These basalt boulders are at the Ensinoso Park in Oak Creek near Sedona. In low-water times of the year, there is a crossing here where the white water is. You can just hop from stone to stone to traverse the creek. In the winter, their crevices become miniature caverns of ice. In the summer, their…
I discovered this scene in Zion National Park at the golden hour of sunset. What is special to me are the leaves scattered in the path. It appears that the route, although well-traveled in the past, hasn’t seen much action recently. That, for me, makes it irresistible. What fun, to discover something of value that…
The late afternoon sun was about to set behind the mountains–can you see the shadows? But as I stood there watching, the surf on this rocky coast near Monterey, California had its own agenda. Endlessly the water attacked the rocks, foaming, rushing, churning. I love experiencing the ocean. It allows me to be still near…
Wouldn’t it be nice if nature presented us seasons like the calendar does: On this day Fall begins. On this day, Winter arrives. But it doesn’t happen that way, of course. Some days she feels like warm weather and zephyr breezes. On others, she pouts behind fog and rain. And on some days she refuses…
Because I write mysteries that strongly identify with place, I am on the alert for other authors that do the same thing. The best I’ve found recently is the author of the Forgotten Coast Florida Suspense Series. I’d like to give a shout-out to Dawn McKenna! For example, here is a selection from the beginning…
I was delighted to discover this tableau! Can you see the color wheel? Green, blue, lavender, and then a whirl of the wheel over to the yellow-gold side. Just perfect. My former art teachers would love it. I did, too. I can’t understand it when people say they don’t like a particular color. How on…
I love that exact moment when a wild creature acknowledges my existence. They look at me, and for a moment time is suspended and one species recognizes the other. Trees, of course, are also aware of our being. Mere plants as well. Okay, then, what about the rocks. Do the rocks know I exist? Can they…
Upside down, right side up, left to right, right to left. If you’ve ever noticed, we don’t often find (almost) perfect symmetry in nature. That’s why, when I found this vista, I was delighted. Symmetry creates a comforting predictability. Two by two, like the story of Madeleine living in the convent. Or Noah’s animals in the…
Abiquiu, New Mexico is north of Albuquerque, north of Santa Fe, even north of Taos. Georgia O’Keeffe discovered it and spent years there creating her own artistic way of seeing flowers, and nature, and blue sky. When I visited her Ghost Ranch, the isolation and peace of the country allowed me to slow down and…
The quality of light in Arizona is intense, and never more so than at sunset during monsoon season. For two summer months, the afternoon clouds build, fierce thunderstorms crash and threaten. Then it is over. Or is it? As a photographer, I’ve learned to be patient. If I wait out the storm, and stick around…