November 2014

Vortextual Context Bozeman, Montana 2014

With the large mass of cold air sweeping across most of the country this week, the already overworked term polar vortex is being dragged out again to boost the storm’s promotional potential. Here in this part of Montana we’ve  received only a couple of inches of snow so far, with not much more expected. We are however predicted to get to double digits below zero tonight and tomorrow night. While that has generated the predictable amount of grumbling, it’s really business as usual for this time of year. It’s hard to get overly excited about what amounts to pretty normal weather, especially when it follows one of the nicest and longest Indian Summers I can remember. (Temps were in the 60’s even on Sunday before the front moved in.) So, in this context, the polar vortex hysteria isn’t playing well. I’m not sure if I should feel sorry for those of you in parts of the country where this cold weather is really going to be a unusual hardship or just plain envious that you live somewhere where it is in fact unusual.]]>

Crossing the Divide Preston, Idaho 2009

I believe this is part of an old industrial heat exchanger of some sort.

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Erratic With Child Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming 2014

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Loner Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming 2014

The proper name for this isolated rock is a glacial erratic. Deposited by glacial ice, erratics differ in size and type compared to the native rocks in the area. This particular rock is about six feet tall, small by comparison to some of the examples shown on Wikipedia here.]]>

Black Rain Salt Lake City, Utah 2014

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Your Dreams Salt Lake City, Utah 2014

The graffiti scrawled on this graffiti says “Your dreams are the world’s nightmares.” Somehow I feel on the nightmare end of that equation this last couple of days.]]>

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The Glue That Holds Us Together Salt Lake City, Utah 2014

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Vertical Music Salt Lake City, Utah 2014

Something seemed really familiar about this pattern of grids on the windows of a building in Salt Lake City. It took me a while to associate them with musical staffs and measure bars. The only thing missing is actual notes notes and a clef. Perhaps I should have called it the unwritten symphony. I didn’t realize it at the time I was photographing it, but this building is a federal courthouse. As such, I suppose I was closely watched while photographing it and wouldn’t be too surprised to receive another visit from my friends at the FBI. (Six years or so ago, in an act of superbly bad timing, I photographed an oil refinery in Billings, MT in shortly after it had received an anonymous bomb threat. That generated a phone call from the sheriff and later a visit to our house from three FBI agents complete with the black Suburban, black suits, guns and badges, and poor senses of humor.)]]>

Pointless Reprieve Bozeman, Montana 2014

The big winter storm they were warning us about fizzled, at least in this area. They got more snow in their storm in the southeast U.S. than we did here. (We got none to a trace.) So the leaves got a bit of a reprieve from decomposing under a blanket of snow all winter. Not that it matters much for this leaf which is doing a good job of decaying away without the help of the snow.]]>