Rhodies in June

Astoria, Oregon ~ June 13, 2011 

All of today's photos by J. Schu

On June 10, 2011, I photographed rhododendrons in front of the KMUN Radio Station house on 14th and Exchange. New in town, "J." happened to be walking around with his camera and coincidentally took these striking photos of the same building with its gorgeous floral dressing at almost the same time. He e-mailed me with the photos, and they have (unconscionably) sat in my "to be posted" file much longer than I'd like to admit. 

So, today let's all enjoy some color and remember one of the reasons we love the buckets of rain we're getting this week. Maybe December rains really do bring June flowers.

This last pic was taken on June 20, 2011.

Thank you, J., for the ray of sunshine, and I hope you are seeing this post despite my deplorable delay :-)

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Early Spring

Astoria, Oregon ~ February 15, 2012

Guest Photographer: Jessika Robinson

Today our guest photographer, Jessika, walked up 16th Street from the River Walk to Clatsop Community College. Along the way she found this gorgeous pink rhododendron that decided to open although it's only the middle of February.

Thanks, Jessika, for the lovely photo. Stay tuned for more!

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Red and "Blue"

Astoria, Oregon ~ June 13, 2011

Here's another shot of the purple (lavender?) rhododendron bush outside the post office. Yesterday's photo was the "art shot," today's photo shows the brilliant red flowers on the adjacent bush. I think the sceme is supposed to be vaguely red, white, and blue. The nearly-white rhodies at the other end of the building were falling apart as of yesterday, but here is my shot of them from last year. If I remember, the pink were still looking OK, but the white ones are about gone.

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Purple Rhodies at the Post Office

Astoria, Oregon ~ June 13, 2011

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KMUN Building with Rhodies

Astoria, Oregon ~ June 3, 2011

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Church Flowers

Astoria, Oregon ~ May 31, 2011

Rhododendrons are blooming everywhere, globe-shaped colorful bushes from small to huge to the size of trees. This rhododendron bush, not in full bloom yet, can be found in the garden behind the First Presbyterian Church and this building at the corner of 11th and Harrison.

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Gone with the Rain

May 26, 2010

I promised to show the big rhododendron bushes at the east front corner of the post office, and here they are before rain, wind, and time got the better of them.

They were beautiful, but they're basically gone now.

We'll have to remember the rhodies until next year. There are still a few left, and there are many other lovely flowers around town. However, I think the main flowering of the gorgeous local rhododendrons has finished for the year - and it's certainly been an amzaingly colorful and profuse year for them.

I'll keep my eyes open for more flower shots because they've been a lot of fun. But at least today we're expecting more rain.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Red, White, and Blue?

May 26, 2010

The violet rhodies at the southwest corner of the Astoria Post Office are almost in full bloom. As you can see, the red ones in front have about disappeared. I've been musing on the fact that the scheme at the post office seems to be vaguely red, white, and blue, with violet covering for blue. There are at least six or seven bushes around the front of the post office making up what looks at first glance like two huge bushes, and I'll show others in upcoming posts.

The shelter across the street at the corner of the courthouse is a memorial to (or display of) one of the area's lumbered old-growth trees. It's hard to photograph with the strong lights and darks, but I'll post it one of these days with good or bad photos. The corner is 7th and Commercial.

Here's a close-up of today's rhododendron flowers.

I took this photo four days ago when many of the blossoms were getting ready to open.

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Red, Red, Red, White and Blue

April 30, 2010

Back of the U.S. Post Office

The rhododendrons are opening up all over town. They grow wonderfully here, and can be seen along the downtown streets and in peoples' yards along with azaleas, which also flourish. There are a lot of things I'm noticing this year because I'm taking photos and writing about them. Other people knew that the azaleas come out first, and the rhodies follow soon after, and I'm learning about it this year.

This big rhododendron bush marks the rear corner of the post office with a matching bush on the other side. On the left by the steps is a red azalea plant. To the left, but out of the photo are dark pink and also white ones. The really big rhododendrons - practically trees - are at the front corners of the post office, and I can't wait to see what they look like when the buds finally open. I'll let you know! As I said yesterday, I'm posting a few days in advance, so if the bushes are already blooming when you read this, please be patient for a few more days!

By the way, I've been waiting for an excuse to show this corner on 7th Street, because I like the yellow grille in the side of the building.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.