And today I would have been glad to go swimming with her. It was 99 here in Olympia today, and even though I know for a number of you it gets hotter where you live, that's pretty warm for western Washington. I'm not whining mind you. Our summer started off early this year and there's no sign of it letting up, so put on that speedo and dive on in. I'm sure this Harbor Seal is friendly enough.

This afternoon my wife and I decided to get out of the house, grab something cold to drink and take a few photos. We ended up downtown near Capitol Lake and Budd Inlet. While we were there we watched a seal playing in the water and doing a little fishing. Turning around and looking the other way, this flower box really caught our eye. It's surprising that anything is blooming as warm as it is right now. You can see the Legislative Building in the background.