“Coming and Going”

Olympus E-M10 IV with 14-42 kit lens @ 14mm, f/11, 1/10s, ISO 250. Along the Marys Peak East Ridge Trail.

“Octopus’s Garden”

Olympus TG-6 @ 11.1mm, f/5, 1/250s, ISO 160. Along the Sutton Creek Trail.

Close-up of the inside of a rhododendron flower

“Vegetable Cobra”

Olympus E-M10 IV with M.Zuiko 60mm f//2.8 lens @ f5.6, 1/125s, ISO 320. Darlingtonia plant near Florence, Oregon.

Darlingtonia plant near Florence, Oregon

“Can’t Keep a Good Tree Down”

Olympus E-M10 IV with 14-42 kit lens @ 16mm, f/11, 1/10s, ISO 1000. Along the Sutton Creek North Trail.

Gnarled tree along the trail

“Paintbrush Rising”

Olympus E-M10 IV with 14-42 kit lens @ 42mm, f/7.1, 1/80s, ISO 1600. Along the Sutton Creek North Trail.

Indian Paintbrush sprouting from damp ground

“Rainy Rhodies”

Olympus E-M10 IV with 14-42 kit lens @ 34mm, f/11, 1/80s, ISO 320. Along the Sutton Creek North Trail

Rhododendron flowers beaded with rain

Flash Forest

Reforestation by shooting seeds into the ground from 14-foot drones. Pretty nifty. Might be the only drone I wouldn’t mind seeing while out on a hike.

“Maybe Not the Best Spot”

Olympus E-M10 IV with 14-42 kit lens @ 41mm, f/11, 1/80s, ISO 320. Along the Sutton Creek North Trail.

Fern growing in beach sand

“Who You Lookin' At?”

Olympus E-M10 IV with M.Zuiko 100-400mm lens @ 400mm, f/11, 1/60s, ISO 2500. Spotted in Dune Lake next to Alder Dune Campground.

Bird on a branch in a lake

Finished: Lords of the North, by Bernard Cornwell 📚. In this installment the Saxon-Dane Uhtred gets his revenge on some of the Danes who mistreated him way back in the first book. Meanwhile, Alfred and his allies continue to consolidate control over Britain. There are lots more in the series but I think I’m going to leave it here for now. It’s just not clicking with me the way some of Cornwell’s other books have.

Finished: Dreamers in Hell, ed. by Janet Morris - 16th book in this shared universe series, so you probably don’t want to start here. In this installment, Satan and a cast of zillions from across history (mainly people you’ve heard of) use a new energy source developed by Tesla to try to take the attack straight to heaven’t gates.

Trump says he doesn’t want Apple building products in India: ‘I had a little problem with Tim Cook’

Another tech giant discovers that sucking up to a mercurial wannabe dictator is not a winning strategy.

Dark matter formed when fast particles slowed down and got heavy, new theory says

So basically this theory is another attack on junk food.

The End of Rule of Law in America

Judge Luttig sums up the mess we’re in. Long and depressing but still worth reading.

After these first three tyrannical, lawless months of this presidency, surely Americans can understand now that Donald Trump is going to continue to decimate America for the next three-plus years. He will continue his assault on America, its democracy, and rule of law until the American people finally rise up and say, “No more.”

First judge approves Trump invoking Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelans

Had to happen sooner or later, I guess. This stuff is clearly not going to be resolved before the Supreme Court weighs in on the merits.

Judge slams lawyers for ‘bogus AI-generated research’

How stupid do you have to be to add more AI slop to a legal brief after the judge questions your initial round of AI slop? $31,000 worth of stupid in this case.

“The Gathering Storm”

Olympus TG-6 @ 5.4mm, f/9, 1/250s, ISO 100. Near the top of Mt. Pisgah.

Storm clouds rolling in over Mt. Pisgah

“Ready to Pop”

Olympus TG-6 @ 11.1mm, f/3.6, 1/200s, ISO 800. Fringecup buds along a trail at Mt. Pisgah.

Fringecup buds along a trail at Mt. Pisgah