Designs in the Palouse and the “broccoli tree”
The Palouse farming region in eastern Washington, near Moscow, Idaho is a beautiful patchwork of fertile farmland planted with spring and winter wheat, mustard seed, canola and garbanzo. The hills and creeks play a role in forming the unique designs found in the photographs of this rich farmland. Continue reading
Mangrove trees at low tide near Port Douglas, Australia
Travel plans were once again befuddled by the South Pacific cyclones. This time it was Marcus, which turned out to be the strongest, most destructive cyclone to strike Australia in over ten years. Huge trees were toppled in Darwin, north of us. We only suffered from severe rain. Fifteen inches of it, in a single day. That was enough to cancel all tours to the Great Barrier Reef. Continue reading
Bosque del Apache Red Sunset
Bosque del Apache is over 55,000 acres of managed lands for the benefit of migratory birds. Through a network of dams and canals, fields are flooded providing a rest stop and food for tens of thousands of snow geese and sandhill cranes.
Continue reading
Plitvice Lakes National Park Through the Trees
Plitvice Lakes National Park in Croatia is an all too popular spot for beautiful blue green lakes and numerous waterfalls. Summers visits must be brutal with the huge crowds. There is not a lot of room for tourists to spread out since 90% of the park is viewed on boardwalks the size of a normal sidewalk.
Continue reading
Madrid Avenida del Ensanche de Vallecas 51
Bullfighting would be more likely associated with Madrid, Spain than its architecture. However, the draw for me was some uniquely designed buildings and staircases. The bullfights had ended about a month before my arrival.
Continue reading
Driving along the highway and bridges into the Florida Keys, we saw a mess of iguanas. By the way, a ‘mess’ is the official name for a group of iguanas. These are not native to Florida and were originally pets turned loose when they got too large and their biting personality became more apparent. This iguana is fairly brown but some were St Patrick’s Day green. When I parked and walked back to the ‘mess’ of iguanas, just seeing me from a distance would cause them to scatter, very skittish. Loud trucks and cars passing nearby were not a concern as that goes on all day, but a tall gray-haired guy with a camera would send them running for the bushes.
Continue reading
Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland. How fitting that we happened to be there, just a couple blocks from their parliament, for the historic vote on independence from England. I attended two “Yes” rallies and spoke to those in favor of independence from England. It would have been better for me to tell these young protestors I was Canadian, as the USA was not at all popular here….
Continue reading
Here are a couple photos taken in Las Vegas, both in the same evening. The design in both appealed to me, plus who would not like these greens??
The iPhone is a little irritating to a serious photographer. The iPhone takes some wonderful photos in a much easier manner than carrying around a large DSLR camera with interchangeable lenses. Now days, most photos do not go past the sharing on the Internet phase, so the resolution and ability to enlarge and print does not come into play. It also helps prove the best camera is the one you have with you, and the iPhone or any such Smart Phone camera is certainly always by our side.
Rosted, Green?
Red Ristras
Unique to New Mexico is the close relationship with red and green chile in our recipes. Most sought after is the Hatch chile from, of all places, Hatch, New Mexico. Hatch hosts an annual chile festival that I cannot necessarily recommend unless your relative happens to be competing to be the Chile Queen. I will certainly miss the great New Mexico chiles and the roasting tradition carried out every fall. Wonderful aromas and tastes. Everyone should have a freezer full.