A rough Painted Hills trail meanders ahead
Curving towards colorful hills of mystery
Cutting through foliage, shriveled and dead
Through an ancient landscape filled with history
Covered with ash spewed by Cascade volcanoes
Compacted, sculpted into hillside rainbows
Layered with varied stripes of red, green, and gold
Reminders of climates, hot, humid, and cold
Jo’s Monday Walk (JMW)
Ferment Brewing Company, in Hood River, Oregon, is a nice warm place for brews & views. I made it appear even warmer by using a warming filter in the photo below. The big tanks below are actually silver but I thought they looked great in gold! 😀
Ferment opened here in 2018. They fuse traditional farmhouse brewing techniques with a modern touch. The brewmaster, Dan Peterson, has a degree in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics and uses his scientific knowledge to create unique brews.
The fermenting theme is also featured in some of their food offerings. If you browse the menu, you’ll find fermented foods such as sauerkraut and kimchi, but fermentation is also in more unexpected offerings, like kombucha ketchup.
Their tasting room is decorated in a modern, industrial style, with lots of symmetry. It’s a comfortable spot to share a meal and a drink.
When I was 20 years old, I took classes to become a lifeguard. I always remember my instructor saying, “Don’t forget to look right in front of you.” I think these words could apply to many situations in life.
Here’s an old photo of me working as a lifeguard at Millersylvania State Park in Washington state.
I was reminded of those words again last Thursday. Since I recently hit 1,000+ subscribers on my blog, I decided to celebrate at a fancy restaurant in downtown Bend. While walking across the street in a crosswalk with the light, I was almost hit by a car making a turn. A passerby asked if I was hit by the bumper of the car—that’s how close it was. No, I wasn’t, but I was a bit shaken up. The driver of the car shouted, “I’m so sorry!” and drove away. Fortunately, the rest of the evening went well.
So, my words of wisdom for today are, “Don’t forget to look right in front of you.”
I also wanted to thank all my subscribers. THANK YOU! 😀
What’s so special about the metropolis of Thermopolis? It’s a great place to stay to see several amazing attractions nearby.
Thermopolis is a small city located in central Wyoming. In 2020, its population was 2,725. Its name means “hot city” in Greek. Here’s a view of it in the distance from Hot Springs State Park. Though I didn’t take pictures of the downtown, the sights within and near the city are very photogenic.
As you can see in the photo below, they proudly advertise their hot springs. “World’s Largest Mineral Hot Spring” is spelled out in big white lettering. Visitors can pay to soak in two commercial hot springs or soak for free in the state-owned State Bath House.
We stayed in our campervan for much of our recent multi-state trip, but our driver needed a break, so we stayed in a Thermopolis hotel for a couple of nights.
In celebration of St Patrick’s Day, I’m sharing Guinness beer advertisements I saw at the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin. We were there in March of 2020.
The first one is a giant tortoise carrying a beer. It looks pretty happy!
The second one shows a display cabinet full of toucans and other items. The toucan was a favorite, used in many of their ads.
The Garden of Surging Waves is located in Astoria, Oregon. The city was founded in 1811 and this garden was a gift to celebrate the city’s 200th anniversary. The Chinese were an important part of Astoria’s history. At one time, 22% of the city’s population was Chinese. In the Pacific Northwest, Chinese were instrumental in the cannery, logging, mining, and railroad construction industries.
I’m starting with a circular mosaic of three sturgeon. It was my favorite artwork there.
This is part of the Pavilion of Transition, pictured below. The fish theme is repeated in the circular lantern hanging above the mosaic. Nine salmon swim around its perimeter.
The pavilion has eight columns with dragons carved into each. The squares, circles, and even and odd numbers in this garden represent elements of Yin and Yang.
The view from a Badlands bench in Badlands National Park, South Dakota.
Why are they called the Badlands? The Lakota name for this place is mako sica, which translates to “bad lands.” Later, when early French fur trappers moved through this land, they called it les mauvaises terres a traveser, which means “bad lands to travel across.”
Hot, dry summers and cold, windy winters, combined with few sources of water, make this an inhospitable environment. During times of heavy rainfall, the soil becomes slick and sticky. The jagged mountains and canyons are hard to navigate through. Though evidence of Indigenous people hunting in this area has been found, it was used seasonally, not year-round.
We were at this Badlands bench scenic viewpoint in the beginning of June, early in the morning. Temperatures were already in the low 90s. It must get really hot in the middle of summer. The layered mountains are photogenic, probably even more so after a good rain.
Garden art may be realistic and small
Or tall and abstract, casting striking shadows
You may hear garden art bark from the shadows cast by trees
Continue readingIn the moments before dawn,
Light from a single star
Awakens the spirit
Hidden within
Slumbering winter trees
Today I’m sharing an apple drawing I did using the stipple technique with pen-and-ink. I used hundreds of tiny dots of ink to portray this red delicious apple.
Most of the time when I’m working on a final version of a drawing, I work on it from start to finish. However, when I’m doing a stipple drawing, I often take breaks. Sometimes I go back to it the next day. You have to concentrate on not overlapping dots in most of the drawing. If you’re too hyper or too tired, you will mess up. I was happy how this drawing turned out after working on it for a couple of days.
To go with the drawing, I’m sharing a photograph I took of a red delicious apple. For this portrait, I used the Food setting on my Samsung Galaxy phone. I like how it blurred the background. It reminded me I should experiment more with other settings on my phone.
Continue readingToday I’m sharing a particularly challenging photo edit I worked on recently. Sometimes putting extra time into something can really pay off.
When I visited the Museum of the American West in Lander, Wyoming last year, I took a couple pictures of an art piece entitled The Confrontation. I marveled at the detail the artist, Tess Diaz, created with thousands of tiny glass beads.
Here are the two pictures I took that day, shown with no editing. As you can see, the bright light and many reflections hid the beauty of the work.
I was driving near my house early one morning when I saw this sight. It was a hawk eating breakfast on the road.
I had interrupted a Red-tailed Hawk while it was feasting on a rabbit or hare. The local Black-billed Magpies appeared out of nowhere to get the leftovers.
As you can see, if you zoom in, the magpie pictured below was moving at a speed of 0 MPH. 😉
The hawk wisely decided to move its breakfast off the road.
Today I’ll be featuring a photo of a 1935 Chevrolet fire truck on display at the High Desert Museum in Bend, Oregon, edited three ways. This truck, pieced together with parts from trucks in Prineville and Lakeview, Oregon, was restored to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Smokey Bear. For years, Smokey Bear has been reminding people how to prevent wildfires.
I’ll show a pair of pictures with and without editing effects. Slide the slider to see the full images. I use Corel Paintshop Pro software to edit my photos.
The first pair shows the original picture and one using the Hot Wax Coating Artistic Effect. I like how it almost looks like a pen and ink drawing with color added.
The second pair shows the original picture and one using a Retro Lab Photo Effect. The effect darkened the whole picture. I loved how it and gave the chrome details a warm brass color.
Continue readingA colorful daylily trail in the Oregon Garden in Silverton, Oregon.
These perennials have showy, long-lasting flowers that attract butterflies and hummingbirds. Daylilies grow well in full sun to partial shade.
Here’s a closer view of violet purple daylilies with bright yellow throats. I’m not sure what variety of daylily this is, but I loved its ruffled edges.
Sounds of wild creatures, the large and the small,
Pulling our attention, leaving us enthralled
Small Black-throated Sparrows pause and perch high
Singing unforgettable melodies to deep azure skies
Large Wild Turkeys graze and promenade
Chortling calls rise, then fall in cascades
We try to support local businesses by dining out at least once week. We recently visited Chomp Chomp in downtown Bend, Oregon.
Their website describes what they serve as follows:
Gently expand your culinary horizons while enjoying our broad curation of Japanese, local and global whiskies, seasonal cocktails, and draft beer
The first dish I’m showing is Kara’agé. Tasty bits of fried dark chicken meat rest on a bed of rice with cucumber slices, pickled ginger, a slice of lemon, and house-made dipping sauce.
This handsome mule deer buck was searching for a sweetheart in my front yard.
Wishing you a Happy Valentine’s Day, filled with love (and chocolate)!
Paddling beneath the clouds
Floating lacelike
Over lakes of lifegiving water
Puffs of pale exhalations
Follow meandering rivers
This osprey & fish sculpture is at the north end of the Old Mill District shopping mall in Bend. When I walked by it recently, ice covering most of the pond made it stand out.
Here’s a more distant view that includes the two flag bridges. They change the color of the flags on these bridges to celebrate holidays and events.
There’s an osprey nest just north of here, right next to the Bend Whitewater Park. I bet the local birds would love to catch two fish at once, as portrayed in this sculpture.
This dramatic mural, The Future Starts Now, is located on The Palace building in Burns, Oregon.
The artist, Matthew Miles Gutierrez, goes by the nickname of Matteo Miles. Miles has done graphic design, canvas paintings, tattoos, sculptures, and sewing projects. His personal interest in pop culture and vintage ads shows in this mural.
Miles was invited to paint murals in Burns by Forrest and Jen Keady. The Keadys were impressed by the work he’d done in Greenville, South Carolina, where he lives. They wanted murals in Burns “that would spread a positive message, bring life and energy to the spaces they occupy, and give people yet another reason to stop in our small town.”
The Keadys requested that this mural be more edgy. The woman portrayed is part 1950s pinup/ part cowgirl. Her tattoo-covered arms bring her forward to more modern times.
I visited Burns on a chilly day in April 2023 and The Future Starts Now radiated a warm feeling. It delivered exactly what the Keadys hoped it would.
Monday Murals
The spirit of a sea creature living on, forever guarding its seaside home
Fiery red maple leaves, trembling in autumn’s cool showers
The edges of never-ending books, revealing themselves on rolling hillsides
Continue readingToday I’m showing a few pen-and-ink vine maple drawings I created. Years ago, I took a Scientific Illustration course during spring quarter at the University of Washington.
The teacher had us take a cutting from a tree or shrub and place it into a glass of water. I clipped off a piece of vine maple, Acer circinatum, growing in my yard. Each week, we drew the twig using a different technique. The twigs leafed out a little more throughout the course. I thought it was one of the most clever teaching ideas I’d ever seen.
The first drawing shows a vine maple line drawing with varying weights of line. With certain nibs, if you press down the line becomes heavier. This is a view of blooms close up.
The second drawing shows the stipple technique. It takes a steady hand to do all those tiny dots of ink.
Elk sculpture in snow at High Desert Museum, Bend, Oregon with infrared processing.
This snowy bear sculpture is located on the east side of Bend, Oregon. It’s part of our privately funded roundabout art collection. Art in Public Places has helped fund art in over 20 of our 51 traffic roundabouts.
I’ve been waiting for snow to fall here in Bend to photograph this sculpture. Can you see why I liked showing it as a snowy bear?
Grizzly was created by Montana-based artist Sherry Sander in 2001.
This sculpture is a block away from Bend High School. The mythical lava bear is their mascot.
Here’s one more photo, taken a month later, showing more snow covering the statue.
To see some of Bend’s horse-related sculptures in roundabouts and elsewhere, see my Outdoor Horse Sculptures post.
a placid ocean
embraces rocky seastacks
sculptures of the wild
Today I’m featuring quotes related to snow next to snowy pictures taken in my yard. Winter has finally arrived here in Bend, Oregon.
A snow day literally and figuratively falls from the sky, unbidden, and seems like a thing of wonder.
Susan Orlean
Advice is like snow – the softer it falls, the longer it dwells upon, and the deeper it sinks into the mind.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
On a recent trip to the Oregon Coast, we made a short stop at Lewis and Clark National Historical Park, near Astoria. We were there early in the morning time, before the Fort Clatsop Visitor Center and Bookstore opened.
We walked the short trail to see the replica of Fort Clatsop.
After the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, Thomas Jefferson commissioned an expedition to explore the new territory and lands farther west. At that time, little was known of the natural resources along the route. Jefferson hoped to find a water route across the U.S. and establish good relations with Indigenous residents.
In November of 1805, the Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery arrived in a storm-wracked location north of the Columbia River in what is now Washington State. They voted on whether they should stay there, move upriver, or establish a camp south of the river, as the local tribes suggested. They overwhelmingly voted to move to the Fort Clatsop site, south of the river.
The group started construction on the original fort in December of 1805. Construction went slowly because of the stormy weather conditions.
cat seeking comfort
tolerant dog shares her bed
warmth on a fall day
Finding drama in branches haphazardly woven together
Or planted in concise rows bearing intoxicating fruit
A bony seat and view at Dinosaur National Monument in Utah.
This bench fit right in next to the enormous wall full of dinosaur bones.
It’s a wonderful place to visit for those who love dinosaurs and fossils.
This colorful mural is at the Egg River Cafe in Hood River, Oregon. The rooster crows proudly from a fence post in front of a happy little farm. Orchards cover rolling foothills and Mount Hood peeks out in the distance. Chicken-themed decorations can be found throughout the restaurant.
This is a great place to stop for breakfast or lunch while visiting Hood River.
Here are some of my 2023 favorites. Enjoy!
Quiet places to sit and ponder the wonders of nature
Bridges swaying over stormy seas, with thundering waves below
Landscapes uplifted over eons to reveal the colors of earth’s core
