark will be your womb tonight. The night will give you a horizon further than you can see. You must learn one thing. The world was made to be free in. Give up on all other worlds except the one to which you belong. Sometimes it takes darkness and the sweet confinement of your aloneness to learn anything or anyone that does not bring you alive is too small for you.”

    David Whyte

    I looked at my watch, it read 1:00 am. Looked again later, now 3:15 am. I really was not tired but knew my night was more of light sleep and little deep sleep. Weather forecast was for partly cloudy skies in the morning and snow this evening so I heard that voice inside whisper of the possibility that the eastern sunrise would have some red to it. I got up and dressed at 5:00 am. I felt the tiredness of my eyes from the lack of deep sleep. After quiet time I grabbed coffee and camera and drove to Pineridge Natural Area. I was not disappointed. Had the place to myself except for a couple of magpies and one of the park rangers. We all just watched this new day come alive and stayed present in this world we belong in. Probably need a nap later today. 😴