BRITISH COLUMBIA - FOREST FOR THE TREES

Can you tell I'm really, really looking forward to Halloween this year? For me it isn't the evening itself, though that can be a lot of fun. It's the run-up to the night. I love watching the scary films, the marathons of shows like Buffy, The Twilight Zone and Outer Limits.

For me this is a season, not just one night. In the next few days my wife and I will have the annual screening of SLEEPY HOLLOW, which the is official start to our Halloween Season. Yeah, there are already decorations up in the yard, but the movie just seems to be the right jumping-off place for all things that go bump in the night.

Or the forest. Have you ever noticed how many scary things lurk in the forest? There's always something there, just out of view, watching you.

October Country picture of the day: Forest for the Trees.

EL YUNQUE NAT'L PARK, PUERTO RICO -- SMALL WORLD

I am sure my niece or nephew-in-law, both of whom are highly educated biologists, could tell you a little about the particular fungi/moss/whatever it is that is growing on this tree, but as a photographer I can assure you it is a beautiful and vibrant collection of life forms, all living in harmony together in their own little world of interdependence.

We could learn a lot from lichen.

(And if there are any learned biologists out there, please feel free to weigh in with my blessing.)

Pic of the Day: Warm Tea

We were on a rainforest tour of New Zealand's North Island. Amidst a momentary torrential downburst a group of people shelter under an information kiosk as my wife sips from her cup of warm tea, safely dry in the minibus. Moments later we, too, were drenched as we hiked into the Waitakere forest for a botanical presentation. 

(We expected to get wet. It's a rainforest...)