Fragmented Solitude. Chasing the Sun in Shadow

Generally, life is good.

Along the Wasatch. Light Always Finds Its Way

A tree reaches into the quiet sky.  Nothing spectacular—only a quiet moment that asked to be noticed.

Generally, life is good.

Fragmented Solitude - VI. A Small Light

Two fragile daisies in the Wasatch mountains forest.

***

I didn't realize it at first, but later I saw this image as wabi-sabi. In the bent stems, imperfect flowers, and delicate solitude, there is a quiet, fragile beauty.

 

Notes to Self. Along the Wasatch

I recently discovered the work of American photographer Robert Adams and ordered his book Gone?. 

When I first opened  the book I was caught off guard—the images felt raw, muddy and ordinary. But looking at them more intently, I sensed something very close and familiar—as if the photographer had seen something I had walked right past.

What struck me most about Robert Adams's work is there is an undeniable honesty and a quiet, unexpected poetry hidden in the ordinary things.

***

This morning I took my camera and headed into the Wasatch Mountains. 

I’m not sure what led me to this new corner, but I was struck by how different it felt. It was a quiet space that asked nothing more than to be honest and simply observant. 

Generally, life is good.

Small Worlds - III. Whispers in Pink and Gold

Wild geranium and Goldenrod.

 

Small Worlds - I. Quiet Bloom in the Wasatch

 

A four-nerve daisy.

Small Worlds

Woodland Phlox.

***

In the chill of mountain dawn, these tiny flowers wait for the first touch of sunlight and than they open—small, quiet, and beautiful.

Generally, life is good.

Soft Awakening

 

Unlike us, ladybugs can't generate their own body heat. When you see them sitting still like this in the morning, they are often basking. 

They orient themselves to catch the maximum amount of sunlight, essentially using their body as tiny solar panels to get their muscles warm enough to fly.

Generally, life is good.

Hidden Beauty in the Wasatch Mountains

You have to slow down to see this delicate White clover—but it’s worth every second.

Generally, life is good.

In the Wasatch Mountains. Whispers of Spring

 

Myrtle spurge or donkey tail spurge.

***

Today following a familiar trail in the Wasatch Mountains, I stumbled upon clusters of delicate wildflowers unlike any I had ever seen.  They gathered together in quiet abundance, subtle yet striking, the awakening beauty in the most unexpected way.

Thankfully, I didn’t touch these flowers.  Later, I learned that they can irritate the skin or cause eye injury if touched and then rubbed.  

A reminder: always be careful with unfamiliar flowers.

Generally, life is good.

Lichens in Bloom

Bright specks scattered across the slender tree like tiny fires of orange and gold. Life has a way of flourishing in the most hidden places.

Generally, life is good.

In the Wasatch Mountains. Autumn

 

In early autumn, while the roads still allow access to the mountains, I always return to this place where tall, slender trees reach toward the sky, and a small house seems lost in the forest, its path hidden from view.

Generally, life is good.

Fragile Beauty

 

These mountain flowers always appear out of nowhere, as if asking you to notice and appreciate their fragile beauty.

Generally, life is good.

In the Wasatch Mountains

 

 Dancing in the wind without music.

Generally, life is good.

Yesterday

Yesterday in the mountains, dragonflies treated me like a paparazzo—one move and they were gone.  The bees were clearly on a tight pollen-collecting schedule. 

The only one who didn’t care was the tiny grasshopper, who seemed to say, Go ahead, take your shots—I’m not doing anything interesting anyway.

Generally, life is good.

A Damselfly

Damselfly is almost invisible, small and transparent. It circles above the grass, choose the highest stem and freeze on it.

Generally, life is good.

Notes to Self. Fly Dragonfly, Fly...

 

Inspiration is capricious and fleeting. At times, it graces you with its presence, and suddenly you see an ordinary moment in an extraordinary way. You intuitively understand: this moment is yours. It is rich with meaning, holding within it the very essence of life and all its intricacies.

And as you sink into this moment, surprise arises—how had you not noticed before the curved, fragile blade of grass, the humble wild bellflower, the tiny grasshopper poised motionless on a long stem?

In that surprise, inspiration awakens. It gives you wings to soar into another universe—one that belongs only to you. And you believe that your camera will not fail you, that it will truly see what you have imagined.

Generally, life is good.

Peekaboo Little Green

 

Just a little Common Green grasshopper, contemplating all the jumps he's about to take.

Generally, life is good.

In the Last Rays of Sun

 

 

Generally, life is good.

Golden Stars of Snowbasin

 

Arrowleaf balsamroot.

These flowers grow in abundance in Snowbasin and illuminate the Wasatch mountains with a soft golden light.

Generally, life is good.