You have to love nice weather after a rain. Nothing makes a walk better than to come across a scene like this one, wandering around the neighborhood. This was over a week ago and by now those leaves are history, I am sure, but, like a flower in bloom, they were good while they lasted.

Visit Watery Wednesday, Mellow Yellow Monday, Scenic Sunday, Outdoor Wednesday, Shadow Shot Sunday, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera) and Weekend Reflections for some fascinating photographic fun. If you have a moment to poke around here, I think you’ll enjoy it. Click on Sara’s Fave Photos for the complete blog. Thanks for visiting!

Before the pretty leaf season is well and truly over, I wanted to post this image I took in a parking lot a few weeks ago. I’ve never done a nighttime shot of the outdoor, natural world that I’ve liked so much. Hope you like it also.

Mellow Yellow Monday, Ruby Tuesday, Scenic Sunday, Ruby Tuesday, Outdoor Wednesday, and Shadow Shot Sunday are all good photo meme sites where you can compare different approaches to a visual theme. And as always, browse around here by clicking on Sara’s Fave Photos to view the complete blog if you see only one photo below.

We had some big wind, and that means the pretty leaves are leaving. Sigh. They were so very lovely this year. Let’s give thanks for their show for us, shall we? An attitude of gratitude is the way to live life, all year round.

Take a peek at Ruby Tuesday, Scenic Sunday, Wordless Wednesday, Outdoor Wednesday, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera), Skywatch Friday and Blue Monday, if you can. Do browse here first, and hope you enjoy what you find. Happy Thanksgiving to all!

This was taken earlier this week in Seattle’s Volunteer Park at the Asian Art Museum, close by the Volunteer Park Conservatory, which loyal readers of this blog know that I love so much that I did a book on it. And by the way, since the holidays are upon us, the Flowers of Volunteer Park Conservatory: Blooming Month by Month book is on special holiday pricing! It’s a perfect gift for gardeners or anyone who loves flowers, and it’s so relaxing and soothing that health care professionals adore it for their waiting rooms. Read a full description and see sample pages on the home page here. And get a few copies today!

Please visit Ruby Tuesday, Scenic Sunday, Wordless Wednesday, Watery Wednesday, and Outdoor Wednesday for some excellent photos around this beautiful planet of ours. Perhaps you’d like to visit a new tag or category here, first? Just click on Sara’s Fave Photos to see the complete blog (so many choices!) here.

This Japanese maple leaf is from my front yard, photo taken last week. The dark leaf color is already gone, with only red ones now, but I thought I’d show you the combination of the purple it was all summer and the autumn red just beginning.

Take a look at Ruby Tuesday, Macro Friday, Macro Monday, and SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera). And do click on the Sara’s Fave Photo banner to see the complete blog here before you go.

Last year I planted several different lilac shrubs in front by the street. I had a few flowers this spring (they are young plants, and lilacs are very long lived and so take their time about flowering) but this season I am surprised to find that some of the leaves are yellow, some purplish, and some have these pretty red and yellow leaves, with pink tones. All right!

Try some new sites: Mellow Yellow Monday, Ruby Tuesday, Pink Saturday, Macro Friday, Macro Monday and Outdoor Wednesday. Quite interesting, you’ll see. But first, be sure you have the complete blog on view here by clicking on Sara’s Fave Photos.

I was at the Volunteer Park Conservatory this evening at a special meeting on completing the restoration that was begun years ago, and of course I can never go there without taking a photo or two (a wild understatement). This shade planting outdoors is quite brilliant in color, not like the usual soft colors I think of for shade-loving flowers.

Visit Ruby Tuesday, Color Carnival, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera), Outdoor Wednesday,  Scenic Sunday and Today’s Flowers. Naturally, I’d love it if you browsed around here first. Clicking on Sara’s Fave Photos brings you back to the latest post here always.

My neighbors had a party last week, and even though they have a great deck and yard, it rained. Not ideal for a party, but for those of us who ALWAYS carry a camera, it had its compensations. This evergreen clematis armandii, I believe, is very happy twining about his deck railing, even (and perhaps especially) in the rain.

You might check out Watery Wednesday, Outdoor Wednesday, Wordless Wednesday, Macro Friday, Macro Monday, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera), Scenic Sunday, and Ruby Tuesday for more photo fun. Do click on the banner above, Sara’s Fave Photos, to see the latest photos here. And thanks for visiting! 

Wouldn’t you like to pick up your mail by walking on this driveway every day? I surely do love sunny days and the shadows that result. The pink shrub at the entrance is a real scene-stealer. This sentinel is pieris or andromeda, very popular here in the Pacific Northwest. I read that our soils are acidic and that’s why plants such as rhododendrons and azaleas (and pieris) tend to do so well. Who knew?

Visit Shadow Shot Sunday and Pink Saturday on this long weekend. Also try Scenic Sunday, Outdoor Wednesday and SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera) if you have a minute. Remember, if there is only one photo below, click on the Sara’s Fave Photos banner above to see the rest of the collection.

This photo makes me want to keep looking at it, so I’m calling it my Best Post of the Week.

Looking upwards (or downwards) can sometimes really perk up a photo. This one is hot off the memory card, taken just this afternoon. The day started off beautifully sunny after a week of rain, and I was hot to photograph some of those incredible leaves before another rain system removed them forever. But when I could get outside, it was starting to be overcast—not the best sky for photographs of glorious fall color. But looking upwards yielded some blue, a perfect complement for the flaming orange leaves.

Visit Skywatch Friday for more skies seen around the world. Color Carnival has more bright colors, and SOOC has more straight-out-of-the-camera shots.

If there is only one photo on this page, do click on Sara’s Fave Photos for the full blog. And while you are here, you might try a tag or category to see some others you might like.

Here’s another photo from that walk in the Wallingford, WA neighborhood I took a few days ago. A little sunshine, some pretty leaves, my trusty S90 Canon in my pocket, and a few minutes to stroll equals happiness in my book.

Visit Thursday Challenge for more photos with the theme of Gold. This is also a good one for Scenic Sunday, Color Carnival and SOOC or straight-out-of-the-camera photos. Cropping is OK for that meme, but I mostly don’t. That’s what viewfinders are for.

Be sure to check out some other tags or categories here. How about “autumn”? If you’ve arrived by a link, the latest photos are always at Sara’s Fave Photos.

There’s nothing like a walk on a sunny day in autumn. I happened to look up and saw these leaves glittering in the sunlight. Some even seem to be heart-shaped!

Visit Macro Monday and Mellow Yellow Monday for more close ups and more yellow.

You can search here for whatever you’d like to find, or just a click on a tag or category can yield lots of fun. But to find the very latest post, click on Sara’s Fave Photos.