We had some big wind, and that means the pretty leaves are leaving. Sigh. They were so very lovely this year. Let’s give thanks for their show for us, shall we? An attitude of gratitude is the way to live life, all year round.

Take a peek at Ruby Tuesday, Scenic Sunday, Wordless Wednesday, Outdoor Wednesday, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera), Skywatch Friday and Blue Monday, if you can. Do browse here first, and hope you enjoy what you find. Happy Thanksgiving to all!

We were at the Normandy Park, WA cove and saw a huge bunch of birds (common murres?) on the water. This photo shows only a small portion of them. They were sitting out there and then, whoosh, they all went into the air at once and settled a ways away. Quite beautiful to see them fly like that.

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We have two columnar apple trees, about six feet (two meters) tall and two feet wide at most. They bear full-size apples! With apples, you must have another tree for pollination, so you need two trees, or a neighbor with an apple tree. The trees never get much bigger, so you can have them in pots. We used to have them in big pots on our deck, but when we moved to this house we put them in the ground, and they are happy. This year my hand-pollination efforts, and the plastic sandwich bags against pests, paid off well, and we have a bumper crop. Time for apple sauce!

Take a look at Macro Friday, Macro Monday, Ruby Tuesday, Scenic Sunday, Outdoor Wednesday, and Shadow Shot Sunday if you have a minute or two. Browse around here with a new category or tag (“My Garden”?) and click on the banner above, Sara’s Fave Photos, to see all the posts here.

Some of you may remember a similar image from last year. Up at Anacortes, WA, our friends took us out on their boat in September, crabbing among the San Juan islands. The weather was changing, but here was a spot of calm weather, and how scenic can you get?

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You’ve got to love shades of gray to live in Seattle. This is a little waterfront town, Redondo, right on Puget Sound, the other day when the sky almost looked like snow. It wasn’t all that cold, but it sure felt like winter was around the corner. Coming back to this after a few days, I really like the simplicity of the forms. I’m calling it my Best Post of the Week.

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Highline Garden just north of Seattle’s SeaTac Airport has a lovely Japanese garden which, amazingly, was moved from another location not that long ago. Here is one view of it in August. Don’t you love seeing the blue sky and puffy clouds, even if it’s just reflected?

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Farmers markets are so great. I took a look at the prices in our local Burien Farmers Market and realized that sometimes they are only a quarter of the cost in the supermarket, and fresher to boot. Next year I am going to make more of an effort to make the Thursday market each week. I like that the money goes right to the farmer, too.

Take a look at what people have posted at Macro Friday, Color Carnival, Macro Monday, Mellow Yellow Monday, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera), Shadow Shot Sunday and Thursday Challenge (Golden) for more interesting photographs around the blogosphere. And if there is only one photo below, click on Sara’s Fave Photos to see a nice bunch here.

With a nod to the king of peppers, Edward Weston, I choose this as my Best Post of the Week.

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!

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I can’t believe I’ve lived in the Seattle area for eight years now and have never visited Snoqualmie Falls until now. It’s much closer than I had any idea of, and even though you can’t walk right up to the falls for another year or so until they finish the improvements, it’s still a fabulous view and well worth the trip.

Visit Watery Wednesday, Outdoor Wednesday, Scenic Sunday, and SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera) for more photo fun. Browse around here first, why don’t you? Remember, if there is only one photo below, click on Sara’s Fave Photos for the others. Thank you for visiting!

We’ve been having meetings at the Volunteer Park Conservatory (check out their brand-new website!) to help get the much-needed completion of the restoration funded. An extra benefit is going there after hours and catching the late afternoon light. There’s a wonderful video they’ve produced and you might notice that the plantings in it show it was taken just recently. Don’t you just love sunflowers?

Sorry for the late notice, but I will be at the Conservatory’s Plant Sale on Saturday, September 17, 10-3pm, signing copies of my new book, Flowers of Volunteer Park Conservatory: Blooming Month by Month. Directions on the Conservatory’s new website above. The plant sales there are always fabulous and the book is pretty neat, too! And the special launch pricing for my new book on this website will end Thursday, September 15, so if you were thinking about getting one for yourself and maybe one for a gift, now’s the time.

Visit Ruby Tuesday, Outdoor Wednesday, Scenic Sunday, Skywatch Friday, Today’s Flowers, Color Carnival, and Mellow Yellow Monday. See the complete and up-to-date blog here by clicking on Sara’s Fave Photos, here or on the banner above.