Going through some old photos ...

Boardwalk - Lake Coeur d'Alene

This photo, all shades of blues and browns, was taken on an April day in 2009 when Jodie and I decided to take a walk on the boardwalk at the Coeur d'Alene Resort on the shore of Lake Coeur d'Alene.

You can tell it's early spring because the boardwalk hasn't yet been cleaned up to welcome the summer tourists. Winter's murk lingers at the edges. There's still snow in those southern mountains, and the lake has the steely color of the chill melt.

It looks fairly calm here, but by the time Jodie and I rounded that far bend, the boardwalk was riding slow rolling waves as the wind nudged the lake awake.

[click photo for larger image]

Spring Runoff at Post Falls

The Spokane River is running high right now, as the snow melts in the mountains. The floodgates at the dam are open and Post Falls is roaring through the canyon. Julie and I made our annual pilgrimage to feel the roar.

The Mighty Roar

 Post Falls are L-shaped, and dammed by the local electric company for power. It's a bit tricky to get pictures of the entire falls when standing on land.

Top of the Falls

 If you were to go over Post Falls in a barrel, this is the view you'd have right before you fell off the cliff! That barrel idea? Not recommended!

Roiling Water

 As the river tumbles over the cliff and into the rocks, it churns and crashes and growls with incredible force.

Mist Rising

When the Falls meet the bottom of the canyon, the mist rises in the wind, washing the southern wall and watering the trees on the bluff.

[click photos for larger image]

.

Night at the Needle

 We thoroughly enjoyed our evening at the Space Needle. Here's a photo Dale took of me and the downtown lights of Seattle.

Overlooking the Seattle Skyline

And another of the Space Needle, lit up from below. There's no retouching on this photo ... straight from the camera.

Reaching for the Stars

 

[click photos for larger image]

Seattle Vacation

Last week Dale and I were on a vacation. We spent some time in Seattle, hanging out with Dale's brother and nephew, the Washington state governor, a senator, a congressman, Dave Matthews, and the leader of the free world!

So, OK. We didn't get to rub elbows or shake hands with the political elite. We were in the nosebleed seats. But we still had a great time at the political rally. Dale and his brother hooted until they became hoarse. We're now starting to gear up for the Fall elections.

It was also fun to spend some time playing tourist at Seattle's hot spots. This was the view from our hotel room.

Space Needle

We went up to the observation deck of the Space Needle late in the day. We watched the sun set over Elliot Bay to the west, and Seattle light up in every other direction. The weather was glorious during our stay and the view was spectacular!

[click photo for larger image]

Standing Alone

In a bouquet of a dozen and a half tulips

dressed in yellow and orange

stands one adorned in purple

Lone Beauty

stunning in the evening light.

[click photo for larger image]

Lake Critter

Walking along "The World's Longest Floating Boardwalk" 

on Lake Coeur d'Alene, I spied a ...

Bug on the Boardwalk

[click photo for larger image]

Aging

Now and again I go to the beach

where Lake Coeur d'Alene dumps

into the Spokane River

Knot at the Beach

to sit at a weathered picnic table

and ponder

the big picture and 

small details

[click photo for larger image]

.

Tender Mushrooms

Sometimes it's good to get down in the grass

on my belly.

Striped Heads, Freckled Bodies

I never know what details I'll find.

[click photo for larger image]

Barkin' Mad

Great texture, this.

Tree Bark

Found on a walk around my neighborhood. 

[click photo for larger image]

.

The Eagle

While in Nelson, British Columbia, Canada 

celebrating our 21st wedding anniversary,

Dale and I spent an afternoon at Lakeside Park.

Eagle Totem

It's a beautiful place on on the shore 

of the West Arm of Kootenay Lake.

Among other sites, a towering totem pole.

I took this picture of the eagle by

 holding my phone's camera tipped over my shoulder.

[click photo for larger image]

With a Single Stroke

It seems like the sun came out

and with a single stroke

painted the town in whites, pinks, yellows, oranges

Color Me Blue

and baby blues

[click photo for larger image]

.

Deeper in the Wood

Further down the path at Kiwanis Park

the trees are budding

White Bud

Pops of pink and white

amid the pine

[click photo for larger image] 

.

Stump

I took a walk on a back trail

through Kiwanis Park this afternoon.

Mossy Stump

There are wonders in the underbrush.

[click photo for larger image] 

.

Must Be Raindrops

A big wind and rain storm blew through the valley

in the middle of the night.

Jewels from the Storm

Raindrops clung to the rim of the 

table on our backyard's deck

glimmering in morning light.

[click photo for larger image] 

.

Idaho Green

I took this photo last summer ...

Pastorale Portrait

It's finally starting to look this green again. Hooray!

[click photo for larger image]

.

Idaho Wildlife Area

This has been the most glorious weekend in north Idaho! Dale and I had a great balance of working and loving and organizing and playing in the dirt and eating yummy food and watching a period-piece BBC series and riding the backroads in the convertible. We also did a little geocaching while on the road.

We decided to find the cache hidden in the woods near the shore of the Pend Orielle river, just east of the small town of Priest River. G.Twigs went with us. That crazy giraffe decided to check out the gunshot holes on the sign.

It was a gorgeous sunshiny day in the upper 70s -- the warmest day of 2012 so far. The sky was so clear we could see the mountains on the Idaho/Montana border. Here we are on the north shore of the Pend Orielle River, looking west toward Priest River.

Here, we're looking east upriver. If you keep going this direction and you'll find Lake Pend Orielle.

We didn't see a lot of wildlife on the refuge today. It was mid-afternoon, so not prime feeding time. But we did see evidence of waterfowl. In a shallow depression on the rocky shore, we spotted this goose egg.

 This is as close to a goose-egg that we had this weekend. On a scale of 0 to 10, this weekend rates a 9.98!

Spot o' Color

Crocus Cluster

[click photo for larger image]

.

A Violet Wash

I went for a walk in the woods this afternoon.

The Violet Wood 

The forest floor is strewn with purple.

[click photo for larger image]

Spring Sky

It's a lovely time of year in North Idaho!

[click photo for larger image]

.

Visit My Family's Blogs

I cordially invite you to visit a couple blogs written by my daughters!

The first is Impact Northwest. This blog was started as part of Jodie's Reporting class at Oregon State University. In it, she'll report on green news and trends. She wants to help you make small changes that lead to a more sustainable lifestyle.

The second, AuralArtists, is a blog that I'm writing in collaboration with all three of my daughters. Because a common love of creating beautiful work holds us together, we decided to give each other creative challenges. One of us comes up with an idea, then we each create a project using that idea and a theme of our choosing. So our challenges will be full of hearts, spectrums, growing things and polka dots.

I have great pride in watching my daughters grow into beautiful, intelligent, active young women. I hope you'll enjoy peeking into their world by "Following" these blogs.