“Mt. Whitney”
Eastern Sierras, California
There it stands, Mt. Whitney issuing a challenge to able-bodied hikers to come up and climb me. This image is from a campground and a trail head for the climb. I can’t imagine myself ever attempting the climb. Kathy, this image is dedicated to you. I can remember you coming back from your trek to the top and saying it was tough, but not too bad. I wish you many more climbs in the future!
“Lone Oak & Mt. Whitney”
Alabama Hills, California
Today, I thought I would post something a little different than an image from our Heatherwood garden. I haven’t been out of our immediate area photographing in nature much since last June in the Palouse. It feels good to take a little break from our garden.
The Alabama Hills have always attracted me since watching all those old cowboy movies when I was a kid. The unique landscape with its rolling hills, intriguing rock formations, box canyons, and rugged Eastern Sierras have provided, and still do provide, a great background for action movies. They are a wonderful place to explore.
This live oak in its yellow fall color provides a great foreground for Mt. Whitney in the background. I remember how disappointed I was the first time I saw Mt. Whitney. I was expecting a towering peak standing out above the surrounding hills. It was no Mt. Rainier! But the fact remains that it is still the highest peak in the continental US.
“View From the Perch”
Heatherwood Japanese Garden
Before settling down in the “Perch’s” Adirondack settee, our visitor takes a few moments to enjoy the scene that folds out below. From here, the stroller can view the Selah-Yakima gap, the rural Selah valley and rolling hills, and the Heatherwood landscape as a background to the Japanese garden stream and waterfalls. The dense cloud cover provides a contrast to the normally bright blue summer skies of the Yakima Valley. It is now time to sit down, relax, and enjoy a little peace with the rushing water and the song of birds providing nature’s wonderful music.
This posting is the conclusion for our stroller’s walk through Heatherwood’s Japanese Garden. There is much more to see and enjoy, but those will be left for a future stroll.
“View of Selah Bluff”
Heatherwood Japanese Garden
Turning the corner, the path straightens out and the view opens up. Our visitor is presented a picturesque scene of the Selah Bluff on a beautiful Eastern Washington blue sky day. One of the design aspects of our Heatherwood garden is the use of borrowed scenery from the surrounding area. We make liberal use of it!
“Two White Barns and Steptoe”
The Palouse, Washington
I started out searching for these iconic two white barns in the fields of the Palouse. I first focused my images on the two white barns. I wasn’t excited about what I had created. They were just nice photos of two white barns. I stepped back and asked myself why I was making the images. It was the wonderful Palouse sky and the quaint farm setting in the rolling hills around Steptoe Butte. I switched my perspective to the overall setting and away from the iconic barns.
“Thank You!”
The Palouse, Washington
Contradiction
Sun-fired billows top a melancholy base of grays and dull pinks.
Cool spring green alternates with curves and shadows.
One scene; infinite possibilities.
Mary Dahlin Graf
What a great way to end a wonderful day. The sun was on the horizon setting the clouds on fire. We gazed up and shouted “Thank You!” in unison.
“Steptoe Butte”
The Palouse, Washington
The Columbia River Lava flows make up most of the bedrock of the Palouse. Fifteen to eighteen million years ago fissures in southeastern Washington, northeastern Oregon, and southwestern Idaho spewed out great lava flows over the Columbia Basin. Steptoe Butte created by a metamorphic rock protrusion 400 million years ago rises 1000 feet above the lava flows.
“Auntie Em’s House”
The Palouse, Washington
Straight from the “Wizard of Oz”, here’s Auntie Em’s house with tornado, dark skies and open farm land. How lucky could we get as the clouds formed an almost perfect tornado shape! THANK YOU!
“Sunlight on the Curves”
Palouse, Washington
Springtime in the Palouse is a wonderful time to practice my skills using infrared photography. The bright green winter wheat and the great clouds add to the experience. It was a cool windy day with rapidly moving clouds. Patches of sunlight rolled along the hills. I spent about an hour and created almost 100 images trying to catch different patches of sunlight crossing the two curvy hills at the same time. Patience paid off as I was able to catch the bright strips of sunlight on the two ridges.
Neighbor’s Pasture
Heatherwood Spring
The clouds make this infrared image of our neighbor’s pasture. We “borrow” this scene for our lower Heatherwood garden. We are surrounded on three sides (N,E, and W) by hills and look over a valley to the south. In the design of Heatherwood, we have opened up and framed vistas of the surrounding countryside. There is always something interesting to explore with our eyes and imagination.