Sand Sculpture + Sculptress!
Aha! The mystery has been solved. Tonight I caught the artist in action. She worked on this for several hours. She also had a big 5 gallon bucket out with a SUPPORT THE ARTS sign taped on the front. So, I supported the arts (a few dollars worth). I wanted to talk to her but there were about five little girls standing around in total awe, talking a mile a minute, asking her a million questions about sand. So I just decided to take some pictures and let the girls "have the floor." (They were asking better questions than I would have anyway...)
 

Two Takes On A Sunflower
Same flower, morning and evening...




Sunflower A.M. (new lens)













Sunflower P.M. (macro lens) 

Mercury Rose
Check out this sweet ride! (Currently parked at Alki Auto Repair.) Juliet would look so good driving this (in 8 years' time).And it matches our neighbors' rosebush.

New Lens
18-200 mm zoom. I took all of these pictures from the same spot this morning:





Beach (18mm)









Beach (50mm)















Beach (100mm)












Beach (200mm)





The purchase of this lens was long-awaited and funded in part by birthday money. Thanks Steve and Jan and John and Ann for your generous "donations"!

Birds On A Wire
I saw these guys hanging out on my way to the bus stop this morning. I got the first picture without being noticed. They saw me take the second one and after that, I thought they might fly off. Instead, they stayed put and loudly scolded me as I walked underneath them. (I'm sure the neighbors were very pleased about that.)
 

He Loves Me...He Loves Me Not?
I'm not sure what happened here, but one of these flowers is in full bloom, and the other one has lost all of its petals.






Bald is beautiful! 

Sand Sculpture
When I went for an early morning walk yesterday morning at the beach, this sculpture was on the sidewalk...left over from Saturday. I've never seen the artist in action, but a few times every summer, I've been lucky enough to come across a few of his/her sand mermaids. The detail on them is incredible. (Before they crumble apart or get walked on by kids and dogs...)

Father's Day
Dave and I drove out to Lake Tapps where mom and dad currently have the RV parked. We had dinner with them. A family of ducks was hanging around, hoping for handouts.









The little ducklings were so cute and tiny and oh-so-soft looking.











Dad's (current) favorite "child":
(Maisey)










Marionberry tart from Le Panier. What's Father's Day without pie?

Summons
I wanted to go through the pictures I took yesterday and today and post some...talk about the weekend's activities...just blog...but instead, Dave is strongly suggesting/demanding that we watch this movie tonight...right now, as a matter of fact. He's already seen it (or part of it) and he bought it on his way from home from the airport because he loved it so much.

So, I guess I'm off to watch a movie. 

Leaves and Light
I just went outside and took these pictures of the last of the strong sun shining through the plants at the front of the house. (The sun won't set another half hour or so, but there are clouds blowing in now.)

Which reminds me of a phrase I overheard a tourist say at the bus stop at 1st and Pine yesterday afternoon: "There's not a cloud in the air." The air?

Plymouth Congregational Church
The architecture of this church on 6th Avenue has always interested me. I took these pictures this afternoon on my way to Capitol Hill (via downtown).


 

Happy Birthday
Happy Birthday Sue,
This rose is for you.
I hope you have a great 43rd year,
And I'm glad we're both still here! 

Disgusting!
I like KitKats OK. And I'm a sucker for "Limited Edition" versions of candy. So, when I saw this and it said it was malt flavored (I love malt), I began to imagine the crispy wafers of the average KitKat being Whopper-ishly malt-laden while still enrobed with the usual amount of chocolatey goodness I've come to associate with the average American candy bar.

I only made it through one stick of this candy bar. It tasted so chemically and disgusting, I brushed my teeth immediately after eating it. Not malty at all. No chocolatey goodness--just "extra creamy" milk chocolate--which I know now is code for "too sweet for anyone over the age of three." Ugh. Save yourselves, people! Learn from my mistake. Please--don't buy this candy bar!

They're So Money
Mike and Juliet swinging at Kinnear Park on Queen Anne.








































Juliet has fancy new highlights in her hair...