One more birthday-related post. When I was a kid, my mom usually made us a strawberry shortcake for our birthdays. She isn’t here now, so if I want one, it’s up to me. I had some people here and this is what I made. It was good. Here is the recipe I used.

Lots of fresh strawberries, real whipped cream, and a “from scratch” sponge cake for a perfect birthday dessert

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The tulips are almost done, but here’s a scenic tulip field with a bit of reflection for your viewing pleasure:

Red tulips reflected in a puddle in the Skagit Valley April tulip festival

Joining up with Blue Monday, Skywatch Friday, Seasonal Sundays, Our World Tuesday, Outdoor Wednesday, Shadow Shot Sunday 2, Pink Saturday, Ruby Tuesday 2, Today’s Flowers, Floral Friday, Blooming Friday, Water World Wednesday, Weekend Reflections, and Saturday Show Off. Don’t forget to click on the Sara’s Fave Photos Blog curly letters above to see the latest pretty pictures here.

Leaves in spring sunshine can be as dazzling as autumn color. Here are some red Japanese maple leaves like flaming fingers against the sky.

Deep red Japanese maple leaves against a blue springtime sky

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Last week it was sunny, briefly (pouring right now), and the tulips in my front yard put on a show.

Macro of red and yellow tulip center lit by sunshine

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From my recent visit to the Skagit tulips. The trunks of the trees were at least 6 or 8 feet (2-3 meters) in diameter. They were OLD.

Red and pink tulips under sunshine and clouds in Mt. Vernon, WA

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The late afternoon light made this row of red tulips with white edges especially scenic.

Late afternoon light illuminates a row of red tulips at the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival

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Yesterday I was blessed to be able to visit the Skagit Valley tulip festival. Fields of hundreds of acres bloom with color. You will see some tulip photos here in the next while, that’s for sure.

Red, pink and purple tulips bloom in Skagit County, Washington

Joining in with Seasonal Sundays, Our World Tuesday, Outdoor Wednesday, Ruby Tuesday 2, Today’s Flowers, Floral Friday, Blooming Friday, Scenic Weekends, Pink Saturday, Straight out of the Camera Sunday, and Saturday Show Off. Thank you so much for visiting, and please come back soon.

We had one sunny, warm day. One. But it was perfection, and here in Seattle, everyone surely appreciated it. I went outside and my tulips were in full bloom.

Orange tulips bloom against a blue sky

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This pretty late-afternoon scene of peace roses in my front yard was taken last July. Summertime and its roses is only a few short months away.

Late on a July afternoon, a Peace rose blooms in my garden

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At Seattle’s Volunteer Park Conservatory  the other evening, they had pink-and-white florist azaleas on display. Aren’t they scrumptious?

Today is my sixth Blogoversary. I have made almost 1,500 blog posts and have had the pleasure of almost 18,000 comments! And do you believe, in all that time and all those comments, NOT ONE was ever less than kind and appreciative. What a great group of people enjoy pretty photos.

Here’s to many more years. I’m just getting the hang of this.

Ruffled pink petals with white edges florist azaleas at Seattle’s Volunteer Park Conservatory

Linking to I Heart Macro Saturday, Macro Monday, Straight out of the Camera Sunday, Seasonal Sundays, Our World Tuesday, Pink Saturday, Ruby Tuesday 2, Today’s Flowers, Floral Friday, Blooming Friday, and Saturday Show Off. Thank you for visiting here!