Caustic Wisp

Love campfires. Hate smelling like smoke.

So how do you scientifically categorize fire? Doesn't seem like it fits as a solid or liquid or a gas. Those are nouns. Fire seems like a verb--a caustic wisp of inbetween when something alive escapes into nothingness, leaving ashes as a memory.

Am I the only one who ponders fire?

Hot Diggety - Crossmark on KATU

Nothing says "summer" like hot dogs on a campfire. Unless it's mosquitos. Or sunburn.

Head over to KATU.com to see Crossmark camping photos featured in a new article by my wife and fellow blogger, the Stretch Mark Mama. Be sure to check out her favorite chili recipe that you can easily take camping for--chili dogs! (A personal favorite of mine.)

Book Return

Outside the Gresham Public Library (Gresham, Oregon). Our family usually has at least 50 books out from the library at any given time. That's some serious reading going on!

Take a Bow

A gallant horse with noble manners. Or maybe he's just eating.

Enter to Win - Bloggy Giveaway!

Who wants to win a FREE set of 12 photo notecards!

To enter:

• Browse through the Crossmark photo archives (see "Categories" column to the right) and select one photo that you would want on your set of notecards.


• Leave a comment on this post with the title of the photo you've selected.


• Tell me what you like about the photo or why you should be picked as the winner.

If you like what you see here, subscribe!

Wanna win more stuff? Visit the Bloggy Giveaways going on all this week!

Barn Light

Even a mundane, utilitarian object can have an artful appeal.

Volvo on a Lonely Street

Old Volvo with no place to go. Stitched from five separate photos.

Chickenland Strut

Ruler of the roost struts his stuff. No doubting who's boss in Chickenland tonight.

Blue Springy

Curls and swirls make this happy blue flower look like a jack-in-the-box popping up to say "hello!".

Filament

Summer night, evening lights, and music in the air. An outdoor concert on the lawn wraps up a fun evening of berry picking at Sauvie Island in Portland.

Bearded Wheat

Wheat stalk in amber sunset. Thanks to my farming in-laws, I'm proud to say that I actually know that this type is called "bearded wheat" for its long tendrils.

Farmin' and Such

Well-used farm equipment taking a rest in the barn.

Girls at Play

Three silhouettes at play at Kruger Farms on Sauvie Island in Portland.

Oregon Farms

After nine months of our new urban life, the sight of a rusty ol' tractor and wide open fields of fruit and grains refreshed my soul this weekend. If only I could have the idyllic country setting with a shopping mall, coffee shop, and plenty of restaurants right next door. I'm a study in contrasts.

Raspberry in the Sun

Juicy red raspberry soaking up the sun. Been gorging ourselves on loads of fresh raspberries and blueberries that we picked ourselves last night on Sauvie Island in Portland. Yum!

Forward Slash

Another interesting play of shadows and lines on the Woodstock Library in Portland. Taken the same day as this and this.

-------------------

We have a winner on the "Pop Art Contest" post! Check the comments for details.

Master

Lockin' up nothing in particular. Just a padlock on a pole.

-------------------

Still going with yesterday's contest post. If you haven't posted your guess yet, be sure to. The winner gets a free 5x7 of any Crossmark photo. Those who don't win can always order prints and other stuff here or here. =)

Pop Art Contest

I'm still mesmerized by the contrast of red and white stripes on this building, like architectural pop art.

Care to guess what building it came from? I'm feeling benevolent enough to offer a free 5x7 of any Crossmark photo to the first person who guesses correctly. How generous of me!

Pollen Thingy

So I'm sitting here asking my wife, "What are these pollen thingys called?"

"They're either 'pistils' or 'stamens'," she says.

"Thanks for narrowing it down."

I think we failed plant-ology. The sad thing is, my six-year-old son could spout it right now if he were standing here.

Never Trust A Skinny Cook

"Never Trust A Skinny Cook" was the title a favorite cookbook of my mother's. This jolly chef stands outside the M&M Restaurant (not like the candy) on north Main street in Gresham, Oregon.

Blagen Block

Much of Old Town Portland is being restored, including the "Blagen Block" building on NW 1st Avenue.

What's a "Blagen"?

Dunno.

Dollar Dogs

Found myself bemused by this vendor's sign selling hotdogs today. Mostly because right across the street was the "Dog Town" canine obedience school.

Coincidence?

Tread

If you followed the KATU link from the other day, you've already seen this shot. Snapped it to accompany a web article my wife wrote for a local TV station's website. Turned out well enough to post it here too and save it for posterity.

I'm thinking this bike should be bronzed after it's been passed down through all our kids. Lot of memories attached to it already with two not-so-little guys learning to ride on their own. Not quite there with the younger one--but he's completely worn through one set of training wheels until they're nothing but nubs.

Lark Cruiser

An old Studebaker Lark Cruiser parked outside the Gresham Regional Library. Kind of a corny looking car now, but must have been a looker for its time. I'm sure they'll say the same thing about the PT Cruiser 50 years from now. Of course, I thought those looked corny as soon as they came out...

Crossmark on KATU!

Crossmark photos are featured on the website KATU television as of today--along with the writing of my dear wife and fellow blogger, the StretchMarkMama.

Look for the article on biking safety for kids and check us out!

Merry Go Z

The Z-man on the new merry-go-round at Mt. Scott in Portland.

Your Tough Luck

Classy sign from a less-than-upscale establishment.

PhotoCycle

I don't motorcycle. I PhotoCycle. Yes, I took that picture WHILE RIDING MY BIKE. And many other pics too.

I find that it adds a new extreme to photography to keep the adrenaline flowing.

My wife finds that it adds a lot of humor to her life. Like when I fall off my bike.

Some people bungee jump. Some climb Mt. Everest. Nerds like me find our own ways to live on the edge.

Big Sky

Visited the "End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center" today (FREE admission on July 4th. And I do love FREE.). Nothing like learning about the Oregon Trail on Independence Day to make you feel good about white men running rampant across North America laying waste to nature in pursuit of wealth. (Note the sarcasm.)

On a positive note, I suppose the Oregon Trail holds some personal symbolism in that we made our own cross-country trip to Oregon last fall in pursuit of our dreams. Just didn't kill any buffalo ("tetonka") along the way.

So anyway, I couldn't stop thinking today of this old 1952 Kirk Douglas movie I'd seen as a kid (no, I wasn't alive in 1952) called "The Big Sky". Turns out the movie has nothing to do with the Oregon Trail. Has some quirky quotes that I remember though.

Hope you had a happy fourth!

Birdless Bath

Overgrown, worn away, waterless bird bath. Sad day for dirty birds.

Space Monkey

My tribute to the first coffee shop I visited after we moved to Portland. Holds a special place in my heart. And with a name like "Space Monkey Coffee", why shouldn't it?

Florets

Little fuzzy guys waiting for their turn to bloom.