A Few Things I Noticed

Although this artichoke is not as spectacular as one I photographed before, it is till interesting to see how the flower comes from the part we normally eat.

Some Flowers are Still Bloomin'

It seems it is till the time of year to find dahlias in bloom. Some ate just starting...

Fall's A'comin' On

Even though the weather is clearly turning for the cooler, there are still some signs of the productive summer. For example, this fushia is still blooming.

When Smoke Gets in Your Eyes

We've been mostly hidden away in our homes waiting for the smoke to clear. This is the view in front of our house on Sunday morning. It may have been cloudy, I don't know. Couldn't tell. It is possible there was some fog mixed in with the smoke. Can't really tell that either. There were times on Saturday when one could see ash falling.

Marrakech 2014

We currently sit at home more isolated than ever. In addition to the virus limiting our movements, we are suffering severe smoke from the Oregon fires. Not really any sunlight today, just a brighter yellow sky filled with dust and smoke. We sit in side with all the windows and doors closed and wait. It is not even fit weather to wander around the block in search of a few small things to photograph. There is no sound outside or man nor beast and hardly a breath of air is stirring. No one walking along the sidewalk, no pets abroad. Just dust covered trees and an eerie yellow light filling the world.

In the meantime, we remember better times. Today, we make a short journey back to March of 2014 during spring break while on our London semester. Since everything now feels so alien and foreign, it seems fitting that we explore for a few minutes a place that, compared to Snohomish, really is.

Late Summer Walk

As the seasons slowly change, I thought it time to visit a few of the gates and doorways again to see how they change.

Snohomish is Alive Again

With all the restaurants seating people on the street among the parking spaces, most place are open in Snohomish even if it is only by appointment.

Around the Block

The spiders seem to be making the last push of the summer and spinning large, in-your-face size webs everywhere. It is hard to walk between two trees and not get web in your face these days.

Possession Point State Park

About the only thing to do at the beach was to notice that we could see prominent mountains from here. Looking back toward Mukilteo, we can see what I'm pretty sure is Glacier Peak in the distance. It is the one with snow still on the top. It is the most isolated stratovolcano in Washington and one of (if not the) most active. Calm down, this is judged based on past performance not current activity.

OMG! We Found a Heron

We took a few minutes to visit Possession Point State Park for a look about. I was not expected to see much since we arrived at the middle of the day under a cloudless sky. Much to my surprise was a heron basking in the sunshine.

We Found Water Birds!

As we made a short exploration of Whidbey island near Langley on our way back to the ferry in Clinton, we found birds! This is the first time we've found a collection of water birds since we've been in Washington. Above you can see a gathering of ducks and a swan.

Whidbey Island

We are now making regular visits (every two weeks) to Whidbey Island. The massage therapist I frequented in Staunton lives there and she has closed up shop on Staunton and opened up in much nicer digs there. While it is hoof to get there and we have to pay for the ferry, it is still fun to see a new place and get a good massage.

We visited the garden shop from the previous visit to make and exchange on an item we purchased, so I took a few minutes to photograph some of the more interesting plants and flowers.

Leavenworth

We visited Leavenworth on a bright, sunny day and had a stroll about. As you can see, there are people about, but it is by no means crowded. Most of the restaurants are in business, but the majority of eating is moved outside. For those of you who are interested in such things, we are right at the foot of the Cascades, looking west.

East Toward Leavenworth on HWY 2

We are finally taking some short trips to see something different than the view out our front window. On this day we drove along Hwy 2 east to Leavenworth, WA. Along the way, the road eventually follows the Wenatchee River out of the mountains. We stopped a few places to have a look. Summer is a terrible time for landscape photos here since we switch from all clouds all the time to all blue sky all the time. This makes for harsh light and uninteresting skys. Nevertheless, here we go.

All Hydrangea, All Day

 

In keeping with our plan to visit nurseries in what would normally seem to be the off-season, we stopped by a hydrangea nursery to pick up a few additions for our (portion of the) yard. Who knew that they come in such a wide variety of colors? I guess, everyone but me. Here, we see that even the leaves and stems are in colors no normally expected.

Crescent Lake and Skykomish River Near Monroe

Found a small oxbow lake beside the Snoqualmie River, not far from Monroe and decided to visit one morning to have a look about. Seemed like it might be a place to see a few water birds. No such luck. Lots of lily pads and a good bit of morning fog, but almost no birds at all. We saw one duck as we were leaving and heard one or two sparrow-like creatures that we could never get a good look at. Other than that, all was dead silent and still. Didn't even see insects on the surface of the water.

Some Actual Flowers at Flower World

Today, we see a few of the flowers that remain at the Flower World nursery.

A Visit to Flower World

Naturally, since the flowers for this year are nearly done, we headed out to Flower World in Maltby to see that there is. So today, you get mostly leaves.

Visiting a Local Nursery

We took a ride to McAuliffe's Nursery to have a look about. While there were a few flowers to be seen, mostly the season determined that the flowers were gone. Trees and shrubs are the primary plants du jour with a side of flowers no longer blooming.

Trying Desperately to find Not Flowers to Photograph

Yes, Virginia, we have squirrels. There are also birds, but they are few and far between. We do see an occasional Stellar's Jay and Anna's Hummingbirds can also be found (year round!). But there few song birds. Mostly what we see and hear are Crows/Ravens.

Summer is Slowly Winding Down

These leaves in a neighbor's tree are interestingly lit. Notice that the sun shining on the upper leaf is partially transmitted and results in the leaf glowing on the bottom. The small hole in the upper leaf, no unlike the one in the lower one is glowing from this transmission.

Seascapes

In the image above you can see on the nearby islands trying to imitate a mountain among the extensive cloud cover.

Things to See from Whidbey Island

LIke every other place we've been in western Washington, there are blackberries growing wild. I really have never seen so many as there are here.

A Few More Flowers

Some of the flowers at the garden shop were quite interesting in the colors they display.

Flowers on Whidbey

We spent the night in a B&B that has cottages spaced out around the main house. If cabin was small but quite nice and more than adequate for our needs. Breakfast was served in a basket to our doorstep and we ate outside on the small porch. All very pleasant. Just next to our place is this hydrangea full of bloom.

A Visit to Langley, Whidbey Island

We finally screwed our courage to the sticking point and made an overnight trip. We drove to Whidbey Island. Even though the drive and ferry ride only took about an hour, it was good to get out of sight of the house for a little while. Sitting in one place for 6 months is not in character for us these days and the change was refreshing.

A Visit to Fairhaven (Bellingham)

We finally got out of sight of the house for a few hours and visited the town of Fairhaven. This is nowadays part of Bellingham and forms the historic district. It is a fun little place not far from the campus of Western Washington University.

I thought I'd being with the really good parts and show you a couple rubbish bins on the corner.

Evergreen Cemetery and Mortuary - II

 

 I found this tree filled with birds to be an interesting motif for a gravestone. Perhaps these all represent the children and grandchildren.

Evergreen Cemetery and Mortuary

I took a trip to Everett to visit the Evergreen Cemetery and Mortuary. I'm guessing that Evergreen is a chain of cemeteries around here since we see that name is so many places.

Now, on the shank end of summer here, we see brown grass and blooming weeds everywhere.

Alive or Once Alive Things

Today we swing away from inert things to things that are currently living or were recently in that state. Leading the parade today is a spider I found nearby. There are lots of these fellow (ladies?) here now.

Non-Living Things

You've seen so many images of flowers from around the neighborhood, I thought that today, I show some things. Non-living bits.

Evergreen-Washelli Cemetery

 

In the main portion of this cemetery, we found a few new graves to investigate. Although many graves have urns as part of the memorial, this is the first one I've seen that is only an urn.

Evergreen- Washelli Cemetery - Jewish Section part II

 

We decided to return to the cemetery for a more complete look about in the Jewish section and found the older part from yesterday's report to be closed, at least to vehicular traffic. Hence, we headed across the street to the newer section for a browse. This part is also quite interesting.

Evergreen- Washelli Cemetery - Jewish Section, Part I

We happened to be driving past the Evergreen-Washelli cemetery and found that the older section of the Jewish portion of the section was open and we decided to visit. I did not have my cameras with me so today's offerings are all from my iPhone.

A Few Flowers

Even though it is getting to late summer now, it is possible to still find a few flowers. I'm pretty sure that "late" summer comes earlier here than it does in most other places in the US.

A Few Sights Around Town

We do have a BBQ vendor here in Snohomish. We've eaten there a time or two and it is OK, but not great. There is better BBQ in Lynnwood and Marysville, but it'll do in a rush.

Gates, Doors, and Arbors

At the suggestion of good friends in Virginia, Bill and Linda Ingham, I made a foray around the neighborhood in search of gates. Along the way I found some mildly interesting doors and arbors to add to the mix.

Finally a Bit of Rain

I decided to grab this one last (ha-ha!) photo of a cone flower in the front yard before they completely fade away.

A Spider in Our Yard

The afternoon sun filtered through the trees on the west side of our yard happened to spotlight a well made spider's web and I ran out to get a few shots.

Blueberry Fields Forever

South of the railroad that is itself south of the Snohomish river are fields filled with a variety of things. In some places it is corn. Here, it is blueberries. Lots and lots of them.

Out by the Snohomish River

I decided to revisit the south bank of the Snohomish River again. This trip took me out at low tide. You can really tell that the river is, indeed, tidal even here, some miles from the sound. These old trees lodged in the mud and are mostly covered at full flood, but today are laid bare. In the distance, you can see part of the community of Lowell, a suburb of Everett.

The Remainder of the Walk

This bright flower grows on a shrub of some sort. I liked the composition since the overhanging leaf reminded me somehow of a cool drink with an umbrella in it.

Out for a Walk

So I went for one of my now nearly routine walks around the neighborhood to see what I could see. Every time I go on one of these short sojourns, I start by checking google maps to see where a good place to go for photos might be. I usually end up walking near home. Mostly this happens because I know that every place is going to be teaming with people and I'm just not ready to deal with throngs of people yet.

I did manage to get a good photo of a bee engaged in bee-business in front of the house today. I'm pleased with this image.

Cone Flowers and Heather in the Front Yard

I brought you some photos of the red coneflowers in our front yard the other day, so today you get to see the yellow (golden?) ones.

Lord Hill Park

Since summer is finally upon us and I can count on days of warm sunshine, I headed over to Lord Hill Park. This place sits on a hill bordering the Snohomish river between the towns of Snohomish and Monroe.

Great Blue Heron

On the other side of the peninsula from the foggy beach is a much wider beach area and, as you may recall from the earlier visit, there are tide pools there with small creatures in them. But today, were were treated to a Great Blue Heron hunting for lunch.

...And Here's What the Beach Looks Like

When we arrived at Rosario Beach in late morning, we were treated to the arrival of a so-called marine layer. This layer of fog, trapped near the surface of the water came pouring in as we watched.

So, We Went to the Beach

We gathered our gumption and headed out to shore for a bit of sunshine. As you might surmise from the image above, sunshine here is not like yours. Yes, it is warm when the sun is shining on your back. At least it is on my black when I'm wearing my winter sweater. While Seth is all decked out for a real summer, Seamus is only about half way there with his long pants on.

Standing out by the tidal pools at Rosario Beach, Seamus is finding tiny crabs and fish to explore. It was a lot busier than the last time E and I came here on our own.

Continuing the Different Walk Path

I find that I am drawn to photograph these scenes where one plant infringes on the territory of another of a totally different type. This variegated leaf nestled among the more fern-like neighbors fronds makes, to me, anice composition. It is all the more appealing to be able to get the small details of the large leaves in sharp focus. This is one of the many images from yesterday's and today's posts that were shot at f/32. A very small aperture indeed, but one that the GFX-50R pulls off very well.