Meet my psychiatrist

"Meet My Psychiatrist" was the name of a book by the photographer Les Blacklock, first published back in the 1970s. Yes, the self-help 1970s that brought us psychiatric advances like Werner Erhard's "est" and the bestseller "I'm Okay, You're Okay." But Blacklock's book wasn't about anything fancy or, um, self-indulgent. It was about a log, and that was the picture on the cover of the book. I don't remember anything from the inside, really. But that idea of a log being the answer to your emotional issues is very appealing.

It's a treat to walk out our back door to the beach of Park Point. Storms come and go, bringing a perfect array of logs. Some are good for throwing for the dog. Some are beautiful twisty cedars washed down a week or so before from a raging North Shore stream bank. And some are psychiatrists, like this one above.

Sit down, they say. Tell me your problems. You say you're thinking of the election a lot lately: how does that make you feel?