July 2023

Dangerous Promise
Bozeman, Montana
2023

Things are starting to dry out around here, as they usually do this time of year, so potential rain from passing storms offer hope of avoiding a drought. But at the same time,whatever rain they bring is often offset by tremendous shows of lightning that threaten fire rather than drought relief.

Watch and Learn
Bozeman, Montana
2023

A family of crows with four or five kids has taken to hanging around our house in town. The kids provide plenty of interesting (and often loud) entertainment. Here one crow watches its sibling demonstrate its prowess, or lack thereof, in juggling bread scraps.

Cattail Catchers
Bozeman, Montana
2023

Since I posted a photo of gloves yesterday, I thought I might as well post this one too. This rather odd still life features the pair of rubber gloves I use when I’m pulling cattails out of our pond. (A few cattails are a nice feature in the pond but few seems to quickly become too many, so at least an annual culling is necessary.) While the rubber gloves provide a nice grip on the cattails, they quickly fill with water, so necessitate drying once I’m done for the day. A couple of wood scraps stuck in a sunny area did the trick for drying, and also providing this still life photo opp.

Letting Go
Bozeman, Montana
2023

First you buy a pair of rather pricey cowhide leather gloves because they’re tough and durable. But they’re also quite stiff and a bit uncomfortable. You wear them anyway, at least occasionally because, well, they were rather pricey and they are tough and durable. Over time they get more and more broken in and comfortable and, without even realizing it, they become your go-to pair for rough work like moving rocks around. Inevitably a hole appears in the index finger. The rest of the glove still seems in good shape though and you hate to dump them just for one hole because, well, they were rather pricey and they are quite comfortable. So you duck tape the finger and keep moving rocks. Then another hole appears, in the middle finger this time, so you apply more duck tape and keep moving rocks with them because even though the duck tape makes them more stiff and uncomfortable, they were rather pricey. Then, inevitably, a hole appears in the thumb. You’ve been there before and know that duck taping the thumb on a glove is a real act of desperation because it makes the glove so stiff that even lifting rocks becomes too awkward. So you bid a fond photographic farewell to the gloves and move on to the next pair.

Why am I wearing out gloves moving rocks? It has to do with trail work on our property:

Bare Tree #108
Carl Washburn State Park, Oregon
2023

Rock Regalia
Carl Washburn State Park, Oregon
2023

There are a number of ways to interpret this sand and rock abstract. My first impression was of bushy eyebrows. Then I could see (in double vision) a car careening down the road into a setting sun. But, as far as deciding on the title is concerned, I settled on an abstract of two dancers wrapped in blankets sporting Native American regalia.

Grill Marks
Carl Washburn State Park, Oregon
2023

You know those parallel marks on burgers, steaks etc. that happen when you cook them on an outdoor grill? These are grill marks of another type, i.e., a grill’s shadow on the interior wall of the round campground fire pit on which the grill was situated. The shadow reminds me of a waving American flag. The air hole in the enclosure adds another point of interest, a glimpse of the world outside the grill.

Hanging Ferns
Carl Washburn State Park, Oregon
2023

Such a Strange Flower
Heceta Head, Oregon
2023

Skunk cabbage, an ignoble name for an unusually lovely plant that reminds me a bit of calla lilies. It’s all in a name though; I can’t imagine Kaathryn Hepburn proclaiming “The skunk cabbages are in bloom again.”

Bridge Matrix
Heceta Head, Oregon
2023