Anna's Hummingbird

Anna, our resident hummingbird, reminding me to keep the feeder from freezing.

Winter Feed

I left a few apples on the tree for winter food for birds. I am happy for the robin but not so much for the starling. If robin looks could kill...

New Snow on Mt. Baker

First snow of the fall on October 4.

White Christmas

Oak Harbor received about two inches of snow through the night.

What fun to have a white Christmas.

It's above freezing so it will not stay long.

Snow on the Foothills

New snow on the foothills and Mt. Baker as we drove along SR 20 December 7.

Where's the Snow?

I took the top photo July 29. Compare the snow pack to the photo below, taken one year ago, July 29.

I knew the snow pack was lacking, but comparing the photos really made it evident. Both of these photos were taken from the Sno-Isle Library parking lot, on the east side of Oak Harbor.

Mt. Baker: New Record for Low Snow Pack

Prior to new snow on March 15, Baker was at a record low winter snow pack of 14 inches. The previous record was 15 inches. Baker doubled in snow pack on Sunday, receiving 14 inches so is now at 28 inches. This photo from yesterday shows the new snow, still amazingly low. Mt. Baker holds the record for the snowiest place on earth, having received 1,140 inches of total snowfall in the 1998-1999 season.

North Cascades Highway in Spring

I had never been to Washington Pass soon after SR20 opened (May 9) so May 15 we drove to it. While the road was clear, there was plenty of snow along the side. Washington Pass, shown here, is at 5,476 feet.

Rainy Pass, shown below, is at 4,855 feet.

As the last photo shows, at this time of the year, the facilities are limited!

Merry Christmas

Chickadee in the Snow

A chickadee contemplates the variety of bird feeders hanging in this tree during yesterday's snowfall.

Mt. Shuksan in Winter

Mt. Baker

Mt. Baker and the snow covered foothills caught the late afternoon sun. Photo taken in Oak Harbor, Whidbey Island.

Merry Christmas from Whidbey Island

Deception Pass Bridge on a snowy afternoon.

North Cascade Mountain Snow

A recent view from the west side of Oak Harbor, Whidbey Island, shows the new snow on the Cascade Mountains.

Mt. Baker's Meager Snow

A record dry spell for the Pacific Northwest has just ended.  Yes, it is finally raining today.  I took this photo of Mt. Baker a few days ago.  It shows the least amount of snow cover I can ever remember seeing.

Spring Snow on the Foothills

It is Mar 23, isn't it?  Yet there is lots of snow on the foothills.  Spring is here, but so is snow!  This photo was taken from the east side of Oak Harbor on Whidbey Island.

Growlers over Mt. Baker

The EA-18G Growlers from NAS Whidbey were flying their practice runs towards Mt. Baker.  Can you imagine the views the pilots have?  The recent storms provided new snow for the majestic mountain and its foothills.   

The Great Snow and Thaw of January 2012

In mid January we had our first snowfall of the year.  In Oak Harbor, we accumulated about seven inches in just a few days.

It was a wet snow that gracefully lined the bare branches.

Five days later the temperature shot up and the melting began.  The snow disappeared in a little over a day.

Late Winter Snow on Whidbey

We woke to a fresh coat of snow this morning.

Winter is not over yet on Whidbey.

Study in Snow Draped Trees

This is just south of Bellingham, WA. 
(This is a drastically reduced file size.  I apologize for odd lines in the photo from file reduction.)