Through the Windshield

I'm back from my jaunt to Walla Walla. I don't always enjoy the twisty swoopy drive through the Palouse hills, but this trip I truly did. The intensity of the greens from the new shoots against brown earth, the dappling effect of the sun making its way through partly cloudy skies kept my senses thoroughly stimulated. Be sure to click on the pictures for a larger view to get the full effect.

I regretted not having my camera at the ready the last time I drove through this area, so this time it was ready to go on the seat next to me. No time or way to frame my shots - this was true point and shoot photography! Still, it's a wonder I didn't end up in the ditch....ssshhhh, don't tell anyone.

I was hoping to capture that hillside that inspired this sketch, but the lines of the plowed furrows no longer really showed now that the seeds had sprouted. Still, there were some wonderful curves and contrasts to catch.

And bigger than life cloud formation.

At one point I swooped over a hill and spotted this houseboat. I couldn't quite catch it, so looked for it on the way back knowing there was a place where I could pull over to get the shot. I was disappointed that they had moved it closer to the road by then - I guess they worried that people would not see the "For Sale" sign on it. As I first saw it, sitting in the middle of a field, miles from any body of water, it made me think of Noah's Ark, abandoned after the flood waters had receded. Do you suppose Noah put up a "For Sale" sign, too?

This last picture is of bluffs near the Snake River. All along the descent to the river, there was this green the color of lichen, although it wasn't lichen. As I said, the variety of greens I saw was surprising and stimulating. My senses definitely got an injection of possibilities direct from nature.