Some of you who follow this blog have shared Thanksgiving with us and will recognise this table setting. I thought I'd share a few images of our table, our altar of thanks for this year.
A cake was baked for our Thanksgiving meal and of course the grand kids had to make sure the icing was not poisonous or anything.
We have installed a shed in which I can have a bit of space for my projects and tools. E is delighted to have all that stuff out of the bedroom. When Anna walked out to see it when it was all complete, she remarked that it seemed bigger on the inside than the outside. Thus, I've dubbed it the tardis since it also shares this remarkable property.
So. We've reached the time of year to express our thanks. Thankfully, we actually have something to be thankful for. So far, we here on our little speck of the world are healthy and thriving. That's a big deal in these days of virus.
November is being really wet and rainy and my photo excursion time is limited. After the brief afternoon of sunshine that allowed me to see the mountains and the Osprey Park the other day, it's been lots of rain. So I'm improvising and pointing my camera at things indoors. And this time of year, that means food.
Above is the toffee that E made. Ostensibly, this is to garnish the pumpkin mousse to be served with our Thanksgiving meal. Lots of pecans and chocolate.
The town of Sultan is located where the Sultan River joins the Skykomish. Osprey Park is a pleasantly flat woodland along the shore of the Sultan with nice wide hiking trails.
By the time I got there, the sun was not far from being hidden behind the nearby hills on the opposite (western) shore. With a low light source, I could get an image of the moss on the trees that was backlit to accentuate nature's drapery.
After a week's worth of rain, we finally got some sunshine and I headed east to the small town of Sultan, just east of Monroe. While we've been getting rain, the mountains have been getting the season's first dusting of snow. This makes images of the Cascades much more interesting.
Many bushes are now in transition between lots of color and mouldy black spots taking over.
As the season progresses, the decay of the fallen leaves does as well. Yet there is still color to be seen amongst the ruins.
After my visit to the Japanese Gulch in Mukilteo, I thought I'd make a short walk in Lord Hill Park (again) out between Snohomish and Monroe. This tree really puts me in the mind of an Ent out slowly wandering the forest and admonishing all us scurrying critters to "not be hasty".
On down the road a ways, near Stanwood, we found a flock of Snow Geese. These are smaller, somewhat less graceful birds than the swans and the black on the wings make then easy to distinguish.
In the last post, I pointed out that these birds are white except for a little black. This is not entirely true. there is sometimes (although not here) visible a small yellow patch next to the black on the beak and some slight rosey coloration on the top of the head (that you can see here). Just to avoid confusion.
Finally, we found a collection of our elusive prey, the Tundra or Whistling Swan. This birds make a nasal sort of honk that could be called a whistle if you are aren't picky about what you call a whistle.
We finally got out of the house for a little while and rode up to the Skagit Valley in search of birds. Along the way we stopped in the small town of Conway. It seems to be dominated by antiques/junk. One of the stores we went in had several interesting memories to see.
I continue looking for things not yet noticed before. Some are neither pretty or entirely ugly...I'd say mostly curious. I don't know what this plant is, but it is curious indeed.
Some things I find while out walking are perfectly expected. For example, these berries on a bush. Perhaps a bit less expected if the variation in color of the leaves on the same bush. Orange on one side and some combination of red and green producing a rich brown on the other.
Along the route that I run in the morning (a section of the Centennial Trail), there are some evergreen bushes with late season flowers.
The changes of the fall season continue apace. Sometimes the changes are fast...so fast we can't quite keep up and sometimes they are depressingly slow. Here, we find the surprise of even the stems of the leaves change colors when the leaves do.
This bush in the front yard is near the porch and the red color is really dazzling. However, I continue to struggle to find the right composition for showing it off.
In spite of the lateness of the season, there are still some small flowers to be found. Although, to be sure, we've seen flowers that look fresher.
As the number of flowers to see continues to decrease, I look for colors and textures in the leaves. There are leaves on the ground across the street and have a few interesting compositions.
The image above is one you have seen before if you have followed this blog for while. It first appeared on May 3rd this year back when I first worried that you might get tired of seeing so many flower images. (That ship has sailed over the horizon now.)
It is re-appearing here now because I entered it in the 2021 NANPA (North American Nature Photographer Association) Showcase competition and it made it to the top 100 images. Yeah me! No, I didn't win anything except bragging rights. Yes, there are potentially 99 other people who did better. But still, it's a start. Maybe next year I'll do better.
A front gate this old and unpainted just seems to ooze character. Glad I don't have to maintain this character.
Evergreens can't show off in the fall by changing colors, but they can capture the fallen leaves of their neighbors and use then to put on a display.
Although I walked about some ways after cross in the river, I saw very little work a photo (even when I'm not paying to develop film). I did find this afternoon portrait of a bridge detail to be worth a look. So many layers of paint, it looks upholstered.
Getting out while the getting is good and there is still remains so sunshine, I took a longer walk toward the Pilchuck river.
Red and green are nature's favorite colors for fall here. Some trees do both colors in a burst of berries among the leaves.
