Ran-Tong Elephant Sanctuary, Chiange Mai, Thailand, September 2024

An elephant, flanked by its handler, responds to our volunteer guide as we arrive at the sanctuary.

What an amazing day we had, feeding, washing, and loving on the elephants, who are all at the sanctuary after being rescued from a life of labor and abuse. We were encouraged to talk and sing to the elephants and gently touch them, as this would help them recover from the fear and trauma they experienced at the hands of other humans.

We may have helped them a little, but they more than returned the favor, giving us moments of wonder we will never forget.

Death Valley National Park, CA, January 2017

This unwordly landscape is the result of a rare rain event in Death Valley National Park. This flat valley, below sea level, is a bed of salt, which makes patterns in the shallow standing water after a rain.

The water was shallow enough when we visited that we could walk across it, only getting the bottoms of our feet wet. The salt patterns looked like the snow or ice of a strange science fiction world, and the snow-capped mountains added to the wierd beauty of the scene.

Brandywine Falls, Whistler, BC, Canada, May 2024

Highway 99 between Whistler and Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada, is a lovely, scenic route, with several waterfalls within a short walk from the highway. In the spring they run full from the snowmelt off the nearby mountains. We were able to visit in May, an ideal time. The other falls take winding paths, splitting over rocks and shooting through underground tunnels, but Brandywine Fall is no-nonsense, shooting out from its lip into a full cascade.

Yaquina Head Lighthouse, near Newport, OR, May 2024

Newport is always a fun place to visit, for the beach, for the harbor with its boats, shops, and great seafood, and most especially for the nearby lighthouses. The lighthouse at Yaquina Head is an especially lovely one, and we were fortunate to visit on a beautiful sunny day, with blue skies, lots of wildflowers, and the bonus of seals and nesting Cormorants in the bay below.

My cat, Topaz, July 2017

Topaz was a member of our family from 2004 to 2019. She gave us many hours of fun and delightful snuggles. When my children were in college they asked for pictures of her on a daily basis, so I got out my camera and began snapping one photo after another. I now have hundreds of pictures, and though I seldom look at them, from time to time I enjoy pulling one up and remembering the good times with this delightful kitty.

I credit Topaz and an earlier kitty for my fascination with felines, which led me to create sentient cats for my fantasy world, Kakislane.

Sandhill Cranes takes flight near Monte Vista, CO, March 2018

Every spring thousands of Sandhill Cranes, geese, and ducks stop off near Monte Vista, CO during their migration north to their nesting territory. They are attracted by the combination of abundant water and fallow farmlands (which they can glean for fallen grain to fuel their flight north).

Their stop in Monte Vista is long enough that the town hosts a Sandhill Crane festival each year in March. In 2018 my son and I took a short (overnighter) trip to see the cranes. What an amazing experience, to see these fascinating birds coming in from the fields in the evening, soaring through the sky in an age-old dance and coasting in for a landing, or rising as one to fill the sky again.

Sunset and Moonrise over Mount Lemmon, Tucson, AZ December 2023

From the back yard of our Christmas holiday rental, we were treated to this full moon rising over Mt Lemmon and the Suguaros of the Sonoran Desert. Behind me as I captured this photo is the eastern unit of Suguaro National Park. At 9,159 ft, Mt Lemmon is the highest point in the Santa Catalina Mountains, a Sky Island in the desert, offering a vastly different environment from the desert below and providing a local ski destination for Tucson residents.

Brown Pelican, Charleston, SC, March 2012

On a fun spring break trip in 2012, we took in the sights in Charleston, SC. It’s a beautiful city, but, being a bird lover, I was as fascinated by the the pelicans and other sea birds as I was by the city and its history. This brown pelican was still in its winter plumage.

Colorado Front Range Neighborhood, October 2023

It’s that time of the year. The big guys of the local deer herds are sporting impressive racks of antlers, and the first snows are starting to fall along the Colorado Front Range. I came across this buck browsing among the evergreens after a late October storm that dumped almost a foot of snow on our neighborhood.

A native pollinator enjoying a blooming Butterfly Weed (Asclepias Tuberosa), Bettendorf, IA, Summer 2016.

My prairie garden at my previous home in Bettendorf, IA was a little messy at times, but I loved it that way. Not only did I get a wild riot of color and interest year round, but, with mostly native plants, it attracted a host of native wildlife. Some of its greatest pleasures came in moments such as the one captured in this photo, when native insects or birds came calling.

Storm clouds rolling in, June 2023

I’m fascinated by clouds. I walked outside my front door one summer evening, looked at the sky, and raced back in for my camera. This storm was coming from the east, which is very unusual, and a hint of evening sun touched the clouds from the west. A little later, the clouds were upon us with a massive storm–torrential rain and an incredible lightning show.

A spring snowstorm advances over South Park in Colorado, May 2023.

South Park is a grassland flat in central Colorado, encircled by the Mosquito and Park ranges of the Rocky Mountains. As I drove through South Park along Highway 24, I paused in my race to beat the storm in order to get some pictures of the stark wild beauty of the battle between sun and clouds. There was little doubt the clouds would win this time, but I managed to miss the worst of the storm.

Lake Wakatipu, New Zealand, March 2023.

After a day cruising the lake on the restored steamship T. S. S. Earnslaw and enjoying lunch at a sheep farm in the middle of magnificent alpine scenery, we were treated to this lovely sunset in Queenstown, New Zealand. The perfect end to a lovely day.

March 2013. Arches National Park toward evening. We were amazed, at every turn, by the multitude of shapes, layers, colors. The desert southwest is arid, but not barren, and certainly not devoid of beauty. Some of the most stunning vistas are found in this harsh and unforgiving landscape, where the sky seems to go on forever and there is room to fling your arms wide, breath deeply, and let your heart and mind expand.

December 2022, Marrakech, Morocco, where we visited the Jardin Majorelle (Majorelle Garden). The blue color found throughout is named for the garden’s founder, Frenchman Jacques Majorelle–Majorelle Blue. The garden houses an exotic collection of cactus–not native to Morocco.

Japanese Garden at the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens, November 2022. I drove through a snow storm to get from Colorado to Fort Worth, but the Botanic Gardens were still green, the trees were in nearly full leaf, and, not shown in this photo, flowers were still blooming. A stroll through the gardens was like balm to my soul, especially since I was able to enjoy it with a good friend.

The Keeper of the Plains, WIchita, KS. A sculpture by Kiowa-Comanche artist Blackbear Bosin, the Keeper of the Plains presides over the confluence of the Arkansas and Little Arkansas Rivers near downtown Wichita.

The Rings of Fire (fire pits) are lit in a short ceremony each evening and burn for about fifteen minutes before being extingished. I took this photo during the ceremony on a perfect July evening in 2021.

Book, books, and more books. The Long Room in the Old Library at Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland, August 2022.

The Long Room holds 200,000 books, many of them rare, early volumes. The Trinity Harp, dating back to the 15th century and the oldest harp in Ireland, is also on display here.

On our visit to the library, we were also priveleged to view the acient and magnificent Book of Kells, created between the 6th to the 8th century.

Borgarnes, Iceland, at dusk, September 2019. This charming town sits on the Borgarfjordur about an hour north of Reykjavik, across the second longest bridge in Iceland.

It is a cultural center, historical settlement, and commerce center for this region of western Iceland. We visited one of the local museums, The Settlement Centre, and gained a good understanding of the early days of Iceland’s settlement. This view was from our Bed and Breakfast across the Fjord.

Hildene, the Lincoln Family Home, Manchester, VT, May 2022. Abraham Lincoln’s son, Robert Todd Lincoln, built this lovely home as a summer residence after making his fortune as an officer of the Pullman Co. His daughter designed the formal garden as a gift to her mother. Both the house and grounds are open to visitors. This view takes in the back entrance and the formal gardens on a beautiful spring day. 

Mount Ranier, Washington, July 2013. When we rolled into our campground clouds obscured the mountain, as is often the case. But by the time our camp was set, the clouds were rolling away, and the next day we enjoyed one of Ranier’s rare clear and sunny days. Spectacular views met us at every turn. It was a glorious day.

Courtyard fountain at the Alhambra, Granada, Spain. The Alhambra housed the court of the Muslim kings of Granada from the 13th to the 15th centuries. Ferdinand and Isabella took it over in 1492 as they completed the Chrisitan reconquest of Spain. Photo is from a trip to the area in September 2018.

Burrowing Owl at the Sornoran Desert Museum, Tucson, AZ, December 2021. The museum is a great place to get up close with desert plants and animals. This little owl is cute, but still has the full measure of owlishness, as the eye’s stare demonstrates.

A temple near the Parthenon on the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. One of the many photos from a January 2020 trip. Viewing ancient sites like this (and photographing them) is one of my favorite aspects of travel.