On a morning like this ...

On a morning like this ... not a cloud in the sky

As the sun rises, the air becomes a little hazy and suddenly across the bay the sun hits the windows of a building in downtown Tacoma creating blindingly bright patterns in the bay.

So still is the water even the steam from the St. Regis pulp mill is reflected in the bay.

And as suddenly at the building is illuminated and the reflections spread ... they start to fade as the sun moves higher in the sky.

              Another morning of amazing pageantry played out across Commencement Bay ...
              at the end of my garden.

At the end of my garden this morning

A very different view awaited us, at the end of my garden, this morning.  Rain had been predicted to fall last night. Rumor had it that Northwesterners were counting the number of days we have not had any rain fall! It was to cap at 49: however there was no rain last night ! Maybe a 1950s record of 50 straight days without rain will be broken after all. Fifteen minutes after I took the last of the 3 mountain photos ... no mountain showing at all ... just heavy clouds.

Early morning clouds above and below Mt. Rainier

Clouds coming up from the foothills, clouds coming down from above

Weather coming down on the NW side of the mountain.

Meanwhile a lone robin looks for water and maybe company?

Surprise at sunrise

I won this bell in a raffle 30 years ago! I belonged to the "I never win anything" group until that moment and whenever I feel a "I never win anything" moment coming on I look at this amazing sculpture, created by Tom Torrens, of cedar posts, metal arch and a "bell" made from a former oxygen tank (Tom was recycling long before it was broadly practiced ) and remember this really big win!  It has graced our patio since that time.  You may have seen images of Mt. Rainier through the circle of metal suspending the bell from the arch?
A few mornings ago, with the brand new smell, and noticeable chill , of autumn in the air, we wakened to dewy windows and with a blind down to protect our eyes from the blinding sunshine of sunrise, a ghostly bell made its impression on our blind! One of those surprise images that you probably couldn't create if you tried a thousand ways!

Who do YOU see in the clouds overhead?

Do you ever look upwards at a sky filled with amazing clouds and find yourself speechless with delight at the show Mother Nature is putting on ... just for you? Well maybe not just for you, but there's no harm in pretending it's just for your enjoyment, that show of extraordinary colors and shapes, as you watch entranced. And of course you also realize that it can change in a second with a playful wind blowing the clouds, or a rain storm spilling out of a cloud. Such was the case last week one evening when clouds transformed the late afternoon sky. But it was the final frame, before dark, that set my imagination on fire - once again.  Look, I said to my granddaughter, can you see the lady with the long hair swimming her way across the sky with her hair trailing behind her?  Not really Nanna, she replied thoughtfully,  I hope we will have lots more opportunities to find more fanciful figures among the clouds.

Do you see the woman, swimming across the sky, with her hair streaming behind her?