Tomato season

Yum! It's tomato season in southwestern Oregon.

A heavy dew coats tomatoes growing in a garden near Roseburg, Ore., on Friday, Aug. 30, 2013.

Boy dies of bubonic plague after eating barbecued marmot (it's my photo of the marmot)

A marmot photo of mine from Montana is getting used with a story about a teenager dying of bubonic plague in Kyrgyzstan after eating a marmot. I guess they didn't have a photo of a barbecued Kyrgystanian marmot.

I took the photo a few years ago while I was working for the Great Falls Tribune and shared it with the Associated Press.

Spider season

A spider encounters a raindrop as it climbs along a strand of electric fence in an orchard on a ranch in southwestern Oregon on Sunday, Aug. 25, 2013.

A found this spider on a wildflower in a pasture on Saturday.

My photo in Alaska Airlines Magazine

It's my photo (at right) in the August, 2013 edition of the Horizon edition of the Alaska Airlines inflight magazine. 

Field of flowers

A black-tailed doe and her fawn browse in a field of wildflowers along a rural country road near Roseburg, Ore., on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2013. 

The fawn was all ears.

Happily humming on NBCNEWS.com

My hummingbird photo made it into this week's Animal Tracks gallery on nbcnews.com.

Oregon Hummingbird

A wild rufus hummingbird lands on a flowing fuchsia bush in a backyard garden at a home hear Roseburg, Ore., on Sunday, Aug., 2013. About 10 of the small birds were busy feeding on the fuchsia bush. 

One of the hummingbirds takes a break on a nearby barbed wire fence.

Oregon sunset

Grass grows along a country road as the sunset paints the clouds with color near our home in southwestern Oregon on Thursday, Aug. 15, 2013.

It was the last sunset for this small dead bird I spotted on the road. Probably a roadkill. 

My photo on nbcnews.com

It's my mantis photo, via ZUMAPRESS.com, in the week's Animal Tracks gallery on nbcnews.com.

ZZ Ward: hometown hero

ZZ Ward returned to her hometown for a rocking show at the Half Shell in Roseburg on Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2013. ZZ Ward (born Zsuzsanna Eva Ward) grew up near Roseburg in Glide, Ore. Her first single, "Put the Gun Down" recently made it onto the Billboard Top 40.

Northern spotted owl: seeing red

A wild northern spotted owl roosts on a branch in a stand of old growth timber near Roseburg, Ore., recently.

Normally I hate it when my flash creates the "red-eye" effect, but it looks kind of cool in this case. Spotted owls usually look cute and cuddly, but the red eye makes it look a little moody.

Monarch mania

A cluster of monarch butterflies cling to the mesh covering of the butterfly flight room at the Elkton Community Education Center in Elkton, Ore., on Monday, Aug. 12, 2013. Several hundred colorful monarch butterflies have emerged from their cocoons and are on display at the center. 

A pair of monarch butterflies mate inside the enclosure. The caterpillars are fed milkweed plants and the adults have a variety of blooming flowers to feed on.

A monarch butterfly dries its wings after emerging from its cocoon in the butterfly flight room at the Elkton Community Education Center on Monday.

Mantis: my favorite insect

A praying mantis climbs on a Queen Ann's Lace flower growing in a hazelnut orchard on our farm near Roseburg, Ore., on Saturday, Aug. 11, 2013. Most mantis species are exclusively predatory. They mainly feed on other insects, but are known to prey on lizards, frogs, snakes, birds, and even small rodents.

My mantis photo is highlighted in the Pictures of the Day gallery on ZUMAPRESS.com.

Douglas County Fair

Carnival rides spin on the midway during the annual Douglas County Fair in Roseburg, Ore., on Friday Aug. 9, 2013.

A rabbit named "Paparazzi" shows off his jumping ability during an agility demonstration at the fair. 

Piglets nap after feeding in the swine barn. 

The colorful midway at the fair.

Feeding time.

Several thousand fairgoers enjoy the band "3 Doors Down" as night falls at the fair.
I always enjoy shooting the fair. It was one of my favorite assignments while I was a newspaper photographer.

Along came a spider

A large black and yellow garden spider traps a grasshopper in its web stung in a thicket along a country road in rural southwestern Oregon near Roseburg, Ore., on Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2013.

Blade runner

A grasshopper climbs a dry stem of grass in a pasture along a country road in rural southwestern Oregon near Elkton on Monday, Aug. 5, 2013.

Thirsty honey bee

A honey bee drinks water from a wet rock along the bank of the North Umpqua River near Horseshoe Bend on Saturday, Aug. 3, 2013. Honey bees use water to cool their hives on hot summer days. A strong hive may consume over a quart of water on a hot day.