February 2026: Mid-Month Photography Tip

 

For those of you who do Urbex and abandoned places photography, it is always wise to make sure you don't walk in to a particular building "blind". You never know what is actually holding some structures up. This abandoned house looked very inviting for exploration from the outside at ground level, but a quick peek into the basement through a window revealed this nightmarish accident waiting to happen. Yes, that jinky Jenga is all that was holding up the entire house! 

I say "was" because it is not there anymore, fortunately. And fortunately I had the good sense to look in there before considering going inside. 

Stay safe! Be smart!

February 2026: Names On The Wall

 One of the aspects of taking photos in an abandoned asylum is that you never want to lose sight of the fact that real people lived, struggled desperately, and died there. This wall is located in one of the residential buildings where the patients lived. The nurses who cared diligently for these people also lived on site, on the top floor. Several of them would record the names of their patients on the wall in pencil near their beds, sometimes with the date they arrived or where they were from. Some of these names have been there on these bricks for 100 years. It isn't known why they did this, perhaps to remember to pray for them every night, perhaps because they knew that it was likely that no other record of that person being there would be available in the future, no one knows. But the fact is that in some cases these pencil entries ARE the only record of that person being there, and the only evidence that anyone ever cared enough about them to even record their name. It is a very poignant part of these buildings, and every time I have been there I have taken the time to stop and take note of the names for ten minutes or so.

These buildings are currently slated for renovation where possible, and demolition where not, so I do not know what is to become of these bricks and the names upon them. Perhaps the photos people have taken of them will be all that the future will be able to see. But they were real people with real struggles, some of the struggles very serious, and they were cared for by people who thought them worthy of remembering.

January 2026: Blue Morpho

 

Here is a magnificent Blue Morpho butterfly to bring in the new year with a blast of color! These beauties live in Central and South America, and can be 5 inches across! Their backs are an irridescent blue, from which they get their name, but the underwings, seen here, are what I think of as their "good side". 

Wishing you a colorful and prosperous new year full of amazing sights and experiences!  

December 2025: Ghost Squirrel

 

No, not a ghost. And not an albino! This is actually an Eastern Gray Squirrel. Normally they are either gray or black, but they have a very recessive gene which now and then pops up in a few locations across the country which produces these all white variants. In these isolated places the variant can be suddenly common for a generation or two, with sometimes as many as 12 or more squirrels being white. 

This particular population holds only 3 white individuals, so they are very rare indeed.

An auspicious choice for photos this month, as everything here is now covered in snow, and these 3 white squirrels which were so visible to predators in the summer are now perfectly camouflaged, unlike their gray and black siblings.

November 2025: Autumn Frost

 

No, not that kind of frost, although we have had a couple days of that. No, this autumn mushroom is called a Frost's Bolete, named after Charles frost, the person who first described it as a species. It is a spectacular mushroom, brilliant crimson color, with an unmistakeable lattice stem. Like many similar-looking mushrooms it bruises very easily, and such pressure points turn a dark blue quite quickly.

Although these are edible if prepared properly, most people choose to avoid doing so as the number of toxic mushrooms which look almost identical to these is great. No sense risking your life just for a mushroom! 

Autumn is a great time for colors out in the woods. Do yourselves a favor: get out there and enjoy how beautiful it is in the fall, and pay attention to all the wonderful color!!

October 2025: Back to nature

 

Back to nature photos this month. :)

This is a hog-nosed snake. The "master thespians" of the snake world. While completely harmless, their main defense from predators is over-acting. First, they pretend to be dangerous cobras! They flatten their head, as you see here, often rising up and swaying back and forth in a threatening manner. If that doesn't work they flip themselves over on to their backs and writhe around in feigned agony and then play dead, even emanating a death-like smelly liquid from their cloaca. If you set them back on their belly they will flip themselves over again and continue playing dead, as if them flipping themselevs over again does not count as demonstration of life. The whole charade is pretty amusing for we humans to watch, but in reality it often works for the snakes themselves.

In other news, I was fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time this week and was able to take an injured great horned owl to a rehab center where I am told he was able to be saved. I am very happy about that, as they are truly beautiful birds. 

Have a great month, and we'll see you here again in November!

September 2025: Madcat!

 

Yes, due to the positive response of last month's portrait you get a second one this month! 

This is none other than the Grammy Award winning harmonica wizard, Peter "Madcat" Ruth. I first met Madcat 40 years ago, and have been catching his shows whenever I can ever since, most recently in Rockford, MI a few weeks ago when this shot was taken.  You can check his music and tour schedule out at his website here: https://www.petermadcatruth.com/  

He is a truly amazing player, and a super nice guy as well.