In Health And In Sickness

May 2023 in Review

✍️ 🕑 May 2023 • Series: Month in Review • Tags: EurovisionEurovision 2023scrambling classillnesscollisionsState/Provincial Parksbald eagles & 3 More Tags • Places: Bellingham, WA Larabee State Park Cama Beach Historical State Park Camano Island State Park Guye Peak

Does the green flare go well with the green vines?
Does the green flare go well with the green vines? open_in_full   info

May did not go as I expected. I expected that I would end the month, perhaps without getting this “Month in Review” post finished in time, because I’d be traveling, enjoying myself, celebrating a friend’s birthday.

Instead, I didn’t get the post finished or published because I was lying in bed feeling like shit. As my mother says, when I get sick, I get really sick. (Apparently.)

But hey, I did get to do some things before I got really sick. I watched Eurovision, visited Bellingham and Camano Island, went on my first scramble, and finished a book. And, then everything stopped.

This post is a look back at that time.


Growth and Decay
Growth and Decay open_in_full   info

A Look Back at April 2023

Belatedly A.F.

✍️ 🕑 April 2023 • Series: Month in ReviewMy Days in New York City • Tags: good eatslakesscrambling classNew York City

Magnolia near Prospect Park, NYC
Magnolia near Prospect Park, NYC

Though I pretend not to be a self-centered egotist, this blog is centered around me (Steve) and no one else. Its central question: “Where is Steve?”.

Perhaps, over the last few months, this question has echoed in readers’ minds more often than not. I mean, where was Steve?

Surely, Steve was going to show up at some point and update their faithful followers on their whereabouts. Surely.

So, yes. Here I am.

I’ve been trying to do these month in review posts such that they’re published at the end of the month when I wrote them. Unfortunately, I slipped the deadline.

…And then I got dreadfully ill, but that’s a topic for the belated post about May.



Self-portrait at the QFC. As you can see, my shopping experience was enhanced greatly by the security cameras.
Self-portrait at the QFC. As you can see, my shopping experience was enhanced greatly by the security cameras.
Easter-themed wares of dubious repute.
Easter-themed wares of dubious repute.



I write even when I don’t publish. It’s easy to put text into documents, and easy to take pictures. It is harder to put the two together, especially when I have a lot going on. This post has more-or-less languished on my hard drive for the last two months, and my recent edits are quite minimal.

So, let’s time warp.


My First Visit to Vancouver, B.C. (2018)

✍️ 🕑 Late April, 2018 • Tags: border crossingsCanadaferriesVancouverBritish ColumbiaAmtraktrain travel • Places: Vancouver, B.C. Richmond, B.C. Coquitlam Bowen Island

Hello, readers!

Have you ever noticed that I feel a weird compulsion to “start from the beginning” when I start writing about a place? So, uh, I have held off on writing about my *checks notes* recent visits to Vancouver, B.C., because I hadn’t yet written about *checks notes* that time I took the train there, and then sorta ambled around downtown, and then took a boat someplace and thought it was the prettiest thing in the world?

Well, this is my post.

The story begins in April 2018.

Or, maybe it begins much earlier than that.

April in the Pacific Northwest, or, a beachfront park in Vancouver
April in the Pacific Northwest, or, a beachfront park in Vancouver open_in_full   info

Feeling Lake 22

✍️ 🕑 • Tags: waterfallssnowy hikes • Places: Lake 22

The day was March, 26th 2023. Avalanche risk was low. I decided to try to squeeze in one last hike.

I knew that I’d soon be off to New York, and/or have other plans taking up most of my weekend days, and I figured it was a good chance for me to get out, hit a popular trail while it was hopefully less crowded, and give my fancy new boots a good workout.

Do note that this trail is very avalanche prone in the winter, and if you are heading out when I did, you should check the avalanche forecast at NWAC and be sure to watch for warning signs.

Fremont Solstice Parade (2023)

✍️ 🕑 • Series: Steve in Seattle • Tags: paradessummersolsticeNSFW • Places: Fremont

Hello again, readers!

I realize I haven’t updated this blog in forever, and I have good excuses for that. The main ones are work, mononucleosis, and work again, in that order. I’m actually still kinda under the weather and tired out easy, which gives me a good excuse to stay at home and work on music instead of this blog.

In the meantime, though, Chelsea and I spent a little bit of time yesterday enjoying the solstice parade in the quirky Fremont neighborhood of Seattle. I brought my camera with me, but I didn’t really think of the outing in photographic terms – I wanted to enjoy the parade, and enjoy being out and about without stressing myself and my body too much.


The sun! At last!
The sun! At last! open_in_full   info

The parade bills itself as a kaleidoscope of human expression, and that is absolutely true. It was a joyful, joyful event, with people being absolutely psyched to welcome summer, and with a great variety of body paint, costumes, and floats. Written words are banned per the wishes of the Fremont Art Council. Creativity and expression rule the day.

The first portion of the parade, or perhaps the pre-parade consisted of a great variety of cyclists, many of whom were nude.

So, yes I caution that many of the photos in this post include nudity. Please take that into account and continue reading!

Wither 52 Frames?

✍️ 🕑 March 2023 • Series: 52 Frames • Tags: flowersmacro photography

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, then you probably know that I’ve been participating in 52 Frames, a creative exercise consisting of weekly photography challenges. There are 52 weeks in a year, hence the name.

I started doing this in January 2021, and I managed to continue doing it for 114 weeks straight, a little over 26 months. And then I missed some…

March 2023 in Review

Birthdays, Pizza, and Bushwacking

✍️ 🕑 March 2023 • Series: Month in Review • Tags: Eurovision 2023good eatspizzaparksbird photographypublic librariesscrambling classscrambling class • Places: Juanita Bay Park Union Bay Natural Area Seattle Central Library

Is this the kind of birthday party I had this month? I don't quite think so.
Is this the kind of birthday party I had this month? I don't quite think so.

The amount of energy I’ve had to devote to blog posts this month is… low.

And there were good reasons for it, like having 16 unexpected visitors (❤) or spending a weekend walking up and down some hills.

So let’s get into it!