If, like me, you haven't yet received your ballot by mail, don't stress.

YOU CAN STILL VOTE. You probably moved and didn't update your address at the County Clerk's office.

Getting a a replacement ballot is easy if you follow the simple steps below. I just got one and cast my vote, all in less than 30 minutes. Be sure to bring your our Oregon driver's license and Our Crack Election Guide.

Here's what to do.

Step 1:

As you've probably noticed, there's a plenitude of fruit trees scattered throughout Bend.

Many of trees were planted with care and are lovingly looked after by the renters/homeowners who live on the property. Others grow untended on vacant lots or on public lands. Those who are fortunate enough to have fruit-bearing  plum trees, apple trees and pear trees, the most common fruit trees in Central Oregon, often pick the delectable treats and put them to good use—plum sauces, apple pies, pear salads—just a few of the hundreds of ways one can enjoy the fruits found in Central Oregon.

But what about those neglected trees whose fruit falls to waste? That's where you come in—with your backpack and your manners.

Gleaning is gathering produce left by others and is considered by its practitioners to be an effective way to mitigate food waste. You can donate the food to a food bank or use it for your own consumption. We hear there's a Central Oregon Gleaners gang in town which gathers forgotten fruit, but because of their secretive nature we weren't able to track them down for comment.

Living in Central Oregon I am always reminded of my old stomping grounds in Switzerland. What Sparks Lake is to me here in Oregon, Seealpsee  was in my old country.

You have to walk up to this Lake which takes about 30 minutes. To catch the first light and the red glow on the rocks you the trail in the dark. This image was captured with a film camera and Fuji Velvia Film. That film had only 50 ISO and really had to be shot at 40 ISO so it got exposed right. Naturally a tripod was and still is essential for most landscape shots. The morning I took this image we had  one of those perfect late summer days in Switzerland when the air is fresh and calm and the sky has that deep stunning blue. Days we take for granted in Central Oregon  but in Switzerland and west of the Cascades are are hard to find.

I will be teaching a weekend workshop this spring on the top of the mountain you see in this photo. Mount Saentis has a Restaurant and a hotel on Top. The View taken from there is truly spectacular. I took the second photo one winter evening right after Mountains and it felt truly like the top of the world.

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