[Withak]

We hit an unseasonably warm 90 degrees F today (32 C). We typically don't hit 90 until late June to early July. But it was a nice day to be outside. I'm off work for a few days this week, travelling not far from home for a class on Saturday. We made a stop today at the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival that runs in our area every April to early May. The weather this year made it very difficult to find a dry, yet available day to visit. So we made it today, and while the weather was very nice, the brilliant color of the tulips had already somewhat faded and many were no longer producing blooms Oh well, there were fun things to do and we did get to enjoy some nice colors. Normally I like to grab a lot of photos, and I did get some today, but some previous years the colors were more vibrant. So, I thought I'd share some photos I took from a previous year to help celebrate this lovely spring day in the Pacific Northwest (of the U.S.). I entered a few in the annual photo contest for this festival, but didn't even place

The Dutch may be the tulip specialists, but I think we do a decent job here too. Enjoy!

 

[Drew_Bilbrey]

Beautiful. I especially like the 6th, 8th, and last photos. The colors are just amazing.

 

[Obl1v1Aus]

Stunning photo's Withak. It's amazing how much beauty can be found in a humble tulip.

 

[Withak]

Beautiful. I especially like the 6th, 8th, and last photos. The colors are just amazing.

Thanks Drew! The colors on the day I got those photos were some of the best I've seen at the tulip festival. This year, they were a bit muted, but still beautiful.

Stunning photo's Withak. It's amazing how much beauty can be found in a humble tulip.

Thanks Obl1vi1Aus! Tulips are quite amazing. I just wish they would stick around a bit longer. Glad you enjoyed the photos.

 

[dolomite]

E, nice pics. I have the purple and the red with yellow in my garden as well as plain yellow. You're right, they aren't around long, most of mine are already gone.

 

[Gniaffron]

Nice photos, it's been a while since I last see some tulips. Thanks for sharing!

 

[VWscooby]

Have you ever heard of the tulip mania episode of the 1600s? It was the first case of an speculative economic bubble. Interesting and funny reading. Makes the current world issues make a little more sense.

Its easy to see why it happened though, they are lovely flowers. I'm with Drew_Bilbrey, 6, 8 and 10 are my favourites.

Great pictures

 

[WildBill]

I never did understand tulips. I see petals, not lips. Where are the pair? Are they a hidden part of their reproduction mechanism? If the flowers were French and not Dutch, would they have tongues as well? I dunno.

-Wild Bill

 

[AngelicScars]

The colors are gorgeous. I always love seeing your photos.

 

[Withak]

E, nice pics. I have the purple and the red with yellow in my garden as well as plain yellow. You're right, they aren't around long, most of mine are already gone.

It would be nice if they lasted longer. But, our massive wysteria is in bloom right now, so it makes up for the lack of color in the yard.

Nice photos, it's been a while since I last see some tulips. Thanks for sharing!

Glad you like them!

Have you ever heard of the tulip mania episode of the 1600s? It was the first case of an speculative economic bubble. Interesting and funny reading. Makes the current world issues make a little more sense.

Its easy to see why it happened though, they are lovely flowers. I'm with Drew_Bilbrey, 6, 8 and 10 are my favourites.

Great pictures

I've not heard of that Scooby - I'll have to do some digging an find that story, it does sound interesting. Glad you like the photos!

I never did understand tulips. I see petals, not lips. Where are the pair? Are they a hidden part of their reproduction mechanism? If the flowers were French and not Dutch, would they have tongues as well? I dunno.

-Wild Bill

That raises an interesting question Bill, so I decided to look up the etymology of the word. According to the internet, the modern word tulip comes from the French 'tulipe' via Turkish via the Persian 'dulband', which refers to the shape of the open flower resembling a turban. So in reality, they are hat flowers. But since the French did indeed have a hand in the naming, perhaps we can speculate they also had a tongue involved too

But your 'tulips' question does remind me of a joke I heard once. There was this.....you know what, never mind

The colors are gorgeous. I always love seeing your photos.

Thank you AS - I'm glad you enjoy them. Seems a waste to just let them site on some hard drive somewhere.