Welcome to another Sunday Stills Monthly color challenge. With Easter behind us and spring underway, April seems like a good time to see pastel colors in nature and beyond, with elements of white thrown in for good measure.
Some common pastel colors include pink, light blue, mint green, pale yellow, peach, periwinkle, and lavender.
Pastel colors are less saturated, also known as tints. When mixed with white, bright colors can then be described as soft, muted, pale or light.
“Anything is possible with sunshine and a little pink.” ~ Lilly Pulitzer
Pastoral Pastel Galleries
“The evening sky was awash with peach, apricot, cream: tender little ice-cream clouds in a wide orange sky.” – Philip Pullman
Shades of pastel pink skies from my front porch in Nine Mile Falls.
As winter has finally eased its frosty grip on the northern hemisphere, spring flowers in their many pastel shades bring about feelings of hope and new beginnings. Since spring got a slow start in my part of the world, please enjoy some pastel archive images in these galleries.
“The hills were soon splashed with wildflowers…and the air became scented with…jasmine, honeysuckle and lavender.” ― Dalai Lama XIV
Pastels are often associated with calming and peaceful vibes and can be found in any environment.
In Need of Tour Guides on Road Trips
“Life is a tour; we are all tourists.” ~ Dr. P.S. Jagadeesh Kumar
Recently back from our three-week road trip, I will share various images and stories related to our 7-state tour over the next few posts. Eager to get to San Diego for my daughter’s wedding, we stayed for two overnights in Ontario, Oregon, and Beaver, Utah. At the outset of our trip, most images were of snow-covered peaks in Hells Canyon, Idaho, and Salt Lake City, Utah from the road. More about this part in a later post.
On our last full day in San Diego, we went to Ocean Beach to enjoy the “warm” weather (cold and windy!). There is a large, designated area for dogs (aka Dog Beach). The morning sky was aglow creating a misty backdrop that illuminated the sand and these cavorting pastel dogs.
Arizona Dreamin’
We left slightly sunny San Diego for a much warmer Arizona. We spent three days in Scottsdale, Arizona. We were happy guests of Marsha and Vince Ingrao who hosted us at their wonderful condo in Scottsdale.
When we arrived Tuesday afternoon after a 6-hour drive from San Diego to Scottsdale, Marsha was a fabulous tour guide and drove me the few blocks to a nail salon and grocery store.
Wednesday was our blogger meet-up at Snooze (a restaurant) in Scottsdale. You may recognize from left to right, Marsha of Always Write, Jodie Filogomo (Jodie’s Touch of Style), me & my hubby, Hans. On the right in back is Vince, Marsha’s husband, Janet from This, That, and the Other Thing, Nancy from Two Trails One Road, and Ingrid from Live, Laugh, RV
Not pictured is Rob Filogomo who graciously took the group picture! And yes, most of us are wearing something pastel.
Later that day, Marsha and Vince, along with my stepdaughter and her husband, met my brother and his partner for dinner at their place in nearby Fountain Hills. Interesting fact—each one of these families moved from Central or Southern California during the pandemic in 2020. Gathering in the Phoenix, Arizona area more frequently is a must-do for us!
The next day, my stepdaughter took us to the Gilbert Riparian Preserve to walk through and visit the huge variety of birds, including this image of the pastel ducks swimming in one of the ponds.
Surprised at the mottled, pastel colors of these ducks, I learned that domestic Muscovy ducks and Mallards crossbreed to create these interesting colors.
I have to show off this majestic bald eagle who was sunning herself on the eagle perch. You may notice the tag in the middle of her back.
I’m guessing she is female—she was quite large (what do you think, Wayne?). She is young, probably 2-3 years old as evidenced by the mottled brown colorings still found on her head and tail feathers. Her white feathers, light yellow eyes, and yellow beak fit in with the pastel theme, right? More about the Riparian Preserve and its residents in a later post.
Even the Rocks Cry Out in Pastel
After the fun, friends, and family in Phoenix, we traveled to southwest Utah to Bryce Canyon National Park, home of the unusual rock formations known as hoodoos. I discovered many pastel varieties of rocks nestled in with the more traditional colors of the rust, coral, and rose rocks typically seen here. Hoodoo formations can be found all over the world, but Bryce Canyon has the largest collection of them in the world.
And yes, there was a lot of snow in the area, so much so that all hiking trails and parts of the main roads were closed. More images from Bryce Canyon and Arizona’s Horseshoe Bend next week just in time for Earth Day.
A Pastel Easter Lily for Colleen’s Tanka Tuesday Challenge
Each month I have been collaborating with Colleen’s Tanka Tuesday Poetry Challenge to provide an inspirational photo for the prompt. I had to share the filtered image of the Easter Lily given to me in 2020 by our Pastor when the churches were closed in the early days of the pandemic. The pastor and his wife were out delivering lilies bought by members of the congregation and dropped one by our home in Sacramento. It was a joy to see them in person (socially distanced, of course, LOL). I wrote about it in this post “Sunday Stills: Lifted Spirits.”
Each month as I read these wonderful poems inspired by images I’ve shared, I like to feature my favorite. This triolet form featured below really captured the emotions I felt three years ago.
fragrant triggers sing their healing
curve and nuance, hint of meaning
Tao Talk
lilies recall textured mem’ries
treasures sprout from fearless gleaning
curves and nuance, hints of meaning
lost and found, their voices keening
listened to release energies
curves and nuance, hints of meaning
lilies recall textured mem’ries
Inspiring Photo Challenges This Week
Each week I find inspiration from my fellow bloggers’ photo challenges. I enjoy the challenge of incorporating these into my Sunday Stills weekly themes.
- Cee’s Flower of the Day
- Dawn’s Spring Festival
- Hammad’s Weekend Sky
- Johnbo’s CellPic Sunday
- Jo’s Monday Walk
- Lens-Artists: Environments
- Marsha’s Wednesday Quotes: Be a Tour Guide
Sunday Stills Photo Challenge Reminders
The Sunday Stills weekly-themed photo challenge is easy to join. You have all week to share and link your post.
- Remember to title your blog post a little differently than mine.
- Tag your post “Sunday Stills.”
- Please create a new post for the theme or link a recent one.
- Entries for this theme can be posted all week.
- 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 pastel photos. I add these all week as new links are posted.
- YOUR PASTEL-INSPIRED POSTS SHARED HERE!
- Always Write
- Between the Lines
- Boz Bozeman
- Brashley Photography
- Cats and Trails and Garden Tales
- Cee’s Photo Challenges
- Colleen M. Chesebro
- The Day After
- Deb’s World
- Denzil Nature
- NEW Following My Muse
- Graham’s Island
- Hugh’s Views and News
- Jo’s Monday Walk
- Kamerapromendar
- LadyLee Manila
- Live Laugh RV
- Loving Life
- Natalie the Explorer
- Now At Home
- Once Upon a Time
- Peaceful at Dawn
- Priorhouse
- Quaint Revival
- Robbie’s Inspiration
- Stevie Turner
- Travels and Trifles
- Walkin’ Writin’ Wit and Whimsy
- Woolly Muses
- Working on Exploring
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I can’t wait to see how you interpret the colors of pastels and white this week! Join me next week as we explore Earth Day where I share views of Bryce Canyon and Horseshoe Bend. Have a great week!
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