Just a few short weeks ago, the Japanese magnolia in my backyard was in bloom. This photo is one of my very top faves and I am calling it my weekly Top Shot.

Pink and white Japanese magnolia blossom, up close

Participating in Pink Saturday, Garden Party Thursday, Our World Tuesday, I Heart Macro Saturday, Macro Monday, Outdoor Wednesday, Today’s Flowers, Floral Friday,  My Romantic Home, and Saturday Show Off. Try a new tag or category while you are here, perhaps?

Burien, Washington is a small city west of SeaTac Airport. Once a month they do an art walk in Olde Burien. This appears to be self-portraits by some local students. I love these paintings. I hope the artists don’t mind this post!

I call this image “Artistic.” Young Burien-area artists show their own faces to the world at Art Walk.

Linked to Straight out of the Camera Sunday, Weekend Reflections, Our World Tuesday, Blue Monday, Monday Mellow Yellows, Ruby Tuesday 2, and Saturday Show Off. Click on a new tag or category as long as you’re here, why not?

One more birthday-related post. When I was a kid, my mom usually made us a strawberry shortcake for our birthdays. She isn’t here now, so if I want one, it’s up to me. I had some people here and this is what I made. It was good. Here is the recipe I used.

Lots of fresh strawberries, real whipped cream, and a “from scratch” sponge cake for a perfect birthday dessert

Participating in Seasonal Sundays, Our World Tuesday, Ruby Tuesday 2, My Romantic Home, and Saturday Show Off. Please click on the Sara’s Fave Photos Blog curly letters above to see the rest of the latest photos here.

I was lucky enough to receive several gorgeous bouquets for my birthday last week. These white and lavender lilacs with their soft shadows were a show-stopper.

Close up of single-petaled lilacs in a bouquet, in lavender and white

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In the break we had from rain a couple of days ago, I went out with my dry paintbrush and pollinated my two little fruit trees. (“Make like a bee!”) I am lucky enough to have a dwarf cherry tree with multiple grafts on it of different varieties. However, even though it is “self-fertile,” all that means is that it doesn’t need another variety to pollinate. It still needs some pollen to move around for the fruit to set. So out I go, on a sunny day, with my soft, dry paintbrush, and gently brush the blossoms. I have found it makes a big difference. Use this technique on tomato plants, too.

Fruiting cherry tree blooms in backyard orchard

Linking to Blue Monday, Skywatch Friday, Seasonal Sundays, Our World Tuesday, Outdoor Wednesday, Shadow Shot Sunday 2, NF Catching the Light Monday,  Straight out of the Camera Sunday, I Heart Macro Saturday, Macro Monday, Monday Mellow Yellows, Today’s Flowers, Floral Friday, Blooming Friday, My Romantic Home, and Saturday Show Off. If you’re a macro fan, try clicking on the tag “close up” in the tag cloud at right.

Seattle is glorious on a sunny April day:

Seattle seen from the soon-to-be-demolished viaduct

Visit Blue Monday, Skywatch Friday, Seasonal Sundays, Our World Tuesday, Outdoor Wednesday, Shadow Shot Sunday 2, NF Catching the Light Monday, Scenic Weekends, Straight out of the Camera Sunday,  and Saturday Show Off. Thanks for your visit here and please come back soon.

Friends drove me to Seattle and their car had VERY clean car windows.

Monochrome view of Seattle’s Great Wheel, from the Viaduct

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As a brief break from tulips, I thought I’d show you a new tree (to me), a star magnolia. The pretty white flowers were very fragrant, and 2 or 3 inches wide (5-8 cm). It was growing in a sweet little arboretum in Everett, WA, the Evergreen Arboretum & Gardens.

Fragrant white Star Magnolia blooms in April in Everett, WA

They also had a lovely and fragrant viburnum tree of some kind. Looking on google images for the name of this plant, I find Viburnum carlesii ‘Aurora’, or Korean spice viburnum, which looks very similar, except that the plant I saw seemed to be a tree, or maybe it was just a very mature shrub. But I want one.

Fragrant viburnum blooms in April in Everett, WA

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The late afternoon light made this row of red tulips with white edges especially scenic.

Late afternoon light illuminates a row of red tulips at the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival

Please visit I Heart Macro Saturday, Macro Monday, Seasonal Sundays, Our World Tuesday, Outdoor Wednesday, Ruby Tuesday 2, Today’s Flowers, Floral Friday, Blooming Friday, Shadow Shot Sunday 2, NF Catching the Light Monday, Scenic Weekends, Straight out of the Camera Sunday, and Saturday Show Off. If only one image here, click on Sara’s Fave Photos Blog above to see a few more.

Yesterday I was blessed to be able to visit the Skagit Valley tulip festival. Fields of hundreds of acres bloom with color. You will see some tulip photos here in the next while, that’s for sure.

Red, pink and purple tulips bloom in Skagit County, Washington

Joining in with Seasonal Sundays, Our World Tuesday, Outdoor Wednesday, Ruby Tuesday 2, Today’s Flowers, Floral Friday, Blooming Friday, Scenic Weekends, Pink Saturday, Straight out of the Camera Sunday, and Saturday Show Off. Thank you so much for visiting, and please come back soon.