Here’s the rose garden out front. That late afternoon light is so beautiful, and I don’t mind a little lens flare, do you?

Rose garden with curly willow and dark red smoke tree in the background

Participating in Pink Saturday, Ruby Tuesday 2, Outdoor Wednesday, Shadow Shot Sunday 2, Scenic Weekends, Today’s Flowers, Floral Friday, Weekend Flowers, NF Blo-Ma Tuesday, My Romantic Home, Fishtail Cottage Wednesday and Garden Tuesday. Click around here to see what you can find that’s fun. How about the tag My Garden?

It poured really hard. I thought we were in Bali or someplace. As the warm air cleared, I looked to the east and there was a sunset rainbow, complete with a reflection I later saw in the puddle.

Double rainbow at sunset is reflected in a puddle

Participating at Skywatch Friday, A Piece of Heaven, Ruby Tuesday 2, Pink Saturday, Monday Mellow Yellows, Water World Wednesday, Outdoor Wednesday, Scenic Weekends, Weekend Reflections and Creative Weekends Friday at the Pink Home. Don’t forget that if you arrive here and see only one photo above, do click on the Sara’s Fave Photos Blog curly letters at the top to see everything else.

Got to visit Seattle’s waterfront briefly today, and thank goodness the clouds pulled back enough for a spot of scenic. Those are the Olympic Mountains way in the distance.

A ferryboat on Puget Sound at Seattle’s waterfront

Participating in Outdoor Wednesday, Scenic Weekends, Water World Wednesday, Shadow Shot Sunday 2, Skywatch Friday, A Piece of Heaven, Straight out of the Camera Sunday, Thursday Challenge (Outdoors), and Weekend Reflections. Please browse around here if you have a minute or two. Thanks for looking!

My next door neighbor has a Chinese dogwood tree planted on our common property line, and we are lucky to enjoy the blossoms every spring. This tree is getting pretty big already and I’ve read that they can get to 30 feet tall. Whew.

White Chinese dogwood tree blossoms in close up, about 3″ or 10 cm. across

Linking to Outdoor Wednesday, Straight out of the Camera Sunday, Scenic Weekends, Floral Friday, Weekend Flowers, NF Blo-Ma Tuesday, Today’s Flowers, Shadow Shot Sunday 2, My Romantic Home, Fishtail Cottage Wednesday, Macro Monday and Garden Tuesday. Thanks for your visit here and do come again soon.

This spot near my house is the most amazingly scenic overlook, at least when it is sunny. Did you know that the Seattle area gets more overcast days (220 per year) than any other US city? It just makes us giddy when the sun is out.

Big puffy clouds reflect on the water in Normandy Park, WA

Joining in at Outdoor Wednesday, Straight out of the Camera Sunday, Scenic Weekends, Skywatch Friday, A Piece of Heaven, Water World Wednesday, Nature’s Footsteps Waters Sunday, and Weekend Reflections. Thank you for stopping by and have a great weekend.

I love lupines. [Where I used to live in Northern California, the blue ones grew wild on hillsides and they bloomed at the same time as orange California poppies. Unfortunately, if you have CA poppies in your garden, you will never get rid of them, and might be sorry you ever planted them and their resulting millions of offspring. However, in the right spot, it’s a winning combo. But I digress.] These purple ones in my garden make me so happy in the springtime, and return every year. Removing spent flowers really does extend the bloom time for them.

Lavender and purple lupines bloom in Seattle in May

Linking up at Outdoor Wednesday, Straight out of the Camera Sunday, My Romantic Home, Floral Friday, Weekend Flowers, NF Blo-Ma Tuesday, Today’s Flowers, Fishtail Cottage Wednesday, and Shadow Shot Sunday 2. Anyone know any purple memes? Do share!

Our next door neighbors have a little baby, a girl nine months old. Do you believe that they got this playhouse for her? It is the cutest thing I ever saw, and she was quite happy sitting on the floor inside, chewing on the toy spatula that comes with it.

Playhouse with a picket fence nestles among the rhododendrons

Please visit Outdoor Wednesday, Straight out of the Camera Sunday, Scenic Weekends, Pink Saturday, My Romantic Home, Floral Friday, Weekend Flowers, NF Blo-Ma Tuesday, Today’s Flowers, Fishtail Cottage Wednesday, and Shadow Shot Sunday 2. Thank you for your visit here and be sure to browse around.

OK, it’s not the best photo in the world, and there are all those wires, but who doesn’t love a spring rainbow? Hope you have good luck all day long today.

A spring rainbow in Burien, Washington

Linking up at Outdoor Wednesday, Straight out of the Camera Sunday, Scenic Weekends, Skywatch Friday, Pink Saturday, Ruby Tuesday 2, Monday Mellow Yellows, and A Piece of Heaven. Thank you for visiting and please come back soon.

These red fritillaria, or checkered tulips, decorating my garden this week just float my boat. Both this kind and the other more purple-and-cream color a few posts below are doing so well in my garden. I love things that just come up and bloom, all by themselves. Those are grape hyacinths in the background, also easy and fun, and so welcome in springtime.

Dark red checkered tulips, or fritillaria, in the garden

Participating in My Romantic Home, Outdoor Wednesday, Floral Friday, Weekend Flowers, NF Blo-Ma Tuesday, Today’s Flowers, Shadow Shot Sunday 2, Ruby Tuesday 2, Pink Saturday and Macro Monday. Thank you so much for visiting and come back again soon. Sign up for email notification on the upper right so you don’t miss a post.

Daphne odora marginata is a fabulous, mostly evergreen shrub that grows very well in the Pacific Northwest. It likes acid soil and not too much sun. I’ve always had good luck with them and adore them for their intense fragrance and also for the cheerful start to the spring blooming season they provide. One little bouquet of these tiny flowers will scent up the house.

Daphne odora marginata blooms on a sunny windowsill in late March

Linking in My Romantic Home, Outdoor Wednesday, Shadow Shot Sunday 2, Floral Friday, Weekend Flowers, NF Blo-Ma Tuesday, Today’s Flowers, Scenic Weekends, Pink Saturday, Thursday Challenge (Spring), and Macro Monday. Have a great weekend, and hope you get some sun and fragrance in it. Thanks for dropping by here.