This month, BLUE is July’s featured color for the challenge.
Out of a Clear, Blue Sky…
“The sky, the sky beyond the door is blue.” – Ryan Stiles

In the US last week, many of us likely enjoyed fireworks and pyrotechnic displays. I don’t mind seeing fireworks, but when the illegal ones go off a few steps from our backyard, I get nervous. I admit it was nice to sit in our backyard and watch the fireworks all around us. The admission was free and the parking was amazing 😉
My dog Brodie always gets the blues when the noisy booms begin, usually a few days ahead of the 4th. I dose him with Vet-approved antihistamine, which makes him drowsy.

We recently enjoyed the summer solstice (June 21). I never get tired of seeing light in the sky at 10:30pm as shown below.

Some more blue sky shots…simplicity in blue.


Splish Splash, Blue Bird Bath
“The bluebird carries the sky on his back.” ~ Henry David Thoreau
When we set up the new bird bath in our backyard, we had no idea how much fun it would be to watch the birds enjoy the simple pleasures of taking a bath.
This mated Western Bluebird pair visits every. single. day.




Moving from the sky, to the bird bath, and into the ocean, here are some very blue surf images from our visit to Hilo, on the Big Island of Hawaii in Winter 2018.
Blue Hawaii
“Surfing’s a more profound kind of sport than it looks. When you surf, you learn not to fight the power of nature, even if it gets violent.” — Haruki Murakami “Let the ocean worry about being blue.”




Each month I share an image for Colleen’s Tanka Tuesday Poetry Challenge. I chose this filtered version of a perfect July day at the beach, complete with a lifeguard station and beach patrol vehicle.

“We are a blue planet and an ocean world.” – Nainoa Thompson
40 Blue Flowers
That’s the estimated amount of flowers that are truly blue. Here are a few from my garden and beyond.



“Blue thou art, intensely blue; Flower, whence came to thy dazzling hue?” – James Montgomery
Inspiring Photo Challenges This Week
Each week I find inspiration from my fellow bloggers’ photo challenges. I enjoy 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.
- 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, poets, and photographers who desire to connect with one another. Below are this week’s links from bloggers who shared their blue-inspired photos this week. I add these as new links are posted. *NOTE: This may be the last week I share links within the post. WordPress has recently changed the way we add links to our posts. As usual, your links appear in the comments section for those who wish to visit others. I appreciate your feedback on this.
- YOUR BLOG’S NAME GOES HERE…
- Always Write
- Beachwalk Reflections
- Between the Lines
- Cats and Trails and Garden Tales
- Cee’s Photo Challenges
- The Day After
- Easin’ Along Image shared in comments
- Equipoise Life
- Flights of the Soul
- Geriatrix Fotogallery
- Graham’s Island
- Blog of Hammad Rais
- Hugh’s Views and News Image shared in comments
- Kamerapromenader
- Light Words
- Lisa’s Everyday Life
- Live Laugh RV
- Loving Life
- NEW Mythrider
- Natalie the Explorer
- Now at Home
- Philosophy through Photography
- Photos By Jez
- Quaint Revival
- Stevie Turner
- This is Another Story
- Travels and Trifles
- Travels with Ali
- Whippet Wisdom
- Woolly Muses
- Working On Exploring
I can’t wait to see how you interpret the various shades of BLUE this week! Join me next week as we explore things that are small.
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