With an early freeze in Wyoming last year the fall was stunning. The colors of the changing leaves mixed together in fascinating patterns and displays. The folds in the hills here against the unusual pattern on the hillside attracted my lens.

Cracked mud with Grass
Summer 1999-0018
Douglas, Wyoming

As a farmer I spent many hours irrigating with small breaks. One walk I liked to take was up and old dry wash that cut through the center of the farm. That is where I found the mud cracking and the grass just beginning to grow through the cracks from the moisture still held under the drying surface.

Sand Dunes 5
July 2002-0080
Great Sand Dunes, Colorado

The shapes and colors present in the Sand Dunes in Southern Colorado are extraordinary. While camping there recently the wind had blown hard before a thunder shower and moved the sand into incredible fresh patterns.

I often drive the Baggs road to ski in the winter. One March the drive was during a spring blizzard. The wind was howling and the snow drifting and it took all your concentration to drive and stay on the road. I glanced out the window and here were these gorgeous red willows highlighted against the bleak snowy surroundings and dreary sky. It was beautiful.

With an early freeze in Wyoming last year the fall was stunning. The colors of the changing leaves mixed together in fascinating patterns and displays. The folds of the hills set off a nice pocket of colors.

Hiking one day I was attracted to the design of these cracks in a rock face, as a bonus in a larger print very faint, possible petroglyphs show up in the lower right corner.

On a brief trip to California in June I was able to spend a day wandering the Northern beaches. The colors in the rocks were stunning as this image portrays. The sand had drifted into the crevices creating a nice juxtaposition of textures.

A blustery day of wind had churned up the color of this small spring and a near by pine tree's cones were bobbing and floating on the surface.

Amazing patterns are created by the wind wearing away layers of a rock surface leaving different colors and unique shapes.

With an early freeze in Wyoming last year the fall was stunning. The colors of the changing leaves mixed together in fascinating patterns and displays. The isolation of this red bush against the drier colors of fall caught my interest.

The stunning color patterns of the old car rusting and losing it's paint in the salt air makes this one of my favorites. While out for a hike near the beach I saw the old car half buried in sand.

The early morning light on the blown and mounded sand in the Great Sand Dunes.

Bonanza, Colorado is a wonderful old mining town and a little North of there is the site of Exchequer. The cemetery and one old log house is all that is left of a once thriving town. The rich colors in this old log tombstone attracted me to take this photo.

There are a lot of remote dirt roads in Wyoming. Rain and thunderstorms make some nearly impassible or terribly frustrating to drive. However the thick gloppy mud creates incredible patterns as the runoffs subside. This photo was taken as I paused to consider whether crossing a small creek was possible after a spring storm.

Outside a small restaurant in Bandon Oregon rests an old fishing boat, never to float again. However it rests in a spot over looking the Bandon Lighthouse and the entrance to the harbor. The boat's paint is peeling and metal parts are rusting revealing interesting patterns.

Ferocious thunderstorms race across Wyoming filling the gullies and low spots and churning up the fine silty bottoms. When the flash floods recede they leave incredible patterns in the mud.

The incoming tide in Bandon brings various floating objects as well as revealing patterns around heavier objects. I found this simple composition restful and liked the angle and placement of the pebbles.

This wind circle caught my eye after a particularly blustery storm. If you look closely a small insect has left their foot prints across the grass shadow. Life is quite a struggle for the plants and animals living in the dunes.

The Bristle Cone pines are an awe to experience. Their twisted trunks and limbs hold many special scenes and colors. Living and surviving at very high elevations through extreme weather  conditions, they are the oldest living trees on earth.