Flirty or Coy

Almost every day on my way to work, I am graced with the view of one of Mother Nature's works of art, Mount Rainer. I say almost because sometimes Mount Rainer likes to play coy and goes into hiding.

I've lived in Washington most of my life, and have always been within view of Mount Rainier. I think it is a view that some take for granted.

Last year I was at a book signing for Kimberly Derting (author of the Body Finder Series and The Pledge) and she was talking about a conversation she had with someone in the publishing industry (her editor maybe) and she made a comment about Mount Rainer, and whether  or not it was "out". The person she had been talking to didn't quite understand that sometimes you could see the Mountain and sometimes you couldn't.

That got me to thinking more about Mount Rainier.  It's funny how I can see the mountain as I go to work in the morning, and by the time I go to lunch it's gone into hiding. I decided I wanted to somehow document the appearances (or lack thereof) and what better way then a pictorial. Oooh. How about a 365 days of Mount Rainier pictorial. I bought myself a camera right before Christmas and checked out what would be the best location to take the photo. And did I find a doozy. Right under a bridge, looking up the Duwamish River. In my mind it was perfect. I told my co-workers I was going to start January 1, 2012.

January 1st came and went. So did January 2nd. Mount Rainer never even entered my mind those two days.  Why? Because I didn't leave the house sillies. It was a holiday. Then yesterday on may way to work, there it was, right in front of me in all it's glory. At first I was all flummoxed because I had missed out on January 1st start date, but then came around to the realization that I could still do 365 days a photos, it doesn't really matter when I start, right? I hurried to the spot I had chosen to take the photos was sad to discover my view was blocked. Someone had docked a big barge on the river, right in front of my "perfect spot". I threw up my hands in frustration. Who was I kidding anyway. Was I really committing to taking a photo EVERY DAY? FOR A YEAR? Still wanting to document Mount Rainier's habit of hiding in plain site (but not every day) I changed up the plan to one day a week. Yes, that would be easier. I could commit to once a week. Then I thought I'd better make it a weekday too, as those are the days I guarantee I leave the house. So fingers crossed, I'd try again the next morning.

This morning I woke up to a beautiful sunrise. I just new Mount Rainier would be shining. I'd even found a solution to the big barge being in the way. Instead of taking the photo from under the bridge, I would take the photo from up ON the bridge. This way nothing blocked my view.

So each week, I'll take a photo from the same basic location and we'll see if Mount Rainier is playing coy or flirty. Today? Definitely flirty.