The Old Man has donned His Winter Cap

Driving back from the grocery I noticed that there seemed to be a cap cloud forming over Mt. Rainier. So, once we got home and I unloaded the groceries, I scampered around the corner to where I know from previous photo shoots that I have a good view of the mountain and snapped a few.

Union Slough Park

On a recent sunny day, I ventured over to the area between Everett and Marysville where the Snohomish River empties into the Puget Sound. The marshland that has it roots as far inland as the edge of Monroe and extends past Snohomish right on to the coast is, by the time it passes Snohomish, quilted with canals and side streams carrying part of the water. These sloughs, as they are called, feed a large, tidal saltwater marsh area.

Just before it enters the sound, between Hwy 529 and I-5, is the small Union Slough Park. While this is a place that should be ideal for birds, the day I went, it was vacant.

And Now...for Something a Little Different

Not even a half a block from our front gate is a view of Mt. Rainier. You've seen this view before, but I thought I'd try again on this pretty clear day. I, of course, chose to do this in mid-day and the light was terrible. Yet, with a graduated neutral density filter and some patience on the computer, I got an image in which I can at least see the mountain. So I agree with the twitter account Is The Mountain Out? and we can indeed see the 70 or so miles to Mt. Rainier.

You know it is a tall mountain when there is still abundant snow on it in mid-May. the much closer sections of the Cascades are nearly all clear of snow. Of course, they are only 5000-6000 ft, not the 14,000 feet or so of Mt. Rainier.