The golden glow of the forsythia brightens my entryway.

While it's freezing and cold and wet outside, the flowering plum has released it's delicate pink blooms.

 Still very cold - it was originally forecast to start raining, but it stayed frozen instead! Brrrrr!

 The icicles are interesting with their cracks and inclusions, and reflections.

 The snow is sliding down the roof, and dripping spectacularly over the edge of the gutter.

 Someone called today and said, "It's a photo-op day!" And, boy, was he right! Clear, cold and a brilliant blue sky over the sparkling snow. Above, viewed upsidedown in an icicle.

The branches in the woods were still laden with soft snow

 which fluttered down over the pond with the slightest breath of wind (or when I bumped into a tree!)

 The stream had been busy creating ice sculptures on anything that came near the water

 while the sun filtered through the trees and the swamp beyond.

Along the trail, even the brambles had beauty.

The sky reflected in the open water of the lower pond.

Down the driveway. The fields and woodland trails were full of deer tracks - I'm sure they know what they're doing, but the tracks went every way, so it was hard to decipher them. Just when I thought, "I haven't seen anything except deer tracks", I came across a pair of coyote trails. Later, rabbits, mice and bird tracks showed up. Everyone was busy! The woods were full of bird sounds, too, as they scratched the earth for any tidbits.

The official count this morning. Some areas in the region got over 15"!

 One of the downspouts was dripping, coating the grass with ice and creating a pile of frozen blobs!

 It didn't snow today until around 4:00 pm - earlier the sun even came out for a while. So I took advantage of that and ran my errands! Down the driveway along the swamp, the sun sparkled through the dripping branches, and highlighted the ice on the water.

Later, the snow/hail/showers started again, turning into huge snowflakes and piling up.

Later still, it's really starting to pile up!

Fun with the flash!

 Did I say cold yesterday?? Today was one of those weird weather days - it began with hail and snow showers.

As the day wore on, it turned into snow with huge snowflakes. Then the sun came out. Then it snowed some more. Then it rained. Now, as I write this, the sun is going down in a glory of blue skies, tattered golden clouds, and half-melted snow. Jeez!

The moon is still close to full - here is the pre-moon-rise eastern horizon. Way too cold to wait for the moon to come up!!!

 The latest Photo Art Journal - "Above Us Only Sky". Catherine bound it in an accordion binding with scrim, and she did a grand job of gradating the colors!

 

 Sunny and cold today, highlighting a mossy log with mushrooms, too!

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2011

Friday Art Day at Carol's - this is a portion of one of her newer pieces, a large print of one of her photos, with fabric and stitch embellishments.

 Full moon - zoomed in and cropped as close as I can.

This is the same view, but a longer exposure to show the clouds and trees.

 Sunrise from the ferry boat - the low clouds were the remainder of a shower over Mukilteo.

We were on our way to the hospital for the 6-month check-up. The DR says everything looks good!

A gull watches from the piling.

David and Jon worked all weekend to get the smoker finished and painted for the clients to see today. The clients are the Snoqualmie Indian Tribe, and four of them came to inspect the smoker. David cooked salmon on the train cooker, and made a sauce from the black huckleberries. Needless to say, they were impressed, and had a great time. As a tribe, they have huckleberry-picking fields, but had not made a sauce from them.

They absolutely loved the smoker, and after a few finishing touches, we will deliver it. They invited us to a couple of the events where they will be cooking, so we're really looking forward to that!

 A day at the beach - weather has improved today - the sun is struggling to come out, and the wind has gentled. I decided to take the trail to the beach at South Whidbey State Park - I haven't been there for years.

 Lots of driftwood, branches, stones, sand.

 There are several cliffs of clay, like the one above. The little holes are where the swallows dig for their nest material.

 In the woods, huge old big-leaf maple trees, gnarly and covered with moss and ferns.

 Also huge Douglas Fir trees along the trail.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2011

 Another sunset - very different from the one earlier in the week! It had been stormy, rainy and high wind gusts all day, but toward evening it calmed down. Clouds were still racing across the sky, and clinging to the mountains, but the sun warmed it up with just a hint of pink.

The smoker/cooker David is working on right now. It has a firebox on the left, and will have a warmer above that. The smoker part can hold 6 of those huge restaurant cooking sheets, and you can also use that space as a grill, with wood or charcoal inside. He has been developing new ideas with this, and it is working out great.