as the snow accumulates in the high mountains, it stacks up and begins to slide down the mountain side as a glacier. as the glacier continues to get pushed from behind (from more incoming snow), it becomes packed into a very dense ice and can travel decades across the country side. sometimes they end by finally giving way to the heat, and turn into a stream of icy cold water. other times they end by crumbling into an ocean like this one.

a moment during a fireworks display that reminded me of palm trees.

some picture-perfect stalks of Imperial Fritillaria (lutea maxima) just waiting for someone like me to come by and capture them on film.

looking straight down toward the tops of foliage and a simple dirt (mud) road.

these large birds appear to have infinite patience as they stand motionless for hours waiting for their meal to swim by.

I found this young Great Horned Owl in early spring while it was still cool on most days. She took to me well and never seemed to mind my presence when I came by her section of woods. In this shot she's about six weeks old and loosing most of her puffy baby feathers. This is certainly my favorite of all animals and it was a pleasure coming across one in the wild.

Bamboo gate in Japanese garden