And so the sun sets on 2009. Sometimes nature is much more phantasmagorical than man. Who coulda come up with these colors? If a person would have done this, it would have seemed unnatural. Go figure. Broken Top, South, Middle and North Sisters (left to right) Near Terrebonne, Oregon; January, 2008.

It's below freezing and there's a ton of snow outside today. So I thought I'd harken back to a warmer time. (Click on the thumbnail to see Vancouver Island in the distance) Cortes Island, BC, Canada; July, 2004.

Looks like Santa left a cat under the tree. Clackamas, Oregon; December, 2009.

The card on the tree. 'Nuff said. Vancouver, Washington; December, 2009.

One of the many cool old buildings in New England. (Click on the thumbnail to get the fully gingerbread effect) Upstate New York; August, 2007.

The city laid out in front of me at sunset from the dome of the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur. Paris, France; September, 2009.

The 3 Sisters peaks, South (left), Middle, and North (under the cloud on right) near Sisters, Oregon; December, 2009.

Colorful rocks and a dramatic sky near sunset. (click on the thumbnail to see the mansion across the canyon) Sedona, Arizona; September, 2005.

The view from the hanging restaurant terrace. Red Rocks State Park and Amphitheater, Morrison, Colorado; July, 2007.

The new healthcare plan

WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report) - The United States Senate today unveiled details of its health care plan, tentatively called CompromiseCare^TM:

-- Under CompromiseCare^TM, people with no coverage will be allowed to keep their current plan.

-- Medicare will be extended to 55-year-olds as soon as they turn 65.

-- You will have access to cheap Canadian drugs if you live in Canada.

-- States whose names contain vowels will be allowed to opt out of the plan.

-- You get to choose which doctor you cannot afford to see.

-- You will not have to be pre-certified to qualify for cremation.

-- A patient will be considered "pre-existing" if he or she already exists.

-- You'll be free to choose between medications and heating fuel.

-- Patients can access quality health care if they can prove their name is "Lieberman."

-- You will have access to natural remedies, such as death.

Late afternoon along the Canal du Nivernais, Burgundy region of France; September, 2009.

Tourists watch as a rainbow appears on the far shore. Lincoln City, Oregon; June, 2005.

A colorful, but ancient, garage door. (Click on the thumbnail to read the sign). Jerome, Arizona; May, 2007.

A bucolic scene on the campus of Bennington College. Bennington, Vermont; August, 2007.

The Crooked River winds through Smith Rock State Park. Near Terrebonne, Oregon; February, 2005.

Back to the Future

So when I began this site over 5 years ago, I thought it would be an Internet place where I could pontificate, demonstrate, indicate, and medicate people who stopped by. Turns out it became just a photo blog; not that there's anything wrong with that.

But every now and again I get the urge to go back to the beginning intent. Then I sleep on it and come back to my senses.

But I think what I might do, instead, is to every so often just post a link to a weird, interesting, and/or totally outrageous web site and let you explore on your own. This will still be mostly a photo blog site, but I just feel the urge to (temporarily) expand things a bit.

So today's initial beginning is actually one that's more well know than most, and while I'm not sure, I think it must be dedicated to handymen everywhere. Have fun, people.

A nice little window box in all its simplistic glory. (click on the thumbnail to see the ingenious way they hung the frame on the wall) Montmontre section of Paris, France; September, 2009.

Mount Jefferson with an extended cloud cap. Taken from the hill up behind my house. (click thumbnail for more detail) Madras, Oregon; March, 2004.

Crown Point Lookout watches as the mighty Columbia rolls on. Columbia River Gorge, Oregon; August, 2007.

Water flows over a weir and onto a solid rock bed. Stone Mountain, Georgia; October, 2004.

This 7-foot high water fountain is at the entrance to Taliesen West, Frank Lloyd Wright's western home, now turned into an architectural college and tourist attraction. (Click on the thumbnail to try to find the hammer embedded in the monolith behind the fountain) Scottsdale, Arizona; September, 2004.

The Houses of Parliament, the tower of Big Ben and Westminster Bridge from across the Thames River. London, UK; September, 2009.

This is a Druid. What? You thought Druids had gone the way of the dodo bird? Yeah, me, too. But apparently not. This guy was available to give you a full Druidic discourse--for a donation, of course. (Click on the thumbnail to get a better view of his full regalia) Oregon Country Fair, Veneta, Oregon; July, 2009.

Self portrait in a blue ball. (Click on the thumbnail to see me) Clackamas, Oregon; November, 2009.