My Year In Pictures: April Week 1

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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

A Surprise Every Day: Shaking Up December With Hipstamatic (week 1)

Hello everyone!  I didn’t plan to be away for so long and don’t think I’ve ever gone 10 days without a post but sometimes life just gets in the way… One thing I didn’t let go though was my daily photo habit  and even though this set of 7 images already seems like ancient history I’m back in business and ready to recap the week that was.  As of tonight my unexpected car, computer and (big) kid issues are temporarily resolved, I have a nice glass of wine beside me and a few minutes of quiet while John cooks dinner for the three of us.

The last Sunday in November was the end of our Thanksgiving holiday with family. John, Ryan and I spent the night with my brother and this frosty sunrise accompanied our blueberry pancakes, sausage and plenty of hot coffee.  Monday was filled with work and catching up household chores so you get a shot of one of the botanical prints on my office wall.  To welcome the 1st of December I found this Santa waiting to greet his first child of the day and Wednesday morning I liked this combination of a faded tulip dropping into my crystal votive.

Thursday night found me shopping for shipping supplies and even though we have a fake Christmas tree because Ryan and I are both allergic I still stop to smell the fresh greens when I walk past a display of cut trees.  Friday night was another shopping trip, this time Ryan needed more music holders for his flip chart so he could play his trumpet at the first home basket ball game of the season.  Saturday morning I pushed, pulled and dragged an exhausted boy out of bed at 6 am for his first high school wrestling tournament.  Fourteen hours later I drove an even more exhausted boy home with an ice pack on his shoulder and an arm that needed medical attention… more to come in next weeks recap. 😦

Each photo was taken with my iPhone 6 using Hipstamatic’s “shake to randomize” function then 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, filter and flash used.  For variety I continue to add new lenses and filters so 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.

 

Lisa14 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!

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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 – 1

2014 Tulip Festival 1

I usually post a new black and white photo every Tuesday but after spending the weekend surrounded by millions of tulips my head is full of bright, vibrant colors and I thought it would be fun to spend the week sharing a few of my favorite views from the 2014 Skagit Valley Tulip Festival.

This image above is from one of the beautiful display beds at the Roozengaarde Display Garden and Store and is the first of the week because I liked the contrast between the cheery tulips carefully  lined up in front of the fence separating the farm from the wide open fields of the valley.

My 2013 gallery about the Tulip Festival is one of my 10 most viewed posts but if you missed it the first time a link is here.  I’m  happy to report this year the fields are dry!

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