Thoughts on Nature

I have been listening to an audio book called The Invention of Nature by Andrea Wulf. It’s a biography of Alexander Von Humboldt. I was aware of a few place names in the US that were named for him, but I had no idea of his international fame when he was alive. He was born in 1769 and died in 1859. He was an unusual blend of scientist, explorer, artist and poet. His ideas were way ahead of his time and are still relative today. His writings inspired the likes of Charles Darwin, Henry David Thoreau, and John Muir just to name a few. 

I thought a lot about him as I wandered along Portal Creek this morning. I’ve always drawn much strength and peace from the natural world. I see the same sort of behavior in a deer following an ancient path through the woods as I do when I observe my own dog. I see similarities in the structures of a tiny moss and a giant tree. For this reason, I tread lightly as I wander in the woods, and I do not willingly end the life of any wild thing. I don’t pick flowers, roll rocks, squish spiders, or intentionally cause harm to anything in nature. 

There is a certain sentience that I feel about everything in nature, even non-living things. Everything in the natural world is connected. Microscopic organisms are just as important as a Douglas Fir Tree. Perhaps this is why I enjoy such a broad range of photography. I love tiny mushrooms as much as I love the entirety of the night sky. Today’s photos showcase images from a few hundred yards along the creek. From calming water, to glowing leaves and from tiny forests of moss to Cottonwood Trees in front of towering Firs. Enjoy these images and please do what you can to protect wild places as you begin to notice the interconnectedness of all things.