I’m not sure that I really ever got out to walk around my neighborhood, until the day that the snow was bad enough that we took the day off at work. Yes, the cedar and pine trees are there all the time, as well as the hedges and the steep roadway. but when they are covered with snow, holding up the snow with their broad branches, it all looks pretty different. Yeah, the street is a pretty nice scene on a snowy day. Though that hill is a pain to drive down when it’s slick. Photo: Taken on a nice, pretty street in Edmonds on 19 January 2012.

A little bit of Winter, spread out in the right places, can turn an otherwise mundane place into a thing of beauty. Here, a small park next to a county courthouse becomes a Winter wonderland. The snow and ice decorate the trees in just the right way, like it is flocked for the holiday season. Photo: Taken from the parking lot of the South Snohomish County Courthouse in Lynnwood on 17 January 2012.

Actually, I’m not entirely sure if you would call this sleet or snow, although it was the very start of the week of winter weather we had here around the middle of January. There’s nothing particularly scenic about this scene, but I thought it was pretty cool that the sleet is just stopped there in the air. In a way, it looks a little like a sort of decoration for the trees. Photo: Taken at the Aurora Village Transit Center in Shoreline WA on 14 January 2012.

Yeah, this blog is for pictures of outside things around Cascadia. But Emily the Cat just looked so interested in whatever was outside the front window. Really interested. I’m not sure just exactly what was capturing her attention at this very moment. But out the window is usually quite a variety of birds, not to mention the neighbor’s yapping little rat-dog. Anyway, since “out the window” is all that Emily gets to see of Cascadia, I though I would give Assistant Webmaster Emily T Cat her moment of fame. That, and she looks kinda silly sitting there. Photo: Taken from my living room chair in Edmonds on 18 January 2012.

One of the things that I had forgotten about Downtown Seattle is the large number of directions from which it can be photographed. It’s location, surrounded by hills and the bay, make the possibilities numerous. In this case, I took a few minutes to take some pictures from a viewpoint on Seattle’s Beacon Hill. Although it was about 9:00 in the morning, the rain and clouds made it a day that was not quite light yet. I ought to see just how many angles I can get. Photo: Taken from Dr Jose Rizal Park on Beacon Hill in Seattle on 9 February 2012.

In yesterday’s post, we saw a bunch of Great Blue Herons sleeping the afternoon away. What we didn’t see was the seagull over on “P Dock” sitting there staring at them. Or was he staring at us? We may never know. Photo: Taken at the Port of Edmonds Marina on 13 February 2012.

So, we were taking a walk along the pathway at the Port of Edmonds Marina. It is a cold day, yet there is still a lot to see. There are always a lot of seabirds around, including Great Blue Herons. But we didn’t know what to think of the birds sleeping atop one of the covered boat docks. At first we weren’t sure what kind of birds they were. So we walked a bit closer.

So right there was the Blues Brothers. Or not. Actually, the birds were holding down the roof of the “R Dock”, all the better to protect all of those yachts under there. So, we tried for a close up:

Well, they do look like some sort of furry creature with a trench coat, no? Photos: Taken at the Port of Edmonds Marina on 13 February 2012.

It was a nice and calm day down at the Edmonds Marina. While the activity at the Port of Edmonds is a lot less during the Winter months, there is still plenty to see going on. It’s just that the wind is a bit cold standing out there along Puget Sound. I do like the reflections on the water, though. Photo: Taken at the Port of Edmonds Marina on 13 February 2012.

Jetty Island is a park on an island just off into Puget Sound from Everett. The island is accessible only by boat, which helps it remain a natural setting. During the Summer months, a passenger ferry takes people across for a day of hiking, birdwatching, and other activities on the island. It is accessible from Marine Park in Everett. The trees will look a little fuller in the Spring, too. Photo: Taken at Marine Park in Everett on 7 February 2012.

A sunny afternoon at Port Gardner in Everett leaves time to admire the local scenery. With the port facilities in the foreground, a look across the mouth of the Snohomish River lends itself to some impressive views of Mt Baker. While the location the photo is taken from, Marine Park in Everett, is an extremely busy place in the Summer, in February it is a quiet place. Photo: Taken from Marine Park in Everett on 7 February 2012.