Awakening

Well, I'm finally coming out of hibernation...such a long absence on the blog!  My last photo was snowy, and this scene in eastern Washington (somewhere between Richland and Walla Walla) looks like early summer.  We're actually still in spring here, and it's been an overcast, rainy, and colder than usual spring which is why I've not been out with my camera much.  I think that's about to change because we've got sunshine all week so wildflowers should really start blooming soon!  As for today's photo...I can't resist an occasional puffy cloud, cheery sky photo.  And when I was in eastern Washington earlier this week it was still gloomy and drizzly west of the gorge, so this sunshine was something to savor! It also happened to be super windy, which shows a bit on the crops that are all bending in the wind.  Sorry to not know what is growing here; I forgot to take a close look. At the time I was more interested in the wheat growing along the edge of the field; leftover from last season, and the fact that the "soil" seemed to be mostly sand.

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!  

On the Horizon

Well it's starting to look like summer in the gorge! I don't get to photograph Mt. Adams very often. It's barely visible from my town, and even then only from the higher elevations. Of the three volcanoes near the Columbia Gorge, Mt. Hood and Mount St. Helens are mainly what we see. But on Saturday we were in Trout Lake, gateway town to Mt. Adams, and the weather was 'picture perfect'! So of course I made time for some photography as we drove through. As an added bonus we had so much snow in the mountains this year, Mt. Adams is still almost completely covered, with summer only days away.

Merry Christmas

Happy Holidays to all my blog friends. 

Winter

 Blueberry field at noon.

The Beaten Path

My preferred walking route with Clover, and our dusting of snow this past week, which brightened up the scene a bit. This field/young woods is fun to explore, and Clover gets some off-leash time, but in the winter the field gets really soggy because this soil tends toward clay. My snow boots worked great, but in warmer weather I need some waterproof shoes that can handle both water and hills. 

Fence Line

Another view of the Walla Walla Valley, after a rare summer rain. The clouds were just beginning to clear in this scene so it has one of my favorite lighting combinations of a weak sunlight on greenery and storm clouds. And yes, if you look closely you can see the fence line dividing the green and brown fields.

Linking to Good Fences.

A Lake of Fine Clear Water

Here's a broader view of part of the camas field at Lacamas Park.  The entire "path" through the field happened to also be a small stream of water that leads to a waterfall a short distance from the field, so it's a muddy walk in the spring.  I read a Lewis and Clark quote about how a camas field looks like a lake from the distance, and I agree, although I don't think I captured that illusion very well with my photo.  The quote, which I'm recording second hand, appears to be from their time head back east in the Weippe (WEE-ipe) Prairie in Idaho.  I'm including the reference info, although I can't personally validate it. 

 the quawmash is now in blume at a Short distance it resemhles a lake of fine clear water, So complete is this deseption that on first Sight I could have Sworn it was water. ..." 

[Clark, June 12, 1806, at Weippe Prairie, Idaho]

Waves of Green

Here's a good Palouse example of the freshly planted grain next to the unplanted rows.