Cold Snap

Dead trees frozen in a slow-moving river-bend.

Water Under the Bridge

Ripples in the water cast their reflection onto the underside of the bridge.

More Fall Colors

Day dawns foggy. Brightly colored trees stand in sharp contrast to the dreary morning.




Later in the morning, along the river, the fog lifts.



In the full sun of the afternoon, the intentsity of the colors is striking.

Good Morning Richland

Sunrise on the Columbia River, Richland, Washington.


A little early morning fishing.

A weekend in the Santa Maria area

I spent the weekend in and around Santa Maria, CA, visiting with friends. We chanced upon the Rancho Guadalupe Dunes Preserve, a beautiful stretch of beach with dunes, surrounded by a small but beautiful wilderness preserve. Driving toward this park, we passed seemingly endless fields of farmland growing a variety of produce in various stages.


This field was recently ploughed and seeded with a new crop.


Just before the entrance to the park, this twisted old tree greets our arrival.


Driving into the park, a narrow winding road passes first a sand works where sandbags and trucks are loaded with sand for various uses; then climbs a sand hill to overlook a little river valley where cattle peacefully graze.


The view just across the road is of a very different landscape looking more like an isolated desolate wilderness than a coastal region so close to fertile farm land.


We found crowds on the beach, not of people, but pelicans, seagulls, and a few other species of birds.


Pelicans congregate on the shoreline in preparation for another sortie.


Suddenly, the sortie begins. Within a few seconds, hundreds of the huge birds surge skyward looking like a swarm of enormous bats rising into the sky.


A pelican flies overhead coming around after take-off.


Just a short distance from all the life lies a patch of Mars. Apparently lifeless, it consists of rocks that closely resemble many of the surface-level images sent back by the various rovers exploring the surface of that planet.


Looking rather like its dinosaur roots, an emu at a local winery peers over the fence separating it from the parking lot.


Next vintage gets its start.