oishii

This post includes pics from a trip to Lincoln Park on Thursday and a little road trip to Anacortes on Sunday.

(ok, this paragraph has nothing to do with the pictures on this post, feel free to skip past my jack handy-style deep thoughts...)I need to reflect a little bit on something that has been on my mind. Well, basically the "something"is the whole month of April. It turns out to be a month with a bunch of "anniversaries," and not really the kind to celebrate. On Friday, my sister and I were at a M's game with my friends from work, and I commented on how different our lives were around this time in 2006... she was quick to agree. I am surprised by how happy we are now; at that time sorrow was overwhelming both of us. And on Sunday, it popped in my head that eight years ago, to the day, I would have never EVER imagined that I would have the life I have now. I am surprised by how much happier I am now, too, because that was supposed to have been happiest time in my life. I know this reflection is vague; for once it is intentional. If you know me well, then you know what two events I am referring to, so I don't really need to explain myself on a publicly viewable, google-based blog. Anyway, my closing reflection is just that I think about this weird stuff sometimes, and it blows my mind a bit when I think about how we really can't imagine the future. I think its cool; I don't want to know the future. I do though, want to experience life, the ups, the downs the odd little sideways trips. I think that not knowing whats coming up on the road of life, but still being able to look back at where we've been, is one of the greatest gifts that we have. I think the future road of life is my source of optimism... there's always something down the road... let's go check it out ;)

Ok, now here are the pics....

Awwwe, pretty blossoms
Up until Thursday, I have never been to Lincoln Park in Seattle. Actually, I just learned about it a few weeks ago. Since I am always interested in the intersection of nature and urbanity, I put this destination on the short list. As always, my photographic partner in crime was interested in a quick trek & little photo shoot.

Sadly it was a shadowy, overcast day. My landscapes from there turned out a bit blah, but I do like this picture of some lovely little blossoms. (Note: the only editing I did to this was to increase the sharpness. the rest is pure nikon gold...)

oh, and then me being me... I had to convert to black & white just to see. I adjusted the contrast a bit too, but did all editing in View NX.

... and now we have some pics from Sunday's trip to Washington Park in Anacortes...

bonzai

eleven cuties
The tall wheaty/grassy plants caught my eye, and I wanted to use them to frame my picture. The setting sun was gorgeous to kick-back on the grassy knoll & watch, but man, the lighting was a killer.... see?

I tried a different angle, but the bonzai-ish tree in the background cluttered up my shot. see?

Ah, that's better. I tried a third angle, and this time I had better luck. I changed the white balance & made a few other View NX adjustments to get this shot.

contemplation

While scrambling along the rocky beach, we noticed this guy just standing out on the edge of the rocks in deep thought. He looked pretty sad, like he was either thinking over a tough decision, or mourning someone he misses. The water is a source of comfort for me, too, when I have heavy things on my mind, so I could understand why he chose that spot for reflection.

Thank you for checking out my pictures... peace be with you.