Google Photos has a number of image filtering features; this post focuses on a new option that I particularly like in the “Remix” category. The different filters that are available in Remix are not named, the one featured here is the fourth that appears when I open Remix on an iPhone. It transforms photos into images that resemble impressionist paintings.

The beginning of the 2025-2026 winter in northern Utah has been unusually warm and snow-free. The snowpack is well below historical averages. The forecast offers hope, with snow predicted during the first week of 2026.

No snow in sight

We have been finding many distinctive mushrooms lately when we walk the dogs through nearby woods in Northern Minnesota. Scroll down for images and descriptions of some of the more interesting mushrooms. I am not an expert, so identifications of these mushrooms are best guesses with help from online resources like

In Rollag Minnesota over the Labor Day weekend old farming methods are recreated at an event called the Western Minnesota Steam Threshers Reunion (WMSTR). This idea dates from 1940 when a group of farmers fired up an old steam thresher to harvest grain the old way. In 1954 the WMSTR group invited the public to this exhibition, and it has grown to an event that attracts up to ...