Sunrise - it may seem like I'm getting up early, but, in fact, the sun is coming up late! And, to add insult to injury, it is setting way too early, as well! But I did enjoy today's sunrise.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2011

. . . some days just seem to slide by as in a fog . . .

 Another fine autumn day, with the heavy overnight dews and bright sunrise. A hawkweed adorns itself in brilliant jewels to greet the day.

 Spiders are busy with webs large and small at this time of year!

I met up with Mary Anne at the new Whidbey Telecom building in Freeland. Above is the entry area and reception desk. On the right are the doors into a large meeting room, and on the left is the assistance area where you can bring your computer, or ask for any kind of device help. It is incredibly beautiful!

 Other areas include more meeting rooms of various sizes, a sales area where they have phones, cameras, computers, etc., and a coffee bar with food, above. The couple standing there with Mary Anne taking their photos for them is George Henny and his mother Marion, the owners of Whidbey Telecom. Today was the first day it opened to the public, and they'll have a Grand Opening sometime soon.

 The front of the building includes some great potted gardens, and a waterfall behind the low wall on the left. 

The parking lot is divided by this very cool walkway, and includes electric pedestals where you can plug in your electric car to charge. The building is full of great artwork, and out here are carved stone benches, where Mary Anne is sitting. This will be a wonderful addition to the community.

Look what a fun toy hanging in the window for me!

OMG! How cute can a kitten get?? Tookers taking a nap on the bed - love those curled toes!

More Tooker toes - this time at the water bowl outside, where he and Aollo just HAVE to drink, even though they have a bowl right next to their food dish . . .

 First day of fall! Well, I guess it's really the second day, again just after sunrise. I like how the low angle of the sunlight shines on the leaves and branches of the vine maple, against the blue of the sky.

 Hot again today, but fall storms are supposed to appear tomorrow, so I plan to enjoy this while I can!

 The kittehs are enjoying the sun, and each other. Tookers is once again trying out his climbing skills - he still has a ways to go.  .  . luckily, this is only a few feet off the ground, but he did get down OK.

Love Apollo's eyeball in this shot! They love to wrassel!

 Sunrise at the autumnal Equinox, just a couple of hours before the 9:04am event. This great cloud just drifted along. The wind is blowing the tree branches, and we had the warmest overnight temperature of the whole summer!

 The moon is waning, rising early in the morning, while the clouds are barely tinted pink in the pre-dawn.

 Slow shutter speed, low light and a moving kitten. It's kind of interesting how the light comes through the side of the basket.

 The kitten Took had been quiet for a while, but I didn't notice where he was until Jon came in and saw him in my basket. He had a nice cozy nap in there!

I looked for rubber stamps with flames on them, and couldn't find any for sale - so I carved one for myself. I really like the way it came out, too!

 Wonderful big brother Apollo is teaching little Tookers to hunt. He caught a vole, and graciously allowed the little one to take it away from him and torment it under his watchful eye. Tookers was very serious about it, yet had some fun, too.

 A flock of bushtits invaded the shrubs around the driveway. These are the spent blossoms of the ocean spray bushes, and these tiny little gray birds were all over them searching for insects and chattering excitedly the whole time. They were very fun to watch!

 This amazing hallway is the 4th floor of the Seattle Library where the meeting rooms are. It is all curves and shiny red - very weird to walk around! 

We met up for a mini-photo-crawl in Seattle - the leader of our Yahoo group, Catherine Anderson, at left, was visiting from North Carolina, so a few of us were able to meet with her and spend a few hours together. It was very windy in front of the Library!!

But quite nice inside, with lots to see! The grid-work reflected in the photo above is the roof of the building, and you can see other buildings through the glass. Catherine and Lynne were in front of the elevators. Alina, in yellow, had to leave earlier.

 There was some interesting artwork, too - this sculpture-wall was set about two feet from a wall covered in sheets of stainless steel, which reflected the art. You can see me with the camera set on one of the ledges, holding my hand in front of stained glass. From my side, the glass was dark, but the reflection showed the rooms's light shining through the glass, and the shadow of my hand. 

Outside on the sidewalk was more art: these manhole covers are by the Seattle Water district.

 This totem pole was carved by a local resident many years ago, and was installed at his beach home.

Each animal on it represents a family member. It eventually was blown over, and he passed away, so the family donated it to the local thrift store.

They found someone to restore and repair it, and just installed it next to their building, where it is visible from the highway for everyone to enjoy. It is awesome!

 Friday Art Group day - it was nice to see everyone! I even got a small project done, and we had a great time visiting. Carol's garden is a wonder of color and texture with grasses,

 lavenders,

 and dozens of heathers and heaths, many of which are blooming.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2011

Crane fly? There seem to be a lot of dragon/crane fly type insects this year!

 Hops leaves drying on the vine.

 Hawkweed at the end of summer. 

I was mean to the baby kitty - I went and sat out in the middle of the yard, then called him to come. He ventured across the vast, open space . . .

 . . . heedless of the dangers . . .

. . . until the birds started dive-bombing him!

Went to a meeting for the Basket Guild Retreat, and in the garden were dragonflies! I saw a red one and a brown one. I've been seeing a lot of them this year, but they don't alight for very long, so it's usually hard to capture a photo.