Skynnard's Lens Photography by Linda Aaron

Today is New Year’s Day 2012, I decided a quiet day of reflection was in order so I took a drive up Highway 20 East along the Skagit River.  This time of year begins the month long Skagit River Bald Eagle Festival.

This handsome fellow was perched high above the river in a moss covered tree. I spotted about six other eagles on my drive and I was told that there had been 14 feeding nearby earlier in the morning.  The total count for the week was 239 in the area between Marblemount and Concrete.

I would recommend if you are planning to view the eagles that you visit the Skagit River Bald Eagle Interpretive Center website.

Yesterday afternoon I walked outside to water the garden and the light was so inspiring I had to grab my macro lens and capture these Dr. Seuss-like creatures.  This particular perennial is named: Monarda didym.  More commonly called ‘Jacob Cline’.  I planted it specifically because it is a particular favorite of hummingbirds.  The summer show has not been disappointing, several times a day the hummingbirds can be found gorging on its nectar.

 

I have been adding perennial plants to this current garden for 6 years now and it is finally filling in very nicely. The thing that is so rewarding about perennials is that year after year the get larger and provide even more blooms.  Since April, the garden has been a steady stream of amazing bloom of one sort or another, just when I think everything has bloomed, something else opens to show its beauty.

Meet my Crocosmia. The are just about ready to make an appearance.

 

Couldn’t resist snagging this image of an abandoned Big Yellow Bus.  Almost completely consumed by blackberry brambles. Don’t you just wonder what the story is? I loved all the texture and minimal color.

I had the pleasure of attending my first SM301 conference on June 3, 2011. This event was hosted by Mike Whitmore and Jeff Dance from Fresh Consulting.  This was the third social media event this team has put together and I must say that I was extremely impressed with the caliber of speakers and content provided. The attendees were very savvy social media peeps and it was apparent that most had been connected and using social media for some time as evidence by the fact that nearly all attendees were tweeting the whole event as it happened.

Many of the presenters shared their personal stories about the way in which social media has changed and enriched their lives. There were stories about job changes, marriages, business connections and new and rewarding friendships. There were also some very high quality presentations.

The morning began with Brian Solis from Altimeter Group as the keynote speaker which is the main reason I wanted to attend this conference. I would have been content to leave after his presentation, but I am really glad I didn’t because I would have missed many other insightful presentations.

What was interesting to me is there seems to be a journey and an evolution that happens with social media. The concepts have been changing and evolving as social media matures and as people jump in (and on the bandwagon) and figure out what works and what doesn’t work. The common misconception is that social media is a big marketing platform. Sorry to tell you that is not what it is all about. Can business happen as a result of connections made through social media? You bet it happens every day.

What I have learned is social media is all about connecting with people. It doesn’t really matter what platform you use Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Digg etc. these are simply the tools that you use to communicate. What is important is actually talking with people and sharing ideas, lending a hand, and making a difference.

How does all this fit in with my attending the U2 concert?  

Michael Lee @yoyoManMichael on Twitter attended the conference and he had an idea. Since Michael teaches about working with the various generations and he had 4 tickets to U2, he decided it would be fun to find 3 other people to go with him to represent the 4 generations. When the announcement was made that they were looking for someone of a certain age to join the group, of course my hand went up and I practically jumped out of my chair. My pals Greg Meyer and Chad Hallberg wanted to help my cause so they immediately tweeted to @yoyoManMichael to pick @skynnard (that’s me on Twitter) which was immediately re-tweeted by three other people at the conference whom I didn’t really know and as a result, I was gifted a ticket to see U2 in concert with some very fun peeps.

Two other people really wanted to go and after hearing their stories, Michael decided the more the merrier and immediately went online and secured two more tickets so they could join the group. Remember none of us knew each other before the day of the event but we now have an off-line shared U2 experience and a shared memory.

Thank you Michael for your generosity and thank you too Mike Whitmore, Emily Bratkovich, Miriam Kelly and Todd Martini for sharing the extraordinary U2 experience.

 

I love my garden this time of year. All of the perennial plants are emerging from hibernation and growing to fill in the emptiness of the winter garden. This will be the 6th year that this particular garden has been maturing and is now just coming into its own.

On your way to Stout Grove you will encounter the Smith River running along side the Jedidiah Smith Redwood Forest.   When you can see the river the first thing you will notice is the amazing jewel blue-green color (yes this is really the color) of the river, twisting and turning through rocky canyons and swift rapids.

I would highly recommend seeing this area if you have the opportunity.