So it’s come to this. Instead of shooting the neighboring elk and spying on coyote, I’m shooting the darn tomato worm that snuck onto my urban plant. The dang thang just wouldn’t budge, so I had to trim the plant and throw the trimming in the bushes. Although the plant has overcome the loss of a handful of eaten leaves, it still shows no signs of fruit. Maybe it’s not getting enough sun. Maybe I’m not either. The adjustment to city life isn’t easy. In fact, I tweeted about it today – it’s just so difficult finding inner peace when your surroundings aren’t peaceful. So I’m working on it. For me, photography helps a lot. I’ve been off the wagon for a while, but now I’m back. More photos coming soon.

Alpinist Magazine will relaunch under the direction of a former Climbing Magazine editor and I hope that this time the publishers will retain the honest virtues and develop a successful business model and not schlep out the same mag as Climbing, Rock & Ice, et al. While I love climbing and backpacking, I don’t try to summit huge peaks, such as Wilson Peak in this photo. But I related to Alpinist because the stories and photos emoted that satisfying thrill of being surrounded by wilderness that only those who love the outdoors understand. If their photos could talk, they would sigh with satisfaction, whereas the other mags’ photos would grunt with testosterone. I for one prefer that deep sigh.

My roommates have named the two local red tail hawks Hank and Henrietta. Because the winds were pretty strong today, they were particularly active, soaring around, catching the currents, swooping close to the yard and driving the dogs crazy. I love knowing that some wildlife still goes strong after we build huge neighborhoods in what were once wild lands. Although red tail hawks are very common throughout the west, they still make me happy every time I see them because they really are gorgeous birds. And while it’s not that often we get to see other types of large birds of prey, these guys are pretty much our neighbors. Only we actually see them.