The Summer Day

Watkins Glen NY

I’ve been reflecting recently on how vital time in nature is to me.  Imperative, really.  I’m not sure everyone feels this way, but for me it’s not negotiable. Too much sitting still indoors and I go progressively nuts.

Kirkland, AZ

Around the same time, in one of those magical instances of synchronicity, I watched the new documentary on the poet Mary Oliver.  It's called Saved by the Beauty of the World. Synchronicity indeed.  She wrote on this topic a lot, and here’s my favorite:

The Summer Day ~ Mary Oliver

Who made the world? 
Who made the swan, and the black bear? 
Who made the grasshopper? 
This grasshopper, I mean— 
the one who has flung herself out of the grass, 
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand, 
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down— 
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes. 
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face. 
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away. 
I don’t know exactly what a prayer is. 
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down 
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass, 
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields, 
which is what I have been doing all day. 
Tell me, what else should I have done? 
Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon? 
Tell me, what is it you plan to do 
with your one wild and precious life?

Kaibab National Forest, AZ

There are a number of scientific studies which reveal  many aspects of the healing power of nature, including

o   Boosted immune function

o   Improved blood pressure, heart rate, and cholesterol

o   Respiratory benefits of cleaner air

o   Stress reduction and mood improvement

o   Improvement in attention and focus

o   Improved sleep from strengthened circadian rhythms

o   Indirect benefits from more physical activity

So, yes, we all benefit and feel better.

Mojave National Preserve, CA

The Japanese introduced the related concept of Shinrin Yoku, loosely translated a Forest Bathing. It encourages walking in nature while engaging all the senses, though I suspect that forest bathers rarely use the sense of taste. You never know. There’s an added emphasis on mindfulness as well.

Coconino National Forest, AZ

I often do this on what I call Photo walks with a camera, which for me at least creates a more mindful state. Wherever I’ve camped for the night, I get connected this way.

Gold Butte National Monument, NV

I hope I’ve inspired you to get out there, and if not perhaps the images have some benefit. They're favorites, pulled from the archives

Morning Walk (or, Paying Attention)

Elegant Frost

A friend reminded me of this one recently, and it has been following me around ever since:

“You can observe a lot just by watching.” ~Yogi Berra

Then, while reading, I stumbled across this gem:

“I was starting to behave as if the present were only a preparation for the future.” ~Barry Lopez

Gypsy the Wonder Dog

I practice a small, informal version of this idea close to home: on my morning walks, I try to stay open to whatever scenes might be waiting for me. I have an energetic dog, so we cover a lot of ground, EVERY day. By now, I think she understands my stops to take photographs as equivalent to her stops to sniff. We are both gathering information; I’m simply more visual about it.

Winter frosting

That practice changes an ordinary walk. A slant of morning light, a shadow on a wall, the geometry of branches, or a scrap of color at the edge of the road can become the whole event. The photograph may or may not amount to much, but the act of seeing already has. It brings me fully into the place where I am.

“Tell me what you pay attention to, and I’ll tell you who you are.” ~José Ortega y Gasset

Backlight

This subject has fascinated me for as long as I can remember focus, mindfulness, attention. I’m always working on noticing what is around me, and still, I’m sure I miss a great deal. That’s part of the appeal. Attention is not a skill we finish learning; it is a lifelong practice in curiosity and humility. I’m urged on—and humbled—by these familiar words:

“If you want to make more interesting pictures, become a more interesting person.” ~Jay Maisel

After the Yarnell Hill Fire. I thought this was beautiful, but one touch and it crumbled

There is a fascinating corollary to all of this. Especially in the age of smartphones, we have developed very little tolerance for boredom. The moment a line moves slowly, a conversation pauses, or we find ourselves with a few unclaimed minutes, we reach for a screen. We fill the empty space before it has a chance to reveal anything.

Stunning Blue

Yet many thinkers on creativity argue that if we stay with tedium a little longer, the mind begins to wander in useful ways. Associations surface. Questions sharpen. What first felt empty becomes spacious. Boredom, approached with attention instead of escape, can be less a dead end than a doorway.

“When you pay attention to boredom, it gets unbelievably interesting.”  ~Jon Kabat-Zinn

Sister Rose, a plywood turkey vulture (Yarnell's mascots)

These ideas can feel intimidating to me when I turn them into lofty goals: be mindful, be creative, become more interesting. It helps to make the assignment smaller. I can begin with one thing—the quality of light, an unfamiliar sound, the way my dog pauses at a particular patch of ground.

My favorite Yarnell Tree

“I’m pretty much done with mindfulness.  I’m just going to start paying attention.” ~Gina Barreca

Sego Lily

Maybe that is the real lesson running through all these quotations: attention does not require a grand philosophy or a perfectly disciplined mind. It requires a willingness to pause, look again, and let the present be more than a waiting room for whatever comes next.

“To pay attention, this is our endless and proper work.” ~Mary Oliver

Backyard hummer nest

Thanks for playing along with my musings today. I hope you notice something on your next walk that you might have missed. See you out there.

LOST
Stand still. The trees ahead and bushes beside you Are not lost. Wherever you are is called Here, and you must treat it as a powerful stranger, must ask permission to know it and be known.
The forest breathes. Listen. It answers, I have made this place around you.
If you leave it, you may come back again, saying Here.
No two trees are the same to Raven.
No two branches are the same to Wren.
If what a tree or a bush does is lost on you, you are surely lost. Stand still. The forest knows Where you are. You must let it find you.
-David Wagoner

Camp is Very Entertaining…

Crepuscular Sunrise on Willow Springs Reservoir, Sitgreaves National Forest AZ

…And they say we’ll have some fun if it stops raining.  Some of you might remember Alan Sherman’s song, Camp Granada.

 

Flower after the rain, Apache National Forest AZ

Around here we’re grateful for every drop of rain, and during our week in Arizona’s White Mountains, we got plenty.  It was green and there were flowers everywhere.  It’s even a bit of a gift to have an excuse to lie low in the van during the afternoons when the thunderstorms, predictably, arrive. I’m all for reading and napping, gin rummy and photo processing on the road. Gypsy the wonder dog is frightened of thunder, though, and that takes some of the fun out of storms.

East Fork Black River, Apache National Forest AZ

We took pains to do our exploring in the morning and, if the storms cleared, at last light.  I’m a sunrise person so this is no hardship.  There wasn’t a lot of sunlight early and late, and so I ended up making quiet images in subdued light most of the time.

 

Sneezeweed in bloom along a tributary of the Black River, Apache National Forest AZ

I’m sure I’ve said this before, but traveling with a fly angler has some perks.  I’m especially excited to share some campsites near rivers and creeks with him.  They’re photogenic and good for the soul.

 

Ponderosas reflected in the West Fork of the Black River, Apache National Forest AZ

Morning light in canyons can be tricky as it tends to arrive long after sunrise when it looks harsh.  One of my favorite tricks is to time images when the river is in shadow, reflecting something lighted on the canyon wall behind it.  This works great with the grand and colorful rock walls in the southwest, as well as things like the stand of conifers in this image.

 

Morning light, Apache National Forest AZ

Very early light can be breathtaking, especially when there’s moisture or particulates which makes it dreamy. 

Amanita Mushroom detail from morning walkabout, Sitgreaves National Forest AZ

I’ll say that my morning walkabouts, generally done alone or with Dogface, are the best part of these road trips.  They’re a meditation, mostly about mindfulness and connection, practicing my version of Shinrin-yoku, or "forest bathing," I have a blessed re-connection with nature through the senses.  I think Gypsy does that every day – yet another thing I can learn from her.

Top-down drone view with flowers, East Fork Black River, Apache National Forest AZ

I’ve had trouble finding my mojo these last few months for several reasons, but after this nice, quiet week, I think it’s back. 

Bring on the rain.

There’s more in the Summer 2026 Gallery on the website.