Another truly glorious day up here in the PNW. Today I took Salem over to the Urban Horticulture Center at UW for a walk. This is the only place I've ever seen this version of hellebore and it always makes me think of witches and cauldrons. You don't see flowers this color that often.

Lots of turtles were out sunning on the logs in the water - there was a person sitting right in front of them so I couldn't really get a picture... And probably a half-dozen herons staking out plots of tall grass next to the water - too far away and in the wrong light direction to take pictures of. Oh well. Fantastic view of Mt. Rainier too. Nature never fails to inspire me.

I've been sitting out on the back deck with my binoculars, hoping to catch a glimpse of the merlins who are back, making a huge racket, way up there in  the top of the tree. I can just see the bottom of the nest they are co-opting.