IrwinFoto

A gallery of photos by Mike Irwin

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  • Orchard Nets

    Orchard Nets | Orondo, WA | February 2020

    Orchard nets help protect high-value fruit from all sorts of calamities— bad birds, bad storms, bad sunburn. The jury is still out on their cost vs. benefits, but it seems like more and more fruit growers are giving the covers a try. Me? I envy fruit so pampered. I yearn for a portable net that keeps away pests (mosquitoes, robo-calls, politicians), protects against weather (no cold, no snow boots) and signals to the world that a high-value human is (more…)

  • Bins

    Bins | Quincy, WA | February 2020

    The advantages of plastic and metal fruit bins seem obvious. They last longer, ventilate better, clean easier. But the clone-like sameness of these newer boxes robs the industry of what’s appeared (to the casual viewer, anyway) as a product of design, craft and tradition — the wooden bin. You know: Natural materials, grain-pattern panels, woodsy scent when new. Of course, I know bupkis about bins. My appreciation is for the clever engineering of what’s essentially a (more…)

  • 3 Species

    3 Species | East Wenatchee, WA | February 2020

    The big family from two motel rooms away had claimed the best stretch of sand. Blankets, umbrellas, ice chests and inflatable toys covered the exact spot where the finest shells washed up. “When will they leave?” I asked Mom. “All I know,” she said, “is that today we share the beach.” Six decades later, that’s still good advice. A nearby sandbar, exposed when river levels drop, often becomes a cross-species intersection. Travelers arrive to eat, rest, poop or, in our case, just see what we can see. It requires (more…)

  • Chelan Butte

    Chelan Butte | Orondo, WA | February 2020

    Daredevils wearing wings leap off this mountain to ride the updrafts. I’ve watched these fliers spiral like hawks. Their risky behavior gives me new appreciation for what I’ve always deemed a high hump dotted with antennas and cell towers. Now in evening light, the butte shines with new stature — contours revealed, massiveness confirmed. It’s a good reminder to not (more…)

  • Flower

    Flower | East Wenatchee, WA | February 2020

    I’ll spare you the flora innuendo (“Is that a sticky pistil?”) and instead marvel at the complex beauty of blooms. To me, not even 130 million years of evolution explains the countless variations — artful curves and colors — of the flower world. Each bloom is a living miracle of design and function shaped to attract a specific pollinator. More amazing, several of these wonders stand in the sun on our kitchen counter. They’re so captivating that whenever we pass we can’t help but (more…)

  • Winter Golf

    Winter Golf | Twisp, WA | February 2020

    Soccer teams play on muddy fields. Runners dash through rainstorms. Bicyclists pedal on sheets of ice. But golfers seem to brave more inclement weather than almost any other sports enthusiasts. They’re on the links in downpours, blizzards, 15-degree cold snaps, 100-degree heat waves and even wind conditions that whisk away their bright-colored caps. I had a friend who’d drive 200 miles in early spring to find a golf course with a strip of bare dirt. And, of course, people fly to California, Hawaii and Scotland to knock a little white ball into a little round hole. It’s an elusive allure that’s hard to describe. But I’ve heard golfers, fishermen, rock climbers and beachcombers all try to (more…)

  • Old Car

    Old Car | East Wenatchee, WA | February 2020

    “When you drive home today, notice that you’ve got a big windshield on the front of your car. And you’ve got a little bitty rearview mirror. The reason the windshield is so large and the rearview mirror is so small is because (more…)

  • Static Dissipators

    Static Dissipators | Orondo, WA | February 2020

    I’ve mentioned before how helpful static dissipators would be in tense social situations. One atop my baseball cap (careful, don’t poke out an eye) could defuse anger when I cut in line at the grocery store or steal a parking space from a big-tire truck guy. Any rage would be absorbed and harmlessly redirected to the ethers. I’d look like an idiot, of course, with that starburst thing on my head. But I imagine the dissipator would dilute scorn, disdain and judgment as easily as it diminishes, say, simmering frustration. Red-faced bullies could (more…)

  • Jet

    Jet | East Wenatchee, WA | February 2020

    Jet contrails seem delicate, beautiful, magical — always worth an upward gaze. Crazy theories that they distribute chemicals to seed storms or nano-bots to rewire brains only add to their mystique. But does every jet leave a trail? Why do some plumes linger longer? More importantly, what’s actually happened when the contrail goes (more…)

  • Mirror

    Mirror | East Wenatchee, WA | January 2020

    This mirror on the wall reminds me daily that what we see depends on where we stand. A shift of angle can present a whole new picture. It reinforces the necessity to walk around an issue, a problem, a desire before we act, which includes (more…)