Repurposing
Missoula, Montana
2012

I don’t recall seeing a grain elevator in Missoula before but stumbled across this one right downtown. (Perhaps stumbling across it was a poor choice of words–can one really just stumble across something as big as a grain elevator?) It does not appear to be used at all for it’s original purpose anymore, but parts of have been converted for other uses.

Bel Air
Missoula, Montana
2012

The first car I remember my parents having when I was growing up was an early 50′s Chevy much like this one. Although it’s within a year or two my own age, this car looks like it has weathered the years much better than I have. (Neither of us have been restored.)

Moby Dick Book Report Footnote
Missoula, Montana
2012

…oh, and of course there was this boat too.

Moby Dick Book Report
Missoula, Montana
2012

So you see, there was this guy and a big whale and…well, you get the picture.

Just a Thought
Missoula, Montana
2012

I’ve exaggerated the contrast in the rocks in this wall, but this string of lighter colored rocks stood out to me immediately as some sort of stone version of the thought bubbles that are used in cartoons to indicate what a character is thinking.

Squeaky Clean
Missoula, Montana
2012

A second shift janitor cleaning windows in the hospital.

If You Can’t Stand the Heat
Bozeman, Montana
2012

I have an issue with my heart that precludes me from wearing an airpack when I participate as a  firefigher on the Bridger Canyon Volunteer Fire Department, so I am relegated to running the pump on the truck or other such activities. I miss out on a lot of the action that way but it does free me up to take photos sometimes. This one is from the training we were doing today in a burn trailer which is basically an all metal semi-trailer set up to be configured like a house in which you can repeatedly light fires and then go in and put them out. Here I was standing just inside the door while one of the fires was being lit. I got this shot just before ducking back outside, but not before the heat got a little intense and I lost a bit of  hair on my eyebrows and arms.

Not What It Looks Like
Missoula, Montana
2012

Perhaps because I was in Missoula to attend functions at an art museum, when I saw this guy I thought he was working on a painting. But later, when I zoomed in on the computer, he seemed to be sticking something in his mouth. Maybe he was just chewing on the end of the brush, or maybe he was brushing his teeth instead of a canvas.

The Boys in the Band
Missoula, Montana
2012

Not exactly a large (or enthusiastic) audience for this band next to the bakery but I thought these guys sounded pretty good–and they seemed to be enjoying themselves.

What’s Wrong With This Picture? (#2)
Bozeman, Montana
2012

I just took this a little while ago (snowing even harder now). It’s May 10th for crying out loud. It seems like just yesterday we were sitting on the new deck enjoying 75 degree weather. Oh, wait, it was just yesterday. I’m not sure who the Fashion Queen is calling on the phone, probably the airlines to book a plane south.