Sunny Morning

So, how about that weather last Saturday? It started out a bit chilly - a few rooftops and lawns around Seattle had frosted overnight - but the sky was clear and beautiful, and the air warmed up in one quick hurry. It is the first truly clear day for some time; I can't remember the last one. A lot of our "sunny" days recently have had clouds either in the morning, evening, or milky high clouds during the day.

I celebrated the spring warmth by a double-header, visiting two parks. First, that inexhaustible fount of early morning goodness, Magnuson Park. Here is my favorite of the lot:

Magnuson Park isn't a huge park; at least, those parts interesting to me aren't. A lot of the acreage is taken up by sports fields, buildings, and such. Considering that, I have always found the natural parts of it to be very right in photographic opportunities - sunrises over the lake, general views of the lake, and summer wildflowers and grassy meadows are some of the highlights.

I took some pictures of cottonwoods, and realized their spring foliage looks a lot like their autumn foliage:

What season is this, anyway!?!? I could probably pass this picture off as autumn if I really tried.

Yes, like autumn except the leaves are a little bit greenish, and smaller. Maybe cottonwoods aren't the most interesting trees to photograph in the spring.

After this, I headed to Carkeek. I spent most of my time in Piper's Orchard, a remnant of an old homestead in the eastern half of the park. Apparently a lot of the original fruit trees, 100+ years old, are still living. The trees there are beginning to come into bloom, and so are the weeds in the grassy lawn. The dandelions and daisies were all closed when I arrived, but as the sunlight came up over it, they opened! I tried to take some pictures of the dandelions but they were not working for me, so I won't embarrass myself with them here. Here are some of my highlights from the orchard, though:

Buds!! There's more in store!

The rest of Carkeek Park is looking nice to, as the forest understory there has largely come into its own and the maples are finally blooming in a big way:

Took them long enough!