• natural areas,  Pineridge Natural Area,  trees,  winter scenes

    Where’s Spring

    April 18, 2024

    Good morning from Colorful Colorado. Well, this morning it looks more like a black and white world. What a difference twelve hours can make. Yesterday we had rain showers moving through the area in the afternoon, giving us a feeling of spring. So waking up this morning to see snow was a surprise. I had about an inch on my car this morning. My weather app predicts a 70% chance of snow but I know damn good and well that’s snow, not rain. The above image is another photograph of the cottonwood on Stewart Street. I have a series of this tree taken during all different seasons and time of day. And the weather app says we have two more days of this.

    This is a view of Dixon Reservoir. One trait of the spring snows is the ability to cling to leaves and branches. You can see in both images how the snow clings to the trees. I must admit that these wet spring snows can be absolutely beautiful! I learned a long time ago to not put my winter coat away until at least July. The snow did not stop the joggers and runners out there on the trails. In the top image you can see someone walking their dog. Brave souls!

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  • clouds,  landscape,  mountains,  natural areas,  quotes,  Reservoir Ridge Natural Area

    Our Love for the World

    April 5, 2024

    “If we can be fearless, and be with our pain, it turns. It doesn’t stay static. It only doesn’t change if we refuse to look at it. When we look at it, when we take it in our hands, when we can just be with it and keep breathing, then it turns. It turns to reveal its other face. And the other face of our pain for the world is our love for the world, our absolutely inseparable connectedness with all life.”

    Joanna Macy

    The morning I took this image the weather app said +19 degrees but my aging body felt like it was more like -19 degrees!! The number is insignificant as it was bitter cold for me on this March morning. The cold is more painful than in years past. However those blue skies, low lying clouds and sunshine called me to be fearless and venture out to Reservoir RIdge Natural Area. The experience was exhilarating both physically and spiritually. Yes, I do have a love for this world! More rain/snow possible in the morning with very high wind gusts of 80 mph. Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

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  • clouds,  landscape,  natural areas,  Pineridge Natural Area,  winter scenes

    Give Your Light to Others

    March 28, 2024
    Raven’s gift of the sun over Dixon Reservoir

    I read a Native American creation story in a book called “Ladder to the Light” by Steven Charleston. Curiosity caused me to do some research about this story, discovering several versions. One enjoyable version can be read here by Pamela Morris. Her story is longer, includes the creation of the stars, moon, rain and a bit of romance. She created her version from a combination of many other Native American creation stories. Charleston’s version has a strong ethical theme and is shorter so I am sharing it with you. Pamela’s story is worth the read.

    Long ago Raven found the light: the sun hanging like a shiny mirror in the midst of an empty sky. Raven liked shiny things. He could have kept the sun for himself, but he decided to give it to the people. He brought the sun, placed it in the nest in the sky, and let its rays bring life to the dark world below. Raven gave away his most prized possession. We are not what we have; we are what we give. Sharing is the measure of our faith, the simple test of how well we have learned the way of the spirit – not to have more for the few; but enough for the many. When you see the sun rise, remember Raven and give your light to others.

    Steven Charleston
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  • quotes,  trees,  winter scenes

    Winter Wonderland

    March 15, 2024

    You were born to occupy a particular place within the community that ecophilosopher David Abram calls the more-than-human world. You have a unique ecological role, the way you are meant to serve and nurture the web of life, directly or through your role in society. At the level of soul, you have a specific way of belonging to the biosphere, as unique as any maple, moose, or mountain.

    Bill Plotkin

    I awoke to a beautiful winter wonderland this morning. More snow than I expected. I would guess 7-9 inches at my place but I know the mountains and down south received much more. After cleaning the car I headed to a coffee shop for a latte with some journaling time. I took the long way home so I could search out this winter wonderland, finding photo opportunities almost everywhere I turned. I felt that giddy feeling inside my soul! Scenes in nature do that to me. This scene is a row of trees along Overland Trail. I did not see that many tree branches damaged as it is a very wet and heavy snowfall. Weather app says we’ll see sun this afternoon so this will melt quickly and soak into the parched soil. It’s about 10:30 am and I think I have done well occupying my particular places this morning. Enjoy your Friday!!

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

    We Are Enough!

    March 9, 2024
    Cold February Sunrise

    There’s so much more to who you are than you know right now. You are, indeed, something mysterious and someone magnificent. You hold within you — secreted for safekeeping in your heart — a great gift for this world. Although you might sometimes feel like a cog in a huge machine, that you don’t really matter in the great scheme of things, the truth is that you are fully eligible for a meaningful life, a mystical life, a life of the greatest fulfillment and service.

    Bill Plotkin

    I’m posting this quote by Bill Plotkin because I also believe we are more than we know or think we know. It raises a couple questions for me, “What would the world look like if I believed that I am something mysterious, someone magnificent, a unique gift of creation?” And also, “What would the world look like if we all saw ourselves that way?” What if these words are considered inclusive, shared equally by us all, and that no one is seen as better than or less than anyone else? Then maybe who and what we may think of ourselves, of others, of creation, the cosmos and beyond, will allow us to live a meaningful, mystical life. We are enough!

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

    Resting in Solitude…

    February 19, 2024

    Resting in solitude, I could sit in the silence of my own being and drink deeply from the well spring of divine love that sustained me.

    Ilia Delio

    Nothing like sitting in silence while taking in a beautiful predawn sky over Dixon Reservoir. Well, to be honest with you, I was not resting in solitude so much as freezing my buns off! I took this image last week.

    I spent part of yesterday afternoon sitting along Strauss Cabin Road, watching a bald eagle and journaling. There is power in being with others, getting outside of myself, while there is also power in solitude, being with myself. I pray for the balance! 🙏 Have a wonderful Monday.

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  • Plants,  shadows,  snow,  trees,  winter scenes

    The Oval’s Shadows

    February 18, 2024
    Shadows at the CSU Oval

    A bit warmer this morning at 14 degrees but still cold enough. Blue skies and sunshine predicted for today and maybe 43 degrees. Made my way to Mugs for an Old Town Moch made by the lovely Emma. Always a good start to my day. As I left the coffee shop I noticed the shadows stretching across the CSU Oval and felt compelled to pull into the parking area for a quick photo. The trees encircling the Oval and lining the inner sidewalks are all American elms. Many of the trees date from the 1880s and 1920s. There are 99 elms circling the Oval and lining its walkways. Some of the trees are 80 to 90 feet high, with roots that are one-and-a-half times their height. Many of the large elm trees that circle Oval Drive were planted in 1922, as 1-inch saplings, and until 1924, the center Oval was an alfalfa and grain field. In 1925, a grass lawn was planted. It was interesting to research the history of the trees and the oval this morning. I now have a bit more connection to them and those early morning shadows they offer. Have a wonderful Sunday!

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  • poems,  poetry,  seasons,  shadows,  snow,  winter scenes

    The Source Within

    February 13, 2024

    Everything you see has its roots
    In the unseen world.
    The forms may change
    Yet the essence remains the same.
    Every wondrous site will vanish,
    Every sweet word will fade,
    But do not be disheartened,
    The Source they come from is Eternal,
    Growing, branching out,
    Giving new life and new joy.
    Why do you weep?
    That source is within you
    And this whole world
    Is springing up from it.

    Rumi
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