17 February 2007 Black Bear Trail

Do you think our early presidents anticipated that Americans would celebrate their birthdays centuries later by coloring photographs on computers? I'm still enjoying our white and black wintry world, but thought I'd play around with Photoshop a little on this holiday morning to post a little more color than I have in a while. I don't know if this works ... I'll wait and see what my reaction is over the next week as it comes up as my home page.

I skied the Black Bear trail by myself on Saturday (Paul is back in Hawaii wiring and plumbing for 10 days). After 8 years, I am still amazed that I can ski for almost an hour within the limits of this city of 250,000 people and not see another person.

9 February 2007 Portland, Oregon

After a river restoration symposium on the Washington side of the Columbia River, I spent a day visiting friends and sightseeing in Portland. Late in the morning I wandered around the Japanese Gardens in Washington Park. Winter's absence of leaves exposes the forms in the Japanese garden. In spring, the cherry blossoms can dominate but in winter the drape of the branches draws attention. The simplicity of the sand and rock garden vies equally with the moss-covered ground and conifers.

3 February 2007 Anchorage Sunset

For five days this week temperatures reached into the 40s, but at least the sunsets were spectacular. We stopped skiing as reports came in of a hard icy layer on the local trails. Temperatures finally returned to 'normal' Friday night, and a high of only 25 on Saturday.