ON A CLEAR DAY...

You can see~~~

Mt. St. Helens in Washington from St. Helens, Oregon ...

...the magnificent Olympic Range, from Sequim, WA

and "THE Mountain" (Ranier). When you're stopped at a light and aiming out of a window on a clear day, you'd better be happy with whatever your camera can capture...

Or even this if you're shooting through a tinted windshield!

Because in a few hours, having made its own weather, what you'll mostly see are plenty of lovely clouds.

"Q" - GAS, GRINS & GRUB

("LLC"!!)

Yes, some gas stations are more fun than others. Could be they're hoping fill-ups will be less painful. (Aberdeen, WA)

"Q" - NAME THAT TREE (#1)

This one reminded me of the eye of a Gray Whale

OK, maybe it would be discernible if the photo was flipped? Use your imagination!

Belfair State Park, WA, mid-May

"Q" - HIS MAJESTY

I'm going to find that sucker if it's the last thing I do!

Le petit chat noir, Sambo

"Q" - RED RED DIRT

I'm still getting used to Blogger's new editing tools; one of them is the ability to select an "extra large" format for photos. I thought this road cut along Highway 3 in Northern California deserved some special treatment, so I formatted for an "extra large photo," but it didn't fit between Blogger's predetermined "margins." Huh?!! What a tease. Well, you can click on it to enlarge it to better see the color detail.

"Q" -- SEA HORSES DISCOVERED IN OREGON FOREST

Say whaaat?!!!

~~~~~~~~~~

Look closely. You'll see the tiny Spring pinnae emerging from the Sword Fern "fiddleheads." Native Americans included these tender shoots in their diet, and today they can occasionally still be found in salads and farmers' markets in Alaska.

(Silver Falls State Park, Oregon)

GETTING MY GROOVE BACK

Been doing a little traveling, visiting friends, visiting family, being adopted by another family, exploring all the Pacific states -- California, Oregon, Washington, Hawaii, working through the sudden, unexpected deaths of two loved ones, and planning the next chapter in my never-boring life. A BIG chapter!

Now, now - calm down. I'm just planning a move to a "home base." It's only a "big" chapter because I've been a free-wheeling, homeless, wandering gypsy for over seven years now. And not to worry: my tires will continue to gather no moss!

In the meantime, I hope you'll stay tuned as I regress into "QUOTIDIAN" mode. Remember? That assortment of miscellany I throw at you now and then to ward off boredom, keep you occupied, off the streets and out of trouble. Yup! That's my mission. So, here goes!

Weird, huh? Well, when you mess around, sometimes you get "weird." I was photographing the graceful branches of a pepper tree in broad daylight, and a sunspot splash appeared in the corner. Changing day for night, I turned the sunspot into a moon. Rather, the computer turned it into a moon.

Happy Monday!