The natural world, life, and dogs.
Autumn in these Idaho mountains arrives in late August and continues until the snow comes, usually in late November. A few late-blooming flowers offer splashes of color while the grasses, leaves and larch needles transition from green to various shades of yellows, oranges, reds and browns. It's pretty, in an understated way. This has been… Continue reading Dog Photobombs VIII – Autumn
A drop in temperature, into the zone well below freezing, brought frost, highlighting bits of the natural world that would otherwise remain obscure. Spider webs. I started this recent morning walk with my dogs thinking my phone camera would remain in my pocket, that there wouldn't be anything new or interesting to photograph. I was… Continue reading Webs
A note: This post is a departure from my usual efforts. While this essay does reflect on “the natural world, life, and dogs,” the themes of my Wild Sensibility blog, the recent event prompting it entails much sorrow: the sudden, tragic accidental death of my brother. This post describes my initial steps on the long… Continue reading In the Blink of an Eye
Peak wildflower season in the mountains. I could use a little brightness right now so I'm setting the dog photobomb wayback machine to springtime in the mountains. Enjoy! Look at the cute tree swallow! Not technically a dog bomb.... Incoming on the left... ...moving through. My favorite, a Lewis's monkeyflower on my little monkey, Finn.… Continue reading Dog Photobombs VII: Late May through July, 2020.
There's a trail in the Payette National Forest not far from my home that has always been a favorite. A few days ago, I got lucky: the morning I decided to run/hike there with the dogs - October 5th - the wildfire smoke that had been blanketing this area cleared out the night before. The… Continue reading Getting High (in Elevation)
My house does a pretty good job of keeping outside critters outside. Mice have chewed away the edges of the rubber strips along the garage doors and gained access there, but thankfully they've never managed to make it from the garage into the house. Stink bugs somehow find access points through my home's foundation. Of… Continue reading Another Uninvited Guest
A forest trail run in the Payette National Forest this morning. A loop on trails maintained for mountain biking with lots of variety in terrain. Remote, at elevations between 6,000 - 7,000 feet. So peaceful. So pretty. My therapy. Maybe yours, too. Enjoy! Near a big aspen grove (the same one with the Basque tree… Continue reading Autumn in the Payette
Autumn is a second spring where every leaf is a flower.Albert Camus Change. Adapting. Each day, week, month, season, year, brings something new and evolving, something challenging, a change anticipated or maybe not, but necessary to absorb in order to move forward. My life-long mantra: Change is good. Change may not always feel good at… Continue reading Everything Changes
The bird has flown its nest and it is free to fly the skies of the world. The birds are gone. Well, most of the songbirds, anyway. I’m surprised how sad this makes me. This is the first summer I’ve taken an interest in any migratory birds other than the tree swallows who nest in… Continue reading Naturalism: The Birds Have Left
All but one of these photobombs occurred in the first half of May 2020, when wildflowers were near their peak in the Payette National Forest at elevations between 4,000-4,500 feet. My dogs are patient as I constantly stop to take closeups of wildflowers when we're out in the forest. They explore nearby as they wait,… Continue reading Dog Photobombs VI: Early May 2020
