In Seattle on a sunny afternoon at this time of year the shadows reach far into the house.

Striped shadows on my glass of milk

Connecting to Through My Lens Monday, Our World Tuesday, Tuesday’s Wordless Wednesday, Tuesday Treasures, Wordless Wednesday, My Corner of the World Wednesday 1, Little Things Thursday, Friday Bliss, Pink Saturday, Shadow Shot Sunday 2 and All Seasons Sunday1. Thanks so much for visiting here and hope to see you again soon. Please sign up at upper right for notifications of new posts.

This is the bottom half of our giant cedar tree, estimated to be perhaps 300 years old. There’s about twice as much tree above as is shown. The trunk is four or five feet in diameter. The recent wind has dropped the older leaves onto the lawn, eventually to be raked into mulch. Many, many birds live in its branches. I love our tree.

Discarded leaves beneath a very old cedar tree

Connecting up with Through My Lens Monday, Our World Tuesday, Tuesday’s Wordless Wednesday, Tuesday Treasures, Wordless Wednesday, My Corner of the World Wednesday 1, Little Things Thursday, Friday Bliss, Pink Saturday, Garden Affair Saturday, and All Seasons Sunday1. Thanks so much for visiting here and hope to see you again soon. Please sign up at upper right for notifications of new posts.

I know that usually these are all called Christmas cactus, but the points on the leaves mean it’s Schlumbergera truncata, or Thanksgiving cactus, and not Schlumbergera bridgesii. I am happy to report it is blooming the proper time, not that I do anything special to it. I have several different colors and they all seem to be liking the indoor weather this year.

Close up of a white Thanksgiving cactus flower with magenta edges

Bonus image!

Thanksgiving cactus with red flowers, with its planty friends

Connecting to Through My Lens Monday, Our World Tuesday, Ruby Tuesday 2, Tuesday’s Wordless Wednesday, Tuesday Treasures, Wordless Wednesday, My Corner of the World Wednesday 1, Little Things Thursday, Friday Bliss, Weekend Reflections, Pink Saturday, Garden Affair Saturday, Shadow Shot Sunday 2 and All Seasons Sunday1. Thanks so much for visiting here and hope to see you again soon. Please sign up at upper right for notifications of new posts.

I live in the Pacific Northwest so it gets kind of cold, with some frost, at least, most years. So that means moving the houseplants inside (ideally on an overcast day) and then finding room for them, which is the hard part. I’m still rearranging. South windows are so great in the winter, especially in Seattle. That low-angled sunshine (when it appears) will come all the way into the room in a few weeks. Outside the window is a peach tree on the right and on the left in back, a huge, ancient cedar tree.

Houseplants and shadows in a quick Seattle sunbreak

Linking up with Through My Lens Monday, Our World Tuesday, Tuesday’s Wordless Wednesday, Tuesday Treasures, Wordless Wednesday, My Corner of the World Wednesday 1, Little Things Thursday, Friday Bliss, Pink Saturday, Garden Affair Saturday, Shadow Shot Sunday 2 and All Seasons Sunday1. Thanks for visiting here and hope to see you again very soon. Please sign up at upper right for notifications of new posts.

The only name I know for sure is string of pearls for the middle one. Some kind of rosette with pink-gray leaves on the left, and the weirdest one, a cactus with long papery spines that are kind of like fingernails, but very pointy indeed, on the right. We’ll be getting sun in this window all winter.

Some succulents in the afternoon sun

Also see Through My Lens Monday, Our World Tuesday, Tuesday’s Wordless Wednesday, Tuesday Treasures, Wordless Wednesday, My Corner of the World Wednesday 1, Little Things Thursday, Friday Bliss, Weekend Reflections, Pink Saturday, Shadow Shot Sunday 2 and All Seasons Sunday1. Thanks so much for visiting here and hope to see you again soon. Please sign up at upper right for notifications of new posts.

Just a year ago, took a quick tour of the Cactus House at Volunteer Park Conservatory, in Seattle. I hope they can open again soon. We all miss it so much. Bonus image below!

Pretty little hen-and-chick succulents (not cactus!)

Bonus image:

Stunning accordian-pleated cactus (also a succulent!). When they have more water, they expand.

Linking up with Through My Lens Monday, Macro Monday, Ruby Tuesday 2, Our World Tuesday, Tuesday’s Wordless Wednesday, Tuesday Treasures, Wordless Wednesday, My Corner of the World Wednesday 1, Little Things Thursday, Friday Bliss, Pink Saturday, Shadow Shot Sunday 2 and All Seasons Sunday1. Thanks so much for visiting here and hope to see you again soon. Please sign up at upper right for notifications of new posts.

Finally we’re getting some warm, sunny weather in Seattle. The tomatoes are loving it!

Early Girl red tomatoes, Sungold orange cherry tomatoes, wax beans, a lemon cucumber,  a green tomato that got knocked off the vine, and some Blue Lake string beans, with some cosmos and a chiminea in the background

Also on Through My Lens Monday1, Macro Monday, Ruby Tuesday 2, Our World Tuesday, Tuesday’s Wordless Wednesday, Tuesday Treasures, Wordless Wednesday, My Corner of the World Wednesday 1, Little Things Thursday, Friday Bliss, Pink Saturday, Garden Affair Saturday, and All Seasons Sunday1. Thanks so much for visiting here and hope to see you again soon. Please sign up at upper right for notifications of new posts.

This campground photo from several years ago I offer as a way to remember what the woods feels like. Not this year for us, but maybe next year.

Summertime forest scene with sword ferns in Washington, not far from Mt. Rainier

Connecting to Through My Lens Monday1, Our World Tuesday, Tuesday’s Wordless Wednesday, Wordless Wednesday, My Corner of the World Wednesday 1, Little Things Thursday, Friday Bliss, Pink Saturday, Shadow Shot Sunday 2, and All Seasons Sunday1. Thanks so much for visiting here and hope to see you again soon. Please sign up at upper right for notifications of new posts.

If you have never eaten lemon cucumbers, poor you. They are delicious! They are called that because when you let them (over)ripen, they appear the size and shape of lemons, but still taste like regular cucumbers. As a public service announcement I offer the correct stage to pick them. They should have just a tiny hint of yellow starting. Select ones in the store at this color; do not buy if dark yellow. The inner seeds are hardly developed at all. So tender, sweet and crunchy! Rub off the little prickly things and you can even eat the skin at this stage, but I do peel them. Let’s hear it for backyard gardening!

Harvest of lemon cucumbers picked at the perfect time, the first Sungold cherry tomatoes, and some Blue Lake stringbeans

Linking to Through My Lens Monday1, Macro Monday, Our World Tuesday, Tuesday’s Wordless Wednesday, Tuesday Treasures, Wordless Wednesday, My Corner of the World Wednesday 1, Little Things Thursday, Friday Bliss, Pink Saturday, and All Seasons Sunday1. Thanks so much for visiting here and hope to see you again soon. Please sign up at upper right for notifications of new posts.

Stringbeans were my mom’s favorite vegetable. Ever grow something because it reminds you of someone?

Blue Lake stringbeans from my garden

Also on Through My Lens Monday1, Macro Monday, Our World Tuesday, Tuesday’s Wordless Wednesday, Tuesday Treasures, Wordless Wednesday, My Corner of the World Wednesday 1, Little Things Thursday, Friday Bliss, Pink Saturday, Shadow Shot Sunday 2, and All Seasons Sunday1. Thanks so much for visiting here and hope to see you again soon. Please sign up at upper right for notifications of new posts.