Tag Archives: countryside

Snow on the Mountains

First we had this …

… which gave us a very early start to evening darkness. With this sort of weather, it was good to be at home with a hot chocolate!

These very dark clouds dropped a terrific amount of rain which in the mountains fell as snow.

But then we got some of this …

… which lead to being able to see the snow on the mountains. And that’s exactly where it belongs. The skiers are happy but we’re equally happy with 10C (50F) and snowless environs!

Happy Tuesday.

Reblog: 22 Degree Solar Halo

We were out at Finn River Farm (in Chimacum, Washington, about 10 miles south of Port Townsend) getting some dinner and were waiting outside. It was …

22 Degree Solar Halo

A stunning solar halo photo from Allan at Allan J Jones Photo Blog. Please click the link above to see more of Allan’s beautiful nature photography.

Monochrome Madness

Today – for the first time – I’m participating in Leanne Cole’s Monochrome Madness. If you’re interested in participating as well, please go to Leanne’s site to see what’s coming up. This week doesn’t have a theme so you can post whatever you would like.

I’ve done a bit of experimentation with monochrome by converting colour photos through Lightroom; others in my collection are naturally monochromatic winter photos and are three of the ones I’m posting here.

Winter eagle

An eagle pair lives near our home and has a couple of favoured perching trees that aren’t far from our deck. In January of 2024 I saw one of them doing some territorial surveying during a very wet snow fall that later turned to rain.

Okanagan Lake

This blue hour photo was taken just after nightfall in early February, 2024. I particularly like the almost perfect reflection in the lake’s surface.

Photo by permission from Dana Coates

The above photo isn’t mine but I’m including it because it’s such an unusual example of a naturally pink monochromatic photo. This is a rare pink fog – there were no filters applied to this picture.

Heavy moisture content in the air caused the blue wavelengths of the rising sun to be scattered out, resulting in a pink fog. Further up the Okanagan valley, the fog was actually red. This incredibly rare phenomenon didn’t last long; only about 10 minutes.

A small flock of coots swim through a monotone December day from 2024.

It was fun looking through my archive for appropriate monotone photos. I hope you enjoy them.

It’s Unquestionably November

We don’t get a lot of snow here; it’s more likely to be rain, especially in November and December, and today I really feel that November has arrived. We are socked in by rain and the very low late autumn/early winter cloud has settled into the valley.

When I talk of rain, I mean here at the valley floor, but in the surrounding mountains it’s snow; all the ski operators must be keeping their fingers crossed for good conditions!

Despite the conditions we did have a bit of clearing for an hour or so …

… but the clouds quickly returned to enclose us once more.

Happy Thursday.

After the Storm

A very windy, very rainy storm passed through the valley and brought a heavy, dark, moisture-laden overcast. After storming all day, it started to clear toward late afternoon.

Those heavy clouds broke up, the wind dropped off and the sun shone.

Orphan clouds hung about for a bit, but they didn’t last long …

… and there was enough of the day left to give us a pretty sunset.

Here it is from one angle …

… and from another.

Happy Sunday.

Reblog: Backlit Fall Colors

Backlit Fall Colors 1 More images from the fall colors along the Dosewallips River trail in the Olympic National Forest. The maples here usually are …

Backlit Fall Colors

Allan at Allan J Jones Photo Blog posted these stunningly beautiful autumn images from the Dosewallips River Trail in the Olympic National Forest, Washington. Please click the link above to see more of his gorgeous nature photography.

Picture Jumble

These are October pictures that I like but haven’t posted before as I chose to publish others from the same sets in more cohesive ways.

Petunias from a large pot on my deck; they’ve been beautiful all summer and are actually still blooming.

Yellowing ginkgo biloba leaves – I love the shape of them. Ginkgo biloba trees are ancient; they’re part of the fossil record.

A path through the Japanese Garden; I walk there probably two or three times a week. It’s peaceful, calming and beautiful.

The stages of autumn change are shown through a colourful ash tree, some dried ornamental grasses and in the foreground, grape vines.

This clump of dahlias looked particularly pretty against the blue sky.

Autumn is beautiful and can be beautifully surprising with its colours, skies, and often, lovely temperatures. There’s probably nothing better than sitting outside in comfortable, glorious autumn temperatures, the season settling and relaxing into a luminous winter.

Autumn…the year’s last, loveliest smile. ~ William Cullen Bryant