The Weatherman Said "Unsettled" ...

He was right ... rain, sleet, hail, sunshine.
One after the other - all day long!

Every few minutes I had to grab my camera and run outside ...
To catch the gorgeousness I saw ...

"Unsettled" weather?
Bring it ON!!!

Raindrop Reflections

A drop of water,
A wintertime grape vine,
A distant fir tree,
A moment of blue sky ...
What a combination!!!

I am linking this with James' "Weekend Reflections",
NatureFootstep's "NFMacros",
Laura's "Macro Friday",
and a new ones for me, "Skywatch Friday", "Watery Wednesday", and "Life as this Mommy Knows It" who hosts a linky party called "Look Whooooo's Snapping".

Nature's Perfection

A perfectly landscaped lawn and flower beds surround the VA Clinic building in Hillsboro. I could find no pictures begging to be taken - everything seemed to be too perfect, too sculpted, too fake.
Until I saw this beautiful mushroom, tucked away in a corner of the manicured lawn.
Now THIS is perfection!!!

Further down the street, in a little sculpted "wetlands" area, I spied this wonderful face on an old dead tree. I had to turn the picture upside down, but ain't he cute???

A Walk on the Wild Side

Juvenile Downy Woodpecker

Late Thistle flower, wet from rain

Duck sleeping on submerged log

Fall Cattail

These photos courtesy of a walk at the Fanno Creek Nature Preserve in Tigard, Oregon.

Nature's Beauty!

Iris through broken glass

White fawn lily in woods

I love wild flags!

Wonder what he wants to be when he grows up ......

Newt!

This poor little guy somehow wandered away from the safety of the pond or creek where he usually lives and ended up near the front door step. When I picked him up to move him away from the obvious danger of being in that particular spot (Squish!), he was so cold he didn't even blink an eye. I cradled him in my warm hands until he started fussing. When I put him down, he wasted no time in running off to a more hospitable environment.

Awesome tree

This wonderful old tree is a Big Leaf Maple, worn by time and weather. The tree is actually much larger than this section, which is at least 100 feet up from the base. We found it yesterday when my sister Beth and I visited the woods of our childhood. So many of the wonderful memories are still there! Deer Valley, Huckleberry Bridge, Museum Tree, Deer Garden, the mud flats ... the same, yet different. As we tramped through the canyon, surrounded by lush forest and the stumps of old growth timber harvested in the mid-forties, I was glad we were given the gift of nature as children. It was fun to introduce my kids to the fairylands of our childhood, to share with them the dreams and imaginations we had as children ourselves.

Beth and I were surprised at how we noticed the same things, photographed the same things, and yet never got the same pictures as each other. I can't wait to explore more corners of the world with my sister and see what we come up with ... the same, yet different. Maybe next time my other sister can come with us? What do you think, Honey?

Found Hearts for Valentines Day

I never could draw a perfect heart. They are always lopsided - one side too narrow, one side too fat, too squat, too long ... I realize now that all hearts are perfect, because real hearts are not all the same. These pictures are proof of that! When I started finding them, I couldn't stop! These are but a few of the random hearts I found over the past few days. Try it!

Hawthorn berry surprise

Sometimes it's the little things that catch my eye. A tiny white mushroom standing stark against a green fern. A red hawthorn berry, in the dead of winter, the only color I see for hours. A spiderweb turned into spun rainbows nestled in dead branches on the rich forest floor.

This lone hawthorn berry surprised me. I had been out tramping in the wintertime woods of browns, greens and blacks for quite some time. For being so small, this perfect red berry seemed to jump out and call to me to notice and appreciate it's beauty. Usually these berries are long gone by the end of January, so I welcomed the surprise of it's presence. Soon my woods will again be full of color ... for now I will treasure this little red beauty and the promise of spring.

Shy Little Mushroom

There has to be a story behind this shy mushroom! I will have to go for a walk tomorrow and search for the story in the woods where fairies play and gnomes stand guard ... yeah, that's what I'll do.

This Dog Rocks!

I didn't even notice until after I took this picture that this beautiful rock is actually the side view of a dog! He's simply beautiful!

Rainbow net

The many colors of the rainbow revealed in the most unexpected of places ... a spider web, deep in the woods.

Look what you can find when you get up off the couch and look around! Even the smallest of nature's treasures can reveal great beauty ... can spark your imagination ... can color your world with rainbows!

Mushroom family

Twigs catching in my hair, I tramped through the woods, searching for Spring ... I didn't find it. But nestled amidst the chaos left over from this Winter's fierce storms, I found something else.

Mushrooms were everywhere ... a few caught my imagination. A family huddling together amidst the frozen ferns. A lone mushroom, stalk gnarled and twisted, standing tall.

Spring will come soon enough ... I love the season that is.

Fairy Pearls

Another of Nature's Jewels -- I found a string of fairy pearls!

String of Pearls

Another Nature's Jewel I found after the storm was this beautiful string of pearls.