IN THE ROUGH

As stunning as the commercial gardens are at the Skagit Valley Tulip Fest,

I much prefer to discover a photo op of my own, where the floral layout is not contrived.

Forsythia and an aging fence caught my eye for sure:

These camellias looked luscious enough to pour into a glass to drink: 

More random au natural finds:

My most favorite "find" as a result of farm-road rambling was this old barn.

Aging turned the siding the same color gold as the surrounding fields of daffodils, and I couldn't

resist trespassing just a tiny bit.
(I still do not enhance or saturate the color in my photos,
this is exactly how that old barn looks!)

I couldn't decide which view I liked best,

so I post all three:

I can't be in farm country without capturing a relic:

PRELUDE TO THE HORDES

These hyacinths were at their prime, which meant that the fragrance was tangible!

These are in a commercial garden for display.  Usually that place is so over-run with people - happy though they be - that it almost takes away the pleasure.

Hardly anyone was around; lucky us!

These blindingly-red tulips among the hyacinths were almost painful to look at:

Back to the road-side; the more-accessible, business end of the bulbs:

DIZZY OVER DAFFODILS

Early spring in the Skagit Valley north of here means bulb flowers are bursting out

all over.  They call it the "Tulip Festival", but a sunny day and the fact that my husband prefers daffodils

to tulips meant we went up there about a week ahead of thousands of Tip-Toe-ers.

First glance showed promise, and this sight was at every farm road turn:

Knee-deep in smiles:

There were only a couple of small fields of the earliest of tulips.

I loved this non-conformist!

BIG BIRDS

I am having so much fun discovering more about a bird that a month ago I didn't even know existed!

I posted the Double-Crested Cormorant recently, noting how huge it is. I am familiar with the smaller, sleeker shore cormorant, but this type is so big it looks almost prehistoric.

I now turn off my regularly-traveled errand road whenever I can, to check on my new friends.

Most of the time I am disappointed because they are not there.

A couple of days ago - Bingo!

This time, because of the sun, I could see they have bright blue-green eyes, 

plus even though they are grey-black, I love the definition of their feathers:

They are at least 3 feet tall, and those wonderful stabilizing feet are probably dinner-plate size:

I like this photo because of the one guy being very vocal, and because with the other head-on 

bird we can see 

how they got the "double-crested" name.

I also like the water background because it looks like an impressionistic watercolor:

On a stark black and grey day I loved this scene of a bare tree and an empty eagle's nest with

the barn foreground.  I knew next time I was here the newly-greening leaves would hide that nest.

I wondered if anyone was home.

A broader view showed me there was a guardian of the home!

So I had to check on him:

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ATMOSPHERIC PLEASURE

Getting close to the cormorants in the pond, I had to bushwhack 

through some woods.

The spring snow was melting fast under the power of

new sun.  All around me, new growth was glistening from snow drops, 

illuminating the way.

This Weeping Willow was still shedding tears, though

 the white stuff was gone. But I liked the variations of new green, storm clouds, 

dark gnarly limbs, and white textured old roof:

As I was leaving from making the above photo, the clouds and atmosphere were 

changing by the seconds, and I loved this contrast:

MORE DIVERSION

While it was still snowing, I visited a favorite pond, 

anticipating great scenery with the new dimension of snow.

By the time I got there, the snow had melted.  

But I saw in the far distance (between the 2 tufts of reeds on the upper right, below)

what looked like snow-topped submerged logs.

Thinking it would be a good photo to zoom in to, I got out of the car:

"Whaaa?"  Not logs at all, but the most immense water fowl I have seen in the wild!

They are larger than the great blue heron, and heftier too.

These are Double-crested Cormorants.

They are giants compared to the regular shore cormorants.

"King of the Mountain":

These cormorants ride low in the water compared to other water fowl.

They were swimming as if performing water ballet:

I watched this dance so long that they began to 

resemble swimming cobras!

DIVERSION

Last week we had a wonderful, unexpected snow event.

It started early in the morning, came down in silver-dollar-sized flakes, 

and built up about 4" of fresh loveliness.

I planned to go to the grocery store, which is only 5 minutes from home.

It was snowing hard.  It took me 2 hours to get there!

But, it wasn't from road conditions; it was because I 

took my camera with me!

The first-blooms of spring were bowed down under snow

and I just couldn't get enough of being close: 

Our own cherry tree:

New heather.

The shrubs were virtually glowing purple, as if lighted from within:

One single heather stem, about the size of a little finger:

My heart sang all morning (and I think I was doing so out loud too!) as I pulled off the road here and there

to get good perspectives of pastel blossoms and snow: