Welcome back to the Sunday Stills Monthly Color Challenge! Having just celebrated America’s 249th birthday, I thought using the colors of red, white, and blue would be a fun photo challenge this week.

For those participating in the challenge, feel free to use shades of red, white, and blue combined or separately.
The Red, White, and Blues of Water Safety
The month of July also inspired me to write more about water safety, since summer activities around the water hit their peak in the northern hemisphere.
Back at the Sacramento State Aquatic Center, students gear up sporting red and blue life jackets.

A watchful lifeguard ensures the safety of students on the obstacle course.

When I was the aquatic director in Sacramento, we campaigned to keep our public swimming pools open with private and corporate donations. Here, one of my Pool Managers graciously took her turn modeling good lifeguard behavior in front of City Hall.

Speaking of Safety…
There are restrictions on the use of professional-grade fireworks in nearby Spokane County. However, here in Stevens County (considered a rural county with 46,000 residents), people buy the illegal ones. Then, they set them off all over the various neighborhoods. We “enjoyed” the light show several years in a row.

Summer in the City
Our small towns also get into the swing of the season with street flags and signage on Main Street. The town of Chewelah is a 30-minute drive north of where we live.


“Ev’ry heart beats true ‘neath the Red, White and Blue.” — George M. Cohan
In larger cities like San Diego, California, the colors of red, white, and blue are found everywhere, all year round.

My daughter never forgets her sweet dog, Gideon, who passed away in June 2022.

“Love has no age, no limit, and no death.” – John Galsworthy
A Hint of Feathers
My nesting Western Flycatchers, AKA Say’s Phoebes, FINALLY fledged on Friday. Wow, say that fast three times, sorry. 😉 I’m saving most of the photos for next week, but I’m satisfying my red, white, and blue theme with these:
Bird pics taken with Lumix FZ300 camera.

“Freedom is that spark where every fledgling gets to grow its wings to flap on cheeping.” ~ Unknown

Sharing for Becky’s Simply Red and Johnbo’s Cellpic Sunday.

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. Please use your own original images, whether new or from your archives.
- 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.
If you are participating in the photo challenge, I’m excited to see how you will interpret the various shades of red, white, and blue this week! Creativity is encouraged, so please share your own photographs (old or new), poems, original short stories, and music inspired by the theme. Join me next week as we explore the theme FEATHERS.
I’ll leave you with this winter image to help virtually cool those who are dealing with summer heat!


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