Long Nights

Vitalva River - Prague, 2009 The winter solstice, shortest day of the year, is on December 21st, at the height of the Christmas celebrations. Too many things are going on to notice how short the days are. Now that the holidays are behind us we soon realize how short the days are, how frigid they …

Christmas Cards

I'm working on our annual Christmas letter, which is always a struggle to get started. As thoughts swirl around in my head I get more and more frustrated. It takes awhile to organize my thoughts, which translates to, "relax, it's no big deal, blah, blah, blah". This was my first draft. Thought for the Day: …

Iowa State Fair

18 I went to the Iowa State Fair, mainly to see the 81st Photographic Salon. Four entries per person are allowed, but only one in each of several categories. There were 2,086 entries this year -- less than the normal 3,500 or more. This is my 8th year of participation. Three of my four entries …

Wren

Wren's Nest The common House Wren is an interesting bird. Very industrious and known for their loud singing for such a small bird. The male wren starts several nests before looking for a mate. He gets the nests started with small twigs, then goes courting. The female then selects her favorite nest and finishes building …

Sculpture

Portland Sculpture Thought for the Day: He that speaks much, is much mistaken.Benjamin Franklin

Happy Hour

About a year ago, we were sitting on the beach of our condo in Sanibel Island, Florida enjoying a beverage while watching the sun go down.  Today, our friends from the Boston area are hunkered down in six feet of snow ... with more on the way.   Uggh!   The Midwest isn't exactly balmy, …