A Kentucky Sunset

"When I admire the wonders of a sunset or the beauty of the moon, my soul expands in the worship of the creator." -Mahatma Ghandi

     To some this may be a cliche picture of a sunset, and that's fine. However, this picture is a representation of what I value. As you can see I am on the road, it is very common that I am driving because my world revolves around being busy and constantly on the move. For that reason I always look for whatever beauty that I can find in the world. Even with constantly being on the move there is always one thing that is in every scene no matter my location; the sky. Nothing aspires more to think critically than the sky. A picture like this jump starts my mind and gets me thinking of ways to better my life both physically and mentally. I sit and wonder to myself what it will take to be more "tranquil" and relaxed in life. Although most things never happen after being thought up, it's still nice to dream and hope.
     Where else can you find such beauty? The clouds provide that sort of "wisp" that automatically puts one at ease. They are then illuminated by the coloring of the sun as it sinks, colors becoming richer as the sun gets lower. The best part about it? Such a scene can make any landscape beautiful as long as you look at it the right way. What you can't really see if the hospital and commercial buildings and all the dingy looking cars. Honestly it doesn't matter that those are there; all I can focus on is the beauty of the sky.
     For me there's some sort of peace in a picture like this. No book can capture a scene like this. It is something that you have to experience on your own.

Sawyer Point

I had to share this picture because it reminded me so much of the swamp example we discussed in class. This picture was taken at Sawyer Point when the river was at it's highest point in over 30 years. My mom and I went down to Sawyer Point to check out the river and as you can see so did many others. This picture really captures how high the water actually was. Although this water was a bit destructive, it was very beautiful. It was amazing how high the water came up and as you can see in the picture, it was covering the steps at Sawyer Point. I've been to the WEBN fireworks a few times and this is where we always would sit. It was crazy to see that it was flooded from all of the rain we got.

Amberly Village

This picture was taken at Amberly Village Track. It is a park near my mom's work in Blue Ash. This was obviously in fall when the leaves were changing colors. I love the fall weather, but what I love most about fall is captured right in this photo. It is simply beautiful. The colors the leaves change is definitely picture worthy. It's crazy how the vibrant colors of the leaves all coordinate. You would have thought someone had to of designed this. The beauty is natural and something that needs to be enjoyed, whether you go for a walk or run or just sit on the bench at the park to soak in all the beauty. This is just another great example of one of God's beautiful works.

Fernbank Park

This is a photo I took at a park near my house called Fernbank. It is right on the river and has a playground, walking track, and a place where you can walk down by the river. I usually take my 3 year old nephew there and every single time we go we have to go down by the river so he can through rocks into it. It is truly a beautiful park. The atmosphere is half of the beauty. If it's a nice day out, this is the first place I want to go to enjoy it. There are always beautiful sunsets there, like this one captured. You can see the passing barges and people out on their boats enjoying the weather. The natural beauty of this park is like nothing else.

Destin, Florida

This is a photo I took while vacationing in Destin, Florida. This may be my favorite vacation spot. The sand is pure white, the water is blue, and the sunsets look like this! Personally, when I think of relaxing, I always imagine a sunset. There is something so beautiful about how the sun and sky can make such an amazing sight. The best part is, no one can create this. We never know what the sunset is going to look like from night to night or place to place. It is truly a great example of pristine beauty.

Last Song of the Song Bird

I was leaving to go out one morning, I don't remember where, it doesn't seem important in the grand scheme of it all anyhow. I walked out the back door of my residence hall and there I saw the saddest of sights. A small, Carolina Wren as I would come to find out, lay dead on the back steps. I was deeply saddened by this, any loss of life is a sad loss of life as all life should be treated sacred, but I didn't know what to do. I started to walk past it but I couldn't bring myself to just letting it lay there indignant on the steps. So I put my things down and sat for a moment, trying to think of a way to pick up this poor bird and give it a proper burial. I finally settled upon going to the bathroom to grab a paper towel, I gently wrapped the small bird into the paper towel and buried it under a pile of dead leaves near by. I said some small words while I stood there, not being very religious I felt sheepish as I said a small concluding prayer at the spot, hoping the birds soul may find rest. The question I pose coming out of this story is this; why did I feel such a sense of responsibility to the bird whereas any other animal most likely would've passed it up or made it a midday meal. Why do we as humans feel, or in many cases not feel, this sense of moral responsibility towards the natural world?

Ducks Fly Together and So do Their Souls

A little background on this photo first, I've seen these three ducks walking together almost everyday for a little more than a month now. Rain or shine, these three ducks are always together, and for me at least it brought an important question to mind, how can we believe that human beings alone own a soul? The soul itself is a very deep, controversial topic, however in many circles it still stands true that it is believed human beings, are the only beings with a soul. Furthermore the only beings that feel compassion, feel happiness, feel sadness, for me this simply cannot be correct. Carlson seems to take a strictly scientific approach towards appreciating nature, but science can not prove the existence of these feelings. We must take into account that there is more to understanding and appreciating nature than science can explain. So while it is good to have a complete scientific understanding of Anas Platyrhynchos (Mallard), I do not believe we could truly appreciate the beautiful friendship of these three ducks if we held them to strictly a scientific understanding. Instead we should allow for the fact that these three ducks clearly show feelings of friendship, compassion, love, and joy. By doing this, by allowing the belief these three ducks have a soul, then, and only then, can we truly appreciate them.