A few photos from my travels.

A few photographs from my travels, specifically from California, other places out West, Costa Rica and Alaska for this blurb. I'm still writing, too, and will be bringing the fifth book to light this year. So be watching.

It's been an awfully long time since I've posted anything here, but nonetheless I am still taking photographs, and here are a few for your perusal.

From Coast to Coast...

Just wanted to wish all of you out there, from Coast to Coast, a most merry and safe Christmas!

It's been a long time.

A long time since I posted on this blog. Perhaps it has been a long and sterile period for me. Anyway, I decided to post something from way back (1980). It is a photo of one of my paintings, which I did from memory. It was of a scene I remembered from Coshocton, Ohio, and it was seared into my memory, and I really don't know why. In any event, here it is for your perusal:

Alaska - why it's still important.

These are just some random photos from our recent trip to Alaska, and which I believe show just what it is about Alaska that is so important for us to realize. There is more to this state that can be experienced in one excursion, no matter how wonderful!

Continuing on...

I've decided this time to  create something of a theme - namely wildlife. So, here are some example of wildlife, both flora and fauna, which we encountered on our trip to Alaska.

Now this first photo is of whales - humpback whales, who happened to be "bubble net feeding." This is an elaborate ritual with humpbacks, during which the whales form a circular arrangement well below the surface of the water, and as they rise, they each blow a stream of bubbles, which has the effect of trapping the (usually) herring within their net of bubbles, and then, before they reach the water's surface they vocalize suddenly, which paralyzes the fish, and makes an easy meal of them, both for the whales and the waiting seagulls at the water's surface. Fascinating behavior!

This next picture is actually a repeat of a photo taken during our first trip to Alaska, and which has been turned into one of my paintings, which is in our bedroom. The wildlife here you can't actually see, but you know they're there. Namely the salmon, which come up the river every other year at this time to spawn. Now you'll have to take my word for it - they're there, even if you can't see them.

With this next photo, I'm cheating a bit. First of all, it is not actually in Alaska, but in Victoria, BC, where we stopped. You know about Butchert Gardens, but this picture is actually taken in one of their city parks, open year-round and available to everyone. And the other reason I'm cheating is that the flowers and shrubs are not strictly indigenous, but still...

And this last photo - anyone's guess as to what it is, and why I've included it in this set of pictures?

Alaska voyage, the Start

We started off for our Alaska cruise/vacation/seminar with a real sense of relief. I had been working 12-hour shifts until the day before our flight. And my wife, Sara, was ready for the getaway, as she had also been at work, taking care of grandkids, the house, our demanding pets. So, we were both very ready...

We left from

Seattle on a picture perfect day, and headed North with great anticipation.

After our evening get-together with the others in my conference, it was time for a sit back and enjoy the view and enjoy the food time. 

More, later, as we stopped along the way in Juneau, and did some whale watching, and got to enjoy a salmon bake, second to none.