East Reservoir

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Welcome to my photo newsletter: “Colorado HIGH SKY!”

There’s a little pond west of Green Gables Park in Lakewood, Colorado. No, not the one known as “Sanctuary Pond,” next to St. Jude Catholic Church, but a little further to the west: East Reservoir. As ponds go, this reservoir is pretty small, just a retention pond, really. But as part of the Kendrick Lakes, it represents the dredging and draining of the ironically named wetlands between the Harvey Gulch drainage to the north, and Bear Creek to the south. I grew up nearby, and my children graduated from Bear Creek High School, as well. There are deep roots in this land that was once the traditional home of the Southern Arapahoe, even though this is now a sleepy suburb of a state capital.

If you visit, be prepared to get muddy. There’s different drainage in the area, and some areas are indifferent to drainage, leaving the ground squishy in places. And that’s just during the dry seasons. When April showers mix with snowmelt, the trails become especially slimy and slippery.

One more time, my favorite unplanned photo:

Welcome!

This is “Colorado HIGH SKY,” a newsletter for discovery and wonderment, or perhaps, wondery and discoverment. I’m so glad you could join me and we can all chortle together like Lewis Carroll: “O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!”

A Weekly Journal (at first)

Every day is an opportunity, but I know you’re busy! I’ll also filter what I share, making what you see here exclusive from what you can see anywhere else. Sure, some of this content will be from my other media, but also I can build on your suggestions and questions and curate this collection closer than any other. Let’s build on that, and we can grow from here. “Throwback Thursdays” can be one optional extra, for example, going back to the “archives,” of images first published elsewhere.

Speaking of “Throwback Thursday,” I just want to include a screen capture of the first video I took with a drone (since lost), at East Reservoir. The curvature of the Earth, the buildings of downtown on the horizon, the overexposed reflection on the water, that image was my first low-res inspiration. More than four years later, there is so much more to see, but this is what started it all.

I’ll end this welcome, closing on the idea of the Kendrick Lakes, or what’s left of the native ecosystem, as shown in a 360-degree photo taken at sunrise. Looking back and forth, from the past to the future, this one little spot represents the whole of this little blue dot we call home. Looking down from the sky, this one “Tiny Planet” represents the whole Earth, and represents the care we ought to share, here and everywhere.

Thanks for reading all the way to the end! It’s a pleasure to write for you, and I look forward to hearing from you.