Winter - Summer

From Paradise--December above, July below.

From the Nisqually Vista trail--December above, July below

The Tatoosh Range--December, July

Narada Falls--December, August--is that the same red car?

From the Bed of the Nisqually--December, July

ABC Wednesday is again down to the X

X marks the spot.

Trail marking poles in an X, these are ready to be taken and put in place with the rope between to mark dangerous areas.

Poles are used in an x to mark bridges

...

and edges

...

and what look like poles standing straight from one angle, are Xs from another.

When you come to the edge--don't go past the X

See how others have dealt with the letter X at ABC Wednesday Central.

Winter Faces of Mt. Rainier

On Saturday, the skies remained clear. Hundreds came to Paradise to play in the snow. We came to hike on snowshoes. 

On Sunday, the mountain was spectacularly capped with lenticular clouds. I say clouds, because they appeared in sequence, one at a time. A spectacular lenticular cloud  which topped the mountain when we arrived, cleared and was replaced by another at least twice during the day.

"Lenticular clouds, technically known as altocumulus standing lenticularis, are stationary lens-shaped clouds that form at high altitudes, normally aligned at right-angles to the wind direction." source Crystal Links

Is it any wonder that, in the 1940s, the first sightings of "flying saucers" were reported in this area?

Our host at the Lodge said that lenticular clouds signal a change in the weather. Last night there was new snow.

Whatever the cause or the aftermath, they are a spectacular sight.

And today, a new cloud style came in.

My world has been on the mountain the last two days. Where is your world? See what's happening in other parts  of the world each Tuesday linked here.

Odd Shot Monday on Sunday Evening

This license plate was on a horse carrier we passed when we were in California last month. We got a kick out of it.

This Odd Shot is a bit early--I don't even have the energy to reset the time so it posts on Monday. Nor did I have the energy to decide which picture I took this weekend is an odd shot. There was one I tried to get on Christmas morning. DH even drove around the block so I could take it. I ended up with a picture of the dashboard in front of me instead. We decided it wasn't to be. It was a pig in the back of a pickup. A big pig, in the back of a pickup, parked in front of a church. How odd is that? Odder than this license plate.

We had a great day today after a great day yesterday. We ended the great day, with a minor misadventure--but having escaped serious misadventure, I am exhausted and ready to sleep. I never sleep this early, but tonight....

If you have an Odd Shot today, be sure to leave a comment and let us know, we don't want to miss it.

Sunday's Psalm--Feast of the Holy Family

 Blessed are they who dwell in your house, O Lord.

How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD of hosts!
My soul yearns and pines for the courts of the LORD.
My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.

Blessed are they who dwell in your house, O Lord.

Happy they who dwell in your house!
Continually they praise you.
Happy the men whose strength you are!
Their hearts are set upon the pilgrimage.



Blessed are they who dwell in your house, O Lord.

O LORD of hosts, hear our prayer;
hearken, O God of Jacob!
O God, behold our shield,
and look upon the face of your anointed.

Blessed are they who dwell in your house, O Lord.
 
from Psalm 84
 
Scotty's Castle--Death ValleyNP
Christmas village
Pinnacle Peak--Mt. Rainier NP

And here it is reflected...

Here we are now --on the feast of Stephen--and on the other side of the mountain. Mount Rainier has a different aspect depending on which direction you see it from. And here it is reflected in the windows of the (New) Jackson Visitor Center at Paradise. the day after Christmas remained clear and sunny, though the wind came up a bit fiercely.

The real thing, reflected here in a display about the fragile meadow ecostructure. If you haven't visited Paradise recently, you are missing the wonderfully done updated displays in the new VC.

This one says it all.

Weekend Reflections are the brainchild of James from Newtown Area Daily Photo. Visit him to see who else is reflecting on the world around them today.

More from our winter visit to the mountain after the psalm tomorrow--and after we finish visiting.

Christmas Mountain SkyWatch

I tell people my daughter's in-laws have a picture postcard image right out their window. I does depend on the sky. Today it was clear as a bell. On other visits we have seen nothing out there.

And just in case you think I'm spoofing about it being out their window, here is another shot.

Visit other SkyWatchers here.