Rainy day

It was a cold and rainy day, a day so dark you could hardly tell where the water ended and the sky began. At least the wind wasn't howling like it has been. We have had several rainy/snowy days with winds gusting to 50 m.p.h. and higher. The local ski "hill" that is less than an hour away has nearly 100 inches of snow, though it should be noted that the record for snowfall at the lodge is for more than 1,000 inches. Still, eight feet of snow before Thanksgiving? At sea level we have just had inches of rain, some flooding, and random power outages as the trees and power poles failed in the wind.

Welcome to late fall in Western Washington!

Winter is here...

An amazing weather day here, and it was all visible from my backyard weather station. And it was all visible in about a ten minute window. Sunshine, rain, snow, hail, almost all at the same time. And it came with a dramatic sky. While I was taking the photo of the sky I was dodging hail which soon covered my deck.

Veteran's Day

I went to the local Veteran's Day celebration, and really enjoyed it--it was touching and warm, and reminded all who attended why we value veterans. There were many WWII vets, though no doubt that number is shrinking fast, too fast. I couldn't help but think of my Dad as I watched that generation today--they all shared such an important part of the country's history.

Of course this blog shows the things that work photographically, and the things that don't work all that well. Sorry that there are probably more of the latter than the former, because today was one of those days when things didn't work out all that well. I know, a poor carpenter blames his tools, but honestly, my tools did partially fail me. Of the 20 frames that I shot, I had images on six one of them--the other 14 were mostly blank. I normally have a bit higher success rate in at least getting an image, even if it isn't all that good. Oh well. It was well worth attending, and I enjoyed the whole process of the day. And the two that I salvaged were at least OK. More and better chances ahead, eh?

Fall mountains

Yesterday afternoon, I made what very well be my last trip up the mountain this fall--snow was falling at about 3,000 feet, and many of the places that I would normally drive to are well over 4,000 feet. Can you see the challenge?

It became clear to me on the roal to the Heliotrope trailhead. It's an incredible drive, along the Nooksack River in some places, and through deep woods in other places. It was raining and then 10 feet further along the road it was snowing. As I drove (and climbed) the road, the snow got a bit deeper but it was still warm and it was on a gravel road, so there was no real problem even with my little car. Then, in another 10 feet it went from snow to solid ice. That was interesting, and necessitated a "Y" turn on a single lane road. The graphic evidence or tracks of that turn is one of the photos.

Water is major theme of this post, as it is the fall rainy season. One water fall is one that in the summer is barely a trickle--now it is a true torrent that floods its course and overflows onto the road. The river roars down the mountain, through the trees and even through the clouds in this weather. And despite few colors on the trees, it is always green, in spite of the rain, snow, and dropping temps.

Vancouver, WA

On Wednesday I was in Vancouver, a Washington city very near to Portland. It seems like a nice city, and Main Street is cool--kind of funky. I had to stop and take these pictures--too cool to see all these Adirondack chairs spread across a palate and a sidewalk on a beautiful fall day.

I was in Vancouver for a job interview at the local community college. No word or any indication if it was a successful trip. That is, successful beyond colorful found moment.

WWU, Bellingham's most beautiful four-year university

My job affords me an office and a chance to be on campus, and in every sense I am lucky. The vertical shot with the fog and sidewalks is from my office window. The other photos are from around campus, taken on my way to and from work this morning. Students were waiting for the bus, and the long walk is the main sidewalk from Old Main. Last is the morning harvest moon.

I really liked the flowers and the fall colors--must be to attract late season bees. And me.

Black and White

So I know that people will be shocked but I bought a camera this weekend. Yeah, I know, what a surprize. But it is older film camera most remarkable for its lens, and I think that it will be kind of fun, once I re-orient myself to actually using a meter instead of just putting it on auto, actually focusing a camera, and developing real live old fashioned film. Not to mention scanning the negs etc. I no doubt need some practice, but hey, I believe in potential. And practice, right?

just things