Past, Present, and Pondering
Bright face of sunshine rises above
Hues of pine, spruce, and fir against
Cerulean sky backdrop
Lazy, shallow, dark currents of river caress boulders and ripple over pebbles
Meandering toward the sea in no hurry to leave this place of rich beauty
Flocks of birds call out musical notes
Trills like flutes and squawks in deep baritone
Hawks swoop and soar like a maestro
Orchestrating another beautiful day in Leavenworth
©Belindabotzong2018
Respite from the blistering heat of another summer day where everything moves slowly, even the sun as it lingers on the horizon before it melts into the edge of the sea.
High tide laps lazily against the boulders and Slate blue waves ripple in the sunset shimmer
The schooner Zodiac plies slowly along in the last moments of daylight
Framed by Lummi Island she is majestically poised for a perfect sunset
The breeze rewards her crew with perfectly filled sails as seagulls loop and dip along the shore [wpvideo TEhIfl5X ]
Speedboats are the only quick moving thing as they race for the harbor as a fishing boat moans and rumbles along the shore
Hazy thin layers of far away forest fire smoke hang over Orcas Island creating a mysterious mood over Mt. Constitution’s towers
And filters the sunset into an artistic filtered hue
Another beautiful, lazy summer evening on Bellingham Bay.
©Belindabotzong2018
The kayak club cleared the beach with gusto heading out to dinner with friends, home, or even a vacation in Montana was announced with glee. He has a cabin in the sawtooth mountains where he plans to hike and relax for the last weeks of summer break.
The dinner cruise droned by after a tour of the nearby islands and disembarked its satisfied passengers at the nearby ferry terminal, heading home with that feeling one gets after inhaling an enormous amount of fresh sea air. Hair blown askew, stiffened by salty breezes, they make their way hand in hand to their Subaru, satisfied with their choice for such a grand outdoor experience.
A lone woman sits on a boulder at the quiet end of the beach. Her bike handlebars askew as she left it parked on the goose-poop covered lawn. Her forehead draws together in a frown at the intrusion of another woman taking a seat on a nearby bench. Solitude is clearly desired as she works through and ponders her troubles. The bench seated woman feels the discomfort of invading another’s space and moves on to a quiet spot to watch seagulls and sailboats and write about her view, snapping a few photos.
Jets fly overhead for their final approach to the nearby airport with those returning from trips around the country or around the world. They will disembark with that left over stale feeling one gets from flying too far for too long and they will breathe deeply the cool August day air and say “home sweet home”.
A helicopter flies quickly south, meaning another crisis in some family as a loved one is rushed to Seattle for advanced care and the patient will disembark on a journey through healing and recovery. Or not.
A train rumbles past filled with passengers all looking forward to either a return home or an exciting adventure beyond the routine of home. The incessant warning of the engineer announces their passing.
Multiple sailboats glide in the evening breeze like the seagulls that swoop and soar as the sun sets slowly beyond them. Some are racing while others take their time to embrace the freedom of being on the rippled sea, inhaling that same fresh air that will later lead to a deep restorative sleep.
The woman on the bench is now alone and there is a deep peaceful lull in the activity. Waves lap lazily onto the shore bringing her treasures to find. Sticks and stones, shells and glass. The beauty and artistry of nature in the perfection of an evening at the bay surrounded by the San Juan islands, the Salish Sea, the harbor, the beach and the sky.
[wpvideo Z4n1Hwas ]
©Belindabotzong2018
Blossoms and buds
Awaken
Brilliant red rhodie
Perfect pink peony
Bright blue rock seed
Orange and yellow with purple splashes fill out spring’s palette
Trills and tweets
Twitters and sweet whistles
Carrying tunes of joyful birds on wafts of morning breezes
As they gather pieces of nesting treasures
Coolness ahead of summer-like days
Saltwater fragrances fill the sky covered in a thick marine layer
Awaiting the big reveal of sunshine blue skies
©Belindabotzong2018
Finch plays her piccolo
Flicker on percussion
Robins join in soprano trills
Hummingbird with her metronome
Bees buzz in perfect harmony
Sparrows round out the symphony in melodious notes
Tones and tunes in perfect pitch
Notes and measures played on queue
All in praise of their maestro, conductor, creator
The music of spring returns
Pulling on heartstrings
©Belindabotzong2018
Storybook cream puff clouds
Playfully glide across the blue ribbon bay
Bouncing off one another
Playing hide and seek between the bulges of the islands
Fishing trawler motors slowly into the harbor
Engine grumbling toward the dock
Tangled nets and a multitude of lines
Attracting hungry seagulls with the promise of the remains of a fresh catch
Swooping and soaring they chuckle and chortle their anxious greetings
Another glorious day at the bay
©Belindabotzong2018
Richness of crystal blue sky
Paled by feathered clouds
Hazy across gray blue olympics layered behind islands of the San Juan’s
Subtle ripples form in the stillness of placid salt water bay
Interrupted by coast guard waves and frigid breezes wafting crisp refreshment
Tentative sea gulls edging closer to people who may throw a scrap of bread and create a cacophony of mournful screams of delight
Mid February Beauty
©Belindabotzong2018
Black feathered with cotton
White head
Eagles
Soaring high beneath
Black swirled with cotton
White fluffy
Clouds
Soaring high
©Belindabotzong2018
Morning
Sapphire dragon flies join the dance of the hummingbirds quickly turning and twirling and kissing the flowers.
Intoxicating sweet lavender and crocosmia nectar on their tongues allows an uninhibited show of delightful flight.
Hovering overhead in a call for attention to their impassioned dance through the trees and flowers and into the clear blue abyss of morning.
Evening
Frenetic honeybees race from bud to bud as half moon rises high in the endless summer sky.
Streaks of golden sunset clouds run parallel with the horizon.
The heat of July’s farewell tribute subsides into a still coolness providing relief from the coming heatwave of August.
The hummingbirds put on their final act of the day scolding one another for taking center stage as one then two then three chase each other into the end of another beautiful day.
A flotilla of Canada geese ride the tide like buoys buffeted by wind and wave. They reach a waterfall of hose water with Seagulls screaming over the heads of fishermen cleaning the dock. One gull walks along the rail of a stairway while another is chased by the heckle of The ever bossy Crow. The rest toggle for position on a warehouse roof constantly on the move lifting and soaring and landing over and over hoping the fishing men can spare a morsel of the daily catch. They cry out in celebration, anticipation, and watchful investigation of what they might find to taunt the others. A rainbow forms over a gull pelted with hose water from the fisherman as the sunlight creates a colorful array. Sailboats speedboats ships and yachts create a spay of waves pushing the geese into safe harbor.
