Forest Fern, Evening Light

Fern, evening light, Coconino National Forest, Arizona [click on photo for larger version]

Nature is my cathedral, my church. Appreciation, respect, and humility are my religion.

This is from my campsite last evening on the Coconino National Forest and the Coconino Plateau, at about 7,500 feet in northern Arizona. A fern lit up by the low afternoon sunlight slipping between the Ponderosa pine trees. 


No neighbors except the birds and whatever four legged animals were around but did not make themselves apparent. 


No visitors except two Forest Service guys making sure I was not going to violate the ban on campfires, because the springtime woods have been so typically dry. "And don't leave any food outside the vehicle. There are bears here, and they're always hungry." That much I knew, but I appreciated the reminder. 


Followed by a peaceful night of the breeze whispering in the pines and aspens, then the rising half moon and the stars. Peaceful, soothing night. In the cathedral.