Weekly Top Shot

We used to live near this little dairy farm - and on one of our last sunny days before the rains came, we drove past again.  This is my favorite view, from the hillside above.  The dairy is still run by a little lady - about 80 - who wears a padded vest and hat with ear flaps almost all year long.  She tends to all the needs of her dairy herd and is always read to help out neighbors if they need it.  

Weekly Top Shot  

Random 5 Friday

It's been quite a week - and it isn't quite over yet.  Five  things?  I could do a hundred, but I'll try and stick to five.

1. It is the beginning of a new year for us - our 50th year of marriage.  We had our 49th anniversary on Wednesday - and now we are embarking on year 50.  We were 18 and 20 when we got married - my mom said it wouldn't last 6 months (where did she come up with that "logic"?)  We've lasted 98 times longer than that - and enjoyed every minute of it.

Free picture of the full moon

2.  Someone had a question for me, not too long ago, after reading one of my blog posts.  Her question was "don't you two ever do anything that isn't fun?"  Now that seemed like a strange question to me - but I've been pondering it since then, and I have to say, that the answer is "No, not on purpose."  Whenever we set out to do something we always look for a surprise happening - or a special moment - or a chance to share something special together.  Even a trip to the grocery store can be fun if you are looking for fun.  If you are looking for cranky then I'm pretty sure you might find it.  I'm not the biggest fan of shopping, so sometimes I have to work on finding the good in a shopping trip (unless it is to a thrift store, then the fun comes automatically in all the wondrous finds).

Like this little punkin fairy

3. Next month it will be 50 years since we met, at a soda fountain in a small town in Alaska.  I was working at Neil Andersen's Drug Store after school and on weekends, and Don was new in town, come from Wisconsin to earn money for his next year of college.  Love at first sight for both of us - and it continues.

4.  We had a fabulous weekend before our anniversary - a trip to Birch Bay State Park, and the town of  Birch Bay - and this picture of a lifetime of a heron taking off.  That was Saturday - Sunday Don cleaned the gutters and powerwashed them on the outside - they look fabulous and he was soaked when he got done - which made us and our grandson Ben laugh.  It was a great weekend.

That heron photo was amazing - and I cried when I saw what I had captured - then I laughed - then it all mixed together - what a shot!!

Because sometimes I get just the tail end

But sometimes I get the whole thing

And even a lovely close-up

5. It is supposed to rain all weekend - but we'll figure out something fun to do.  Fridays Don gets off work early, by working longer days the other four days of the week - so we always have some kind of adventure on  Friday afternoons.  I'll let you know later what we did - because we always do something that is fun.  
To start out our Friday today - he is picking me up at noon and then we are going to Blaine - right on the  Canadian border, where he has a short business project to take care of - I'll take my crocheting along (I'm working on a round tablecloth in fine thread - pineapple design) and wait in the car until he is done with his meeting - and then we'll start our weekend in  Blaine and work our way down back home.

Maybe we'll see a Kingfisher

Or a Heron fishing for dinner

Or a Dragonfly visiting a barn - probably not - too rainy.  Do dragonflies fly in the rain?

Or see Mt. Baker - though not likely - rain and clouds will keep her hidden all weekend - this may be one of the last summer photos of Mt. Baker for this year - any day soon now the snow will start. Mt. Baker is over 10,000 feet and snow falls early up there.

Or a heron gliding in for a landing

Or see the same Heron  looking like he's dancing when landing on a piling

Or maybe do something silly - like take pictures with Buddy E and a phone - whatever we do, I know it will be fun.   I'd better get a picnic packed - we might have to have a car picnic - but picnics in any weather always make the food taste better.

What fun things do you have planned for this weekend?

Random5Friday  

Smile It's Friday  

Signs, Signs

I haven't done this one for a while - but saw this cute sign the other day.

It appears to me that the rooster is selling the eggs.

Signs, Signs 

Horses

Lately I've been finding more horses in the fields.  Do they go someplace else in the summer?  Do people just have new horses now?  Whatever it is - I love getting a chance to see them.

Mother and baby

It was interesting how the wind would catch the mother's tail when she would flick it at flies

Then we came across these speckled horses and a big brown horse

I'd never seen speckled horses before.

Rurality  
Ready To Waltz  
 

Hydrangeas

I remember the first time I ever saw a hydrangea - I was 18 and had just arrived in Fort Worth, Texas from Alaska - Don and I got married there the next week.  His dad was driving us around to help us find an apartment and I saw the biggest, bluest hydrangea.  Coming directly from Alaska I had no idea what it was, but I knew I loved it.  Since then I've had hydrangeas in my yard, plus I've taken photos of them every chance I got.  This summer I made sure to stop and take pictures of any hydrangeas that I saw.

Hydrangeas look great with Purple Cone Flower

All by themselves in a big yard

Or tucked into a garden

This is my favorite mosaic of all

Cottage Style Party   

Cottage Garden Party  

HERON!!!!!!!

Heron on Birch Bay!!

Took my breath away!

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Weekly Top Shot  

Heron - Of Course

Drayton Harbor - one of our favorite places to go on a sunny day, on a rainy day, on a warm day, on a cold day, on a windy day - one of our favorite places. 

If the tide is right - there are herons to be found

The problem is finding a place to pull over to safely get photos

This section of the harbor has narrow, twisty roads and almost no shoulder on the roads, so we count ourselves extremely lucky when the herons perch on rocks near a clearing where we can park.

As I zoom in on the heron I see that his coloring is darker than most of the herons that we usually see

He didn't seem too interested in fishing for dinner, perhaps he had caught his fill earlier

Something flew over and caught his eye

The feathers are beautiful

Now those sharp eyes are searching for food

Rurality    Oh The Places I've Been 

Scenic Weekend    Weekend Reflection