A Lenten suggestion...

...from te cow, the pig, and the chicken.

Nested against the sky

I was waiting for my other half while he picked up some paperwork at the Hospice office the other day (He is a hospice volunteer visitor.) and was intriqued by the nest in this tree. I thought the tree filled the frame nicely against the sky. You can click on this one to enlarge, but you don't see much of the nest even at that. I guess I should put in for a telephoto lens.

Look for other Skywatch photos at the Skywatch blog.

Drifting along with the...

This time of year this is not such an untypical scene. As February moves to a close, the March winds arrive early and tumbleweeds might be found almost anywhere. This one in downtown Grandview--not sure what she is going to do with it once she pulls it out of the street. Last week we filled our small pickup with the ones that had found their rest against our fence. Might be a good idea for a photo expedition--seeking out the tumbling tumbleweeds.

Ash Wednesday

"Remember, man, that you are dust and unto dust you will return."

This cross is at Holy Family Church in Yakima.

Sit a spell

At Sarge Hubbard Park

Fowl

I encountered this gathering when I visited Sarge Hubbard Park. Do you see four fowl?

I had never noticed...

We passed this corner in Sunnyside the other day, and I saw something I had never noticed as long as we have lived in the Valley and despite the fact that for eleven years I worked just half a block down the street.

Keep your eyes open--you never know what you might learn.

Sticking a round in the fog

Playing in the fog again

Back to the playground in the fog

It's a foggy morning, just what I have been waiting for for a trip to a foggy playground. I was not sure what I would get when I got there, but I am pleased with the results.

Upon relfection...

More of Rainier

The Mountain

A winter visit to Mt. Rainier National Park involves a four hour drive each way for us--but it's worth it even if the mountain only takes a brief peek from the clouds.

Options...

...for those who didn't get a reservation made for Valentine's dinner last night.

I remember taking this one...

...this time last year. Do you know what it is?
These "pots" are seen on phone poles in many rural areas. They are boosters for the telephone signals.

How different things can be

Today's sunset is not likely to look like this

one from one year ago today. We have been having gray skies.

Still looks the same

I haven't been out to take any pictures so I have dug this one out from files of one year ago. If I went to the same spot today it would look the same, but I think it is colder. I wonder what I was doing out at the rail road crossing one year ago.

Don't mess with this frost.

Frosted tree

...while walking in the park.

Bolt

More frozen frost on a bolt of the playground equipment.

The fog lifted

The fog had lifted when I got to the playground after a late Sunday breakfast. I had anticipated some foggy playground shots. Something tells me they will be interesting. Since it was once again a freezing fog, it left behind its crystals of ice. Fascinating frozen fog!

Bookstore Cat

Federal Courthouse

Safe passage for students

This overhead crosswalk spanning Nob Hill Blvd. at the Yakima Valley Community College campus offers safe crossing for students. It replaced one which was knocked down by a wayward truck several years ago. Conditions were touchy for students needing to cross in the year or more long interim before the new one was constructed. Yes, students could walk to the corner and use the crosswalk there, but...

On the 16th Street side of the campus, a dangerous crosswalk now has a traffic light which was not there when I last was commuting that route last June.

Another lunch source

There are two Major's restaurants in Yakima. I don't remember if the other one has a giant hamburger combo on its roof or not.

Lunch on a roll!

Sonics is new in Yakima in the last couple of months and the other day was my first visit. Order from a speaker and your food will be brought to you by roller skate. Carhops on skates are a new thing to me--we didn't have them in my small town when I was growing up--even though it was the right era.

Another Gap

Making an about face from yesterday's post, we can look north toward the Selah Gap, and a hint of the city of Selah beyond. Lookout Point is the ridge on the left, and the Wenas is beyond Selah. I haven't figured out what the name of the right hand ridge is.

Theme Day: Paths and Passages

A question used for discussion at my book club yesterday was "What is your favorite passage and why?" Now wouldn't that have been an interesting kind of "passage" to try to illustrate?

Instead I went seeking out a better view than the one I had taken earlier in the day of the topographical feature which gives the city of Union Gap its name. I found the view by visiting Sarge Hubbard Park--a part of the Yakima Greenway which stretches along the Naches and Yakima Rivers from 40th Avenue past their confluence and south to Union Gap. It includes ten miles of pathways ideal for walking, jogging, and biking, three parks, fishing ponds, and more.

You can see a tiny bit of the pathway in the lower right hand corner of the photo. so, there is one specific definition of "path."

But that gap--that is another passage. On the right you see Ahtanum Ridge. On the left are the Rattlesnake Hills. In the distance far beyond are the Horse Heaven Hills. The gap between the Ahtanum and the Rattlesnakes is a passage for the Yakima River, and a natural route for those traveling from the Lower Valley to the Upper Valley of the Yakima. So, not only does the river go through this passage, it also is the route of the railroad, US Highway 97, Interstate 82, and the Yakima Valley Highway.


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