Friday, August 28, 2015

Celebrate the Small Things: A Photo Opportunty

Still smokey in Eastern Washington and the fires continue to burn. Tomorrow we are on another high wind alert....not good. Vince and I are official 'weather spotters' and we've been notified to be on the lookout for damage and new fires.

Meanwhile, I shot some photos in the smokey haze (Aug 23), a photo opportunity. It was one of those 'got lemons, make lemonade' moments. The gray rocky hill in the distance (Umtanum Ridge) is normally brown with distinctive angles and shading. We were coming home from Ellensburg (up the hill), where beautiful Mount Rainier is often visible. Not so this time. Even the Cascades were buried in smoke.

View from road, Columbia River, near Vantage

View from road along Columbia River, near Mattawa
Wanapum Dam - Columbia River, near Mattawa


Columbia River, Japanese apple orchards in distance, near Mattawa

Apple orchard in distance, Umtanum Ridge, Columbia River  


 Other celebrations:

--Did some gardening. The temperature was bearable today.
--Loving SmartEdit, my new editing software
--Celebrated another birthday last week. Yummy ice cream cake with friends.

Hope your week was worth every minute

Happy Weekend!

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To join this blog hop click Celebrate page on Lexa's Blog for the rules. Posts are every Friday. It can be about writing, family, school, general life or whatever. This is the funnest and easiest blog hop ever. (Originated by VikLitCo-hosts are: L.G. Keltner @ Writing Off The Edge and Katie @ TheCyborgMom




Sharon M. Himsl

Writer/Author. Blogging since 2011. 
Published with Evernight Teen: 
~~The Shells of Mersing

20 comments:

  1. Wonderful celebrations and I love your photos. Have a great weekend, my friend!

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  2. Here's to making some delicious lemonade! Your photos are lovely!

    Have a great week!

    Desiree Yearning
    Author/ Sign-up for my Blog at my website!
    e:desireeyearning@gmail.com | w:http://desireeyearning.weebly.com/

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    1. Thank you! Actually saw a rainbow today but it only rained a little...not enough to make a huge difference but maybe it's a sign.

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  3. The sun is just gorgeous in those photos, but the smoke is awful. Hope you get some rain soon!
    Ice cream cake. Yum! Happy belated birthday!

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    1. Yes, I thought so too. Thanks. Wish I could afford the calories of that cake more often.

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  4. It's so sad about the fires and the smoke. I hope everything goes back to normal soon. Yay for gardening and birthday celebrations with friends! Now I'm wondering what your editing software does....

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    1. The rainbow today was a good sign, but the winds were fierce. Our outdoor storage unit holding our lawn mower was actually tipped over. I suppose the wind did worse damage elsewhere where the fires rage.

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  5. Well, there's beauty in the smoke somehow - your photos capture it so well Sharon. I travelled down by car to Natal the other day to see a family member and most of the 600 kms drive was hazy, not from fires but a few certainly from fires in this winter weather in South Africa where all is very dry. I too hope that the fires in your neck of the woods end soon ... and have a lovely weekend.

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    1. Have always thought of Africa as dry and truly barren in stretches. Thanks for stopping by Susan.

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  6. You're a good photographer. I'll have to ask you about your weather spotting sometime.
    I was doing some gardening Friday, and now my beans have blown down. I've always done pole beans, but maybe they are not for here.. The teepee was even staked down, but I can do it tighter next year.

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    1. Thanks! I haven't tried green beans yet; probably bush beans are better. Good to know.

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  7. The wind came up today and the smoke got so thick that it was quite frightening. Pullman was reporting low IFR before that; I suspect that they had to close the airport for a time during the smoke storm. We were without internet for most of the day, too.

    But my experience of this is nothing; I pray for the people who actually live near the fires, and whose houses and lives are in danger.

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    1. Yes, scary. I don't recall Pullman every being that bad. Tough being without internet. I wonder if it was related.

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  8. Let's hope those fires don't get closer to you. I have to say these are great, if not spooky, pictures.

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    1. Nope....never did other than the smoke. Feel very fortunate.

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  9. Although late, I hope you had a good birthday. The smoke is awful. Only been to Seattle once. Washington is a beautiful part of the country.

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    1. Thank you! The west and east sides are quite different but beautiful in their own way. I'm an east-sider; I love the wide open spaces.

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  10. It must be such a worry knowing the fires are close by. Some interesting smoky shots though.
    Belated happy birthday, ice cream cake sounds delicious.

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    1. Yes, it made for some interesting scenery, but I'm glad it's almost over. Thanks for stopping by!

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You could call me an eternal optimist, but I'm really just a dreamer. l believe in dream fulfillment, because 'sometimes' dreams come true. This is a blog about my journey as a writer and things that inspire and motivate me.