Dry Waterfalls

Gene and I slipped away to Starved Rock for Anniversary 27. The drought is lingering here and the waterfalls are dry. But we saw a bald eagle watching us and some pelicans fishing above the dam on the Illinois River. Below the dam the asian carp were flying out of the water in a wild frenzy next to the locks. They were something to see.
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Epiphany

Epiphany was kind enough to publish "Boy It'll Be Gone Soon" in their Spring/Summer 2012 issue.  Many thanks to them!

Wild (Yeast) Man

One thing leads to another.  

I read an article in the NY Times about yeast wintering over in the bellies of bees.

Tom falls in love with a beer from Bell's called The Wild One.

The Wild One becomes hard to find.

They seldom brew it.  Why?

Because it's open fermented with wild yeast.

Wait.  What?  You can do that?

Where do you get this wild yeast?

Everywhere, it seems, in the summer.

(Thanks, bees!)

And so...

Tom is harvesting wild yeast from whatever sweet smelling places he can find.

Next: Wild Beer.

Of Egrets and Cattle

 Sometimes I become so enamored with the trees that I forget about the birds of Humboldt County.

The great egrets (above) are ubiquitous, as are the Stellar's jays, who refuse to pose for a picture, but don't have a problem stealing any food left hanging around.  A flock of maybe a dozen brown pelicans flew not more than ten feet over our heads one day.   We saw cormorants and sandpipers and greater yellow legs and a wood duck we weren't close enough to identify.  This really isn't birding season, but hey.

And look at this:  Cattle with their very own beach to graze on.

When life is, perhaps, challenging, it's good to contemplate these things.

I started reading a book on the fabric of the cosmos this week and fired one of my clients.

I'm not going to say all this is definitely related, but I will say maybe.

Moments Later

The oblivious hiker was devoured by the evil tree.

Mendocino County

Hwy. 1 from a cemetery.
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On Mattole Road

It's the no berry picking that hurts.
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The Petrolia Cemetery

Is a bit off the beaten path.
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Cemetery Hunting

Through a cow pasture.
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The Arcata Farmers Market

Can't be beat.
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