Weekly Photo Challenge: State of Mind

This morning I took a short walk to the grocery store. About three blocks from my house I came upon a scene that took me through several states of mind. Even though all of these photos were taken within a 20 foot segment of the block, my mood ranged from awe to despair.

Written for Weekly Photo Challenge: State of Mind

Wordless Wednesday

Signs of Spring

It is only February but there are still many signs that Spring is approaching.

My Early Morning Walk (February)

When I walked out my front door this morning, the first thing I saw was the garbage and left over food someone had thrown onto the street in front of my house. I picked up most of it before starting my morning walk. A few blocks from my house I saw more trash; this time it was four beer cans, a paper bag and other forms of litter. I decided to pick up at least some of it on my way back home.

I took a route that I had never taken before. I was startled when I walked by a house that had bamboo stalks bigger than any I had ever seen. In fact, they were much taller than the three story house. A fence hampered my ability to take good photographs, but these will at least give you an idea of what they looked like.

I continued walking for awhile and then headed back home. The garbage was still waiting for me.

As I got ready to pick it up, some very tiny flowers caught my eye. I decided to photograph those.

After gathering the trash, I continued on my way home. As I walked, I reflected on the litter, the bamboo and the flowers. I’ve continued to think about them throughout the day.

Several years ago, picking up litter was a major focus in my daily life but that has not been true for awhile. It is time for me to find my litter grabber and to once again support Mother Nature in that way.

The Wonders of Nature

I spent last weekend at Loon Lake in British Columbia attending a regional retreat for members of Amma’s Pacific Northwest satsangs. Those retreats are a time for devotees to meet together in-between Amma’s visits for the purpose of doing spiritual practices, attending classes and building our sense of community. We were blessed to have one of Amma’s swamis, Br. Dayamrita Chaitanya spend part of the weekend with us.

On Sunday morning, I participated in a nature walk led by one of the weekend participants. Jayanand worked as a botanist and ecologist for the National Park Service for 18 years. He knows so much about the environment and I learned a lot.

I am always fascinated by fallen and decaying trees. There was a big fire in the forest near Loon Lake in 1868 and you can still see remnants of that fire.

Jayanand gave us this information about downed trees:

Downed trees play an important role in maintaining the health and regeneration of forests. Not only do they provide nutrient pools for other plants during stand regeneration, they often even serve as “nurse logs” which support the germination and growth of other trees by providing substrate, moisture and nutrients to the seedlings and young saplings. They also can act as carbon sinks by locking up carbon in the forest floor – instead of being released into the atmosphere by burning. Decaying wood provides habitat for a variety of plants and animals, adding to the diversity of life found in forested areas. Finally, downed woody material can also help prevent runoff and soil erosion.

Here are some photos from our walk: