Captured by the curves

There I was, minding my own business, trolling through the nursery lot at Lowe's. I always feel sorry for those plants baking in the full sun on the hot parking lot, and have to see if any need "rescuing". I nearly made it out of there until I spotted this calla--all those sumptuous seductive curves begged to be photographed. I couldn't resist.

What a view!!

R and I went up in the mountains to try to find some cooler weather. Summer has arrived with a vengeance and it is 93 today, VERY unusual for Seattle. We love this lake, especially this time of year. By fall, when the trees are gorgeous, the lake is very low and there is an entire forest of stumps out there. But now---gorgeous, especially with the snow still on the peaks.

Summer: Snow at the Pass!

Yesterday ML and I went up to the Pass to hike to Franklin Falls, only to discover that there is still quite a bit of snow up there. Snoqualmie Peak still has snow, and with the blue blue sky yesterday it was gorgeous! The peak is almost 6300'.
Yep, snow with the ever present pine needles...this snowpack was on the trail to the falls, and probably at least 3' thick still. We were at about 3000', so summer is slow in coming that high this year.

This is so blown out, but we were there late afternoon and the falls face west, and we were in dark shadow since we couldn't get past the snow to get a different position. (excuses, excuses...) The falls are enormous, and rushing and jumping and exploding down into the river. In the summer they are a small divided flow, into a still, swimmable pool below. To give you an idea of scale, the tilted tree in the photo below is probably at least 15-20' tall.
Looking up to enjoy some blue sky...with the Doug firs towering all around. A typical upward view in an old-growth forest.
The river a little futher down, full and rushing. We are planning to go back on a cloudy day when the lighting is better. The color of the water was incredible. (Only in the Pacific NW do we moan for months about no sun, and then when it shows up, complain because everything is "too bright!" LOL!!)
One advantage to the late spring up high is that the trillium season is extended. I was really thrilled to see them just blooming up there; ours are long gone.And I've never seen wild trillium that are this soft lavender color. They were really pretty, but were growing in the midst of a clump of devil's club and there was no way to get in closer.

Summer: Greens

I love hosta. I have several different varieties of hosta in my yard, and fight a never-ending battle with the slugs and deer. (For those of you with deer problems, Liquid Fence WORKS! The only time the deer eat my plants is when I forget to spray) Hosta is grown more for the glorious foliage than the flowers; there are so many colors and variations and patterns in the leaves that you can have a colorful garden without flowers! I love the different textures in the leaves, too--you can play with color and pattern, size and texture, height and shape...the combinations are endless. So, here are a few of my favorites...

Summer: Foxglove season

Early summer is when the wild foxglove starts blooming. It is along the roads, in open fields, and pops up in my yard (a welcome guest!). The colors vary from soft and medium pinks up to vivid raspberry, with an occasional white one showing up from time to time. It's one thing the deer and elk don't eat (it's poisonous to them) so I like having it in the yard.

Summer: Skimboarding

It's only about 63 today, and a little too cool for water fun, so these are from last summer. I was beachcombing and could've spent the entire day watching these guys skimboard at low tide. Man were they good.
As the tide came in, they would move this log higher up on the beach so they could continue jumping and grabbing air.
They made it look so easy and effortless.
Then I turned to the side, and saw two young fans, heading out to try their luck. SOOO cute!

Summer: Waterfowl

Summertime means flotillas and armadas of Canada Geese...

...or family groups... ...or lone individuals, napping and drifting off from the rest of the gaggle.
A string of ducklings were startled as I hiked by, and paddled as quickly as they could to get to cover with Mama...

Little did I realize, that lurking on the shore, was the Dreaded Pacific Northwest Alligator, rumored to exist but rarely seen!!!
LOL!!!!! I just couldn't resist. The family who brought this to the lake thought I was nuts.

Summer: Evening at Rattlesnake Lake

Last evening was beautiful--about 60, just a slight slight breeze, so R and I went out to Rattlesnake Lake to see where the water level was. This photo was taken in November, when the lake level is low (and it gets much lower.)

When summer arrives, and the spring rains and melting snow in the mountains add to the lake, it looks like this. This is the same large tree root as in the first photo. It is now out in the lake. The lake was like a mirror last night.
This "island" is usually trees on the shoreline, and when the water is lower in the late summer there is at least 30' or more of shoreline behind the trees. Everything in front of the trees is rocky beach. This "island" is on the edge of the boat launch ramp--all of which is under water. When the water level is down, you can see the large (8' tall) stump on which this tree is growing.
And, this fisherman was out trying his luck. His little craft was pedal powered, and he would paddle himself around backwards, trolling for trout or whatever he could catch. I don't know why he had the sun protection hat on--maybe to keep his neck warm? You'll notice that he is It certainly was late enough in the day that there was no danger of sunburn, and we aren't really too mosquito-y around here. Hard to believe with all the water we have!!

Summer: 1

Summer is here in the rest of the country, but in the Pacific Northwest we don't really start getting warm sunny summer weather until after the Fourth of July. I have even worn my parka on some 4ths--unfortunately! So, some of my summer posts may be from last year in the warmer months...

Out and About

Yesterday was sunny and warm and beautiful, so we went for a walk/hike to enjoy being able to be outside without a coat. I love this stretch of the river near us; the water is usually a wonderful jade-green.
Went down to the State Park, and found this great blue heron looking for lunch in the creek.

These 2 were perched in a tree a little further down the creek, also waiting for lunch to swim by. I was kicking myself for not bring my "big gun", but just my P&S. Of course, if I HAD brought my dSLR and telephoto, these 2 never would've shown up.
And as we hiked through a trail in an open medow area, this was at eye level. I think Mr. Snail was hanging on for dear life.
What a GREAT day to be outside!!

Windows: more from Pioneer Square

A few more from Pioneer Square...