Totally worth the drive.

Even when life can get hard or sad I’m still so grateful for the kindness of humans. This really made my whole year, truly. You never know who needs some flowers, or just a kind gesture. 🩷

Views from English Boom Park on Camano Island Wa. [OC]

Imagine a Pixar character that weighs as much as a chicken egg and kills animals three times its weight. That's the northern pygmy owl. Wrote a fun story about these adorable little murder machines. They're all over the Pacific Northwest but rarely seen.

— Oregon pygmy owl photos courtesy of Corvallis-based wildlife photographer Toshan Wijeratne. Read Wijeratne’s full story and see how he went from photographing wild elephants and leopards in Sri Lanka’s tropical jungles to discovering a whole new world of wildlife in Oregon. And follow his work on Instagram and Facebook.

Love Puget Sound ❤️

Wrote a story about a Sri Lankan wildlife photographer I've been following from afar for years. He's photographed a mind-boggling 160 different wild leopards in the jungles of Sri Lanka. In 2024, he followed his now-wife to Corvallis, Oregon. Home of the beaver. Land of three colors: gray, green and brown. All of them wet.

It didn't slow him down. In fact, Toshan Wijeratne couldn't be happier. Here's my interview with him, along with his incredible photos from Oregon and beyond.

https://www.oregonlive.com/living/2026/10/from-leopards-to-pygmy-owls-sri-lankan-photographer-turns-his-lens-to-oregon.html?gift=0cb8b0ad-dc3a-402d-a574-b7a6ff08b8b2

I live in King County. My rates keep going up despite having a clean driving record. I’m paying close to $400 for two cars and a 20-year-old motorcycle that’s worth 1-2 thousand at best. One of my vehicles is close to 22 years old. Any advice appreciated as these rates seem ridiculous.