A Sunny Cloudy Day

Lots of photos - I made some smaller to load faster - be patient loading - it will be worth it - and thanks for stopping by.

Last Sunday we packed a big picnic and headed to Birch Bay State Park.  Our weather has been "hot" lately - well, hot for us in the Pacific Northwest.  Some days have inched up toward 90 - I think our highest temperature  was 88, Seattle was a little hotter.  We are more used to 74 or 76 for summer days.  So off to the beach.  Lawn chairs, jug of Newman's Own Lemonade (it tastes like real lemons, NOT high fructose sugar), a folding table, napkins,  tablecloth, sandwiches, cherries and banana bread - we were ready for anything.

It was cooler by the bay, and a slight breeze helped keep us cool.  But the most amazing thing about the day  was the clouds.  It was never completely clear, nor was it completely cloudy - but the changes in the clouds was stunning.  I'd never seen so many different cloud formations on the same day.

 Looking across the bay - the clouds start where the land ends - usually it is the other way around.  Every photo in this post as taken on the same day - at the same place.

 The wind whips the clouds up at an angle

 These look like Jelly Fish.

Lots of wind up there

A good day for flying a kite - the little boy that was flying this kite so high was about 7 years old

Higher and higher it goes - less than 5 minutes from the first photo of the kite - and the clouds had changed so much.

These clouds are different - the bottoms of clouds are usually flat - these were rounded on the underside

  Oh look - a plane!

And another

An owl kite - a grown up was flying this kite

And look what he did - ooops!

While the little boy's kite goes higher

And higher

The Owl kite finally got up in the air

Turn around from the picnic table - look at those clouds!

Every cloud picture taken the same day - from the same spot on the beach at Birch Bay State Park

And the clouds kept changing - so fast !

Swishy

And swirly!

It was a glorious day!!

Six Words Friday - Chase

 Six geese all in a row

 Stretch, flap, paddle, eat and preen

 Hey everybody - look at me now

 Mothers teaching kids to follow formations

Training for migration in the fall

Six Words Friday  

Zoom In - Zoom Out  

4th of July Table

 -We planned a family barbecue for our 4th of July celebration.  I knew I had a lot of pretty dishes to use - and started getting them out.  First I set the table for two - using the Blueberry Picnic dishes to start with.

But before we see the dishes - I must tell you of a wonderful blogger who is more than generous.  We exchange stories about the dishes we buy at thrift stores and yard sales - and I was showing her a picture of the set of Blueberry Picnic dishes (the blue checked ones) I had bought a set of at Goodwill recently.  But I didn't have service for 8 of everything.  She said she had found the exact same plates in her Goodwill in Ohio and she wanted to send them to me.  That was so generous.  Soon the box arrived - and inside - packed around the plates, was a tablecloth to match and dozens of pretty vintage linens, used for the padding.  Each piece was freshly ironed and in perfect condition.  What a surprise, when all I was expecting as the plates.  The blogger is Candy - and you can see her fabulous table settings HERE - at Plum Creek Place.   Be sure and read some of her older posts - her tables are beyond wonderful - as is she!  Thank you Candy.

The plates are called Blueberry Picnic - they come in green and lavender too.  These seemed perfect for the 4th of July table.  I set it for two for breakfast and then later set up the barbecue buffet.  This is cherry season in Washington and we have an abundance of Ranier Cherries and Bing Cherries.  Prices are really good - 2.99 a pound for Bing and 3.99 for Ranier - much cheaper than most years.

I found the short blue glasses at Goodwill this very week - I was wishing I had some blue glasses and there they were - just waiting for me.  This is the tablecloth that Candy sent me - isn't it a perfect match for the plates?

Sailboat napkin ring and sailboat glasses.  The glasses originally came with cottage cheese in them - in the 50s.  There is a ridge inside the glasses for a little cardboard lid.

Ranier cherries for me and Don prefers the Bing Cherries

Table for two

I love the little glass birds, can't eat them - but they are certainly cute.

The little red sherbet dishes were a great find on clearance at a consignment shop - I can't believe no one bought them and they finally went on the clearance table.  Didn't take long for me to scoop them up.

These are the napkins I used - they started out as a tablecloth and I cut it up and fringed the edges of the napkins.  I think the Coca Cola design is perfect for a summer table

A god view of the darling tablecloth that Candy sent.

And now time to set up for the buffet in the afternoon - serving pieces and a metal basket for the red flatware.  Tomato and Yellow Pepper squeeze bottles for ketchup and mustard.

Beginning to fill the serving pieces

Are you getting hungry yet?

More food and an orange shaped pitcher for the lemonade.  Have you ever had Newman's Own Lemonade?  It is the best since homemade - and no high fructose corn syrup.

Baked beans in the red pyrex bowl - cooked on the deck in the crock pot so as not to make the house too warm in the summer.  And potato salad in the radish shaped serving dish.

I think we are about ready to eat - let's grill those hot dogs, hamburgers and bratwursts

I like baskets for serving chips in - the watermelon basket and the green checked basket were finds at Goodwill - they are from teleflora flower arrangements - perfect for summer food.

The new blue glasses from Goodwill - brand new, unused and only 69 cents each

Dessert anyone?  A Bumbleberry Pie - so many fresh berries are commercially grown  here.  We get them cheaply at the farm stands - blueberries, blackberries (which also grow wild here), strawberries and raspberries - all mixed together, make a fabulous pie

And Hawaiian shirt plates for serving dessert.

Monster cookies - no flour in these cookies and they are monstrously good.

It was a fabulous barbecue - I love holidays with the family!

Did you have a barbecue or picnic on the 4th?

Weekly Top Shot

We took a drive up to Birch  Bay on Thursday evening - Don got off work early and it was the start of our three day weekend.  On the way out of Birch Bay State Park I spotted the heron sitting in the tree.  Don hadn't seen it so after I took the shot I turned to camera towards him so he could see it.  And when I turned back to the heron - it had flown away.  I won't do that again - I'll just continue shooting until the heron flies - THEN I'll show the pictures to Don.

This was taken in that area of the park where the lighting is magical - for some reason the colors are brighter and the lighting magnificent.  This is shot is SOOC - I only wish I had gotten a few more.

Weekly Top Shot