The buoy line and blue reflections at first light
Yesterday I got up early to catch the sunrise, hoping for something dramatic. It didn’t quite pan out. Instead, I got a cool, moody haze, and it gave me a chance to take in the fall scene around Prospect Lake in downtown Colorado Springs. The runners and walkers making their laps were part of it.
The sky never lit up the way I’d hoped. But the water was dead calm, and the blues held a quiet glow right at the horizon. I stayed low by the swim line and let the exposure run long. The rope pulled my eye out toward the city lights, and the clouds doubled in the water.
The picnic table under the yellow cottonwood
Then the light turned warm. Fall color was everywhere around the lake. Leaves covered the ground, and an empty picnic table sat under a golden tree. It looked like it was waiting for someone to slow down.
Many of the people here are getting their daily walk in before heading to work. You’ll often see Olympians running here, too, since the lake is close to the Olympic Training Center. And some of us are just photographers chasing the light.
The walker on the path through the trees
Jesus said,
“The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” - Mark 2:27
Rest was never meant to be a burden or a box to check. It’s a gift.
That’s what I see at this lake. It’s a place to reset physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Most people out here aren’t doing it because they have to. We all need that kind of retreat in our lives. Instead of waiting for a big vacation to a tropical paradise, sometimes we just need to look around and find the oasis right in front of us. It takes effort to see it, but it’s worth it.
