Monday Mosaic - Seagulls

We often go down to the bay to watch the Alaska Ferry depart from Bellingham - and this week I had a big bag of bread to feed the seagulls - so I could get some good photos. Most of these were taken with a flash and I love the way they turned out. Needless to say - our car had to go through the car wash the next day - it was red with white spots.

(click photo to enlarge)

I love the sound of their wings as they flash through the air - I love the squawking - and I love the feathers and how they seem to glow in any light. I just love seagulls.

Finding Beauty

Today is about finding beauty - and I've really found some . . .

There is a yard on the other side of town that I love to drive past each spring. The whole front yard lawn is covered in flowers - and we happened to be in that neighborhood the other day and were lucky enough to have sunshine so I could get some great photos.

A fairy ring of crocuses . . .

Click photo to see more beauty. . .

Outdoor Wednesday

Outdoor Wednesday is one of my favorites - and is hosted by A Southern Daydreamer. There are so many wonderful outdoor things to see - stop over and visit a while.

We live smack in the middle of a large city - yet we have a very private setting. Woods across the street, trees in our back yard, only one neighbor visible and that is to the back of the house. We have a lot of wildlife here, especially deer. Since there is no hunting in town they are quite brave.

These deer are not all from our yard - but they are all fabulous!

This fella walked up the hill from the neighbor's house - and was actually this close to me - I didn't use the zoom to get this picture.

These deer are in my cousin's yard in CA - they lived way out in the woods . . .

This is a big statue of a deer in Wisconsin that we took our oldest daughter to see. . .

On the edge of our yard, near the road . . .

We found this one in our yard when we came home one day . . . she didn't seem to mind us one bit and never moved when we walked up to the house and very near to her.

These "deer" are in front of a motel on Whidbey Island in Washington - we love to drive past here. They are not restless and never seem to move from year to year.


He is planning on cleaning the birdseed out of the feeders.

Where do you see your favorite deer?

Mosaic Monday - Lighthouses

Join Mary at Little Red House to see more wonderful mosaics.

Living on the west coast we have lots of chances to see and photograph lighthouses - I love to think about the history - what has happened at the lighthouses, and who has lived there. One of my favorite things, besides taking photos of lighthouses, is to read journals of lighthouse keepers and their families.

These lighthouse, starting at the top right and going around clockwise, are 1. Yaquina Head at Newport, OR, 2. Trinidad, CA memorial lighthouse, 3. Heceta Head, OR , 4. a replica of a lighthouse at the harbor in Eureka, CA., 5. Port Wilson light, Port Townsend, WA, and 6. a small lighthouse in my cousin's yard in Oregon.

Thanks for stopping by - hope you enjoyed the lighthouses. Where is your favorite lighthouse located?

Sunday Favorites - Daffodils

Be sure to visit Chari to find more Sunday Favorites - re-runs of our favorite posts. You'll enjoy all the visits.

This post is from last spring, when daffodils are dancing in the sunshine all over our area - peeking out at us - laughing in the sunshine - it is a wonderful time of year. There are so many daffodils that on a warm day, with the windows rolled down, you can smell daffodils while taking a drive.

A few weeks ago we decided it was time to get photos of the daffodils in bloom - there are so many in our town, and some of my favorites are in a big park near our house. They grow right along the street- in massive bunches. Each year the bunches get bigger and bigger. It is a busy street, and Don had to pull over to the side, almost out of traffic, and then watch for oncoming cars and wave them on around us. We got lots of smiles and waves as people noticed what we were doing.

A nice variety . . .

I love the soft yellow of the centers . . .

Nothing like a big ol' yellow daffodil . . .

Here is a good example of how big the individual bunches are . . .

Then we drove down to the bay - to a very small park. Near the park on the bay is a seafood processing plant and someone had planted daffodils in front of the sign - so of course I had to have pictures of that.

Next - a little drive in the country and some of my favorite spring flowers - Skunk Cabbage. Growing up in Southeast Alaska (Sitka) I would always smell these "flowers" in the spring time, they were a sure sign that spring was at last coming. Having no skunks in our area, I had no idea that we were supposed to dislike this scent - so I didn't dislike it - in fact I liked it - a lot. Now when we see a large patch of skunk cabbage we always have to slow down and open the windows so I can enjoy one of my favorite spring scents. I know - it isn't lilacs - which I also adore - but it smells like spring to me.

And just as we drove onto our street - there on the side of the street were Mr. and Mrs. Mallard - enjoying the muck in the little ditch beside the street.

He was keeping watch while Mrs. shovelled along, looking for something tasty. There are ponds about two blocks away - but this couple has decided to take up residence here instead. We see them every time we drive in and out - and sometimes they are just sitting quietly on a very small strip of grass beside one of the driveways. They are so well camouflaged that I worry a car will hit them. They don't seem to be bothered at all by the traffic, and we stopped and took pictures for several minutes and they didn't move from this area.

Mosaic Monday

Join Mary at Little Red House to see more wonderful mosaics.

I have been busy these past few weeks, scanning old photos (35 years worth) so each person in the family will one day have a DVD with all the photos. These flower photos that I scanned are from my garden in northern California, I like to say VERY northern California, as we were over 250 miles north of San Francisco (which is where some people think California ends), but believe me - there is lots of California north of San Francisco.

We lived in a small town, Blue Lake, and the weather was gorgeous there - and I could grow just about any flower. Roses loved the coastal climate and I had over 30 rose bushes, from old roses planted when the house was built in 1888 to climbing Cecil Bruner roses that grew to 14 feet tall. I would whack them back in the middle of summer - almost to knee high - and they would grow back and bloom over and over. The bush was right outside our bedroom (which had a door to the outdoors) and the scent was heavenly on warm summer evenings.

Thanks for stopping by - hope you enjoyed the flowers.

White Wednesday - Outdoor Wednesday

White Wednesday is being sponsored by Rose Colored Glasses - a wonderful place to see lots of pretty white things.

And Outdoor Wednesday is one of my favorites - and is hosted by A Southern Daydreamer. There are so many wonderful outdoor things to see - stop by these blogs and visit a while. You'll be glad you did.

I love the whites we find outdoors - in all seasons. . .

White Tundra Swans flying high against white clouds . . .

White waterfalls . . .



White puffy clouds in the summer . . .



White puffy snow in the winter . . .



A white seagull, resting a bit . . .



Flocks of geese winging their way north towards spring . . .
(click to enlarge photo to see the geese)


A spray of chestnut blossoms in the early spring . . .



And a hot air ballon over a white mountain . . .

Life is beautiful!


Thank you for visiting.