The Whimpy Kid goes traveling. Along the Hood Canal, Washington state; April, 2011.

Seems he wants to hit the road. Well, ok. If you're a little in dark, please check out this post from last month. See you the first of the month. Madras, Oregon; April, 2011.

Dharma by Billy Collins

The way the dog trots out the front door
every morning
without a hat or an umbrella,
without any money
or the keys to her doghouse
never fails to fill the saucer of my heart
with milky admiration.

Who provides a finer example
of a life without encumbrance—
Thoreau in his curtainless hut
with a single plate, a single spoon?
Gandhi with his staff and his holy diapers?

Off she goes into the material world
with nothing but her brown coat
and her modest blue collar,
following only her wet nose,
the twin portals of her steady breathing,
followed only by the plume of her tail.

If only she did not shove the cat aside
every morning
and eat all his food
what a model of self-containment she
would be,
what a paragon of earthly detachment.
If only she were not so eager
for a rub behind the ears,
so acrobatic in her welcomes,
if only I were not her god.

My dog laying in her bed under my computer desk. Madras, Oregon; April, 2011.

On the campus of Bennington College, with the Berkshires in the distance. Bennington, Vermont; August, 2007.

A city's icon soaks in the morning sun as the shape of the trees in the foreground reflect the constant barrage of headland winds. San Francisco, California; May, 2009.

The Eye stands next to County Hall. London, UK; September, 2009.

Kwan Yin, the bodhisattva of infinite compassion, as art. Jerome, Arizona; May, 2010.

A nice quiet passageway between shops, lined with flowerpots. Sausalito, California; January, 2008.

A little different kind of tree. Clackamas, Oregon; April, 2011.

The Band of Heathens playing the Mississippi Studios club this past weekend. Great show! (Click the thumbnail for more detail) Portland, Oregon; April, 2011.

A colorful look down the Rue Massillon on the Ile de la Cite, across the street from Cathedrale du Notre Dame. (Click on the thumbnail to read the Chinese writing on the blue banner) Paris, France; September, 2009.