Sam In His Element

Our cat Sam sleeps on my legs

Sam asleep in one of his favorite places, curled up on my legs. I took the picture a year ago but he’s in the same spot now, except today Trixie is next to him with her legs atop his.

Two and the Infinite One

Two people watch the endless crashing of waves against the rocky shore of Seal Rock State Park on the Oregon coast

Two people watch the endless crashing of waves against the rocky shore of Seal Rock State Park on the Oregon coast. The waves were pretty calm on this day but they can get pretty intense here. They seemed pretty confident that a giant sea monster wouldn’t rise from the ocean and swallow them whole. I kept my distance.

Why Do I See What Cannot Be?

Our cat Boo sits on the mantle above the fireplace

My eyes play tricks again. There on the mantle, beside my work awards and the ashes of Templeton and Scout and Emma and pictures and keepsakes, I thought I saw Boo. But Boo isn’t allowed on the mantle. Some things from the mantle have fallen off lately and broken, likely from micro-climates creating sudden whirlwinds that come down the chimney. That I can explain, that I can see. But Boo I cannot, yet I do.

Homes for Urchins

Purple sea urchins sit in the depressions they've carved over time into the tide pool at Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area in Newport, Oregon

Purple sea urchins sit in the depressions they’ve carved over time into the tide pool, minimizing the force of the waves as the tide comes in and out. I came across these urchins in 2004 on a sunny day at Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area in Newport, Oregon. The picture below is a different set of urchins but taken on the same day, I’ve posted this one before but it was years ago.

Purple sea urchins sit in the depressions they've carved over time into the tide pool at Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area in Newport, Oregon

A Choice of Waters

A great blue heron waits in a saltwater marsh at Huntington Beach State Park in South Carolina

A great blue heron waits in a saltwater marsh at Huntington Beach State Park in South Carolina. It’s a wonderful park that not only has ocean access and some short hiking trails but also a causeway that runs between saltwater and freshwater lagoons. There are walking paths on each side of the road so as a photographer you can choose your type of water, as can the herons and egrets that hunt here. Although my biggest surprise seeing predators move between the marshes came one day as I was photographing alligators in the freshwater marsh when a large alligator came walking across the road from the saltwater side, the first time I learned they could spend a bit of time in the saltwater before returning to their freshwater home. After that I watched my back a bit more closely, although I never even remotely had any problems with the large reptiles.

Memo Gidley

Memo Gidley of Chip Ganassi Racing gives an interview on the weekend of the 2001 CART race at Portland International Raceway

Memo Gidley of Chip Ganassi Racing gives an interview on the weekend of the 2001 CART race at Portland International Raceway. Memo became known as Super Sub at the time, I believe this was the third time he was hired to take over a ride mid-season. I always hoped he would find a full-time ride but one of the downsides to racing is that it is hard for drivers like Memo who don’t come with financial backing. He had more luck in sports cars until injuries from a severe crash at Daytona sidelined him for a few years, but it sounds like he’s healed enough to return to racing.