-

-
Although this could very well be a picture of me finding a new treasure at a favorite nursery, it's actually an illustration by David Catrow for a children's book called Plantzilla.

Monday, April 21, 2014

Happy Easter All!

This year, both the Western and Eastern Orthodox traditions celebrated Easter on the same Sunday.  The two branches of Christendom use different ancient calendars, which usually results in the Orthodox date of Easter falling later than  the Western date.  Whether you follow one of these traditions, another one or none at all, I wish you joy in the new life we see springing forth all around us. 

I arrived at work a little early this morning and happened to have my camera with me.


Don't know the name of this rhododendron but I love that the hot pink buds open to such delicate nearly white blossoms.


Blooms to come and foliage as well!

The building was erected in 1926  in Tudor Revival Style.





 
Today was the first sunny day we've had in several and tomorrow the rain is supposed to return. 




 I didn't capture it well but there's the sun passing through the stained glass illuminates flowers in an interesting way.

This tulip, illuminated from behind, seems to glow from inside.


While most of our daffodils are finished for the year, there are still some later varieties blooming. 


Puyallup, the valley where the church is located, used to be the home of many bulb farms, now only one remains but the daffodil festival and parade is still a big local tradition. 

Luckily, I got to spend some time in the garden today while it was sunny. 



Of course, the best part is finding what the Easter Bunny left! 

Did you get to work in your garden today?  Do you have any special traditions that you observe on the day?  Home made dinner with family/friends?  Brunch at a restaurant?  Happy Eastertide (The fifty days following Easter Sunday.) all!

27 comments:

  1. Happy Easter to you too, Peter! I hope you had a great day, the weather was perfect. The church where you work as choir director is a beautiful building, inside and out.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yesterday was wonderful! Got to spend some time playing in the garden and relaxing! I've always been lucky to work in beautiful buildings like that one.

      Delete
  2. Wow those shots of the flowers at the base of the stained glass are wonderful, such a great combination of colors and patterns.

    I did work in the garden yesterday (must take advantage of every dry day). I got so many things planted! (the stack of empty containers is a little embarrassing). Not being particularly religious and not having kids Easter is a odd holiday for us. I hope yours was perfect, and I'm glad to hear you spent some time in the garden...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love the way flowers look with stained glass light.
      Glad you got to play in your garden today. So far, the rain that we were supposed to get today has held off but the weather people keep telling us that a wet week is on the way. Hope you get to play outside as much as possible while the sun lasts!

      Delete
  3. Magnificent scene! The windows and flowers are a gorgeous combination with the illuminating light. And you did capture it beautifully.

    We always have dinner at home and we enjoyed the garden yesterday. Today we are taking advantage of a rare cloudy day to get a lot of work done.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad you liked the pictures. We used to always have Easter mid day dinner as a huge family thing but by the time I'm done with the liturgical marathon of holy week and Easter, it's nice to relax and not worry about cooking. Glad you enjoyed the garden yesterday!

      Delete
  4. Like everyone else, I'm impressed by the photos of the tulips illuminated through the stained glass windows, Peter. Yesterday was sunny and warm in my area of southern California and I spent a good part of it in the garden - and I have the sunburn to prove it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hooray for playing in the garden! I'm hoping to get a few things planted today after work.

      Delete
  5. Happy Easter Peter! That photo of the tulips at the base of stained glass windows looks magical!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks guys. Hope you had a fun and productive day.

      Delete
  6. That's right, these are beautiful rhododendrons!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree even though I'm not the most enthusiastic rhododendron fan.

      Delete
  7. Happy Easter. The Rhododendrons are beautiful, it's a bit too hot to grow them where I live. Your tulip shots are wonderful.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There are some tropical rhododendron species that we can't grow here that you might have luck with. On the other hand, you can grow so many beautiful things besides rhododendrons that it might not be that rewarding to look for them.

      Delete
  8. Peter, Happy Easter! Thanks for the beautiful photos.
    We had our God-daughter and her partner over for dinner, and made long calls to family and friends. Lovely day here, and still cool on the right coast. It will be several weeks before we see the rhodys and azalea in bloom. Thanks for the reminder of what we are looking forward to.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sorry to hear that it's still on the chilly side over there. Sounds like you had a great time on the day. Summer will be here before we know it!

      Delete
  9. Happy Easter to you! We went to church with my husbands family and got to hear the newly installed pipe organ. I love stained glass windows and thank you for showing the light through the flowers!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. How wonderful to have a new pipe organ! Sounds like you had a fun time with family.

      Delete
  10. Loved the stained glass and flowers together. Though I am not religious, I am very fond of churches. This was the first Easter in forever that I did not enjoy some sort of ham, having given up meat eating back in Sept., Tempura veggies instead, which might have to become the new tradition. Happy renewal to you and yours.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Older churches fascinate me as well. The care and craftsmanship that went into them is amazing and the experience of standing inside such structures is a special one. No ham here either as I've not eaten meat (occasional lapses into fish) for about four years now.

      Delete
  11. It looks like you had beauty all around to celebrate this special day.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm very lucky to work where I do! There is a dedicated group of women who decorate beautifully throughout the year!

      Delete
  12. You picked up on the feature I like best about Rhody blooms: the way the buds are brilliant, then open into flowers that are much more delicate (most of the time, anyway). Happy Easter to you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mountain laurels do that too with their cute little button-like buds that are sometimes visible from space opening to more delicate flowers. Nature (and plant breeders) come up with some of the coolest things!

      Delete
  13. Happy Easter, the stained glass windows in your church are stunning and made even more so by the beautiful flowers that pick up all the colours.
    My job for Easter at our church is making the Easter garden with scenery, tomb, rocks, stones and gravel, so many people were busy preparing on the Saturday morning, making sure that everything would be right for the Easter vigil and Easter Day itself.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love the way the altar is stripped on Maundy Thursday, is totally bare on Good Friday, even the sanctuary lamp is extinguished and all is empty and shrouded in darkness until the Vigil, my favorite service of the year! I usually carry the Pascal Candle in and sing the Exsultet. What a joy to see all the work that has been done to make the church so beautiful for the occasion!

      Delete
  14. Beautiful rhodies, beautiful church, beautiful pictures!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks so much for taking the time to comment! I love to hear your thoughts.