Sometimes I like the bud stage almost more than the fully blooming stage. All the possibilities! Like the peony buds in the post below, this scene in my front yard feels so full of life to me. Behind the dianthus budding up a storm in front, there is pink sea thrift and white alyssum blooming in back. The shadows on the rocks make me happy, too, especially in this typically gray Seattle weather.

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Such great, round, pregnant shapes. It’s marvellous to think that these tight little spheres expand to the big, fluffy blooms like the one in the post below. By the way, I measured that one and it’s a full 7 inches across, and still going strong days later. I love peonies.

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When I went to the East coast in March, I was lucky enough to take some scenic drives, especially in Connecticut. You can’t go wrong with boats stacked on the beach, waiting for the good weather to come again. Especially with colors like these! Come to think of it, this would make a neat jigsaw puzzle, wouldn’t it?

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The rhododendrons are really gorgeous this year. The winter has been pretty mild, with plenty of water, and with the brutally cold winter the previous year, I guess the plants are breathing a sigh of relief and blooming their hearts out in gratitude. This scene in Seattle’s Volunteer Park is just one tiny slice of the magnificent display that rhodies put on for us in the Pacific Northwest.

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There’s one brief spot on Interstate 5 driving south from Seattle with a great view of Mt. Rainier, where you have an unobstructed view of The Mountain, as the locals call it. Really, it should be The Volcano, but that’s another post. Yesterday the weather was changing and our beautiful mountain was wearing a hat for us, and even though it’s through the windshield, I thought you’d like to see this scenic vista, cars and all. And a side note: I believe the mountain is maybe 40 miles away as the crow flies. No long lens was used to make it look closer.

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I would have called them pier supports, but I am told they are called pilings. They look more like chromosomes to me, actually! This was taken at Dyes Inlet in Silverdale, Washington, in February. I just wanted to look at some water that was not rain or drizzle. Isn’t it cool that this is a color image?

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Happy Mother’s Day! Everyone had a mother who gave birth to them, and we thank you. In honor of this day, I am pleased to post a photo taken by my daughter, who is the reason I am a mother, on her recent trip to Northern California. The vineyards were filled with not just orange, but red poppies also!

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Air travel seems very magical to me. As much as I understand how the air thins out over the curved top of the wing and creates lift, or think I understand it, the fact of a huge metal structure flying through the air is something to wonder at, no matter how many times I have flown. And the opportunity to see our earth from above the clouds is one of my favorite experiences. This photo was taken somewhere over the midwest, in late March. I bet it’s greening up now!

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I believe these are crocosmia leaves that I came across in the Highline Botanical Garden the other day. I have some in my own garden and they look just like this in the sunshine. They flower (spray of tiny red/orange flowers on a stem) only in late summer and spread so well they might be called invasive, but look at those neat patterns!

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My favorite cousin just got back from her first trip to India, and she has shared her favorite photo with us, taken on the steps of the Ganges river. This is what she had to say about it: “The richness of multi-sensory experience was so palpable, I could only be in the present moment, always. This is in Hariwar, at Ma Ganga, washing, dunking, blessing, offering.”

I love this image and I hope you enjoy it also. I think it is remarkable and am calling it my Best Post of the Week.

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