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?

Between the tomatoes and the bird bath!

In my garden today

Living in the Evergreen state, Washington, on the coastal side of the state, we always hope there will be sufficient sunshine for us to ripen the tomatoes in our gardens.  Our wishes are not always granted and many people turn mounds of green tomato in chutney and other tempting delicacies in an effort to not waste that which has taken so much of their time and attention.  For unknown reasons, this year, we have 3 cherry tomato vines, and only one full sized tomato vine ... on which all of the fruit is yet very green. Hands down, the orange colored cherry tomatoes are the sweetest.

Left of the tomato plants is a birth bath.  We never tire of watching our local avian population coming for a brief morning drink, a full on bath or a group of birds arguing over who is going to get the bath next! It's easy to stand motionless and get lost in the simple wonder of watching our visitors. We planted the small tree visible behind the bird bath to enable the smallest of birds to seek cover when the large raptors in our area are threatening.

Picking tomatoes in my garden late this afternoon I was transfixed to see Mt. Rainier framed by the tomato plants and the frame used to hold them vertical.  There between the tomatoes and the bird bath ... another view of "the mountain".  I always say that no matter where you go in this area ... if there is a view of the mountain, it will look different than the one you saw from a different vantage point ... even a few minutes ago.

At the end of my garden on Wednesdays in Summer

Jockeying for the best position

At the end of my garden each Wednesday evening, beginning late in the Spring, sailboats begin to gather. If the wind is up and it looks like a good evening for sailing, the boats begin to gather early and play with the wind until around 6.45pm.  It's then that jockeying for the best position begins and by 6.55pm the stragglers are in place too. Buoy markers show the sailors the race course for the day and promptly at 7pm the sounding of the starting gun echoes across the bay. It's a little like a moving tapestry as the boats vie for the best place in the wind, try to block each others wind, see if they can get a good lead before rounding the first buoy ... and it's all played against the backdrop of this stunning body of water that is Puget Sound with Mt. Rainier (often, but certainly not always) overlooking all.  On a recent evening the fickle wind refused to blow and instead it was "a float": lots of limp and flapping sails with reflections of the boats showing clearly in the water.   Another Wednesday in the life of the Corinthian Yacht Club's Wednesday race.

Corinthian Yacht Club's Wednesday night race

When Nature Amazes one more time!

What kind of moth could this be?

Indian Paintbrush flowers at Paradise, Mt. Rainier

Bear Grass at Mt. Rainier

Not one, or two, or even ten,  but a field of Avalanche lilies

Living, as I do, in the Pacific Northwest corner of the United States, being overwhelmed by yet another astounding display by Mother Nature is not a rare occurence.  The mountain at the end of my garden provides almost daily opportunities for "Would you look at THAT!" experiences ... that is except when it isn't visible at all.
Late one evening a week ago there was a great fluttering in my kitchen and when it stopped the amazing moth, in the first image, was resting on the terra cotta colored wall. The blue "eyes" on it's wings one almost expected to blink ... so eye-like were they.  My grandchildren were here for overnight so we captured the creature in a container and released it the next morning for them to see, and for them watch it fly away.  But not before we had captured its photo.  I'm sure someone knows what kind of moth it is ... but I haven't found anyone who knows - yet!
Then last week on a three day stay at the lodge at Paradise, in the Mt. Rainier National Park we experienced the wonder of wildflowers that magically appear as the snows melt ... but this year it was carpets of wildflowers. Never before had I seen more than a few Avalanche lilies in one place. But this year just above the lodge on the way to Myrtle Falls I came across a huge field of them ... it was heartstoppingly beautiful. 
I'm always amazed when the throngs of people who come to "see" the areas around Mt. Rainier ... seem dogged in their pursuit of getting to the end of a trail, or to a certain peak, or to see it all ... totally miss the small things at their feet ... like a field of lilies or the perfume of the lupine carpeting a hillside.

I probably took enough photos for all the people who just trotted on by .... and Nature left me amazed one more time. Little did I know that when I took the photo below of the single avalanche lily, amazing in it's isolation and perfect beauty, there was a whole field waiting for just up the path.