I appreciate

Morning Mist - Forest- Dale Hollow Lake SRP

"Our real journey in life is interior."
Thomas Merton

"Contemplation is not and cannot be a function of the external self.
There is an irreducible opposition between the deep transcendent self that awakens
only in contemplation and the superficial, external self which we commonly identify with
the first person singular."
Thomas Merton

"If you want to identify me, ask me not where I live, or what
I like to eat, or how I comb my hair, but ask me what I am
living for, in detail ask me what I think is keeping me from living
fully for the thing I want to live for."
Thomas Merton

“It may be that when we no longer know what to do,
we have come to our real work
and when we no longer know which way to go,
we have begun our real journey.

The mind that is not baffled is not employed.
The impeded stream is the one that sings.”
― Wendell Berry

Now comes the opportunity. Walk. Practice sitting appreciation. Practice walking appreciation. Your breath fuels your heart.  Let your feet walk peacefully on the land.   Hear the notes in the trees. 

Precious land and waterside places

Stream - forest woods - Dale Hollow Lake SRP

The snow melt has fed water to the streams in Kentucky.  It is a time for  being at waterside places. Today is a day of reflection. We appreciate Thoreau, Merton, Berry and Muir. Merton and Berry lived and wrote in Kentucky; Berry continues to live and work in Kentucky.  Now comes the opportunity. Walk.  Your heart beats in resonance to the land.  Appreciate the water and the rocks here. Rocks were in these cliffs five hundred years ago and longer.

Down

Cherokee Park - Landsacpe plan by Olmsted - Louisville, KY

 

Sometimes we think that our life is rough and others are having a better experience. The life of Frederick Law Olmsted informs us of the reality of human experience. His adult brother died from an illness. His leg was broken in a carriage accident and two weeks after the incident his child died. He was replaced and forced out from his position managing Central Park in New York. One of his major designs was dismissed because the roads were curved instead of strait with corners at the intersections. Olmsted did not have an easy time in his day. There was conflict swirling about his plans for landscapes.

A puzzle

Snowy path - Iroquois Park

John Muir wrote of the outdoors and the land under the sky.  In his writing he said it is "familiar."  And it is familiar.  When we enter the outdoors we go into a big room that we find familiar.  Though there all sorts of creatures that we don't know about we sense the familiar in our journey into the outdoors.  The scents to come to us mostly appeal to us.  It is a puzzle how the outdoors is full of unknowns and is familiar.  And it is familiar.

What I saw - Animal tracks

Two sets of animal tracks Iroquois Park - Louisville, KY

The covering of snow brings a new beauty. 

It may be hard to get a sense of scale in the picture.  The larger set of tracks is not from a human; the tracks are still smaller than human tracks.

Some authors speak of the ten thousand year old forest at Iroquois park.  No matter the age its beauty transcends the descriptions.

On the banks of the Ohio

Wharf - Belle of Louisville - Louisville, KY as seen from Southern Indiana

The American Society of Landscape Architects awarded a design award to Waterfront Park in Louisville, KY in 2001. The site must withstand the frequent wave action due to the wake from barges passing on the Ohio River. The complete site is in the 100 year flood plain and has been inundated multiple times. After each inundation the park must be cleaned before it can be opened to the community. Turnaround after inundation has gone well. The site is a popular location.  It is now a signature part of the city.



A little music

Historic Church - Saint James Court Area - Louisville, KY

You won't find many media links at Watersideplaces.  Opening the link takes you to a brief  view of these amazing young musicians. 
Louisville Leopard Percussionists Promotional Video

The Louisville Leopard Percussionists are  wonderful musicians.  One may find an audio of 'Sing Sing Sing' on the homepage at louisvilleleopardpercussionists dot com.

There is only one Louisville Leopard Percussionists; and they play in Kentucky.