Category: Special Places

Meditation on Green

It was too sunny to sit home and finish my comments on Pirsig’s Lila. so I went to Nisqually Wildlife refuge. It must be fall because I saw more birds today than I’ve seen in awhile.

But the high point of the day came while standing at the edge of a swamp trying to capture a shot of this dragon flying. While I’ve managed to get pretty good pictures of one when landed, I’ve never managed to get a picture of one flying before:

Dragonfly

In order to capture the shot, I spent nearly a half hour staring through my 400mm lens, trying to manually focus on the dragonfly because autofocus kept trying to focus on the background.

Most of the time I simply stared into the green blur that serves as the background of the above picture. It was a strange meditation, with me and the dragonfly strangely suspended in time.

When I accidentally focused on the bullrushes in the background, it felt strangely surreal as if I’d been transported to a land where blades of grass stand six foot tall:

Bulrushes

and even a single pair of blades seem strangely beautiful:

Two Blades

Pay Attention to the Little Things

With rain forecast Saturday, I took advantage of Friday’s sun break to head over to Theler Wetlands in Belfair. There still aren’t many birds out except for barn swallows and flocks of these little birds,

juvenile American Goldfinch

which I didn’t recognize as a juvenile American Goldfinch until I got home because it lacked the brilliant gold color I’ve always used to identify a Goldfinch. Even without its gold plumage it seemed like a very pretty bird. Perhaps I was able to get so close because it was a juvenile and raised beside a busy trail.

Other than that, the most interesting things I saw was this

Cardinal Meadowhawk,

Cardinal Meadowhawk which was quite the challenge to get a picture of because it refused to get too close and because it spent so little time actually sitting.

The hardest picture of the day, though, came in trying to capture this small flower which reminded me of a miniature orchid, but apparently isn’t because it wasn’t listed under native Washington orchids. It’s a little larger than the end of your thumb and only seems to grow in deep shade in swampy areas, not a great combination when you’re wearing sandals and shorts.

Spotted Touch-Me_Not

Finally, a Break in the Clouds

When the sun came out yesterday I, and lots of other folks, headed for Point Defiance where the highlight of the day was the fuchsia garden.

Unfortunately, with so many people walking through the garden the hummingbirds refused to stop to sip from the numerous flowers, leaving nearly as quickly as they entered the garden.

However, this White Crowned Sparrow wasn’t nearly as shy, posing repeatedly.

White Crowned Sparrow

It would have been nice if it had been a little quieter, but it’s hard to resent those who’ve gathered to celebrate some of summer’s most beautiful flowers, like this fuchsia appropriately named Santa Bells:

Fuchsia.Santa Bells

And it wasn’t people alone that were out and about, as the bees and butterflies seem suddenly reminded that Fall is not far away.

Small butterfly

Of course, neither I nor the bees totally abandoned the dahlias

Pruple Dahlia

for the fuchsias

It’s Spring, Right?

It’s been a crazy summer here in the Pacific Northwest with high temperatures early on and extended cold and rainy periods recently. The plants at Belfair are definitely showing their confusion. For instance, this wild rose show the characteristics of Spring,

Rose Bud

Summer,

Wild Rose

AND Fall.

Rose Hips

I’m not sure what season this flower is supposed to bloom in because I can’t remember ever seeing it before, probably because it was so small, each flower about the size of a bumblebee:

Purple Wildflower

And to add to the confusion, here is a shot of Wood Duck with chicks, even though the only time I’ve ever seen these is in early spring.

Wood Duck with Ducklings