Assignment: Spooky

Unless Mother Nature cooperates, this is as spooky as I am going to get.

Assignment: Pumpkins

Assignment: Fall Leaves

I love the way fallen leaves carpet the ground in incredible tapestries of color. I started the assignment with the idea of focusing on individual leaves, but got so caught up in the beautiful designs underfoot that I changed course.


...except for this leaf. I just love the way it is gradually changing, from the outside in, the red shading to yellow and then to green. No sudden overnight changes for this cautious one!

What a day!!

Today was a glorious fall day--60 degrees, slight breeze, clear skies, colorful foliage--and so Rick and I decided to go enjoy the outdoors. We headed out to Rattlesnake Lake and before I knew it, a Command Decision (read Rick's decision) had been made to climb up to Rattlesnake Ledge. How hard could it be? After all, Laura hiked it a couple of years ago with a baby in a backpack, and she HATES hiking! (Rattlenake Ledge is a 2 mile trail--with a 1,160' elevation gain. THAT'S how hard it could be!) We were sucking some serious air ("Naw, we can't be that out of shape! It must be the elevation!") but made it to the top. I conquered my fears enough to get out on the top, but NOT to the point; that was a little too much. Rick did; it was all I could do to take his photo. It was an incredible view up there today--all the way out to the watershed and over to Mt. Si and up to Snoqualmie and beyond. Well worth the climb up, and the climb down. What a day!!

The cliff in the photo above is Rattlesnake Ledge. You stand on the top, and can walk out to the very edge. There is a gap/chasm in the rock that is tricky to climb across if you want to go all the way to the edge. Not me!!


The view to the NW, looking at Mt. Si.
Some brave (some say foolhardy) souls out at the edge of the Ledge.

Rick at the top, surveying the incredible view, and making me extremely nervous!! (I don't do well with heights, even someone else's proximity to them). But the view was worth it.

Bragging!

I am so excited! I submitted one of my photos to an on-line Picture of the Day site, and it was selected and posted on-line yesterday!! They get thousands of submissions from all over the world, so I am pretty excited that they picked me. I feel like Sally Fields ("you like me! You really like me!") ;-) Actually, it is a validation for me. When I took this one, I thought to myself "Yes! I NAILED this one!" and now someone else thinks so, too. Whoo hoo!! Here it is:

Assignment: Fall Details and Colors

Love the redness of these berries against the texture and monochromatic tones of the corn.
Honest--this is a real mushroom! Isn't this cool? The color was really as orange as it looks.
I love acorns--the variety in the shape, size, colors; the caps and being lucky enough to find an acorn still wearing its cap before the squirrels find it. Acorns just mean autumn to me.
What would autumn in the NW be without kale? Purples, greens, creams, and incredibly designed and patterned leaves...I'd never seen them before moving here.
I love the way hydrangeas turn in the fall, from blue to mauve to lavender, and all shades in between. Add to that the bright yellow-green leaves, and that is another autumn palette.

Assignment: Fall's Colors

I love autumn--the colors, the sounds of leaves crunching underfoot, the tapestry of colors wherever you look... I miss the hardwood colors we had back east, but if you look hard enough around here, you can find them. I love this tree--it was trying to cover all the hues at the same time.
Oh, for a blue sky reflection! However, blue sky and fall are not synonymous here.

Tweaking

The Last of Summer

Summer is officially over, but I still have a few hardy blossoms in the garden. This is such a hard time of year for me. I know I should be pulling out all the spent annuals and emptying out the pots, but I keep hoping for one more bloom... Besides, they look so gorgeous with the rain drops on them!