I See You!

Heading out to pick some tomatoes from my garden this morning, I was startled by this little toad trying to blend in on the arm of a patio chair.  He didn't think I could see him, I suppose, because he let me come in real close with my 10+macro filter.  I got about a dozen shots, but this one had the best focus on his eye.  (I love that his eye looks like a copper coin from some ancient civilization!) He never budged the entire time, except for that breathing flap under his chin.  Eventually he figured out I could see him, and he hopped into the tomato bush.  I'll pick the tomatoes later on this afternoon.

Linking to Weekend Reflections.

Thin Slice

Right now I'm listening to the audiobook Blink by Malcolm Gladwell, and he's just discussed the concept of thin slicing, which is a way we gather a lot of information in a very small slice of observation. It's quite effective for the most part, but of course doesn't always work. The drive to the campus today was just one of those times. Patchy fog was lingering. Lots of elevation change in this area, and it was such a thin layer of fog that it was sunny and clear both below by the highway and above at the campus. The thin little band of fog gives a very deceptive view of our weather, but it did make for a nice range of value in such a small space!

Lacy Duck Pond

Today I found a new parking area to access the Salmon Creek Trail. This little pond sits adjacent to the creek along the trail. I was eyeing it on my way out, the algae a bright green and the water reflecting the trees on the far side, but didn't stop for a photo. On the way back though, the back lighting made for a ready-made black and white. Guess I just liked how the algae looked like lace in this light.

Setting Goals

Coming back to the blog after a summer break, I set a goal for myself: to post everyday for the next few months at least.  Even if my photo is just a quick snapshot like today.  I can see it will be challenging, because I've gotten myself busy with some other projects, and now (drum roll...very exciting news) we've purchased a house!  I'm sticking with my goal though.  At least for now.  I like the self-discipline of it, and the habit-creating potential for me, and the fact that eventually I'll have to make time for a few photo field trips.  I've got some busy months ahead of me, so as for the photo goal, one day at a time.

Late Bloomer

Caught between seasons here.  It's starting to feel like fall, but it still looks a lot like late summer.

Reading the Leaves

Falling leaves were making interesting patterns on the pavement when I was walking Clover and Georgie yesterday. I was imagining it as some sort of code, like reading tea leaves. If there was a message to be found, then maybe they were warning me that a downpour would arrive once we reached our furthest point from home.  I was totally unprepared; no rain gear. One good thing I learned though: my camera fits in a doggy bag! 

Quite Time

Nothing like a nice quiet walk in the woods to refresh the spirit! 

I was expecting more fall color by this time in October, especially given our extra dry summer, but I'm glad that our recent rains have greened up the moss a little.

Turning Over a New Leaf

Or rather, an old leaf revisited. It's been building for a few weeks now.  My break from the blog is coming to an end, and I'm feeling really good about it.  Refreshed, inspired, ready to learn again, to create, and to connect. 

Mirror Lake

One of many Mirror Lakes, I'm sure.  This one reflecting Mt. Adams,  near the Bird Lake Meadow trail head. The photo was taken during my hike in late June, and lost in draft mode on my blog.  I think I was saving it for a weekend reflection and then forgot.  After a really hot summer, it has cooled off a bit here, and we've had some rain, so Mt. Adams happens to be looking about this snowy again.

Linking to Weekend Reflections

Kite Festival Reflection

Another view of the Kite Festival last week in Long Beach, Washington.  I keep holding onto the idea of a reflected scene with kites, trying this shot both last year and this year. And somehow it never comes out how I am imagining it. I think this photo is sort of interesting, but just fell short of my expectations, and I'm not sure what conditions should make it workable as a strong photo concept. Maybe if the shoreline were at a different angle to the festival, or if the shoreline and sun angle were different. Here that would mean closer to sunset, and it would also need to be low tide. So maybe I haven't given up on this shot yet, and I'll try again next August...

Linking to Weekend Reflections

Kite Festival

No shortage of kite festivals up and down the coast during the summer months.  The Washington State International Kite Festival in Long Beach is one of the larger ones, encompassing two weekends in the week long festivities.  We headed to Long Beach on Saturday to enjoy the beach and the kites.  Beautiful weather in the 70s and the water was warm (relatively speaking).  The winds were out of the northeast that day, which really blanketed the entire western part of the state in smoke from all the fires still burning in central Washington. 

Clarity

During our boat tour of Crater Lake, I was interested to learn that the lake is fed almost entirely by rain or snow in the caldera basin (this little waterfall was the only one I saw on our boat trip.)  The average snowfall at Crater Lake is 43 feet.  That's AVERAGE!  Last year they only had 21 feet of snow, which still seems like an awful lot.  The lake drains out slowly through an underground pumice section on one wall, so there is very little fluctuation in water level.  Given its confined water source, the lake water is extremely pure.  In fact, when the tour ended we filled our water bottles in the lake before our hike back up to the rim!  It's this clarity that helps give Crater Lake its trademark blue.  Water, without any sediments, algae, pollution, etc. can absorb all colors of the light spectrum except blue. And with 4.6 trillion gallons of water in the lake, there is a lot of blue to reflect!  The area photographed here is in one of the few shallow sections near the shore.  Our boat tour stopped here to talk about the water clarity, because it was so easy to see the lake bottom for a bit before it plunged over 1000 ft.  Crater Lake holds the record for clarity.  They measure it with a secchi disk, which looks like a pie with four alternating black and white slices.  The disk is attached to a rope and lowered into the water.  And the record for viewing the secchi disk is at a depth of 134 ft!

Llao

One of the highlights of our trip to Crater Lake was the ranger-guided boat tour around the lake.  This photo, taken during our boat tour, shows the section of the mountain, Llao, thought to be the origin of the eruption 7,700 years ago.  It also shows the fabulous shade of blue that Crater Lake is known for.  More on the shade of blue tomorrow.  For today, Llao.  According to stories passed down by the Klamath tribe which resided in the area at the time of the eruption, Llao, the god of the underworld became unhappy with the tribe, beginning roughly 300 years before the eruption.  The tribe tried a variety of things to appease Llao, but he wasn't to be calmed.  They appealed to Skell, god of the sky.  Skell descended to Mount Shasta in Northern California, and Skell and Llao had it out.  Skell was victorious, burying Llao forever beneath the volcano.  Before the eruption, Mount Mazama stood at over 12,000 ft.  After Llao was buried, the height of the mountain was halved, and the deepest lake in the US was born.  Crater Lake sits at an elevation of about 6,000 feet, and extends over 1,900 feet below water level. 

Crater Lake Sunrise

We're just back from a fun camping trip to Crater Lake National National Park.  This sunrise photo was taken our first morning in the park.  Crater Lake is the deepest fresh water lake in the US.  It fills the basin of a collapsed volcano, which erupted and emptied its magma chamber over 7,700 years ago.  At an elevation of roughly 6000 ft, it was a brisk 46 degrees at sunrise!

Mount St. Helens

Mount St. Helens, looking a little apocalyptic in a haze created by the Lake Chelan fire currently burning in eastern Washington.  Last year we visited here as the wildflowers were starting to bloom.  This year we overshot, with the main bloom of prairie lupine already past.  Too early, then too late.  Next year I hope to get it just right!