Looking Up: Notes from Bill Bourbonnais

  One thing that has been a constant source of amazement and smiles since moving to North Carolina is the variety of creatures, critters, and crawlers in the area. We’ve experience snakes, lizards, salamanders, snails, tadpoles, hundreds upon hundreds of frogs, squirrels, foxes, fish, deer, bears, possums, hawks, eagles, vultures, doves, butterflies, orb weavers, bees, yellow jackets, carpenter bees, hummingbirds… the list goes on and on. And these are just what we’ve seen in our yards, our neighborhoods, our local walking paths… not including any ventures out and about. Don’t get me wrong. Growing up in San Diego, living in the Central Valley of California and in the desert of Phoenix, we had plenty of wildlife in those areas as well. Just in San Diego as a kid and young adult, I saw coyotes, rabbits, skunks snakes, alligator lizards, seagulls, and a plethora of ocean life including sea urchins, starfish, octopus, abalone, dolphins, whales, sharks, and, not one I’ve experienced pe...

I have been struggling with this post for weeks. I would consider one approach, then set it aside to ponder another, only to discard that and head for a new one, then circle back and merge parts of the first couple and toss those for something completely different. Part of the challenge is that naming the page “Looking Up” was almost impulsive, triggered by a couple of events after I started getting more interested in aviation and curious about what was flying over my head. More on that shortly. But as I considered whether to post my thoughts on social media, or maybe rekindle this blog page, I thought about times during my nearly seven decades of experience what “looking up” means to me. And what I wanted it to mean to others who might read my posts. A blog is born… then dies Regarding this simple blog page, it initially was born quickly and died just as quickly in the span of 2 weeks. I published my first article early January 2026. January 4 th .   It originally was a ...

I’ll admit it. Over the years, I’ve gotten lazy. I was introduced to photography at a very early age. Dad and Mom gave me my first camera when I was in first or second grade in Buffalo Grove, Illinois. I don’t remember much about the camera, other than it was a “twin lens reflex” box camera, where you look down into the viewfinder to frame your shot – which used the top lens of a 2-lens front, and then took your picture with the second, bottom lens. And yes, [gasp!] you used real film that went to a real photo lab for real processing and printing. That was a very simple “point-and-shoot” style camera, much like the “instamatic” cameras (remember the flash cubes?) I had in grade school. It wasn’t until Junior High School in Mr. Robert B.’s Graphic Arts class that I started learning about f-stops, shutter speeds, exposure control, and more. I loved working in the darkroom developing film, making our contact print proofs, and then using the enlarger to create prints from my best shots...

 Looking Up “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” - Psalm 19:1 I always chuckle a little inside whenever a new acquaintance learns what I do, or even with people who’ve known for a while, and the statement or question pops into conversation about being in busy season, getting ready for busy season, or being glad busy season is over depending on the time of year and proximity to April 15th. I’ve been doing this tax thing for over 32 years. Busy season never ends – though there are peaks. Laura got so tired of being a tax widow that she finally joined me and got her EA license a few years ago. Most people recognize April 15th. That’s “Tax Day” for typical John and Jane Doe Taxpayer. (I could bore you with the history of that particular date, but we’ll save that for another time.)  The reality is that our personal schedules get the kibosh and our professional schedules peak each year around four dates: March 15th, April 15th, September ...

  (Click Play) IYKYK - a dog is many things, but NEVER "just a dog." I grabbed this video of Biskit on September 5, 2021 after our morning walk, and dropped in an appropriate track that echos his joy. He was almost 9 at that time. Since then, our "Tank" as Mijo has described him, has beat cancer and a simultaneous e-coli infection, open wounds on all four legs (an amazing vet and her Menuka honey - like they used at NC State CVM to beat his e-coli), and at 14 in a couple weeks, still rolls like a much younger pup despite laryngeal paralysis and arthritis. We don't get as many walks in as we used to (southern heat and humidity and lar-par don't play nicely together) but when there's a rabbit in the yard, someone he loves at the door, or a piece of chimkin in my hand, he's 100% Tank puppy with a dog's joy and love in his heart. IYKYK.

  (Biskit, at NC State during his cancer surgery.) Many years ago, when I lost my dog Charcoal, a man who was supposedly a good friend said to my face, "Bill, it was just a dog." Just one thought comes up every time I remember that comment, and you'll excuse my language. IYKYK.  Insensitive asshole bastard.  A few days ago, the world lost an icon, and heaven gained an angel. Tucker Budzyn, Golden Retriever extraordinaire, went to the Rainbow Bridge after succumbing to a sudden, rapid internal infection from a complication of his chemo for lymphoma The devastating part is that the chemo was working, beating back the cancer and healing Tucker. I can only imagine what his family is going through right now. Two-and-a-half years ago when we almost lost Biskit to cancer and an e-coli infection from his punch biopsy, I was a mess. My heart goes out to Tucker's family, friends and fans. If you're not familiar with Tucker and his antics, you have to check out his social me...

 A couple nights ago I had our Golden Retriever wonder-dog, Biskit, outside around 10pm. Full confession - I've become a little addicted to the Flightradar24 app. As I said in another post, I think this aviation interest is fast becoming a new hobby. So on this clear North Carolina evening while Biskit was busy doing what Biskit does, I pulled up the app to see what was what in the 'hood - there was a plane not too far away, though I couldn't hear it. But what caught my eye wasn't just that the plane was rolling in to RDU. It was that there were TWO planes on landing approach at the same time - parallel, not stacked. When I checked their stats on FR24, I was surprised to see they were flying at similar speeds and similar altitudes. I know RDU has two runways, but this was a new experience to see happening in real time. My cell phone screen showed them as incredibly close. But of course, the app is displaying icons, not relative-sized images of the airliners, and due to ...

It's actually been kind of nice finding some things to do that don't involve "Looking down" at a mini-screen micro-computer smart phone device. Honestly, trolling and scrolling is deceivingly and deliberately addictive, and a hard habit to break. But as my profile intro says, I love to learn and often find rabbit holes you wouldn't expect. So sometimes looking up to learn more involves looking down. So welcome to my trolling and scrolling for today. Here's a little trivia for your Saturday. SNAKES! I've been fascinanted with snakes since I was a kid in Buffalo Grove, Illinois. Helping mom plant some flowers in the front of the house, I remember seeing some garter snakes quickly slithering out of the planters to get away from us. Growing up in San Diego, we had a lot of reptiles around - mostly California King Snakes, truly beautiful snakes. Quite a few alligator lizards as well. A right of passage growing up on the canyons of the Clairemont neighborhood in...

So I'm starting to get (re)hooked on photography and now I'm getting hooked on aviation since that quick trip to the RDU Observation Deck. (Gotta hand it to Zuckerberg and the Facebook algorithm - my feed has been filled with FlightRadar24 posts, squawk channel posts, and videos of various jets, landings-good and not so good, and local air shows.)   But on this outing, Mijo took a red-eye back from his California summer gig, so I took the opportunity to have some play time during extension season. Still rusty, and need to tighten up the shots, but I think the 75-300mm zoom worked a bit better than the 18-55mm I used last time. Simple crops, no edits. And a screen capture of the FlightRadar24 replay of his Frontier Airbus 320 coming into 23R at RDU. This outing was double extra fun - some more photo work, and the youngling returning home after a 10 week stint in the California Sierra Nevada. To my pilot and aviation fan friends - what got you hooked? What keeps you hooked?

Today I took a fun, quick afternoon trip with Laura. Honestly, it's been far too long since I've wandered out with any kind of camera other than my cell phone. It was nice to get out and play but I'm pretty rusty.  But rust starts to fall off with repeated excercise and use. I also grabbed the wrong lens for a trip to the RDU Airport Observation Park deck. Note to self - grab all the gear. But don't let lack of ideal gear slow you down. There will be more outings. Lesson for the day - I've missed taking an actual camera out for excercise. Camera: Canon EOS Rebel XS w/18mm-55mm zoom. Next time I'm bringing the 17mm-300mm zoom instead. 😁

“When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us.” - Alexander Graham Bell You’re probably familiar with Alexander Graham Bell’s quote — or at least the shortened version that includes only the first line. I was reminded of it recently during a visit to Dorothea Dix Park here in Raleigh. We were there with our son, Daniel, and a few of his friends before they headed back to college after Christmas. Their primary reason for the trip was to see the giant wooden trolls created by Danish artist Thomas Dambo — part of a statewide exhibit spread across North Carolina. But tucked away in one open field was something quieter that caught my attention even more. A series of standalone doors. They mark where former hospital buildings once stood — simple frames now, set in the open air. No walls. No structure. Just doors. A visual reminder of transitions, memories, and change. And it ...

  I watched a group of musicians perform something difficult over the holidays. They weren’t in the same room. They weren’t part of a touring production. They weren’t performing for applause. Each musician recorded separately, in different spaces, at different times. Their performances were later assembled into a single piece. What emerged was precise, disciplined, and emotionally intact. It was flawless. What struck me wasn’t talent or virtuosity. It was restraint. No one rushed. No one played louder than the moment required. No one tried to make themselves the point. Every part served something larger than itself. Discipline Is What Makes Meaning Visible We tend to talk about talent as though it’s the primary ingredient of excellence. Natural ability. Instinct. Giftedness. Those things matter, but they’re rarely what moves us most. What moves us is watching capable people choose discipline. Watching individuals who could stand out decide not to. Watching skill subm...