Challenge - Week 37

Someday everything will make perfect sense. So, for now, laugh at the confusion, smile through the tears and keep reminding yourself that everything happens for a reason.

This Week

I didn't have a whole lot of ideas for this one, and I don't think I did a very good job. I only came up with two pictures (although I had another idea, but I'll explain that later).

Pictures

You are probably wondering, "Why are you taking another picture of YOURSELF?" The REASON is so I can show you a little about the REMINDERS I give myself for reporting my bird counts. As I look towards an Osprey and Double-crested Cormorants, I am looking at my notes. The notes might lead to CONFUSION for those who don't know my shorthand, but they MAKE PERFECT SENSE to me.

I planned on walking the East Slope Trail when I encountered this sign. I was a little CONFUSED because I had known about shorter closures but not this one. If I were more emotional, I might have shed TEARS from the lost ability to hear the LAUGHTER of Wigeons on Chambers Creek (until some start showing up closer to the Central Meadow). I think I know the REASON that this closure is HAPPENING, and that's the ongoing expansion of the wastewater treatment facility.

Other Ideas

Multiple Words: With all the contrasts, I was thinking of a seasonal contrast shot. In other words, I wanted to get signs of summer and signs of winter in the same shot (rain putting on a smile after the tears caused by the sun). I might have been able to just go for winter/wet weather, but it wouldn't have worked as well. Today, we had some thunderstorms during my walk. It wasn't raining heavily enough that you would have known that rain was the subject, and I never saw any lightning despite the thunder (you could argue that I was confused by the thunder because the forecast seemed to indicate a dry morning with possible thundershowers in the afternoon). A variant on this idea would have been capturing a summer bird and winter bird in the same shot. I had an Osprey and Peregrine Falcon in the same shot. Ospreys are definitely summer birds for us. While Peregrine Falcons are more common in the winter, they really should be viewed as year-round birds.

Flickr Friday - Pure Beauty

While I am still struggling with my backlog, I had a simple idea for this week. Washington is a beautiful state. For pure beauty, how about the first thing that enters my mind? I wanted to take a picture of Tahoma (Mt. Rainier for tourists and transplants). Even though the forecast was calling for hot dry weather, I never saw Tahoma this weekend. I did not get the shot. I never bothered to come up with a more pure beauty.