San Juan Island

Cattle Point Lighthouse

Lime Kiln Lighthouse

The Dunn Home

Last week I went flying with Jim Dunn in his airplane. We tested out his new window which has an opening for aerial photography. We flew up to the San Juan Islands and I took some photos of some lighthouses. His home, which he and Roxanne built, is in-between the two lighthouse on San Juan Island. It was kind of a cloudy windy day but the plane and window worked really well. I'm excited to go again once the weather gets a little better.

Wallingford Turtle

A street mural in the Wallingford neighborhood in Seattle was created last weekend. The painting of turtle mural was designed my Maple Leaf artist Rachel Marcotte. It's at the intersection of 41st Street and Interlake Avenue North. The Wallingford neighborhood organized the project. I think is so cool how all the parts come together.
Art is such a great thing to share, so I think it's so wonderful that Wallingford created this public art for all to enjoy.

My Own Private Idaho

This was at Harrison Idaho on Coeur d'Alene Lake. This kind of sums up Idaho in a photograph.

Honey Bees

The Swarm

You might remember from and earlier post that I am now a beekeeper and I have two honey bee hives in my backyard. It's been a wonderful experience and the bees are so cool and fun to watch.
My first hive swarmed and went up into my bamboo trees. Bees swarm when the colony becomes to be too large and the bees divide up into a second colony. So I captured this swarm and started another hive. Then I noticed first hive had so many drones that the worker bees started kicking them out of the hive. Drones don't produce any honey, so I figure the workers became upset that they were consuming too much honey. The worker bees were just ruthless and kicked the larger drones to the curb. Here are a couple of videos that are a little rough and out of focus, but worth checking out.

Art Samples

I've been creating new artwork and spending time on the pottery wheel the past couple of weeks. Here are some of the pieces I've done in the past. I'm going to update the latest stuff as soon as it's out of the kiln. So check back to see the newest work. I'm also going to be doing some raku.

Bird House

Hand built pottery is something I've never done a lot of since I was maybe 6 years old. I've just finished this bird house for Jim and Roxanne for their home up on San Juan Island. It was fun to try something new, but for me I think it's easier to throw pots on a wheel. Still, I think I might try some more hand building.

Do you get this?

My friend Jeff says I need to add a post to my blog, so here it is. I have to give the photographer, Jeff Guild, credit. He shot this up on Capital Hill near where he works. I love this photo.

Honey Bees

The Garden Hive
This weekend I put a honey bee hive in my backyard. So with my friend Lauren, who makes these beautiful Garden Hives and her husband Michael, we started 3 new hives. The honey bees came from California and we picked them up on Friday. It was very exciting working with the honey bees, which are very gentle. We didn't really need to wear the veils, but there were a lot of bees flying around when we introduced the bees to the hives. Here is Lauren with the honey bees.

Post Alley at Pike Place Market

I haven't made a post on this blog in quite a while and I'm really overdue. It's just that I'm in school taking web design and find that I have little time for much else. I'm designing a web site for a friend and I needed some stock photos. So yesterday I went to downtown Seattle and to the Pike Place Market and Post Alley and snapped a few photos. The weather has been so mild and it was just nice to get out and explore and enjoy the day.

Feb.19th Update - With the continuing wonderful weather we've be having, I had to go back to the market to look for that perfect shot. I've posted four new photos that I like more. I'm not sure which one I like the most. Any votes? I love going downtown and hanging out at the Pike Place Market.