Thursday, March 27, 2014

An Early Spring Country Drive


Spring is awakening here in the foothills of the Washington Cascades. 

Come along with me as we take a little country drive! 

These purple plum trees are among the first to bloom here along
the beautiful fence-line of the local equine veterinarian's office. 

I'm sure this view helps the recovering horses feel much better! 


Further along we see our native Wild Plum 
glowing among the dark green of the Douglas Fir trees 
and the tall, wispy spires of  Red Alder and Cottonwood. 

A barbed wire and cedar fence keep out the curious. 


Behind a barbed wire fence, 
a small herd of cattle are dwarfed by a stand
 of Western Red Cedar, Red Alder, and Douglas Fir. 

The fields are greening up in places now. 


This newly blacktopped drive provides contrast to the mossy sidewalk and weathered fence. 


This looks a bit slippery!
A testament to our very wet spring so far. 


After a stop to visit my daughter, I head for home in the late afternoon light. 
I have always loved this beautiful Big Leaf Maple tree, and with the luck of no cars behind me, I was able to stop at the top of a rise and capture its beauty against dramatic skies. 

It does have a lovely view of the unfolding countryside! 


I turn a corner to see gathering clouds illuminated behind a beautiful horse farm. 


An approaching storm! 


The Cascade Mountains rise from the mist.
Farms in the foreground look like tiny toy houses....
Somewhere in there is the mighty Mt. Rainier, hidden in the clouds. 


A beautiful former dairy farm, now hosts a large pumpkin festival in the fall. 

These fields grow corn for a corn maze, and pumpkins, of course. 


This simple farm house overlooks Mt. Rainier when it is not hidden behind clouds. 


As we turn towards home, the fading light casts shadows along the snow covered foothills. 


Here we are at the top of the driveway! 


Say hello to the neighbor's horses through the fence. 


Home Sweet Home! 

Thank you for joining me on my spring country drive! 

Wishing you sweet journeys home. 



xoxo

44 comments:

  1. wow! karen, you DO live in a piece of heaven! i've always marveled at your own property and views. thanks for sharing this drive around your neighborhood! BEAUTIFUL!

    and thank you SO much for linking up to Good Fences! i hope to see more!

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  2. Such beautiful pictures Karen. The colors of the approaching storm are breathtaking.

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  3. How wonderful that you live within sight of those beautiful mountains! Thank you for that glimpse of spring.

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  4. Every picture in your post just excites me for the next!! The light and colors are just out of this world! And the sky...just goes to show you how much beauty we are surrounded by if you just look up! And that shot of that farm is so amazing friend! Thank you for taking us along for the ride! Your home is always such a treat to see!!! Nicole xoxo

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  5. everything around you is always inviting and blessing.
    Thank you for taking us through the beautiful spring around you. :)

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  6. I am always amazed at the beauty where you live, Karen...it's stunning! Gorgeous sunset photos, too...

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  7. Your photos are just beyond beautiful! I never get tired of looking at them and so enjoy them. You do live in such an amazing part of the NW!

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  8. Dearest Karen,
    This is such a marvelous post with colors from the sky and showing indeed the very high relative humidity in your area. The grass looks as green as in The Netherlands, guess that's about the same climate. Lovely purple prune blossoms along the road. Wish they would last for at least a month but it is all so short lived. Taking photos like this extends their lifespan.
    Majestic red cedar trees and it made me think of how many we might have in our home? The contractor used all red cedar and we have the beams a lot closer together than usual, to make the house extra sturdy. Lovely trees in your area and what an amazing photo of the big leaf maple tree.
    Sending you hugs and wishing you a happy weekend!
    Mariette

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  9. HI Karen Such a treat to drive with you around your beautiful countryside. Wonderful scenes with fantastic fences and the colours as the light fades over those mountains is stunning. Have a great weekend.

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  10. Nice to see the spring on the way! All your shots looks great!

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  11. Beautiful captures of your area and that Mountain range is just so gorgeous. How lovely to see it in the sunshine after this heavy winter. xx

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  12. I so enjoyed the wonderful drive of which you took us along...such a scenic route!! The colors in the sky, the snow-capped mountains, the once dairy farm and the warm greeting from the neighbor's horses!!! Such a peaceful drive.

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  13. Thank you so much for this beautiful post. So many wonderful photos, just enchanting scenery, mountains and sky and, of course, such lovely fences. A delight :D)

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  14. gorgeous views!! i love the farm & white barn. you have lots of amazing views to share. so fun!! have a happy happy weekend. ( :

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  15. Happy Friday my friend! Thank you for taking us on this country drive with you :)

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  16. Oh wow, I totally loved this drive. The top two are my favorite shots.

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  17. Thank you for taking us on this picturesque drive. I love your part of the world, the scenery is spectacular as are your photos.

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  18. Thank you for such a lovely trip through your area. I like how that one leaf got caught in the fence too.

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  19. Wow! I loved all these photos of the beautiful countryside and those gorgeous Cascade Mountains. Amazing. And you have lots of fences too! Thank you for taking us on a lovely spring drive of your area. Have a nice weekend Karen. Pamela

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  20. What a lovely driveway Karen! You live in a very beautiful place where nature is so generous!I adore mountains and now, in spring, it must be amazing by you!
    Happy week end!
    Olympia

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  21. Thank you so much for the lovely drive! Everything is still white, brown and gray here.
    Enjoy!
    xo,
    Lin

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  22. You live in such beautiful scenery. I loved seeing the snow in the mountains. Wish I could get the kids up there to play. Instead, we're listening to the rain fall on the house. I really loved all of the farms too. I hope you have a great weekend!

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  23. Ooo, honey! That photo of the big leaf maple from the top of the rise is money! (I guess you noticed by now like to speak in colloquialisms. ;)

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  24. omgoodness.....you live in fence heaven!! These are all gorgeous views, the first image was my favorite!!

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  25. Cudowne miejsce i do tego widok gór ! Coś pięknego, na pewno będę tu do Ciebie częściej uczęszczała, Pozdrawiam i życzę miłego weekendu ! :)

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  26. hola Beatrice querida usted vive en un paisaje maravilloso, gracias por compartir con nosotras ese lindo paseo
    besos

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  27. Wow what beautiful photos you took of the countryside. I love the farms and mountains and it makes me want to paint the landscape. I used in paint when I was in high school many years ago! I love where you live and thanks for sharing the photos & your visits to my blog. I always look forward to visiting you to see what you are up to. Take care and enjoy the weekend.
    Julie

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  28. I enjoyed the viewing all the wonderful sights along your drive.. One and 12 photo image is my favorite today...
    Hugs
    PS I got hack and so I am starting over with a new blog soon and here is my email.. I lost everything..err
    livingwithchanges@gmail.com

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  29. Thank you for taking me along on your driving tour! Your photos are wonderful and I especially love seeing the mountains. Home sweet home is always best. Happy weekend! xo

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  30. What a lovely variety of scenery! I enjoy them all but I think the mossy walk is really cool.

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  31. Holy Moly - you live is a beautiful area - what a fantastic drive!

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  32. You are blessed to be living in a very beautiful part of the world.

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  33. Wonderful drive with you today...such a beautiful place to live...Hugs May x x

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  34. Love the drive through the neighborhood. The trees are really beginning to show their colors. and the clouds and mountains with the touch of snow are beautiful. MB

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  35. Hi Karen,
    Thanks for the lovely country drive, it is so nice to see things greening up!! Great shots of the storms, which just keep coming this week, don't they! How lovely to have neighboring horses, in my last house I did and loved to go visit them, it was all the pleasure and none of the work:-)
    Happy Sunday
    Hugs,
    Bella

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  36. Wow, those are gorgeous! Love the shot of the foothills! Beautiful!

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  37. Karen, what a beautiful post!
    What a delightful tour you gave us, I love to see these photos and their details observations of nature, precious details ... This photo of the tree with his mother is very sensitive. I love horses, observalos even remotely give me a sense of freedom!

    How sad to know this deslisamento and my prayers go out to all families.
    Nice knowing the history of your dog, he is special and brings emotions to your life. Your flowers are beautiful and vivid spring!
    A big kiss and a nice week to all his.

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  38. Your photos are beautiful. Such spectacular scenery. I saw your comment at a tea cup exchange and I wish I had been part of it. So sweet! Thank you for sharing and I am new following you.

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  39. Oops lost my comment I think hope it doesn't show up twice! I love your photos -- you live in a beautiful area! I am a new visitor, love that you named your blog after your beloved grandmother.

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  40. Hello my lovely Karen! Your photos are beautiful and make me long for when our tree are starting to blossom :) Our grass is beginning to turn green and the trees are slowing awakening from their slumber - it won't be long.

    Thanks for sharing and may you have a wonderful week! Hugs

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  41. Wow. Spectacular! Thank you very much for taking us on this trip. Such beauty. I remember that long line of blossoming trees in the top photo from last year! I can just imagine you tootling about those country roads in your pickup truck.

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  42. What an incredibly beautiful drive, Karen! I love the flowering trees, and the VIEWS! That farm has one of the most perfect spots on earth! It's just all so truly lovely! Thank you for sharing this part of your world. I loved every minute of it!

    I was so stunned to learn you used to live not terribly far from me! I am on the NW side of Tucson, just in the lowest southern little spit of Marana. This was our first time driving through this part of the Saguaro Ntl Forest. I wanted to see the petroglyphs, but the drive was wonderful, and we will definitely go back. It's so much closer than the two other sections of the Forest for us, and we love the scenery in those sections as well. How different from where you are now! :-) Both beautiful, but like night & day! :-) If you ever come back to visit old friends (or family?) please let me know so we can get together. The closest I will ever get to Washington is the southern most tip of Oregon where my sis-in-law lives. And I don't know when we will be heading that far north. I lived in Seattle briefly as a child, and was one of the little angels at the Seafair Ball.:-) Love the connection we have made. Love your blog! Take care of yourself.

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  43. Belas fotografias...Espectacular....
    Cumprimentos

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Thank you for stopping by! Your comments are important to me and are very much appreciated. xx Karen

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