Scratcher of heads, rubber of bellies
Throughout the desert embedded in the boulders you can see the planet’s spine exposed, a reminder of how thin the veneer of life is. An osteogeologist could tell you exactly which vertebrae these are but to me they are just the bones of the earth.
📷: Nikon Z 7II | Nikon 105mm macro
🗓️: September 24, 2023
A little last light at day’s end kisses the McDowells goodnight.
📷: Nikon Z 7II | Nikon 24-200mm
🗓️: October 8, 2022
This summer as I left work far in the distance I saw greenish smoke that usually means the desert is burning. The closer I got to home the closer the fire seemed to home and indeed as I cleared Troon Mountain I could see smoke billowing from the part of the preserve where Bear and I often walk. We prepared to evacuate but didn’t have to as the wind carried the fire away from us. I avoided the trails for a long while since burned areas are pretty sensitive but after seeing they were open, made a visit in the fall to see if I wanted to bring Bear back yet.
At first nothing was amiss but then I hit the burned part and there’s a wide swath of the desert that is completely charred. There are sandy areas with no plant life and exposed holes of the many small animals that once lived here. Some plants like this saguaro still had patches of green but they are the walking dead. We have enough other trails and enough time during my leave of absence that I’ll keep Bear away for now.
📷: Nikon Z 7II | Nikon 105mm macro
🗓️: September 29, 2023
I call this location Eight Peaks as in the distance on the right you can see the mountains known as Four Peaks with their closely spaced four peaks. On this rocky hill before us, the Four Peaks repeat in miniature form. Taken on the Rock Knob Trail with my shadow stretching out into the cholla, Bear’s shadow hidden by the desert’s own.
I was walking Bear when I was struck by this beautiful but dead saguaro and took a few shots, I prefer this composition that includes a lot of the other living and dead plants around it with Granite Mountain anchoring the background. I haven’t taken Bear on the full loop around the mountain, now that he’s getting back into shape and the weather is cool enough, I’ll give him a chance soon. The uphill part is at the start so I’ll get a quick gauge of how he’s doing and can double back if he struggles, but I suspect he’ll be just fine.
📷: Nikon Z 7II | Nikon 24-200
Date: November 1, 2023
Another reason to mourn the end of our preposterous summers is it marks the end of swimming season for someone who doesn’t like to be cold. I’m not sure what the water temperature is right now since the string on the thermometer broke but I did just take this picture of the pool so …
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.
A quick snapshot while hiking out of the park, the moon rising behind saguaros in the east, the sun minutes from setting in the west. In a world that can be so relentlessly awful I’m thankful for the places that cradle me in its beauty.
Me, my thoughts are flower strewn
Ocean storm, bayberry moon
I have got to leave to find my way
Watch the road and memorize
This life that passed before my eyes
And nothing is going my wayThe ocean is the river’s goal
A need to leave the water knows
We’re closer now than light years to goI have got to find the river
Bergamot and vetiver
Run through my head and fall away
Leave the road and memorize
This life that passed before my eyes
And nothing is going my way
Excerpt from R.E.M.’s “Find the River”
My leave of absence has been planned for a long time with only the timing uncertain. During that time my mind kept returning to one of my favorite songs by my favorite band, thinking of how I needed to step away from the hectic pace of normal life and let my mind be quiet and reflective for a while. The image that formed in my head was always this one, taken fifteen years ago of a shallow stream in the Hoh Rain Forest. If I was condemned to only visit one park for the rest of my life, it would be Olympic National Park. Whether I’ll ever get back is a mystery these clouded eyes can’t foresee, but if not I’m grateful for each of my visits to that wonderland.
A quick snap from the spring of an owl atop a boulder with wildflowers blooming in the desert below. I was busy and didn’t look closely at the picture until much later, when I realized an owlet was also looking out. And it was months after that as I finally edited the picture I realized an antelope squirrel was running down the rock on the right. I took other pictures as we circled around the loop, some with compositions I like better or with softer light, but I love this little slice of life. This section of the desert has few saguaros and the wildlife is dominated by small mammals and those that eat them.
You won’t see Bear in the picture but I do, not only was he standing beside me but I only found this trail because of him, as it is the easiest to access from our house and a great place to hike with him when I’m short on time. So for me this picture is as much about a slice of my life as theirs.
Boolie 