FIRST RAMBLE OF THE NEW YEAR

First, the sun came out.  Second, Pat called!

Third, Out we went!

We just had to inhale the stimulating air and peruse our local woods:

And of course, visit Rattlesnake Lake, 

always a good destination when it is time

to check how local venues are faring during the winter:

At first I noticed the stump reflections, and then I saw that

the color changed and varied according to the gentle lapping motion of water around the stump.

I waited patiently for my favorite combination of blues and greens, which didn't show up very often:

And then the stump reflection itself became an abstract:

Rattlesnake Lake before sunset:

Always, always look down!

Late afternoon sun puts some life back into last Fall's weathered and broken leaves:

And frost defines a curious limb "rag":

IN THE BLEAK MIDWINTER

After completing radiation treatments and getting through the holidays, I finally 

felt like picking up my camera again.

But the weather is a problem when, in winter,

it doesn't snow or even present a decent frost.

How about fog?  Good!

So, out to my go-to place at Snoqualmie Mill Pond I went yesterday in the heavy fog, hoping for an ephemeral-looking scene.

Nothing.  Complete white-out.

So, the pond-edge cattails were all I could see.

I kind of like the effect though.

Returning home, the fog lifted a little:

This weeping willow is one I watch during all the seasons.

Yesterday the branches appeared golden as they reached out of the fog:

ICE AT THE FALLS

I have a hunch that I name a post exactly like this every year.

When the temperature stays well below freezing for over a few days in a row, I have to take myself a couple of miles down the road to Snoqualmie Falls.

I do this repeatedly, yet each time I am amazed at the weather conditions right there.

The parking lot will be slippery, yes, but shrubs, etc are still green, though stiff with cold.

Thirty yards away, mist from the powerful 270-foot falls turns to ice, encasing everything .  Frost "fireflies" flit about and one suddenly feels frost-bitten; almost too cold to take photos. 

So, I made the ritual trip this last week, and took photos which included those above.

Then yesterday Dick and I drove down again, just two days later.

I couldn't believe that fir boughs no longer hung low with ice; greenery was - well, green.  Gone was the ice effect.

However, the Falls had been reduced to about 1/3rd of its width because it had frozen!

It has actually been severely cold long enough for that phenomenon to occur!

I was in a quandary as to how the ice no longer encased everything until a daughter pointed out that the power of the Falls had been reduced and probably no longer sent up enough mist to freeze on things.

...just on itself.

Above the Falls, from the same perspective as the photo above:

BRUMAL BLING

The first frost this fall did not actually freeze on the ground.  But the cold air did catch in spider's webs, turning them to crystal displays.  I discovered this phenomenon while on my early-morning walk, so returned home for my camera, turning my exercise into a delightful stroll of discovery.

AROUND GOLD CREEK POND

We were looking for color on the mountainsides, but we are also very good at "taking in" all our surroundings.  What a surprise that we spent the rest of the 1-mile walk around the lake looking down!

And no wonder!  

We would have given anything to have a guidebook to identify the varieties of

mushrooms we found.

These pure white ones were about the size of a tiny thimbles:

  

Love the tutus!

This velvety variety was smaller than a cluster of grapes:

A closer look:

With forest floor surroundings:

A minuscule white variety illuminated very dark places: 

SEARCHING FOR WINTER

A cancer journey has greatly interrupted my photography experiences.

Daily breast cancer treatments curtailed my outings, and frankly, my interest too.

The magic came together one Saturday in October with cold, plus sun, the treatment-free day, and the availability of photo buddy, Pat.

Up to the Pass we went, hoping for fall colors to still be brightening the mountainsides.

 Better almost than "colors" was the frost, tightening,

lightening the underbrush.

I love how heavy frost embosses the leaf veins, and webs.

Not much color left - we were too late for that - but a single shot of gold on the banks of Lake Keechelus caught our attention.  

Our destination: Gold Creek pond:

Frozen fog hovered low:

 Very tired, dried-up fireweed was a catch-all for frozen webs: 

RETURN TO MICHIGAN ! #1

Paradise Revisited!

I couldn't believe the dream came true this August.  My first visit a year ago proved to me that even though I am a devoted native Pacific Northwesterner, there really does exist another beautiful "West Coast": the part of north-western Michigan that borders the east shore of Lake Michigan.  

Photo Buddy Pat and I achieved our dream of returning!

What I loved seeing all over again were the many "waters' edges".

So, here are a few.

Bass Lake Outlet; the ideal swimming place.

The old jetty, on the border of Ludington State Park:

Beaches, beaches everywhere! White sand. 

This was my 2nd visit, and I still have to remind myself that this is fresh water:

Are we greedy?  We saw just hints of autumn, and all we could say was,

"How gorgeous this must be in the Fall.  We really need to return to see all this ablaze."