Looking down...

We were on the road at 4:45 this morning, heading north to Snohomish County for a day of exploring and hiking and geocaching. We walked along the slough trails on Spencer Island and saw a family of river otters, and chatted with a man and his dog who were out for a morning walk. The man had a tripod and a huge wildlife lens on a Nikon camera, but hadn't seen anything more exciting that a lone heron.

We spent the rest of the day driving deeper and deeper into the mountains above Darrington, rewarded from time to time with a creek or river crossing, the occasional deer, and even more infrequent car or truck.

There was a cache near a bridge over a narrow granite canyon, and looking over the edge at a pair of waterfalls, I was looking straight down at the top of a fir tree that grew on a rocky ledge far below.  Without leaning way out over the railing and holding on tight, I never would have known that this was a single tree, and it was the top I was seeing, not just some branches.

Not the usual sort of lone tree I look for, and a good reminder to never take any view for granted, to always look closer.

Lone trees and eagles...

We're heading for a few days in Walla Walla, but took a detour on the way. To drive the fishermen's paths up the Snake River, toward Ice Harbor Dam. When we lived here, we always took visitors to the dam to watch tugs and barges go up-river through the locks, and watch salmon climb the fish ladder.

I stopped to photograph a beautiful lone tree, with bare branches dark against the grey sky. When I stopped to frame my shot, a white head poked up. An eagle, not very happy that I was just 40 feet away from its nest.

It took flight, and it soared.

Lone tree...

On OR-97 heading north, caching and checking out the side roads, seeing what you cannot see from the highway. We found this small cemetery, half Catholic, half Methodist... one on one side of the road, the other on the other side of the road. I only had eyes for this lovely lone tree, guarding the headstones.

Not soft at all...

We went bushwhacking today, up an overgrown trail through woods of huge maple trees and cedars, and everywhere, these small bushy spruce trees. The first time I brushed past one, it felt like being stabbed with a hundred needles. Looks so soft and cuddly. Not so much.

Winter trees...

Our daily excursion took us to a great place for killer views of The Mountain... at least, on days that aren't foggy (like today) or raining (most of the rest of the time) or snowing (occasionally, if we're lucky). There's a narrow park on the edge of the bluff for the views, and on the crown of this hill, there's an old cemetery.

The fog may not have done much for the view today, but it was perfect for isolating the beautiful lone trees in the cemetery, and showing off their structure.

Lone trees Ireland

Finding lone trees is a bit of a passion of mine, and I look for them wherever I travel. In Ireland, oak trees are everywhere: planted in double rows along pristine graveled drives leading to stately homes, in open pastureland that slopes down to the sea, standing guard over graveyards. We saw them in spring, newly leafed out in brilliant green. Next time, we'll visit in the fall, so we can see them turning color.

Oak tree growing in a hedgerow, on the walk up to Newgrange

It must have been the Guinness...

This rainy day turned out to be perfect for getting together with friends for brunch. It's not something we do often; brunch can be deadly... it's all too easy to eat too much. We've all been here before, and know the best approach: go straight to the seafood bar. Oysters, crab, prawns, grilled steelhead, lox and bagels, steamed mussels and clams, grilled salmon, smoked salmon Benedict. Yum. My mouth was watering yesterday, just thinking about it!  Our friend moaned after his third trip through, that he couldn't have eaten that much... it must have been the Guinness that filled him up.

I hoped the weather would be better today, so we could go for a walk on the beach. Alas, it rained cats and dogs all morning. So instead we grabbed a cache, bought some fish, then went to a park I know. I've been wanting to photograph a gorgeous row of trees turning color against a backdrop of green fields, and the late afternoon light was perfect. This park is one of the few places I know where the landscape is unspoiled by power lines and roads and structures. Most of it is old farmland and rolling pastures, overgrown for decades before being acquired for an open space park. The acreage has been cleared gradually; mowing the weeds and brambles, but leaving all the native trees intact. The result has been beautiful.

Lone tree...

Our hot, dry summer took a toll on the woods around here, especially on the young trees. Everywhere I look, trees are dying.

We took a walk through the woods recently, and in a clearing of lush healthy trees, we found this poor little evergreen sapling.

It was quite beautiful in the rain, bright orange, with water droplets sparkling in the light.

Lone tree...

I have a birthday in just a few weeks, into the turning of the seasons, the shortening of days, the cool mornings, the crisp air. I especially love the skies of autumn... the brilliant blue, and high thermals
that whip the clouds into ever-changing patterns.

It's the best time of year to have a birthday.

Arbor Day

For in the true nature of things, if we rightly consider, every green tree 

is far more glorious than if it were made of gold and silver

~Martin Luther

Along the Snoqualmie Valley trail

Lone tree

This is my favorite lone tree so far. It stands alone in a clearing, surrounded by monster mango trees that soar into the heavens. The perspective makes it hard to guess the height of this smaller tree, but everything was big in this rain forest near Akaka Falls on Hawaii:  the philodendron leaves that cover the tree trunk, the huge ferns on the forest floor, and mango trees can grow to 90 feet with canopies nearly as wide as the tree is tall.

Lone trees...

We drove out north of town yesterday for a yard sale, where Dave helped the owner get his new lawn tractor started, and shared a source of inexpensive parts with the guy who bought the old mower.

During all the guy talk, I hung on the fence and enjoyed the cold spring morning, then spotted this tree. I've been looking for lone trees, those that grow out by themselves, to make perfect specimens of their type.

There are a lot of willow trees in the Kittitas Valley, and this one was beautiful against the blue sky of a spring morning.