We have a road in Seattle, the Viaduct, that is not very safe in case of a big earthquake, so they are probably going to tear it down and build a tunnel, but oh, the views from that marvellous road going north into town. I considered cropping this so you could see the birds on the lamppost on the left side of the road, and eliminating the road altogether, but I decided to leave it as taken. It’s a great road.

For more skies around the world, visit Skywatch Friday.

This is part of my backyard, and my neighbor’s yard beyond the little fence, just two weeks ago. The show is over now, but with the magic of photography, the moment lives on. I am happy that I planted all those bulbs last fall, even though it was such a short, but intense, pleasure. I feel that gardening is a very green activity, and if you’d like to see other photo interpretations of the idea of green, visit Think Green Thursday.

Today is my dear sister-in-law Shree’s birthday. We were together in the fabulous Steinhardt Garden in Mt. Kiscoe recently, and what a photo op she provided with her slicker and umbrella. A Ruby Tuesday post just for you, and many happy returns!

Looking at the sky from an airplane is only sort of a sky view, but when there are clouds right there, what else is it? Anytime I fly, it’s a reminder of how beautiful and huge our country is, and mostly seemingly empty.

For more beautiful skies around the world, visit Skywatch Friday. Join in, if you like; it’s loads of fun.

This is not my garden; again it’s from the Bronx Botanical Garden in New York City. This section was to inspire and inform the home gardener. While I have planted vegetable beds with flowers in them, I have never seen the plants planted in diagonal rows. So simple, but such a great idea. If you are going to have neat rows, might as well be at an angle, for pretty.

I like this photo for Think Green Thursday because to me the idea of growing your own food is about as green as you can get, especially if you do it the simple, cheap way with kitchen compost to enrich the soil, seeds, and there you go. No expensive supplies needed, just a bit of know how. Just ask a gardener and you’ll learn enough to get you going.

Just for the heck of it, here is a photo of the raised beds from October of 2007 in my last house. The string trellis at the right is for the flat peas which were already done by then. It was a nice garden, but the current one will be even nicer, eventually.

Another couple of photos from the Bronx Botanical Garden in New York City, the top shadow photo taken in front of the famous and enormous Conservatory, which is below it, and kind of scenic, isn’t it? For more scenicness, visit Scenic Sunday.

Hard not to be seduced by shadows from this sinuous bench. For more lovely and intriguing shadows, go to Shadow Shot Sunday, hosted by Tracy, AKA Hey Harriet. You’ll be glad you did.

This tree was blooming so intensely in my recent trip to the Bronx (New York)  Botanical Garden. On Wednesdays you can walk through the grounds for free. Such a deal! I’ll post a photo every now and then from that amazing trip; must save some for the long Seattle winter of no flowers. Hope you like it.

I found out about a Pink Saturday photo meme, and it looks delightful. This ought to qualify!

While I was in New York, I stayed at my friends’ place on the 14th floor in Riverdale, in the Bronx. Here is a view from their apartment on three different days. The big bunch of green trees is Van Cortlandt Park, one of the largest city parks anywhere, I’m told.

For more extremely interesting and varied skies around the world, visit Skywatch Friday.

I took this photo at the Steidhardt Garden tour in Mt. Kisco, NY on my visit recently. This incredible place is 55 acres of exquisite plants AND animals, open to the public two days a year. It was drizzly, but hailing from Seattle these days, I’m used to it. This low-growing plant is grown for just how pretty it looks in the rain.

For more photos of water in all its many manifestations, click HERE.

I took lots of photos on my trip, of course, but mostly the gray Seattle weather seemed to follow me to New York, which is not so good for shadows. But one lovely afternoon we were walking around the Upper West Side and the light coming through the trees in Central Park across the street was just perfect. I can’t decide which photo I like best, so please help me choose. Long shot, or closeup?

For more excellent shadows seen in the most unlikely places, click HERE.

And for more scenic shots, click HERE.