Category Archives: Blog

The Berkshires in winter are magical. I arrived on a nippy day with very little snow on the ground. But it was foggy and the weather was about to change, so I took pictures of all the different stages we were witnessing. A hike in a nature preserve revealed hints of spring: the local beaverContinue reading “The Berkshires”

The African American History Memorial in Austin, TX is on the Capitol grounds and depicts the history of African Americans in the State of Texas. It’s a large installation that includes many striking faces. For me, the expressions were especially moving: intelligent faces that show personality, wisdom, beauty–I wanted to know these people and learnContinue reading “Texas African American History Memorial”

A hawk was sitting on a fence when it saw the dogs and me coming around the bend. Startled, it took off in the wrong direction and flew into a window just a few yards behind the fence. The impact wasn’t terrible, but enough to send the hawk tumbling to the ground, where it collectedContinue reading “A mishap”

A branch in water. Is it beautiful? Assuming that it is, then the next question I ask myself is: Is it worth documenting? Is it worth sharing? These questions can go on indefinitely. I guess if we keep questioning things, nothing will ever get done. I liked this branch in the water and took severalContinue reading “What is beautiful?”

February 3rd is National Golden Retriever Day in the United States. It so happens that we have Golden Retrievers–one that’s “real” and one that’s honorary. Why honorary? Because she came to us through a Golden Retriever rescue group. With that history she will be forever linked to Golden Retrievers, although she’s more Lab, Terrier, andContinue reading “National Golden Retriever Day”

This image was taken at a traffic light. The city had the flowers planted on the median. Three quick clicks, and the light turned green. Cities have lots of places of surprising beauty, but we’re often in such a hurry, or so focused on the next task, that we don’t notice them. Sometimes they requireContinue reading “In the city”

This example of construction worker humor — a work glove in a concrete washout pan — made me think of how to document humorous situations in nature. We can take pictures of animals in odd poses and then enhance them with funny captions. But this kind of humor often comes at the expense of theContinue reading “Humor”

The anhinga is also called a snakebird because it sits low in the water with almost only the neck and head showing. This makes people sometimes think that there’s a snake in the water. The anhinga doesn’t have oily feathers, which means they get wet and the bird needs to leave the water and dryContinue reading “Anhinga”

In the summer of last year I went to an area of Texas prairie. The plants were beautiful and delicate, with stunning colors. It was full of birds and insects, a very happy place. I couldn’t wait to go back, but didn’t find the time, so when I finally went back today, I didn’t knowContinue reading “Prairie vegetation”

I posted this image in a discussion about paying attention to detail, and one of the participants said that he had wondered why I posted this yellow flower… until he noticed the insect blending in so well. Now every time I look at this picture, I think of that. There are reasons every day whyContinue reading “Almost overlooked”