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St. Valentine’s Day Massacre

Tulips photo by Chandler O'Leary

Inside the house we have these this morning…

Photo by Chandler O'Leary

…but Valentine’s Day looks a little different in the yard. Spring is already on its way here, so we have to seize the moment and get going on the massive pile of landscaping projects we have planned for the year.

Photo by Chandler O'Leary

So we’re spending our romantic weekend with chainsaws and tree stumps. Hope your Valentine’s Day is a special one, too—whether you stick to tradition or not!

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Weekend revels

Skagit Valley tulips photo and sketch by Chandler O'Leary

I took a rare day off on Friday, to get out of the studio and gather some inspiration in the…um..field.

Skagit Valley tulips photo by Chandler O'LearySkagit Valley tulips photo by Chandler O'LearySkagit Valley tulips photo by Chandler O'LearySkagit Valley tulips photo by Chandler O'LearyWhidbey Island photo by Chandler O'Leary

My trip turned into a mini-adventure,

Whidbey Island photo by Chandler O'Leary

full of Washington wonders.

Admiralty Head Lighthouse photo by Chandler O'LearyAdmiralty Head Lighthouse photo by Chandler O'LearyWhidbey Island photo by Chandler O'LearyFull moon photo by Chandler O'Leary

Catching the moonrise on my way home was an extra-special bonus, because it reminded me to set an alarm—

Lunar eclipse photos by Chandler O'Leary

—so that I could catch a nice postscript to the day’s excitement.

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Tulip telepathy

Skagit Valley tulips photo by Chandler O'Leary

Yesterday was such a beautiful day, and my hands so badly needed a break from carving, that I took a day off and headed upstate to bask in the tulip fields.

Tulip field postcard from Holland

And then, when I got home, there was a postcard waiting for me from my friend Jen—from her own tulip tour in the Netherlands.

I’m taking that as a sign that playing hooky yesterday was the right idea.

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Forty-watt bulbs

Skagit Valley Tulip Festival photo by Chandler O'Leary

Despite an overabundance of deadlines and studio hubbub lately—well, beautiful spring weather and productivity just don’t mix. Besides, a sunny Friday in the Northwest is basically a license to play hooky. So I took a day off and made my annual pilgrimage up to the Skagit Valley to catch the end of the Tulip Festival.

Skagit Valley Tulip Festival photo by Chandler O'LearySkagit Valley Tulip Festival photo by Chandler O'LearySkagit Valley Tulip Festival photo by Chandler O'Leary

I’m glad I waited this year; not only did the blooms hit a late peak, but the weather was nearly flawless.

Unfortunately, that also meant I wasn’t alone. Finding a shot that didn’t include minivans, port-a-potties, cyclists in DayGlo jackets or entire families striking goofy poses was quite a challenge, and required a lot of waiting and creative cropping.

This time, however, I was interested in far more than just the tulips alone. So I cast a wider net, and found the magic absolutely everywhere I looked. Whenever I wandered away from the fields of pink and red, I seemed to have whole acres to myself.

Skagit Valley photo by Chandler O'LearySkagit Valley photo by Chandler O'LearyChuckanut Drive and San Juan Islands photo by Chandler O'LearySkagit Valley and San Juan Islands photo by Chandler O'LearySkagit Valley photo by Chandler O'LearySkagit Valley photo by Chandler O'Leary

Still, come sunset, the tourists had all gone home, and it was just me, the mountains, and a sea of blooms stretching to the horizon.

Skagit Valley Tulip Festival photo by Chandler O'Leary

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Rainbow shag carpet

Skagit Valley tulips photo by Chandler O'Leary

Yesterday I headed north with a friend for my second Skagit Valley Tulip Festival. I was hoping to do some drawing this year, but the weather had other plans.

Skagit Valley daffodils photo by Chandler O'Leary

It was like I’d never been there before—everything was different this year. For one thing, the tulips are blooming early, so the daffodils hadn’t retired yet.

Skagit Valley tulips photo by Chandler O'Leary

For another, the farmers have rotated their crops, so the tulips are occupying different fields than last year—which gave me a whole new set of photo possibilities.

Skagit Valley tulips photo by Chandler O'Leary

And best of all, we had the place to ourselves—Tuesday discouraged the tourists with day jobs, and the rain took care of the rest.

Skagit Valley tulips photo by Chandler O'Leary

The Skagit Valley is quickly becoming a favorite haunt; it was hard not to turn the day trip into a week of following all the back roads and exploring all the hidden pockets of scenery I discovered yesterday.

Skagit Valley photo by Chandler O'Leary

That’s okay, though. I know that next time, more than just tulips will be waiting for me.

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A year in pictures

Columbia River Gorge photo by Chandler O'Leary

A year ago today our bright yellow moving truck pulled into Tacoma and turned the corner onto a new home, a new career, a new life. Here I am, 365 days later, and I’m still just as excited as on day one. To everyone in T-Town (and Seattle, and Portland, and everywhere in between!) who has welcomed me as one of your own: thank you, with everything I have.

I tend to be a list-maker, constantly looking ahead to what is yet to be done. And as I sifted through the thousands of photos I took over the past year, trying to narrow them down to a few favorites, a whole new to-do list emerged. Despite my best, most frantic efforts, I’ve barely scratched the surface of this new home of mine.

Seattle ferry photo by Chandler O'LearyOlympic Peninsula photo by Chandler O'LearyFrenchman's Coulee photo by Chandler O'LearySkagit Valley tulips photo by Chandler O'LearyMt. Rainier wildflowers photo by Chandler O'LearyTacoma photo by Chandler O'LearyPike Place Market photo by Chandler O'LearyBlackberries photo by Chandler O'LearyGray Jay photo by Chandler O'LearySnow photo by Chandler O'LearyGinkgo sign photo by Chandler O'LearyRose photo by Chandler O'LearyMt. Rainier photo by Chandler O'LearyGaloshes photo by Chandler O'LearyKites photo by Chandler O'Leary

So I’ve got my work cut out for me. Washington, I’d like to get to know you a little better.

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Electric lollipops

Photo by Chandler O'Leary

Today we dished out our first strawberries and cream of the season—cause for major celebration at our house. Now, lest you get the idea that I’m either entirely too easily amused, or have never heard of a supermarket, let me explain. The Tailor and I do our best to eat locally, organically, and seasonally—and we’re lucky to live in a part of the world with lots of like-minded people who do the same. I think, however, that we tend to fall in the, uh, hardcore variety of seasonal foodies. I’m sure this topic will crop up again in the future, so I’ll save you the spiel. For now, let’s just say that if Mount Rainier happened to go ka-blooey some winter, cutting T-Town off from any supply routes into the city, we could live on our stored food for a good three or four months before we started beadily eyeing the squirrel population. Sure, it’s probably a little nutty, but what it boils down to is the fact that we only eat asparagus in the few short weeks every year that it’s available locally—and we don’t buy any produce between November and April. So for me that first beautiful mouthful of fresh, perfect, tiny strawberries is better than any birthday present (though I admit to occasionally breaking down and impulse-buying California berries two months early when my will is weak).

All of this is to say that living seasonally certainly teaches one to learn the cycles of the year (so as not to miss the asparagus, you know), and to appreciate the best parts of every season, however brief they may be. So while I was utterly failing to save the rest of the berries for later, I reflected on how thankful I am for the lovely, prolonged spring we enjoy ’round these parts (in the Great White North, it passes in a pink flash). And then I remembered that I owe you some tulip photos.

(See how my brain works? I’m a walking non-sequitur.)

Skagit Valley tulips photo by Chandler O'Leary

Long before we moved here, I’d heard stories of the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival, of the magic of standing in a sweeping vista of rainbow blooms, seeming to end only where the Cascades began.

Skagit Valley tulips photo by Chandler O'Leary

The stories left out one important point, however: the light. As soon as the sun cleared the clouds, every flower burst into a neon glow, filling the valley with unreal color.

Skagit Valley tulips photo by Chandler O'Leary

Skagit Valley tulips photo by Chandler O'Leary

Skagit Valley tulips photo by Chandler O'Leary

You know, for a place that claims to be grey so much of the time, my digital color correcting skills are getting awfully rusty.

Skagit Valley tulips photo by Chandler O'Leary