“Breath of Air”

Olympus E-M10 IV with M.Zuiko 60mm f/2.8 macro lens @ f/6.3, 1/400s, ISO 6400. Shot along the Goodman Creek Trail.

dispersed seed head

“Speckles”

Olympus E-M10 IV with M.Zuiko 60mm f/2.8 macro lens @ f/8, 1/80s, ISO 4000. False Solomon’s Seal fruit along the Goodman Creek Trail.

“Precarious”

Olympus E-M10 IV with M. Zuiko 100-400mm lens and MC-20 teleconverter @ 800mm, f/14, 1/250s, ISO 1250. Cormorant nesting near Heceta Head.

cormorant on a cliff

“No Swimming”

Olympus E-M10 IV with M. Zuiko 100-400mm lens and MC-20 teleconverter @ 200mm, f/14, 1/125s, ISO 320. Oregon coast near Heceta Head.

“Island of Lions”

Olympus E-M10 IV with 14-42 kit lens @ 41mm, f/6.3, 1/30s, ISO 6400. Shot inside Sea Lion Cave.

sea lions on a rock

“Waiting”

Olympus E-M10 IV with M. Zuiko 100-400mm lens and MC-20 teleconverter @ 800mm, f/13, 1/200s, ISO 400. Shot at the Oregon coast near Sea Lion Cave.

seagull looking out over the ocean

“The Gull Stands Alone”

Olympus E-M10 IV with M. Zuiko 100-400mm lens and MC-20 teleconverter @ 800mm, f/13, 1/200s, ISO 500. Shot at the Oregon coast near Sea Lion Cave.

pelicans and a sea gull

“Weeding”

Olympus E-M10 IV with M. Zuiko 100-400mm lens and MC-20 teleconverter @ 800mm, f/13, 1/200s, ISO 500. Shot at the Oregon coast. near Sea Lion Cave.

“Nesting”

Olympus E-M10 IV with M. Zuiko 100-400mm lens and MC-20 teleconverter @ 800mm, f/13, 1/200s, ISO 500. Cormorants on the Oregon coast.

birds on nests

“Sleepytime”

Olympus E-M10 IV with M. Zuiko 100-400mm lens and MC-20 teleconverter @ 800mm, f/13, 1/80s, ISO 400. Steller’s Sea Lions on the Oregon coast.

a pile of sea lions

“Dawn”

Olympus E-M10 IV with 14-42mm kit lens @ 42mm, f/8, 1/200s, ISO 250. Looking over Lookout Reservoir. towards Diamond Peak

lake with mountain in the dawn

“Quiet Morning”

Olympus E-M10 IV with 14-42mm kit lens @ 37mm, f/8, 1/5s, ISO 6400. Pre-dawn twilight over Lookout Reservoir.

lake and hills at dawn

“Lunchtime”

Olympus E-M10 IV with M. Zuiko 100-400mm lens @ 400mm, f/8, 1/80s, ISO 1600.

“Beetle Time”

Olympus E-M10 IV with M. Zuiko 60mm f/2.8 macro lens @ f/5, 1/30s, ISO 320. Shot at Wild Iris Ridge.

a tumbling flower beetle on a daisy

Finished: The Exile, by Pearl S. Buck 📚: This is the author’s lightly-fictionalized memoir of her mother, who was a Christian missionary’s wife in China and apparently a thoroughly good person, devoted to the service of others, though she never actually found the God she was searching for. I enjoyed reading it and pondering this now-forgotten life, though books like this are enough out of fashion that it’s now out of print as well.

“Moo”

Olympus E-M10 IV with M. Zuiko 60mm f/2.8 macro lens @ f/8, 1/30s, ISO 3200. Cow parsnip seeds at Wild Iris Ridge.

closeup of a seed head

“Slightly Squished”

Olympus E-M10 IV with M. Zuiko 100-400mm lens plus MC-20 teleconverter @ 800mm, f/18, 1/500s, ISO 2500. One day post-full moon shot handheld at Wild Iris Ridge.

night shot of the moon

Finished: The Steel Wave, by Jeff Shaara 📚: Second of Shaara’s novels of WWII, this one covers from preparations for the Normandy invasion through the death of Rommel in the aftermath of the attempted assassination of Hitler. Told through a mix of frontline and command-staff characters, as far as I can tell it stays pretty faithful to actual history, while still telling some good stories.

Finished: Unicorn Variations, by Roger Zelazny 📚: Probably my favorite collection of Zelazny shorts. The titular story holds up well, and “Home is the Hangman” is surprisingly resonant in these AI-heavy days (as is the cute little “Walpurgisnacht”). I think I reread this one about once a year.

Am I forgetting more because of age, or just noticing it more because I have spare time? Either way I was out in 90-degree full sun for a mile or more of walking today before I realized I wasn’t wearing my hat.

Fortunately I’m retired so it probably doesn’t matter if I cook my brains a bit.