We have a doe with two fawns that have taken up residence in our neighborhood. The other evening, we were out on our deck with a couple of good friends and looked over to see the doe nursing one of the fawns only 15 feet away from us. Nature is a thing of beauty!
On Saturday I had the pleasure of taking a road trip with acclaimed wildlife artist, John Ruthven, following the path of the great Missoula Floods in Washington state. We drove along the Columbia river south of Wenatchee, up the Moses Coulee, over to the Lower Grand Coulee/Sun Lakes area, and then up to Dry Falls. The Dry Falls was once the largest waterfalls in the world. We took in the sights, the geology, imagined the history of the area, and did a little bird watching. It was a great day!
Dry Falls, Washington
Mose Coulee, Washington
Lake Lenore in the Lower Grand Coulee, Washington
John Ruthven sketch at Moses Coulee
John Ruthven & I at Barn Beach Reserve for the 2013 Bird Fest Artist Reception.
I been seeing mountain goats on the hillside below some cliffs (and on the cliffs) from the Snow Lake Trailhead parking lot near our house in Leavenworth, WA, so yesterday I hiked up the Snow Lake Trail about a mile or so until I came upon a group of 9 mountain goats, including young ones. They’re out early this year grazing on new grass on the mountainside as the snow is already melting. Magnificent creatures.
Or click on this link to view a the high res video version of the mountain goats — https://vimeo.com/60620589
I recently won a local award for a photo I submitted of my daughter, Katie, and her husband Colin. The photo was taken last year at Visconti’s restaurant in Leavenworth, WA, shortly after they were engaged. I liked capturing a very real, warm moment between them. The photo was taken with natural light using a Canon 5D Mark II and a Canon 24-105 f4 zoom lens.
The other morning, as the fog was lifting, we looked across the Leavenworth valley to see a rainbow over Icicle Ridge. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a rainbow here in February before. The temperatures have been unseasonably warm this month and mostly dry with no snow for over a month. Very unusual.
Global Warming?
I rather like this photo I took the other day. It’s what was left in a pile of burned rubble remaining from an RV fire, and has an eerie quality about it.
Our friend Dave woke up at 2am to the sound of a smoke alarm. He had about 5 minutes to throw on some clothes, grab a fire extinguisher and attempt to put out the fire, then give up, grab his dog and flee, before his RV was engulfed in flames. It was a big fancy RV that is now literally “toast”. Glad you made it out in time Dave!
Morale of the story — buy some smoke alarms, if you don’t already have them.
This is what’s left of Dave’s RV.
For Valentine’s Day, I think it would be appropriate for me to post something about the love of my life, my wife Susan, and our wonderful life together. I’m sharing some photos from when we first started dating (in High School) and some photos from recent years. Keep in mind, these are not necessarily “high quality photos”, since most of them are old, or taken as snapshots.
It’s been a fun and adventurous journey. We have two beautiful, talented, amazing daughters, Katie & Allison. Both are grown up now — one lives in Seattle, married to Colin, and the other in LA, dating Sam. I hope they’re having a nice Valentine’s Day, and I hope you do too.
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