Just finished editing down photos from my recent trip to the Desolation Peak fire lookout where Kerouac spent the summer of 1956 and garnered the stuff to finish off Dharma Bums…

http://roddyscheer.com/photo_search_result.php?txt_keyword=july+2010

To find out more about the trip, check out my post to SeattleMag.com: see my blog post a… SeattleMag.com:
http://www.seattlemag.com/0p184b18be352/outdoors-dharma-bumming-on-ross-lake/

I am one of five artists behind the Tarratine Gallery on Main St in Castine, Maine this summer. Dew drop in if you can and check out the photography, paintings, sculpture and jewelry on dispay and for sale. If you can’t make it in person, check out the Gallery’s website at www.tarratinegallery.com…

Pics coming soon…

A gorgeous Western Tanager outside my living room window! Happy springtime!

Check out my l new Outdoors article for Seattle Magazine on the latest outdoor exercise craze hitting Seattle, stand-up paddle surfing. SUP, dude?

If immersing yourself in the natural history of the Pacific Northwest is your idea of a good time, be sure to check out the North Cascades Institute’s single-day field excursion “Eagles and Salmon: Northwest Icons on the

Skagit.” That’s just what I did this past weekend, and came away with a vast amount of new knowledge and a newfound respect for Mother Nature. We saw salmon swimming up river, their bodies partially discolored as they prepared to spawn out in the very gravel beds of their births. The depleted bodies of their predecessors lay as ghostly reminders that we are all parts of a much larger system–and that we are all mortal, all too mortal.

And of course who can forget the eagles flying overhead and perching on tree boughs training their eyes on the riverbank in search of salmon carcasses to scavenge. These graceful birds–which long ago beat out the turkey to become our nation’s symbol (it’s true!)–also beat out pollution. The DDT which we had been using for decades following WWII was wreaking havoc on the ability of birds to make shells strong enough to hatch fledglings; eagle numbers dipped to dangerous levels accordingly. The symbolism of our national symbol on the Endangered Species List spoke volumes about our collective treatment of the natural environment and its inhabitants. But with the ban of DDT in the mid-1970s, birds began to come back, and no more was the spring so silent. Bald eagles themselves have rebounded so well that two years ago the federal government removed them from the Endangered Species List altogether.

While anyone can drive up to Rockport and view the eagles (about a 2 hour drive from Seattle), there is no better way to do it than with the expert guidance of Libby Mills, a wildlife biologist and artist who has studied birds for nearly 40 years, including two decades watching eagles along the Skagit River on behalf of the Nature Conservancy and other groups. Her day-long eagle/salmon excursions, which she leads twice a winter, are some of the most popular and accessible outings offered by the North Cascades Institute. Snag a spot on the January 16 trip by following this link. While it might be cold standing out along the banks of the Skagit–Mills tours around to several of her favorite insider eagle viewing spots–participants will be sure to see dozens of eagles and other wildlife and gain knowledge that will last a lifetime.

To check out more of my pictures from the outing, following this link…

Penobscot Bay at its finest…check it out...

Just returned from the last weekend the road to Artist Point at the end of the Mt. Baker Highway was open before 4 inches of snow closed it down for the winter. The area still delivers the goods photographically–especially in the early Fall when the heather is changing colors and the Cascade blueberries are ripe and ready for picking…just need to watch out for bears! Take a look at the scenic majesty here…

Guess who is the latest blogger for SeattleMag.com’s Scoop section?

Come one, come all to the opening of my new photography exhibit, “Agriculture on the Urban Fringe: Farming and Conservation in the Snoqualmie Valley,” on Sunday evening September 20 from 5-7 pm at the Novelty Hill-Januik Winery in Woodinville, WA. The exhibit is the culmination of a year’s worth of shooting down on the farm in the Snoqualmie Valley on behalf of Stewardship Partners, a local non-profit working to restore and conserve private agricultural lands in Washington State. The resulting photographs detail how a growing movement toward environmentally friendly farming practices in the Valley is helping to spur increased demand for locally grown, organic food on dining tables in Seattle and all across Western Washington. The party and exhibit opening should be a real hoot. Some of the farmers featured will be there, and they will provide freshly harvested food items that will be prepared by the winery’s chef into gourmet delicacies paired with wines produced according to Stewardship Partners’ strict “Salmon-safe” standards. $35 admission gets you in; be sure to call ahead to reserve tickets. Also, prints from the exhibit are for sale, with proceeds going to support Stewardship Partners’ work in the Snoqualmie Valley. If you like food, wine and photography, this may be just the event for you! To reserve tickets, call Nikki at 425.481.5502 ext. 104, or e-mail nikki@noveltyhilljanuik.com…See you there!