The cat's in the bag

Sweetie likes to help wrap Christmas presents.  

Crossing over

A rough-skinned newt pauses while crossing a country road along the Umpqua River near Elkton in rural southwestern Oregon on Sunday, Dec. 15, 2013. The rough-skinned newt is one of the most toxic animals known to science. One study estimated as many as 25,000 mice could be killed using the toxin in one newt.

Make new friends, but keep the old

We recently added a new elderly dog to our family. We adopted Molly from the veterinary clinic were I work part time as an assistant. She's deaf and very old, but seems to still enjoy life. Our lab William and her have become friends.

It's a matter of perspective

A frosty twig pokes through the frozen surface of the Umpqua River near Elkton in southwestern Oregon on Sunday, Dec. 8, 2013. The region as been hit with unusually cold temperatures recently. 

Cool! My frozen photo was picked up by ZUMAPRESS.com in their Pictures of the Day gallery.

Snow day

A herd of wild Roosevelt graze on a snowy hillside near Elkton in southwestern Oregon on Saturday, Dec. 7, 2013.

A small songbird perches on a barbed wire fence on a snowy morning near Elkton. 

S is for slug

A slug forms an "S" shape as it explores a fungus bloom on a cool and damp fall morning in a forested area near Roseburg, Ore., on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2013. 

Frosty morning

We had a frosty morning in southwestern Oregon today. 

Liquid jewels

Like liquid jewels, raindrops cling to a small clover growing in a pasture Roseburg, Ore., on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2013.

Gossamer strands of silk

A very small spider sends out gossamer strands of silk as it attempts to parachute into the wind from its perch on an electric fence along a country road near Roseburg, Ore., on Sunday, Nov. 10, 2013. The behavior called "ballooning" is used by small spiders to fly on the wind. 

Look carefully and you can see the silk behind this lovely little spider. A moment after I took this photo she sailed off with the wind.

This spider looks like it had a misfire and the silk is stuck to the wire.

The small jumping spider was not trying to fly. It seemed to just be enjoying the sunny afternoon on the electric fence.

Magnificent mushrooms

I stalked mushrooms in a pasture near our home in southwestern Oregon this afternoon. Just add a little off-camera light and even mushrooms look cool.

Slimy snail on nbcnews.com

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

Cow skull in "fairyland"

Moss grows on a cow skull found on a damp forested hillside in the Coast Range mountains rear Elkton, Ore., on Sunday, Nov. 3, 2013.
My family and I call this area the "fairyland". It looks amazing this time of year. I didn't spot on fairies on my hike, but I did see a large buck.

Fall creek

Fall leaves bring color to a small waterfall along Deer Creek in Roseburg, Ore., on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2013.

Sometimes I can't decide which photo I like best, so I just post both.

It's a small world

A very small ant climbs on the underside of an upturned mushroom on a damp forested hillside near Elkton in southwestern Oregon on Sunday, Oct. 27, 2013. Fall brings the rainy season to the Pacific Northwestern United States. 

1000th blog post

This posting marks the 1000th update to my photo blog. These photos come from my five most popular posts. The site has had 182,487 total page views since inception. I started the blog at about the time I ended my 20-years as a newspaper photographer. 

The northern spotted owl from July 2010 is the number one most viewed page on my blog. Due to the continued interest in the spotted owl, this posting continues to get numerous "hits" daily. 

Real live ALIENS! No, not really. My post from the U.F.O. Museum in Roswell, New Mexico has been very popular. Apparently people spend a lot of time searching for photos of aliens on the internet. 

My blog post of an emu from Wildlife Safari continues to be popular. The big bird was attempting to get a taste of my Nikon.

Who doesn't love a cool bobcat skull? This post, with several photos of my animal skull collection, is the 4th most popular post on my blog. 

In June of 2010 I traveled to the Gulf of Mexico to cover the Deepwater Horizon oil spill for ZUMAPRESS.com. My photos from the spill have been published worldwide on websites and in magazines. 

Fall spider

With colorful fall leaves in the background, a spider hangs in its dewdrop coated web in a field along the Umpqua River near Elkton, Ore., on Sunday, Oct. 20, 2013.

Bug's life

A praying mantis stalks prey in a pasture in rural Douglas County near Elkton, Ore., on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2013. Preying mantises are strictly predatory and feed mainly on insects. Larger mantis species are known to capture and kill lizards, frogs, birds, snakes, fish, and even rodents.

Climate change steelhead

Climate change activists and citizens gather around a 150-foot long depiction of a native steelhead trout displayed on the front lawn of the Douglas County Courthouse in Roseburg on Sunday, Oct. 13, 2013. The big fish is made up of over 1000 individual panels created by local school children and adults. The project was put together by the Douglas County Global Warming Coalition to help raise awareness about climate change.  

Closeup of one of the over 1000 panels.

I also made a video from the event....

Squash!

The blast from a 12-gauge shotgun pulverizes zucchini and summer squash during a demonstration at a private shooting range near Roseburg, Ore., on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2013.

Shot at 1/8000th of a second with my Nikon D4.

Yellow-faced bumblebee

A yellow-faced bumble bee forages on an artichoke flower in a backyard garden at a home near Roseburg. The yellow-faced bumble bee is found in the western United States and British Columbia.

Oregon hazelnuts

A few years ago we planted several acres of hazelnuts on our ranch in southwestern Oregon. The tree are just starting to produce nuts. We only have a few this year, but next year we may have an actual crop.

Dewdrop in

A dewdrop coated spider probes a ladybug caught in its web in a pasture on a farm near Roseburg, Ore., on Saturday, Oct. 5, 2013.

I love patterns in nature and dewdrops on spider webs are especially cool.

Must see frog on msn.com

It's my frog photo in this month's MSN Must-See  gallery.

Grape guard

A jumping spider clings to a raindrop coated grape ripening in a small private vineyard on a farm near Roseburg, on Sunday, Sept. 22, 2013.

Rain brings the critters

Our long dry summer came to an end this week in southwestern Oregon. With the damp weather come the moisture loving critters.

A large Pacific sideband snail slides over a colorful fall leaf in a wooded area on our ranch in southwestern, Ore., on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2013.

A large Prionus beetle displays powerful mandibles  as it climbs on a moss covered fence rail in a wooded area on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2013. The larvae of Prionus beetles feed on the roots of trees and shrubs.