May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and I'm glad that there is such a designation, however, my concern is mental illness doesn't care what month it is. Our awareness can't be limited to one month of the year.

[Above photo: "Recovery" by Rick Swanson]

When I try to put up Christmas lights, I go full Charlie Brown mode, and can't seem to get anything right. Why is that?

As some of you know, I recently celebrated my 60th birthday. Some people set a goal at a milestone birthday like skydiving, or running a marathon. I had a much more modest goal: I wanted to go waterskiing.

Here are five tips I learned from this experience that you can apply to achieve your goals.

Think you can't afford to be an art collector, or don't have enough space to display original art in any case? Well, we'd like you to think differently. Here are some ways we've found to support local artists and bring their works into our home.

We'll have pretty modest travel plans for our vacation time in 2021. Here's what we are thinking...

This year marks the 5th "Foot in the Door" exhibition at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, in which they open their doors to artists who are developing a following and haven't had a major exhibition before. I submitted a piece, and I received word that my submission was accepted!

I've made an application to hold a photography exhibit featuring images from northwestern Minnesota in Otter Tail County, along what is known as the Otter Trail Scenic Byway. If accepted, my exhibit will be at a small gallery in Otter Tail County, near Fergus Falls, MN.

[This blog originally appeared on October 8, 2016. It has been updated with additional content.]

This entry describes the fun and challenge of getting a good night sky image, at one of my favorite locations, Kinstone Circle, near Fountain City, WI.

[This blog originally appeared August, 2016, and has been updated with additional content.]

We recently spent time in the company of two friends, each of whom is going through some hardship. Janet has a friend who is on hard times financially.  They met for lunch, and Janet made a gesture of kindness by offering her friend a check for a modest amount to help with the week’s expenses. We know we couldn’t solve the friend’s problems, but maybe we could give her some hope.

I love the smell of fresh brewed coffee. Pretty strange for a guy like me, who doesn't even drink coffee! "Wait, what? Don't drink coffee? What kind of monster are you?", I hear you exclaim. Well, instead of dunking my donut in coffee, I'm one of a small group of photographers who dunks his photographic film in coffee.

The focal point of the Brydges Centre is the children who live there. Once you meet them, and learn some of their stories, you won't forget them.

This blog describes the reasons behind my trip to Kenya in March, 2019. It all began with a fountain...

Part 3 of a guest blog by Pastor Andrew Nguri, whom I met during my trip to Kenya in March, 2019. In this blog entry, he spells out in detail specific needs of his ministry. Those who are so moved are invited to donate to his cause.

Part 2 of a guest blog by Pastor Andrew Nguri, whom I met during my trip to Kenya in March, 2019. In this blog entry, he spells out in detail specific needs of his ministry. Those who are so moved are invited to donate to his cause.

This is the first of three guest blog entries from Pastor Andrew Nguri in Nakuru, Kenya. I met Pastor Andrew during my trip to Kenya in March, 2019. Here he describes the purpose and goals of his mission to help orphaned children in Kenya.

A few thoughts and images from a recent trip to Arizona.

We support live music in our town; support live music in your town, too.

Look at the little things around you.

The world is not a boring place!

A blog about seeing possibilities, and pursuing them.

A short blog about sunrises.

A blog about the symbolism of mountains and valleys, with scenes from Hawaii, Norway, and Austria.

A short blog about being in Norway