Photos I’ve taken (or copied) from around the world and the web.
I always laugh when I see the sign for this business. Perhaps they named it before every single business or transaction was rated out of 5 stars. Hopefully, it isn’t four out of ten!
Living on the Pacific Northwest, we get a lot of rain (it is a temperate rainforest), especially in late fall. But if you put on your rain gear and get away from the city, it is always so beautiful and peaceful in the woods.
I was reviewing a bin of my old school work and found this gem. It was an acrostic poem based on my name, may not be the most elegant, but it is true 🙂
Spotted in Washington, it was too good to pass up the photo opportunity.
Go to the creative gym every day
Jean Jullien
I’ve recently read a few books by artists including Jean Jullien and one thing that stood out is the emphasis each of them placed on practice.
Drawing has always been something I enjoy, but I haven’t had made the time to practice enough to improve or form a meaningful habit. This means the friction to get started was way too high.
Finally a few weeks ago I broke the pattern and have started sketching almost daily. As a bonus, I find that when I draw, my boys are more inspired to draw too. I’m also finding that as I try drawing things I find harder (animals and people) I’m improving – though I still manage to make faces look weird 🙃
I’m not one to be easily bested by a problem. In this case a friend was having a little summer hang out and asked if I could bring my fire pit. I was planning to bike, so this was the solution …
When walking (or driving), I’m always on the lookout for interesting or funny signs. This one made me laugh, it’s like they didn’t want to offend anyone who was going to pee on their window – so Canadian 😂
Walking through our neighbourhood in the fall is such a joy; the colors of the leaves are so vibrant, especially in the late afternoon light.
All the leaves below were collected from one tree (and one below the tree).
I found this shot in my photos recently; it’s me (many years ago) mourning a batch of homebrew that went bad during the secondary fermentation.
As someone who loves to experiment and make my own things, whether it be kombucha, wine, or coffee – I am reminded that a key to success is embracing failure. This doesn’t mean seeking it out, but rather being okay when something doesn’t turn out right, and being willing to reinvest the energy and time to try again.
I no longer brew beer, but have started making wine from the grapes in our yard. Every year it gets a bit better, but there are always hard lessons too. It is disappointing when you try something after 10 months and realize it’s no good, but that is what the next year is for!
Every time I visit Kelowna I see this sign and want to get a photo. This time I did. Unfortunately I think a lot of turtles don’t make it.
I noticed this sign walking to work years ago. I think it never opened.
I stumbled upon this photo of me from years ago and it made me laugh.
I miss that amazing vintage Raleigh, however the wine box wasn’t the best way to transport fragile items!
Funny story about that wine box though … I was biking to work one morning and a guy in a Bentley (I believe) pulls up, opens his window – cigar smoke pours out, and asks if I have any Sassicaia left.
Given that the price of a bottle was much more than my bike, it clearly was in his league. I’ve never tried anything nearly that expensive, but if you want to share a bottle, I’d be happy to try 🙂
I spotted this Quidditch broomstick on Halloween in Vancouver years ago and appreciate how someone actually locked it up 🤣
I drank this in 2012. Seems to be working.
Spotted this slightly modified sign on a ferry years ago. I always appreciate a subtle grammar change that gives a new meaning.
Update Oct 2025 … my son was on the ferry and noticed this was still there, almost 20 years later!
I love a good sign, especially a handmade one. This was spotted in my neighbourhood the other day. I do hope the owner and chickens were reunited 🍗
One of my favorite nerdy activities is visualizing data; helping to communicate numbers and ideas in an accessible way. I made this chart below to showcase the stages of a banana ripening, and the usage zones. It was inspired by my dad (Opa to my kids) who is very picky about his bananas!
I saw this sign while camping a number of years ago and was sadly excited that I could get connectivity … then I realized it was just an amphitheatre icon.
Unfortunately with ever expanding WiFi and cellular coverage, it is harder to unplug.
There is this silly game my wife and I play, we take a sentence and put air quotes around a random word – the goal being to change the meaning and make it much funnier.
This request for feedback does the same thing, making me question whether they “actually” want my input 😂
