Government House April 11, 2010

A few pictures from an afternoon walk around the grounds.

Group of three photos, clockwise from bottom left: small pinecones, white bleeding hearts, tulips.

More tulips.

And a peony! I love peonies - don't know exactly why. This is the first one I've seen this year.

Crows were splashing around, bathing in a small pond.

In the lower woodlands, camas were in bloom.

And here were more 'Easter lilies'.

But most surprising was to find deer. These grounds are not far from downtown.

At the duck pond at the front of the grounds was another surprise. This turtle was a fair size, maybe 10" long or so.

Beacon Hill Park April 9, 2010

On a walk in the park...

The Easter Lilies (white fawn lilies) were blooming.

One of the few remaining great blue herons in the park stood by a pond and caught a small fish while I was watching. Just a few years ago there was a colony of a few hundred herons with about 70 nests. That was before the bald eagles went on a rampage. As far as I know, the heronry has not been re-established.