There’s nothing like natural light, is there? These cosmos from my garden were catching just a bit of sun in their vase on the windowsill. This image, like most of the ones I show here, is straight out of the camera. When the light is right, most of the photo is just right there for you. Keep your eyes open and be quick!

Visit Pink Saturday, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera), Today’s Flowers, Color Carnival, Macro Flowers Saturday, Macro Monday, Mellow Yellow Monday, Weekend Flowers, Shadow Shot Sunday and Macro Friday. See the complete and up-to-date blog here by clicking on Sara’s Fave Photos, here or on the banner above. The light and shadows in this one float my boat so I’m calling this my Best Post of the Week.

While it’s still blissfully warm in Seattle, with one more day or so before regular temperatures and cloud cover returns, here’s a view that greeted us on our camping trip a couple of weeks ago. Doesn’t that just make you want to take a deep breath? And the new header photo of the boy in Wildcat Lake is just a picture of a warm day, for me.

Take a look at Shadow Shot Sunday, Outdoor Wednesday, Scenic Sunday, and SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera) for more interesting photos with a theme. Remember, if there is only one photo below, click on Sara’s Fave Photos for the others. Thank you for visiting!

Just this afternoon we went to our neighbors’ house to deliver a book they’d ordered and see their lovely garden and of course I couldn’t help taking a few photos. That’s what happens when you use a camera truly pocket sized; you HAVE it with you. Here are some really fascinating pineapple lilies in their backyard and below that, their incredible deck with the Picasso petunias and the tall yellow brugmansia, or Angels Trumpet. We are enjoying the fabulous weather while the east coast suffers with Hurricane Irene. At least someone’s having it good.

Visit  Scenic Sunday, Mellow Yellow Monday, Outdoor Wednesday, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera), Pink Saturday, Today’s Flowers, Macro Monday, Macro Flowers Saturday and Macro Friday, if you have a moment. If you’ve arrived via a link, getting to the latest posts here is easy: just click on Sara’s Fave Photos above.

Highline Botanical Garden does water features so very well. Wouldn’t you just love this one in your backyard?

Visit Watery Wednesday, Outdoor Wednesday, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera) Scenic Sunday, Shadow Shot Sunday, Wordless Wednesday and Weekend Reflections. I love photo memes, as you can tell. And you can always see the complete and up-to-date blog by clicking on Sara’s Fave Photos, here or on the curly lettering on the banner above.

Camping! Can you just smell the woodsmoke? We love to get out in the woods for a few days and smell actual fresh air, day and night. Even a trek through the campground to the facilities can be a lovely experience. A warm day in August in the Pacific Northwest is like no other. I love the range of light to darks, with the blue sky peeping through, and I’m calling this my Best Post of the Week.

Visit Shadow Shot Sunday, Outdoor Wednesday, Scenic Sunday, and this week the theme of Unique Exposures Weekend Challenge is 100 Years Old (or more). It’s pretty close to qualifying for SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera) but I did adjust the curves just a tad, so it doesn’t. But take a look there anyway. Remember, if there is only one photo below, click on Sara’s Fave Photos for the others. Thank you for visiting!

Last week it rained, before the beautiful weekend we enjoyed, so of course I had to head out to the garden when it stopped. I’m enjoying the daylilies this year in their varying shades of orange, burgundy and peach. I think I have a yellow one, but it hasn’t bloomed yet.

Visit Wordless Wednesday, Watery Wednesday, Mellow Yellow Monday, Macro Flowers Saturday, Macro Monday, Macro Friday, Color Carnival, Today’s Flowers, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera) and Ruby Tuesday for more fun photos.

Please see my Big Announcement below if you missed it! And thanks for visiting.

At an after-hours meeting at Seattle’s Volunteer Park Conservatory about their campaign for needed restoration, of course I couldn’t help taking a few photos. Thank goodness that the last time I was there I snapped a photo of the cheat sheet they had posted, a key to the outdoor plantings, so I know that this amazing geranium is called ‘Mrs. Pollack. Even though it’s just coming into flower, that hardly matters with foliage like this.

Visit Mellow Yellow Monday, Macro Flowers Saturday, Macro Monday, Macro Friday, Color Carnival, Today’s Flowers, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera) and Ruby Tuesday. Clicking on the Sara’s Fave Photos banner above brings you back to the latest post here, always.

And if you are in Seattle on Thursday, August 4 at 6-8pm, please come to the Conservatory’s free Open House and book signing for my new book, Flowers of Volunteer Park Conservatory: Blooming Month By Month. Take a tour and meet the author!

From a couple of weeks ago, some flowers in my garden. The orange and yellow ones are alstroemeria, the purple on the left is linaria (VERY easy to grow and reseeds vigorously) and the blue and pink in the middle are bachelor buttons, also reseed well. I love gardening for moments like this one.

Visit Mellow Yellow Monday, Outdoor Wednesday, and SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera), Scenic Sunday, Color Carnival, Today’s Flowers and Blue Monday. Please click on the banner above, Sara’s Fave Photos, to see the latest photos here. And thanks for visiting!

Seattle’s extra cool and rainy spring this year, and hardly any summer to speak of (all the heat elsewhere in the USA) have been great for the peas in my garden. Keep ’em picked and they keep pushing out more. Yum!

Visit Shadow Shot Sunday, Outdoor Wednesday, and SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera), for more fun stuff. If there is only one photo below, please click on Sara’s Fave Photos for the others.

My neighbors had a party last week, and even though they have a great deck and yard, it rained. Not ideal for a party, but for those of us who ALWAYS carry a camera, it had its compensations. This evergreen clematis armandii, I believe, is very happy twining about his deck railing, even (and perhaps especially) in the rain.

You might check out Watery Wednesday, Outdoor Wednesday, Wordless Wednesday, Macro Friday, Macro Monday, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera), Scenic Sunday, and Ruby Tuesday for more photo fun. Do click on the banner above, Sara’s Fave Photos, to see the latest photos here. And thanks for visiting!