10-31-09 Samish River Relic

10-31-09 Samish River Relic, originally uploaded by roswellsgirl.

Took some pictures here at the Samish River last winter. Thought it was time to visit again. Still eagles soaring and the lighting through the rain clouds, very nice. Probably should have gone with a Halloween photo or a picture of my birthday dog Roswell, but I liked this one.

10-30-09 Caught

10-30-09 Caught, originally uploaded by roswellsgirl.

This afternoon I went out to the Discovery Garden. I always know that I can find inspiration there. Fun to watch the seasons change. Today I saw lots of spent seed pods, bright berries and and colorful bark. Season's change was evident everywhere. This bright red leaf caught my eye because it had been caught in a stand of spent flowers.

10-29-09 Chocolate Kiss

10-29-09 Chocolate Kiss, originally uploaded by roswellsgirl.

Another blustery day and no time to go outside and look for photos. It is a good stretch for me to have to find things close by. Many times, I go out looking for photos. This week, I have been letting the photos kind of find me. The puddle on Monday, the muddy boots on Tuesday, the tea pot and now the this. I have a plate of Halloween treats sitting on my desk. This seemed like a good subject. I kind of like the way the composition parallels yesterday's teapot composition.

10-28-09 Teapot

10-28-09 Teapot, originally uploaded by roswellsgirl.

Kind of a cold, gray day here. Good day for a hot cup of tea.

10-27-09 After the Pumpkin Patch

10-27-09 After the Pumpkin Patch, originally uploaded by roswellsgirl.

I was visiting a school today just as the kindergartners were getting back from the pumpkin patch. A few volunteers had the job of getting the mud off the shoes before they sent the kids home.

10-26-09 Soggy Day

10-26-09 Soggy Day, originally uploaded by roswellsgirl.

Standing water everywhere. The first big rains of the season.

10-25-09 Repurposed School House

10-25-09 Repurposed School House, originally uploaded by roswellsgirl.

This old school house has seen better days. Unfortunately, it has been hit by graffiti and a fire. But I can still imagine the lively farm children sitting at their desks learning the 3 Rs before heading home to work in the fields.

10-24-09 Spokane Reflections

10-24-09 Spokane Reflections, originally uploaded by roswellsgirl.

Erik and I have had an incredible day in Spokane. Very hard to pick just one photo. We started the morning with a drive up to the summit of Mount Spokane. The Tamarak trees were bright yellow and the sky was so blue. As we drove to the summit it looked as if were were driving off into the blue sky. We then walked along the river at Gonzaga University. I was surprised when Erik suggested taking the air tram over the Spokane Falls. We walked along the River Front Park. The leaves were amazing but the sky and the clouds were the show stopper. This photo is at the Spokane Convention Center with the reflection of the park in the glass. The statue is of Spokane native, Astronaut Michael Anderson who died when the Space Shuttle Columbia burned up on entry in 2003.

Here is a slideshow of my photos from today.

10-23-09 Empire Builder

10-23-09 Empire Builder, originally uploaded by roswellsgirl.

Saved my photo of the day for my train trip to Spokane tonight. Silly me, I thought that I would be able to get some cool shots from my window seat before the sun set. When I got on the train, I found out the even though the website says “No Reserved Seats”, the available window seats all said reserved for parties of 2 or more. Luckily, I did get some photos at the Everett train station. Hoping when we get to Leavenworth that I can get a window seat. (Even though it will be dark.)

10-22-09 Big Orange Tree

10-22-09 Big Orange Tree, originally uploaded by roswellsgirl.

I love this big old tree at the Washington State University Research Center. Was trying to get a nice photo of the giant tree without cars and signs in the backgrounds. This ornamental grass did the trick. It is all about the angle.

10-21-09 Red and Rainbow

10-21-09 Red and Rainbow, originally uploaded by roswellsgirl.

Racing the setting sun for a picture again tonight. Looked like rainbow weather so I searched the sky. Then I searched for a place to take the picture where there weren't phone lines and such in the way. Not the best capture. But it will have to do for today.

10-20-09 Mushrooms

10-20-09 Mushrooms, originally uploaded by roswellsgirl.

Starting to get dark and still no photo today. Very busy with little time to search for the perfect shot. Found these little guys out in the back yard. They are probably a sign of poor lawn quality, but interesting never the less.

10-19-09 A Tree is a House

10-18-09 A Tree is a House, originally uploaded by roswellsgirl.

Drove by this big and beautiful old tree today. I love old trees. I always think about the stories they hold.

10-18-09 Rain Happieness

10-18-09 Rain Happieness, originally uploaded by roswellsgirl.

It has been a while since we have had much rain. It is tempting to complain about the rain, because it seems that we always complain no matter what the weather. But I am going to be as happy as this little aster is about the rain and just enjoy the day.

10-17-09 Sunflower Scape

10-17-09 Sunflower Scape, originally uploaded by roswellsgirl.

Should have used one of the rain photos I took today, because boy did it rain. But I decided on this unique bit of sunshine. I love the way that photography encourages me to look at things in new ways.

10-16-09 Fire Red at Icicle Creek

10-16-09 Fire Red at Icicle Creek, originally uploaded by roswellsgirl.

This morning I had a meeting across the mountains. There were easier and quicker ways to get to where I was going, but I was hoping to catch a little fall color on my way over. I was not disappointed. Beautiful reds, yellows and oranges as the fog lifted from the valley floor. This is the sight of a recent forest fire. Nature is starting to do its magic and restore the forest.

10-15-09 Where There's Smoke

10-15-09 Where There's Smoke, originally uploaded by roswellsgirl.

Driving to Anacortes today for a meeting. I saw black smoke billowing from the refinery. Not good I thought.Still not exactly sure what was happening. But the fire was burning on a bridge out over the water. Not near buildings or people. When I stopped to take a photo, the other gawkers had some interesting ideas of what was happening that I will not share since it was defaming a group of people. Anacortes is such a beautiful place with beautiful views that would be so much better if there wasn't a refinery there.

Here is a link to the video from the scene.

10-14-09 The Rain Has Come

10-14-09 The Rain Has Come, originally uploaded by roswellsgirl.

We finally are getting some rain and fall like weather here. Love the way the colors change in the rain.

10-13-09 Pumpkin Patch

10-13-09 Pumpkin Patch, originally uploaded by roswellsgirl.

The weather is changing today. We are finally going to get some true Northwest Fall weather with rain and wind. As the weather rolled in, I took several pictures of pumpkins. I was bummed when the truck got in my way. Ended up liking the photo with the truck in it the best. Adds to the farm scene.

10-12-09 Push The Button

10-12-09 Push The Button, originally uploaded by roswellsgirl.

Late tonight because of trainings. So, Roswell is my subject. In the theme of trainings, I thought I'd share something I taught Roswell to do. We have a Staples Easy Button. I can tell Roswell to push the button and he pounces on it and then does a cute head tilt as he listens to it say "That was easy."

10-11-09 Fall Fishy

10-11-09 Fall Fishy, originally uploaded by roswellsgirl.

Yesterday I remembered that I should take a photo of a salmon in a stream for a photo of the day. Definitely a sign of the season around here. Went to Pamona Grange Park today and there were plenty of fish, but the lighting was not good for photos. Lots of glare and shadows. This was the best shot I got.

10-10-09 Old Letters-Wonderful Surprise

10-10-09 Old Letters-Wonderful Surprize, originally uploaded by roswellsgirl.

Erik was sweet enough to drive me through the country today on our way home from the Seattle area. We looked for a photo of the day, but just didn't come up with much. When we got home, I found this box waiting for me. It was from a dear friend I met the year I spent in Seminary. We both left after a year, ready to change the world, not stay in school for 2 more years. He went to Harlem to work with the homeless and I went to Tuba City, AZ on the Navajo Nation to teach kindergarten. (My first teaching job.) He and I wrote often of our adventures in these very foreign places. He ended up going back to seminary, getting married, moving to Texas and having kids. I went on to teach in Ecuador, Kenya and Indonesia before settling here in Mount Vernon, The box, which he had tried to send years earlier but it had been returned, contained all of my letters I had written him while teaching in Tuba City. He knew that I wasn't keeping a journal while there and he wanted to contribute to the book that I will someday write. I have hours of reading ahead of me as I relive my first years of teaching. What an amazing gift! (I once, even boxed up a tumble weed and sent it to him. It ended up as part of a storefront display in Kentucky)

10-09-09 Majestic Maple

10-8-09 Majestic Maple, originally uploaded by roswellsgirl.

This pretty tree is across the street from my house, couldn't get a nice shot of the whole tree, so I thought I'd play with the lines of the leaves and the trunk.

10-08-09 Morning Fog

10-08-09 Morning Fog, originally uploaded by roswellsgirl.

Drive by photo shooting this morning. Love the surreal way the pastures and fields look in the fog.

10-7-09 Morning Moon

10-7-09 Morning Moon, originally uploaded by roswellsgirl.

Admiring a pretty red tree this morning and I saw the moon fading into the morning sky.

10-6-09 Olympics

10-6-09 Olympics, originally uploaded by roswellsgirl.

I love the days when I can see Mt. Rainier to the south, Mt. Baker and the North Cascades to the North and the Olympics to the West. Looking at the skyline created by the mountains, I decided to go with black and white to really see the line.

10-5-09 Pavement is Forever

10-5-09 Pavement is Forever, originally uploaded by roswellsgirl.

A huge Walmart Super Center was just built on what used to be farmland in Mount Vernon. I've been thinking about documenting that with a photo, but really didn't want to take a photo of Walmart. Not only did they build on farm land, they vacated a huge building that will now probably stay vacant for a long time. No other businesses can afford or need such a big ugly box. In our area we have an organization called Skagitonians to Preserve Farmland. They pool together and buy tracks of farmland to keep them in the hands of the farmers and not the developers. You see signs around town like "Pavement is Forever" and "Save Skagit Farmland, Live on a Hill". As you can see from my photos, I value farmland far more than box stores.

10-4-09 Carrot Harvest

10-4-09 Carrot Harvest, originally uploaded by roswellsgirl.

Wondering why so many things are orange in the fall. Leaves, carrots, pumpkins, squash, etc. Today I harvested my first batch of carrots. Some of these guys have already made it into a pot roast along with some other garden veggies.

10-3-09 Ladybug

10-3-09 Ladybug, originally uploaded by roswellsgirl.

This little guy has been hanging out on my giant sunflower which is still waiting to bloom.Lots of work in my gardens today. Forcast predicted rain and wind but we had a beautiful sunshiny day so I took advantage of it and played outside most of the day.

10-2-09 Chuck Wagon

10-2-09 Chuck Wagon, originally uploaded by roswellsgirl.

This is another place in Mount Vernon with a lot of history. This local burger joint has been serving up a huge variety of burgers for years.

10-01-09 Late Bloomer

10-01-09 Late Bloomer, originally uploaded by roswellsgirl.

My sunflowers are just starting to bloom since I planted them late. Pouring down rain, but I went outside to find a photo. Since I did a flower photo yesterday, thought I'd play with a different angle and crop with the sunflower today.