Shadow Play

Hundreds of little eclipse shadows filtering through the trees, as the moon starts to get out of the way.  I read that the tree leaves are working as a pinhole camera, and that this is not unique to eclipse lighting; that we are always seeing little suns in effect, filtering through the tree light, but they show up as round spots which seems rather nondescript.  Could be.  It's something I will try to pay more attention to.  At the very least I would say that whatever light normally filters through the trees looks so usual as to not attract any attention at all.  For me at least. These eclipse shadows were something that we noticed when my family observed a partial eclipse in California a few years ago, so we were looking forward to observing it again this time.  The other thing we noticed, which was also repeated in last week's eclipse, was that you can see individual hairs on your head in shadow.  I wanted to photograph that too, but it seemed like I could only see them as I was walking.  Every time I stopped to take a photo, the detailed shadows disappeared. 

Eclipse

The view from WSU-Vancouver.  I think we were at 99% coverage, 

but the effect was really cool in my camera!

Bedtime

Sunset building on the western edge of San Juan Island. That's Victoria B.C. on the horizon.

One thing about camping is that you tend to sleep and rise with the sun.

And that was especially true for the rising part, because our camping was done as a farm stay,

and the farm had three roosters...each with its own distinct crow

...and its own internal alarm clock.

The earliest riser started his crowing at 4am. so that sort of gets you stirring!

Also there was no campfire area, I guess because it is a working farm and so they are

worried about fires when things get dry in the summer.  That was the only bad part.

When it's dark, it's dark. Time for bed.

Of course this far north in the summer, the sun sets after 9:30 and it's not dark for another hour,

so all in all it was a pretty good bedtime.

Out Standing in My Field

Ok, so it's not my field ... and yes, it's an awful pun ...
but it is the field that drew us up to the San Juan Islands last month.

That's because I'm the trip planner at my house, and I happen to love lavender.

I don't have a field. I have a tiny hedgerow along my driveway.  

Actually...it's more potential than hedgerow.  

And I wanted to make sure I was shaping it up just right. 

So that it can grow up to be a hedgerow someday.

Mid-July was the Lavender Festival at Pelindaba Lavender in Friday Harbor.

As far as festivals go, it has a lot to learn! You need more than a bunch of craft booths and a band. 

I wanted to see a demonstration on extracting lavender oil, but we missed that, 

so all in all it was kind of a bust. Other than it smelled wonderful! 

And Bill got some lavender ice cream.

The photography was so so because it was hot and bright and the whole island is one big ball of glare, so photography after 8am and before 6pm is almost a waste of time. 

And we were glamping which was really fun, so I wasn't inclined to get up early with my camera ...

 the draw of fresh coffee on a camp stove! 

But we did get to visit the San Juans in July which wouldn't have happened otherwise!  

The Bright Spot

Sometimes you have to look a little bit,

but it's always there.

Friday Harbor at sunset.

Linking to Weekend Reflections.

Taking Shape

Mooring dophins for the ferries,

reflected in the ripply water,

waiting for the next ferry to arrive.