We headed north into Canada last week to shake off winter doldrums. Spring isn’t much further ahead than here but it was a good place to go for previews.
Stay tuned and I’ll take you along on our adventures.
A change of scene
Category: Beyond the Olympic Peninsula
Sunday churches
It’s Sunday. I thought I’d repost a couple of churches that I especially liked in 2018. This one was in the Skagit Valley, north of Seattle.
And this one was in Borrego Springs, California.
Waiting
I saw this belted kingfisher as we waited for a ferry. I zoomed in closer but the view was better like this, framed by timbers and wire.
Bloedel Reserve finale
Prentice Bloedel’s focus on textures and shapes is evident in many of the views around the Bloedel Reserve on Bainbridge Island. It is a visual feast at many turns. Volunteers encouraged us to return during other seasons; rhodendrons are spectacular in spring; fall colors are brilliant.
I took the last of my day’s photos at the classic Japanese Garden. The day was warm (85F/29.4C) and it was time for lunch and a cool drink. I do hope to go back again…and again.
Further explorations at Bloedel Reserve
A walkway zig zags through a marshy bog at the Bloedel Reserve on Bainbridge Island. I didn’t consult my guide while I was there but later discovered that a healthy cluster of nearby plants was, as I thought, carnivorous. They are in the middle crook of the walkway and you might make out their oval heads.
While not exactly a rain forest, parts of the Bloedel Reserve resemble rain forests in Western Washington and are rich in lichen, mosses, and ferns.
The forest walk opens onto the first of several ponds created by Prentice Bloedel as he developed the reserve. Although his fortune came from the timber industry, Bloedel initiated conservation practices in the industry and carefully created water features at the Reserve only where the natural high water table permitted. He was an interesting man. Read more about him here.
The nearby Bloedel Residence is used for exhibits, cultural events, and administrative offices. It is on a bluff that overlooks Port Madison Bay and Puget Sound. A lawn in the back opens onto a gorgeous water view.
Bloedel Reserve
Last week I spent several enjoyable hours exploring the Bloedel Reserve on Bainbridge Island about an hour from Sequim. The Reserve is the vision of lumber magnate Prentice Bloedel who resided there with his wife Virginia in his retirement from 1951 to 1986. Open grasslands, forested areas, ponds and wetlands, and even a formal Japanese garden can be viewed in a walk through the property.
The Reserve is 150 acres of woodlands and gardens which reflect Bloedel’s vision and developed in collaboration with several landscape architects. Interestingly, Bloedel was colorblind; the Reserve reflects his deeper interest in varied textures and shapes rather than floral displays.
Ponds draw wildlife and reflect the surroundings.
I’ll show you more of the gardens over the next several days.
Theme Day: Spirit
Today’s first of the month theme is “Spirit,” which I take as akin to our sense of soul. So why are you looking at a photo of a place?
As with churches and cathedrals that we imbue with a sense of spirit, we can find spirit in other places as well. We can attune our minds and hearts to a place, to recognize its spirit. The spirit of a place can touch us just as our souls are touched in a religious meeting place.
The photo above is a place of spirit for me. As its beauty filled me with wonder the first time I saw it, I was equally touched by its spirit, filled with peace as it calmed my heart and spoke to my soul. Heart Lake, here, is aptly named. Its spirit lives in my heart.
Click here to see interpretations of today’s theme from other City Daily Photo participants.