There's a fungi for you

Taken on a winter hike somewhere near Mt Erie

My friend Deb Shuka has challenged me to put up a nature picture on Facebook each day this week, part of someone else's challenge to her, and I agreed to do it. This got me going back through pictures taken in years past, and when I saw this one, I was really surprised. I'd stopped taking pictures of fungi because I thought I had never gotten a good one. Somehow this one didn't measure up before, but today I am thrilled to have found it.

I've also learned that my old Canon PowerShot that was stolen from me four years ago took some really good pictures, like this one and the one below. And I was reminded once again that the iPhone 6 might take good pictures, but it doesn't have salient features like a real zoom. I suppose I could check out add-ons that might give me that ability, but I'll probably just start carrying my camera along in my backpack so that I can take advantage of other options.

Mt Rainier captured from the top of Mt Erie

When I took this picture, I was standing atop Mt. Erie, the highest point on Fidalgo Island, where you can see Mt Rainier on a clear day, or on a day like this one. But I had to use my telephoto all the way out to make it look bigger than a teeny little mound, since it's more than a hundred miles away (118 to be exact). It's been fun going back and perusing my old pictures, and I realize that there is a real benefit to keeping these pictures handy.

So this little exercise that Deb challenged me to has got me all excited about photography again. Maybe I might find a little camera that does it all. Technology changes all the time, and I don't usually have any reason to keep up. It's Christmas, after all, and there are likely to be some deals out there. Right?
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Winning bird picture

Since many of my blogging buddies also follow Joan at The Retirement Chronicles, you might know that I enter her photo contest every month -- unless the month gets away from me and I forget, or unless I simply have nothing worth submitting. A year ago last May I won for "Landscapes" and in July's contest this year, I won bragging rights for this picture, with the theme "Birds," along with a cute little widget to display on my sidebar. And you can check out this link to see all the other July entries.

It actually amazed me how happy I was when Joan told me that I'd won. The thing is, the possibility of winning isn't what motivates me to enter, but to see what other people submit and how my pictures stack up next to others. Usually I can predict the eventual winner and I thought I had a pretty good chance this month. Say hello to my little Rufous hummingbird who enjoys the penstemon in the little flower box on my front porch. I think he's the same one who visits often, but there's no way to know for sure. Only a few times have I had more than one hummer at a time visit the flowers.

I'm deep into Jodi Picoult's book House Rules and stayed up way too late last night reading. If you haven't discovered her yet, she takes a controversial issue and covers it from the point of view of all the characters in the story. This one is about Asperger's Syndrome. It keeps reminding me of a wonderful book I read long ago, written from the point of view of a child with autism, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon. I just loved that book, too.

It's early in the morning here on the west coast and I woke up early, even though I went to sleep later than usual, so I am able to get this post done before I leave on the bus for my daily routine. I only have a few more minutes before I dash out the door, and the bus waits for no one. Talk to you soon!
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Waterfalls

Joan over at The Retirement Chronicles has a monthly photo contest with a different theme each month. I won the May contest in "Landscapes," and last month's event was for photos of "Sunrises and Sunsets." I looked carefully through my pictures and realized the reason I don't have much to show for that category is I'm usually inside and not somewhere spectacular for the sunrise, and I'm usually in bed or asleep at sunset. The times I can take really nice pictures are during the day.

This month's contest is "Waterfalls and Fountains." For last month's entries and the rules, you can go here. There were 18 fantastic pictures for the sunrise/sunset category, so I guess I wasn't missed. But this month, I waffled back and forth over four possible waterfall entries. The one above was the one I almost chose, but I finally decided that even though I liked it a lot, it didn't have anything particularly special to make it stand out. To see the one I entered, you'll have to wait until the month is over and Joan shows them all to us.

If you win, you get a nifty picture to display on your sidebar. I don't usually enter memes or contests, but this one gives me a chance to go back over pictures I've taken since moving here and reminiscing over particularly wonderful days I've spent in the wilderness with good friends. It's now been two years since I teamed up with the Senior Trailblazers, and I do feel truly blessed to be able to join them on the Thursday hikes. Once in a while a physical ailment will keep someone away for awhile, but there is no greater impetus to get better than the joy of spending the day outdoors in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.
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I won!!

Wow! I won Joan's (The Retirement Chronicles) May photo contest! I've been entering since she starting doing them, and I haven't even gotten so much as an honorable mention before. In fact, I said so to her when I submitted this one, and she mentioned it in her blog post announcing my win. (Click to enlarge.)

The category was "Landscapes," and here are the other entries. I myself was sure I knew who the winner would be, and it wasn't me. So I will be happy to proudly display my winning button on the sidebar as soon as it comes over. This month's category is "Flowers," which will be very tough to win, since I've seen some of the most breathtaking flower pictures this spring from around the world. I'm happy to have won this one, though.

This picture was taken, interestingly, last October 8, while on a hike to Rainbow Ridge in the Mt. Baker Wilderness. It also happens to be the day that I fell on the way back home and got a huge hematoma on my left shin that kept me from hiking for a few weeks. I especially like the red, white, and blue colors in this picture, which I didn't do anything to, not even run it through iPhoto's "enhance" feature. these are the colors I captured with my camera.

Now I'm off to the dentist to be "crowned." Boy will THAT be a lot of fun. Wish me luck.
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