BLUEBIRD DAY

Well, I haven't blogged for a very long time, but as the photo below shows, there has been a very good reason!

Well, not good to me, but an excuse in any case.

Two weeks before Christmas, I broke bones in my wrist and hand and was in a cast, followed by a permanent brace until just 2 weeks ago.  I could not by any means heft my camera, let alone hold it steady enough for taking photos. The best I could do to feel better was to beg the orthopedic technician to make a candy-cane cast for me!

Then, when I was free at last from the cast, D and I vowed that if a blue-sky day came in the middle of our stretch of local snow, we would take off for Mt. Rainier.

Two weeks ago, on my morning walk, it appeared that might be the day!

Close to home, with our own Mt. Si in the background:

Indeed it was.  We drove up to the Rainier ski resort, Crystal Mountain.  Then we swallowed our pride and rode the gondola (never before having done so as "tourists", without our skis!) to the highest point:

Yes, it was a perfectly clear, blue-sky day, but also bitterly cold because of the fierce wind at the top of the gondola.  Wearing the arm brace made it difficult for me to steady my heavy camera, but a few shots were

"keepers" in spite of the blur: 

"The Mountain" was literally, "in our faces":

As the ticket guy said, on a day like this, a better view could be had only if doing a "fly-by" in a small plane.

We were happy to have both feet on the ground, even though it took our breath away: 

TINSEL TOWN

That same icy-blue morning (mentioned in the next blog) created a stunning effect

on spider webs.

This one was surely part of the Web Street of Dreams,

due to the builder's flair for knotting an intricate foyer:

Nature's tinsel



The sun came over the mountain before I left this area,

so this is the same string of web, shimmering differently:

And more, sky-high:

We have white lights strung on the trees in our front yard,

but we sure can't top what the holiday spiders have done!

I have never seen a plain, one-way, hanging web,

but now they are all over the trees, exactly like the most
meticulously-hung tinsel.

 And garlands too!

ALL THINGS BRIGHT AND BEAUTIFUL, AND BRRRRR!

A couple of days ago we had our first heavy frost.

The early morning air was actually blue, and so was I by the time I

got back from my ramble!

Mud puddle art.

Interesting how the tiniest pine needle and twig shard influence the patterns:

Two different focal points of the same scene:

SOLO RAMBLE IN THE WOODS

A last day of autumn, and it was not raining; it was refreshingly cold, and I had to get outside!

This time I truly did go on a "ramble", with no preconceived idea of where I would go.

I found myself discovering the Tokul Creek area:

But the direction I headed took me past a favorite and familiar stopping place first:

Snoqualmie's old mill pond.

The mountains' reflection was not going to be good because there was a riffle

on the water surface, but I really liked the monotone trees on the opposite shore:

I had to break the "don't center objects" rule for this shot; it was

just so nicely graphic to me:

The woods were dark, illuminated only by the ruffles of the creek.

Plus, the last remaining leaves were giving  their all:

 I was surprised to find an actual trail:

  As daylight faded, I enjoyed the solitude, and the gathering of fog over the trail.

I didn't go any further however, having seen a new sign warning of bear and cougar

in the vicinity.

 I was home in time to settle in with this stamp of approval on my outing:

LOW WATER LEVEL/ HIGH EXPECTATIONS

Pat and I headed up to Rattlesnake Lake - a favorite photo ramble.

We had hoped to find the water down enough to photograph tree stumps with their reflections.

No such luck.  Too much water; there wasn't even a "beach" to walk on.

So, before turning around to head back to the car, I

got these tree reflections:

I love how the colors look like abstracts in oil.

 and watercolor.

 The only other color at the lake:

In my frustrations to come home photo-less,

I grabbed these while they lasted, closer to home:

Variegations in a stand of poplars, with a "me too!; me too!" peak-a-boo maple.

 

GOING...GOING...GONE

I'm a little late in posting these colors, which are now completely gone. 

However, our autumn was especially long this year, and these leaves looked like this

until just a few days ago; less than two weeks for sure.

I was wishing for cold weather to come, so I took these photos close to home as a

tribute to their staying power, and a hopeful farewell too.

This is a reflection in the pond across the street from our house:

We hardly ever get to see a good sunset from our house. 

When it is there, it is usually the fringe edges of a whisper of color that we see.

However, a sunrise like this is not uncommon, seen here

from my computer window:

Here is a good example of the part of a sunset that we see from our front porch, zoomed in .

The clouds show uncertain weather was approaching:

 And this is the normal front-yard view with the leaves screaming just before they dropped:

A drive up the road a bit offered this end-of-season picture:

WATERCOLORS

I also considered titling this post "Upon Further Reflection..." because of the nature of the following photos, and because I said that I had completed posting for the Pass Ramble.

Well, giving further thought, I realize I had forgotten to include

these photos, taken at river's edge.

The sky was blue; the rushing water was clear enough that river-bottom rocks projected copper and gold colors to the water's surface.

By zooming in to the opposite bank, reflected golden leaves, and then nearly-bare young trees become  abstracts:

This reflection in a mud puddle at the camp ground is only partly abstract: