Mellow Yellow Monday #27 - Final Bloom

Not many flowers are left at the Okanogan house. It's getting too dry and the flowers are dying out. I was able to find this lone soldier still reaching for the sun.


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Going Back to Poland!

I'm excited because I'm going back to Augustow, Poland. I leave next weekend. I know I won't have much free time to sight see since I'll only be there for a week to give some training. Nevertheless, the Nikon will be going along because you never know what you might see! I was so frustrated with the little Sony Cybershot I used before but it was better than nothing at all. It will be nice to have the Nikon with me and a telephoto lens or two.

Remember, this is what northeastern Poland looked like the last time I was there in February. Cold and snowy. I can't wait to see it in the summertime!

Snow, snow, and MORE snow!

That's 28 degs F! And this was a warm day!

I will be staying in a different hotel on this trip and hopefully will have better Internet access so I can post pictures during my time there.

Camera Critters #66 - Ahh, Grasshopper

The fields around the Okanogan house are filling up fast with grasshoppers again.

Last year, I thought they were a nuisance. This year the grasshoppers became photo opportunities. :-)



While the photo quality is nowhere near as good as koand's, he sure was an inspiration for me to take these pictures. Dziękuję bardzo, koand!

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Skywatch Friday #52 - 4th of July Weekend

I saw many interesting skies while in Okanogan for the weekend of July 4th. Ever since I started participating in Skywatch Friday, my head is in the clouds. Sort of. I'm forever looking upward instead of forward which could be dangerous. Hey! As long as I'm NOT driving it's okay. Right?

I'll start you off with Saturday afternoon. We are in a popular flight path for airliners flying high overhead. I'm always seeing their contrails streaking across the sky. I captured this interesting signature left in the sky by 3 jets.

The Mark of Zorro

As evening fell, we headed south to Brewster to watch the fireworks. Boy did the sky look like it was on fire as the sun dropped down behind the Cascade Mountains. It was spectacular!

Old Farm Equipment at Sunset

Sunset over the Cascades

Sunday brought a different viewpoint at sunset but still not disappointing.

Soft Glow Behind Trees

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In memory of John Donahoo, November 5, 1961 - July 2, 2009. I hope you were watching down on us from these skies.

Another Award!

Amanda at Paper Scraps & Picture Passion, who also happens to be my neighbor in Okanogan, recently bestowed an award to me and my blog.

Thanks, Amanda, for thinking of me! I enjoy Amanda's blog, not only for the great scrapbook pages she creates, but also for the pictures she posts. I love being able to "keep in touch" through her blog since we aren't full-time residents...yet.

So now I have to pass the award on. I tried tracing it back to its origins for more information including how many people show I give this to? However, many people have received this award and I just didn't have the time to track all of the links.

Since I couldn't find the answer to my question, I'll decide for myself. And I'm picking just one this time around.

I am passing on the One Lovely Blog Award to Susan at the Rialta Road Runner. Yeah, I'm practicing nepotism, but I'm really proud of the lovely job my mom is doing with her new blog. She and her travel mates have had a rough start to their trip, but I know they shall prevail and the rest of their trip will be awesome.

My mom is my inspiration in most things I do and I feel like the luckiest daughter in the world. Thanks, love and many hugs, Mom!

Remember Whensday No. 5 - The Shark Hunter

This week, I'm sharing a picture of my son, Gregg, taken in the summer of 1988. We took a camping family vacation to Myrtle Beach, SC. Gregg went surf fishing and caught a sand shark. He was mighty excited about his shark.


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My World Tuesday #39 - Fireworks

This past Saturday night, Karl and I along with our neighbors and friends, went to see the fireworks display put on the by the small town of Brewster. From our vantage point overlooking the town and Columbia River, we watched in awe of the pyrotechnic prowess being performed.

I also learned more about nighttime photography thanks to Karl and his patience. Or maybe it was me being more receptive to the lesson being taught. Either way, I had fun taking pictures of the fireworks.

Lots of Fireworks!

The Grand Finale

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Mellow Yellow Monday #26 - Truly Yellow Train

Not only was the train engine yellow, so were the cars, the crane on it, and the "caboose"!

This was an interesting train to say the least. The shape of the engine was unique. I've never seen anything like it before.

Can't miss this one!

Would you call this a caboose?

Drowsey Monkey hosts Mellow Yellow Monday for us each week. To see other mellow shots or to share your own, click on the badge below.

Happy Fourth of July!

Recent events around the world have made me appreciate the freedoms that we have here in the U.S. and in many other countries around the world.

Yet for some people, freedom of speech, freedom to take photos, the ability to travel freely around and the freedom to blog and share these experiences are just wishful thinking. I can only pray and hope that one day they, too, will experience these same freedoms.

Old Glory

Camera Critters #65 - Buzz Buzz

This little fellow was hard to capture. He kept flitting between the flowers, which I think were morning glories.

Yummmm...tasty!

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Skywatch #51 - Early Seattle Morning

Captured two Saturday mornings ago around 5:30 a.m.

Space Needle in Downtown Seattle

Mount Rainier
Peek-a-boo, I see you!

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Cedar Waxwings Speed Dating

Patiently Waiting

Incoming!

Hey Baby, do you come here often?

You call that a pickup line?! Take a hike.

Next!

Remember Whensday No. 4 - Karl & the Trout

This week, I've got another picture of Karl, this time from June 1983.

He was camping at Diamond Lake in Oregon with his family including his brother-in-law, Tim, and father-in-law.

Apparently it was just your average camping trip. Nothing special to recall except they also fished the Umpqua River and Tim, who was about 10 years old at the time, caught a nice river trout.

Karl and his Trout Catch

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My World Tuesday #38 - Ice Caves

On Sunday, and friend and I went up to the ice caves along the Mountain Loop Highway east of Granite Falls, WA. The caves form at the base of Big Four Mountain.

The trail reopened on Saturday after floods washed away the bridge over the south fork of the Stillaguamish River in 2006.

According to the US Forest Service website, the new aluminum bridge was prefabricated in Florida and trucked to the site in June. A helicopter flew the seven bridge sections into place and workers assembled it in about a week. The entire construction took about five weeks.

Big Four Mountain, elevation 6,135 ft (1,870m)

New Footbridge across the Stilly

I had never been before so I figured why not go? Me and hundreds of other people. Luckily, Leslie and I arrived early, around 10:30 a.m., and started the mile trek towards the base of Big Four Mountain. Here at the bottom of the north wall is the lowest elevation glacier in the lower 49 states.

Glacier at the Base of Big Four

The ice caves are formed in late summer by streams flowing down the mountain and running under the snow field that is created by winter avalanches.

Warning Sign Along the Trail

Since it is still early summer, we only saw the snow field and numerous waterfalls. No visible ice caves have formed as of this day.

Large Waterfall at the Top of the Glacier

Several More Waterfalls on the Adjacent Rock Face

One section of the trail is still damaged from winter storms and avalanches. You can see in the picture below the fallen trees we encountered.

Look at the Size of the People on the Trail Compared to the Trees

I did see some wonderful greenery along the trail including these two specimens:

Almost Hosta-Like Leaves

Gigantic Leaves Along the Trail

The root system for this tree that had fallen was amazing. The photo doesn't do it justice.

Intricate Weave of Roots

I guess I will have to take a trip back later in the summer to see the actual ice caves.

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