What season is it again?

Our unseasonably wet and cool summer has given way to an unseasonably warm fall. Here are the girls enjoying popsicles at the Bellingham Farmers Market on Saturday. It was downright hot!

In related news, my azalea is completely confused at this point and thinks it's spring.

Lit

The lights at Daphne's

shed light

on those getting lit.

Bicycling the Boardwalk

The rippled bay dances

with a gold and stormy gleam,

warm wind stealing their laugh

and taking it to me.

I Heart Loving Space

This heart decorates the fence outside the Loving Space school on Ellis Street.

Green Transportation

I love my bike, but even the thought of climbing up on this one gives me heart palpitations. It's a loooooong way down! He looks like he's having a good time, though.

Weekend Reflections: Blue Cart

So much depends

on a blue cart

doused in sunshine

surrounded

by blue water.

(My apologies, William Carlos Williams. It had to be done.)

For more Weekend Reflections, click here.

Skywatch Friday: Nothing's Black and White

If not for a couple minor hints of color, you could be fooled into thinking this photo is black-and-white. It's not-- just another one of our famous gray days. Our area is verdant and alive because of days like this one, so you won't hear me complaining about it! Well, most of the time, anyway.

Visit the Skywatch Friday site here.

Downtown Bicycles

These bikes are wheel nice, aren't they?

Waiting for Summer

It's hard to say if these stacked tables outside Bayou on Bay will be used again before next year; the evenings are getting pretty cold for dining al fresco. In the meantime, they make a rather pretty wrought-iron art installation.

Flower Truck

I'd like to be a flower truck driver,

and carry armfuls of beauty every day.

Somewhere

between a lamp post

and a leafy tree

a pretty girl smiles,

her hair caught by the wind

"Public Anenome"

This anenome hangs out in the touch tank at the Marine Life Center at the waterfront, a great place to bring the kids for some squishy fun.

Weekend Reflections: Not Your Average Raindrop

This raindrop is the mascot for Whatcom Water Week, a celebration of our most abundant resource. While water seems like it's everywhere here, it's still vital to conserve it, which is why Whatcom Water Week is all about educating people about the importance of conserving it.

See other Weekend Reflections here!

Skywatch Friday: Lacy Leaves

Lacy leaves

trace the sky

Bereaving

warm days gone by

See other beautiful skies here.

He's High

It's up in the air...

he needs to get his head out of the clouds...

My five-year-old daughter is obsessed with figures of speech, and it seems they're all I can think about now. She has trouble sleeping, so I check on her every ten minutes and she asks for another figure of speech. Got any good ones? I'm running out!

Colorful Kayaks

Clustered, vibrant kayaks,

a vivid three-tone rainbow

against the blue summer sky.

See? Gull.

I took this picture back in June, and then forgot about it again. Now I'm going through all the pictures of the summer, trying to post the forgotten ones before it's too late, and summer is too far gone. I saw a bunch of these gulls one day at Boulevard Park, and have never seen them before or since. I did an exhaustive web search (about five minutes :-)) to try to discover what type of gull it is, but I couldn't figure it out. Usually we just have herring gulls or western gulls, so this type really stood out with its striking black head stripe and orange beak. Anybody know what it is?

Also, I just discovered this "Bellingham State of Mind" video on youtube that I've got to share! It's a riff on "Empire State of Mind," and very cute. Doesn't it make you want to come visit us in Bellingham?

St. Sophia Greek Festival

Grey skies and cool temperatures can't keep people away from St. Sophia's annual Greek Festival.

Great Blue Heron

A heron goes for a stroll along the beach at Birch Bay

Nai at Birch Bay

Five years ago today

we welcomed our first child

into the world.

She's been teaching us about it ever since.

Happy Birthday, Five-Year-Old!

Skywatch Friday: Fall Color

The last rays of evening sun turn leaves to fire

against the quenching cool blue of the sky.

Click here for more Skywatch entries.

On the Line

I don't know her.

But--

I know she likes greens and blues,

sometimes a splash of red.

She likes soft cotton shirts

and comfy pants.

She likes her clothes crisp

and warm from the sun,

and she carefully, methodically,

pins them on the line.

Their evenness is important to her.

Maybe I know her a little, after all.

Burnt Umber

Drawing horses at ten years old

I always chose "burnt umber,"

because they looked perpetually aglow

with the sun of late summer.

Sweet G is 3!

We were so busy celebrating our youngest daughter's third birthday yesterday, doing a post escaped our minds! Oh, dear. Here's a picture of our little birthday girl, finally slowing down after a day at the Seattle Aquarium and dinner at the Spaghetti Factory. Will she still be my "baby" when it's her 30th? Something tells me yes.

9th and Harris

There's still a little life in Fairhaven at 9:30.

Artists Point

It's been a full year since we've been up to Mount Baker. To remedy that situation we're planning on taking a day hike on one of Mount Baker's many trails tomorrow. This shot was from last years' trip to Artists Point.

Skywatch Friday: Cathedral Rock in the Mist

Cathedral Rock is grand and shy, shrouded in the misty morning.

Click here to see more skies.

Drip...Drop...

...summer has stopped.

September Theme Day: Open Air Market

Was he watching her pass

or just admiring his greens?

Perhaps she passed too fast,

the woman of his dreams.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants