No. 307 Colorful Public Gardens around the Sound

University of Washington's Liberal Arts Quadrangle
Liberal Arts Quadrangle Cherry Blossoms
4182 NE Stevens Way, Seattle, WA 98105

One of the most popular places in Seattle for gazing at the bloom is at University of Washington's Liberal Arts Quadrangle. The original grove of Yoshino Cherry trees were planted in the Seattle Washington Arboretum around 1939. Later during construction of the 520 floating bridge 31 Yochina Cherry Trees were transplanted to the University of Washington campus. That makes this grove of white and pink fragrant cherry trees 75 years old. The average lifespan of a Yochina Cherry Tree is between 60 to 100 years.

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Seattle Japanese Garden
1075 Lake Washington Blvd E
Seattle WA 98112


Opened to the Seattle public in 1960 the Seattle Japanese Garden celebrates 52 years of educating and inspiring visitors from around the world about the art of Japanese miniature idealized landscapes and garden design.
The garden located in the southwest corner of the University of Washington Botanic Gardens at Washington Park Arboretum, along Lake Washington Boulevard E., features over 100 types of plants, trees and koi ponds in a 3.5 acre gated area.

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Kubota Garden
9817 55th Avenue S.
 Seattle, WA 


The Kubota Garden is a 20 acre asian style garden on a hill side in a south Seattle neighborhood that was started over 60 years ago by Mr. Fujitaro Kubota. After immigrating from Japan, Mr. Kubota a self-taught landscape and gardener built his landscaping business and soon began to plan and construct his vision of the Japanese-style garden on his private property in 1927. Continue Reading about Kubota Garden 





Nishiyama Japanese Garden
Everett Community College
90 Westmore Ave
Everett, WA

The Nishiyama Japanese Garden at Everett Community College represents a compressed world of mountains, forests, lakes, rivers, meadows and village. Access to the garden for self-guided tours is provided at no charge on days when EvCC classes are in session and on special occasions.
The garden has eleven primary elements, each with a quiet message of its own. These include entry gate, entry area, waterfall, stream, tea garden, rock garden, Tsubo garden, side gate, stone bridge, earthen bridge, Iwakuni wooden bridge, and stucco masonry wall with tiled roof enclosing the entire garden site.  
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Everett Arboretum
145 Alverson Blvd
Everett, WA 98201

Evergreen Arboretum & Gardens is both a place of beauty and education and is free to the public. Located on 3 ½ acres in Everett Washington, its ten themed gardens include the Urban Tree Walk, Entrance Garden, Rock Garden, Northwest Native Plant Trail, Rain Garden, Japanese Maple Grove, Northwest Demonstration Garden, Viewing Mound, Woodland and Conifer Gardens as well as the 200' Snohomish County Master Gardener's Demonstration Border and sculptures throughout. 
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Pacific Rim Bonsai Museum
2515 S. 336th St.

Federal Way, WA 

The Pacific Bonsai Museum features outstanding bonsai from the Pacific Rim nations of Canada, China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and the United States.
Weyerhaeuser Company opened the Collection in 1989, in conjunction with the Washington State Centennial celebration.

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Skagit Valley Daffodils
Mount Vernon, WA

For last 2 weeks the fields around Mount Vernon and La Connor, Washington have been seeing sign of spring. The daffodil fields are close to being in full bloom with many acres covered in rows upon rows of yellow speckles. It is definitely worth the trip to spend the afternoon driving through the floral route.
Daffodils are one of the early spring bloomers and you will want to go sooner than later. By end of March, early April and weather or wind blow off the tops of the Daffodils.

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 Bellevue Botanical Gardens
12001 Main St, Bellevue, WA 

Bellevue Botanical Garden is a botanical garden located at 12001 Main Street, Bellevue, Washington. It is open daily; admission is free. The garden area includes display gardens, woodlands, meadows and wetlands

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No. 302 Bald Eagle Viewing along the Skagit River

Bald eagles were officially declared an endangered species in 1967 in all areas of the United States south of the 40th parallel, under a law that preceded the Endangered Species Act of 1973. Federal and state government agencies, along with private organizations, successfully sought to alert the public about the eagle's plight and to protect its habitat. The 1972 ban on DDT has enabled eagles and other birds of prey to once again begin producing young. Unfortunately, recent extensive human use within preferred eagle habitats has resulted in disturbance and reproductive failure and abandonment of important areas.

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In 1994, the bald eagle was reclassified from "endangered" to "threatened" in the lower 48 states. There are currently about 4,500 nesting pairs and 20,000 total eagles in the lower 48 states. Although they have made an encouraging comeback, only public awareness of their situation, strict enforcement of protective laws, preservation of their habitat and support for environmental conservation programs can ensure a successful future for our national symbol.

Bald Eagles are also known as "baseballs" by experienced eagle watchers because from a distance that's what the eagle's white head looks like. It's amazing how an experienced eagle watcher can spot eagles from a distance. When searching for Bald Eagles look for the white "baseballs" in the trees along the river. Eagles can also be spotted taking advantage of the tows churning up stunned fish as they move up and down the river, riding chunks of ice, or kettling (soaring) the thermals in the afternoons.

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The 8,000-acre Skagit River Bald Eagle Natural Area is dedicated to habitat protection, conservation and educational efforts. This special area is an example of the Forest Service working with the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife, The Nature Conservancy and other partners to conserve natural resources along the river.
Bald eagles are seen from late December through early February. During this period the Eagle Watchers Program, sponsored by the Forest Service and North Cascades Institute, provides hosts at designated sites along the river who assist with viewing these magnificent birds. You can also learn more at the annual  Upper Skagit Bald Eagle Festival or at the Skagit River Interpretive Center.

TIPS FOR HEADING OUT AND SPOTTING BALD EAGLES

1. DO plan on arriving early. Bald eagles are most active in the early morning hours. The best time for eagle watching is from sunrise to 11 am when eagles feed along the area’s rivers. In the afternoons they may be seen catching updrafts and soaring ("kettling") overhead. They leave the river in late afternoon to congregate in night roosts in sheltered timber areas nearby.
2. DO keep noises low and movements slow. Winter is a difficult time for eagles. They need to conserve energy to keep warm and flying burns up energy. It is important that they are not startled or frightened into flight. DO obey all signs regarding Eagle Rest Areas.
3. DO call a Visitor’s Center to find out if eagles have been spotted and where they are most active. For the Skagit River region call 360-853-7626. or visit their website at Skagiteagle.org
4. DO check the weather. Eagles like clear, cold mornings. Eagles will roost on rainy days and will be found soaring on windy days. More eagles will be seen when the rivers are frozen than when the water is clear.
5. DO dress accordingly. Wear layers so you can shed your outer clothing as the day heats up. Bring a hat or earmuffs for your head and gloves or mittens for your hands. Comfortable shoes are recommended.
6. DO bring binoculars or a spotting scope. If using a scope, a tripod is useful. Eagles fly amazingly close to the Great River Road, but even a small pair of binoculars can dramatically enhance your experience.
7. For photographs, keep the sun to your back or to your side and use a telephoto lens.
8. DO be patient. You are more likely to see eagles if you have time to spend.
9. DO observe proper eagle watching etiquette. Many people use the area’s single lane roads to get from here to there as promptly as possible. If you're admiring the view at twenty miles per hour, pull over when someone's behind you. DO respect private property. Use public areas along the river and be courteous to local land owners. DON'T  park on narrow highway shoulders. There are many parking areas along the area routes for parking. DO remember to buckle up. State law enforcement officers vigorously enforce the Click It or Ticket program.
10. The bald eagle is protected by a number of state and federal laws, each with stiff penalties. For example, the Eagle Protection Act, which protects bald and golden eagles, combined with the Criminal Fines Improvement Act of 1987, can cause violators to spend two years in jail or be fined up to $10,000 on a misdemeanor charge.  It is illegal to pursue, harm, harass, take or attempt to take, possess, sell, purchase or transport either eagles, eagle pans or their eggs without a permit. If you find a feather, look at it, take a picture, but do not pick it up.

2014/2015 Eagle Counts:

December 10th    Newhalem to Marblemount: 107

                           Marblemount to Rockport: 37

                           Rockport to Sedro-Woolley: 50

                           Total: 194

Puget Exposure Photography provides this photo for the public to view. Media requiring a high-resolution version of this or a similar photo for publication should contact me. Users may not manipulate or use this photo in commercial materials, advertisements, emails, products, or promotions without licensed permission. Please do not use my images on blogs or websites without my permission. Contact me if you would like to license and image. Thank you.

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No. 253 2014 Skagit Valley in Bloom

Mount Vernon, Wa
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For last 2 weeks the fields around Mount Vernon and La Connor, Washington have been seeing sign of spring. The daffodil fields are close to being in full bloom with many acres covered in rows upon rows of yellow speckles. It is definitely worth the trip to spend the afternoon driving through the floral route.
Daffodils are one of the early spring bloomers and you will want to go sooner than later. By end of March, early April and weather or wind blow off the tops of the Daffodils.

Distance from Seattle: 62miles 1hr 10min
Rating: 4 out 5
Reason to go: Short drive from Seattle to see hundreds of acres of wildflowers, daffodils and tulips in all sizes and colors. The Skagit Valley Tulip Festival is one of the most fantastic events in the state of Washington.  It runs from April 1 to April 30 every single year. Its worth it to start your day really early or go during the week. The word is out and weekends the tulip route will be packed with young kids and families. If your into Landscape or Flower photography this festival will give you great subjects to photograph.

TIPS: Although the Tulip Festival runs from April 1st through April 30th the actual blooming of the tulips varies with weather conditions. Short or long winter weather can cause tulips to bloom earlr or be delayed a few weeks. Check http://www.tulipfestival.orgTulip Festival / for current field conditions.

 If you do plan on going to the Tulip Festival. LEAVE EARLY in the morning to avoid the traffic mess, easier to find parking, setup your camera in a field looking east for a nice sunrise shot. Shoot by yourself and not have many people will be walking through your shot. The best light is in the morning and towards the evening.
It can be cloudy in Seattle but bright and sunny in Mount Vernon. Once the sun gets up over the cascade mountains the sky becomes a huge baby blue light box and it will be harder to find the right exposure for the flowers.
Tulips grow on raised mounds of dirt. Depending on previous days weather you could be walking on soft dirt or trekking through mud puddles, so bring shoes and pants that you don't mind getting dirty.

Every year the layout of fields change, to find out where things are  you can download a field map from Tulip Festival. Some of the growers charge a parking fee of $3-$5 to visit their grounds. Most of the streets that run between Mount Vernon and La Conner are 2 lane rural roads with NO SHOULDER PARKING.  There are ropes and signs all over the place telling people not to park on the side of the road, but as the day goes on and the mass of weekenders start to roll in you will see backups building up because people will stop in the middle of the road to admire the fields.

Postcards, Art Prints and Canvas Prints are available for sale here

Over 450 acres of Yellow Daffodils are no in bloom 

Setting Fire to the Rain

Flooded Field at first light

Behind the scenes at the farm

Things to do in Seattle, photography, landscape photography, landscape photography for beginners, Washington Photography, Washington State Tourism, floral photography, things to see in washington state, skagit valley tulips, floral photography, Seattle Photography, Seattle Photographers, Seattle Photos, Puget Sound, Puget Sound Photography, Washington State Photography Locations, 

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No. 228 Birds of Skagit Valley Basin

It is time for another seasonal change. The fall colored leaves are falling to the ground and piling up in the driveway, the days are shorter and days increasingly colder and windy. Also traffic in and around shopping areas is increasing for the holiday shopping rush.

But us humans are not the only ones getting ready for a season change. Wildlife must prepare itself for the long winter as well. Around your home and in your neighborhood you may have noticed more squirrel activity and also some increased sighting of birds.

Washington State is an important stop for migrating bird species flying south for the winter. 

The Skagit Valley Basin lies along the Pacific Flyaway path for migrating birds flying south to California and Mexico for the winter and return north for the breeding grounds in Canada and Alaska. 

Spend some time around La Conner, Anacortes, Mount Vernon and Burlington farm lands and you will start to see more and more numbers of hawks, eagles, owls and other birds of prey as they arrive in Washington State.

Here are the first arrivals for the winter 2013-2014

Snow Geese arrive in Mount Vernon along Pioneer Hwy

I just flew in from Canada and boy are my wings tired

Thousands of Snow Geese migrate to Skagit County for the winter 

Northern Harrier Hawks are also here in numbers

Harrier Hawk swoops low and silent over a field 

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No. 191 Bay View State Park

Bay View State Park
10901 Bay View-Edison Rd
Mt Vernon, WA 98273

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Bay View State Park covers around 25 acres and has a play area, camp ground including yurts is located on the eastern shore of Padilla Bay in Skagit County and has 1200 feet of shoreline.
Padilla Bay is an estuary at the saltwater edge of the large delta of the Skagit River in the Salish Sea. It is about eight miles long (north to south) and three miles across. In 1980, this bay was selected to be included in the National Estuarine Research Reserve System. Because the bay is filled with sediment from the Skagit River, the bottom is very shallow, flat, and muddy. It is so shallow that almost the whole bay is intertidal. This means that it is flooded at high tide. When the tide goes out the whole bay empties out, exposing miles and miles of mud flats. This condition allows unusually large eelgrass meadows to grow. There are nearly 8,000 acres of eelgrass (Zostera marina and Z. japonica) in Padilla Bay.
Habitats in the Padilla Bay support herring, smelt, pink and chum salmon, flatfish, Dungeness crab, ducks including Black Brant, eagles, shorebirds, and peregrine falcons.  Mammals found in Padilla Bay include harbor seals and river otters.


 


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Washington State travel, Washington State travel, Washington Destinations, Photography, Photography spots, best things to do in Seattle, Best things to in Washington State, Washington Tourism Alliance, Washington State Tourism board, recommendations, recommendations for things to see in washington state, things to do in washington state, things to do in seattle, things to do in Tacoma washington, Washington Photographers, Washington nikon shooters, best seattle photography, washington exploration, experience washington, what to do while visiting seattle, seattle top attractions, seattle food, Space Needle, Explore Washington State, Puget Exposure Photography, Puget Exposure, Road Trips through Washington State, Weird Washington, King County, Snohomish County, Seattle, Everett, Tacoma, Kent, Redmond, Kirkland, Washington Sunrises where and when, Washington State Weather, Anacortes, Padilla Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Padilla Bay is located in Skagit County, Washington, in the northern reaches of greater Puget Sound, on the southeastern fringe of the San Juan Archipelago. The Padilla Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) protects one of the largest continuous beds of eelgrass in the contiguous United States. The surrounding region is part of the Skagit Valley agricultural complex, one of the most fertile regions in the world. Padilla Bay covers more than 11,000 acres of a broad, flat intertidal embayment disconnected from normal flows of the Skagit River due to diking. Habitats within the reserve are predominately aquatic with most of its habitat dominated by eelgrass (Zostera marina and Z. japonica), with a smaller portion of its boundary including uplands, freshwater sloughs, and high salt marsh. Habitats in the Padilla Bay NERR support herring, smelt, pink and chum salmon, flatfish, Dungeness crab, ducks including Black Brant, eagles, shorebirds, and peregrine falcons. Mammals found in Padilla Bay include harbor seals and river otters.

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No. 181 Mount Vernon Skagit Wildlife Area

Island Unit Headquarters
21961 Wylie Road
Mt. Vernon, WA 98273

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The Skagit Wildlife Area covers about 16,700 acres west of the Cascade Mountain range. Bordered on the east edge by Highway 530 between Darrington and Rockport and to west along Skagit and Padilla Bays. Most of the 16 managed wildlife sanctuaries are located throughout the Skagit River Delta Region. Tidal action and the mixing of fresh and saltwater create a rich estuarine environment including open water, tidal mudflats and marshes providing safe and sustainable wildlife habitat for   birds of prey, hawks, eagles, marine birds, shorebirds, songbirds, upland birds, wading birds, waterfowl, deer and other smaller mammals.
Washington's DFW has contracts with regional farmers to plant barley and corn to enhance food  resources for local and wintering waterfowl.

In order to see and photography any wildlife its important to pay attention to the various habits of birds. If you plan on exploring a wildlife sanctuary mid day in the summer chances are you will have little luck in spotting a rare bird of prey. Ducks and smaller waterfowl can be scene throughout the day. But if you are keen on snapping images of birds of prey you have to understand which time of day they are active and also which food source they are hunting. Dawn and Dusk are the best times to spot birds of prey in action as they leave their nests high atop the trees and start stalking smaller prey. If its bright and sunny and mid 70s degrees out you will have reduced chances of seeing any wildlife. Unlike us humans who have sunglasses, air conditioning and access to refrigerated beverages, animals do not. They retreat the cooler tree top canopy's until the late afternoon.

Island Unit Tidal area home to many ducks and insects

Natures Window Frame

A Mature (White feathers) American Bald Eagle keeping a stealthy eye on its family nest

Backdrop of Mount Baker behind Island Unit Wildlife Area

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No. 173 2013 Spring has Sprung

Mount Vernon, Wa
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Distance from Seattle: 62miles 1hr 10min
Rating: 4 out 5
Reason to go: Short drive from Seattle to see hundreds of acres of wildflowers, daffodils and tulips in all sizes and colors. The Skagit Valley Tulip Festival is one of the most fantastic events in the state of Washington.  It runs from April 1 to April 30 every single year. Its worth it to start your day really early or go during the week. The word is out and weekends the tulip route will be packed with young kids and families. If your into Landscape or Flower photography this festival will give you great subjects to photograph.

TIPS: Although the Tulip Festival runs from April 1st through April 30th the actual blooming of the tulips varies with weather conditions. Short or long winter weather can cause tulips to bloom earlr or be delayed a few weeks. Check http://www.tulipfestival.orgTulip Festival / for current field conditions.

 If you do plan on going to the Tulip Festival. LEAVE EARLY in the morning to avoid the traffic mess, easier to find parking, setup your camera in a field looking east for a nice sunrise shot. Shoot by yourself and not have many people will be walking through your shot. The best light is in the morning and towards the evening.
It can be cloudy in Seattle but bright and sunny in Mount Vernon. Once the sun gets up over the cascade mountains the sky becomes a huge baby blue light box and it will be harder to find the right exposure for the flowers.
Tulips grow on raised mounds of dirt. Depending on previous days weather you could be walking on soft dirt or trekking through mud puddles, so bring shoes and pants that you don't mind getting dirty.

Every year the layout of fields change, to find out where things are  you can download a field map from Tulip Festival. Some of the growers charge a parking fee of $3-$5 to visit their grounds. Most of the streets that run between Mount Vernon and La Conner are 2 lane rural roads with NO SHOULDER PARKING.  There are ropes and signs all over the place telling people not to park on the side of the road, but as the day goes on and the mass of weekenders start to roll in you will see backups building up because people will stop in the middle of the road to admire the fields.

Postcards, Art Prints and Canvas Prints are available for sale here

Setting Fire to the Rain

Flooded Field at first light

Behind the scenes at the farm

Postcards, Art Prints and Canvas Prints are available for sale here

 

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Things to do in Seattle, photography, landscape photography, landscape photography for beginners, Washington Photography, Washington State Tourism, floral photography, things to see in washington state, skagit valley tulips, floral photography, Seattle Photography, Seattle Photographers, Seattle Photos, Puget Sound, Puget Sound Photography, Washington State Photography Locations, 

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