Passionate for passion flowers

I discovered passion flowers last summer, and promptly fell in love with the bizarre architecture and structure. This variety really got me, with the "shredded" inner petals tipped in blue-violet. I found this plant on CLEARANCE at Lowe's and snatched it up. I babied it over the winter on the porch, and I have had at least a dozen blooms on it so far. I am so excited! The blooms don't last long, but boy are they worth it.


Another bonus is the tendrils on the plant. Some of them catch waterdrops in the most amazing way!

Raindrops keep falling...

Had some rain today, so in between showers I ran out to take advantage of the fresh raindrops. The images in the drops are always magic to me.

Beach beauty

There is NOTHING more soul-satisfying to me than a day spent at the beach, walking, hiking, exploring, examining; soaking up sun, listening to the surf, hearing the gulls, eagles, and osprey; smelling the brine and the seaweed, and the cedars and firs near the beach. I can feel every knot of tension and stress unwrap and relaxation and calm fill me. I KNOW how incredibly fortunate I am to live in such a wonderful area that fills all my Nature Cravings and Needs.
Doesn't every kid, no matter how old they are, want to build a driftwood fort??

Waaaay down the beach at Double Bluff State Park.
Driftwood log piles line the beach at Eby's Landing Park.

Lights on the water

Mukilteo light, taken from the ferry.
The light tower always looks like an afterthought to me...as if they built the keeper's house, and then realized they'd forgotten the tower, and just stuck it on.
Admiralty Head light on Whidbey. Perched high on a bluff, this is a much more traditional light.
A couple of staircase views...

Eagle Day

I feel that any day I see an eagle, it's a great day. Yesterday ML and I went over to Whidbey Island, and when we were at Useless Bay there were 2 bald eagles perched in a Doug Fir right by the parking lot. They were probably about 150' above us...thank goodness for telephoto lenses!!
Cleaning his beak after a bite to eat...

Interrupted mid-meal...

A day on The Mountain

Rick and I went up to Mt. Rainier yesterday. What a day! Unfortunately the Mountain wasn't out; it was lurking behind the veil of clouds, but it was a PERFECT day.

The wildflowers were in bloom and carpeted the sides of the roads and the open meadow areas. This is the flank of Rainier, as seen from Paradise.
View from Sunrise. I love the lighting with the greyed sky and the harsh shadows on the glaciers; it almost looks like a painted backdrop.
Again from Sunrise. This is at 6400', the highest point you can drive in the park.
Sunrise Lake, with Clover Lake in the meadow beyond. I just couldn't get over the color of the water!!
On the trail at Grove of the Patriarchs. Nothing like an old-growth forest to make you feel insignificant, and marvel at nature.
Part of Sunbeam Creek. The waterfalls were running quite well. The smaller ones are starting to dry up, but there are still a lot that have snowmelt feeding them.

These last three are Narada Falls (which Rick insisted is Neurotic Falls, LOL). They are 168' and just gorgeous. We were there late enough in the day that the low-angled sun formed rainbows in the mist at the bottom.

Hosta Blossoms

Bee Season

The bees are all busy in the hosta right now, so I thought I'd try to catch a couple of the speedy little buggers... Easier said than done. They like to burrow into the trumpet of the flower, so you either have to catch them going in, or backing out.
But, I'm really happy to have caught this guy mid-flight!

Macro Monday gleanings

Love the refraction in the waterdrops of the bedroom window, with the hosta and blooms below...
And I love the way the reverse side of the petal is that wonderful golden bronze--such an amazing color combo!
Don't know why Blogger is rotating some of these photos, but it doesn't matter with these daylily edges...

Perched Above

Caught one of the ospreys in the neighborhood, perched up in a tree. Thank goodness for telephoto lenses! I usually see them soaring, but this is the first time I've found one resting. Doesn't it look fierce?