AH, SPRING! ~ PARTING SHOT

AH, SPRING!

Yellow Magnolia blossom at Yakima Arboretum

Spring is in full swing here in Yakima and Linda and I are so glad that it is! Now we can get back to our walks without having to wear heavy coats, snow pants, knitted caps, and boots. We took a walk this past Tuesday at the Yakima Arboretum. It is hard to beat the scenery there this time of year, and I was also hoping to get some good bird pictures at the bird blind. Alas, when we arrived at the blind there was no seed (once again), so therefore no birds. Not a one in sight. However, there were tons of beautiful blossoms on the trees and shrubs, so I had to content myself with taking pictures of those.

Not sure what tree this is, but it sure has beautiful flowers!

It seems the trees that produce flowers are greatly outnumbered by those that only produce leaves and seeds of some kind. However, these trees can be just as beautiful when they first start leafing out, as this picture shows.

We appreciate the delicate shapes and pleasing colors of tree leaves

Since part of the Yakima Greenway runs adjacent to the Arboretum, we decided to take a little walk along that as well. The Yakima River is right on the other side of the Greenway path, so it sometimes provides some good picture-taking opportunities. I managed to get a couple of shots along the way.

A heron flew overhead while we were walking

We were afforded a magnificent view of Mount Adams from the Greenway

I would have had a stunning video to show you of a Red-Winged Blackbird performing his song if I had just paid attention to what I was doing. When I saw the bird I "thought" I pressed the "Record" button, but I didn't, so I missed getting him singing. All I got was a lot of video of the ground and muffled voices of me and Linda talking in the background. I could have kicked myself! Oh well, better luck next time.


On our way back to the parking lot we passed by a gorgeous old tree with weeping branches. You could walk underneath the branches and feel like you were in a secret room. The sun was beaming through the branches so Linda requested a picture, and here is the result.

Under an umbrella of branches

As we neared the parking lot we walked along the main pathway and passed by a stand of Crabapple trees that were in full bloom. It is a pretty sight upon entering the Arboretum, an invitation to stay and enjoy nature.

Entryway to Arboretum Crabapple Collection of trees

The past couple of weeks have given us gorgeous weather here in Yakima, and Linda and I have tried to take advantage of it. We've had a chance to sit outside and enjoy the warmth of the sun, the beautiful flowers, and the shadows cast by our Catalpa tree as it starts to leaf out.

Even though I didn't get a video of a Red-Winged Blackbird on the Greenway, I was able to get one on our bird feeder. By the way, do you recognize the feeder? It used to be at Dad's house, but it came home with us in March. An heirloom for sure.

I also got a picture of a male American Goldfinch in his breeding colors. There are many of them flying around right now and I always call them "flying Easter eggs" because of their brilliant color.

Goldfinch on the niger-seed feeder

I also spied this Eurasian Collared Dove on the feeder with a stick in his beak. They are obviously building a nest so we will have even more of them around!

Dove collecting nest material

PARTING SHOT

With the warmer weather firmly entrenched in Yakima, we are seeing less and less of Summer Girl in the house. Although she still comes to the sliding glass door and meows, most of the time she is now trying to get us outside instead of get herself inside. Still, she does manage to get some lap time in every now and then.

Summer Girl taking a snooze inside

That's all for this week, my friends. Please be sure and check back next week to see what is going on in the Northwest!