Tiptoeing Through the Tulips - #MtVernon, WA

Have you ever experienced the beauty of row after row of tulips in bloom? Here are photos from my recent visit to the fields at Tulip Town in Mount Vernon, Washington.
(Click on photos for a larger view.)

If the beauty of these blooms has inspired you to plant tulips of your own, you can order bulbs online. They will be shipped in autumn in time for planting. The variety is overwhelming.

Skagit Valley Tulip Festival info HERE
Order bulbs online HERE

I'm linked with:

Saturday Snapshot - Melinda at A Web of Stories - Link HERE 

Jo's Monday Walk -  Johanna at Restless Jo - Link HERE

Our World Tuesday - Link HERE

LaConner Crab Cruise - #Photos

A great day to cruise on Skagit Bay! Add in a lunch of Dungeness crab, good company, and lots of sunshine, and it was a day to enjoy. Here's how the senior center brochure described the outing: 
We will travel north to La Conner and board the Viking Star for a 2.5-hour cruise along the Swinomish Channel out to Deception Pass. The highlight of the day will be the cracked crab feast onboard as we ply the waters out to Deception Pass Bridge. 
(Click on photos for a closer look.)

The town of La Conner, Washington, sits on Skagit Bay
in northwestern Washington State. Our vessel was the M/V Chinook. 

We passed vacation homes and permanent residences perched along the shore.

Rafts of logs floated near rocky, wooded islands

Our destination: Deception Pass Bridge

Snow-capped Cascade Mountains on the horizon

After our cruise ended, we headed for the tulip fields of Mt. Vernon... but that's a story for another post.

Curious about Deception Pass's name? Wikipedia says: 
"[Explorer] George Vancouver gave it the name 'Deception' because it had misled him into thinking Whidbey Island was a peninsula. The 'deception' was heightened due to Whidbey's failure to find the strait at first."
More info HERE

Cruise info HERE

I'm linked with:

Saturday Snapshot - Melinda at A Web of Stories - Link HERE 

Jo's Monday Walk -  Johanna at Restless Jo - Link HERE

Our World Tuesday - Link HERE

Grand Ridge #Hike in Springtime - Jo's Monday Walk, #SaturdaySnapshot, & Our World Tuesday

Snow drifted down as we stepped out of the senior center van on my first hike at Grand Ridge Park in 2017. Last week raindrops replaced the snowflakes. I prefer the rain. (Issaquah, Washington, USA)
(Click on photos to enlarge)

Misty rain added to the quiet forest atmosphere

Creeks and rivulets swelled from recent rains

Some early flowers and bushes greeted springtime: trillium, bleeding heart, salmonberry bushes, curly fern fronds, and more.

Is it a flower? No, it's an oyster mushroom. We saw several
clusters of these beautiful mushrooms on our hike. This one
is about the size of a cantaloupe.

Photos from my previous hike in Grand Ridge Park in January, 2017 are HERE. 

I'm linked with:
Saturday Snapshot - Melinda at A Web of Stories - Link HERE 
Jo's Monday Walk -  Johanna at Restless Jo - Link HERE

Our World Tuesday - Link HERE

Buffalo Gal - #Friday56 and #Book Beginnings on Fridays

What do a runaway bride and buffalo ranching have in common? And then there are the UFOs! You'll find out in Lisa Wanttaja's delightful romance novel, Buffalo Gal. I enjoyed the way the author made the North Dakota setting a part of the story (torrential rain, tornados), as well as her depiction of the heroine as a strong, independent woman. Lots of humor, too. Good writing.


Book Beginning:
PROLOGUE
Dr. Andrea Moore stared at the clock on her bedroom wall with rising terror. Two more hours and it would all be over. She'd be married.
     She tried to tell herself her nervousness was simply pre-wedding jitters. But she knew it was more than that.


Friday56 from 56% on my Kindle:
"It could be dangerous to stand in the way of our investigation. You don't understand what you're dealing with."

Genre: Contemporary Romance
Length: 246 Pages
Where to Buy: Links to Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and More

Synopsis:

     On the morning of her wedding, veterinarian Andrea Moore knows she’s making a mistake. When she learns she’s won a buffalo ranch, she runs off to North Dakota but finds herself in the middle of what could be an even bigger mistake. The ranch she’s won is not only home to a herd of bison but also run by a man who can’t hide his hostility.

     Foreman Mike Winterhawk worked long and hard to buy the ranch himself, only to have it handed over to some contest winner. His focus needs to be on why the bison can’t bear calves instead of teaching this city slicker in ugly green cowboy boots how to run a ranch. He can only hope she’ll quickly realize she’s out of her league and hightail it back to Seattle.

     So, why is he so attracted to this intruder, and why does he feel she might be the one who can help him turn White Thunder Ranch around?


              

Anyone can participate in Book Beginnings on Friday and The Friday 56.
Click HERE to connect to other Book Beginnings posts (sponsored by Rose City Reads) 
Click HERE to join other Friday 56 bloggers (sponsored by Freda's Voice)

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