Friday Favorites

Here are a few of my favorite plant photos.

Cow Parsnip.  North Cascades.

Ice-encrusted rose bush. My house.

Lily. Mima Mounds Preserve.

Grasses growing at Slate Peak.

Water lily. Cambodia.

"Education is an admirable thing,"

...so wrote Oscar Wilde, "but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught."  (1894)
With as deeply entrenched in studying as i am of late, i sure hope the earlier is fully true, and the latter to a slightly lesser extent (given my current marriage to books).
Pictured here: lichen on a page of reading from summer quarter.

Happy Valentine's Day

These maidenhair ferns, seen alongside Baker Lake this past July, arranged themselves this way.  

Two images today, both from the Pacific Science Center.  We went in part to view the Harry Potter travelling exhibit, and  in part because it is (and always has been) one of my favorite places to visit and learn.
In the image above, note the striking wing colours and its amazing little eye.  You'll also notice that only four of its six legs is visible.  This is true, too, of the other butterfly.  I'm not sure why this is. In the image below, note the pattern in its eye, and the tightly curled up mouth part.

Wishing you a happy, happy holiday season.  And for tomorrow, Happy New Year!
A poinsettia, holding a bubble of water in its cupped bract; Wright Park Conservatory, Tacoma

Frozen Leaves

I'm sure you've seen those leaf skeletons, coated in shimmery metals.  We have several that we hang on our Christmas tree each year.  These oak leaves, frozen versions of the enegry-collecting green leaves of summer hung stiff and unnaturally still on their branches, just like those pretty little metallic leaf skeletons.

Icy Icicle Creek

In Leavenworth this December we took a walk along Icicle Creek and the Wenatchee River.  It was mid-morning, but so dark, the sun obscured by fog and low, thick clouds.  As the sky began to clear we were crossing one of the icy bridges and saw the sight you see here.
It reminds me of an image taken on a much warmer day, a sunny September morning on the Olympic Peninsula.

Well, hello there!

This curious little fellow was found in our yard, and seemed just as curious about its human observers as we were of it.

Summer's End

Early on a bright, clear and truly gorgeous Saturday morning, during Seattle's finest time of year, we headed east into the mountains toward wedding in Eastern Oregon.  As we crested the summit, our car forced us to stop and enjoy the scenery.  Sections of the highway were closed to allow for stabilization of the adjacent slopes, so the tow truck was painfully delayed.  We made it to a shop 30 miles away just before they closed for the weekend and while we waited for our ride back home we explored a bit.  Regrettably we missed the wedding.  The beautiful bright sky made a striking backdrop for these impossibly tall summer's end sunflowers.

I encountered these tiny cup lichen (Cladonia) on a decaying bit of branch nestled in the thick, carpety moss on the forest floor while seeking out a good spot to hang devices to snag martin hair for a population study with which i was helping.  

Monkeying Around

Part of the benefit of this blog is to be more discerning and critical of my own photography and representation of it.  Another value of the exercise is to reflect on connections between photos i've taken (recently or not) and my life.  I don't presently see any notable connection between these guys and my life today.  Despite that, today i will be sharing altogether too many monkey photos.  Why?  Because i love them.  All but the first were taken in Angkor Wat, outside Siem Reap, Camboidia.  The one above is actually an Siamang, and is captive (you can see part of a second one in the picture). 

A late summer evening in Pt. Defiance park brought this chubby bumble bee to a perfectly shaped pink dahlia.
As i took this photo another parkgoer asked derek for permission to shoot a couple images of Kaya... i'd like to see those photos, too : )

Tacoma Art Museum

Vacilating between Tacoma's art museum and glass museum, i chose the earlier because i didn't really feel like looking at piles of chihuly glass. Funny thing, there's an instalment of his works at the center of the museum, so here it is.

The St. John's Bible exhibit is pretty amazing. Not particularly animal-friendly (written on calf-skin vellum using hand-plucked feather pens), but otherwise impressive and beautiful. The exhibit also included some very old works, including 15th century books that i enjoyed the opportunity to view.

In Times of War

We visited the museum at Ft. Lewis Army Base this weekend. Among the artifacts and bits of history related to American conflicts and wars were the sword in hand and bust of Saddam Hussein from the statue that formerly stood in Firdos Square in Baghdad, Iraq.

Within the open air exhibits was this tank. There was no plaque to explain its history, but it resonated for a different reason: those initiating war tend to quickly loose sight of the daily effects of war on the people involved. Though this image does nothing to capture the struggles and suffering of the soldiers or civilians affected each moment of every day that confilct continues, it does take a closer look at a tiny detail of a universal image of war.

To the Market

A recent trip to Pike Place Market yielded many photos i'm pleased with. Unfortunately, my camera has revolted and there seems to be light leaking in, as there are irritating white lines through most of the photos.

Seashore

The grey and white pattern is the remnants of former barnicle residents, current inhabitants continue to reside along the edges.
Deception Pass on Whidbey Island, Washington, July 2008.

Also, i'm switching to weekly photos. I'm hoping to take a new photo each week.

Since we were camping along the ocean, we spent a bit of time at the beach. I made a rock circle, with a white stripe connecting the stones comprising the circle. It seemed incomplete, though... too empty in the center and hence it became a peace symbol. The image felt complete with the ocean and islands in the background.

Fourth o' July

I chose this photo for today's image because i think it captures what the a little bit of what one might call the "American spirit"...
Beautiful geography and seemingly boundless nature, including Mt. Baker in the background and the wetlands and woods in midground... An appreciation of nature and independence (and humankind's best friend!), inferred from the trail marker... and the American Dream: a sturdy homestead, built over a century ago by a family starting with nearly nothing, with the work of their hands and mastery of the land (use of native materials, cultivation of untouched land into agriculture/horticulture). And one can't miss the colours featured: good ol' red, white and blue!
Hovander Homestead on Tennant Lake, WA, June 2006

Mmmmmm

I am drawn to the rustic, simple quality of the handmade bread and serated ridges in the slices of cheese. I like the contrast between the sandwich and the background, offered by the angle and a narrow depth of field. I am also pleased with the colours: the wall, baseboard and floor colours are all shared by the different parts of the sandwhich.

"It's Electric!"

Like my first photo of electricity? I do : )

I witnessed my first emergency weather announcement today, after coming inside from an hour of standing in awe (and with finger poised on the shutter release) at the second amazing lightening storm this week.

Little did i know that meanwhile the national weather service recommended that residents of my and several surrounding counties "move inside immediately." I hear there's nickel-sized hail in areas of the county. Yeesh -- at least i got some satisfying photos out of it!