318: Back to the woods

I had a Sunday signage post all planned for today, but after taking my walk this morning I decided to take you back to the woods with me.  It’s so beautiful back there, especially now that the seasonal light is changing just a tad.

Today's view of the pond

It’s another warm and humid day, but not quite as warm (hot) as it has been.  We had some rain last night and that seems to have cooled things off slightly.  There is a nice breeze blowing, bringing hints of coolness.  The patch of blooming goldenrod must have been talking with the rest of the goldenrod in the meadows, telling them to keep up.  There are more and more patches of goldenrod flowers today than there were yesterday.

Great Blue Heron coming in for a landing

A Great Blue Heron, intent on catching something, didn’t seem to mind my company too much as long as I allowed him plenty of space and didn’t try to approach his side of the pond.

While I took my walk, M and his sister went for a bike ride.  M’s brother and sister-in-law, along with their dog Vuk, decided to try their hands (rods) at fishing.  Well, Vuk just went for the ride.  He may have gone for a swim as well.  I haven’t checked with them since I got back to the house.  They were still out there fishing when I returned.

As I entered the woods I noticed that the sunlight provided a sense of mystery and magic.  I put the camera on manual and had fun trying to capture the light and shadows.

The forest is not merely an expression or representation of sacredness, nor a place to invoke the sacred; the forest is sacredness itself.  Nature is not merely created by God, nature is God.  Whoever moves within the forest can partake directly of sacredness, experience sacredness with his entire body, breathe sacredness and contain it within himself, drink the sacred water as a living communion, bury his feet in sacredness, open his eyes and witness the burning beauty of sacredness.

~ Richard Nelson

The clearest way into the universe is through a forest wilderness.

~ John Muir

I set the white balance to open shade and experimented with aperture and shutter settings.  It was such a beautiful time to be in the woods that it was almost impossible to take a bad shot.

Trees are the earth’s endless effort to speak to the listening heaven.

~ Rabindranath Tagor

After a while I turned off the camera, leaned against one of the older and bigger trees, a tree that doesn’t seem to mind spending time with me, and enjoyed the gifts of light and shadow and the woods.

Thanks for joining me on my walk today.  I’ll be back tomorrow with some photos from the meadows where I also spent some time this morning.

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