<p>So many old friends came out today, the sun, blue skies, Mt Rainier and an animal!</p>

<p>Since the <a href="/2009/01/19/mochi-mallets-yum/">mochi festival</a> I’ve been honing my <a href="http://animoto.com/">animoto</a> production skills. I like the service quite a bit though there are some improvements I’d love see – an API and a better image browser top the list.</p>

<p>When the storms hit after Christmas the <a href="http://www.bijac.org/index.php?p=EVENTSMochiTsuki">Mochi Tsuki Festival</a> at <a href="http://islandwood.org/">Islandwood</a>, courtesy the <a href="http://www.bijac.org/">Bainbridge Island Japanese American Community</a>, was one of the casualties – fortunately it was just postponed.</p>

<p>We’ve been doing most of our walking lately in The Grand Forest and wanted a change of pace but still close to home. Fortunately, the <a href="/2008/07/28/bloedel-reserve-summer-and-biddies/">Bloedel Reserve’s</a> appointments are easy to come by in the winter on late notice so off to the Reserve went we.</p>

<p>We’ve had some <a href="/2008/12/25/melt-limbs-bombs-away/">really</a> <a href="/2008/12/21/snow-ski-lake/">powerful</a> <a href="/2008/12/19/farms-walk-snow/">storms</a> blow through the area the last couple of months and they’ve wreaked havoc on my long-term wood supply. When the power goes out (and it does) we rely on a fireplace and wood-burning stove to keep warm so it’s important to have plenty of backup – plus, the wood is one wall of the dog run.</p>

<p>After weeks of snow, rain and colds we needed some outside time and turned to one of our favorite and frequent destinations, <a href="/2008/10/18/water-marsh-foulweather-bluff-preserve/">Foulweather Bluff Preserve</a>. We haven’t been there in winter nor in stormy weather so we weren’t sure what to expect.</p>

<p>I’m looking for help. I need some advice for taking photos of bright winter moons. Tonight’s moon, <a href="http://www.earthsky.org/article/waxing-gibbous">waxing gibbous</a>, presented the usual set of problems of being <strong>far</strong> brighter than the surrounding <em>and</em> we had fast moving clouds added to the mix meaning long exposures blurred any details.</p>

<p>In the <a href="/2009/01/06/tulips-lines-awards/">post</a> about the <a href="http://www.mountaineers.org/">Mountaineers’</a> photography show I referenced two photos I really enjoyed. Jason took both and is kind enough to let me post them.</p>

<p>Thanks to all the <a href="/2009/01/02/snowdown-saws-show/">well-wishing</a> I walked away pretty thrilled with the outcome of the Mountaineers’ photography show. Three of my photos took awards, including the <strong>Best in Show</strong>:</p>

<p>I haven’t been at the computer or behind the camera recently because I’ve spent the last two weekends clearing the mess left behind from the <a href="/2008/12/21/snow-ski-lake/">storm</a> of the <a href="/2008/12/25/melt-limbs-bombs-away/">century</a> – we had some serious snowdown.</p>