#jerry downs

In 1960, David Latimer planted a tiny garden inside of a large glass bottle and sealed it shut. He opened the bottle 12 years later in 1972 to add some water and then sealed it for good. The self contained ecosystem has flourished for nearly 60 years. For those who are wondering how this is even possible: the garden is a perfectly balanced and self-sufficient ecosystem. The bacteria in the compost eats the dead plants and breaks down the oxygen that is released by the plants, turning it into carbon dioxide, which is needed for photosynthesis. The bottle is essentially a microcosm of earth.

These reviews are too funny . . .

Here are 10 times when people did not enjoy their trip to an iconic Colorado attraction, enough so to leave a report on Google Reviews.

Pikes Peak: "Scary horrible experience [...] It feels like you may die, due to the lack of guard rails. The views are pretty, but much better when not scared for your life. [...] I haven't looked up the death toll from this yet. One entire family was stranded on the mountain due to burning up their clutch. I wouldn't recommend," 1 star, Maria M

The Great Sand Dunes National Park: "We thought this would be a fun family trip. Sand got everywhere. It was super hot, and we couldn't find a single refreshment stand. Cell phone coverage was horrible," 1 star, Jeffery F.

Garden of the Gods: "The views are amazing, the 19th century ban on alcohol is absolutely ridiculous," – 1 star, Micah P.

Rocky Mountain National Park: "Too many rocks! Too many mountains! The mountains were too big. Didn't see any wildlife. A total lack of fast food options," 1 star, Alex F.

Million Dollar Highway: "Absolutely beautiful, absolutely insane if you're used to safety measures such as guard rails," 4 stars, LaDonna C

Maroon Bells: "Saw no bears. Slightly disappointed," – 2 stars, Dan P.

Mesa Verde National Park: Went here, but couldn't enter the park too far as I have a great fear of drop-offs!!! So if you have a fear of heights and roads with sheer drop offs right at the side of your car... don't attempt this park," – Debbie B.

Hanging Lake: "Hot. Can't drink the stream water. Need a reservation. Busy. Only on entrance to parking. Long and steep hike. No cell reception. Go to Utah or Wyoming," 1 star, BreckBear.

Black Canyon of the Gunnison: "Interesting, but disappointing" – 3 stars, Frank F.

Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre: "Went to get a funnel cake well before the end of the concert and was told the concession stand is closed. He sent me across the plaza to another food stand and they said they don't make funnel cakes and are also closed," 1 star, Nick M

Jerry Downs: PHOTO OF THE DAY 1-30-22 At the Salmon Creek bridge in Albion, California, I had a moment of clarity about the fog: when you are moving forward into the fog, the distance (the future) is invisible, but if you proceed... what is right in front of you stays clear. Keep moving. All the uncertainty will disappear right before your eyes.— in Albion, California.

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PHOTO OF THE DAY 4-28-22 

On this day, six years ago, the snow had melted in the High Sierras and I was standing in a stream, in my mostly water body, in water that had made the same journey to the sea millions of times over billions of years.  

[Jerry Downs]

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“To make bread or love, to dig in the earth, to feed an animal or cook for a stranger—these activities require no extensive commentary, no lucid theology. All they require is someone willing to bend, reach, chop, stir. Most of these tasks are so full of pleasure that there is no need to complicate things by calling them holy. And yet these are the same activities that change lives, sometimes all at once and sometimes more slowly, the way dripping water changes stone. In a world where faith is often construed as a way of thinking, bodily practices remind the willing that faith is a way of life.”

Jerry Downs

PHOTO OF THE DAY 1-24-22 I was in awe when I witnessed these massive clouds dwarfing the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range in Northern California.

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Jerry Downs

PHOTO OF THE DAY 1-26-22 I love the way the light and shadow help define one another in this shot of cottonwood trees. I will be passing this same tree on my way to Colorado in about 10 days. The light/dark part remains to be seen.

Nevada

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After you have exhausted what there is in business, politics, conviviality, love, and so on — have found that none of these finally satisfy, or permanently wear — what remains? Nature remains; to bring out from their torpid recesses, the affinities of a man or woman with the open air, the trees, fields, the changes of seasons — the sun by day and the stars of heaven by night. Walt Whitman

Oh those eyes