The Colors of 2016

                                   Happy New Year

                                        2016

                         Taken at the Denver Botanical Center

                                                         ~Dale Chuihuly 2014~

Fog and Frost

                   A morning of hoarfrost equates to entering an enchanted ice world of spectacular winter beauty.

Strange But True

   

      Every year around Advent Season I begin to long for Dietrich Bonhoeffer's inspiration. From his Letters from Cell 92, to the Biography Pastor, Martyr,Prophet, Spy, to the latest Biography by Charles Marsh, Strange Glory A Life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a biography which comes powerfully in a time when history is going similarly the way Germany did seventy years ago. Fear and persecutions dominate the minds of many Americans. Marsh's book is a compelling and captivating read. It shows the commitment that Bonhoeffer had for scripture, his passion for truth that eventually lead to his capture and death by the Third Reich. His beliefs and his battle to help save the Jews were the ultimate discipleship and sacrifice of his life to oppose evil. I highly recommend Marsh's book if your looking for a read that shows what it means to be a true follower and disciple of the Christian faith. Marsh is a professor of religious studies, and director of the Project Lived Theology. Both he and Bonhoeffer offer much in this increasingly godless world.
         

Simplicity

                                                   Simplicity is the glory of expression

          

                                                                    ~Walt Whitman~

Finer Things in LIfe

        The above quote reminds me of a book I finished called Jesus Bread and Chocolate. It was a book sent to me for review from the author/publisher of Speakeasy review network. John Thomson, the author, reveals the above philosophy through his writing about his personal life, as well as, finding, appreciating, and questing for artisanship instead of mass-market production.  He connects the relationship of fine hand crafted  processes of  making bread, coffee, chocolate,  wine/beer  to our journey of faith. What a great way to think of the many  gifts God has given and how they can be crafted into beautiful long lasting ways of living. It is a metaphor for our faith and what we choose or want. Is it a faith full of artifical man-made preservatives? Or do we choose to taste and seek the sometimes difficult walk that is purely authentic and real in crafting a life of substance? God invites us to participate with him in the creative way of living and loving the pure and simple. Thompson skillfully makes you stop and appreciate that we don't have to settle for mass markets, and we can enjoy and love the beauty of craftsmanship and realize how blessed we are.
,

Nondual

We humans are so drawn to the light

and all to quick to run from the fading.

How many dawns must we admire

before we understand that we need both?

 

 

 

 

                   

 

The Beauty of Green

                                  Beauty is everywhere and in every thing.

Fading Light

Naturally Framed

  I love the composition of this photograph. It was taken at the Ding's cabin just outside Estes Park, Colorado this cabin is well over one-hundred years old.  The property is bordered by an old log rail fence. It is amazing to see this property covered in wild flowers. This year the flowers were prolific due to excessive moisture.  I am often drawn to quiet thoughts of quiet beauty. The flowers here are a sampling of the beauty that I find in or near my little corner of the world. Accompanied by these moving words of some who have found inspiration in the natural world.

          "Flowers seem intended for the solace of ordinary humanity."

                                                  ~John Ruskin~

9/11

     Four years ago I was able to view this cross at the Chapel of St. Paul directly across the street from what was the Twin Towers. It was brought to the church for safe keeping while demolition was being done. St. Paul had  been converted into a staging area for relief workers. The cross was standing in the middle of the church and was the first sight upon entering. It has been fourteen years since the horrible events of 9/11.  This iconic picture was viewed in newspapers around the world. Bells will toll and tears will flow as the nation marks a dark day in sorrowful yet hopeful ceremonies
(Picture Associated Press)

If I were a Flower

If I were a flower.. I would be a sunflower.
To always follow the sun, Turn my back to the darkness and

stand tall and proud.

Farm to Table

 I recently visited the Three Leaf Farm located in Lafayette Colorado. This farm represents a commitment to fresh, local produce including seasonal vegetables, herbs, eggs, and flowers. Tucked along the banks of the Coal Creek River with majestic views of the Continental Divide, this little urban farm is a pastoral oasis which is the home to goats, chickens, and horses, as well as the seasonal produce. It is amazing to me that forty percent of what is grown on this three acre farm supports seven restaurants in the Boulder area. Family farm dinners are offered four times a year, as well as, many interesting workshops  showing how to use fresh organic produce to enhance our daily lives. 

 

         

Butterfly Beauty

  Some call it "minimalism" but you could call it the "uncluttered image".  Looking for the least to say the most is another way to declutter your photographic thinking. Living, and photographing, in a "minimal" way isn't about about doing without, it is about doing within.  We have everything we need already inside us...all the rest is just accoutrement.  When you start tripping over them, it is time to let them go. Learning to say the least is the art of wisdom,

Positive and the Negative

Perspective

The cross makes everything possible.

Eye of the Beholder

"Children are the living messages we send in a time we will not see."
~J.W. Whitehead~

 

 

 

 

 

Elusive

 
                  I finally got a good pic of this elusive Stellar Jay. He hangs around the house and I feed him peanuts. I hope to catch more pic's of him if only he would cooperate.

taste...
the sweet inward stillness
of the wait itself.

The Beauty Within

 

            What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters    compared to what lies within us.

Finding Good Things

The more we practice dancing into silence,

                            The more gracefully we'll move through life,

                           And the more we'll trust that all is well;

                          That on this infinite stage our tiny role

                         Contributes exactly what's required

  For all good things to come into completion.

 

Clark's Nutcracker

            The Clark's Nutcracker is one of many birds that frequent my bird feeder here in Colorado. I find serenity in watching the different species of birds that make the mountain terrain and the many conifers their home. I'm looking forward to posting more photos of the birds that come to the feeder.

Connection

Endlessly, from dawn until long after day has closed

its sleepy eyes, the tiny house wren voices

his aching song, an energetic warble filled with passion,

calling, calling, calling, stopping the persistent message

only briefly in order to carry thin twigs

with unmitigated resolve, creating the nesting place

for his anticipated love.

 

What, or who, I ask myself every day, stirs so endlessly

within me that I am equally passionate and devoted?

Have I ever been that zealous, that focused, that intent

on the Eternal Love of my deepest being, so much so

that each syllable birthed from my soul goes forward

as a fervent cry of endless affection to the One I desire?

 

On and on the wren's unceasing supplication enters

each opened window of my home and heart.

On and on the question of 'who or what" lingers

within each heartbeat of the day, like the dedicated song of this plain brown bird, waiting faithfully 

to be acknowledged                     ~Joyce Rupp~

 From morning until dusk, this little wren sings all day long near her nest. The poem above by Joyce Rupp reminds me so eloquently the devotion, focus, and passion that praying unceasingly would take. I love the question she poses. As I hear this bird sing I too wish for the ever longing connection like the wren that fills the air with the endless song of affection and devotion for the One that holds everything in complete and endless love.

 

Lucky Find

“Anything looked at closely 
becomes wonderful.”
A. R. Ammons

The Bough and the Bird

                        If  I keep a green bough in my heart, a singing bird will
                               come.

Love of Spring

 

 

It's spring,

and everywhere we look 

we see signs of love...

Circle of Time

   Suppose that time would be a circle, bending back on itself.  And everything beautiful and precious would repeat itself, precisely, endlessly.  It would be again that same glimpse and same moment of beautiful discovery. How wonderful that discovery is no matter how many times the circle bends back on itself. With each season, each moment in time the hope and sense of anticipation looms ever so brightly.

Easter 2015

 

 

Happy Easter 2015



Birds I feed

And here's my wish for you today:

that you will look, and watch, and watching, see

the simple pleasures that await

when we take time to look, and watch, and see.

Soon It Will Begin

    

         Spring will soon be here! The beginning of all that is new. And the sweet sound of birds to sing for us too!

Just Being

I think of how comfortable it is to slow down in winter, to concentrate on the infinite pleasures of just being in the world — not doing, not resolving, not producing, not winning, not succeeding — just being.

Winter's Cycle

A day of ebb and flow

melting and freezing a continuous cycle.

It could be when the sun shines brightly -

when water reflects sun.

The Blessing of Welcome

Such a blessing -- every morning,

                          some new combination of shapes and colors

                                    to welcome us into the new day.

Tis a Gift to be Simple

          

We get caught up in the drama of our lives

                      and forget, sometimes, how small a speck we are

against the vast expanse of interstellar space,

and even more, forget how precious 

every other speck might also be...

First Birds of the Day