The Black Dog

Kenting National Park was full of enormous and gorgeous butterflies! (at Kenting National Park)

Lone fisherman at Maobitou (貓鼻頭) (at 貓鼻頭國家公園)

A stream of clouds flows and undulates around the mountain like a great wispy shawl. (at Taitung)

On the coastal road in Taitung and gazing eastward at twilight. (at Taitung)

Synchronized paragliders over Luye Gaotai. (at 鹿野高台)

Synchronized paragliders over Luye Gaotai. (at 鹿野高台)

Make-up photo! It was very exciting to watch tandem paragliders gliding about high over Luye Gaotai and the valley below it. Maybe one day I'll save enough to try it once. It may be a good remedy for the recent lowsws I've been feeling. (at 鹿野高台)

Visited Luye Gaotai (鹿野高台） or the Luye Highland to watch paragliders in action. Sorry guys for missing another day of photos this week. Yesterday, a friend and I took a 7 o'clock train to Taidong, rented a scooter, explored the landscape the entire day, and covered over 250 kilometers of distance! It was exhausting, and I didn't have enough energy to post anything before passing out in bed. But, I'll post another photo tonight to make up for it! (at 鹿野高台)

Winding down a visit to Foguangshan. (at 佛光山)

Life can be overwhelming. (at 小琉球)

Took my first break this year from posting photos yesterday. Life has generally dreary, slow, and somewhat challenging. I've been feeling unaccomplished and I worry that my depression is going to kick back in. I'm deciding that that needs to change. Maybe I'll go on an adventure soon and then I'll have more positive things to share. (at Kaohsiung, Taiwan)

Some amateur musicians were doing a free performance for people at the Confucius Temple park. You can't hear it, but their music selection was kind of slow and depressing sounding stuff. Nevermind that though, because this adorable old man was totally into it and dancing along with the music. (at 全臺首學 臺南孔子廟 Tainan Confucian Temple)

Lots of tree branches came off of park trees after yesterday's typhoon. Here are some of the local casualties of that storm. #bikeloverinmourning (at Kaohsiung, Taiwan)

Typhoon day today, and had to hide indoors all morning while Typhoon Nepartak plowed past the island. Came outside to take some photos the very moment the rains and winds stopped. The storm was pretty strong in Kaohsiung, but nowhere near as bad as it was on the east coast. It didn't result in much damage in my neighborhood, and my scooter was still standing, so I count myself pretty lucky. (at Kaohsiung, Taiwan)

I'm in a mood. And I honestly wasn't feeling like posting any pictures today. It's been difficult trying to choose one with meaning or purpose. But I've finally got one for you to ponder. Here's one of a moment captured, of this beautiful butterfly fluttering in the air, just ready to land on a flower. I'm too sad and too tired trying to keep up with the bizarrely rapid accumulation of horrific events that have occurred just in this week between #Turkey, #Bangladesh, #Iraq and #Saudi Arabia, and most recently the shooting of #altonsterling . If that were not enough for anybody, then we've got the miscellaneous acts of senseless stupidity by gun-owners and people of authority to fill the gaps inbetween, and the lack of humanity and the complete and utter disregard for human life by people on the internet to season it on top. This is exhausting. And it's ridiculous. Usually, I respond with intense concern for the well-being of many of my friends back home whom, whether they know it or not, I think about constantly and worry that they might be hurt, or humiliated, or most frighteningly might be ubruptly taken away from our lives at any moment. Then I respond with anger about the cruelty of humans and the system they've created, and with frustration that not enough is ever done to fix it. But this time, I just cried. I have felt nothing else but sadness and helplessness, not just in myself but for the families of victims and victims themselves at the moments they take their last breaths. So many beloved connections and so much great potential out there being needlessly shot down and bombed away, no longer just one by one, but in the dozens or hundreds. I hope we never stop talking about these injustices and planning and fighting for change. I've truly had enough of idiots making excuses for the actions of bigots and racists, and justifying the deaths of human beings. And I hope you will value every moment of your lives, and every moment of your friends' and families'. Because who knows what may come next? (at Kaohsiung, Taiwan)

Nature's hanging lanterns. (at Kaohsiung, Taiwan)

Vines like a cascade rushing out of the window of this old building. (at Tainan, Taiwan)