25 Apr 12. In trying to track down an unidentified charge on our Direct T.V. bill this morning, I was connected with a representative who was raised sans television, and who said she really didn't miss it growing up and can take it or leave it now. When I mentioned that I could leave it period she said she could fully appreciate such. Our chat lead to her telling me about her growing up 45 minutes east of San Diego on a 30 A parcel of land with a stream running through it directly behind her house which had zero TV reception. I asked her why she wasn't still living there and she said her folks sold it while she was in college. She now resides in the Salt Lake City area and said she really missed where she grew up. I can fully understand that statement considering where she lived. When I mentioned that we were in Seattle she commented that she would really love to live in the Emerald City and that her brother lives in Kent, WA, about 45 minutes to an hour from us, depending on traffic. Another comment she made was that she loved the seasons? that we have and especially so the autumn colors. I'm not sure what part of King county, where the two cities are located, have four seasons, but the thought made me look for something of color that wasn't glistening with rain drops. We do of course have four seasons, and if you are a careful observer you will recognize such, but they are not like those found anywhere east of the Cascade Mountain range. But getting back to the topic of color, I thought I'd concentrate on the color red as I think most folks think of red as being symbolic of the season(s) of color, and came up with this shot taken a couple weeks ago while walking Maggie. This subject is located in a neighbor's yard at the edge of the sidewalk, so I thought it fair game. ISO 400; 1/400 sec @ f /13.
26 Apr 12. As I left the work site today the weather was turning nasty, and starting to pour, so I left the camera there as I didn't need more pictures of rain. Midway between departing for, and then reaching, the ferry it became dropless with the clouds lifting several hundred feet to display as undulating shades of gray, blocks of blacks with filigreed fingers dropping down towards the water, and the most gorgeous light I think I've ever witnessed striking just the tops of almost all the mountain peaks except for Mt Rainier which was covered in the gray undulations save for the bottom one third. And me without the camera. In all the years of crossing Puget Sound I've never before been privileged to see such a sight! And as quickly as it began it ended. But at least I can remember it. For the past several weeks the mountains have been putting on one display after another, with the Olympics taking front stage one day, the Cascades the next; today's show courtesy of the Cascades. The selection for today was put on by the Olympics three weeks ago, and was the best part of what was a very cold day to be working. Its moments like these, however, that make being outside, even in the cold, and sometimes especially in the cold, worth it all. ISO 200; 1/1000 sec @ f / 7.1.
27 Apr 12. Since I was blabbering yesterday relative to mountain splendor, I've elected to go with another shot of the Olympic Mountains, this time taken from a moving ferry deck as we traveled from Edmonds to Kingston. It was one of our very cold March mornings and a rather beautiful one, although nothing close to what I missed last evening. This image however is a pano made up of 7 different frames, and I've attempted to provide a complete view, from sea level, of the entire range. More than that, you get a good view of Puget Sound, a Washington State ferry, the sister ship running the same route but obviously in the opposite direction, a couple freighters awaiting offloading, approximately 50 sailboats with their brightly colored sails, the terminal to which we are headed (Kingston), several nice waterfront homes, a flock of seagulls, and even a Bald Eagle. Overall I think there might be something in it for everyone. ISO 200; 1/500 sec @ f /10.
