No snow yet this year, but here’s a lovely scene from my back yard from last winter.

Please visit Skywatch Friday, A Piece of Heaven, Outdoor Wednesday, Scenic Sunday, Water World Wednesday, Nature’s Footsteps Waters, and Pink Saturday (snow). I appreciate your stopping by, and please come back soon.

Fresh snow on magnolia and dogwood trees

As this year comes to a close, this photo of two kayakers on Bowman Bay, right off of Deception Pass in western Washington State, really “floats my boat.” It symbolizes the feeling I have of moving out into life, alone but with a companion, on water which is dangerous but gives so much pleasure. The blue sky and water, the calm day, the companionable silence, and the feeling of freedom, make this a picture of my wishes for you in 2013. May you have these blessings and more.

In the ancient system of I Ching, water is the symbol in two of the eight basic parts of the hexagram. One is the symbol for Danger, and one is the symbol for Lake, or Pleasure. I love that.

Two kayaks on scenic Bowman Bay, WA

Participating this week at Skywatch Friday, A Piece of Heaven, Outdoor Wednesday, Scenic Sunday, Water World Wednesday, Nature’s Footsteps Waters, Ruby Tuesday 2, and Mellow Yellow Monday. Thanks for visiting, and come back soon! If there’s only the one photo here, please click on Sara’s Fave Photos Blog above for the rest of the pretty pictures. Thanks!

There’s a lady not too far from my house who really goes all out with the holidays. She does amazing things at Halloween and July Fourth, as well. But the Christmas display is my favorite. At this time of year, in this northern latitude, we love lights! Below is the view from the road in front of her house, showing the reflection on the top of my car as I steadied my camera, and below that is a closer view which includes Santa in the gazebo. There’s a huge Christmas village inside the home, but we’ll save that for another day. Merry Christmas!

Visit Outdoor Wednesday, Scenic Sunday, Ruby Tuesday 2, Pink Saturday, Mellow Yellow Monday, and Weekend Reflections. If you’d like to see the latest photos, please click on Sara’s Fave Photos Blog above. Thanks!

Normandy Park, WA holiday lights

Santa waving from the gazebo

It’s been awhile since I posted a view from the overlook near my house. This was taken on the numerologically important day of 12-12-12. In all the clouds and rain Seattle has been having since mid-October (after a fabulous summer of sunshine) that day the sun managed to peek out briefly and I was there. Hope you enjoy this view of the ephemeral magic of the setting sun.

Joining up in Skywatch Friday, A Piece of Heaven, Outdoor Wednesday, Shadow Shot Sunday 2, Scenic Sunday, My Romantic Home, Pink Saturday, Water World Wednesday, Nature’s Footsteps Waters and Weekend Reflections. To see all the recent images, please click on Sara’s Fave Photos Blog above. Thanks for stopping by, and come back soon!

Walking to our neighbors’ the other day, their front yard had the loveliest red bird feeder, scenic and against the rainy leaves. Hope the birdies appreciate the pretty leaves as much as we do.

Joining this post in Outdoor Wednesday, My Romantic Home, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera), Mellow Yellow Monday, Pink Saturday, and Ruby Tuesday 2. Click on Sara’s Fave Photos Blog above if there’s only one photo below. So glad you stopped by.

I so rarely get up really early (I am NOT a morning person) that it was just a fluke that on Friday when I had to, there was Mt. Rainier with snow on top, just visible from our backyard, all lit up with a peachy glow. It helped the early hour, believe me.

Photo memes this week: My Romantic Home, Pink Saturday, Scenic Sunday, Thursday Challenge (Orange), Wordless Wednesday, Outdoor Wednesday, Skywatch Friday, A Piece of Heaven, and Mellow Yellow Monday. Click on Sara’s Fave Photos Blog above if there is only one photo below. Thanks for visiting, and come back soon!

Less than three weeks gone by and it seems like another era. The sun is done and the rains have come. Here’s what Seattle’s iconic Volunteer Park Conservatory looked like in our amazing summer which lasted until the middle of October. I think this image is great photo journalism and I’m calling it my Best Post of the Week.

Linking in at Skywatch Friday,  A Piece of Heaven, Today’s Flowers, Floral Friday, Weekend Flowers, Pink Saturday, Scenic Sunday, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera), Outdoor Wednesday, Shadow Shot Sunday 2 and Ruby Tuesday 2. If you only see the Conservatory photo below, please click on Sara’s Fave Photos Blog above to see the rest. Thanks!

Just a week or so ago, before the rain came, this stretch of Seattle’s Arboretum was glorious in the sunshine. Shall we take a stroll to that tiny bench in the distance?

You might visit Scenic Sunday, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera), Shadow Shot Sunday 2, and Outdoor Wednesday. If you see only one photo is below, please click on Sara’s Fave Photos Blog above to see the others. Thanks for visiting!

It’s been awhile since I posted a view of the overlook around the block from where I live. This is an early fall view of the soft sky and waters of Puget Sound in the Pacific Northwest. I hope you like looking at it as much as I enjoyed being there.

Joining Pink Saturday, Mellow Yellow Monday, A Piece of Heaven, Skywatch Friday, Outdoor Wednesday, My Romantic Home, and Scenic Sunday. All worth visiting, and thanks for stopping by here.

The weather has been fabulous in the Seattle area, with cloudless blue skies almost every day. There were some sunset clouds the other day and I had to get outside and take a few photos. These clouds look like a giant flame to me.

Linking up at Pink Saturday, Mellow Yellow Monday, A Piece of Heaven, Skywatch Friday, Outdoor Wednesday, My Romantic Home, and Scenic Sunday. Fine places to visit for some neat photos with a theme.

Please click on Sara’s Fave Photos Blog above if you’d like to see the recent photos here, and thanks for visiting. Come back soon!