Category: Pt. Defiance Park

Despite a dismal forecast and some early morning drizzle, today turned into one of those beautiful sunny days that make all the previous rainy days bearable.

I grabbed my Canon and headed to Pt. Defiance Rose Garden. I was disappointed to discover that all the spring flowers had been removed to make way for the summer flowers, and all there was to see were recently spaded beds.

Luckily, the Pt. Defiance Rhododendron Gardens more than made up for the lack of flowers in the Rose Garden. As it turned out, the biggest problem was trying to avoid overexposure because of the strong contrasts between the rays of sunlight and the deep shade of the firs:

It was the kind of problem that a photographer loves, and the best shots seem to radiate light:

Though humans seemed to gravitate toward the brighter colors, bumblebees seemed drawn to the white rhodies, and this plant was abuzz:

If tomorrow’s forecast is as wrong as today’s was, I’ll be spending the day at Nisquallly rather than going to the club and spending the rest of the day reading or working at my computer.

Even when you’ve retired from teaching it seems like it should be Spring Break, at least when the sun is shining.

Here’s the best looking flower at the Rhododendron Garden today, and Leslie tells me she thinks it’s a dogwood (now she has some doubts, though.)

The sunshine finally broke through the clouds today, but it was clear that it wouldn’t be sunny for long. So I grabbed my camera and headed for the nearby Pt Defiance.

I’m glad I did, because I sighted my first ever Black Scoters, though they’re not black because they’re female Black Scoters. Of course I didn’t have a clue what they were when I took their picture. I just knew I hadn’t seen a sea duck with these markings before. A little time with my favorite book, and a close look at their unusual beak convinced me that that they were, indeed, Black Scoters.

When I stopped by the pond by the Rose Garden on the way home, I discovered these two turtles taking advantage of the the sunshine as much as I was. I didn’t know there even were turtles in the pond, and I’m not quite sure what what kind of turtles they are.