Two visits to the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival (One too early and one almost too late!)

Two Wednesdays ago Elisabeth and I drove to Mount Vernon in hopes of finding the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival in full bloom. Like this (courtesy of Seattle Pipeline):

We were fairly disappointed to find that pretty much only daffodils were blooming then.  But how beautiful they were!

(I swear, Grace poses for photos!)

At Rosengaard Gardens, the tulips were wanting to bloom, but most of them looked something like this:

Some tulips had just begun to bloom, but it was obvious that their full splendor was yet to come.

Today, in spite of another dismal weather forecast, we attempted the tulip festival again, knowing it was our last chance for the year, since the festival ends on April 30th. 

Ahhhh… SO MUCH better!

Since this is the last week of the festival, there was a lot of tulip-top-off-lopping going on!  It seems such a shame to see these guys lopping off those tulip tops…

- but apparently that’s important for next year’s growth.  So don’t cry about these poor lopped tulips, sad as they look.

Here’s something to make you happy: children, animals, and (un-lopped) tulips!  (Yes, I like the word “lop.”  Say it twenty times in a row and I promise you will too!)

Of course, like everyone there, we had to attempt a few tulip-enhanced portraits, just for fun!

So finally, after more than twenty years in the Pacific Northwest, we finally made it to the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival. 

Twice!