Spring Lake, New Jersey is a mere two hours by train from New York City. Yet, no matter how many times I visit in the off-season and no matter the weather, I always notice something new in the nature-scape that calms the soul.
Showing posts with label trees. Show all posts
Showing posts with label trees. Show all posts
Sunday, March 19, 2023
Off-Season Travels in Spring Lake, New Jersey
Saturday, February 27, 2021
An Abundance of Nature in Ridgefield, Connecticut
I’ve continued my explorations in Ridgefield, Connecticut, revisiting some sights and learning more about the landscape.
In Connecticut, the short, mostly suburban Ridgefield Rail-Trail takes on a sylvan vibe along the section where it intersects two trailheads that veer into dense nature preserves.
I hiked in a still woodland dense with mountain laurel, red maple and hickory, occasionally passing a running brook and boulders left from the last Ice Age. Impressionist painter J Alden Weir once owned and farmed this Connecticut property (Weir Preserve-Weir Farm Art Center) that’s traced by stone walls and has long inspired artists.
One of many old barns and other original structures sitting among the boulders and fields at the Weir Farm National Historic Site. This stunning landscape, where Impressionist painter J. Alden Weir lived, has an active artist-in-residence program
Sunday, September 27, 2020
Travel Photography - Pastoral + Mountainous Landscapes
Whether I travel to far-afield locales or domestically, I often gravitate to non-urban environs. These are a few of my photographs that focus on some of my favorite subjects: sky, mountains and trees.
I derive a sense of comfort from nature.
Trees dominate my thoughts.
Saturday, June 27, 2020
Watercolors Part 3 - Landscapes
Until it’s safe to travel widely, I’m spending time painting. This is part 3 of my landscape watercolor series based on my domestic and international travels. Each image reflects a scene inspired by one or more of my journeys. (All of my paintings are available as prints.)
Sometimes forests have colors that only I can see.
For me, the sky and sea are one.
Even though the only forests I see now are in my dreams, they still snuggle me with comfort.
In my dreams, the colors of the sky, clouds, and trees can be unusual but no less beautiful and inspiring.
Sometimes forests have colors that only I can see.
For me, the sky and sea are one.
Even though the only forests I see now are in my dreams, they still snuggle me with comfort.
In my dreams, the colors of the sky, clouds, and trees can be unusual but no less beautiful and inspiring.
Entering each and every forest is a magical and transformative experience for me.
Sunday, May 13, 2018
Book Review: Inspired by Nature
As I travel the world, from bustling urban centers to placid rural expanses, I seek intimate connections with nature. In fact, seeing a tree is like meeting a new friend with a distinctive personality and one that I cherish. Allowing myself to become enwrapped with flora is always rejuvenating experience. So I delighted in receiving a slim tome entitled The Nature Lover’s Quotation Book: An Inspired Collection for Hiking, Camping and the Great Outdoors by Hatherleigh.
This book, divided into five sections, brims with inspiring quotes and observations engendered by strolling through or sitting quietly in fields, woodlands, and other natural landscapes. The author collected a variety of poems and prose written by scientists, philosophers, naturalists, artists and others who embraced everything from the magic of a mist-coated pine forest to the beauty of a mountain summit at dusk.
Below are some of my favorite quotes, one from each of the five sections:
Quieting the Mind
“Today I have grown taller from walking with the trees.” Karle Wilson Baker
Nature’s Beauty and Bounty
“Art is a harmony parallel with nature.” Paul Cezanne
Spirit of Adventure
“May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds.” Edward Abbey
Putting Things in Perspective
“A blade of grass is always a blade of grass, whether in one country or another.” Samuel Johnson
Nature’s Power and Longevity
“Between every two pines is a doorway to a new world.” John Muir
Next time you prepare for a foray into the great outdoors, whether for a short jaunt or a multi-day trek, slip this wee book into your backpack. It’s sure to help you treasure nature even more than you do now.
Sunday, July 2, 2017
Madagascar In Pictures
I spent two weeks bicycling in Madagascar, one of the poorest countries in the world. But one full of beauty, whether it's the local children in the tiniest of villages, or the lemurs springing from one tree to the next, or the expansive savannas where, as far as I could see, there was nothing but sky, clouds and tall grasses, or the lush rainforest that the locals call the dark forest where an array of chameleons can be spied at night, or the curiously hued rock formations surrounding steaming geysers. This YouTube video slideshow provides a window into my journey.
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