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Wednesday, May 25, 2016

T-Bird

When you are driving down the road and you see this - you just have to follow

 Fortunately the car made a stop at a little 
country market so we could catch up

It looked like there were bullet holes 
in the side of the car 


Nice ride.

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Fire Fighting by Helicopter

On the day that we drove out to Deming to look for the irises we noticed smoke coming 
up from a nearby mountain

 Then we saw the fire fighting helicopter - dragging a tank behind it - heading for the Nooksack river to dip up water 
 Coming in   -  Water loaded    -    Flying back to                                                        the fire
 The buckets are dipped into the river and can hold up to 12,000 gallons - depending on the power of the helicopter to lift the loaded buckets
 Flying back for another load - we watched as the helicopter made 8 trips to the river
 The empty bucket swings out behind the helicopter on the way to the river, then the bucket is lowered into the river - the helicopter disappears behind the trees
 Lifting the load from the river, the helicopter is right in front of The Sisters Mountains

 Water spray can be seen coming 
from the loaded bucket
The fire extinguished, the helicopter lands at the nearby high school

It was amazing to watch the precision flying of the helicopter to load water for fire fighting.  
We are thankful for the work these amazing 
pilots do to protect our forest.

Monday, May 23, 2016

Iris Time

Near Deming, WA there is a small plot of irises.  A sweet lady grows them every year and takes orders for the tubers, to be delivered in the Autumn.  We decided to take a ride out to see if they were in bloom yet and we luckily hit the absolutely most perfect day possible.  The flowers were in full fresh bloom - perfect for photos.  The viewing and sale was to start the next day so we had the area all to ourselves.

 There are so many colors and styles 
 a feast of beauty


 I don't know what the large leafy plants in the foreground are - we'll have to go back 
and see if they are blooming




 While I was busy photographing the flowers, Don took a short walk around the garden patch


It is not a very big patch 
 but is loaded with beautiful color!!
Did you find your favorite?

Through My Lens



Sunday, May 22, 2016

Some Birds on a Day Out

First - let me say I've missed all of your comments while I was on another little blog break and have been looking forward to seeing you again. I'm shocked and surprised at how many of 
my followers have fallen away in those few weeks.  
I hope some of you come back - I've missed you.
And now to our regularly scheduled blog post.  Enjoy

Nature brings us such happiness 
 surprises at every turn
 A Canada Goose family at a nearby pond


 Clover is so tasty
 Look way down yonder at 
that tree right in the middle
Zoom in -  a Bald Eagle - and on the top of the tree - an angry crow
 Look closely, the crow is flying at the eagle - squacking and pecking - the eagle seems to be ignoring the crow
Crow stops in mid-air and begins its return attack
Two eagles were too much for the crow 
Nearby a Red Wing Blackbird 
enjoys the sunny day 

And an Osprey flies over - scanning for lunch

Do you have a favorite bird to photograph?

Saturday, May 21, 2016

Just a Stone

Every December I do a craft fair with a friend - and this year I decided to try something different.
 I decided on garden markers painted on smooth stones from the beach

 Different sizes - some for large gardens - some for smaller
 And the herb garden
 Something for the winter holidays
 Add a few critters
 And critters for the garden - all the stones are from 1 1/2" to 4 1/2"

 Lady bugs to match your favorite colors

 Some pretty night scenes - nice for fairy gardens (approx 4" high)
 And fairy houses to set in your favorite fairy garden (3 to 4" tall)
 Penguin family - mama is about 4" tall - babies about 1 1/2"
 Let's sail away
 Or maybe go glamping!
Or find a quiet place in the country, near a wonderful fairy house.

Don't you think every garden needs some pretty painted stones?