That's My World - The Harbor

That's My World is hosted each week by Klaus and the My World team of Klaus, Sandy, Wren, Fishing Guy and myself. Each week more and more people are sharing the beauty of their worlds with us. Click on the icon, sign up and share yours! Please do read and follow the instructions before signing in. Thank you!

Last week I began showing the parts of my world that are closest to home. Those of you who have visited my blog know how much I love the harbor where I get so many great sunset captures. I thought I'd share a little more of that lovely place today. There are actually two locations -- all within five minutes of our house. One is a small park above the harbor and the other is down on the beach. We had some beautiful sun yesterday so I went to both places, camera in hand. The Kayakers were having a great time! Do click on the photos to embiggen and see more details!



There were lots of sailboats on the water as well.



Lovely blue skies!



The Cascade Mountains in the distance!



Changing colors!



Sunset from above the harbor.





The beach in summer time to look forward to!



An ever changing view -- how could you ever tire of the beauty!

That's My World

That's My World is hosted each week by Klaus and the My World team, Klaus, Sandy, Wren, Fishing Guy and myself. It's a great chance to show and share the beautiful, the interesting things that fill your world! Click on the icon to sign up and join the fun. Please do read and follow the directions before you sign up! Thank you!

This weekend was busy -- fun, but busy and I suddenly realized I had nothing prepared for That's My World! I've focused on the magnificent places in the Pacific Northwest and other places that have been my world at some time in my life. But today I'm going to share the lovely world that surrounds me each and every day.

This is our deck where I spend so much time during the spring and summer and all year taking pictures of the beautiful skies.



And my best four legged friends who follow me everywhere! Mojo the Most, who thinks she's still a lap dog!



And Sam Schnauzer, who assumes that my bed is his bed!



What can I say??? Who can resist that face???



Or this one?



Then there are the skies that I see every day from that same deck -- not always colorful, but more frequently than not!



Then five minutes out of our driveway and this is what awaits me!



Or this!



How can I complain about My World!!

That's My World -- Woodland Park Zoo

That's My World is hosted each week by Klaus and the My World team of, Klaus, Sandy, Wren, Fishing Guy and myself. People from all over the world share their world with us and you can share yours as well! Click on the icon, sign up and show us the things you love about your world! PLEASE do read and follow the directions when signing in. Thank you!

One of my favorite places anywhere is the zoo and Seattle has a wonderful one! My son, knowing how I love zoos, took me there for my Mother's Day treat last year and what a wonderful day it was! So, I thought I would share that fun part of my world today. The history is courtesy of Wikipedia, but the photos are all mine. Do click on any of the photos to embiggen and get a better look.



Woodland Park Zoo is a zoological garden around the Green Lake neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. Occupying the western half of Woodland Park, the zoo began as a small menagerie on the estate of Guy C. Phinney, a Canadian-born lumber mill owner and real estate developer. Opened in 1899, the 188-acre (0.76 km2) Woodland Park was sold to the city for $5,000 in cash and the assumption of a $95,000 mortgage on December 28, 1899, by Phinney's wife (Phinney had died six years earlier, in 1893). The sum was so large that the Seattle mayor vetoed the acquisition, only to be over-ruled by the city council. In 1902, the Olmsted Brothers firm of Boston was hired to design the city's parks, including Woodland Park, and the next year the collection of the private Leschi Park menagerie was moved to Phinney Ridge.

Entrance to the African Section of the Zoo.



As of 2009, the zoo includes 92 acres (263,000 m²) of exhibits and public spaces. It is open to the public daily, and an entrance fee of $11.00 per adult (13-64); $8.00 for children (3-12); free for children 2 and younger is required from October 1 to April 30. The fee goes to $16.50 for adults and $11.00 for children from May 1 to September 30. Its collection includes:
• 1,090 animal specimens
• 300 animal species
• 35 endangered and five threatened animal species
• 7,000 trees
• 50,000+ shrubs and herbs
• 1,000+ plant species
Woodland Park Zoo had 1.05 million visitors in 2006.

It is all a very natural setting and sometimes you have to look closely to see the animals as they wander through the trees and around the ponds.





Look closely to see the hippo and zebras enjoying their "wild" space!



Scattered throughout the zoo are statues of the various animals!



Royal as always, the lion surveys his kingdom!



There is a very interesting program about birds where you can get up close and personal with a variety of owls and various birds of prey.



I loved seeing the children "communicating" with the seals!!



And the lovely and colorful flamingos! There was a mallard standing in front of them as though he was conducting some kind of exercise program in neck rolling!



And that's my fun, four-legged, winged world for today!

That's My World -- Snoqualmi Falls

Time to share your world and enjoy others as well. That's My World is hosted each week my Klaus and the My World team of Klaus, Sandy, Wren, Fishing Guy and myself. Click on the icon to sign up and share with us the special things in your world. PLEASE! do read and follow the instructions when signing in! Thank you!!

Only about 25 miles from where I live in Seattle is a place called Snoqualmie Falls and any of you who have visited my blog at all have probably seen some of my pictures that I have taken there. My current header pic is one I took there. It is an incredibly beautiful place and I thought I would share with you today.

The history is courtesy of Wikipedia, all the shots are mine except the first one and the winter one which is courtesy of Google.



Snoqualmie Falls is a 268 ft (82 m) waterfall on the Snoqualmie River between Snoqualmie and Fall City, Washington, USA. It is one of Washington's most popular scenic attractions, but is perhaps best known internationally for its appearance in the cult television series Twin Peaks. More than 1.5 million visitors come to the Falls every year, where there is a two acre (8,000 m²) park, an observation deck, and a gift shop. The restaurant there is excellent and their food is delicious, but make sure you're really hungry because the portions are huge!!



Most of the river is diverted into the power plants, but at times the river is high enough to flow across the entire precipice, which creates an almost blinding spray. High water occurs following a period of heavy rains or snow followed by warm rainy weather. This can occur during the rainy season which lasts from November through March. During high water, the falls take on a curtain form.



For the Snoqualmie People, who have lived for centuries in the Snoqualmie Valley in western Washington, Snoqualmie Falls is central to their culture, beliefs, and spirituality. A traditional burial site, to the Snoqualmie, the falls are "the place where First Woman and First Man were created by Moon the Transformer" and "where prayers were carried up to the Creator by great mists that rise from the powerful flow." The mists rising from the base of the waterfall are said to serve to connect Heaven and Earth.



The falls were first nominated for the National Register of Historic Places in 1992 as a traditional cultural property for its association with the beliefs of the Snoqualmie people. However, the property owner, Puget Sound Energy, objected to the listing. The falls were subsequently determined eligible for listing in the National Register. The owners rescinded their objection and on September 2, 2009, the falls were formally listed in the National Register.

That's My World - The Cascades

That's My World is hosted each week by Klaus and the That's My World Team, Klaus, Sandy, Wren, Fishing Guy, Louise and myself. It's a fun place to share the beauty, the history and the interesting things about your world. Click on the icon, sign up and join the fun! PLEASE do read and follow the instructions before signing in! Thank you!! Enjoy!



One of the major points of interest in the northwest is the Cascades, a mountain range that covers a very large area in British Columbia, Washington, Oregon all the way to Northern California. It has a fascinating history as well as incredible beauty. Today I'll try to share a little of both! Photos courtesy of Google. Remember to click on any of the photos to embiggen!



The Cascade Range (or Cascades) is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, and the notable volcanoes known as the High Cascades.



The Cascades are part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, the ring of volcanoes and associated mountains around the Pacific Ocean. All of the known historic eruptions in the contiguous United States have been from Cascade volcanoes. The two most recent were Lassen Peak in 1914 to 1921 and a major eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980. Minor eruptions of Mount St. Helens have also occurred since, most recently in 2006.



Indigenous peoples have inhabited the area for thousands of years and developed their own myths and legends concerning the Cascades. According to some of these tales, Mounts Baker, Jefferson, and Shasta were used as refuge from a great flood. Other stories, such as the Bridge of the Gods tale, had various High Cascades such as Hood and Adams, act as god-like chiefs who made war by throwing fire and stone at each other. St. Helens with its pre-1980 graceful appearance, was regaled as a beautiful maiden for whom Hood and Adams feuded. Among the many stories concerning Mount Baker, one tells that the mountain was formerly married to Mount Rainier and lived in that vicinity. Then, because of a marital dispute, she picked herself up and marched north to her present position. Native tribes also developed their own names for the High Cascades and many of the smaller peaks, the most well-known to non-natives being Tahoma, the Lushootseed name for Mount Rainier.



For more fascinating history of the Cascades click here.



It's difficult to find a more beautiful place than the northwest and the Cascades are one of the many features that create that beauty.



Takes your breath away doesn't it?

That's My World -- Orcas Island

That's My World is hosted each week by Klaus and the My World team of Klaus, Sandy, Wren, Fishing Guy, Louise and myself. Each week people from all over the world share the beauty, the interesting, the historical things about their world and here's a chance for you to share your world as well! PLEASE! do read and follow the instructions before signing in! Join us for the fun in this new year!

The part of my world that I'm sharing today is another of the San Juan Islands off the coast of Washington state and easily accessible from Seattle. And while I have been to Orcas Island, as is frequently the case, it was before I had a much time for photography as I had four very young children. So, the information is from Wikipedia and the photos are courtesy of Google Images.



Orcas Island is the largest of the San Juan Islands, which are located in the northwestern corner of Washington state in San Juan County, Washington. Orcas Island is accessible by air or water. The Washington State Ferry route serving the San Juans from the mainland terminal at Anacortes, Washington stops at Orcas Island. Air service to Eastsound Airport is provided by Kenmore Air (from Boeing Field with shuttle to SeaTac) and San Juan Air (from Bellingham). Kenmore Air also provides seaplane service from Lake Union in Seattle to three points on Orcas Island: Rosario, West Sound and Deer Harbor. During the summer season, there is an island shuttle that runs from the ferry landing to Eastsound and other points.

Deer Harbor



With a land area of 57.3 square miles (148.4 km²) and a population of 4,453 (2000 census), Orcas Island is slightly larger, but less populous, than neighboring San Juan Island. Orcas is shaped like a pair of saddlebags, separated by fjord-like East Sound, with Massacre Bay on the south side, and tiny Skull Island just off the coast. At the northern end of the island is the village of Eastsound, the largest town on Orcas and the second largest in San Juan County. In 1989 the Lummi Nation regained a village and burial site on Orcas Island's Madrona Point near Eastsound, and now operates it as Madrona Point Park, a private preserve characterized by hundreds of twisting madrona trees sprouting from the rocky shoreline.





Mount Constitution (elevation 2409 feet - 734 meters) is the highest point in the San Juan islands and is a prime tourist attraction. The drive to the top takes about 15 minutes (except in the worst winter weather when park rangers close the road) and provides a dramatic 360-degree marine view. The mountain is part of Moran State Park, the most popular attraction in the San Juan Islands and the largest public recreation area in the San Juan Islands. Moran State Park encompasses over 5,000 acres (2,000 ha) of woodland and has several lakes, used for swimming, fishing and non-motorized boating, especially kayaking. There are numerous waterfalls, as well as miles of walking, hiking, biking trails, and a campground.



Great place to camp!