The days go by and they are uneventful. That's not to say they are boring or not worthwhile for they are. It's just that it is . . . one pleasant, uneventful, smoothly moving day after another. In fact, aside from our own undoings, we move along pretty well from one adventure to another.
And the days are pretty nice. Like today, it was there and because we had nothing better to do, we decided to go on a Rainy Day Picnic. Hahaha, it wasn't raining when we left but, being Seattle, we were pretty sure it would be at some point along our travels today.
Pretty doggone sure.
And, FYI, we were right. But I'm ahead of myself
So, with no real place to go and without any discernible purpose, we sorta followed our noses. First stop, though, was for an appropriate dessert.
To the Dollar Tree!! Stat!!
And we were off. Of course, we couldn't just get the cookies. No, we walked out with the cookies, some semi-sweet chocolate chips, two bags of Popped Popcorn, a bag of spice drops and a large chocolate Santa. Hahaha, damn those affordable prices!!
Now we had our tuna fish sandwiches, drinks AND plenty of just desserts so we headed to our park. With one quick stop in between.
The Cedar River has been rising lately and so we thought we'd stop by and just take a look-see at the River before we hit the park.
What the heck, it was our day and we could, pretty much, do whatever we wanted to do, right?
And so we did.
Now, before we go any further on this little trip today, I have to explain that I've been feeling all Artsy-Fartsy lately. In other words (is that IOW in textese?), I've been trying to see and shoot beyond just recording our adventures.
You don't take a photograph, you make it.
Ansel Adams
I've already mentioned my interest in windows (and my fervent hope that my shooting windows is not mistaken for being a Peeping Tom!!) and the stories behind them. There's also my interest in angles and lines, flowers, birds, B&W everything and general landscape and architectural photography.
To sum it up, you're going to have to deal with some of my attempts to refine my artistic eye and develop my meager abilities in capturing these images in my camera.
So, here we go. We stopped at the river and as we were walking over, I saw the window below. First is the color picture and then the one in B&W. I was interested in the window and its relationship to the chimney and then I wanted to see it in B&W.
Anyway, here it is. I think I need to work on my ability to translate my vision into B&W. I need to work on the contrast, well, on a lot but I am getting started.
Hahahaha, and you have to look at it!!
"Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep."
Scott Adams
But we got to the river and, yeah, it was pretty high and moving fast. They've closed off the river walk . . . you know our hyper-sensitive and over-protective please don't sue me local, state and federal governments.
But, aside from my very gentle rant (observation?) you can see the river was up and moving along.
We're standing on the Wells Avenue bridge over the river and we hear a familiar roar and there's a jet taking off from the Renton Municipal Airport!!
Hahaha, he was moving fast and grabbing air as hard as he could. It's a short strip that comes off right over the city and so I'm sure he has to get as much height as he can as quickly as he can to avoid overly disturbing the locals underneath his take-off route.
Hahaha, if we'd gone straight there instead of getting our dessert, we'd have been there!! I know, I know . . . what's all the fuss. It's just fun, man. That's all. It's just fun to be there and watch this giant airplane take off from this improbably small-town airport.
With a seagull, no less.
And, to make matters even worse . . . as we were on our way to our park, a second jet took off.
Bummer!!
Back to the bridge and the river. It's running fast and turning up a lot of silt that's being dropped on the walk alongside the river.
Carol saw this pattern and saw a bird in the patterns. I can see it, too.
See the ripples to the right? That's how high the river is. Oh, and cold, too!
Brrrrrrrr . . .
Looking east up the river you can see it is a bit flooded.
I've shot this house before. I like the combination of colors and the simplicity of the design and the materials used in the making of this house. This house has a potential to be a happy home. I wonder if it is living up to its potential and if the folks that live there are happy.
As we were leaving, I caught this window. I think it is a kitchen sink window.
What do you think? Should I have shot it in B&W? Should I have included more information about its environment or not included as much as I did. I feel the electrical conduit to the right and the empty branches add to the window rather than detract from it.
I like that as you look at the lower part of that window, you can see the leaves of the houseplant.
Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.
Edgar Degas
Hahaha, we finally made it to our park for the picnic. We made up the tuna sandwiches, enjoyed the scenery, ate and had our drinks and listened to the radio.
Hahaha, what a pleasant afternoon. And, BTW, we both listen to 770 KTTH, Conservative. Talk. Radio.
All in all, it was a most pleasant way to spend a day. Good company, good food and great cookies!!
We were enjoying our Chocolate Chip Cookies when Ol' Eagle-Eye, Carol, spotted this Kingfisher resting on a pole while he spied here and there for another fish.
We left after our lunch and our interlude with the Kingfisher. We did get out to check the Eagle Tree to see if any were home but, alas, no. They were all out on the hunt, I guess. No more big jets took off, either. So, once the rain begin gently drifting down, we drifted off to . . .
The Beer Shiva Park. They've been doing a lot of work at that park and were still doing it. A footbridge is going in and they've put up some kind of huge wing-like piece of art(?) in it. It'll be a while longer before they're done.
But while we were there, we were able to see some of the waterfowl.
We hung out here for a bit and then we moved on for a quick stop at Seward Park. It's a beautiful park but with the drizzly rain, we stayed in the mini and just enjoyed.
Rather than go on back to the Hole-in-the-Ground, we headed up the Lake Washington Boulevard towards the floating bridge.
We stopped at several of the small parks along the Boulevard and enjoyed the sights.
The tide was out.
We finally made it to the Mt. Baker Park. There are about six parks, counting Seward Park, along this part of Lake Washington Boulevard.
Anyway, it was as far as I was willing to go. Despite the gentle drizzle I did bravely get out of the mini to look around.
Pioneer David Denny, the same Denny who donated the five-acre patch for Seattle's first public park in 1884 which I mentioned in a previous blog, first owned the Mount Baker Area. At that time, it was a quiet woods beside a stream trickling down to Lake Washington.
The Olmsted Brothers were hired to design the Mount Baker Park Subdivision, and in 1898 this little section was donated to the city. By the late 20s, the park had become an important public attraction, partly because of its proximity to the beach. After 1950, when Stan Sayres located his headquarters for the unlimited hydroplane races it was flooded annually with fans, who returned in quieter times for pleasant walks and a nice day at the beach.
It was a really drizzly, cloudy, overcast, ugly gray kinda day.
Here I'm at Mt. Baker Park looking over to the, hahaha, Lake Washington Boulevard Park. Hahaha, a park for the Boulevard.
The original boulevard, and also the first to be paved in 1907, was in Washington Park. Interlake Blvd., was the connection between town and the various boulevards along the lake. Scattered portions to the south were called Lake Washington Blvd. and by 1920 all the sections and boulevards had been connected, and the whole length given the name Washington Blvd.
Man, they've got these parks all over the place!!
Standing in the same position, I did a 180 degree turn and shot the shore looking the other way. Lake Washington Boulevard runs along the shore in both pictures. It's a great drive and an even greater walk along the shore.
Next to the small beach, they have this pier. And I went all Artsy-Fartsy on it.
Now, I like it. I like the patterns the lines and angles make and the way the pattern is reflected in the still water of the lake. It works for me.
And I thought it might work in B&W.
I think it did. Which do you prefer?
Hahaha, I gotta admit, I like 'em both. They both have their qualities.
When I got to the end, I turned around and got this shot looking back toward the shore. There's the restrooms and the beach is to the right in this picture.
Again, I like the lines in this picture. Now I just need to learn how to refine this and present it. That's the trick, isn't it.
Always good to know.
Always.
Life is serious, but art is fun.
John Irving
And, finally, when I got back to the mini, Carol had spotted another Kingfisher.
The Belted Kingfisher is a large, conspicuous water kingfisher, the only member of that group commonly found in the northern United States and Canada.
This species has a large head with a shaggy crest. Its long, heavy bill is black with a grey base. These features are common in many kingfisher species. The Belted Kingfisher shows sexual dimorphism, with the female more brightly colored than the male. Both sexes have a slate blue head, large white collar, a large blue band on the breast, and white underparts. The female features a rufous band across the upper belly that extends down the flanks. Juveniles of this species are similar to adults, but both sexes feature the rufous band on the upper belly.
The Belted Kingfisher is often seen perched prominently on trees, posts, or other suitable watchpoints close to water before plunging in head first after its fish prey. They also eat amphibians, small crustaceans, insects, small mammals and reptiles.
This bird nests in a horizontal tunnel made in a river bank or sand bank and excavated by both parents. The female lays five to eight eggs and both adults incubate the eggs and feed the young.
We've seen maybe two or three Kingfishers before this and today we saw two of them in different parks.
It was a fun way to end this day.
So it was an eventful day after all. Hahaha, without even trying it was just a solid and good day. It really works, y'know, this retirement thing.
Everyone should do it.
We had a pleasant lunch and an equally pleasant drive.
We had another fun and interesting little adventure.
Life is good.
Hooah!!
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