Around the island . . .

Off for a little drive this past Sunday to check out a couple of things.

First of all, because the lighting was good, I wanted to photograph an old red barn -- just bits and pieces and details -- and this rusty hinge caught my eye. Whenever I find the color red, weathered wood, some white trim, peeling paint, and then rusting metal, well, it's time to slam on the brakes and see what we can photograph.

I also had spotted a beautiful madrone tree a few weeks ago, so made sure we stopped for that as well. Again, the lighting was perfect, the results good, so this has become a new project -- to photograph madrone bark around the island. Luckily there are lots of madrone trees to choose from.

Then on to Lavender Wind farm, which looked great. My friend P. works there a couple days a week, so I'm SURE she's instrumental in making sure all is trimmed, weeded, and just perfect. Lavender Wind isn't a huge, sprawling place, but rather a somewhat intimate experience, with fields of lavender big enough to be impressive, but not so big as to be intimidating. The people there are friendly, the flowers are amazing, the gift shop fun to browse (we brought home a bouquet of dark, indigo-colored lavender stalks plus some catnip for Abby).

Here at home the rabbits are multiplying like, well, rabbits, and these two were hoovering up birdseed we had scattered below some trees (for the quail, the towhees, the juncos, chipmunks, chickarees, and squirrels). This picture was taken from above, through a dirty window, in low light. Not a good shot, but a decent depiction of who we have living on our property.

A terrific day. May we all have such quietly wonderful excursions.

All text, photographs, and other media are ©Copyright Carol Leigh (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from Carol Leigh. Thank you for your understanding and kindness.

Two from early spring . . .

A wander through Washington's Skagit Valley in March with no real destination in mind. My favorite kind of day.

This barn was just the best! I've since returned and have taken more photos so that I can do a series.

And then a pretty tree, beyond which some daffodil fields were in full bloom. The original version was rather boring, so I turned it into something akin to a Polaroid image.

A good day. A couple good photos. And the company was good as well.

All text, photographs, and other media are ©Copyright Carol Leigh (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from Carol Leigh. Thank you for your understanding and kindness.

Barn-O-Rama

When I prep my photos, I often put some of them in my blog "pending file" to be posted here later, usually when I see a theme developing. Well, this first barn has been in the pending file for a couple of years.

Chris and I were returning home from the airport and took a few side roads along the way. The weather was edgy and the clouds dramatic. We pulled over so I could shoot this barn, but the sound of shotguns in the distance (hunting season) made me edgy, so we moved on. I do like the photo, however.

The next two photos were taken in the Palouse in eastern Washington about nine years ago and I'm just now getting around to processing them. What a difference weather makes!

It's good to finally get these barn pictures out of the pending file and into the light of day. Or night. Hope you enjoyed taking a look.

©Carol Leigh

Barn in the Palouse

The two things I like about this photo, taken a couple of years ago in the Palouse, are:

1) How the upward-rising peak of the barn echoes the upward-rising cloud formation in the background; and

2) How the three light patches in the image create a triangle. There's the lightness on the roof of the barn, the lightness of the cloud rising upward, and the lightness on the ground just to the lower right corner of the barn. Those three light areas lead my eye around the frame and create a sense of movement. ©Carol Leigh