Kalona Sunset

A cold winter sunset across the little town of Kalona, Iowa, home of one of our favorite brewpubs, to end the current year.

Circles, Iowa City

I am embarrassed to admit that I have no idea where these brassy concentric circles are located, other than somewhere in the Iowa City area. I took this image early last year, and like the artistically irregular ridges, but neither notes nor context nor memory clues me to their identity.

Flotilla of geese, Waterworks Park, Iowa City

A great flotilla of geese out on the lake in the middle of Waterworks Park, bobbing around surprisingly quietly and placidly.

Geese over Waterworks Park, Iowa City

Geese circling over Waterworks park, apparently happy enough with this location as the stopping point on their migration.

Howard "L" Station, Chicago

Loops of train storage at Howard Station on the North side of Chicago.

Bangular Perspective, Iowa City

Looking straight up at a giant Christmas ornament in the Coralville Mall.

Recycled Tree, Chicago O'Hare

In the Terminal H/K split in Chicago O'Hare Airport, there are Christmas trees put together by various different departments of the terminal staff, and this recycling tree really stood out to me as unique among the group.

Christmas in July, Coralville, IA

Callback to a warmer time of year, this Christmas Eve: Santa & Mrs. Claus bringing up the tail end of the Coralville Fourth of July Parade.

4th of July, Coralville, Iowa

Fireworks are hard to shoot, and I struggle with night photography at the best of times, but I'm happy how I was able to capture the illuminated smokey strands around this burst.

Roller derby dinosaur, Coralville, Iowa 4th of July

I really can't say much that could possibly add to the title of this picture: yes, it's a roller derby dinosaur in a Fourth of July parade. What more really needs to be said?

Rain approaching over the cornfields, Southern Iowa

Heavy clouds bear rain in from the West, localized downpours visible out far across the cornfields. I never remember experiences like this from New England: the first time I remember seeing rain as a "thing" moving towards me across the land was when I visited the Amazon during high school. I think the real difference is not hills but trees: there are places enough where the land is relatively flat in New England, but no matter how flat, the trees surround you always and block your line of sight to the horizon.

A fingernail of sun through clouds

Just after totality at the eclipse last summer, clouds swept in and partially obscured the sun, allowing one to glimpse its fingernail crescent through them without glasses.

Wandering spider, Columbia, MO

A nice, big, fuzzy peripatetic spider encountered in my journey to the eclipse last summer.

Dawn at Tan-Tar-A, Lake of the Ozarks, MO

Dawn silhouettes the water-tower of the Tan-Tar-A resort at Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri.

Alternative cows, Columbia, MO

I have absolutely no idea what story leads to a painting of Normal Cow having a tea-time gossip with Tiger Cow and Strawberry Cow, but I like the absurdity of the whole thing.

Sunset near Dubuque, Iowa

Just a nice, orange layered sunset.

Sunset house near Dubuque, Iowa

House windows glowing with reflected sunset.

Icy fields near Dubuque, Iowa

Fields near Dubuque, Iowa, sparkling after an ice storm.

Catfish anatomy house, Dubuque Aquarium

A playhouse in the form of a giant catfish teaches piscine anatomy at the Dubuque Aquarium.

Ocean tanks, Dubuque Aquarium

Curving translucent wall by the ocean tanks of the aquarium in Dubuque, Iowa.

Projected fish, Dubuque Aquarium

Projected fish on the floor of the Dubuque Aquarium.

Snowmakers in summer, Sunday River, Maine

Clusters of snow-making guns, grouped for servicing during the summer months near the bottom of one of the mountains at the Sunday River ski resort in Maine.

Sunset from Deer Island, Boston Harbor

Two views of sunset from Deer Island, out in Boston Harbor, walking on the beautiful trails near the giant sewage treatment plant and watching the jets take off and land at Logan Airport.

Stylish new condos in Cambridge, MA

Stylish, multi-colored condominiums have replaced an old derelict lot near my office in Boston, all no doubt going for sky-high rates given their proximity to public transit and parkland, in the continually intensifying Boston real estate market.

Letting off steam at a Boston construction site

The steam boiling up fiercely from this giant steel pipe appeared to originate under the street, leading me to wonder just what interaction with utilities or whatnot might be happening on this construction site in the cold Boston winter.

Flooded fields in Iowa

Even slight topography of the land stands out during floods, as the small river in the upper right of the picture spills throughout the flood-plain fields below and to its left.

Ripples in the sky, Iowa

Waves of low dark cloud like ripples in the sky.

Palm trees at Stanford, California

A double-row of palm trees grace the open, airy architecture of Stanford, enabled by the (mostly) dry and warm climate of the San Francisco area.

Urban Curry, San Francisco

Alas, I didn't have a chance to try this restaurant in San Francisco, but I really liked their style.

Capped rebar in a construction site, San Francisco

Rows of red-capped rebar mark the current height of a concrete wall under construction near the docks in San Francisco.

Shedding Berkeley message board

Given the overloaded state of this message board, it seems there are quite a lot of student and community events at UC Berkeley.