Photo:Engage

  “ Look deep into nature and then you will understand everything better. ”  - Albert Einstein     Sometimes, I think my more specific posts extolling the beauty and history of a certain location turns off part of my audience because perhaps they think they cannot relate to a place they don't personally know. But my sincere hope is that my words and images inspires you to visit the wild places close to your home and to cherish them such that you'll make choices that protect them. Love the outdoors near you! As I wrote in my post on November 5, 2022...      Gordons Pond wasn’t always just the amazing and beautiful mix of water and trees, grass and birds that we get to enjoy nowadays. In days long gone by, when European settlers first were looking around and wondering how to keep their food preserved, areas close to the sea were choice locations for getting their all important salt.       What is now Gordons Pond began as a manma...

  “ There is no question that photography has played a major role in the environmental movement. ”  - Galen Rowell     Burton Island wasn't always the beautiful nature preserve it is now, near the northern side of the Indian River Inlet in Sussex County, Delaware. The island has had many uses and seen many abuses during the years, but at one sad point in its story, it was a polluted dumping ground for a major chemical company. The island was trashed and unsafe to explore. Only with dedicated effort was the island cleaned up and restored to the natural state you can visit today. It's a lesson we must remember in order to keep our lands and water clean. Today, enough time has passed to see the forest lifecycle back at work. As I wrote in my post on June 11, 2022...      Gentle audience, allow me to reveal to you a little sneak peek into the unexpected light revealing an old actor who once commanded the stage in the forest near the oce...

  “ Photographs open doors into the past, but they also allow a look into the future. ”  - Sally Mann     There's not much that's better than knowing something fun and exciting is about to happen. Remember the last time you had a big vacation planned? Just thinking about all the amazing things you were going to do away from the cares of work and home would fill you with joy. Looking forward to the thing was often as good, or better, than the thing itself.      I love that aspect of anticipation. And once the great thing occurs, when we've had the great experience we so looked forward to, we feel the appreciation for all the effort it took to make it happen, that the thing exists to be appreciated, for all the people who make the thing extraordinary.      And no matter how the event actually turned out, because maybe that vacation had a few off days or a few things that didn't quite work out, we can still be happy about the experience ove...