Early Bloomer

I thought this might have been the prettiest tulip yesterday at the Holland America Bulb farm. It certainly stood the tallest in a 'notice me' sort of way. One thing that shows up pretty well in this photo is that the tulips are really just starting to bloom. Maybe in a week or so the fields will be in full bloom, and then I won't need to use this narrow focus close up framing that works so well for individual flowers. 

Spring Showers

We've been getting a lot of rain this week. Not a bad thing for this time of year, plus I've been wanting to get a more rainy version of my closeup tulip photo.  Timing the weather has been tricky though.  Ideally I would photograph in a light drizzle or just after it finished raining, and I've been second guessing myself about photo opportunities all week.  Today I just went for it. I left this morning in a light drizzle for Holland America Bulb Farm in nearby Woodland, and by the time I got out in the field with my camera I was standing in a driving rain.  I had raincoat, umbrella, and puddle boots, but still managed to get drenched and hope I kept my camera dry enough!  I like the photos though, and I'll probably post several (I really hope you guys don't get tired of seeing tulips here this month!) The rain is actually visible in the photos, although not so much in this one.  Just one streak in the upper center of the frame. 

View out my window

...On a very rainy day!  Perfect day to stay inside and work on a project.  I'm hurrying like crazy to finish up costumes for Sakuracon in April, so I didn't mind the rain at all today as I sewed.  This branch was leaning against the dining room window, where I was working, and I thought it made for an interesting study in focus.

Fences

Photo taken on the same high cloud day as my other red barn post on March 14. Just posting this one today as part of a Good Fences meme running every Thursday on Run A Round Ranch Report.  Plenty of fences in this scene, but it was the white fence (and of course the red barn!) that caught my eye.  This photo was taken pretty close to the Columbia River on the Washington side. I think a tiny bit of the river might be visible along the horizon line just under the distant hills. Those far hills, by the way, are in Oregon.

Out In the Field

I visited Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm later in the morning when the light was getting too bright for photography, but I had pretty good luck with these rows of red and white tulips; I'm not sure why, but the light doesn't look too harsh in these photos.  Yesterday's was taken from the opposite direction, with the sun almost directly facing the red flowers, while in today's photo the flowers are backlit. I think this photo really shows the state of the field, with some rows in bloom and others preparing.   One thing I learned about tulip fields that really surprised me is that they dig up the bulbs every year and replant them in the fall, rotating locations of the different varieties to help with disease, insects, erosion, etc. and they cut all flowers before any petals drop, also to prevent disease. There were lots of workers in the field when I was there on Monday. I just never considered the extent to which tulip field maintenance is a year round job!  

Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm

It's getting very close to tulip time up here.  Yesterday I headed over to the Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm in Woodburn to see the progress in the fields.  I would say about half the rows are starting to bloom, so maybe by next weekend they will be in full bloom.  The farmers told me that cold weather will prolong the bloom season, and since the weather turned colder and wetter today and this forecast continues through the weekend, I'm hoping for a long bloom season.  I have three different farms to visit in Oregon and Washington over the course of this month, so I'll get a lot of practice photographing tulips and keep some nice spring color up on the blog!

In the Weeds

I know this teasel is such a pesky weed around here, but it's such an interesting photography subject that I have a hard time staying away from it. 

Outside the Shopping Center

On a sunny Sunday afternoon,

A little Sweet Gum struggles toward spring. 

Almost Spring

The spring weather is showing up a little early here, with sunny skies and cheery clouds all week.  Those of you who follow the blog regularly know I have a fondness for red barns.  And in this weather, there was no way I wasn't stopping to photograph this idyllic scene!

Crow in the Negative Space

I was up in Seattle again this week.  This time job-hunting with my older son.  We stopped at an office along the ship canal west of Lake Union.  I had never been to this stretch of Seattle before, and I found the ship canal to be fascinating.  Full of wildlife and full of industry, and completely tucked away from the rest of Seattle at the same time.   I enjoyed pulling out my camera and taking some photos while I was waiting for my son.  This crow landed in the tree right next to my park bench, and so perfectly filled the negative space that I couldn't help but photograph it.  I expect to still be very inconsistent about photo-blogging for the next few weeks, but hope to be posting regularly again soon.  Thanks for your patience while I take a break from the blog this month.

Rain in Portland

So much weather to photograph here!  The last of our heavy rain systems rolled through midday today when we were driving in downtown Portland.  I tried photographing people crossing with umbrellas or on bikes, but those shots didn't turn out so well. This one ended up being the best 'through my rainy windshield' photo (#3).

On the Ferry

I haven't been doing that much photography this winter.  Guess I'm just needing a break and wanting to focus on some other things right now.  I'm posting this photo from my Seattle/Whidbey Island trip a few weeks ago, mainly because I don't want to leave that horrible slush photo at the top of my blog.  Also, this is a photo I would have posted if it hadn't snowed.  I was driving our little car during this trip, and I think that's why I was directed to the outer edge of the ferry.  I was really happy with my location though, because I had a window view out to the Sound without even leaving my car!  As the ferry pulled away from the dock, these piers starting moving and caught my eye so I just rolled down my window and took some photos.  I hope to get out with my camera again in the next week or so.  Until then, I'll be getting all kinds of stuff taken care of around here. 

Side Streets

I was watching the local news the other night and I heard a Portland city official asked why they don't plow the side streets.  He said it would cost the city $300 million dollars in extra employees.  If that's true, then it hardly seems worth it to plow the side streets given the rarity of a big storm like this.  It didn't make it any easier to get up our street last week though.  This photo was taken yesterday afternoon when the well-worn travel ruts had completely melted.  It rained all night, so this morning there wasn't any snow left.  As fun as the big snow was, have to say I'm happy to see it gone!

Snowy Branches

A graphic photo from our peak snow day over the weekend.  By the time it stopped snowing, we got 12 inches!  It's much warmer now and not looking nearly so pretty around here today.  Maybe if I can get an interesting slush photo I'll post it in the near future.  In the meantime, everyone is happy to get back to business as usual.

Anna's Hummingbird

Here's one of my little Anna's Hummingbirds (not to be confused with my daughter, Anna.)  Anna's Hummingbird is the name of this species native to the West Coast.  I was surprised to find them last winter in California, and even more surprised to see them around my house here in Washington last month.  I immediately put a hummingbird feeder out.  This particular hummingbird is my favorite of all the ones that visit.  She has taken to sitting in the tree that is planted directly in front of my kitchen window.  This is her favorite branch.  I wish I could have photographed her without the large yellow branch out of focus in the foreground, but I never found a good angle from outside.  Anyway, since there are no takers on my birdhouse so far, I'm hoping she is scouting out this tree as a location for her nest this spring.