My Year In Pictures: April Week 2

Looking through this set of photos I can’t see an obvious theme tying them together unless I decide to count general randomness as a unifying thread but any week that jumps from Lego mini-figures to trains to audio books to 80’s records must have contained some interesting moments and really that’s all that matters to me today.

Sunday afternoon Falcon landed on our deck for a quick hello and my Monday commute was made a little bit easier by listening to Jenny Lawson’s Furiously Happy, a funny book about horrible things.  Tuesday I stopped at this pretty little roadside park in a neighborhood of million dollar homes.  It’s wonderful to see a small parcel of land set aside for anyone who walks past to enjoy the view.

Wednesday Ryan joined me in Seattle after an appointment and I caught him in a quiet moment waiting for me in this cafe.  Thursday I couldn’t resist another shot of the Skagit Valley Tulip Fields and Friday afternoon I’ll admit I was jealous of the commuters who get to enjoy this waterfront view instead of a congested freeway.  Did you know Saturday April 16th was National Record Store Day?  I didn’t make it out to shop this year but promise each of these albums were purchased at a time when record stores were the only place to get music. 🙂

Coming soon I’ve got a great set of new photos almost ready to share here from our latest spring adventures and if you’d like to follow along in real-time don’t forget I post my daily photos on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. If a once-a-week blog read is more your speed my weekly recaps will continue here along with caption notes containing editing information for each photo.

Lisa20 Comments

My Year In Pictures: April Week 1

P
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It’s always nice to look back on a week that felt like any other and discover you actually saw some great things along the way.  April in the Pacific Northwest means fresh flowers, a little bit of sunshine and a lot of rain, all of which you can see above, and to keep things interesting we added a few baskets of fish and chips accompanied by an impromptu concert of Star Wars favorites.

Sunday’s photo is the listing image for a new small blanket in our Etsy shop and Monday Ryan brought out his older French Horn to play me some Star Wars music on a rainy afternoon.  Tuesday is a pretty blossom shot from my morning dog walk and Wednesday night John and I visited Spud’s for Fish and Chips.

Thursday had me wishing I could tuck this bouquet of flowers in my  handbag to carry home but then Friday morning this view was waiting out my back door so I felt ok about leaving the other arrangement at my Hair Salon. 🙂  Saturday started bright and early with a quick trip north to the Skagit Valley tulip fields before the crowds arrived and peaceful photos became impossible.

Coming soon I’ve got a great set of new photos almost ready to share here from our latest spring adventures and if you’d like to follow along in real-time don’t forget I post my daily photos on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. If a once-a-week blog read is more your speed my weekly recaps will continue here along with caption notes containing editing information for each photo.

Lisa12 Comments

iPhoneography Tuesday: Nature’s Cycle in the Tulip Fields

iPhone Tuesday 5-5-15

The showy blooms have faded and it’s back to work for these hardy rows of tulips.  The Roozengaarde family has farmed tulips in Holland and the US since the early 1700’s and their 1,000 acre farm in the Skagit Valley is filled with tulip, daffodil and iris fields earning them the title of the largest flower bulb growers in the United States.

Posted today as part of Lens and Pen by Sally’s weekly Phoneography Challenge:  Nature.

Lisa38 Comments

A Surprise Every Day: Shaking Up April With Hipstamatic (week 2)

Even though I was away from blogging last week I continued my attempt to take one random photo every day and am here for a quick Sunday night post recapping the past seven days.  Ryan enjoyed a relaxing spring break while I had a great time exploring new ways to structure my time and really thinking about what I want to accomplish between now and the end of the year.  I’ll be back online soon to catch up with all of you and see what’s happened while I’ve been gone!

Easter Sunday was a lovely spring day and we spent most of it eating candy, cooking dinner and watching movies.  Our pan of roasted asparagus is the first image of the week and I couldn’t resist this smiling shot of Finn as my photo for Monday.  Tuesday found me at the grocery store wondering which wine to pick and Wednesday is my view up through the trees in our yard waiting for Finn to sniff around and finish his “business.”  Thursday afternoon I walked past this cheery Easter tree and Friday is a trip back in time with this shot of my mom’s sewing room and some old ballet photos from our high school days.  Only one is of me but you can find plenty of my lovely sister and her friends. 🙂  Saturday morning my dad and I paid an early morning visit to the Skagit Valley Tulip Fields and my first photo of the season is this shot on the edge of a display garden.  Stay tuned for more tulip photos throughout the month of April. 🙂

Each photo is straight from Hipstamatic’s “shake to randomize” function and posted without any additional editing. If you like a particular combination and want to try it at home just click on the image to see the lens and filter used.  If you want to try Hipstamatic but are unsure how to start let me know and I’ll do my best to answer your questions!

 

Lisa44 Comments

Travel Theme: Blossom

Blossom

For Alisa’s new Travel Theme:  Blossom I have one more photo from our spring trips to the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival.  This colorful display was filled with so many varieties it looked like an enormous bouquet!

Lisa39 Comments

Travel Theme: Glow

Glow

Maybe I’m just looking for another opportunity to post a tulip picture but I can’t stop looking at these glowing red tulips under a stormy spring sky.

Yesterday I drove a very excited Ryan to Anacortes, WA to join a group of 18 middle school kids and 6 scientists for an adventure they will never forget.  This lucky group will spend the next 4 days sailing a 62′ boat through the San Juan Islands while studying marine biology.  The kids have been meeting for three months planning this trip under the direction of Salish Seas Expeditions and during their time on the water they will learn how to read marine charts, how to  work as a team and sail the boat,  as well as cook their own meals and conduct several experiments regarding shellfish habitat.

Even though the group will have an amazing time it was hard to leave Ryan at the dock and I needed the lure of one more trip to the nearby tulip fields to get me back in the car.

We can track the boat’s course around the islands on marinetraffic.com but I can’t talk to Ryan until we pick him up Sunday evening… it’s hard being out of touch!

Posted as part of Alisa’s weekly Travel Theme:  Glow.

Lisa46 Comments

iPhoneography Monday in the Skagit Valley Tulip Fields

I know I said Thursday would be my last tulip photos for a while but since Sally’s mobile photography challenge is on vacation until May 5th I thought I’d share one more post from the Skagit Valley.  The annual Tulip Festival is a favorite with photographers as well as fun day trip for the family but it’s important to remember that along with the beautiful display gardens and $5 off-road parking these beautiful fields belong to working farms and tulips are big business.

While paying visitors slowly walk around the perimeter of these large bulb fields the hired pickers work long shifts carefully selecting almost opened stems to bundle for sale in the gift shops and flower stands through the valley.  Greenhouse grown tulips and daffodils are available year round but field grown flowers are prized for their longer length and deeper colors and are only available for a few weeks each year.  This group of pickers quietly worked through their Sunday morning shift morning filling wood crates with perfect stems and though I noticed most people tried to avoid including them in their photos I thought the crews hard work should be noted as part of the tulip story.

 

 

Lisa41 Comments

Skagit Valley Tulips – 3

2014 Tulip Festival 2

I took hundreds of tulip photos last weekend but don’t worry, I won’t post all of them at once!  After today we’ll take a break from the Skagit Valley pictures and tomorrow will bring something new to see and talk about.

Lisa39 Comments