Horsetail forest

The hill up Arctic Boulevard between the Chester Creek valley & Fireweed Lane is covered with horsetail in the summertime. As of yet they're young, but beautiful for all their commonness.

Raven in flight

A lucky shot: I have historically had one heckuva hard time getting good photos of ravens in flight.

I've noticed that the ravens don't seem to be leaving town very quickly this year, in fact for the last couple or so years. It used to be that when the seagulls started flying in, the ravens would go; & any ravens that stuck around were likely to undergo major seagull harassment. But down in Homer I've noticed that the ravens, crows, & gulls all seem to coexist fairly peaceably, if not quite as friends. Maybe the ravens up here are fed up with gull attitudes, & have decided to be stubborn? I just know it's nice to have them around. I've got more affection for them, than for gulls.

Sphagnum moss & sundew plants

Ft. Richardson Military Reservation, Anchorage, Alaska. 5 Jul 2003.

This is one of my favorite "early" digitial photos, when I was first really getting a grasp on the power of the macro functions of my camera. I started taking a lot of ground shots: not necessarily focusing on individual plants, but upon the micro-community of several plants that grew wherever it was they were. This one has sundew, sphagnum moss, horsetail, just to name three... it's just so complex & rich. Like life.

Candle

Because I'm thinking a lot about my mom today. This is one of a whole bunch of candles we lit right after I got back from Spokane, two weeks after her death.

Clouds at our feet

Clouds at our feet
Originally uploaded by yksin.

We were first under clouds, then in deep fog, all the way up to our friend's place on Rabbit Creek Road & Goldenview in south Anchorage. On other days, we look down from our friend's house to the mudflats & waters of Turnagain Arm in northern Cook Inlet; but on this day, we looked down on the clouds we'd driven up through. You'd think with a sky like this it was a hot summer evening, but it was actually early January. Anchorage, Alaska. 5 Jan 2004.

Matanuska Valley farm and Pioneer Peak

North of Palmer, Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska. 5 Apr 2003.

A couple of years ago, my friend Chris & I went on a photo safari along in the Mat-Su one fine April day. What could be more cool breezier than that?

Rocks in clear water

This is how I'm feeling today: clear & clean. A cool breeze feeling (though it's cold water in the picture). Among many things I'm reminded of by these rocks and the water over them, I am reminded of my mom, who loved this lake so much. And me? Some of the first photos of me ever taken were taken at Lake McDonald.

Cut apple

For our Thanksgiving apple pies. Anchorage, Alaska. 24 Nov 2005.

A very tasty (& might I say very sexual) Fuji. Now that I'm watching my low vs. high glycemic index carbohydrates, these sweet beings are becoming a regular part of my diet.