Monday, August 29, 2011

Day 241 - Roast Lamb

For those who might be a bit squeamish at seeing an entire roasted lamb on a spit, I'm only posting this . . . but trust me, it was delicious.

Museum of Glass

On the waterfront in Tacoma is the Museum of Glass, a relatively new museum dedicated to contemporary glass art.



Being outside the museum at sunrise unfortunately meant it wasn't open yet to visitors, but the light was perfect for the cone that houses the glassblowing Hot Shop and the two large outdoor installations, Fluent Steps and Water Forest.


Friday, August 26, 2011

Day 240 - Nooksack River Pano







This is the Nooksack River at the base of Mt. Baker in the Snoqualmie National Forest, located in Whatcom, Washington.

Gotta love those names.

Day 239 - Spider

"Spider on Foxglove"

A (mostly) still life. Double-click on the picture to really see the beauty in the detail.

Day 238 - Inchworm

"Two and two are four
Four and four are eight

Eight and eight are sixteen
Sixteen and sixteen are thirty-two"

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Day 237 - Foxglove
























All along the side of the road were these long stalks of foxglove, or Digitalis purpurea. Because of its toxicity, I personally like one of its other names: Dead Man's Bells.

Day 236 - Color

Don't know what these were, but there were a lot of 'em, and they were the most color in an otherwise drab, rainy forest.

Day 235 - Maple Leafs

Yes, I know the plural of "leaf" is "leaves," but since I was only a stone's throw from the Canadian border, I'm spelling it this way.

Day 234 - Mt. Baker

Hard to believe that there's still snow on the mountains in mid-August.

Day 233 - Sunrise Pano






The sunrise over the marina in downtown Tacoma was absolutely stunning.

Day 232 - Warehouse Lofts





















This old warehouse was converted into loft apartments; the top is the newer side facing the marina, the bottom is the older side facing the train tracks.

Day 231 - Union Station

The old Union Station in downtown Tacoma is now a courthouse building.

Day 230 - Sunset






















Production means long days, which means you're on set for both sunrise and sunset.

Day 229 - Mt. Ranier

On a recent trip to the Pacific Northwest, I spent some time in Tacoma. This was the view of Mt. Ranier from my hotel window.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Day 228 - Poker Pano








Three generations of a family playing poker outside on a summer afternoon . . . awesome.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Day 227 - Life Lessons

Don't bet against an 89-year old World War II Navy veteran in poker...he never bluffs.

Monday, August 15, 2011

Day 226 - Tomatoes

There's just something about fresh, ripe, seasonal tomatoes . . .

Day 225 - Blocking

I may not have the strongest arm, but I do pride myself in being able to block balls in the dirt.

Day 224 - Baserunning






















Many thanks to my teammate George for shooting these pictures of me playing for the Beachwood Canyon Giants . . .

Day 223 - Downtown Baseball Panorama






One of the baseball fields we play at in the Los Angeles Baseball League is the Roybal Learning Center downtown.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Day 222 - People I Dig

Steve is one of the smartest people I know; I'm privileged to call him both a colleague and a friend. His love for the outdoors is complemented nicely by his skill as a photographer, and his Midwestern upbringing and solid moral fiber makes his personality top-notch to boot.

We're the same age, just two days apart, and this is nearly a month overdue, but happy birthday, amigo, and may your trails always be clear.

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Day 221 - People I Dig

It's been often said that MD is the face of the agency; I can't imagine anyone better.

Friday, August 5, 2011

Day 220 - Catalina Sunset

And with this lovely sunset pano from Parson's Landing, we bid adieu to Catalina Island, at least for this trip. I've finally caught up to my picture a day quota too, so with only 145 days left in 2011, let's see what else comes my way . . .

Day 219 - Campfire

A campfire on the beach at sunset? Yes, please . . .

Day 218 - Campfire

Sometimes you just need to warm your feet . . .

Day 217 - Sea Pebbles

The beach at Parson's Landing wasn't sand, but rather this amalgamation of small stones, pebbles, and sea shells.

Day 216 - Camping Names

Continuing another tradition, we were all given camping names which we put on our cups . . . these are "Tomfoolery 1" and "Tomfoolery 2."

Day 215 - Tube Snails

The shells of these tube snails are cemented to other rocks . . .

Day 214 - Beach / Canyon Pano





The far end of Parson's Landing went from the water back up into the hills that we had hiked along on our way in.

Day 213 - Campfire Cooking

My friend Mike has noted the absence of food pics in this here space, so Mike, this one's for you:

One of the best parts about camping is cooking over a wood fire . . . there's a definite difference between a charcoal grill and an actual campfire.

We had tri-tip for dinner both nights, and S'mores for dessert . . .


Day 212 - Campsite

Rather than pitch the tent on the shoreline gravel, we opted for a flat patch of dirt nestled a bit further back. More comfortable, less windy, and much quieter . . .

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Day 211 - Parson's Landing

Over seven miles and a few blisters later, we made it to our campsite at Parson's Landing.

Day 210 - Texture

I suppose the hike wouldn't have taken as long if I hadn't stopped so often to take pictures . . .

Day 209 - Solitude






















The Silver Peak Trail climbed over 1500 feet in a very short period of time, making the steep entry hike very challenging; we wondered what the fence posts we passed were meant to keep in or out . . .

Day 208 - Prickly Pear

Day 207 - Prickly Pear

The prickly pear cactus, or opuntia, were blooming all along our hiking route and campsite.


Day 206 - Catalina Harbor











Across the isthmus from Two Harbors is the actual Catalina Harbor.

Day 205 - Isthmus Pano







A narrow isthmus connects the small northern part of the island to the larger southern part.