October 2022

Slow Burn
Bozeman, Montana
2022

One of the other processes besides growth that occurs more slowly in arid country compared to wet country is decay. I’ve taken any number of photographs of this log up the mountain behind our house over the last 40 years and will continue to do so I suppose. It changes over time due to rot, but slowly, and more importantly (to me anyway) very interestingly.

I’ve taken a bit of liberty in the naming of this photograph. Rot is a form of oxidation, as is fire. The two processes differ in terms of speed of course but also the causes of the oxidation. But I think, if you (figuratively) squint your eyes properly while considering the issue, thinking of rot as a form of burning can come to make sense. After all, if you can burn calories…

Slow Beauty
Bozeman, Montana
2022

These rolls of used field fence have been stacked up for years down in the coulee behind our garage where such things tend to end up, stored for potential future use. In some parts of the country, this kind of “junk” would be very quickly covered with vegetation. (I’m thinking in particular of kudzu here.) But in our arid Montana climate, this growth process spans years rather than months. So I appreciate the local foliage finally starting to beautify the place. Now I will be reluctant to move the fencing even if I find a need for it.

Escape Pod #1
Bozeman, Montana
2022

My latest composite image effort. Lots of smaller details in this one (it was designed to print large) so it might be worth your while to zoom in and pan around a little.

Puff
Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
2022

When it dries out enough, the Red Spouter mud pots become a simple fumarole.

Drip Dry
Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
2022

Red Spouter is of my favorite thermal features at the Fountain Paintpots in Yellowstone. I’ve seen it a number of times over the years, but never bone dry like this to the point that the drips of mud it spouts up have all dried up and the usually muddy ground nearby is parched and cracked. That was quite a shocker to me even though information posted nearby explains that this happens seasonally as the water table dries up. I guess I’ve never visited the feature during this dry of a time, nor have I previously paid attention to the signage explaining all that.

Walking the Plank(s)
Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
2022

Bare Tree #92
Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
2022

Temporary Housing
Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
2022

This bubble at the Fountain Paint Pots, caught just as it began to burst, looks like some sort of igloo or dome house. I’m always fascinated with what can easily be captured with even a simple camera that escapes appreciation when viewed with the naked eye because human eyes (or at least this human’s eyes) just can’t keep up with the action like a camera can.

Little Landscape #53
Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
2022

This little (approx. 4 foot long) range of “mountains” was actually fully underwater in a hot spring in Yellowstone. The shape of the travertine (or whatever it is) in this particular spring is unusual compared to the other hot springs I’ve seen there. Most don’t look like mountain ranges to me. In this case they did though, and because water was slightly milky, it helped with the illusion as it gave the scene a bit of a hazy feel like that you might expect when looking down through thin clouds from an airplane flying high above the land.

Bite Me
Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
2022