Bookmarque’s Padded Cell 2020 - The straightjacket is off (part 3)

Part 2 was getting a little long and there were a lot of photos, so here's a new one and some recent photos that are favorites -

Ripley creek



The Spirit River approaching the rocky bend



And sitting in that bend looking upstream



Ferns on the Somo river



And a turtle trying to catch some September sun not far from the ferns



I went in the woods today, too, but am not through processing those.

Turtle yoga!

>1 Bookmarque: Super shots.

That's what it seems like when they all to it, Narilka - outdoor yoga studio. It's pretty hilarious.

Thanks, Pete. Fall is irresistible. More coming, but in the meantime another house I've passed by more than once without noticing. This time of year gaps in the trees made by falling leaves break up familiar patterns and I think that's how it finally made an impression.



Now the roof has holes, it won't be standing for much longer.

Those photos! I want to go kayaking with you! It looks so peaceful.

Thanks catz! I would love to have you along. My friend who does go with me marvels at the places I find. It's not hard, but I do have to look, scout and then go alone to see what it's like. That means knowing my limitations. Yesterday I went on a gorgeous, and largely undeveloped, river up north. It was sunny, the color was peak and it was practically hot. I love where I live.

Fall is such a short season...well, foliage-wise it is. The leaves are falling off the trees like rain right now. This was from a paddle last week up the Flambeau River. So amazing. More to come.

Love them all. (But especially that turtle!)

Beautiful pictures. I love the one of the old house.

Thanks ladies. Yeah, basking turtles are so fun. Here's another!



So I'm listening to Coyote America which is basically a natural history of our all out war with them and boy is it depressing. I have had to skip lots of it because of the relentless accounts of our attempts to exterminate them. Luckily it hasn't worked and we're slowly pulling our heads out of our asses as a species, but far too late for many other animals we have caused to go extinct or have pushed to dangerous genetic vulnerability. It just makes me crazy because we should understand - we have so much history to learn that fucking with nature on such a vast and indiscriminate scale doesn't work and will bite us on the ass.

Gah!! I had to stop listening altogether and go outside yesterday. It worked and I felt better, but I still get really squiggle-eyed at our willful shortsightedness.

>12 Bookmarque: & >1 Bookmarque:

I do not think those turtles are basking. I think they are imagining they are Superturtle and are flying.

The top one thinks she's Esther Williams!

Gosh, I love the turtles. I mean, I love all your pictures (and I don't say it often enough!), but the turtles appeal to me so much. We don't have them around here.

Coyotes, on the other hand, we have in abundance. I live a block from the river valley and often see one or two, even in broad daylight, in the park at the top of the bank. I'm very fond of them, but I also keep my cats indoors unless I'm outside with them to supervise.

I hear you on the cats and do the same. But the abundance of coyotes is entirely manmade. Their very biology predisposes them to overcome ALL attempts to control or eradicate them. We eliminated their biggest threat - the wolf and introduced really easy meals for them (domestic livestock) and they have the same kind of fission/fusion social adaptability that we do, so they thrive in the very same conditions we do. It's not really a head scratcher once you look into the recent science studying them.

Real ways that can keep their numbers down are 'voodoo' to most ranchers who only trust a physical thing they can see. Any other way to protect their stock they reject - guard dogs or llamas, sterilization. The only good coyote is a dead coyote.

Then they wonder at the scourge of locusts, rabbits and rodents they endure. It's funny in a frustrating sort of way. The same people hate beavers and dynamite their dams then complain about uncontrolled flooding and low water tables. Stoopid humans.

>15 tardis: TARDIS THE DEFENDER OF CATS

>16 Bookmarque: Absolutely agree. There are many people here who want the city to start shooting the urban coyotes, but as you say, there's an abundance of food - white-tailed hares are EVERYWHERE, not to mention pets, mice, voles, etc. and coyotes are pretty omnivorous, so fruit trees, compost piles, improperly packaged garbage, etc. are also attractions. The hares eat my garden so cute as they are, I NEED something to keep them in check.

>12 Bookmarque: & >18 tardis: I desperately miss having Coyotes to keep the deer in check here. Apparently they have been seen on Long Island, but we need thousands of them. The deer population of my county alone is in excess of 35,000. I will take a pass on your book, though. I can't handle it right now.

yeah, it's a little tough on my psyche these days, but I can take breaks and if it gets too much I can quit.

I'm not in tune with our coyote population here, but I know that Wisconsin is a shoot whenever you want, how every many you want type state. But we also have gray wolves and an enormous deer population so I don't think the dairy farmers are too worried. Maybe other farmers are, but I don't know. I hear coyotes howling and yipping much more than I do the wolves, although I have heard them, too.

I'm trying to get back to reading physical books and am into Perfect Little Children by Sophie Hannah. It's an odd premise, and I can't even imagine how she's going to 'explain' it, but it's intriguing.

>20 Bookmarque: Oh, you have got me intrigued too, there... I look forward to hearing what you make of it.

I’ve started a new book that is not only entertaining and distinctive, but is making me think. Eee gads, right?! So basically it’s an alternate/future state of California which is no longer part of the US and lying - in pretty much all its forms - is a crime. There are people with the ability to sense lies and they are part of the Speculators agency that ferrets out untruths and liars.

That would be enough, but fiction of any kind is banned and even dreams are suppressed with drugs. So no novels, no poetry, no films, no short stories - none of that is legal. Sure it might exist outside of the Golden State, but not within. Whenever the clock chimes the hour people turn to each other and say “It’s 11 o’clock, did you hear that? It’s 11 o’clock and that is true.” When meeting or greeting they say affirmations like “The earth revolves around the sun.” And the response is “And the moon revolves around the earth and it has always been so and it will always be so.” Very weird.

Everything is recorded. Everything. They each have ‘day books’ where they record every contact with another person or agency. They stamp each others’ before any meeting to put things ‘on the record’. There are roving capture teams that film events in daily life - on the corner, in shops, in bars, in neighborhoods. There are cameras everywhere - even in homes. The Speculator agents wear ‘pinholes’ - hats with cameras. When a person dies, the Death Agents come and take the boxes of day books and other ephemera for the permanent record. It’s crazy, but interesting in the wake of this latest President and the wave of fake news that plagues us. Could this be a rational response and could people evolve to sense untruth the way they do heat and cold?

But it got me to thinking how long I could go without saying an untruth. Even shades of untruth like elaborations or lying by omission will get you in trouble, so how long could I go. How much of our conversation and sharing would just go unsaid? It’s crazy and fun, but I’m glad I don’t live in the Golden State.

>22 Bookmarque: I have that on my wishlist, but haven't got around to buying a copy yet. Interested to see what you think of it.

It fell through the cracks for me - too many writers I like!! So far it's very good, but we'll see how it wraps up. In the meantime, here's Breakwater falls -



I was there Saturday with a friend and it was a great day for fall in Wisconsin.

>22 Bookmarque: That's an interesting concept. Something as simple as "I'm fine" or "That's nice" could be a land mine.

I still love your moving water pictures. And that's the truth.

Ha! All I could think of is the Lily Tomlin character in her giant chair!

Yeah, framing answers to avoid truth is also a gray area. I have never given any thought to this kind of thing, but the author has. What a great imagination. Oh and the whole book is framed like it would be in the novel - the novel has been redefined as a book divided by chapters or sections in which the reality of the great formation of the Golden State is depicted using analogous characters or situations. So in the midst of the regular storyline we have this official asides that explain the fate of our main character, Lazlo, and how he really was such a great Speculator and how he was a pillar of the community, etc. It's really weird, but lends a hefty touch of verisimilitude.

More moving water!!



I was playing with different shutter speeds to convey aspects of the water - power to serenity and even the sound of it. All part of why I love to do this type of photography even if it is time-consuming.

>26 Bookmarque: LOL, so that would eliminate what is referred to around here as a California commitment to invitations? Mostly when someone says, "Let's have lunch sometime." or "I'll be there!" it means they won't. I would have to leave California because I'm all about the evasive answer to spare feelings and such.

Ha! It would. And it does. People aren't flippant with each other and they seem to ask fewer questions knowing that they'll get fewer lies. Truth, the hard truth, is weaponized more than once to make points and to make people suffer. It's interesting and makes me realize how integrated into our psyches lies are. How they make things fluid and swift and how a 2 year old will lie as easily as she breathes. Kind of amazing.

>27 MrsLee:, >28 Bookmarque: That is a very culture-specific phenomenon. Russians did not tend to do the "social lie" (familiarisation with Western business culture has changed that). Trying to explain to a language study partner when an invitation (e.g. "if you are ever in the area, you must drop by") is a) not actually meant and b) not intended as a deceitful trick, tested my powers of explanation as well as linguistics.

My own cultural background lies somewhere between the two poles - which means that I still sometimes get it wrong as to what someone means (from both sides!)

ETA: This does not, of course, mean that people from other cultures never lie. But if they do so, they are doing it for their own benefit, not yours!

>29 -pilgrim-: I also have a hard time with the invitation "lie." I tend to mean it when I invite someone to my house, so I presume they do, too. Happily for them, I am not much of a person to go visiting anyway. ;)

I'm so glad you meant it when my husband and I were in your area...at least I hope you did! Your cooking was proof though. Fabulous time.

>31 Bookmarque: I did! I did! I would consider it an honor to host any of the pub denizens for dinner. And that's the truth!

Oh I'm so glad. It was a pretty great vacation even if Lassen wasn't cooperative.

This little one was...it rustled through the leaves for a bit until stopping at my feet and having a look at me.



OMG that face - careful, you're load is unbalanced!

>33 Bookmarque: Squirrel! Oh, goodness, that's adorable!

A chipmunk actually, but oh what a pose!!

>33 Bookmarque: Too cute!! Amazing what they can fit in their cheeks lol

>33 Bookmarque: That is hilarious! Is he carrying a peanut and an acorn?

Acorns, we don’t feed them.

>33 Bookmarque: That's great! He looks like he is daring you to take his acorn away!

>33 Bookmarque: Adorable!

I have been thinking about your California truth novel while at work. Back in the day I actually wanted to start a hotel with the slogan, "Nothing but the Truth." I doubt the customers could handle it though. Customer service (with a smile) is built upon the kind lies of pretending interest in the stories, etc.

The reason I was thinking about this was that at our dealership, even though there is a waiting room with books and TV, many of our customers assume that we have nothing to do but listen to them. Now that I've said that, it sounds so cruel, but I honestly do have work that needs to be done.

Yeah, I've seen a lot of chatty folks at car dealerships over the years. I am generally not since I just want to get my car back and go.

I'll have to review the truth novel. It ended oddly and was disconnected enough that I think it needed a better set up. Some of it was foreshadowed, but some just didn't coalesce well. It was decent though; thought-provoking and interesting. Intense world-building and characterization.

>33 Bookmarque: So cute! That's either a gigantic acorn or a rather petite squirrel.

It’s a chipmunk so smaller than the average squirrel.

>43 Bookmarque: When I read this post I heard the words, "smaller than the average squirrel" in Yogi Bear's voice. Am I showing my age?

>40 MrsLee: >41 Bookmarque: The receptionist at the workshop where we take our cars for servicing tends to race around like a friendly, caring (sounds like MrsLee with an Indian accent) unguided missile, so any conversation would be fragmentary at best. But (the reason why I don't find waiting there for a lift home) the place is patronised by the local MG car club, so there is generally at least one museum-quality T-class to drool over, and plenty of MG club glossies in the waiting room to read.

No more than me, Pete. I still can't say picnic basket like a normal person!

Ah specialty garages. Back when we had many Bimmers, Beemers and a few Ducs, we collected mechanics and so hung out in many a place with drool-worthy machines!!

Once, hubby and I went on a roadtrip to find an MG museum in Vermont. We found the address alright, but the place was closed. Shut. Abandoned. Not a glint of chrome or BRG in sight.

Oh and the sunrise today was lovely -

>46 Bookmarque: Great picture, again!

>43 Bookmarque: I thought it was a chipmunk but the tail looked much too bushy. I don't have them here. I have moles and voles galore instead. :o(

>44 pgmcc: LOL

That sunrise is glorious! I am not a morning person so I tend only to see them in winter when I'm on my way to work, but one like that would be worth getting up for!

>46 Bookmarque: Wow really pretty picture!

Thanks much. My backyard is pretty great.

September reading took on something new - graphic novels!

I’m not entirely new to them, but they haven’t been a regular thing in my reading life. They are for now, but I’m super picky so I start some that I can’t finish. The hook though was the Locke & Key series which I loved. I’d had my eye on it for years, but didn’t take the plunge until I saw the first one as a freebie for Kindle. Since the rest (apart from the last) were available on Kindle Unlimited, I got myself a subscription and tore through them. Since it only took me a couple of days to do that, I’m counting them as a single book. Here’s how the rest of the month went -

12 books read (7 were GNs counting as 1)
All fiction apart from 1
3 new authors, the rest familiar
6 by men, 6 by women
1 I bought, 11 borrowed (library, Audible Plus & Kindle Unlimited)
That lone purchase was a new audiobook (Audible credit)
1 ebook, 1 physical and 10 audio



The most cataloged on LT was The Couple Next Door with 2040
The least cataloged was The Two Mrs. Carlyles with only 18 so far.
The oldest was Vipers’ Tangle from 1932
The newest were from this year

I had the most fun with the Locke & Key series. The art, the story, the characters - all fabulous. Finding more GNs like this has been hard, but I’m trying.

The least fun I had was with Vipers’ Tangle because it was a little dull and was basically a monologue of oh pity me, they made me a cruel and horrible person who did nothing but evil all his life. It wasn’t terribly written (or translated), but bleah.

I put a review of Golden State up - one spoiler hidden - while a terrific and inventive novel for most of the book, the end fell apart for me in the sense that it didn't make things clear that had to have been made clear. I can't say anymore, but if you're intrigued and you liked any of his other books, check it out. Review >>> https://www.librarything.com/work/22083841/reviews/189908030

Heading to the Twin Cities area for the weekend to visit friends before they put the boat away. Totally lucked out that it's going to be around 70 for the next few days over there. Oh and that the farmer they get their pig from had one to spare so we're getting that, too. I just hope the butcher got the cut sheet right!

So to make up for the spammer, a little of nature's art.

>54 Bookmarque: That picture does more than make up for spam.

The web and the water globules are beautiful, and the leaf adds great balance to the photograph. The lens effect in the water droplets it captivating.

>54 Bookmarque: Your photography skills are amazing! I think that's the most beautiful spiderweb photo I've ever seen.

Aw, thanks guys. It's exactly as I found it!

>54 Bookmarque: What >55 pgmcc: said. So lovely.

>56 SylviaC: are you sure you aren't the spider that made the web?
but in all honesty you are a very good photographer keep up the good work

>54 Bookmarque: Really nice photo, you can see every thread of the web. Great fall picture with the fallen leaf.

Thanks much guys. Nature presents wonders if you take the time to look. I was on a boardwalk section of trail and just stopped there for 20-30 minutes to take it all in. Bees. Flowers. Spider webs. Leaves. It's all there if you slow down and look. I try to do that as often as I can.

Had to DNF a book yesterday because of the way the male characters talked about women - whores, saints or children. Misogyny knows no bounds. So it's done and I'm good.

Probably will end up DNFing another, an Early Reviewer book that I was excited for, but that fizzled. I think I'm too old for it. It's too twee. Precious. Repetitive. Boring. Preachy. The writer doesn't trust the reader to get it. She's constantly on message and nothing happens. Good concept gone wrong. Bah.

Processing more fall photos. The season's about done and stick season will start. I think we're taking the dock out today. Sob.

Damn the spam.

More fall!!

>63 Bookmarque: Now that is a lovely way to oppose the spam - by adding more gorgeous pictures. I love your photos. The colours are fantastic.

Thanks much. All of them are lightly processed - almost straight out of the camera. No color sliders were harmed.

sorry you had to DNF a book but some authors are like that but FALLLLLLL cant wait for some winter tho the cold is my favoit soory i can spell rn im too tired to put up with auto correct

I love the fall colours and the fungi.

Hope you start a better book soon. Two DNFs in a row isn't good.

They were only in a row because I put off DNFing the ER book for weeks. I should have done it when I first started to avoid it. Oh well. It's fine. DNF just means I can move onto something great.

Like the ER book I have going now - The Reign of Wolf 21 which is the story of one particular wolf pack in Yellowstone after the species was reintroduced there. I have watched many a documentary about wolves, have read a few books...well, articles really, and actually follow a twitter feed about wolves, so I knew a little. But wow, this book, while so simply written it might be for children, is so revelatory in what I'm learning. The complexity of their pack systems, the diversity in personality and leadership style, the variations in behavior and habits - completely amazing. We think dogs are smart, but we've bred a lot of it out of them in the name of domesticity.

This book is part of a trilogy about the wolves in Yellowstone and I'm going to get those, too, as well as a couple about the wolf reintroduction here in Wisconsin. I haven't heard my local pack in a long time, but I have heard our coyotes and foxes lately and I hope to hear the New Woods pack singing soon.

And just to be dorky, here is my one and only wolf photo and sighting - it was in Yellowstone and just feet outside my car door. I still get goosebumps.

My first reaction is that your wolf is the spitting image of a side-striped jackal (look at the third image down on this page). But yours looks to be bigger and more heavily built, with different food preferences. And ours is quite rare -- I don't have a picture of one, only the black-backed kind.

>68 Bookmarque: Wow! Incredible that the wolf came so close, and you were able to get a lovely clear shot.

Thanks guys. Pretty much all wildlife in Yellowstone is inured to human activity and sometimes too willing to get near us for food (the food people have with them and feed them, not that humans are the food). This wolf was walking down the road as casual as you please, aware, but not wary. It was moving and the car was moving so this shot is just an instinctive reflex of everything I knew about photography and a GIANT shot of luck.

It's amazing how diverse, yet unified the canid species is. For a long time people thought the coyote was a type of jackal, but it isn't - it's a unique species. The wolf though is pretty malleable and it's been revealed that the red wolf is a coyote-gray wolf hybrid, not a separate wolf species. That has thrown a HUGE monkey wrench into its conservation status.

And yes, gray wolves are large - average adults are about 100 pounds with large males getting to 125 or so. Their paws are enormous and spread to distribute weight in deep snow, making it easier to bring down elk and deer that struggle through it. They are amazing and wonderful.

>68 Bookmarque: Beautiful!

>71 Bookmarque: All these pictures are great, I love fall and the mushrooms (my wife really doesn't like them).I like "faerie rings".And again the photo of the wolf, these are so good.

As ever, wonderful pictures. I love your wolf.

>68 Bookmarque: *casually wanders by*

Trying a response on my phone 📱

Thanks for the kind words. All wolves are handsome!

Saw what you did there, AHS. :)

Another test - adding a picture.

>77 Bookmarque: A very successful test with lovely bull rushes.

>77 Bookmarque: LOL, much lovelier contribution to the site than the photos I added. I love the clarity of light in that photo.

Thanks guys. I love fall. Everywhere you look there's something great.

And here we call those cattails, bullrushes are something else in the US. They're round (I think all rushes are) and look kind of like whippy bamboo.

>54 Bookmarque: Holy sheep dip, that's incredible!

>68 Bookmarque: Yowser, that beast does not look like it's fooling around. I've only seen one wolf up close and personal, and that was this guy. https://nywolf.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/atka_3.jpg And it was in a supervised indoor setting. I believe every single one of us in that room felt that wolf had made eye-contact with us and had the hair on our necks standing up, even though he was completely non-threatening.

>77 Bookmarque: Love this one, too.

>77 Bookmarque: Cattails! This is a pretty and crisp picture.

>77 Bookmarque: Beautiful! I love the light and how it picks up the various colours in the leaves.

Aww, thanks guys. Sometimes it's the small slices and details that make a season come alive.

Like this little scene. I was in the kayak on a back channel with the long lens on for some turtle photography and started playing. I thought it was just a leaf in some grass, but that the contrast would be interesting. Only when I got it into the computer did I realize a 6-spotted fishing spider had made a nest with that leaf and that a jumping spider was photobombing!!!



Luck and a curious mind...and a long lens. Too funny.

>84 Bookmarque: A capture of a moment of drama! Or potential drama. Nice.

>84 Bookmarque: Super shot. So much story there.

I often take pictures of flowers and when I blow them up I see a spider, a fly or a tiny snail. Green fly are a botheration in some of the pictures.

Thanks guys. It was just a huge pile of luck with that one. I wish I'd known the potential for drama at the time, but alas.

Here is our little drama for this morning. Early snow.



That's my driveway looking back toward the house and the river behind. We face almost due east out the back windows.

The snow will melt later today so it's not lasting. Yet.

>87 Bookmarque: It's lovely! But...
I also noticed your leaves are all gone! (Mine are just starting to change.)

>88 clamairy: yeah, leaves come down pretty fast here. It was a surprise compared to what I was used to in NH. Nearly all the trees up this way are naked apart from a few maples and the oaks. Luckily we have a lot of tamarack pines that turn gorgeous gold in late October / early November. I'll be out for that. Found some places where I think I can get some good landscapes.

Since i'm now "reading at home with Mrs Haydninvienna", I just showed her this thread. Her first words were "It's beautiful, isn't it?", and then by my count she said beautiful 6 more times. She loved the chipmunk and the wolf. So did I, but I've stopped commenting on these pictures only because I've run out of ways to say "beautiful".

Aww, you're too sweet R - and Mrs. R, too. If you fancy a trip to Northern Wisconsin anytime, let me know. The guest room awaits!

>21 -pilgrim-: Totally forgot to follow up. The book was solid and the solution feasible, if a touch weird, but it wasn’t a mind-blower which I suppose is good. I’d have felt ripped-off if it was stoopid, like aliens, but at the same time it was a little tame. Hard to explain and I’m not sorry I read it.

>84 Bookmarque: Oh wow! I totally thought it was just a neat leaf too. I had to look again after reading your description to see the spiders.

>84 Bookmarque: Wow! That's crazy, it took me a couple minutes to find both spiders.

>87 Bookmarque: So pretty, we don't see that on the gulf coast ...ever.

>68 Bookmarque: I love wolves! I'm teaching informational writing right now using wolves. I usually teach a unit where we learn about OR 7 and his journey into western Oregon. And I have lots of books for the kids to read. Alas, with online learning, I'm just doing some simple stuff with them. But I'll check out your book and see if it's something I'd like to have when I do the unit. OR 7's story is pretty interesting if you ever get a chance to read about him.

Thanks guys. I had no idea the spiders were there when I took it. Only after.

I'd love to read about more wolves & will see what I can find, catzteach. There's a supporting cast member to The Reign of 21 named 253 who had a pretty incredible journey himself. I think the third book will be about him.

More fall beauty - an unnamed brook a little way downriver from the house. This time it was slow-moving and shallow, but still lovely.



It's snowing again right now. Yesterday's melted, but now there's more.

Snow. So pretty. We have temperatures in the 90s still this week. With wind. I hates it. Not moving to Wisconsin though, so I won't complain. I agree with >90 haydninvienna:, sometimes I don't comment for that exact reason, but I always love your photos.

Aww thanks MrsL! I don't mind the snow, but if this lasts this early (which it probably won't) it makes for a long winter. We have more now than this time yesterday. Here's a processed shot from the other camera of my driveway -



The sunburst was done in camera - no cheating!!

Your snow picture looks so pretty and peaceful. We had sleet yesterday evening. It wasn't even that close to freezing, but everything was covered in slush for a couple of hours. Not nearly as pretty as snow.

Yeah slush isn't too photogenic.

It's mostly melted now. Again. It will go like this until mid-November when it will be cold enough that it won't melt. Thanksgiving could go either way. Snowy or non.

>101 Bookmarque: Again with the really nice photos. And if that's you're drive ,how far from the house is the mailbox?

The mailbox is at the end of the road. It's about a mile round trip.

>103 Bookmarque: That's a pretty good jaunt, if you walk to the mailbox every day.

Yeah we walk it a few times a week. If there isn't anything important in there we tend to leave it and get it the next time one of us has to go out. It's harder in winter if they don't plow our road. It doesn't happen all the time, but sometimes they forget us for a few days.

Here's a funny little mottled prominent moth caterpillar I found while on the road during one such walk to the mailbox. I brought back to the house to pose for me.

>105 Bookmarque: Pretty!

I love the snowy trail pics, very Robert Frost. The track disappearing between the snow covered trees suggests so many stories.

Thanks Sk! It's my driveway so it's the story of my house. 😎

>105 Bookmarque: aww he's cute and he is posing he must be photogenic

>105 Bookmarque: I love the contrasting colours of the green and the reddish brown. And your caterpillar is very cute. Did you have to give him/her directions for posing - "Show us your adorable face!" - or was s/he a natural? ;)

Kind of an uncooperative diva, actually. Wouldn't sit still. Wouldn't take direction.

>110 Bookmarque: XD diva caterpillar

>110 Bookmarque: LoL. Well, s/he made you work for that shot then. Worth it, tho. It really is a great photo.

Thanks guys. I really should do more invertebrate photography, but this wasn't the year.

In book news, let me just say I found another reason to love Laura Lippman. I'm reading her latest, Lady in the Lake, and there are lovely ties to many of her other books - the Tess Monaghan series and Tess's family, but also a stand-alone. It's fun to hear familiar names and see them out of their normal contexts. Fans have said this isn't her strongest work, but I think it's a secret letter to us and like it all the more for it.

>113 Bookmarque: you do whatever u want i love all the photos(the wolf is my fave)

At my age, I pretty much always do what I want. Like this toad.

>115 Bookmarque: A pretty determined looking toad.

It was on its way to important toad business, but kindly let me get in its face for a portrait. I love them so.

>117 Bookmarque: lol

>116 pgmcc: I think I need to work on developing my toad face.

Resting toad face is a talent.

Resistance is futile.

Very true. Toads win in the end.

There is snow on the ground. More to come today. It might melt later in the week, but it certainly feels like winter so here are some more fall shots before things really get started.

This first one is a little side channel off the Somo river. It was a little tough to get into, but once I was there it was amazing.



And some trail action near Lasalle falls -



A shot just above the falls. I didn't get to see them head on, but I might go back and shoot them again one day.



Looking the other way toward where they plunge down about 15 feet -



This is just after the cascade and a bend in the river (the Pine River) -



And looking down into the waterfall from the same overlook -



Phew. I didn't mean to include so many, but it's a short season around here and I love it so much. If you look at my Fall gallery on Smugmug, there are tons more. https://wickeddark.smugmug.com/Landscapes/The-View-from-Here/

Those are beautiful, as ever.

Aw, thanks. Winter is worthy, too, but fall is so fleeting.

It seems that in your neck of the woods, any season is beautiful. We are all lucky that you are so gifted.

Beautiful! My favourite is the one looking towards the plunge, but they're all amazing.

I love the toad! They are amazing creatures.

And the colours and reflections in the first pic of >122 Bookmarque: are gorgeous. Well worth the effort to get there.

>122 Bookmarque: As always, you bless us with some beautiful pictures.:)

Thanks guys. I do get to stand in front of some pretty cool things.

Here are some of my favorite wildflowers - witch hazel. They are so frenetic looking - alternately like noisemakers and drunk spiders. I think with these two shots I have captured the entire blooming process, the empty green pod, the furled buds and then the fireworks of a group of them all blooming together. And what I think is a kind of mosquito, but I'm not sure.





Oh and speaking of spiders, I almost didn't see this girl in the same bush as the flowers. Nearly wrecked her beautiful web which would have made me feel really bad.



She's a marbled orb weaver, a very common spider up this way, and she has a snack. Not sure what.



I hope she overwinters and can be with us again next spring.

>129 Bookmarque: Great pictures, I don't know how you get these closeups.

Thanks chalton, I have a fascination with very small things and have had macro lenses for a decade. My latest is a gorgeous little Leica lens that I love.

But sometimes I go for landscapes. I was out and about the other day. I didn't get what I went for, but I still found some worthies -







Believe it or not, this is the same river as the second shot. The Prairie river goes through some amazing landscapes and ecosystems and is one of the most protected and important watersheds in the area.



And this lovely little snow bunting -

>131 Bookmarque: These pictures are beautiful you have to be so lucky to go on these walk-a-bouts.

Thanks. I am lucky to live on the edge of nowhere with plenty of wild spaces. They are my solace and my sanity some days.

Some icy goodness -

This one was taken at the same river location as the one above the bird. I love early ice.



These were in the yard on different snowy/frosty mornings -





Must now get off the couch and go lift heavy things before I atrophy!!

October reading round up!

A few more graphic novels and a lot of audio.

18 books read (combining two GN collections)
3 non-fiction, 15 fiction
7 new authors, 11 familiar
9 by women, 9 by men

10 purchased - 7 new, 1 used, 2 freebies
8 borrowed - 3 library, 3 Kindle Unlimited, 2 Audible Plus
5 ebooks, 3 physical, 10 audio



The most cataloged on LT was The Mysterious Affair at Styles - pretty much anytime Christie is on the list, she wins.
The least cataloged on LT was Hold Your Breath by Wendy Walker - it’s a novella and only available as an Audible original, so no surprise there either.

The oldest was the Christie (1920) and the newest were from this year.

The most fun I had was with The Smaller Majority by Piotr Naskrecki because his photos are amazing and I love tiny creatures and learning about nature. Fabulous book.

The least fun was a tie between James Patterson’s The Murder of King Tut because the story, the art and the whole package was just painful, and Good Girl, Bad Girl by Michael Robotham because it was full of hateful, idiotic teenagers & had an obvious villain. Returned to audible.

Too stressed and anxious to stay indoors today. You know that pit of your stomach feeling when there is no good outcome? That you're gonna get it no matter what. That's the deal in the US right now - we're screwed with either candidate, just in different ways. So I went for a 5 mile hike to the Prairie river. Lately it's fascinated me because it's so variable along its length. This is from an area called the Dells. I've been on the other side many times because it's so easy to reach - a ten minute stroll. Luckily I went when the leaves were down because otherwise it would be really hard to see the water.

>136 Bookmarque: It makes me happy to see this. I've been tense all day. So thank you.

the water looks as if it is pushing so hard to move but it can't

It was almost 70 degrees F today so I put the boat in the water. Luckily I can just go in the backyard since the rack is off the Jeep. This is the Wisconsin river just down from my house. Not as anxious anymore, but still not super chill either. Quick cell phone shots.

Paddling through a very shallow side channel and out the other side.

>139 Bookmarque: Thanks for sharing your reading and pictures, as always!

>139 Bookmarque: Great pictures, thanks for sharing.

>139 Bookmarque: I love that second one. It looks so blue and tranquil. You live in such an amazing spot.

>142 SylviaC: My thoughts exactly!

Thanks guys. I'm always thankful for the nature that surrounds me. Saw a couple of eagles having ... a fight? a chase? a game of tag? ... yesterday morning over the river and another while having a glass of wine and a chat with my neighbor. And a bunch of trumpeters are swanning around this morning making a lovely racket. It's pretty great.

I'm off for more of this on Wednesday -



Seven days of kayaking and photography in remote cypress swamps in Louisiana. It's the time of year when the bald cypress change to their fall colors and I hope that I can find some beauties. It will be a small group of us together and I also hope my fellow swamp dwellers will be cool and fun to hang out with since I'll have to share a little cabin with one or two of them. Because it's a photo workshop I'll be bringing my laptop so will be able to process and post photos while I'm down there. I hope to learn a bit from my fellows about their processing habits, too. Lots of hope!!

Have fun on the trip! I can't wait to see your photos. All the ones here are amazing!

>145 catzteach: Oooh! Have a wonderful time!

Thanks peeps. I'm almost all packed. My laptop is pretty big (17") and though I got it into my carry on once, I couldn't figure out how I did it, then finally I did so that's a relief. Electronics overload for this trip. Crazy. Luckily one carry on is a rolling bag so carting everything through Atlanta should be fine. Knowing me I'll have two gates as far apart from each other as possible. Welcome aboard the Plane Train!

>147 Bookmarque: have fun

>147 Bookmarque: Safe journey!

>147 Bookmarque: Safe journey from me too! But wot, no 747?

Thanks peeps.

I wish 747...living in the stix means a lot of RJs and many stops. I have two just to go straight south about 1000 miles. Bah.

>151 Bookmarque: Hey, good luck and be safe. And have fun and take lots of pics.
Don't know where in LA you are going but be careful and aware that there is a tropical storm in the gulf.

Thanks much guys.

The storm looks to be heading to Florida, so I think I'll be alright. Weekend will be in the New Iberia area and then north four hours to an undisclosed location. They ask their tour participants not to be too specific about where they shoot because the wilderness is fragile and the world is full of assholes.

>147 Bookmarque: Have a great trip. Can't wait to see the photos :)

No big trees yet. Just a worse-for-wear hotel near the airport. So far only one photo -



That was from the first of my 3 planes. Each a short leg so steerage was bearable. Delta isn't filling the middle seats so it's ok. And you wouldn't believe how nice it is not to have a pile of bodies in the aisle. I don't know why people stand up and jostle for 10 minutes in the first place. Just stand up and get your bag when it's your turn. Maybe this little procedure will stick, but I doubt it.

Wearing a mask all day is a pain. The end of my nose got a little numb and I had to fiddle with the nose piece to make a tent so it would stop touching. Ugh.

But I'm here. Idle until my ride comes at 2 and then we go to our weekend hotel and I'll meet the rest of the participants.

>155 Bookmarque: I like the looks of the clouds, so cottony.

Yeah, I love it above the clouds most of the time.

Done a full day of kayaking - well morning and evening sessions. This is from the morning - one of the other tour participants.

>157 Bookmarque: That is so peaceful looking, enjoy!

>157 Bookmarque:
Wow!
That shot by itself makes the trip worthwhile.

Thanks much. It's a favorite already. This was a little earlier and facing the other way -

>160 Bookmarque:
A touch of the Salvador Dali about that one.
You show us an amazing photograph and then say, “Look the other way,” and you show us this. I think you might be having a great time. You are certainly producing great images.
Thanks for sharing.

>160 Bookmarque: A beautiful, serene image. Thank you for sharing it.

>160 Bookmarque: I agree. That is surreal. And very beautiful.

>160 Bookmarque: Another amazing photo, have fun. You're clearly surrounded by beauty.

Thanks guys. I'm still working on the first morning's photos. Here's another shot. The mist and the light were pretty amazing.

>165 Bookmarque: This looks like a perfect location for the Swamp Thing.

Now you’re just showing off.
:-)

Super pictures. Keep them coming.

The photos are beautiful. Your photography skills are amazing.

Thanks everyone! Just got back from this morning's shoot. Packing up to head to our next location. This is the only other shot I have processed. It's the same morning just a little later. The mist burned off a little bit.



If the wifi is good enough where we are spending the week, I'll post more as I get them processed.

>160 Bookmarque:

Fantastic!

>169 Bookmarque: How can every picture be as good as as before?

>160 Bookmarque: This is the standout shot for me, it's so dramatic with the trees set against the bare still horizon. But all the swamp pics look like they could have been taken on an alien planet - it just goes to show what wonders there are (relatively) close to home.

>160 Bookmarque: I agree with >172 Sakerfalcon: . That picture of the 2 trees against the sky is one of the most striking ones I've seen.

Thanks everyone! Conditions have been pretty great for sunrises more than sunsets, but I can work with a lot of things. We had fog/mist on the water the last two mornings. This is from yesterday -



We went to the same little pond today because it was so great and full of possibilities, but there was less fog. Still fab though.

>174 Bookmarque: Wow, that's really beautiful! Along with all the recent pictures.

>174 Bookmarque:
Your pictures are a delight.

>169 Bookmarque: >174 Bookmarque: Great, stuff, thank you! Are you boating with the Swamp People?

>174 Bookmarque: That picture alone looks like you could be entering the land of the Fae.

Love your swamp pictures. I've never been anywhere like that, but it has a very eerie kind of beauty.

It made me think of scenes from a comic book from my youth - originally I was thinking it was Swamp Thing, but when I googled that, it didn't look right. After a bit more looking around online I found the right one - it was another character called Man-Thing. Thanks for cool pictures and bringing back that memory.

Thanks much, peeps.

Man-Thing, huh? That sounds a bit...well...

Anyway, a sunset for a change.

>180 Bookmarque:
I am going to stop commenting. My vocabulary is insufficient to keep up with the pictures you are producing. They are just amazing.

>181 pgmcc: I might too, right now speechless.

You're getting your money's worth on this workshop .

>180 Bookmarque: - Love the sunset, absolutely magical!

Here it is - an image from my misspent youth:

OMG that's awesome!! We didn't go deep enough to run into him though!

>185 Bookmarque: is that a good or bad thing?

>186 justanotaku: Neither. It's just a man thing. (sorry ;)

These pictures are simply amazing. I agree with Peter that >160 Bookmarque: has a Salvador Dali feel to it. The rest are giving me a real Area X vibe. Thanks for sharing Bookmarque!

Thanks peeps. ☺️
Am on my way back to the hotel and will fly home in the morning. More pics to come but I’ll probably just share a few and direct you to a gallery online for more.

>188 Bookmarque: Safe journey home! It looks like you had a wonderful trip.

Thanks S - am in my seat on the plane to MSP.

Phew! Am home now. No problems with flights or anything - very smooth and on time. I wish they'd keep loading the planes from back to front when (if) COVID-19 is over.

Anyway, I have over 2000 shots to evaluate and process so bear with me. Here's one I quite like from the first morning session. It reminds me of being in a cave. It's the reflection of the light moss (which isn't moss) and trees in the water that just makes it so surreal to me.



I didn't read at all while I was gone. Too pooped to do anything but go to bed early after dinner and too excited to see what I shot in the mornings to relax with a book during the afternoon. I think I touched my iPad twice the whole 9 days.

>191 Bookmarque: Very cool looking, you're right about the cave-like qualities.

I used to save some of your photos to my screen saver, but I can't figure out how to do that on my new laptop. I do however come her frequently to browse when I need a beautiful thing to look at. I love your swamp photos.

As for the Man Thing *tee-hee, giggle*

Thanks chalton & MrsL.

Another sunset - the only color was in the trees, not the sky, so a little Ps magic put some there.

>191 Bookmarque: I agree, this is very cave like and otherworldly.

More foggy goodness. Oh we got so lucky with conditions.



More here as I get finished with them -

https://wickeddark.smugmug.com/Travel/Fall-Cypress--Tour/

>196 Bookmarque: Beautiful.

You must be delighted with the trip. You have produced wonderful images.

Thanks Pete! I am pretty happy with what I got. Less than what I expected, but somethings just don't work in 2D.

More misty backwater.

>198 Bookmarque:
If you were imagining better that you have shown us I cannot imagine what you had in mind.

In terms of 2D, that last shot looks 3D. It looks the setting of a computer game. I expect attackers to emerge from the trees any time.

It also looks very LotR.

I've been thinking those misty ones look like the remains of Lothlororian. Ages gone by without the elves.

I agree with the others. Beautiful photos!! They do make it look like you traveled to the world of the Fae.

>196 Bookmarque: So many glorious images! The cypress swamp really is another world for most of us. I love the mists and the touches of flame colour, and the silhouettes against those big blank skies. Just beautiful.

Thanks peeps. For years I wanted to explore cypress forests and finally got the chance last year. At the time I told my guide, Josh, that if he did a week long tour, count me in. And there I was, paddling twice a day, in the dark, among these amazing trees. Some of the big ones in my shots are 1000 years old or more. The oldest was found in North Carolina and has a minimum age of 2600 years. The reason for the age is that (obviously) it was never cut for timber, but the reason for that is that many of them become hollow as they age. The living tree is confined to the outer edges of the trunk. I'll see if I shot any that show that well.

>203 Bookmarque: Was the fiddle music playing in the background as you paddled through the mangroves?

Ha! No...mostly I could only hear fiddles when driving through some of the tiny towns between outings. The biggest industry in most of southern Louisiana is sugar cane and there's a lot of poverty in general and pollution due to the processing. Cane is a nasty business all around.

And technically they're not mangroves. 😜 But I know what you mean.

It's not the greatest picture, but here's one of the largest and presumably oldest cypresses I encountered during my trip. It's in the southern Atchafalaya River basin and is probably 1000 years old.



I could put the 12-foot kayak alongside and still have room on either end. I count the knees because they are a part of the tree, too.

>206 Bookmarque: You gotta have knee-room.

>206 Bookmarque: Wow!

Thanks Jim & Pete.

Am almost to the end of processing. I like this one and am sad about it, too. I should have stuck with the guides for this shoot. That's Julie and she's on top of a tree full of ibises. I wasn't close enough to photograph them well, even with the long lens, but I like the story the wide shot tells so not all was lost. Still. Ibises.

>209 Bookmarque: I would not be sad about that picture.

>209 Bookmarque: I agree with Pete. The question that asks itself to me is "what kind of ibis?". Here mostly-white ones would be Sacred Ibis, as in all the best pharaonic Egyptian wall paintings. We also have an iridescent grey model, the Hadeda Ibis, which IIRC is notable chiefly for making the most noise of any local bird.

According to the googles, there are three common species of ibis in NA - Glossy Ibis, White-faced Ibis and the White Ibis. I wasn't close enough to them to get an ID. I assume they're migrating since they were massed all over several trees. At first I thought they were great egrets which are ubiquitous and so I didn't get excited. Then I realized and went closer only to have the entire flock fly up and away. So I'm disappointed I didn't get a close up of any bird. This is a consolation shot and entirely my fault.

>209 Bookmarque: So you have a reason to go back some time to get a close-up ibis picture! That is a lovely shot in its own right, but I understand the desire for the one that got away ...

For those and for alligators. It was too cold for them to be active on this last trip, and I only saw them here and there while I was walking at a nature preserve last year. So if Josh makes good on his threat to have a spring cypress tour, I think I'll be hooked. And I think I need one more trip to get all the images I want for the photo book I'm planning.

Here are a few more I quite like. Same sunrise session.







Amazing how much difference a little mist makes!

>214 Bookmarque: More amazing pictures. They are beautiful.

Uh, you know what this reminded me of? The Fire Swamp in The Princess Bride. Any ROUSes around there?

>214 Bookmarque: Remarkable.

>214 Bookmarque: The first two are creepy.

Thanks guys. Yeah, we were very fortunate to have so many cold nights to make misty mornings. Wouldn't have been the same without it since we didn't have much color in the cypresses themselves.

And alas, no ROUSes.

>219 Bookmarque: Lightning sand?

I only got out of the boat once, so...could be!

I haven't shot much since getting home, but since I've been going through a ton of tutorials for video editing, I went to shoot some clips at an abandoned fur ranch. Mink and fox. This is one of the older mink buildings. Only these made of wood have stood against the elements well, the newer ones are pretty much flattened.



Wisconsin is currently the highest mink producing state for what that's worth. I found one working farm not far from here, but this one has been abandoned since the 80s or possibly 90s. A few of these buildings have compact fluorescents for lighting.

In a separate section of the fur ranch are the fox kennels. Fox ranching was also big in Wisconsin, especially the rare silver fox that occasionally shows up in the red fox line. Anyway, this ranch seems to have been abandoned in stages and some of the fox kennels were much newer and made of different materials. These are on the older end where much of the fencing was falling down.



While it is abandoned, it isn't in the middle of nowhere and someone has been using a few of the fox kennels as a gut dump after butchering deer. Fresh kills as well as some from years past are thrown through the doors or over the fence. Very weird and creepy, but the birds love it. I found chickadees feeding on the remains and there were a lot of crows and ravens in the area, too.

>221 Bookmarque: Weird coincidence. I dreamt last night that I was wearing my beautiful fur coat inherited from an ancient relative that I never met. It is so lovely, but I don't really know what to do with it.

>222 Bookmarque: Why put the kill leavings inside something? One would think they would be cleaned up faster if left scattered? Or perhaps they are from kills that were not licensed? Curious.

Oh how weird. And yeah, I know what you mean about heirloom fur clothing. My MIL had a couple of mink pieces and after her death everyone dithered about what to do with them. I don't know what happened in the end. You couldn't walk around in one these days, that's for sure.

I thought it was super weird, too. No one lives on the property, but there are several houses nearby. I could hear loud talking and ATVs while I was filming. Maybe it's far enough away from their houses, but close enough to easily transport the carcass. I was pretty mystified, too, but a dead deer is mostly waste from a human perspective, so it isn't easy to dispose of. And confined to this area, it doesn't scatter and therefore isn't a problem for them. They obviously think it works so keep doing it.

>224 Bookmarque: This is information I didn't know about Wisconsin, so that's interesting to learn about the minks and the fox.

And to respond to the second post, it does sound absolutely creepy. Like >223 MrsLee: said why put the carcass in something instead of just on the ground?

Like I said, I have no idea why they put the carcasses in the fox kennels, but it's habit now by the looks of things.

I haven't been out shooting much, but I got this yesterday -



It's right on the side of a highway and I've always looked longingly into that bog wanting to get in. Some lovely and generous souls made a walkway of old pallets and once I saw that I headed over for a sunset. The colors didn't appear, but I can always try again. It isn't far from the house. Weathering has made the wood sort of blue which makes for a nice contrast with the autumn colors of the plants.

Oh wow. I love that, it's very subtle but lovely. And the pallet path is great at drawing you in to the image.

>226 Bookmarque: - I love bogs

>226 Bookmarque: That looks great. It could be a scene from a post-apocalyptic movie.

Thanks guys. Bogs can be a little eerie, especially after the sun has gone behind the trees. Mostly this was a little scouting trip. I want fog, frost, snow or all three. But this time I only got the bog itself.



While I could walk off the pallets since the ground wasn't too mushy and it seems folks have been through with trucks and ATVs, I probably won't because, like tundra, true bog mat is fragile. It takes ages to regenerate from damage due to vehicles and feet.

Your photos are fantastic, as always. But your Louisiana pics are a whole new level of incredible. I hope you get to do more trips like that when this plague is banished.

Thanks clam. I was surprised the trip materialized, but Louisiana is a bit calmer in its approach to COVID-19 and it did. Here are a few more I've finished processing -







Next year, public health willing, I'm going to try for another workshop. If not one with Josh and the cypresses, somewhere else. Not sure what, but Kentucky interests me as do the Dakotas.

That was a truly wonderful day of photos to find on my GD return. I think my favourite has to be the ibis that appears like an organic part of the tree where it had chosen to perch.

I'm glad you liked them, -p- and welcome back. May your stay be a long one.

>232 Bookmarque: I like the shot of the Blue Heron or is it a Great Heron?

>226 Bookmarque: Who went through the trouble of laying all the pallets, and was it so they could have a path to a specific place?

Thanks, chalton, It's a great blue heron, actually!

I think the pallets were put down to make it easier for hunters to get in and out of the bog. Or there's another photographer who thought it would make a great leading line. Not sure who the kind folks were, but there aren't any No Trespassing or Posted signs or anything, so I went in.

>237 Bookmarque: Oops. My bird identification is useless.

The pallets are clever, but my little ocd soul wants to arrange them alternating vertical and horizontal.

Eh no worries, mine isn't great shakes either and besides, there is an ibis picture up there!

I can see how the randomness would make some folks itch, MrsL.

>237 Bookmarque: Thanks for the info about the pallets, it is really convenient and nice that someone else troubled themselves doing it.

Oh and concerning the great blue heron- such a majestic bird. I know I'm old when I think of all three words and never think to string them together.

No prob, chalton. I'm glad they put them there, too.

So...informal poll. If I opened a storefront for my photography, would you buy anything? Wall art as well as things like tote bags, phone cases, shower curtains (really!), notebooks and cards - there's more, but you get the idea.

I've always hesitated to sell my work because it would be like a job and who needs that? But I do get asked now and again and so I thought I might give it a go.

>242 Bookmarque: I do not buy wall art or pictures generally but I believe there is a market for your pictures. They are certainly of selling quality. I could be tempted by a phone case, especially with some of your really surreal pictures from your recent trip.

Thanks, Pete. I've also given thought to producing books. Photobooks obviously, but there'd be writing involved as well.

>242 Bookmarque: Like Peter, this is not something that I generally purchase, but I sincerely believe that there would be a market for your pictures.

Another option might be to list your photos with a stock photo agency, where you would receive commission every time your image was used.

Thanks -p-. I do a bit of licensing, but it's a really saturated market so I don't pay attention to a lot of it.

>242 Bookmarque: I feel like a lot a your photos would sell on any format. I wouldn't get wall art but maybe some other some other format you mentioned.

Thanks much. I wasn't trying to pressure anyone into this...just getting a gauge. Folks I'm friends with on FB seem to say the same thing. I'm going to put a post up on my blog and see what followers there think. It's a lot of work initially, but I have some of it done. Mostly what takes work is prepping the images for the site and uploading on our tiny, weedy, thready internet signal.

I'm thinking of using this as a logo -

>248 Bookmarque: love the logo. I am not a big purchaser of anything, so I haven't chimed in, but I do think some of your photos would be lovely on various products.

>248 Bookmarque: I like the logo too.

>248 Bookmarque: Great logo. You have a good eye for design as well as photography.

Thanks Sakerfalcon. I wanted something simple, but a little dramatic. And I've always loved that font. So there it is. The store is open. Only 10 images so far, but I'll load more.

In the meantime I'm shooting the Prairie River. My project for the time being. I'd like to get it in all seasons eventually. Here it is from the other day -



And across and a little down from this cascade -



It's all public land around this area so I'll definitely go back when the daylight hours are a bit longer. Today I'll head to another area to see what I can see. It's upstream from here, but basically the same type of forest and elevation.

I really like the color print, it shows up nice.

Thanks chalton.

Just saw that audible has a lot of the Lew Archer books as part of the audible plus catalog. He isn't Marlowe exactly, but Ross MacDonald created quite a detective. A little Christmas present to me.

>248 Bookmarque: Great logo!

Thanks so much.

So Happy New Year to All. Here's hoping things get better.

I've been playing on the Prairie River again. Here's a few shots from that session with my new tripod -







It's such a great place. But tomorrow, to start things off, I'm going to explore the Popple and Pine rivers in a couple counties over. The Popple is a tributary of the Pine and they are both pretty much left to themselves with lots of ways in to see them and hike by them. Many waterfalls on both as well, but none are all that huge since it's pretty flat in Florence county.

Anyway...am stepping off the laptop into my book. I'm reading Strange Practice which is a bit of a departure for me. It centers around Greta Helsing, modern woman and doctor to the various vampires, were-folk and other supernatural creatures of literature and fairy tales. So far a lot of fun!

Happy New Year guys!

Have a good time and be safe one and all:)

>256 Bookmarque: Yes, Strange Practice is good fun.

>256 Bookmarque: >258 pgmcc: What hope have we got with both of you sniping away ...

Happy new year!

Bookmarque, what an excellent artist in photography you've become. I hope you do move forward with the idea of selling some of your work. You're in danger of hiding your light under a basket otherwise. Happy new year!