CHANGING OF THE (SEASONAL) GUARD

Before the next rains hit, I spied this one last stalwart tulip in the garden.  The previous rain storm had left the other tulip stems bare, the ground littered with pathetic curls of faded color.

I wanted to get a photo of the  needle-points of yellow pollen resting on the black center of this tulip. 

I didn't even see the miniscule white spider taking refuge from the wind, deep down inside.

Click on photo to enlarge and see what you can see!

Even as this tulip was barely hanging on, in another part of the garden

baby pink buds are showing on the blueberry bushes.

These are as small as my pinky fingernail.

I hope they will hold tight against the storms!

VANCOUVER B.C. TEMPLE OPEN HOUSE

Our first impression of the new temple in Vancouver, B.C. was "Oh so small!"

Next impression was the bright-whiteness of the exterior.

This was especially striking because the sky was also bright white.  My eyes watered the whole time I took photos, and I couldn't really tell if I was getting what I wanted.

Imagine my surprise when I down-loaded these pics and saw a bonafide blue sky.  I was not using a polarizing filter.

I was trying to get angles and shadows, but I couldn't tell if I was successful because of the brightness of the temple exterior.

This does not show much of the temple, but I wanted to show the proximity

to the Canadian North Cascades

I had to get down low on the ground for this photo.

 I was in a very uncomfortable (and unbecoming!) position, waiting for a break in car traffic

and pedestrians passing between the tulip garden and the temple.

This is a sweet, sweet temple; a gem of the Pacific Northwest!

YIPPEE! A BACK-ROAD DRIVE

From east of Vancouver, B.C, we went by way of a small border crossing to return home on back roads. This great old barn sits alongside the Nooksak River.  The best of bucolic!

Does it seem like something is missing in the above picture?

Indeed there is!  The background! 
The Nooksak Valley lies at the feet of these foothills
of the North Cascades:

This is the same barn.  I was so excited to see its many faces!
Here barn and orchard show their age - and steadfastness:

Barn owners have little consideration for photographers when they repair the roof with metal.

In my book, that negates the barn altogether.

Going back, around a corner and up a hill made it possible for me to photograph

this barn head-on, with no metal showing.

What a face!  What a personality!

In the Neighborhood, and Beyond

On a walk close to home, I saw a shrub ( azalea, maybe?) covered in these great pods. It was as lovely to me as if it were covered in fresh blossoms:

Also close to home (from our front porch!) is, of course, stately Mt. Si.  She has so many moods!  Or I should say, Mother Nature imposes her many moods on the face of the mountain.  A storm a few days ago swirled around my view and I thought it just might be the last I would see of new snow in the crevices:

I was right!  Not long after, the gloom set in. I was amazed to see half the mountain getting rained-upon, and the other, well - not yet wet.  Right in the middle, directing rainstorm traffic - a rainbow!  I was amazed that I got my camera in time, and that the color even showed, I had to literally, grab, point, and shoot before the scened disappeared into the ominous storm.  Eerie Halloween clouds made the trees glow:

On a brighter note, here is Mt. Baker as seen from the Canadian side.

This had to be taken from behind the windshield, and quickly; roadside trees

were thickening as we drove fast, and soon obliterated the view:

EASTER FLOWERS

What a wonderful Easter weekend we had!

Almost the whole family came to our home, and the

collective dishes of favorites made for a fabulous dinner.

I had fun setting the table and arranging fresh flowers the day before:

I am excited each Easter to retrieve from the rafters the decorations

we bought while living in Hungary.

Here is a clutch of eggs from Hungary's famous Herend porcelain.

You can also see why they turned out so fancy, being laid by such a lacy hen:

This morning I stepped outside between the rain-fall and the hail-storm.

The opening of this tulip was intriguing, with the deep inside color as contrast to the striated, lighter outside:

Then there was this hanger-on drop which had a nice reflection, even if it

is just more tulip leaves: