“Looking Through The Cherry Allee”
Heatherwood Summer
Enjoying the early evening sunlight grazing across our Heatherwood landscape and the surrounding neighborhood is a pleasure. With the long summer evenings, sometimes it is the nicest part of the day. Many times we miss this wonderful gift as we finish our dinner and watch the news. For my peace of soul, I think it would be much better if I spent my evenings enjoying what nature brings versus watching the TV.
“Southeast Corner Rest Station”
Heatherwood Spring
We call the southeast area of our garden the “Conifer Corner.” We planted a row of conifers around the southeast corner of our garden to create a little privacy from our neighbors. Within the corner, we also have planted additional specimen conifer trees and shrubs. We added bright ground covers and perennials to give it a little pizzaz. We finished it off with a little rest area tucked into the corner. Many times after walking down to the bottom of our property, I take a little break before walking back up the hill. More times than not, I get sidetracked and wander into a little day dream. Sitting in the Adirondack settee, I look up and gaze into the scene below.
“Wide Angle View Looking Up the Hill”
You can see how easily I could fall into a day dream!
“Lower Yard Wide Angle View”
Heatherwood Spring
As I make my first morning cup of coffee, I wander to our family room window and look over Heatherwood’s lower yard. It is a wonderful way to welcome the day. Today is the first day of June. Late spring is a beautiful time of year in our garden. In a couple of weeks most of the perennials will be showing off their blooms. Heatherwood’s peak color will be here in a couple of weeks. Welcome June!
“West Bank”
Heatherwood Japanese Garden
“Fill in the blanks” is the motto for our 2022 Heatherwood landscape projects. This section of our garden was constructed in 2019. The land was shaped and the base structure of trees and evergreen shrubs were planted. During the next two years additional trees, deciduous shrubs, and limited ground covers were planted to balance the structure and form the garden borders. This year our plan is to fill in the blank spots with various ground covers and just watch the garden grow. It is our vision to have the garden fully covered with various vegetation and understory shrubs shaded by a canopy of evergreen and deciduous trees. It will take years to achieve the vision. Patience will be a virtue as we enjoy watching the garden mature. We are planting for the future generation!
“The Yakima Folds”
As Seen From Selah Ridge
A few days ago, we were walking along the new path of our irrigation pipeline when I stopped and gazed down through the Selah Valley into Yakima. What I saw was an excellent near ground-level perspective of the Yakima Folds. It made me stop and contemplate how the Yakima Folds were created and how they affected the way our local communities evolved.
The Yakima Folds were created 15.6 million years ago when opposing tectonic plate movement compressed the landscape, causing fold-like ridges to be created. The above image was taken from the base of Selah Ridge, north of Selah, looking down the throat of the gaps created by the Yakima River. The first set of ridges is the Yakima Ridge which separates Selah from Yakima. The second set of ridges are the Ahtamum/Rattleshake Hills Ridge which separate the city of Yakima from the lower Yakima Valley. The ridges in the far background are the Horse Heaven Hills.
“Mt. Whitney and Lone Pine Peak”
Alabama Hills, California
Boulders of the Alabama Hills frame Lone Pine Peak on the left and Mt. Whitney on the right. From this position, Lone Pine Peak (elev. 12,949 ft) looks significantly higher than Mt. Whitney (elev. 14,505 ft) in the background. It is just a matter of perspective.
“Mt. Whitney”
Eastern Sierras, California
The Mt. Whitney hike starts here in the Alabama Hills west of Lone Pine, CA. I reflect back to my younger days knowing that I could have made it to the top. Those years are long gone. Now I look up and just dream of what it would be like to be at the top looking down over the surrounding Sierras.
“Mono Lake”
Eastern Sierras, California
I’ve driven by Mono Lake three times in the last four years in the February/March time frame. This year with the combination of the skies and the snow, the view was striking. A few moments after I took this image, a breeze came up and the clearness of the reflection was gone. Sometimes, I just lucky to be at the right spot at the right time. Thank YOU!
“Foggy Sunrise”
Heatherwood Winter
Fog and early morning sunlight create a wonderful ethereal scene. Layers of fog and low lying clouds cover the valley below our home. The distant hills provide a dark hazy background silhouette in the middle. More low lying clouds obscure the Selah-Yakima gap and additional cloud layers cover the morning sky. Winter sunrises and sunsets are a special gift to start and end a day.
Many may think that the above image could be an abstract painting. It is not. The image is straight from my camera with only a very small amount of contrast added. Magic happens!
“Sunrise Filtering Through the Fog”
Heatherwood View
As the sun breaks the horizon,
Its light filters through the fog.
A pink wonder appears.
Every sunrise presents a different view of the day ahead. Each one is an open slate, ready for us to make it the best it can be!