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

    Lightning Storm on the Horizon

    August 26, 2023

    We had a nice rain early yesterday morning. And, knowing these clouds were moving east, I went to PNA (Pineridge Natural Area) just in case nature was putting on any sort of performance. She did! If memory serves me this is my first ever, and only, image of a bolt of lightning. My camera settings were iso 400, aperture f5.6 and a 10 second exposure. I spent most of my 20 minutes there just sitting on the bench soaking it all in, taking only 21 images in that time period. What a gift to watch the power of nature. But for me the gift of the bolt of lightning was an extra perk for me. Later in the morning it began to rain and we enjoyed a steady rain the rest of the day. My area weather map says we got about .8 inch of rain the past 24 hours.

    Met Eric and Raja for coffee and conversation this morning, always a good start to a weekend. Hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend.

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  • Mary Oliver,  poems,  poetry,  quotes,  writing/reading

    It’s a gift…

    August 10, 2023

    I believe poetry is very old.
    It’s very sacred.
    It wishes for a community.
    It’s a community ritual, certainly.

    And that’s why, when you write a poem,
    you write it for anybody and everybody…
    It’s a gift to yourself,
    but it’s a gift to anybody who has a hunger for it.

    Mary Oliver
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  • Arapaho Bend Natural Area,  landscape,  natural areas,  reflections,  sunrises

    I Come Here for the Silence

    August 5, 2023
    Arapaho Bend Natural Area taken on 5/31/2023

    I come for the silence heard in the ground of my being
    which brings awareness of the gift of life.

    As this gift unfolds,
    the sun rises over a cloudless horizon,
    a fish quietly rises to the water’s surface
    and a quiet prayer is heard in my soul.

    This Book of Nature has opened its pages of this new day,
    may we silently read each word.

    I come here for the silence.

    mws
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  • flowers,  musings,  Plants,  quotes,  writing/reading

    A life-giving act

    July 2, 2023
    White Prickly Poppy

    Listening is always a life giving act.

    Joan Chittister

    I’ve learned that when positioning my next words in a conversation I am no longer listening. I’ve proven that too many times. I’ve also seen in the eyes of another when they are no longer listening. I have also experienced the gift of fully listening to another as well as knowing the gift of being listened to. Seems that those life giving conversations happen when both are experienced by both. My reflection and journaling on her quote have lead me to see other areas in my life where listening is important such as prayer, or when an author or poet expresses in words what I needed to hear, or a bird’s song of joy, or the whisper/howling of the wind, or the words written in the pages of my journal or the knowing voice deep within. I agree that every moment of listening is a life-giving act for both parties. Hope you enjoy your Sunday!

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  • John O'Donohue,  Plants,  quotes

    A Sacred Gift

    June 14, 2023

    May you experience each day as a sacred gift woven around the heart of wonder.

    John O’Donohue

    Colorado Climate Center at Colorado State University says we’ve received 4.06 inches of rain in the past 14 days and more rain expected tomorrow. Therefore mushrooms are everywhere. And, here’s my proof.

    We have had a beautiful day with blue skies and sunshine. As I sit on my porch and type this I watch and listen as the wind dance with the trees. Robins, blue jays and goldfinches sing. The fragrance of the locust and linden trees fills the air. I will post this and then drive to Riverbend Ponds for some bird photography or at least a nice walk. Grateful as this day has been a sacred gift.

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

    One of my favorite…

    May 26, 2023

    Sitting on this rock, watching the sunrise with awe and wonder. The grass around me is wet from the mornings dew and also from the rain we had yesterday. The temperature is perfect. There is almost no wind. I take sips of my chai latte, listening to a meadowlark perched atop the fence singing its morning praise. The sun rises behind the clouds, offering hints of pink and letting me know the new day is here. I’m grateful for this moment, this place, this experience, this life, all the green that surrounds me, the clouds, the new day, even the cold hard rock I’m sitting on. This is one of my favorite times of the day… one of my favorite places…

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  • clouds,  haiku,  horizons,  landscape,  natural areas,  Pineridge Natural Area,  reflections,  sunrises,  writing/reading

    A New Dawn

    May 5, 2023

    scattered clouds gather
    over the eastern horizon
    the gift of a new dawn

    ms

    Meadowlarks and robins were already singing when I arrived at Pineridge Natural Area this morning. I suspect they knew, just as I knew in my heart, the gift of this new day that was about to burst upon us. As I awaited in the dark, I had time to journal about what I was feeling and seeing. Again those words of awe and wonder came to mind. And then the sun burst forth to begin its journey from horizon to horizon. I pressed the shutter button on my camera hoping to capture some of what I was experiencing to share with you. I offered thanks. Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

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