natural – Monte Stevens Photography Blog

I could not be a poet without the natural world. Someone else could. But not me. For me the door to the woods is the door to the temple.
Mary Oliver

I’m rather new to poetry, in both reading and writing. Primarily because I did not understand it, nor did I put the effort into learning what it was about and what it could teach me. It just wasn’t time yet in my life. Now it is. Some of that slow seduction could be spending more quality time in the natural world, or as Mary suggests the temple. I like how Maria Popova says it here. Having said that I want to thank all of you who read and maybe even understand my attempts at writing poetry. But not today!

Clouds over the mountains at Rigden Reservoir

“In the moments away from the crowd we perceive the subtler gifts—light, air, quiet—and discover we are more content than we thought.” Anne Scottlin

I could see the dark clouds sitting over the Colorado Front Range so I decided to spend yesterday evening at Arapaho Bend Natural Area and realized I hadn’t been there for a while. There was also a desire to experience those clouds within a natural area rather than my condo. Nature can and does offer surprises when we least expect it so I go there. I did not find an any spectacular images when I returned home but what I really needed was the time there. I walked along the edge of Rigden Reservoir finding a rather uncomfortable rock to sit on and watch nature work it’s healing touch, whether I think I need it or not. Being next to the lapping waters edge drowned out the noises of the crowds. A stillness settled in. I found the rock was really not that uncomfortable, allowing me to enjoy the subtle gift of just being there.

That Slow Seduction

Just Being There