Misty-ness

A couple more from the misty, moisty morning a couple of days ago. This is a seedling of a Doug Fir, about 2" tall.
f4.5 1/30 ISO 200 100mm macro

f 6.7 1/15 ISO 200 100mm macro

Raindrop tips

A little macro playtime---early morning, just as the sun was slanting across the front yard. Picture me bundled up, lying on the sidewalk to get the right angle. The people walking by thought I was nuts--either that, or I'd fallen and couldn't get up LOL!!

I was really happy to get a nice refraction as well as some sunflares on the waterdrops. Bonus!

f 4.5 1/45 ISO 200 100mm macro

I usually go for a wide-open aperture, but I really like the clarity on this one better, although the background is more distracting. Tough choices!

f9.5 1/20 ISO 200 100mm macro

And this--I just like the way all those dew drops and rain drops embellished the grass blades. They look like sequins or jewels.
f9.5 1/60 ISO 200 100mm macro

On the road--signs

These were taken on our trip to Mt. Rainier this summer...
Just couldn't resist this--sure makes you want to zip through this stretch of narrow, twisty mountain road really quickly.

And here is one I am sure a lot of you have never seen!!! These are for Mt. Rainier, which is a dormant volcano. If it decides to blow, there will be massive mudflows and flooding as the glaciers melt, so there are many evacuation routes in the communities around Rainier. They even have evacuation drills in the schools, like fire drills everywhere else.

4th of 4...Tag!

Bobbi tagged me last night to show the 4th photo from the 4th month of my blog... This is from pre-dSLR days, but I still like it! And how convenient that the 4th month just happened to be autumn :-)
I tag Angela, MegEvans, Celine (redsie), and AmyM.

On the Road

Imagine that--an official dismount zone! Who would've guessed??

End of the Season

I haven't been out of the house much lately (taking care of R), other than the walk to the mailbox. One of these days I will get out and go shooting. But when Angela posted her End of the Season shots earlier this week, I remembered these from the state park...

I just thought the picnic tables looked like they needed to be in a vintage mode.

Tropical Surprise

Found this protea blossom at the grocery store, and just couldn't resist buying myself a little eye-candy. Doesn't this look like birthday candles, angora yarn, and fancy ribbon all rolled up together??? I fell in love with these in Hawaii, and just can't get over how structural and architectural they are--such an abstract flower!

Beautiful Debris

Saw this in the rain gulley along our street. Amazing how even leafy litter is lovely!

And these---I admit, I am a rockhound, have been since I was a kid. I can't go to the beach without coming home with at least pockets full of rocks; usually more. These are some of my recent favorites, garnered this summer. I love the colors, the lines--wishing rocks and more. My goal next summer is to try to get rocks in the colors of the spectrum, and I know just the beach to find them!

Hunting Season, Anyone?

Looked out the back window this morning, and this is what I saw--my few remaining dahlias being snacked on by one of the pestiferous elk. This was taken from the living room window, 1 floor up....she was too darn close to the house.
Then, some of the rest of the group started drifting in...

Ever been mooned by an elk? Can't miss it, can you?? Yeah, they're cute, but they are a pain in the neck if you are trying to keep a nice yard (no holes, no browsed trees, no decimated flower beds, no trampled shrubbery...)

Finally they wandered over to terrorize my neighbor's yard, but not before I got the "I'm bigger than you are, and am going because I want to go, NOT because you, puny human that you are, have scared me off. I'll be back, along with my friends." And she was--about 15 of them traipsed through the yard 20 minutes later. If only I could work R's air rifle!!! A few stings on the butt might make them detour to the back of our yard, which is deep woods.

The Falls are Full!!

Lots of rain in the last two days mean lots of water in the rivers, and Snoqualmie Falls roaring like a lion. This was taken today, after the river crested... The mist at the Falls is so thick that it's like being in a rain storm, and the voice of the Falls is loud and thunderous. Depending on where you get your info, we had somewhere between 4 3/4" and 6 3/4" of rain yesterday, and about 2 1/2" the day before. Fortunately, today it is dry, which helps everyone living near the river or downstream.
...and the bend of the river near my house, which usually this time of year we can almost walk across on the rocks, is full nearly to the roadway. It's at least 4' higher than normal, but on the way down.

Across the valley

This was the view from the window at the doctor's office the other day. Fall is leaving the valley; the larch and big leaf maples are still hanging on to a last few leaves, but there isn't much color left. The clouds and river mist are starting to hang low, as can be seen on the other side of the valley. We've had a couple of mornings where we've woken up to snow at the very tops of the peaks, but it melts off before you can get excited. Erase all the leaves, and this is what winter looks like here...

Driving by...

I don't have time these days to go out on a shoot, but I did spot this the other day on my way to an appointment with R. Pulled over on the shoulder, rolled down the window, and that satisfied the photo itch for the day!

From the back

Isn't the amount of detail on the back of a leaf amazing? Click to enlarge--it almost looks like skin cells. So cool!! And whoever would've thought that the back of a red leaf would be white?

I love the grand sweep, but it's all in the details

I love fall--maybe it comes from growing up in Michigan, where colors like this were everywhere, and not just where the city planners had planted the trees, but the change of the seasons and the amazing colors thrill me. I love the sweep of color, and the way the same stand of trees change from year to year, depending on the year's weather...
I love the way puddles catch leaves and reflections and become windows...

But most of all, I LOVE the detail in an individual leaf. Each leaf is a masterpiece in and of itself, and just to see the color flow and the veining and the contrast make me feel like I have found a treasure every time I see another gem laying in the grass, or stuck on a rock.

And who can pass up the mushrooms--especially these beauties with their oh-so-wonderfully textured tops? They look like some elf has painstakingly glued styrofoam pieces to them.

Angles 4

Does a twist qualify as an angle? This spider web was fascinating. The only thing that would've made it even more perfect would've been some dew!

And, one more angle reflection....

Out-of-Season Beauty

A friend brought me a bouquet of tulips the other day--such a wonderful splash of color in our grey wet days. This one opened up almost flat, and I just couldn't resist the way the center and stamens (anthers?) floated in a sea of color.

Autumn Birches

Another oldie--never even got out of the house today...too much to do for DH. For those who asked about the boat yesterday: When the tide comes in, the boats ride high. The ball in the foreground is a mooring bouy, and the length of the chain shows how deep the water rises.

Angles 3 and Tag!

It's too wet to be out looking for angles, so this is from earlier this summer, when the tide was out. THIS is the reason why this bay is called Useless Bay...when the tide is out, it is useless for boats, but perfect for beachcombing.

I was tagged by Celine (redsie) yesterday for the Book Tag.

Here’s the rules of the tag:

1. Get the book on your nightstand (or whatever book you are currently reading).

2. Open it to page 56 and find the 5th sentence.

3. Post the next couple of sentences on your blog, along with these instructions.

4. Do not go and find your favorite book, it has to be the one you are reading now!

5. Tag 5 other people to do the same.

I am currently (re)reading "A Rather Lovely Inheritance" by C.A. Belmond:

When it got round to the French will, however, all five of the party raised their heads in alertness and sat closer to the edges of their chairs expectantly. It signalled to me that the French assets were perhaps the more valuable, and this was what the fight was all about.

"My villa in France, including the house and all the property, I leave to Jeremy Laidley. The contents of the house, that is, all remaining furnitre, I leave to my nephew Roland Laidley, Junior. The garage and its entire contents I leave solely to my great-niece and namesake, Penelope Nichols."

I tag: (sorry if you've been tagged already!)

Sharon (linnefaulk)

Chell

Michelle D.

Jewells

Suzy (daxryzay)

Angles 2

Angles are so much more interesting when they are reflected...

Angles