Cherish is my favorite word, and I cherish the ability of turning the routine into a beautiful moment.
Nature creates in me, a spiritual and meditative time to bring peace, harmony and balance, into an otherwise ordinary day~
Mary Howell Cromer







Thursday, November 7, 2013

From the Prairies, to the Mountains to the Bay~


The image above is the sun rising near the Idaho and Washington state border. 
Due to our government SHUTDOWN, we were not allowed into our parks, however, we could still drive through national forests as well as the many state parks.
The beauty did not escape us.
*Please take a few extra minutes to visit both posts published and shared on the following memes this day.
I would love to share this whole journey with you, and I have packed a whole lot into each post.
Thank you very much~
After reading my summary, please remember to double click on the image, to view a larger slide show of the images shared
 
I am linking up with Mary for:
"Mosaic Monday"


at:
 

and
I am linking up with Stewart at:
   Wild Bird Wednesday

        (http://paying-ready-attention-gallery.blogspot.com.au/)

I will also be linking up with Sylvia at:
SkyWatch Friday



I invite you to check out more 'Skywatch Friday' posts from around the world at:

http://skyley.blogspot.com/
Our first glimpse of the beauty began once the sun had come up. 
The husby had his morning coffee in hand and I had my mocha frappe, we were set! 
The 2 pup-cubs had their morning walkies and treats and were already resting in the backseat~


I mentioned before that the husby drives long, hard hours and so most often I do not ask him to stop, or most times if I do, he does not, so I learned a new approach. 
I took the sunrise as it changed through my side view mirror ;)



I am shaking it up a bit here. 
The images above along Hoodsport Bay, in Washington and the bottom images are somewhere in Western Idaho, or Eastern Washington.  
We always enjoy how vast the changes are~


The husby and I both enjoy watercolouring and I told him, that I was taking some amazing photographs that we could use as subject matter~






Sunrise over the layers of mountains was absolutely stunning~
 
 


;(, the way that I caught most of the Raptors and other birds this journey. 
A Western Red-tailed Hawk~
 


The images below are small, but we are hoping that someone can ID these. 
I went through our "Field Guide to Birds of North America" and I guess I am looking wrong, for I cannot figure it out. 
My guess was Blue-winged Teal, but my book does not show any white on sides. 
I appreciate any help in advance~
 Thank you to Phil Slade for the proper ID of these chaps...American Wigeon...
Yea, I have never seen them until now...very nice~
 


OH MY Goodness ;)
A very large bird flew right in front and over our car as we traveled a 2 lane highway.
It was a juvenile Bald Eagle!




It landed at the base of that tree, which was right outside my car window!
The husby did STOP for this one, as no one else was around us~


A herding dog was bringing in the horses one afternoon in Northeastern Washington~


I could not believe our good fortune, and it was just beginning on this 1 mile stretch. 
The Bald Eagle had missed the catch and flew right past me, gorgeous.  
Please catch the rest of this story on next post, which is being published today also~





It made yet another fly over, just amazing sight, so close. 
The foggy mist and ever so slight rain, made for surreal looking images, but I was greatly pleased!


Washington, one state where rain and fog are just about a daily business had some areas where they were dry, and the watering systems had to be used~


Do you get the feel, that I could nearly touch this Bald Eagle, it was that close!
Not as sharp as I would have liked, but no complaints here~




Northeastern Washington, so diverse, as we found all of the states to be.
 Just look at that blue sky, image not tampered with, all natural~
 


From the mountains to the prairies, all stunning.
Blackbirds of some sort make a quick fly by~

30 comments:

  1. such beautiful rural scenes! love the horse and dog. and sweet, sweet colors in the sky!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Not sure how I missed this post. Another glorious set of photos and collages. LOVE them!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Some truly wonderful images there Mary, especially those watercolours and there's not much else you can do to turn them into masterpieces. Love the prairie scenes and the watering scenes really work so well with the movement of the jets of water. I'm going for American Wigeon.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I will take your guess and call it American Wegion... Yea, and I have never seen one before. Thank you so much. I looked in my book and it always makes better sense to me when you, or others guess the ID ;)

      Delete
  4. Fantastic photos!Have a nice weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Dramatic, glorious skies and terrific captures for the day, Mary!! Hope your week is going well!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Mary I CANNOT believe how beautiful your drive-by photos are. Stunning...really shows the beauty of this country (I've seen it all of course, being from Oregon as we are, and I have loved all our travels in the areas you show ... but your pictures are so much lovelier than I have ever gotten. Loving this...and you are right those landscapes look like watercolors. And the eagle, oh my gosh!! Wonderful post.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Beautiful are your photos!
    Greetings, RW & SK

    ReplyDelete
  8. Wow ! you are seeing amazing nature and sky and your photography is beautiful ~ thanks, carol

    ReplyDelete
  9. Beautiful shots of the place, picturesque and scenic.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Each is so strikingly beautiful.
    You have frozen some very wonderful moments.
    Enjoyed seeing the post.

    ReplyDelete
  11. The first photo is just gorgeous! Nice reflections in the lake shots! I see you managed to get another raptor. LOL! Very nice!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I'm stunned by the photos, you have shown me places I will never get to visit but are as beautiful as the one I see near where I go

    ReplyDelete
  13. What an incredible trip Mary! And what gorgeous photos you brought back with you! I can't imagine how disappointing it must have been to find the National Park closed. Congress has failed us so miserably in the last few years.

    On a brighter note, I love the shot of the immature Bald Eagle coming in for a landing in the tree. I also concur with Phil on the American Wigeon. Congrats on the lifer!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Wow - you captured so much beauty anyway despite your disappointment. Your shots are just glorious.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Stunning photos. It's fun to see how the scenery changes as you travel across the state! Washington is a beautiful state with such diverse landscape.

    ReplyDelete
  16. What an exquisite series Mary!!!! I do hope you'll participate in the Gratitude Quilt this year… information about what it is and how to participate can be found @ this link http://www.shinethedivinecreativityisaspiritualpractice.com/p/gratitude-quilt.html

    If I already asked you and you sent me something, please forgive me for asking again. I'm trying to reach as many people as possible.

    ReplyDelete
  17. A beautiful treat for the eyes in every shot!
    However, the rearview mirror one took my breath away.
    The 'watercolor' shots were so soothing and the reflections I saw were lovely as well.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Beautiful scenes and captures, Mary! The sunrises and sky shots are beautiful. And awesome shot of the Eagle. The waterscapes do look like watercolors, very pretty. I love the horse and the dog too. Awesome post. Have a happy week!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Mary,

    There is so much beauty and motion, composition and colour, in your post today! From the eagle in flight, (which, does look quite scary!), to the peace and tranquility of Hoodsport Bay, and every single shot, you have, once again, stopped time, freeze framing nature and all its breathtaking splendour, for us to indulge our senses, from your eyes to our hearts!

    Have a wonderful week!

    Poppy
    PS: Your side view mirror shots are as glorious as the rising sun, itself!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Gorgeous series. Love all the water and the reflections and the eagle and and and!!!!! Wonderful!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Gorgeous as always Mary. Have a blessed week. Jen

    ReplyDelete
  22. Oh my goodness Mary - your scenic shots are so BEAUTIFUL! stunning all of them! WOW! especially those sunrises - the colours are gorgeous. Thank you Mary for sharing with us.
    Blessings, and happy travels.

    ReplyDelete
  23. I can never pick a favorite when I read your posts...as soon as I think I have found the ultimate one along comes more such as the bald eagle story : ) Loved it all! :)

    ReplyDelete
  24. Great pictures / beautiful collages you show. Wish you a good new week :)

    ReplyDelete
  25. Oh Mary.... I looked at the first image and thought it couldn't get better, I was wrong. The stillness of the waters showing off the sublime reflections, then the landscapes that seem to go on into the distance forever. A wonderfully composed and presented post, Brilliant photography.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Wonderful scenery! I love the views of the lakes and the mountains.

    ReplyDelete

I enjoy each visitor to "Red Shouldered Hawks of Tingsgrove and Beyond" I truly appreciate those who have become followers to my blog and really am encouraged by the wonderful comments.
FYI if you leave ANONYMOUS comments, they will never get published, so please don't waste your time.

Thanking you~