Archive for the ‘Hiking’ Tag
Golden Columbine On Mt. Lemmon — Image by kenne
We drive the twisting
Catalina Highway
leaving the desert
for alpine forests
on Mt. Lemmon —
one hour away.
Today I guide hikers
on the Aspen Draw
trail among the tall trees
next to the steep slopes
of Mt. Lemmon Ski Valley —
north America’s southernmost.
Wildflowers of the Sky Islands
are in full bloom celebrating
the summer monsoon rains
below the towering conifers —
temperate species of
Apache pine and Chihuahuan pine.
Recent heavy rains
have eroded the trail
exposing trees roots
not always easy to see
in shadows on the trail —
I reminded the hikers.
Moving with more speed
on the downhill return
careful of foot but
not careful enough
as I tripped over a root
now shouldering the pain.
— kenne
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Mt. Lemmon Mushrooms — Image by kenne
Mount Lemmon Mushrooms
Appear from out of nowhere
Pushing aside leaves —
Sometimes on decaying logs
Sometimes on the sides of trees.
— kenne
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Image by kenne
home is where I am
home is not where I am
always in between
I am an island of consciousness
I have a cosmic consciousness
always in between
life is now
death is now
always in between
existence is being
existence is becoming
always in between
I am free
I am in prison
always in between
everything is implicit
everything is explicit
always in between
nature is an artifact
nature is art
always in between
nature must be trusted
nature must be mastered
always in between
humans are good
humans are bad
always in between
a sense of law
a sense of equity
always in between
there is a natural order
there is no order in nature
always in between
life has purpose
life is purposeless
always in between
— kenne
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Indian Paintbrush Computer Art by kenne
Mountain Wildflowers
Spring on the mountains
Without rain only a few
Scattered here and there.
— kenne
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Hiking the trail near the old ski run on Mt. Lemmon is a short hike with a good elevation change for the first hike of the Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists summer schedule on Mt. Lemmon. With temperatures now going over 100 degrees down in the valley, temperatures in the 60’s make for great summer hiking conditions.
The nice mountain weather conditions not only attract hikers but campers. The trail led us across campers with an open fire. Currently, the dry conditions in the Catalinas have caused the Forest Service to place Stage 1 restrictions on having wood burning campfires. We made sure the campers understood the restrictions, helped them cover the fire and called in the sighting.
Images by kenne
We continued on back down the trail to the trailhead led by naturalist Ricki Mensching.
Next week’s hike will be on the Box Camp Trail. We will be hiking to a rocky overlook providing a view into the upper Sabino Canyon and will be led by naturalist Tim Ralph.
— kenne
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Somewhere in the Santa Catalina Mountains Continuing the Process of Becoming
I may not know where the trail leads,
which is what inspires me to take it.
Knowing and Not-Knowing
We are all concerned with our competence and the competence of others. Most people are interested in being more competent and surrounding themselves with competent people. The key to our level of competence is our level of knowledge.
In Zen practice, knowledge involves the interplay between knowing and not-knowing. It is important, however, not to conclude that not-knowing means you don’t know. Not-knowing means not being limited to what you know.
Maybe things are this way, but maybe they are not. (Philosophically, it can be important to help people realize what they do not know, is a necessary part of knowledge. But such a paradoxical thought, from a learning and teaching point of view, is confronted with the inarticulate expertise of not knowing that you know is a dead end. Thus, we are left with the only position for developing competence being that of knowing what you know.)
Accessing information can help us in cultivating our interplay between knowing and not-knowing. As an information seeker and frequent Internet search person, I know we can find information on all things thinkable. Today we have access to more information than ever before, but not all information is reliable.
In an earlier blog entry, I shared some thoughts on “Teaching in the Age of Google.” If you have a question; want to know how to do something; want to learn how something works; research a topic, well, just “Google It!” But, how do we determine who are the reliable authorities?
kenne
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Marine Blue Butterfly On Buckbush Blossoms
Marine Blue Butterfly On Buckbush Blossoms
Lupine Blue Butterfly On Buckbush Blossoms -- Images by kenne
