I am happy to report that I am still physically able to, and still very much enjoy, walking up and down dry, dusty, chaparral-covered hills.

The invitation to submit your photo documenting the vegetation recovery after the May 2013 fire is a nice touch and hopefully engages visitors in the health of the park.

(I hiked the park about a month after that fire; much of it was a smoky, barren landscape. This is my first time here since then and it’s heartening to see so much regrowth.)

Big Sycamore Canyon, Point Mugu State Park

What’s your definition of “home” town?

Is it the town you grew up in, or the town you enjoyed living in the most, the town you are currently living in, or something else? (Maybe they’re all the same.)

Today, I’m visiting the first definition.

Veterans Parkway, Manhattan Beach, California

Welcome to Monday. First commute in below-freezing temperatures this season.

Catching up on @macgenie’s photoblog challenge…

Technically not a lot of movement at this exact moment, but it took some movement to get myself in place for a early-evening, post-work, nap on Wirth Lake, Minneapolis.

I’m a little late to the party, so here’s my day 1 (patience) contribution to @macgenie’s photo challenge. Here I’m waiting for a very slow train to go by on my morning commute. I bike a little over 12 miles and this train crossing is less than a quarter mile from my workplace. I get stuck here about once a week, so I pass the time by taking photos of whatever is (slowly) rolling by.

When I was a kid in Southern California we would endlessly practice making what we called the Surfer ’S’ on our Pee Chee folders. This one is on the Minneapolis Midtown Greenway.

Searching for muskrats and other smelly things with Ollie the Dog at Bde Maka Ska.

Celebrated Fathers Day at the local bingo hall with my spouse’s parents. This takes way more concentration than I remembered.

The colors of the rental kayaks on Bde Maka Ska remind me of summertime snow-cones. A nice walk with Ollie the Dog to start a Sunday.