Diane Putnam's photos

I'm glad that Brick got to spent the last year of his life on this huge property with my son's family. He could run as much as he wanted off-leash and be his wild wolfie self. (Run in peace, Brick - 2006-2021)

2006 - 17 Sept 2021 Brick was my favorite dog, ever. This beautiful soul lived at my son's house, but in my secret mind, he has always been my dog. Quiet, kind, a gentleman in every way, he could also turn wild. He was a Karelian Bear-hunting dog and could take off in a flash after any wild animal, chase it for mile after mile, get lost for days, be returned home, then curl up in front of the fire like nothing had happened. His humans quickly learned that he had to have high fences and leashes at all times, but he would still, on occasion, find a "loophole." His nature led him to independence, a light "trail appetite," barking only when necessary, problem solving, and a slight aloofness around most people. I was in awe of his Karelian* genetics. He was a temperate-weather dog, but strongly preferred cold weather and deep snow. He was the rarest and most unique dog my family every had. We had to say goodbye when he suddenly became limp and pale. It wasn't anything my vet-tech daughter-in-law was able to diagnose or treat. He was about 15 (unclear because he was a rescue), too old for a grueling round of testing and medicating (he HATED being fussed over) and was well above a Karelian's expected life span, so the decision was made to usher him to a dignified rest. I'll never forget the magical Brick, the half pet, half wild dog that I loved. *Finnish and NW Russian. (Photos were previously posted as singles.)

Brick is at peace with the stars and the planets. I miss him very much. (Photos were previously posted as singles.)

Stacked cars. I had never seen this before - or never noticed. This train was going quite fast, as we were out in the boondocks, so the image is a bit "bent." It's more obvious in the video, next upload.

My grandson talks about discovering he's allergic to fish - his tongue tingles. He is very disappointed by this, because he loves fish and tells me how he cooks it. No more fish for him, and probably no more shellfish, either. ☹ He was leaving for college the next day and we were going to a family barbecue.

The pronghorn antelope waits by the road every evening. If someone from my son's house drives down the road, he stands there until the car is within handshaking distance, then turns to saunter off to the left. There is also a hawk named Larry. He is on the same electric pole every night, swoops down and flies along with the car. This is where my son and his family live. I love it out there at night. There are coyotes, foxes, rabbits and hares, small rodents, antelopes, many species of raptor and even wolves.

Auto body shop.

"Each declared by His Majesty to be punishable on conviction by Transportation" So, these fellows were on their way to Australia. Let's have a toast to them! The name and the labels are kind of an odd marketing strategy.

Interagency Hotshot Crews are elite firefighting teams used in the hottest sections of the most difficult fires. IHC trucks from Oregon Fish and Game were also parked here at a Klamath Falls hotel. I saw some of them walking into the hotel, filthy and exhausted, no doubt ready for a shower, dinner and a beer. "The primary mission of IHCs is to provide a safe, professional, mobile and highly skilled hand crew for all phases of fire management and incident operations. IHCs are staffed, conditioned, equipped and qualified to meet a variety of strategic and tactical wildland fire assignments. The organizational structure allows IHCs to form into small modules or squads and accomplish independent assignments." From: www.fs.usda.gov/science-technology/fire/people/hotshots

Twentieth Anniversary of the World Trade Center terrorist attack. RIP, 2,977 lost at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and in the plane downed by passengers in a Pennsylvania field, That plane was believed to be headed for The White House. The death toll includes plane passengers, firefighters, police and other first responders. There have been approximately 1,140 additional deaths so far in the aftermath of the attack attributed to injuries caused by cleaning up toxins at the site. Immediately after the event, international sympathy toward America was perhaps the highest it's ever been. Shortly after, George Bush and his advisors began chipping away at that goodwill by making grandiose, irrational plans to "fight terrorism." Some allies joined as, I suppose, a gesture of loyalty to an old friend. Iraq. Then Afghanistan. Too many killed in both countries. * The 20-year enterprise can be called a tragic mistake, or a failure, or a collection of war crimes. In the two decades since 9/11, American foreign policy has gone seriously askew, culminating in the immoral, criminal presidency of Donald Trump. We have lost the respect of old friends. Our domestic policies turned drastically ultra-right under Trump. The worst of our citizens are all that the world seems to know of us, now. There was an insurrection on Jan. 6 this year, grave crimes yet to be fully punished. Joe Biden is a good man who has turned back the most cruel domestic policies of Trump. Conspiracy theories about Covid-19 are killing people. The Mad Karens rule Youtube. Biden is steadfast in his messaging: hate, lies and cruelty will not be tolerated here. Fingers crossed that the mob will be held back enough to hold ground gained since the last election. Fingers crossed that we can save our democracy. * Sources I checked gave varying numbers of civilian, military, contractors, al-Qaeda and Taliban deaths, but the combined total for both countries would be in the hundreds of thousands.