An online journal sharing my interests in photography, nature, coffee life, journaling, fountain pens, spirituality and asking deep questions.
It seems to me that the natural world is the greatest source of excitement; the greatest source of visual beauty; the greatest source of intellectual interest. It is the greatest source of so much in life that makes life worth living.
David Attenborough
I sat in my car and watched a bashful sun hide behind a bank of clouds sitting along the eastern horizon precisely where the sun was to rise. In the predawn light it teasingly hinted of pink along the northern edge of the clouds, letting me know it was there. As any good friend and lover of nature would do, I sipped on my morning coffee, took an image every once in awhile and waited to see what beauty would be offered.
I experienced a sense of how nature has been teaching me patience in these latter years of my life or at least continuously offering me more lessons. I took 54 images during that hour and found it difficult to decide on just one image to post. I honestly like them all. I finally chose these two because of the cloud patterns, the subtle pink in the first image and the sunbeams in the second. Both also hint of the bashfulness of the sun this mornings. Happy Sunday!
Wanted to share this mornings pre-dawn colors. I took this near the south dam on Horsetooth Reservoir, a scene that looks out over the sleeping city of Fort Collins. We are expecting high winds today and I could already notice them picking up. I love how nature creates anew each day with the clouds, the patterns and color palette that all stir up deep feelings within me. When I got home I asked myself the question, “Would I come here if I was not a photographer?” I’m aware I do have the incentive to take images, hoping to come home with a keeper or two. However, at this stage in my life, it’s more about being there, letting it all touch me in some way. It’s moments like this which draw me closer to creation and a conscious contact with its creator. I call them spiritual experiences.
Blue skies and sunshine bring their warmth this morning.
I see tree branches bending over under the snow’s burden
I watch as the sun’s warmth weaken the snow’s grip,
causing small glistening snowstorms to flutter downward.I check on the nesting geese, standing on my toes to look in
They stretch their necks to check on my presence. All’s well.
Looking up, the sky seems bluer, no contrails, less pollution.
I listen to the quiet, the music that soothes this soul.I’m filled with gratitude for this wonderful world
and the gift of being present, a part of all this beauty.Yesterday’s storm has passed
“How beautiful the world was when one looked at it without searching, just looked, simply and innocently.”
Hermann Hesse
The brown color of this leaf’s edges was the key to drawing my attention to it. My first thought was a dead leaf that had fallen and was mixed in with the greener leaves. But as I looked closer I realized it was only the edges of the leaf that were discolored.
My inquisitive mind wanted to know why this was happening, so a Google search was made and the following was discovered. Most commonly brown leaf tips or brown edges on leaves are caused by stress. This can be due to the plant not getting enough water, too little natural water falling, the roots are constricted and unable to reach out for water or the soil does or can not hold onto the water. Even though the plant is in stress I find beauty in it. I also find it interesting only one leaf is affected.
Had an interesting conversation with my grandson yesterday morning. We had a beautiful frost overnight leaving these large crystals all over the car. I told him to check them out as they were just gorgeous. He looked then stated he thought I was the only one who would notice something like that. He may be close as there may not bee that many people who look at frost as I do. It could be my age is giving me more respect for the constant art of nature. Or it could be walking around with a camera in my hand has helped me to pay more attention to our world.