Mild Winter Day

A wee bit of fall color for a mild winter day.

Happy Friday!

Pull, Push, Coast

Another touch of Monterey, this time through their Aquarium. I always enjoy the big blue wall of jelly fish; mesmerizing with their pull, push, coast cadence. On this day I was slowly strolling along, more caught up in the view of sea creatures than people. A class of thirty or so small children suddenly circled me and together we stood watching sharks in silence. My mental camera clicked endless snapshots of glee and awe. Every child should have access to natures mastery. It's the birth of reverence.

Monterey Day Break

It Caught my Breath...and my Heart

I've spent each morning and evening for the last nineteen years traveling the same sixteen miles of road each way, five or more days a week. Though it makes my carbon footprint conscience squirm to admit it, in that time I've made over 6,000 trips coming and going.

As commute views go, I'm blessed. Some are solely of pavement, true. However a portion of the drive gives me glimpses and wide open views of great green swaths of fir trees, the Puget Sound, Mount Rainier and the Narrows Bridge. (Otherwise known as Galloping Gertie, for those who remember the black and white news footage of her earlier demise. Not a comforting mental image on windy days.)

Depending on the time of year, morning and evening trips can include the sunrise, sunset or both. On occasion that eternal rising and setting is so beautiful my heart fairly leaps from my chest. Most of the colorful skies are fleeting, here and gone so quickly they seem more imagined than real. Not so with the sunrise above, which followed me in one stage or another through almost ten miles of my morning journey.

It caught my breath at the rise of the arched bridge. We, the mass of morning migratory workers, moved at procession speed, paying reverence to that glorious sight. A vivid sky painting lingering long enough to fill our vessels for the day ahead.

As we made way along our predetermined paths, the colors, almost imperceptibly, began to fade. First the red-orange-rusts, then yellow-golds, until the finest of clean clear blue remained. I walked into work under that pure blue, with the sky painting tucked safely away in my camera. And my heart.

Happy Valentine's Day!

The photo taken from the bridge has Mount Rainier in the

background with it's own set of clouds.

None of these photos have been altered.

Red

The photo above is a newer addition to this post.

It relates to some fun we are having

in the comments section below.

Red; a color that speaks for itself.

Photo taken along the shore drive near Manchester, WA

Peace in Still Water

Living around the Puget Sound, which is currently under consideration for a name change to the Salish Sea, boats, sailing ships, barges, cargo ships and more are plentiful. Marinas are everywhere though I suspect if you were looking for berth rental, you might argue the point. We are big on boating in the Northwest inland waterways. And though I'm not a boater, I do love catching sight of sail boats, small and large, with billowed sails making way. Any which way as they bob, dance and run; their success dependent on the marriage of the sail makers sails, sailor's skills and nature's whim. A treasure to see.

In honesty, my favorite part of living in the land of boats, ships and all is seeing them in stillness. Of this I never tire. Sails folded, long water shadows cast. There is peace in still water and it's mirrored reflections.

The photo above was taken in Gig Harbor, WA