Barns and Tulips

The Tulip Festival is over, the bulbs will grow on and become big bulbs for next year's sales.  Here are a few more barns near the vast flower fields.

 Just starting to bloom

 Five days later

Daffodils in front of an old barn

 And three weeks later there are pink tulips

A few pretties in front of another old barn.

Shorebirds!!!!!!!

I'm always on the lookout for shorebirds - and on a recent trip to Birch Bay State Park we came across a tiny flock of them

 Greater Yellowlegs - running about in the edge of the surf

 They have the most wonderfully patterned feathers

 Some preened - some slept and some skittered about

 Then I noticed two smaller shorebirds

 American Snipe - what a treat to find two kinds of shorebirds at the same time.

 I took dozens of photos 

 It was a grand day for shorebirds.

Saturday's Critters

Wildflowers

Carpets of wildflowers everywhere!

 Dandelions are prolific this year - this interesting patch was on the lawn in front of a house - the dandelions grew in this oval - and no place else on the lawn.  The fairies dance there at night.

 Horse pastures covered with dandelions

 I don't know the name of this - it is growing in a wildflower garden at the back entrance to Birch Bay State Park. I'm sure my readers will help with the name.

 And at the edge of the woods near Birch Bay were some Trillium - with their three leaves and three petaled flowers.

 Wild bleeding heart and to the left is the beginning spike of Horsetail Fern.  Horsetail Ferns are the oldest plant on the earth - having been around for over 275 million years.

The way the Horsetail Fern grows - with descending smaller spaces between the greenery nearer the top of the fern, led John Napier to the discovery of logarithms and the decimal about 1580.

Oregon Grape - Mahonia - blooms in masses along the roadsides and edges of forests.  The birds will feast on the dark blue/purple berries in the autumn.  It can be used for jelly also - and the roots have many medicinal uses.  It is the state flower of Oregon.

Apple Blossoms

Apple blossom time

A bright blue sky and apple blossoms - heaven! 

 Some of the apple trees are not trimmed

 And some are trimmed - making picking much easier

 They remind me of ballet dancers.

Famous for apples - Washington has many treasured varieties of apples.         

  Tuesday's Treasures

Easter Brunch

We usually have brunch on Easter - instead of a big dinner.  Our grandson Ben was my co-host.  He and I planned the menu weeks ahead of time.

 The table is set for the buffet brunch. The tulips were a birthday gift from my housekeeper and her sweet family.

 Daffodil bouquet is from Don.

 I made this plastic canvas Bunny House several years ago - it is always Ben's choice for the centerpiece. The bunny has a basket and some tiny plastic canvas eggs.

 Bunny bowls, cabbage bowls and Bunny House

The tulips are double - and look almost like peonies.

 Gingham napkins with polka dot flower pot napkin rings that I painted.  I do love polka dots.

 Shiny vintage silver serving spoons

 And of course some spring colored candies

 More gingham napkins with flower basket napkin rings.

 Yellow flatware in a daisy pail.

 A new lemon pitcher - a gift from Don

 And food - the menu was waffles, fruit compote (blackberry and strawberry compotes) (and freshly whipped, whipped cream), deviled eggs (I colored the whites after splitting them for the deviled eggs - just food coloring in a cup of warm water)

 Also sausages, bacon, cheesy potatoes with hollendaise  sauce, croissants

 A French toast blueberry, cream cheese casserole and an egg, sausage and cheese casserole and fresh pineapple.  We ate like kings - and queens.

 Egg shaped salt and pepper - vintage Avon

 Let's eat!

 And for dessert - cupcakes that Ben and I baked and decorated the day before

The brunch was followed by an easter egg hunt - the boys decided that they would hide the eggs and the adults would hunt them.  They found some great hiding places and we had a lot of laughs over things that the dads - and grampy - put in their baskets that weren't easter eggs - like a gnome that was swinging in a tree, and several small egg shaped stones.  It was a wonderful day - with sunshine in the afternoon and lots of chairs on the deck for enjoying the good company.

Mosaic Monday