Camping, II

We went camping again yesterday afternoon.  Just can't get enough of this astounding summer sunshine.  This time, I made a little tent over the bed of my pickup, Bluebird, and slept there on the super-nice inflatable foam pad my Dad gave me last time I visited in Denver.  

Bluebird as a gypsy caravan.

The first thing I saw when I woke up this morning.

Well, maybe this was the first thing.  Curled up in my down sleeping bag with my cozy dog I stayed toasty even though the night was cool.

Once the others woke up and coffee and breakfast were over, we took a long walk on the beach.

A small lichen or fungus clings tenaciously to a drift log.

O. went through the log...

...while his mother, K. went over.

A drift log spirit.

Flossy did not want to come home and neither did I but alas, it is a work day tomorrow!

Hope your week end was as refreshing as camping in Alaska.  See you Wednesday!

Scene, Recently #32

On the Sunday beachwalk, we met Flossy's friend Cedar.

A mild couple of weeks has melted snow away, exposing tiny lichen and mosses atop old pilings.

A tiny shell was dropped in the moss.

Sentinel tree standing tall along the way to the beach.

Flossy and I wish you all a happy mid week. 

12-12-12

These last days of the year hurry by.

Short on daylight...

...we wait for Solstice.

The beach north of our house is a place of contrasts.

Can you hear the wind? 

Driftwood At the Dump Beach

The day was normal for October here: rain, heavy at times with gusty winds and mild temperature.  I needed driftwood photos for the latest DC brought to us by Mano.  The old dump beach was the handiest place to go - just 5 minutes by truck from my studio in town...

 ...and scattered with lots of great drift wood.

I had fun editing my photos...

...adjusting hue and saturation...

...and playing around with filters.

The driftwood here on our beaches is all huge...

...being old-growth evergreens for the most part...

...cast into the seawater by wind storms long ago.

Some roots have captured shrouds of fabric, lending an eerie mood to the place.

 Thanks to Mano for an excuse to go beach combing today.  Please check out the other driftwood offerings cast ashore on the blogs of some terrific artists over at her place.

Autumn Colors

After work on a recent afternoon, the sun broke through to illuminate autumn colors in the beach fringe.  

salmon berry leaves rimmed with red

a jelly fish washed up on the tide line

bull kelp glows golden in the late sunlight

hope your week is full of color and joy...

A Short Vacation

We are taking a little stay-at-home-on-the-island vacation this week to enjoy time with our daughter, visiting from Outside. 

We went Out the Road for a long hike and a hot dog picnic yesterday.  The tide was out and this rocky place on the tide flats begged for investigation.

Flossy and our girl examining a crab shell

lichens in an amazing shade of chartreuse - they apparently survive under salt water at high tide

Back to reality next week, but it has been quite relaxing to be away from the usual routine for a few days.  Hope you are all having a good weekend as well.

Lots of Winter Still Here

Ice on the beach one day...

...followed by a day of heavy, wet snow.  We slogged to the Slough.

 

The next day, a break, with a dramatic evening sky.  I was struck by how opaque the line of clouds right above the mountains across the Narrows looked.

Winter is lingering just as the Ground Hop predicted, but seems to be loosing its teeth and claws.  Spring is coming, but today, I can wait.