Basking northwestern garter snake

A northwestern garter snake flicks its tongue while basking in the late afternoon sun along a country road near Roseburg, Ore., on Friday, May 31, 2013. Snakes use their tongues to "taste" microscopic scent particles in the air.

Bug's life

A spider and a beetle share a daisy in a field near our house this afternoon. The spider seemed uninterested in attempting to eat the beetle and the beetle seemed to be eating pollen.

Three little hooters

Three barn owl owlets perch in their nest box high in the peak of an old barn on our ranch in southwestern Oregon. I've been watching the little guys grow for the past month. They're just starting to get their flight feathers. Soon they will be out of the nest.

Grass fed deer

A blacktailed doe feeds on lush grass on a hillside along a country road near Elkton, Ore., on Tuesday, May 21, 2013. 

Must see pictures

MSN picked up my hummingbird photo in this month's Must See Pictures gallery. 

Best of show

A pug named "SONNY" struts his stuff during a costume contest at the Pugapalooza festival at the Henry Estate Winery in Umpqua, Ore., on Saturday, May 18, 2013. The event was a fundraiser for Douglas County Low-Cost Veterinary Services. Sonny won first prize in the contest. 

Sonny's owner told me she adopted the dog a year ago from a woman who could no longer care for him. The previous owner was over feeding Sonny and he had ballooned to 50 pounds. The new owner has the dog on a diet and he has already lost about 15 pounds. 

This old barn

A co-worker wanted to see pictures of the old barn on the ranch.

The light was just right this evening.

I don't know when the barn was built, but it's a beauty.