Wind
Blowing chimes
Hearing musical notes
Nature’s symphony plays again
Flawlessly
Forest
Autumn’s arrival
Colorful landscape beckons
Cascading leaves quickly flee
Transformation
Wintertime
Skiers delight
Let it snow!
Mountaintop covered powder white
Paradise
Early morning walk, going back in time
Autumn’s breath creates thoughts, filling with rhyme
Trekking along canal’s ancient pathway
Thoughts caress past moments, plenty to say
Gentle breeze, sending leaves twirling on down
Mind arrives at different time and town
Dreaming . . .
More simple times, without high tech living
Days invite, delightful and forgiving
Riding bareback along this old canal
Looking for trees to climb with school-age pals
Fishing one final time, nearby pond waits
When icy winter comes, change to ice skates
Creepy, storm-filled nights, reading classic prose
Edgar Allen Poe’s words, scary shadows
Looking for literature’s lighter themes
Whitman, Hawthorne, Melville adding to dreams
Quiet evenings filled with family time
Gathered around for radio’s primetime
Crisp, fall afternoon, gridiron titans clash
College football rivals looking to smash
Romance blossoms, courtship takes center stage
Life filling with sweetness, each turning page
Back to reality . . .
Journey runs into closed gate at Rager Road
Turning around, grateful for time borrowed
Looking forward to walking here real soon
Fondest memories, let them sing a tune
From the words of English novelist and poet, Mary Webb: “Nature’s music is never over; her silences are pauses, not conclusions.”
Creation’s wonders, lasting treasures
Beyond compare, by any measure
God’s unique Spirit molds, creates
Earth living as His domain, first-rate
Forests dazzle with matchless beauty
Witness to our Lord’s sacred duty
Animal species roam, some quite rare
Others appear to be everywhere
Distinctive flowers color the land
Their music soothes, like any jazz band
Unequaled majesty reaching high
Rugged mountains climbing to the sky
Creatures with their eccentric pursuits
Actions showing off, fun attributes
Man taking note of what God has done
High praises, He stands second to One
One and only one master designs
Each day, smiling at His nature shrines
From Genesis 1:29-30: “God said, ‘See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.’ And it was so.”
Deserted, severed tree trunk
Shattered by storms long ago
Splitting this giant in two
Forsaken now in its woes
Nature’s hand calling the shots
Drawing dark cards from the deck
Standing alone, slowest death
Trying to salvage this wreck
Deformed snag appears lifeless
Yet, God calls this wildlife tree
Standing proudly, still on watch
Nature’s snack bar waits for free
Living nearby, log still lives
Covered with lichens and moss
Home for God’s smallest creatures
Termites, beetles . . . march across
Jagged stump remains on guard
Below the ground, roots still thrive
Life holds on, another year
Perseverance to survive
Around the dark, scuttled tree
Racing to reach sunlight first
Young saplings growing skyward
Cycle of life, marked to burst
All of the photographs were taken at Chestnut Ridge Metro Park, which is located just outside of Canal Winchester, Ohio. I frequently walk this park during the fall, spring, and summer months with an occasional hike in the wintertime.
Geese flying overhead
Echoing in morning dawn—
Nature’s alarm clock
Summer afternoon
Sweetest nectar from milkweed—
Butterflies frolic
Walking the park trail
Sensing with each cautious step—
Who’s really watching?
Eagle’s invasion
Trespassing and threatening—
Tiny bird attacks
Dark clouds approaching
When thunderstorm moves away—
Tree limbs wave goodbye
Footprints on the beach
Nature brings its eraser—
Surf cleans them away
Sitting home, isolated and alone
Taking virtual trips, changes life’s tone
America’s landscapes invite us in
Scenic mountain vistas, adventures grin
Alaska Range, home to our northernmost peaks
Denali “the tall one” forever speaks
Cascade Range roams the Pacific Northwest
Snow-capped volcanoes offer stunning quests
Sierra Nevada’s enchanted land
Host national parks, majestic and grand
Rocky Mountains form this nation’s backbone
Stunning beauty, more precious than gemstones
Sawtooth Mountains salute from Idaho
Endless summits bring skiers to the snow
Bighorn Mountains, sacred to native ways
Montana-Wyoming border sings praise
Adirondack Mountains, New York’s playground
Winter skiing, fall foliage—best around
Great Smoky Mountains push for Tennessee
Fog-covered peaks, spellbinding all agree
Blue Ridge Mountains welcome us back home
Free-flowing Shenandoah smiles and roams
Wherever you live or where your travels take you, you may have a favorite mountain paradise. One of my precious favorites is the Beartooth Mountains in south-central Montana, a stone’s throw away from Yellowstone National Park.
You are invited to share one of your special places in the comments.
From a ridgetop garden
Nature’s treasure hides out
Offering its harvest
Flora lives all about
Flowers blooming early
Winter now disappears
Colorful bouquets reign
Sweetest fragrances cheer
Warming springtime sunshine
Changes the ground cover
New, tender shoots of grass
Young deer will discover
Trellis roof shelters grapes
Ripen in summer’s sun
Fill with juicy flavor
Birds enjoy tasty fun
Apple and black walnut trees
Shading nature’s grand shrine
Fruit dropping to the ground
Squirrels and deer will dine
Former home site lives on
Garden paradise waits
Coming alive each spring
Winking back at its mates
All of the photographs were taken during a couple of recent morning walk at Chestnut Ridge Metro Park, which is just minutes away from Canal Winchester, Ohio. The hilltop garden remains long after the house (built in the 1930s) was abandoned. I was blessed to spend several minutes photographing a very cooperative deer while I was quietly standing near a tree.
Rabbit
Sensing danger
Heart beating fast
Sitting quiet and still
Invisible
Morning
Glorious sunrise
Big Montana Sky
Prairies, mountains smile forever
Applause
Hiking
Park trail
With cautious steps
Who’s watching me now?
Greetings
Nature sending love
Despite social distancing—
Smelling sweet flowers
Deep in the forest
Harmony reigns over all—
Are we listening?
One, two, three, four, five
Their heads bobbing up and down—
Turkeys in tall grass
Big Sky Buckeye 