~ Lens-Artists Challenge #332 – Shoot From Above ~

Posted on January 23, 2025 by Lindy Le Coq

For this week’s challenge, Ritva invites us to have some fun shooting photos from above. Often when I’m walking along the beach or on a trail, I see small entities that have little importance in the whole scheme of things, yet they catch my eye and I snap the shot. Also, when I’m in places with beautiful vistas from on high, I take photo after photo hoping for one that captures what I’m seeing.

Looking out and down from inside the top of North Head Lighthouse is a thrill. From this vantage, as waves crash into the headland just below, in the distance beyond the trees we can see Long Beach stretching to the northern horizon for at least 10 miles (16 Km).

Jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum) is so fun to watch as it pops up and unfurls in my garden, a Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) butterfly, so beautiful at the Missouri Botanical Gardens. From Long Beach, WA sea foam bubbles sparkle in the sun, a shy Praying Mantis hides in the dune grass, and a small feather casts a long shadow on an early January afternoon.

I’ll finish off with this still life of Crab Salad, consumed a few years ago. The Commercial Dungeness Crab season is open now along the Washington and Oregon coasts, and I look forward to enjoying fresh from the shell (never frozen!) crab when I visit the first week of February!

On your walk with life, please honor our earth, encourage dignity and share kindness. 🐾

Thank you to Ritva for another challenge that brings out the best in all of us!

Posted in Lens-Artists, Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, nature, nature photography, outdoors, pacific northwest, pacific ocean, photography, travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

~ Lens-Artists Challenge #331: Resilience ~

Posted on January 16, 2025 by Lindy Le Coq

Anne Sandler of Slow Shutter Speed leads the challenge this week asking us to choose photos that represent toughness and an ability to spring back from adversity. After thinking about it all week, I decided to feature seeds. A few years ago I read the book by Thor Hanson, The Triumph of Seeds. Where would we be without them? “In the history of plants, no single event has ensured the protection, dispersal, and establishment of their progeny more than the invention of seeds.” Tough, durable, flexible, and resilient to many of earths climates and calamities, the plants we live with and use as food start from some form of seed.

From my collection of evergreen cones we see where the “naked seeds” of conifers develop, mature and drop onto the forest floor. Conifer seeds often are consumed by birds and other critters, and then dispersed in their droppings. On the right, a progeny of the mother tree grows at her roots.

“Dandelion fluff…helps seeds ride the winds in a delicate spindle tufted with lint – symmetrical, flexible, and perfectly spaced for maximum drift.” You have probably experienced the wonder of blowing dandelion or milkweed seeds into the air and watching the tiny parasols float away on the wind.

“Seeds endure…some species persist in the soil for decades…Dormancy sets seed plants apart from nearly all other life forms…manipulation of dormant seeds paved the way for agriculture and continues to determine the fate of nations.”

Our backyard Holly tree provides plenty of protection for birds visiting the feeders. It also produces a bumper crop of berries every year. In late spring, when the Cedar Waxwings return during migration, they strip off the remaining ripe berries. While cleaning my garden beds, I remove many little holly starts and I’m sure there are an abundance of them growing throughout the region.

I grew up surrounded by fruit orchards and listening to the story of Johnny Appleseed. Biting into an organically grown crisp autumn apple, just plucked from the tree is an absolute delight. As with other fruits and berries, apple Seeds Nourish. “Seeds come pre-equipped with a baby plant’s first meal, everything needed to send forth incipient root, shoot, and leaf.”

A big thank-you to Anne Sandler and all the Lens-Artists Photo Challenge hosts who give me a reason to enjoy a bit of creativity in my weekly schedule!

On your walk with life, please honor our earth, encourage dignity and share kindness. 🐾

Posted in Being, Gardening, Lens-Artists, Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, nature, nature photography, outdoors, pacific northwest, photography, trees, weekly photo challenge | Tagged , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

~ Wordless Wednesday ~ Chasing Rainbows ~

Posted on January 15, 2025 by Lindy Le Coq

On your walk with life, please honor our earth, encourage dignity and share kindness. 🐾

Posted in nature, nature photography, outdoors, pacific northwest, photography, Wordless Wednesday | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

~ Wordless Wednesday ~ Cloud Moods ~

Posted on January 8, 2025 by Lindy Le Coq

On your walk with life, please honor our earth, encourage dignity and share kindness. 🐾

Posted in clouds, nature, nature photography, outdoors, pacific northwest, photography, Wordless Wednesday | Tagged , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

~Lens-Artists Challenge #330: Best of 2024 ~

Posted on January 6, 2025 by Lindy Le Coq

On my previous post I featured several photographs that are among my favorite shots of 2024, for a variety of reasons. Now it’s time to winnow things down to “the best”. The word best has 33 synonyms, and of those I’m leaning toward “worthy and excellent.”

An unsettled cloudy sky with strands of sunlight in the west reflecting upon the sheen of a very low tide at Long Beach, is an enigmatic and captivating scene. I selected this one out of all my sunset and beach reflection photos for just that reason. Though it’s not as striking as others in my portfolio, it certainly sets a mood!

Above, two photos with very different qualities provide a glimpse into an icy period we experienced in Vancouver, WA during February 2024. I love the brightness of the ice-crusted berries, and used the shot for my holiday card. The bareness of frozen branches silhouetted upon a gray sky creates a stark image. The photo is in color, though it appears to be monochrome.

What is this bird? I wondered four years ago when it first landed on my back deck feeder. I searched the Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America and found one possibility; Snow Bunting. I included it in my weekly Project Feederwatch counts to Cornell Lab of Ornithology. They were skeptical, and asked for photos. Getting clear shots of this bird was hard, as it was an infrequent visitor and quite evasive when it did show up. After I sent in a good photo to Cornell, I was informed that this mystery bird is a *leucistic Junco.

In August 2024, the usually pristine surroundings of Odell Lake (37 sq mi/96 km) at the summit of Willamette Pass Oregon, were enveloped in wild fire smoke. The above photo of the morning sun rays trapped in smoke and reflected on the lake surface has an eerie beauty, as it bears witness to the ongoing ill-effect of climate change to our environment.

At the same time, there are efforts to protect and sustain the beauty of our Sweet Home Earth. I have so many photos of beautiful butterflies from my visit to the Sophia M. Sachs Butterfly House and the Missouri Botanical Gardens in St. Louis, it’s hard to choose the “best”. I selected this one because I love how fragile this Paper Kite butterfly (Idea Leuconoe) appears having recently emerged from its chrysalis. It rests suspended soaking in the light of life, as it continues its metamorphosis journey.

From first seeing it, I fell in love with this photo of horses in a 1924 carousel reflected upon the interior glass of the building. To me the image creates an impression of ghostly steeds galloping through the forest outside.

On the last day of December, 2024, I awoke to this glorious dawn light in the western sky over the Pacific Ocean, which also reflected on the swelling marshes in front of The Breakers Condominiums in Long Beach, WA. What a spectacular way to start the day and end the year!

*Leucism is not a genetic mutation, but rather describes defects in pigment cells that are caused during development, which may result in a reduction in all types of pigment.Cornell.

A big thank you to all the Lens-Artists presenters who encourage the rest of us to look for beauty through our cameras and to try new ways of seeing and presenting our images.

On your walk with life, please honor our earth, encourage dignity and share kindness. 🐾

Posted in butterflies, climate change, Lens-Artists, Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, nature, nature photography, ornithology, outdoors, pacific northwest, pacific ocean, photography, travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

~ Last Chance ~ Some Favorite Photos from 2024 ~

Posted on January 2, 2025 by Lindy Le Coq

Time to ring in the new year with photos that I especially like, taken in 2024. Each photo brings up the memory of where I was and who I was with at the time. The subject is only part of the joy in photography. I’ll start with images taken at Long Beach, WA where my husband Creighton, our two beagles, Max and Daisy and I spend a fair amount of time enjoying ocean air, beach walks, lovely dawns and sunsets.

Being out in natural surroundings always lifts my spirits and helps clear my mind, whether it’s at my Vancouver home, or other places. Birds and my surroundings are favorite subjects to photograph.

Many of my favorites this year are from the week I was in St. Louis. My older sister Diana, and I stayed with our younger sister Lori, who took us to many interesting and beautiful places; from being immersed in Butterflies to riding an old carousel. I treasure this time together with my sisters.

I’ll finish with the shot I was fortunate to get of sunrise on Mt. Hood, as Diana and I were on the plane from St. Louis, descending into Portland, OR.

On your walk with life, please honor our earth, encourage dignity and share kindness. 🐾

Posted in birds, butterflies, Lens-Artists, Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, nature, nature photography, outdoors, pacific northwest, pacific ocean, photography, travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

~ Lens-Artists Challenge #328 – Winter ~

Posted on December 11, 2024 by Lindy Le Coq

John Steiner invites us to show what winter looks like in the places we live or have visited. Since I grew up in climates where winter was cold and snow a common occurrence, I’m not averse to it. I even learned to drive in snow, which comes in handy every now and then!

When my sister and I flew into Portland at the end of October, the sun shining on Wy’East (Mount Hood) was stunning. At 11,239 ft (3,425 m) it is the tallest peak in Oregon. By the end of summer 2024, there was absolutely no snow on the mountain, anywhere. In this photo snow is beginning to show, and today it is all white and snow is accumulating.

Winter in the Pacific Northwest is generally wet. Though rain is much more common than snow, I enjoy the snow when it arrives. It brings out cheerfulness in anyone who is willing to have a little fun!

Although I love snow, the slush it becomes with thawing temperatures is the downside. Worse though, is when we have freezing rain that coats all surfaces with ice often causing trees and power-lines to tumble, and when we have a silver thaw, caused by snow melting and re-freezing. Whether by freezing rain or silver thaw, it can be/is very dangerous and often destructive.

It can also be beautiful, so long as you use caution and common sense.

On your walk with life, please honor our earth, encourage dignity and share kindness. 🐾

Thanks to Johnbo for a versatile challenge, and for a glimpse into the next couple week challenges. Cheers!

Lens-Artists Challenge #328 – Winter
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~ Lens-Artists Challenge #327: 5 Elements ~

Posted on December 5, 2024 by Lindy Le Coq

Sophia leads this week with the challenge to feature the 5 Elements or Agents of Wuxing, “a fivefold conceptual scheme used in many traditional Chinese fields of study to explain a wide array of phenomena.” The Wuxing Elements are, Fire, Water, Wood, Metal and Earth. The philosophical system dates back to the first or second century BCE, and outlines the interactions of each agent in constructive and destructive ways. I looked in my archives for photos of fire, and selected two that show the effects on the environment of wildfires. These were this past August at Willamette Pass/Odell Lake in Oregon, USA.

Being a water lover, I have many photos of this precious element. These two are of Salt Creek Falls, carving a path through the earth, over the cliff and down the forested valley.

Wood is everywhere in the Pacific Northwest, one of the reasons we have such intense wildfires. The moisture here, helps keep the forests green, still, fire is always a danger.

Metal sculptures always captivate me, whether large or small. Metal is pliable when hot, and strong when cool. Garden sculpture combines earth, wood, metal and sometimes water!

I’ll finish with the comfort and cheer of a cozy fire, featuring dear sweet Jello.

On your walk with life, please honor our earth, encourage dignity and share kindness. 🐾

Thank you to Sophia for introducing me to the Philosophy and study of Wuxing!

Lens-Artists Challenge – 5 Elements

Posted in Art, climate change, Lens-Artists, Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, nature, nature photography, outdoors, pacific northwest, photography, travel, trees, Waterfalls, weekly photo challenge | Tagged , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

~ Lens-Artists Challenge #326 – This Made Me Smile ~

Posted on November 29, 2024 by Lindy Le Coq

Dear Ann-Christine is right – for many of us what’s going on in our world is distressing. To boost our spirits, she challenges us to “share something that made us smile – and make the world smile with us!” I’ll start with four whimsical outdoor art works that delighted me when I saw them.

Wild or tame, animals have a special way of cheering me up. The photo of a young Brown Pelican (below) always makes me smile, and who can resist a begging Koi? The Humboldt’s Flying Squirrel, caught by accident, put a big grin on my face as it jumped from the deck-rail, flared it’s front leg-wings and sailed to a nearby tree.

“More fun than a barrel of monkeys,” is how I described Max and Daisy when they first came to be in our family. Actually, almost all the Beagles I have had over the years have given me moments of merriment, high spirits, and hilarity!

The City of Long Beach was flushing fire hydrants one morning when Max & Daisy, and I were on a walk. Always curious, Daisy went over to inspect what was going on. She barked at the spray, backed away from it and charged back at it barking the whole time. When the water kept spewing, she bit it! Though it may look like she’s drinking, she definitely was chomping!

Max loves to snuggle, sit on your feet, or sneak into a lap. He also enjoys trading toys for treats or walks, all of which I find endearing.

On your walk with life, please honor our earth, encourage dignity and share kindness. 🐾

A big thank you to Ann-Christine for keeping our focus on the lighter side of life!

Lens-Artists Challenge #326 – This Made Me Smile
Posted in Art, Beagles, Lens-Artists, Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, nature, weekly photo challenge | Tagged , , , , | 13 Comments

~ Lens-Artists Challenge #325: Gratitude ~

Posted on November 23, 2024 by Lindy Le Coq

Tina asks us to reflect upon what elements in our lives we are thankful for. In a free-write brainstorm there were many aspects of my life that came out, for example: Being cared for as a child, being encouraged to be myself as an adolescent/young adult,
being supported with wisdom and space, and appropriate guardrails – though sometimes I wasn’t happy with those rules! Growing up in a family with loving parents, the usual fun and stress with siblings, and a value of being a clan is a grounding that keeps me stable to this day.

The last group photo I have of my clan is from Christmas, around 2014. Since then my father passed, and my Niece Molly (eyes closed!) has a son Micah, now 10 years old. Andrew in green shorts is in the Army, and Justin tangerine T is in his second year of college.

My sisters, Lori and Diana are precious to me. Whenever things in my life get wonky (like it has been this past month), they are here for me, in texts, phone calls, emails and in spirit if not in person.

Being educated/having a career, having shelter, food, clothing, being loved by and loving my husband of 55 years, having a loving birth family.

I met Creighton at the University of Washington when I was 18. He has been the love of my life ever since. We celebrated 55 years of marriage this past September, and though life has thrown us some hard times, we have endured. Beagles help!

Having friends – Olde Friends, having colleagues – friends of a feather.

On the left I’m with the three other counselors I worked with for years. We were quite a team and have remained friends after retirement. Right, the A-Club – a name we gave ourselves for all the fascinating conversations we had over dinner and wine, as we discussed the last book we had read. Our numbers have dwindled to a precious few, yet we still get together, though we no longer have assigned reading!

Having space to garden, with trees and peaceful neighbors. Being able to move freely, make decisions for myself. To live where the roads are pretty good, the bridges need attention and are getting it, the rivers continue to flow, and salmon are returning to places they haven’t been for decades. A place where I can drive two hours and be at the edge of the Pacific Ocean, where I can look out across the Columbia Gorge and see majestic Mt. Hood, where the air is not pure, but pretty good for a major metropolitan area. Where it is raining, however there are no cats and dogs coming down!

On your walk with life, please honor our earth, encourage dignity and share kindness. 🐾

My apologies to Tina and the Lens-Artists crew for being this late with my addition to last week’s challenge. As I mentioned above, I’m going through a rough spell here, though we are muddling through. I hope to have time soon to look at and comment on other posts.

Lens-Artists Challenge #325 – Gratitude
Posted in A Photo a Week, Beagles, Being, family, Lens-Artists, Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, nature photography, pacific northwest, pacific ocean, photography, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments