Ben Li-Sauerwine's Notebook: December 2016

With 2016 being almost over, I thought it would be a good idea to finally get around to posting pictures from our last three vacations to Scotland, Yosemite, and Clearwater which I hadn't bothered to do up until now. I've been really busy with a few secret projects which I can reveal soon.

Until then, check out the highlight reel from our most recent 2016 vacations, and happy new year!

Theo came with us to Scotland! On our first day, we found these awesome steps in Edinburgh.

A sheep dog demonstration at Leault Working Sheepdogs.

We stayed at a little mill house outside Elgin in Scotland, and this graceful old stone bridge sat just outside our back yard.

Pot stills at Glen Grant distillery.

The view from one of the murder-holes at Balvenie Castle.

Having fun with my neutral-density filter at Lower Yosemite Falls.

A great sundew at Loch Cluanie, Scotland. Unfortunately, I didn't own a macro lens yet! I would have loved to get some close-ups of the fascinating detail of the leaves.

Simiao and Theo stand by a stream at Loch Cluanie.

The Fairy Pools at the Isle of Skye.

A little lake near Mealt Falls on the Isle of Skye. The ocean was pretty, but I think that this brooding sky mirrored in the placid lake was more interesting.

Liberty cap and a ponderously blue, cloudless sky at Yosemite. The water you see in the picture is just seconds from going over Nevada Falls.

A cricket we found at the Merced Grove of giant sequoias.

A giant sequoia, and a giant sequoia pine cone.

Simiao wouldn't crawl through the hollow interior of this fallen giant sequoia for me, so I just got a picture of her at the gnarled roots.

A Steller's Jay at Yosemite National Park. We saw one swoop down from the trees, peck a mouse on the trail to death, then fly off with the mouse for dinner!

Worm shells that we found at the extreme North tip of Three Rooker Island.

I found a four leaf clover behind Glen Grant distillery. Can you?

The ruins of Elgin Cathedral were in some ways more interesting than the intact St. Giles cathedral in Edinburgh. The cathedral was apparently larger, the carvings and inscriptions more interesting, and the imagination can transform it into a much grander place.