The last time I used red for the color challenge was in July. This time I thought I would share red for February because I always associate the various shades of red with Valentines Day.

Filtered Fun

“I always liked red. It’s a picker-upper.” ~ Nancy Regan

Let’s start with a hodgepodge of fun filters I added to these images.

Spring Delta Sky
Stormy Delta sky
Fire truck
Firetruck in the Forest
downtown Spokane WA
Snowy downtown Spokane
Ruby Red Petunia View
Ruby Red Petunia View of Backyard
Painnted San Diego Harbor
San Diego Harbor Sunset

Red is Not Just for Roses

“Love and a red rose can’t be hid.” ~ Thomas Holcroft

Saucer-sized American Beauties
Saucer-sized American Beauties from my former Sacramento garden

Red roses are the hallmark of romance. Did you know…? It is estimated that more than 250 million roses are produced for Valentine’s Day.

layers of droplets on layers of rose petals
Delicate Drops and Spikes
American Beauty Rose
Drops on tops of rosebud
More American Beauties from my former garden.

Here are a few red flowers to also appreciate.

Deck Garden
Shy red daisy
Rosy Quince blossom
Rosy Quince
Red petunias
Petunias
Red sunflower
Red sunflower from Sacramento
Red Dahlia
Dahlia

Birds of a Red (ish) Feather

Let’s not forget about our feathered friends who rely on extra food in the cold winter months. February 3rd was designated as “Feed the Birds Day” according to some sources. My upcoming photo challenge “Feed the Birds” is on February 26 when we can really celebrate feeding our feathered friends. For now, please enjoy my newcomers to the backyard.

Our neighbor’s backyard (all five acres of it) is filled with Ponderosa pine trees that shelter a variety of wildlife including Northern Flickers who nest here all year. Their hunger drives them to our property, too. They love the black oil sunflower seeds I scatter on the snow around our property. More about these beauties in a couple of weeks.

Northern Flicker
Northern Flicker

We also see a lot of dark-eyed juncos and recently more of these beauties! This is a female purple finch (according to Google Lens).

Redheaded purple finch
Redheaded purple finch

Tanka Tuesday Inspiration Collaboration

Painnted Rose

The color challenge worked out this week to also share the image I donated to Colleen’s Tanka Tuesday. I get such a kick out of reading the poetry for Tanka Tuesday. I had to share Robbie Cheadle’s haikus!

The flush rose higher
Changing from pink to crimson
Emotions laid bare

Vivacious in red
Crimson rose among daisies
Her temper, thorny

By Robbie Cheadle

I’m Contributing to These Inspiring Photo Challenges

How To Participate in Sunday Stills Photo Challenge

The Sunday Stills weekly-themed photo challenge is easy to join. You have all week to share and link your post.

If you have already linked to another challenge celebrating RED, please feel free to add your link to this challenge–double-dipping is always encouraged!

  • Remember to title your blog post a little differently than mine.
  • Please create a new post for the theme or link a recent one.
  • Entries for this theme can be posted all week.
  • Tag your post “Sunday Stills.”
  • Don’t forget to create a pingback to this post so that other participants can read your post.
  • I also recommend adding your post’s URL to the comments.

This Week’s Featured Bloggers

Sunday Stills is a wonderful community of bloggers and photographers who desire to connect with one another. Below are this week’s links from bloggers who shared their RED photos. I add these all week as new links are posted. (I will add your links to the round-up on Monday…we will be watching the Super Bowl commercials and eating this afternoon with family).

love graphic

Are you feeling the LOVE for Valentine’s Day February 14th?

I can’t wait to see how you interpret the color RED this week! Join me next week as we explore…all things sweet!

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© 2022-2031 Copyright — secondwindleisure.com — All Rights Reserved

Published by Terri Webster Schrandt

Mostly retired, I am a part-time reporter/photographer for a local monthly newspaper. I'm former university adjunct faculty, self-published author, and retired recreation and parks practitioner living in Eastern Washington State near the Idaho border. Second Wind Leisure Perspectives is my blog about living a leisure lifestyle that includes fitness, photography, and fun.

126 thoughts on “Sunday Stills Monthly Color Challenge: Are You Ready for #RED?”

  1. I had no idea about 250 million roses for Valentine’s Day. That is amazing Terri! My mom’s birthday was on Valentine’s Day. I used to buy her a red Anthurium plant every year for her birthday because of its unique heart-shaped blooms. I like what you did with the filters in these pictures. The rose photos with the droplets are just exquisite. I saw my first Flicker last year after hearing them for years and describing their song to someone as sounding like a “jungle call of some type”. We have a lot of Dark-eyed Juncos the last two years. I will have some pics of them in tomorrow’s post.

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    1. Yes, the flickers have that jungle sound. I only discovered that was their call recently. Suddenly, I have not seen any birds this week. Hope I have enough in my latest round to share for next Sunday. I’m glad you liked the rose drops, not bad for a cell phone. Anthuriums are beautiful, what a nice gift.

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      1. I kept hearing the flickers’ call and described it to a fellow blogger and was happy when I finally had an answer. The Red-winged Blackbirds were back today at the park where I walk daily. It felt like Spring, but we have ice storms coming in over two days – ugh. It can’t be the birds are too well fed this time of year, but maybe people are rallying for their well-being in February, the most-brutal month of Winter and putting out extra seeds or suet. You do well with the celphone Terri.

        Liked by 1 person

  3. When I think of red, I think of something completely different, Terri. But first, your photos of the birds are lovely. So different to the garden birds we get here in the UK.

    Did you get any red roses for Valentine’s day? I hope so, although I prefer chocolates to flowers.

    Well, I did say I think of something completely different whenever I hear the word red, so here we go –

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    1. Thanks, Hugh! I’m still a rookie when it comes to identifying birds, especially these new-to-me varieties. I’m happy to see any birds this time of year. No roses for me, but we celebrated “taco Tuesday” at a local brewpub for Valentines Day. Hans is lucky they both fell on the same day. $1.50 street tacos 🌮 😋
      Love that frosty image, so perfect for a winter that is still hanging around!

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      1. It sounds like Valentine’s day was a blast, Terri.

        Red always means Christmas for me. That photo I added is one of my Christmas decorations from last Christmas. I love the red nose, although always thought it should be orange rather than red.

        Liked by 1 person

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  13. I so agree with Nancy Terri, red is definitely a picker upper! Those filters look fun and Colleen’s tank suits the photos perfectly! Thanks for having us and Happy Valentine’s Day to you 🙂

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  25. I love these Terri…Now I wish I had hunted through my pictures for one of a red winged blackbird which I know I have. I don’t see very many interesting birds in my yard. Always the same ones. The filters you used were fun. I need to play with those a little more, but I always seem to be doing everything last minute and don’t get around to it.
    https://troyerslovinglife.blogspot.com/2023/02/taking-in-life-around_13.html

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    1. Thank you, Janis! That rose bush produced huge roses 🌹, then our dogs tried to destroy the bush which was in our backyard there in Sacramento. We eventually moved the bush to the front uard where it did ok but maybe had too much shade. At least it produced what you see in the photos.

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  34. Love these Terri, I didn’t have any luck finding red but should have thought outside the box and used filters!
    The poem is brilliant too, could also describe a menopausal woman 🤣

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  35. I managed not to put my comment in the “subscribe” box today so that’s a win already. (All-red-y?) 🙂 I love red and I really like your filters, the flowers, and everything else. Is that comprehensive enough? 🙂 Have a wonderful week, Terri, and it sounds as though we’ll get to see you again in April. Hurrah!

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  36. I have that same metal heart decoration hanging over a mirror in our den. Wish I had the same beautiful birds in my back yard or the yard’s of my neighbors. Our birds are quite boring and muted in color. My sister took a photo of some red birds in her Tennesse backyard this weekend. So jealous.

    Love the San Diego harbor sunset.

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  37. Hi, Terri,
    I love red (and redheads), but I don’t wear it much. I have a red truck that I love- the first red vehicle I’ve ever owned. I love your Stormy Delta Sky picture and thought I would share a sunset photo I took Friday night in Iowa, Louisiana. Happy Valentine’s Day! Joe

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    1. Thank you so much, Sue! I think as we age, we feel more confident about wearing bright colors. I bet red looks great on you! I still have a lot of red in my hair, so if I wear red it tends to be in the burgundy family of Reds. Happy Valentines Day to you and your hubby!

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  41. Red is such a toasty warm colour, Terri, and your roses are perfect for Valentine’s Day. Will you be cooking himself his favourite meal? Or maybe he’ll cook it for you. Enjoy the Superbowl! My son is usually bleary eyed at work the following day.

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    1. Thank you, Jo, it’s a lovely color to photograph! We haven’t done much for Valentines Day in the past, but it is Taco Tuesday so I have a feeling the local eatery will be popular with their street tacos. Years ago when I was single, I layed on the couch to watch the game and only woke up for the commercials 🤣

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  42. What a stunning post, Terri. I love all of your roses. They are one of the most beautiful flowers… I think that’s why they have thorns—to remind us that beauty comes at a price. Your photos are a hit for the poetry challenge. I’m so glad you’re there. 🌹❤️🌹

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    1. Thank you so much, Colleen! The color challenges seem very popular, and red is such a great color to photograph. The only thing red in our backyard now with all the snow, is Brodie’s red ball, LOL! I do miss my roses. I’m already thinking of something green for March 🙂

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      1. LOL! You’re getting all winter weather. Here in Michigan, it’s 51 degrees outside and sunny! My neighborhood is full of kids and everyone is outside having fun! I agree. Everyone is loving your photos. I have nothing red either… I need to plant some red flowers this summer. Thanks so much, Terri. We’re all enjoying your photo’s and the inspiration they give. 🌹

        Liked by 1 person

  45. Beautiful roses! Makes me want to nose in and sniff. I remember growing up and being disappointed once I realized that not all roses had that lovely scent. I grew a variety anyways just to enjoy the cut blooms in the house was plenty of enjoyment for me. Great bird shots too and I look forward to reading more about them in the coming weeks.

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  53. Red is of course the perfect color for February Terri! Loved your droplet-covered roses and your birds. How on earth do you get such clear images of such small, fast-moving creatures?! Since my Chinese images feature some of their favorite reds, I’m linking to your post this week. Happy Valentine’s day a bit early to you and yours! https://travelsandtrifles.wordpress.com/2023/02/11/lens-artists-challenge-236-east-meets-west/

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    1. Yes, I added your link already, Tina! Thank you! I got lucky and had some patience capturing those birds. Perhaps they were so well fed from gobbling those seeds they took a break? Happy Valentine’s day to you’all too!

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  59. I love all the vivid reds you shared. I could almost smell the roses through the screen. Your house finch looks like mine this week. I think it’s the male more so than the female though, at least from the ones we see here, the females don’t have any red on them. I love the Northern Flickers, we see them more as spring arrives and the ants start moving. The red heart on their back is so beautiful. Here I am…talking all birds when the post is about the beautiful colors of red! LOL!

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    1. Thank you, Shelley! You can talk about birds all you want! I saw some more brightly colored red finches but they wouldn’t sit still long enough for a decent pic! The nerve. Glad you liked all the the reds, I am always surprised at how many I find in the archives and media library.

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  62. Given the approaching holiday, you’ve chosen red at the right time. Depending on the shades, red can be vibrant or subtle. There is something about red in the winter. Seeing a cardinal against the white background of snow is a gorgeous sight that gets to me. Most of of are touched by a red rose and the passion of Tango (which I associate with red). I could go on, but I will yield to my Beach Walk Reflection essay. I invite your readers to stop by.

    https://beachwalkreflections.wordpress.com/2021/11/06/90-red/

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    1. Thank you Frank! I give these color themes a good think and try to match the colors with what the month has in store. I WISH we had cardinals in our area, but I’ll take the hints of red from our birds instead! Thanks for sharing your link!

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  64. Wow, I love your filters! The San Diego Harbor is fabulous and of course, your Tanka Tuesday photo. Robbie’s poem is cute, too. I used Willow Dot’s poem about your rose in my post. I should have copied the rose, too. LOL How did you do the hearts? Was that one of your photos, too. If so, fab! And what a colorful bird for a Northern state! Lots to love in this post Terri!

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    1. Thank you, Marsha! You are up early, LOL! I love using Painnt filters but I don’t want to overwhelm. I bought a Valentine’s wall décor made of various metals and took the pic and “Painnted” it. I could not believe the great pics I caught of the birds last week. We get those northern flickers–dozens of them–their wings are red underneath. The little finch was a bonus.

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