Category: Photos by Peg

Lavender Season

A Meditative Moment at Jardin du Soleil Lavender Farm

With the onset of summer, Sequim residents are beginning to see the color purple, not only in our local farm fields, but just about everywhere in town – and some are even seeing it in their mirrors, like my very enthusiastic neighbor, who recently dyed her hair purple.

It’s a season that most of us look forward to with pride and anticipation since Sequim is the lavender capital of United States, and Google now AI agrees:

“Sequim, Washington is widely known as the “Lavender Capital of North America”. This small town’s unique climate, characterized by a “rain shadow” effect from the Olympic Mountains, creates an ideal environment for growing lavender, similar to the Mediterranean. The town hosts the annual Sequim Lavender Weekend and festival, attracting visitors to its numerous lavender farms and fields”.

But if you’re concerned about the influx of tourists and the onset of traffic, the rise in prices, or ? keep in mind that every dollar earned through those lovely and fragrant flowers is keeping Sequim alive and lively – and would you have it any other way?

Carrie Blake Park

Spring in the Japanese Garden

If you’re looking for a burst of spring color in lovely gardens, a bench to sit on and relax in a soothing atmosphere while listening to great music, then look no further than our local gem, Carrie Blake Park.

But if you’re looking for a softball field, or a place to play soccer or shuffleboard, or pickleball, then you’re in luck as well. The list of available options at Carrie Blake is impressive and unexpected for a park of its size, especially in a city of ~8,000 residents! And to visually minded people like me, who love to capture it all with a camera, it can’t be beat…pack a picnic lunch, grab a camera, and go!

Eye-to-Eye

Sibling Rivalries

While those of you with siblings may not always see eye-to-eye like these two eaglets; hopefully, any childhood rivalries are far behind you and that as adults you haven’t cultivated new ones.

These two, photographed several years ago, had their squabbles, and food fights too, but when push came to shove, neither shoved the other out of the nest; they both survived the turmoils that faced them, and through it all remained feathered friends till the end.

Yellow Waves of ?

Farm on East Anderson Road

Like many other locals, I drive by this farm quite often and this time of year, I asked the same question I did last year….just what are those beautiful yellow wildflowers we’re all seeing; could they be mustard, buttercups, canola, or…what?

Aside from my attempts to resolve the mystery, I love indulging in the color against those slate blue mountains and the powder blue sky. I only wish there was roadside parking…just think, we could sit, indulge our senses in the beauty of farm, sip on a cup of coffee, and thoroughly absorb the splendor of the day and good fortune in living where we live.

An Artist’s Garden

Plein Aire Painter, Woodcock Demonstration Garden

Maybe it’s because I used to paint in a traditional sense that I’m always attracted to, and envious of, anyone painting plein air – and I’m delighted that most plein air painters are enthusiastic subjects, just like this one.

If you’re not familiar with the term, Google describes the artist’s as such: “a plein air painter is an artist who paints outside, directly from nature, capturing the subject in its natural environment. This French phrase, meaning ‘in the open air,’ refers to the practice of painting outdoors, with the artist’s subject in full view”.

And although I lost this artist’s name over the past 4 years, I’m hoping one of you can help me locate her. I’d love to thank her again, and to at least provide her with a print of this digital painting based on my photo – and to see the end results of hers!

Smitten

A Pensive Cedar Waxwing Perches above a Pond

June marks the time of year these lovely birds show up and perch in our trees, nibble on berries, and surprisingly (at least to me), hunt down dragonfly nymphs.

My first encounters with their appearance, feeding, and nurturing behaviors occurred here in Sequim in the spring of 2019, and I must say, I was smitten. I found them to be not only beautiful but extremely agile, cunning, and more enjoyable to watch than any football team, even with a name like the SeaHawks – sorry football fans!

Personally, finding them was and still is a challenge except on our warmest of days and in ponds filled with lily pads – where one typically finds a plethora of dragonflies hatching.

At those times, groups of waxwings, and a few other bird species, dart back and forth over the ponds, snatch gobs of insects out of the air with lightening speed and maneuverability then transport them back to their nests to feed their broods. 

My self-imposed challenge is to photograph them in the process and to (hopefully) keep one or two of my hundreds of shots. But first, this beautiful bird deserves time in the limelight, as above. But if like me, you’re inclined to learn more about them, I’m happy to point you to the experts at Cornell Universities’ All About Birds website.