Saturday, December 31, 2016

Treehenge on the last day of 2016

On the last day of the year, the sun sets as seen through an opening in a large madrone tree on a hillside near Elkton, Ore., on Dec. 31, 2016.

Thursday, December 29, 2016

Totally crepuscular


Sunlight streams through fog and mist on a wooded hillside near Elkton in rural southwestern Oregon on Thursday, Dec. 29, 2016.

Wikipedia: Crepuscular rays
 (also known as sunbeamsAngel lightsSun rays or God rays), in atmospheric optics, are rays of sunlight that appear to radiate from the point in the sky where the sun is located. These rays, which stream through gaps in clouds (particularly stratocumulus) or between other objects, are columns of sunlit air separated by darker cloud-shadowed regions.

Fog fills a valley near Kellogg, Oregon.



Monday, December 26, 2016

Tree climbing dog

Lily, our Border Collie cross, climbs on a downed oak tree on our ranch near Elkton, Ore., on Monday, Dec. 26, 2016. 

Saturday, December 24, 2016

Merry Christmas from our Christmas Cat

Scooter the Christmas Cat wishes all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!


Thursday, December 22, 2016

Winter rose

On the rainy first day of winter, a rose blooms in an outside garden at a home near Roseburg on Thursday, Dec. 22, 2016. The winter weather in Southwestern Oregon is typically fairly mild, but very rainy.

Sock warmers

Scooter and Eclipse enjoy a lazy day napping in the dresser drawers at out home in Oregon on Thursday, Dec. 22, 2016.

Sunday, December 18, 2016

Winter in SW Oregon

A cluster of small mushrooms grow in a pasture along the Umpqua River in damp southwestern Oregon on Sunday, Dec. 18, 2016.

Missing boat from 1997 found along the Umpqua River


A fiberglass boat with a 20-year-old registration tag from 1997 lays upside down in brush along the muddy bank of the Umpqua River near Elkton in southwestern Oregon on Sunday, Dec. 18, 2016. Recent high water cleared mud and debris from the hulk and revealed the registration sticker.


Friday, December 16, 2016

Rodent retriever

The high water at near flood stage on the Umpqua River was pushing moles up and out of their burrows on Thursday, Dec. 15, 2016. Cocoa our chocolate Labrador was happy to help out.


Fern gully

My favorite little seasonal creek flows with force on Thursday, Dec. 15, 2016 after a very damp Pacific storm moved through the area over the last few days.

Thursday, December 15, 2016

High water in Oregon

High water rushes over the Winchester Dam near Roseburg as the North Umpqua River crests near flood stage on Thursday, Dec. 15, 2016. Many parts of Oregon received several inches on rain and/or snow from a very damp storm over the last few days. 
Lots of debris floating downstream including the teddy bear...

and this basketball.

Sunday, December 11, 2016

You can lead a dog to water

Our border collie Lily and chocolate Labrador Cocoa play in a flooded pasture along the Umpqua River in rural southwestern Oregon on Sunday, Dec. 11, 2016.
Cocoa is a gentle soul, but can get a little wild when she plays fetch.

Friday, December 9, 2016

Oregon Youth Climate Lawsuit

Plaintiff KELSEY JULIANA  speaks outside the Oregon Court of Appeals in Salem, on Friday, Dec. 9, 2016. Juliana filed suit against Oregon Gov. Kate Brown and the state of Oregon for violating her constitutional and public trust rights. The case is seeking a court order to compel the state to take science-based action to address the climate crisis and prevent catastrophic and irreversible impacts. Juliana is also a plaintiff in the landmark federal lawsuit against the federal government over climate change.


Supporters gathered before the hearing


Deflating a large globe outside the courthouse

Plaintiff KELSEY JULIANA plays around with AVERY MCRAE, 11, outside the  Oregon Court of Appeals. Juliana and McRae are both plaintiffs in the landmark federal lawsuit suing the federal government over climate change.

Plaintiff KELSEY JULIANA and AVERY MCRAE, 11, inside the  Oregon Court of Appeals.


Kelsey and her mom after the hearing

Thursday, December 8, 2016

Raindrops keep falling

A raindrop hangs from a small mushroom growing with hundreds more on a tree stump on a hillside near Elkton in southwestern Oregon on Thursday, Dec. 8, 2016. Cool damp weather has settled into the Pacific Northwest.


Tuesday, December 6, 2016

Slow shutter creek

It's a 20-second exposure of a babbling seasonal creek in rain soaked southwestern Oregon on Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2016.

If you can make it there

It's my photo in The New Yorker with a very good article about the Youth vs. Gov., case.

Monday, December 5, 2016

On the bubble

A very small spider climbs on a rain soaked fence around a pasture on a farm near Elkton in rural southwestern Oregon on Sunday, Dec. 4, 2016.

Sunday, December 4, 2016

Mushroom season in Oregon

A small insect climbs on a mushroom growing on a moss covered log on a rain damp hillside near Elkton in rural southwestern Oregon on Sunday, Dec. 4, 2016.

Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Minor flooding makes for majorly happy dogs


A chocolate Labrador named Cocoa and a border collie named Lily frolic in a flooded pasture along a country road near Elkton in southwestern Oregon, on Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2016. Recent heavy rain has caused streams to rise caused minor flooding in the area.




Monday, November 28, 2016

Update on Juliana v. U.S.

Attorneys speak during a case management conference for the Climate Youth vs Government case in Eugene, Ore., on Monday, Nov. 28, 2016. “We will push quickly to trial. The urgency of the climate emergency demands it,” said Julia Olson, counsel for Plaintiffs. Read more here.

Sunday, November 27, 2016

A little tipsy


A Douglas County road crew worker waits to begin clearing a large maple tree and a Douglas fir from the roadway along Maupin Road in the Kellogg area near Elkton on Sunday, Nov. 27, 2016. The dead end road was cutoff for several hours before the crew cleared the trees. Recent heavy rain has saturated the ground which allowed the trees to topple.

Saturday, November 26, 2016

The view from here


The view of the Umpqua River, Coastal Mountains, and Kellogg, Oregon from a high point on the family ranch on Saturday, Nov. 26, 2016.

Lily my hiking parter.

A woodlouse by any other name

A woodlouse climbs on a shelf fungus growing on a decaying log in rural southwestern Oregon near Elkton on Friday, Nov. 25, 2016.  Common names for woodlice vary throughout the English-speaking world. Depending on the area, they're sometimes known as sow bugs, cheesy bobss, pill bugs, doodlebugs, or chiggy pigs.

Friday, November 25, 2016

Water dog

Cocoa our chocolate Labrador loves the water. The recent rain has filled the ponds on the ranch and she's happy as a clam.



Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Rain, rain go away

Rain, rain go away. Little Bambi wants to play in a very wet southwestern Oregon on Tuesday, Nov. 23, 2016.

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Up and over

A herd of wild Roosevelt elk jump a fence on a hillside overlooking the Umpqua River in rural southwestern Oregon near Elkton on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2016.