One from the archives, for sure. I was going through the tulip collection because I felt like creating a calendar for 2011 with tulips and I don’t think I ever posted this one on the blog. I will definitely include it in the calendar. It was taken in April of this year at the Skagit Valley Tulip Fest, a couple hours north of Seattle in Washington. Hope you enjoy this blast of springtime as we are entering winter.

Visit Skywatch Friday for more great skies seen around the world. Color Carnival has more brilliant colors. Pink Saturday has more pinkness. Scenic Sunday has more scenery. You get the idea.

I really like the expansive feeling I get when I look at this photo so I’ve categorized and entered it as Best Post of the Week.

If there is only the field of pink tulips below, click on Sara’s Fave Photos for all the others.

This is my backyard, taken last week in the first snow of the season. I felt that I needed to post another shadow shot today. I love the roses below, but the shadows just weren’t crisp enough. These blue shadows are good for Blue Monday, and this is another for Scenic Sunday, too. Also, this is a good post for the Sunday Creative, on the theme of Frozen.

As always, if there’s just one photo below, do click on Sara’s Fave Photos for the complete blog experience.

A few weeks ago on my way to a conference in Las Vegas, the weather was gray in Seattle, no surprise there, but what a magnificent view of Mt. Rainier emerged when we ascended above the clouds. I love air travel for this reason. The views are truly heavenly.

Even though this is water frozen and water gaseous, it’s still water, and it qualifies for an entry to Watery Wednesday. Visit Blue Monday for more blue in photos, too. Shadow Sunday has more neat shadows. Outdoor Wednesday has more outdoor shots, of course, and Scenic Sunday the same, but different. Skywatch Friday has great skies to see.

If you see only one photo here, you’ve arrived via a link. Click on Sara’s Fave Photos for the full blog experience.

Well it’s snowing hard outside, so winter is truly here, calendar notwithstanding. But here’s one more look at the glorious colors of autumn, taken just a week or two ago. Aren’t those red stems great? I like them so much I’m calling this my Best Post of the Week.

Visit Macro Monday and Mellow Yellow Monday if you’d like more close ups and more cheerful splashes of yellow, and Blue Monday for more blue shades. Ruby Tuesday has more exciting reds. Color Carnival is always a fun browse, too. Taking a look at other straight-out-of-the-camera shots is fun. And if there is only one photo here, be sure to click on Sara’s Fave Photos to see the rest of ’em.

On last week’s trip to Las Vegas for that conference held at the Flamingo Hotel, mid strip, like most conferences we were stuck inside for long hours, but there was a short break that included a walk through the Habitat section of the hotel’s grounds, with real flamingoes, by the way. I’ll post them later, but today wanted to share how the hotel looked reflected in one of the pools for the abundant birdlife. Do you see the fish?

Visit Weekend Reflections, Shadow Shot Sunday, Scenic Sunday, SOOC (straight out of the camera), Window Views and Blue Monday if you’ve a yen for more variations on a theme, or the home blog of some great photo memes. And if there’s only one measly photo showing here, click on Sara’s Fave Photos for lots more.

That overlook near my house in Normandy Park, Washington didn’t disappoint in yesterday’s good weather at sunset. Mount Rainier is lookin’ picture-postcard good. Those tiny orange-leafed trees and houses seem very much like a painting that I’ve seen somewhere. And did you realize that even though it’s pronounced rah-NEER, it’s spelled like “rain-ier” (rainy-er!) which I think is a hoot. And that helps you remember to put in both i’s.

Visit Skywatch Friday for more skies around the world, and Scenic Sunday for more scenery (of course).

One post only on this page means there’s lots more to see if you click on Sara’s Fave Photos. Do try something new here, perhaps a search for “Rainier”?

I know I’ve posted a few photos of autumn leaves recently, but how can I resist when I see an image like this one? The local (mostly gray) weather makes me run for my camera whenever the sun shines and I can get outside. I took this one yesterday on a little walk near my house. I have never appreciated sunshine like I do now that I live in Seattle, that’s for sure.

Visit Shadow Shot Sunday and SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera), Scenic Sunday, Blue Monday and Color Carnival for more super photos with a theme.

If you’ve arrived via a permalink and you see only one photo here, you might click on Sara’s Fave Photos for the full blog experience. And do click on a new tag or category, or even a search for something less obvious. You never know what you might find.

This is a very strong favorite of mine. I’m calling it my best post of the week.

Looking upwards (or downwards) can sometimes really perk up a photo. This one is hot off the memory card, taken just this afternoon. The day started off beautifully sunny after a week of rain, and I was hot to photograph some of those incredible leaves before another rain system removed them forever. But when I could get outside, it was starting to be overcast—not the best sky for photographs of glorious fall color. But looking upwards yielded some blue, a perfect complement for the flaming orange leaves.

Visit Skywatch Friday for more skies seen around the world. Color Carnival has more bright colors, and SOOC has more straight-out-of-the-camera shots.

If there is only one photo on this page, do click on Sara’s Fave Photos for the full blog. And while you are here, you might try a tag or category to see some others you might like.

Here’s another photo from that walk in the Wallingford, WA neighborhood I took a few days ago. A little sunshine, some pretty leaves, my trusty S90 Canon in my pocket, and a few minutes to stroll equals happiness in my book.

Visit Thursday Challenge for more photos with the theme of Gold. This is also a good one for Scenic Sunday, Color Carnival and SOOC or straight-out-of-the-camera photos. Cropping is OK for that meme, but I mostly don’t. That’s what viewfinders are for.

Be sure to check out some other tags or categories here. How about “autumn”? If you’ve arrived by a link, the latest photos are always at Sara’s Fave Photos.

It was only last month that we went crabbing in our friends’ 28-foot boat in the waters off Anacortes, Washington, but it does seem farther back than that. Summer’s weather was so gray and dismal that the rare blue skies that day were a total thrill. This photo reminds me of the clear air and great watery smell up there. Vrooom!

Visit Watery Wednesday and Outdoor Wednesday, plus Scenic Sunday, Skywatch Friday and Blue Monday, if you’d like to see more neat photos on those themes. There’s also SOOC Sunday for straight-out-of-the-camera shots like this one.

As long as you’re here, you might as well try a tag like “water” to see more of my own photos with water in them. You can always return to the latest post here by clicking on Sara’s Fave Photos.

Even though there are several photos I posted this week that I really like, I think the sense of motion and distance in this one makes it my fave for the week. Plus the sunshine and water, of course—so I’m tagging it my Best Post of the Week.