Sunrise at Mt.Rainier

Since Leslie had yesterday off we decided to go to Mt. Rainier. Naturally it was unusually cloudy when we left and it appeared questionable if we’d even be able to see the mountain, much less get a picture of it. Leslie wanted to go to Sunrise, though I would have preferred to go to the main park entrance. It turned out to be the right choice as the clouds seemed to part just as we entered the park entrance.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen the Mountain from Sunrise before but it certainly offers some close-up views of the mountain.

It probably shouldn’t come as a surprise, but it always does when I find glaciers

meeting flowers, competing to cover more ground than the other

and you wonder if the orange butterflies

were painted with orange Indian Paintbrush.

Defining Dahlia

I took it as a high compliment yesterday when Kenju said, “Now that photo defines dahlia!�

It did seem like a classic dahlia, even resembling the picture on the sign that greets the visitor to the dahlia garden.

What first appealed to me about dahlias was the geometric repetition of the petals as they open, a symmetry that’s found in most flowers but is carried to new heights in dahlias.

This white and purple dahlia seemed so delicately perfect in its structure that I couldn’t even imagine a way to enhance its beauty:

I loved this purple and white one just as much, but it seemed to better lend itself to an “artistic� enhancement that emphasizes its symmetry:

I’ll have to admit, though, a definite fondness for this less classical dahlia, one that also seems have a compelling appeal to bees and other insects:

And my thoughts seem to scatter

Not quite sure why, but as I was working with this image Don Henley’s “The Heart of the Matter� kept creeping in from some far recesses of my mind.

THE HEART OF THE MATTER

I got the call today, didn’t wanna hear
But I knew that it would come
An old true friend of ours was talkin’ on the phone
She said you found someone
And I thought of all the bad luck,
And the struggles we went through
And how I lost me and you lost you
What are these voices outside love’s open door
Make us throw off our contentment
And beg for something more?

I’m learning to live without you now
But I miss you sometimes
The more I know, the less I understand
All the things I thought I knew, I’m learning again
I’ve been tryin’ to get down to the Heart of the Matter
But my will gets weak
And my thoughts seem to scatter
But I think it’s about forgiveness
Forgiveness
Even if, even if you don’t love me anymore

These times are so uncertain
There’s a yearning undefined
…People filled with rage
We all need a little tenderness
How can love survive in such a graceless age
The trust and self-assurance that lead to happiness
They’re the very things we kill, I guess
Pride and competition cannot fill these empty arms
And the work I put between us,
You know it doesn’t keep me warm

I’m learning to live without you now
But I miss you, Baby
The more I know, the less I understand
All the things I thought I figured out, I have to learn again
I’ve been tryin’ to get down to the Heart of the Matter
But everything changes
And my friends seem to scatter
But I think it’s about forgiveness
Forgiveness
Even if, even if you don’t love me anymore

There are people in your life who’ve come and gone
They let you down you know they hurt your pride
Better put it all behind you; life goes on
You keep carrin’ that anger, it’ll eat you up inside

I’ve been tryin’ to get down to the Heart of the Matter
But my will gets weak
And my thoughts seem to scatter
But I think it’s about forgiveness
Forgiveness
Even if, even if you don’t love me

I’ve been tryin’ to get down to the Heart of the Matter
Because the flesh will get weak
And the ashes will scatter
So I’m thinkin’ about forgiveness
Forgiveness
Even if, even if you don’t love me anymore

Too Hot To Handle

Considering the kind of weather the rest of the nation has been having, I’m not about to complain about the weather here in the Pacific Northwest, but it reached 90 degrees again today and that’s too hot for me to think of doing much but trying to avoid getting any hotter than absolutely necessary.

So, after taking Skye for an early morning walk I decided to limit myself to taking pictures of the Pt Defiance Rose Garden. I know I said weeks ago that the roses were at their peak, and some early roses were absent flowers, but it’s clear that unlike many flowers here in the PNW, roses like the heat, as they looked radiant today, nearly flawless in their beauty:

Heretic that I am, though, I still spent most of the time photographing everything but roses. Perhaps my favorite flower was this beautiful form of a Tiger Lily

that stood nearly five feet high.

Now that the dahlias are out, though, it’s almost as impossible for me to ignore them as it is for the bees: