Month: May 2015

The Rhodies are in Full Bloom

Judging from the number of flowers I see in neighbor’s yards, Rhododendrons must be the most popular flower in the Puget Sound region, and one of the best places to see them is the Point Defiance Rhododendron Garden where you can see them in their natural habitat, and by “natural habitat” I mean a well maintained forest/garden.

The thinned forest canopy provides a delightful play of shadow and light for the photographer.

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My favorite part of the garden is seeing brilliant colors splashed against a green palate,

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but the meandering paths also make it easy to see the rhodies from different perspectives, as they might appear in your garden

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or up-close as individual bouquets.

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Anyway that you look at them they are beautiful.

Tempus Fugit

It may only be May on the calendar, but everything around me tells me I’ve lost track of time and summer has already begun. After I saw the wild roses blooming at Belfair, I knew I needed to get down to check out the Pt. Defiance Rose Garden, especially the Iris portion of the garden.

I was surprised that nearly all the roses are blooming, even the ones that usually bloom later in the summer. There are lots of new rosebuds,

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but most roses are already in their prime.

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Some are even already showing wear around the edges.

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The Iris Garden is even ahead of the Rose Garden. Though many of the iris are still in their prime

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like these two,

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others have already faded.

If you live in Tacoma, this is a great time to visit the Gardens, especially since the Rhododendron Garden is also in full bloom.

Not Just Flowers

It’s impossible to miss all the flowers, both native and cultivated, at Theler, but I’ve also been struck by the beauty of just-emerged

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and about-to-emerge leaves.

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In fact, I’ve been looking at this shot for several days thinking it would be the perfect photo for a haiku, but apparently that’s not to be so you’ll have to create your own haiku to accompany it.

Letters from the Past

I’ve been walking Theler Wetlands for a several years now, before they breached the dike and flooded the farm to provide better habitat for young salmon. I’ll have to admit I was skeptical of the project, particularly because I hadn’t seen the kind of transformation that I expected at Nisqually after they breached the dike.

Despite that skepticism, I’ve been encouraged by the kinds of changes I’ve seen at Theler Wetlands. Although some species of birds have obviously suffered from the changes, there seems to have been a number of positive changes, too. One of the biggest changes has been the increased number of small shorebirds passing through, like these Least Sandpiper.

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Although I took these shots mainly to positively identifying them, looking at them got me thinking of what the Puget Sound must have been like before people started filling in wetlands to build farms and, more recently, mansions.

For me, these Least Sandpiper were letters from the past,

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reminding us what we need to do to preserve our natural heritage and pass it on to future generations.