High on the Wall. It has been a long training winter learning the skills that will enable me to go higher. Ice climbing season extends all the way into March in the Catskills; the dedicated can then begin

Look, No Hands! On a rappelling setup. Notice how the belay device is extended up ahead of the green coiled cord below. This is the stop block knot that keeps the rappelling climber from falling if grip

Living Off the Wall. Actually living by staying on it :) I have begun learning the more advanced technical skills that all those who climb into the sky eventually must learn. Here I am beginning ice climbing

Return From Zero. After my (mis)adventure with the sudden arrival of winter and dehydration up on Gothics I began a series of short equipment 'shakedown' efforts. This is following a week of deep freezing

Birch at Crystal Pool. This was a rest break on the long climb up Gothics mountain- and one I should have taken more often. Specifically,I failed to drink enough water and nearly collapsed due to the effects

Saddleback and Gothics. Here we are in the Adirondack mountains staring down at the cliffs of Saddleback (right) and Gothics (center) Mountains. This Saddleback Mountain is on the East Coast in Upstate

Me In PHD. My first expedition jacket. Peter Hutchinson Designs (PHD) custom builds expedition wear for the harshest environs of this world. This particular jacket is rated to -20 degrees Farenheit - and

Last Resting Place-Almost. I have often practiced navigation in rural cemeteries in upstate New York; among the largest are Albany Rural Cemetery in Albany, and Oakwood Cemetery in Troy. This however was

Climbing the Saddleback. Towering above Orange County California from almost 20 miles away to the East is a pair of mountains, Modjeska and Santiago Peak which form a distinctive feature known as "The

Fields of Winter. In February the days are getting longer and the warm brown grass tussocks from the previous year begin to appear from beneath the snow. The evening skies are painted in blue and pink

Green Towers of Power. On an August day in my orchard, Apricot trees raise their limbs 20-30 feet (6-9 M) into the air seeking the sun. It is amazing when you think about all the energy trees are able

Medlar Flower. So my friends, you may remember my bringing us a picture of the Medlar fruit; a fruit from the orchards of Medieval Europe. Here is it's flower. You may notice it has a vague similarity

Future Fossils...Raccoon and Deer Can be Friends. Each year the stream by my studio floods leaving behind as much a foot of rich sediment on its banks. Here we can see the tracks of animals that come here

A Grapevine's Beginning. Each spring before the grapes grow, the canes remain quiet and still long after all the trees have bloomed. But when the warm May sun warms up the orchard the canes burst forth

Coconut Fast Food. In the streets of Bangalore city in various neighborhoods one can always find a man with warm smile, a pile of coconuts- and a huge knife which he wields with swift authority. First

The Mountains above Dharamsala, India. On December 23, 2011, I visited Bodh Gaya in India to attend the Kalachakra. I then went by train to the North I think through Dehradun although I can't

Elephants of Karnataka. In March of 2012, as I wandered south of Bangalore city, I passed through the province of Karnataka and encountered these happy elephants getting a welcome shower. So much intelligence

The Orange Wanderers. These Red Eft are actually the young or juvenile stage of the Eastern Newt, a green amphibian common in the ponds, streams and lakes of the Northeast. Their journey will go on for

Floating Crystal Shore. Yet another photo from the enchanted dusk of February 22, 2007. An equilibrium with an invisible force slowly grew this crystal shore hour after hour until I arrived and captured

Cherries Growing. There is an amazing flower show that happens in late April and early May in the orchard- but it is just the beginning. As the petals fall the remaining parts of the flower,now brown,