Life flies by in a whirl as it tends to do unless we can still ourselves long enough to feel the preciousness of each moment. Almost a month and a half has passed since I last posted on this blog. Pinning Bob Talbot down to complete a mini-series of blog articles about him has become an undertaking requiring the patience of a wildlife photographer tracking a snow leopard in a remote mountain location. (Well, I may be mildly exaggerating. It took ten months for photographer Steve Winter to capture that beautiful creature on camera and win the 2008 Wildlife Photographer of the Year award; all things considered, a month and a half is, quite frankly, peanuts.)

In the meantime, to slow down the flighty nature of time and fill the void of waiting for the elusive Bob-cat, I found myself re-reading some timelessly nourishing and spirit-reviving quotes from the legendary naturalist and conservationist John Muir. Here they are, interspersed with a scattering of my own images of our beautiful world.

“Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul.” John Muir

“The power of imagination makes us infinite.” John Muir

“In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.” John Muir

“Take a course in good air and water; and in the eternal youth of Nature you may renew your own. Go quietly, alone; no harm will befall you.” John Muir

“Keep close to Nature’s heart… And break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean.” John Muir