Scalloped peaks, Idaho

Another view of scalloped peaks in Idaho. I particularly like the bent underlying ridge running from center to left, and all of the "bites" that have been taken out of it.

Scalloped peaks, Idaho

Chains of peaks in Idaho, all with the same U-shaped scalloping pattern. I'm guessing that glaciers were involved somehow, historically.

Striated heart, Montana

Heart-shaped feature in striated material on the ground.

Pass through folded ridges, Lennep, Montana

Here a pass cuts its way through these ridges to the upper left, their older geometry now penetrated by a more recent running stream, along which a road is built.

Round ridges, near Voldseth Reservoir, Montana

Rounded lines of ridges seeming to rise through the basic folds of the plain above them, as though some more ancient structure is slowly emerging here.

Circular ridge above C Bar J Reservoir, Montana

A great empty sweep of cliffs above a tiny half-dry piece of water.

Shining power line ribbon, Montana

More shining high voltage power lines, two thing pairs of stripes going up and down smoothly over the wrinkles of terrain.

Shining power line ribbon, Montana

Thin ribbon of high-voltage power line, shining through the wilderness.

Gordon Butte windmills, Montana

The Eastern edge of Gordon Butte hosts a line of windmills harvesting power.

Gordon Butte, Montana

This nearly perfectly circular protrusion in central Montana is apparently named Gordon Butte, and its name is just about all the information that I can find about it, like so many interesting wilderness Western features.

Lebo Lake, Montana

A small lake in the curving route of an old ridge-sided valley.

Judith Gap wind farm, Montana

Portions of the big wind farm at Judith Gap in Montana.

Curving ridges, Montana

An elegantly curving set of shapely ridges in Montana.

Ripples and ridges, Montana

More long and intricate ridge formations, their sideways folds of ground giving evidence of old tectonics forces that have shaped this area.

Spectacles basins, near Shawmut, Montana

Dry basins like a pair of glasses on the Montana ground.

Snaking ridge, Montana

A long dark snaking set of ridges rising folded from the ground in the Montana wilderness.

Mesa shadows and colored fields, Montana

Dark shadows contrast with varying colors of fields along the edge of this spiky Montana mesa.

Mesa ship, Montana

This mesa looks to me like a great three-masted ship sailing in an ocean of plains.

Billings, Montana

Another closer view into some of the cliffs that rise above Billings, and the river that has carved them.

Billings, Montana

The city of Billings, Montana, butts up against a sharp boundary of a river and its associated steep cliffs, rising above the city on the East.

Dark-edged canyons, Montana

Canyons in Montana, pulled out into high relief by the dark stone in their verticals.

Tailings pyramids, Wyoming

Pyramids of tailings from a mine, a curiously geometric industrial byproduct.

Half-dry dam, Wyoming

A mostly dry reservoir above a dam in the mountains of Eastern Wyoming.

Badlands National Park, South Dakota

Wrinkly white canyons declare the cliffs of the Badlands National Park in South Dakota.

Dry waste ponds near Chicago

Ponds for settling waste, probably sewage, but unusually mostly drained at the time of this picture.

Golf course near Chicago

A golf course near Chicago, its irregular layout pattern contrasting nicely with the irregular pattern of shadows from the clouds above.

Loopy suburb near Chicago

Now here's a properly loopy/wiggly suburban development, not a straight line in the place!

Development, Illinois

A strangely incoherent development west of Chicago, seemingly unable to make up its mind whether to be tight-packed and angular or more graceful and loopy in its layout.

Development-to-be, Illinois

Open lots and foundations, soon to become a development somewhere our to the West of Chicago.

Horse Farm, Illinois

A horse farm West of Chicago, clearly distinguished by the partitioning of its fields into paddocks with bright white fencing.

Textured field, Iowa

Growing crops give a corduroy texture to this field near the Eastern Iowa Airport.

Doomed Cicada, Iowa City

All this poor foolish cicada wanted to do was to rest quietly on my tires, as I prepared to drive to the airport.

I am very lonely, Iowa City

Lonely graffiti on a rooftop in downtown Iowa City.

No-Yield F-Bomb, Iowa City

A No-Yield F-Bomb on a random corner in Iowa City.

Waterworks Birdhouse at Dusk, Iowa City

Complex multi-species birdhouse rising in silhouette above the Waterworks Park pond at dusk.

Cornfields Couch, Iowa City

Lurking at the end of an odd paved road to nowhere on the Eastern edge of town, these couches offer dubiously hygienic comfort in the fields.

Suburban Tandava, Iowa City

Shiva Natarajan quietly dances the world-ending Tandava in a suburban garden grove.

Bikini Gargoyle, Iowa City

A bikini-wearing gargoyle welcomes summer at the driveway gate of a large house on the West side of town.

Parks & Recreation, Iowa City

Parks and recreation department advertising itself to bicyclists from the great swarm passing through on RAGBRAI last year.

Bicycle police training, Iowa City

Bicycle police training on an obstacle course in one of the city parks in Iowa City.

Windmill blade in transit, Iowa City

Windmill blade going down the highway, helping Iowa maintain its status as the second-largest wind power producer in America.

Tenacious Grasshopper, Iowa City

This grasshopper, for reasons known only to itself, apparently decided that my side mirror was the place it needed to be, then clung tenaciously there through buffeting at highway speeds.

Sea lion swimming fast, Boston Aquarium

High speed sea lion, zooming laps around its pool and coming over repeatedly to visit us.

Playful sea lions, Boston Aquarium

Playful sea lions hanging out in the open "back porch" pool of the Boston Aquarium.

Closeup octopus, Boston Aquarium

Open twining tentacles of a giant octopus pressed up against the corner glass.

Reflecting octopus, Boston Aquarium

Drifting along and making yet other patterns with its reflected twin.

Reflecting octopus, Boston Aquarium

Another closer view of the reflecting octopus, all symmetric suckers and images.

Reflecting octopus, Boston Aquarium

A giant octopus, upside down and reflecting on the perfectly still surface of the water of its tank.

Protective cuttlefish, Boston Aquarium

The cuttlefish at the aquarium had just laid eggs, and they appeared to be feeling quite protective: at times they would simply sit and stair back out at the people watching them, "giving us the finger" with two of their upraised tentacles.

Cuttlefish, Boston Aquarium

Giant cuttlefish swimming in a side tank of the Boston Aquarium, drifting slowly in the ripples of its flapping side fins.