Dog Days

On a hot summer afternoon, a chocolate Labrador named Cocoa cools down in a small swimming pool outside a home near Roseburg, Ore., on Thursday, Aug. 31, 2017. The National Weather Service is predicting four days of over 100 degree days as a hot August gives way to September in southwestern Oregon.

Celestial smoke

Smoke from nearby wildfires colors the moon orange and red as seen from near Roseburg in southwestern Oregon on Monday, Aug. 28, 2017. The National Weather Service has issued an Air Quality Alert for most of western Oregon due to wildfires burning in the region. Air quality levels are predicted to fluctuate and could be at unhealthy levels.

The smoke is so thick you can smell and taste it. The air is very unhealthy, but it makes for amazing sunsets.

Along came a smokey sunset spider

Smoke from nearby wildfires colors the setting sun orange and red as a spider sits in its web near Roseburg in southwestern Oregon on Monday, Aug. 28, 2017. The National Weather Service has issued an Air Quality Alert for most of western Oregon due to wildfires burning in the region. Air quality levels are predicted to fluctuate and could be at unhealthy levels.  

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My photo on Space.com website

My photo from Monday's eclipse on Space.com via ZUMAPRESS.com.

Wasp for dinner

A large garden spider feeds on a yellow jacket wasp in a blackberry thicket along a creek near Roseburg in western Oregon on Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2017.

Oh deer, it's another smokey sunset

Smoke from a nearby 10,000-acre wildfire burning in the Umpqua National Forest casts a pink, orange, and red cast to the setting sun as seen from a farm near Roseburg in western Oregon on Monday, Aug. 21, 2017.

Total solar eclipse 2017

The total solar eclipse as seen from the Oregon State University campus in Corvallis, on Monday, Aug. 21, 2017. 

Cell phone photography of the eclipse.

The partially eclipsed sun casts strange shadows.

If I keep my eyes shut, maybe they won't see me

A small mouse keeps his eyes closed as he hides in the leaves of a hazelnut tree in an orchard on farm near Roseburg. Ore., on Sunday, Aug. 20, 2017. The mouse was disturbed by watering in the orchard.

March against hate in Roseburg, Oregon

Demonstrators march outside the Douglas County Courthouse in Roseburg. Ore., on Monday, Aug. 14, 2017 in solidarity with Charlottesville, VA and against hate. About 90 people marched, chanted, and sang songs during the protest in the small town on Monday.

High wire act

A rufous hummingbird perches on a barbed wire fence bordering a pasture on a farm near Roseburg in rural western Oregon on Sunday, Aug. 13, 2017. Rufous hummingbirds are known to migrate nearly 4,000 miles from breeding grounds in Alaska and northwest Canada to wintering sites in Mexico.  

A rufous hummingbird takes to the air from its perch on the barbed wire.

Go fetch

A chocolate Labrador named COCOA plays fetch in the Umpqua River on a warm summer evening near Elkton, Ore., on Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017.

Take off

A ladybug spreads its wings as it takes to the air from the tip of a small thistle growing in a pasture on a farm in near Kellogg in western Oregon on Thursday, Aug. 10, 2017.

The great smokey Crater Lake National Park

A chipmunk forages for snacks along the rim of the caldera at Crater Lake National Park as smoke from nearby wildfires partially obscures the view on Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2017. A large fire is burning in the park just west of the crater. Hot and dry conditions have made for a very active wildfire season in Oregon and much of the western United States.

Park rangers block access to the West Rim Road at Crater Lake National Park due to a nearby wildfire. A large fire is burning in the park just west of the crater. 

Tourists gather on the rim of the caldera at Crater Lake National Park as smoke from nearby wildfires partially obscures the view on Aug. 8. 2017.

Wizard Island can be seen through the smoke as tourist snap pictures on a rocky outcropping along the north rim at Crater Lake National Park. 

Just a few miles outside Crater Lake National Park a small lightning started wildfire burns on a forested hillside near Diamond Lake on Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2017. Hot and dry conditions in Oregon and much of the western United States are making for a very active wildfire season. 

Cute little rodent

A mouse looks out from a hiding spot in a hazelnut tree in an orchard near Roseburg on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2017. The mouse was disturbed by watering in the orchard and took to the tree to hide.

A damp mouse climbs out of its burrow under a hazelnut tree. The mouse was disturbed by watering in the orchard and was looking for a safe hiding place. 

The chubby little fellow worked and worked to free his rear end from the hole.

The damp mouse eventually freed himself and found a nice place to hide up in the hazelnut tree. 

Crossing over

A black tailed deer fawn crosses a road in rural Douglas Country, Ore., near Kellogg on Friday, Aug. 4, 2017. The little deer made if to safety on the other side of the road before any cars came along. 

Fire in the sky

At the end of a blistering hot day, smoke from nearby wildfires paints the sky orange as the sun sets as seen from near Roseburg in western Oregon on Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2017. A heatwave has pushed the temperatures well above 100 degrees in many spots across the Pacific Northwest. The fire danger is extreme.