Cow | Othello, WA | November 2019
Tension from the world’s demands — do this, do that — is relieved best by solitude. That means no people, of course, but also no errands, no phones and, for the most part, no media. Exception: Allow yourself an inspirational read, such as the Bible, Tao Te Ching or a spiritual novel (The Alchemist, for instance). The book you choose will be a conversation buddy; its message could coax deeper insights. You’ll begin to (more…)
Golf Houses | Potholes Reservoir, WA | November 2019
I don’t play golf, but for me living on a fairway could be just the thing. It’s a green expanse I don’t have to mow. People dress nicely in pastels. Cart paths lead to the clubhouse bar. Too highfalutin? No worries. Golf courses in eastern Washington are often carved from shrub-steppe terrain filled with fauna and flora. So a parade of (more…)
Branch Office | Othello, WA | November 2019
“The reason that fish form schools, birds form flocks, and bees form swarms is that they are smarter together than they would be apart. They don’t take a vote; they don’t take a poll. They form a (more…)
Islets | Potholes Reservoir, WA | November 2019
Some sages say the simplicity we seek floats atop all the complications of daily life. It rises above the chaotic demands (and resulting worries) of clocks, people, money, status, health. It’s calm, quiet and disconnected from the clamor below. Simplicity comes, they say, from accepting life’s messiness and our inability to control it. We descend into the ruckus, do our work, and rise again. We then relax into (more…)
Goose Lake | Othello, WA | November 2019
Probably best not to question climate science. Hotter temps and sinking islands mean something’s afoot. But the Channeled Scablands west of Othello always put my puny existence in perspective. My ego shrivels amid the Scablands’ grander schemes. For instance: Here comes a storm forged from ocean currents a thousand miles away. And an Arctic wind whips nearby glacial silt into tiny tornadoes. And geese navigate to this lake from Mexico using Earth’s magnetic field. How could this landscape — scoured by elemental forces of fire and floods — be affected by my (more…)
Power Poles | Rock Island, WA | November 2019
How do we manage a layered life? Not easily. Responsibilities of work, family and community overlap, make demands. Media roils our minds and emotions. The internet urges us to be interested in everything. Silence, stillness, centering remain elusive. An exquisite meditation chapel in Portland, Oregon, overlooks the airport, busy freeways and marine shipping lanes. Yet visitors sit quietly behind a 20-foot-high wall of glass that frames and muffles the great wide world. The room is a physical expression of (more…)
Escarpment | Spanish Castle, WA | November 2019
Winemakers say that a vineyard at the base of a cliff (in photo) has distinguishing qualities. Such as: Unique mineral pockets, a channeled air flow, cooler temps due to shade, warmer temps due to reflected sunlight. If a grape’s essence is enriched by such a micro-climate, imagine how our own minds and souls are shaped by surrounding environments. A climate of anger, blame, dishonesty, judgment and violence can sour our outlook and blind us to a wondrous world. Yeah, I know we hear this all the time, but … (more…)
Vacant | East Wenatchee, WA | November 2019
The room seemed empty until I began to note its less tangible elements. Air, light, dust, smells of dinner cooking downstairs, a memory of my deceased father in a similar room talking about the shape of boat hulls. A quantum space-time moment, perhaps? “According to string theory,” wrote teacher and businessman Roy H. Williams, “what appears to be empty space is actually a tumultuous (more…)
Cones | Wenatchee, WA | November 2019
The man flagged me down in the parking lot and said, “Hey, there were cones back there! Didn’t you see the cones?” Yes, I saw the cones. I ignored them because they weren’t doing any of their regular cone jobs — to warn, to guide, to delineate. They (in photo) were just hanging around on empty asphalt. Last summer I was driving along a rural road and came to a line of cones that shunted me onto the shoulder. I followed the cones for a hundred yards to a gaping gash in the roadbed — a chasm, really — dug deep by a flash flood and now (more…)
Self-portrait | Badger Mountain, WA | October 2019
I’m part of all my photos even if they lack my silhouette. I’ve learned that taking a picture doesn’t steal a subject’s soul, as some believe, but rather injects a piece of my own. Shutter clicked; essence sent. Not a bad thing, as long as creative juices are somehow replenished. (Silence, solitude, mindfulness, movement all help.) Question is: (more…)
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