Palisades Press

10/22/2025

There’s no law of diminishing returns on a wonder walk.

10/22/2025

High up on Granite Chief Trail a root has wrapped itself around a boulder like a thing alive, a slow and patient predator that’s been strangling its prey for centuries.

The boulder doesn’t resist. It only waits, the way zebras do in the grip of a lion, silent and knowing.

10/19/2025

It’s Wondrous

Follow your curiosity. Explore nature, books, podcasts, conversations, or any rabbit hole that fascinates you.“Instructions for living a life: Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.” ~ Mary OliverMake meaning from what you’ve found. Reflect, photograph, journal, or connect ideas in new w...

10/18/2025

“Look deep into nature and then you will understand everything better.” ~ Einstein

10/17/2025

The Wings of Dreams

10/16/2025

You’ll See It When You Believe It!

Here’s a fun writing & photography challenge: On your next nature walk find things that look suspiciously alive and familiar.

For example, among the lifeless trunks of trees and the billowing clouds above, are things which seem familiar, like a Komodo dragon, a sinister eye, an elephant or a frog, a pig or a wolf. Or maybe even something prenatal!

The psychological phenomenon that causes people to see patterns or shapes, such as faces in random stimuli, including tree trunks and clouds, is called pareidolia [pair-ahy-doh-lee-uh].

Writers and photographers draw upon this way of seeing for inspiration.

I hope the images in my ongoing story, Deadwood Society, (in the link below) inspire you to find examples of pareidolia on your next hike. I’d love to see what you discover! Once you start noticing instances of pareidolia, the world takes on a whole new perspective.

https://www.bluewolfgallery.com/post/dead-wood

Lurking in the mountains of Olympic Valley, California, among the lifeless trunks of trees which once stood tall and majestic, are faces of things which seem suspiciously alive, full of expression and familiarity. On this page are 20 such images, part of an ongoing collection I call “Deadwood Soci...

10/15/2025

It’s time to start dusting off those skis and boards!

On Oct. 15, Palisades Tahoe received 6–10 inches of fresh snow on the upper mountain. Opening Day is set for November 26th (the day after Thanksgiving), weather and conditions permitting. Stay connected at www.palisadestahoe.com

10/15/2025

“The bright side of the planet moves toward darkness

And the cities are falling asleep, each in its hour,

And for me, now as then, it is too much.

There is too much world.”

~ Czesław Miłosz, The Separate Notebooks

10/14/2025

October 12th marked the beginning of Write Out, an annual, two-week, undertaking of the National Writing Project, developed in conjunction with the National Park Service. It's about getting outside, engaging with your environment - and writing. This year's theme: Awaken The Senses...

I wrote something about our environment (in the link below), inspired by this challenge. Hope you like it!

https://www.bluewolfgallery.com/post/awaken-the-senses

National Writing Project

in search of aweThere are many mornings in Olympic Valley when the world feels newly made. When fog drifts low across the meadow and the first sunrays cut through the pines, turning every branch to gold if only for a moment. In that stillness, something wordless gathers us. Whether standing barefoot...