Cherry blossom
Terri Webster Schrandt

Sunday Stills Monthly Color Challenge: Pastoral #Pastels

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.

Empty Pink Swing

“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

Sunset over Desert
Sunset over Baja Desert
Dawn in the Desert
Pastel Desert Skies
San Diego Harbor Sunset
Sunset San Diego Harbor

Shades of pastel pink skies from my front porch in Nine Mile Falls.

pinks stormy skies
Pink skies create amethyst snow
Pink Dawn

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

bumblebee on sweetpea
Bumblebee on Sweetpea
Bee on Lavender
Honeybee on lavender
Local Lilacs
Lilacs!
Purple Pastel Azalea
Pastel Azalea

Pastels are often associated with calming and peaceful vibes and can be found in any environment.

Fallen Magnolia Blossoms
Fallen Magnolia Blossoms
Garden variety dandelion
Garden variety dandelion
Cherry blossom
Pastel Pink Cherry blossom
pastoral setting Sutter Creek
Pastoral setting Sutter Creek, California

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.

Dogs on Ocean Beach San Diego
Pastel Dogs at Ocean Beach

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

People eating lunch
Blogger Get-Together in Scottsdale, Arizona

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.

Muscovy/Mallard hybrid
Muscovy/Mallard hybrid

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.

Tagged Bald Eagle
Tagged Bald Eagle

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.

Bryce Canyon Hoodoos
Bryce Canyon Hoodoos in caramel latte flavorings

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
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

Tao Talk
Easter Lily

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.

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.

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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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140 comments

    • Thank you, Stevie! I was surprised to see the eagle, and I also wonder if the Riparian Center houses her due to a previous injury. Bryce Canyon is a small national park and one can easily drive to each lookout point and gawk at the amazing hoodoos in a 2-3 hours and kind of be done!

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  16. Spring always makes me think of pastel colors, Terri. Beautiful flowers and skies. And how fun to follow along with your road trip. You visited some gorgeous places and wonderful friends. Thanks for sharing the beautiful poem too. Hugs.

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  17. Terri,
    San Diego and Bryce Canyon are two destinations that make me smile, as I love them both. You did a fabulous job of capturing them, as well as the gallery of pastel colors. Can’t wait to read more about your trip. We’re well into spring in Tennessee, and the Dogwoods have really put on a show. Here is a pink one that stands beside our home. Have a great week!

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    • Bryce Canyon was breathtaking, Joe. Most of the trails and roads were closed but the overlooks were fine. The trick with a NP on a busy Easter weekend is to get there early and lead the pack, which we did. Your dogwood looks glorious! Our poor dogwoods and trees barely have buds yet!

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  20. Wow! What beautiful photos, Terri. It sounds like your trip to San Diego was filled with good friends, and lots of fun with your daughter’s wedding. I’m going to add my anniversary post to this prompt because I shared photos of the pear trees that lines our street in our subdivision. In a few more days, these blossoms will be amazing! https://colleenmchesebro.com/2023/04/16/happy-anniversary/. Thanks again for your photographic inspiration each month. 💜

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    • Thank you, Kirstin! We could have spent a month in Utah alone. I was also so close to Antelope canyon but we just couldn’t take an extra day. Next time, right? There was a surprising amount of snow in the mountains almost everywhere, but it made for some incredible shots in Bryce Canyon!

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    • It was fun and fantastic in many ways…lots of milestones (wedding, first time visits, etc). So glad to see you. We want to spent more time there, I know Hans would love to hang out with Al. We will work on doing a winter trip that doesn’t involve too much driving!

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  31. Lovely post Terri, so happy all went smoothly and the weather was cooperative. Most importantly, so glad the wedding was wonderful. Loved your images – so surprised at the size of that tracker on the eagle! Kind of made me sad – hope it doesn’t bother her. Hope spring was there to greet you when you got back home!

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  36. Wow, you have a ton of comments. It took a while to get here. I had to stop by Ingrid’s post on the way down. I’ll need to go back and catch some others as well. My post on Wednesday this week will have plenty of pastels. Gardens are perfect for pastels. I love your Sutter Creek setting. It’s pristine! Your pretty purples were buzzing with passion. The delightful dandelion dazzled! Your pastel skies – compelling! 🙂 xxx

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  45. You can’t get cross at a pastel, can you, Terri? And this is a gorgeous collection. Thanks so much for including me. Sounds like a heavy month for you. Time to put your feet up a bit? Enjoy whatever comes!

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  47. Beautiful pastel photos! I love the scene in Sutter’s Creek…so serene. We have had some crazy weather in SoCal, so I’m glad you got to enjoy some of it. We just took our daughter’s dog to another popular dog beach just slightly north of the one you checked out; it’s just up the road at Del Mar (as I’m sure you’ll be back to visit again).
    Here’s mine for this week (I think I linked to the right week this time! LOL): https://peacefulatdawn.com/2023/04/17/sunday-stills-pastel-flowers/

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    • Thank you, Dawn! I’m surprised at how much pastel color exists in our world. Yes, SoCal was crazy but the day of my daughter’s wedding couldn’t have been more perfect. Good to see SoCAl so green and lush–it needed the rain! My dog Brodie loved the beach and tried to swim in the channel–nope!

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      • It is definitely a good time for weddings here. Glad your daughter’s went well. The channel was flowing way too strong at Del Mar too…we try to go at low tide but it was still deep and hubby fell in a deep pool of water that he though was shallow.

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  48. What a fabulous road trip! And I love the muted hues of blues and purples and pinks. Also, I thought Marsha had moved to northern Arizona, for some reason I thought I read Prescott. ❤

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  51. Hi Terri, I loved this tour across some of the states you visited and the colours are certainly beautiful in the various pastel hues. The blogger meet up looks like a hoot and it’s so good to be able to get everyone together like that. of course the highlight was your daughter’s wedding and I can imagine your happiness 🙂 That eagle is very impressive, well done on the capturing of it so well. The tag sounds interesting, I’m assuming they can track its movements. Thanks for another lovely #SundayStills colour, although I only stuck with white for my post.

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  53. So pleased that you packed in a meeting with some other bloggers, Terri. I bet you guys had plenty to talk about.

    Shame about some of the unseasonal weather, but at least you managed to get away and enjoy your vacation. If the time went quickly, it’s a sign that you were enjoying yourself.

    Bryce Canyon looks like a fantastic place. It almost looks like somewhere alien but with a lot of beauty.

    Those ducks look like they’re having fun, and that water looks refreshing.

    Welcome back, and see you tomorrow for Wordless Wednesday.

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    • Thanks, Hugh. Throughout all those week, I only took the week of Easter Sunday off for posting, but I kept up quite well with reading and pingbacks. The Jetpack app really was quite helpful! It was quite the adventure and I have so many new images and new perspectives to share. Besides the wedding, Bryce canyon was spectacular especially with snow on those rocks. Seeing my blogger pals in person was high on that list, too. Have I got a lot of images to go through!

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      • It’s good to hear you’re finding the Jetpack App helpful and useful, Terri. I don’t know why more bloggers do not switch to it. As you said, it’s much better and makes blogging easier.

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  61. Well Terri, now I got to see YOUR hoodoos and they had a touch of snow. I will look forward to seeing photos from your trip. There are a lot of beautiful pastel images here – the ducks sure were unique. How exciting to meet up with that many bloggers at one time. I looked to see what Wayne thought about your eagle and her tag – interesting how they tagged her like that. Hope you can find more info on her. I saw a Mute Swan pen in March 2022 with a sleeve-type neck tag at Council Point Park. We don’t get swans very often. I took pics, then later researched a bit and found stats on her and submitted the pics to the DNR as they were tracking her. About a month ago I got a comment from a scientist who must’ve Googled “Mute Swan M011” and saw my two posts. He asked me to help persuade authorities to remove the neck band as it was choking her. I thought it appeared she was choking until she bent down to drink and the band easily slid up/down her long neck. Thank you again for including a link to my post this week.

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