Walking with Beauty

/ April 21, 2021
Spring has arrived at Lake Wedington.

~

the glory of spring

nature’s resplendent beauty

bursting with color

~

The last of the red bud blossoms.

Spring was in full bloom on Monday at Lake Wedington. This has become my new favorite park with a nice mix of water, fields, forests, proximity, and light traffic. I must have taken over 100 photos and am still editing and deleting images. I’m so grateful that I was hiking and photographing earlier this week before our weather went crazy. Yesterday we had snow flurries and overnight temperatures of 24′ F. I had to bring my plants inside to protect them!

Room with a view. I’m loving the color contrasts. How about you?

When I was younger, living in beautiful places like Portland, OR and Boulder, CO as well as traveling to many of the US National Parks, I became spoiled by access to grand vistas, special places, and other big wow moments. Those places are easy to find beauty and photos. Living in Arkansas has helped me learn to slow down and find the beauty in simple things and the subtle details of nature. I’ve learned to see beauty in gardens, flowers, macro details, yards, and neighborhoods. It took me years to give up the attachment to the big wows and amenities of living in Oregon and Colorado. I can’t say I love it in Arkansas, but I’ve mostly made peace with my choices. I still wonder about moving, but don’t seem to have the motivation, finances, or clarity of where to go.

Wild iris were blooming everywhere, making my heart happy.

Meanwhile, I appreciate where I am as best as I can.

The vibrancy of spring greens to warm my heart as I walked.
The waters are flowing from spring rains.

May you find beauty where you are.

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145 thoughts on “Walking with Beauty”

  2. Love the post . Beauty lies in all the “micro things” we should have that eyes to show it .. not only in pictures , in life . And then we will have the best memories.
    I love the contrast
    Actually I love all your photos 😍

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  10. Lovely, Brad. Yes, “slow down and find the beauty in simple things and the subtle details of nature.” I enjoy the way you bring us the subtle beauty of nature, in your writing and photos. Seeing beauty in simple things gives us a beautiful life wherever we are.

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  12. The Arkansas that you show is beautiful. I’ve never been there but it seems like one of those off the beaten path gems. The wow places you describe don’t appeal to me so much anymore because they are overcrowded. The cold will be gone for good soon. We’re getting it too. But tomorrow it will be finished. 🙂

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  20. I can see why that’s your favorite place to walk now. Beautiful. And the wild Iris!! I recently got a new car (old one was 11 years old and I cried to let it go). But. My new one is a great color of blue, and her name is … IRIS. ❤

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  27. Brad, it seems you have found a perfect idyllic haven within Lake Wedington! Anything with water is special, it adds another level of serenity and peace; furthermore the reflections of the ‘nature’s resplendent beauty’ is heightened! Wonderful haiku and stunning photos. Feel as if I’m there and the iris flower is very special!

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  28. Wow! Now it is I who can relate! LOVE blues and greens, so yes, love the colors in that second photo. And wildflowers are connected to my soul; I love that capture of yours. And even though I’m across the street from the OCEAN, I’m ready to return to big trees, wooded trails, snow, and more varied scenery. In the meantime, I turn my “against home owner’s association” yard I rent into my private magical wonderland daily, shrinking myself to get lost in the miniature. 🙂

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  31. I’m glad that you are now loving where you currently stay. It is important that we find beauty in the very imperfections we are “trapped” in.

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  34. Hello Brad,
    Love the springs and trail. And a mighty fine iris popped up for you. So fleeting are the seasons and her beauty.

    So glad you could see it before the weather went into a tizzy! 🤪☔🥶.

    Again, thank you for this lovely view. Have great week.

    Nims

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  36. These are all such beautiful photos. And I love your attitude Brad. It doesn’t matter where we are, there’s truly always beauty around us. We just need to open our mind and see with new eyes, which I know you do. Big hugs my friend 💚

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  37. Nature really calms our mind. I really like this post. Because whenever I am stress in my life I always find a safe haven which is our nature. I hope I can visit this places someday.

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  39. Lovely images, Brad. Arkansas has always struck me as a beautiful place that is undersold or something. I spent time at Devil’s Den State Park once as a boy and it was such an adventure wandering through the forest and those Swiss cheese caverns. My cousin and I took off and went exploring, and as I recall we got back to camp just around sunset, to the great relief of both sets of parents… 🙂 But it was a beautiful place to ramble!

    Michael

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    • Thank you Michael. You seem to have good memories from your time at Devil’s Den. It’s one of my favorite nearby parks. Arkansas has grown on me and yes it is generally underappreciated by people in other areas.

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  45. I love your post …I think in busy life of our we actually get disconnected with nature …but you know sometime when we suddenly out of nowhere get closer to nature like we go for some evening walk or something we feel like the nature’s hug and suddenly we forget our worries and just want to feel that blessing which our mother Earth offers to us.😀

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  47. You most certainly did walk in beauty dear Brad… What a gorgeous day, blue skies reflecting in lakes.. Blossom on trees a perfect photo shot…. Took my breath away…
    May you continue to walk that path dear Brad…. As you see beauty unfold in every step you take.. 🙂 🙏

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  49. I’m the same! I found the wildlife/ plant life so diverse and abundant in South Africa. Ireland was very different- Here in Dublin I’m also focusing on the small things. Bit there’s a lot we can learn from this.

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