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Pull For Service

A black-and-white image of the black tail of our cat Boo on August 18, 2013. Original: _MG_5232.CR2

One of the rare pictures I prefer in black-and-white, the black tail of our black-and-white cat Boo. Taken in 2013 but never edited, I’m a little confused by the shot. The background looks like the painted wallpaper in my old office but it looks white in the original file and not blue. The ceiling was white but since Boo and I are both wingless that wouldn’t have been an option. Plus I’m not sure where he would have been that his tail would have been flush with the wall. Perhaps we lost gravity for a short while a decade ago and my brain is blocking it out.

📷: Canon M | Canon 18-55
Date: August 18, 2013

The Reflecting Tide Pool

An ochre sea star is subtly reflected in the tide pool below at Rialto beach in Olympic National Park in Washington on August 7, 2013. Original: _MG_3554.CR2

A buffet of barnacles and limpets for a hungry sea star, with a subtle reflection in the tide pool below. It could just have well been a portrait of me as a child visiting the city pool where my grandma lived that had a high dive, I’d probably still be up there trying to convince myself to jump if not for the social pressure of knowing other people were waiting behind me.

An ochre sea star sits on barnacles and limpets at Rialto beach in Olympic National Park in Washington on August 7, 2013. Original: _MG_3556.CR2

A Welcome Return

A male phainopepla stretches while perched atop an ocotillo on the Chuckwagon Trail in McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale, Arizona on October 27, 2023. Original: _RAC9485.ARW

I would have thought most desert animals would go into hiding during the hottest months and only emerge when the temperatures cooled but for some of my favorites it’s the other way round, so the arrival of more comfortable weather carries some sadness alongside. A notable exception are phainopepla who fly in for the fall and fill me with such delight, they’re here in numbers now and quietly encourage me on my hikes from many a palo verde or ocotillo. Yesterday this male was stretching and showing off the white bars on the underside of his primary wing feathers, I almost got a shot with his wings fully extended above his head but the tiny buffer on my Sony filled and it couldn’t take any more pictures.

Keeping One Eye Open

Patterns around a rock on a sandy beach resemble a Cyclops from Greek mythology at Rialto Beach in Olympic National Park in Washington on August 7, 2013. Original: _MG_3411.CR2

Thousands of years ago a visiting Cyclops commemorated their love of the Pacific Northwest by crafting a self-portrait, the only known example still in existence today. I had the pleasure of photographing it in 2013 and was surprised by how delicate and fragile it was given the powerful force that created it, suggesting Homer’s portrayal of the Cyclopes as ignorant brutes in The Odyssey was little more than slander.

In the Shadows

A great horned owl waits in the shadow of a large granite boulder in McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale, Arizona on September 25, 2023. Original: _RAC7989.ARW

When I passed a gap in the boulders this owl appeared as a silhouette to my naked eyes as the sun hung low and bathed my pupils in its glory, leaving the shadows an inky darkness. Even though I liked the look of the silhouette and a much brighter version, I settled on this exposure with the shadows lightly raised as I think it speaks to the reality of what I saw. The owl and its mate (on a different rock) were using the boulders to shield the sun’s intense gaze, the approaching sunset meaning I was on my way out of the park but for the owls the desert was about to become their hunting ground.

A Love of Nature Trails

Our dog Bear in front of a saguaro with many arms on the Jane Rau Trail in McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale, Arizona on February 5, 2023. Original: _Z723273.NEF

They may not be the best for exercise or for feeling like you’re alone in the wilderness, but I’m a huge fan of nature / interpretive trails. They’re accessible to a wide range of people and are great if you’re short on time, and often have a good sampling of the local flora. This is Bear at the Jane Rau Trail in February, I wanted to see how he’d do going over the bridge over the wash (he was unfazed). This loop is really short but a nice addition to the start or end of a longer hike and can offer up some pretty cool wildlife, I’ve seen a bobcat and a gila monster here.