Yet More Pictures

Washington State is a perfect environment for green and growing things. We have a maritime climate--lots of rain and mild winters (usually) and also lots of sunshine. Rain and sunshine have been in abundance this year, and as a result things are growing as fast as a speeding bullet. (Case in point: the apple above, taken in bright sunshine right after it rained) You can almost hear the vegetation growing in the pasture. So I've been taking lots of pictures lately. Pictures of the cats and dogs playing, of the horses playing, of flowers blooming, of trees in all their leafy glory. Lots of pictures. Here is a sampling.

This is the underside of a leaf from the apple tree. Love the veins!

And if you don't believe in our rains, here's a picture of part of my driveway during a huge rainstorm.

This is a single tree in my pasture, an ancient alder with three trunks. Quite a rarity for an alder.

And last but not least, one of my favorite pasture pictures, showing a meandering path made by my horses and wild critters. I find this picture very calming.

Running Through the Sprinkler

See that thermometer on the left? It's on my front porch, and I took the picture today, 7-27-09 at 4:29 p.m. It's 99 degrees Farenheit in the shade.

Here in the Pacific NW, few of us have air conditioning, because this kind of weather is rare. We've been having weeks and weeks of temps in the 80s and 90s, and this week they're predicting we'll break 100. There's an Extreme Weather Advisory and an Air Stagnation Alert in our area.

It's been so hot and dry that drought-resistant plants are dying. Today when I went to clean out the horses' water trough, I found a dead squirrel floating in the water. Obviously he'd tried to get some water and fell in and couldn't get out again.

How does one stay cool in such hot weather? Well, if you're a 9-month-old Boxer pup named Asterisk, you run through the sprinkler. Or you lie down in your very own kiddy wading pool and then roll onto your back, legs spread, begging for tummy rubs. Or you chase the spray from the garden hose, biting at the water and ignoring the spray blasting you in the face.

As you can see by the pictures, Asterisk knows how to stay cool and hydrated.

Ada Lovelace, Inventor of the Computer

I've logged on every single day since my last post, trying to think of something new to post, without luck. Nothing's been happening that is blog-worthy. But today on Twitter I came across this link: http://tinyurl.com/cngrar

It is an utterly delightful comic about Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage, post-Regency inventors of the computer. There are several laugh-out-loud moments. It's a fun and clever and literary comic! So that's my gift to you today. It was a gift to me, and now I'm gi

ving it to you.

Weather report: It has been raining raining raining. That's all it ever does, is rain. When oh when will we ever see some sunshine? I love rain, but this is ridiculous. I don't think I've ever seen a more rainy winter and spring.

Tap-tap-tap. Hello? Can you hear me?

I've been unable to get into Blogger to update my blog, but today the powers-that-be finally allowed me in. Praise be. Now, what to talk about? New Year's resolutions? I do 'em. Cooking/baking/recipes? I do 'em. Photography? Bingo!

I live in rural Western Washington, and in case you hadn't heard, we've been having perfectly awful weather: 4 snowstorms in December, one right after the other, and another snowstorm and record-setting rains in January. Weatherwise, it's been pretty spectacular.

The child in me still loves the beauty and novelty of snow, so I grabbed my trusty camera and headed outdoors. I ended up with some of the prettiest pictures I have ever taken, and I share a few of them here with you. These pictures were taken on my property, mostly in my paddock and wooded pasture. All pictures are copyrighted, so be forewarned. :-) If you lift them without permission, the embedded tracking device will allow the boogy man to show up on your doorstep demanding a Large Fee.

#1 - My mailbox stand

#2 - Paddock (foreground) & pasture (beyond fence)

#3 - My back yard

#4 - Tree in paddock

Rain, Rain, Go Away

It's raining and sleeting, and the temperature is reeeeeally cold! Yesterday we had a brief spate of brilliant sun, despite the cold. You could hear doors open all through the neighborhood as pasty-complexioned people ran outside to stand in the sun. My horse, who spends most of his time snuggled down in his clean, dry stall, actually poked his head out, then went down to the pasture to see if the grass was growing yet.

I am so ready for spring!