We all have a part to play

As I admire the beauty of the natural areas I keep seeing the impact humans are having on the world. The smoke stack looms high above the tree line. The black smoke rolls out and appears as a cloud ready to rain, but the puffs keep moving. And you can sure smell it. Getting stronger when the wind blows from the west, carrying it all over the city.

The houses along the lake remind me that people live here, in this wilderness, too. I come to see the natural wildlife that we are increasingly a part of, yet have less concern for than ever in history.

The rocks are cut to make way for humans. But did anyone ever stop to think about the home it took away from the animals?

And the trash. Its everywhere. Along the paths, under a tree, behind a rock. Everywhere I go there is always something that does not belong.

Each time I notice the human impact on the world I am reminded that I am a part of this too. And I have a part to play, for better or for worse. I know what Im going to do, do you?

What a Wonderful World

I see trees of green

Red roses too

Squirrel!!!! 

opps...

I see them bloom 

For me and you 

I think to myself "what a wonderful world"

*listening to What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong while editing these photos

Can you see the forest through the trees?

When you look at the natural world what do you see? Beauty. Design. Complexity. Wonder. Strength. Or maybe it is just a bunch of trees and open sky?

Are you able to see all that is before your eyes? Or are you limited by the noise of the world? Every day we have the opportunity to see the natural world as a reflection of something greater, if we choose to do so. 

Take a moment today to stop your busy life and find joy in the natural world around you. You will find greater appreciation for the world we have been placed on and call home. There is so much to learn about the natural world, if only we knew where to look. 

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know.   
His house is in the village though;   
He will not see me stopping here   
To watch his woods fill up with snow.   

My little horse must think it queer   
To stop without a farmhouse near   
Between the woods and frozen lake   
The darkest evening of the year.   

He gives his harness bells a shake   
To ask if there is some mistake.   
The only other sound’s the sweep   
Of easy wind and downy flake.   

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,   
But I have promises to keep,

   
And miles to go before I sleep,   

And miles to go before I sleep.

~Robert Frost