fence texture
Terri Webster Schrandt

Sunday Stills: November’s #Textures and Beginning of Advent Season

Let us celebrate the month of November with a study of the various textures that caught our eye. On this last day of November 2025, it seems appropriate to share some of the highlights of the month using textures as the theme.

In the Northern Hemisphere, textures seem to be abundant in Autumn. As we bundle up for warmth in the northern hemisphere, we wrap ourselves in textures.

Cozy blanket Autumn Decor

Texture can be a photographer’s dream, as it adds to an image’s composition. Since photography is a visual medium, capturing texture is a skill. A variety of textures in a photograph can invoke all of our senses.

Textures Found in Leaf-Peeping

“One of the first things to consider when photographing texture is that the beauty is in the details.” ~ Jeff Guyer

To cope with our shorter, darker days, I try to take a walk at least twice a week, in addition to taking classes at the gym three days a week. On my calendar this month: Took the Toyota Rav4 to be repainted, Doctor’s appointments for both of us, and Church potluck. We also took a drive to see the golden colors of the Western Larch trees, and experienced two evenings of the northern lights.

fence texture

A friend of mine and I walk together once a week to various scenic spots along the local Centennial Trail, around Lake Spokane, or in the suburban areas of town. We caught the last of the leaves.

textures autumn
western larch house siding
fallen maple leaves
Suburban Textures
Suburban Textures
textures clouds forest
Sky textures for Brian’s Last on the Card

Textured Creature Comforts

From outdoor excursions to the comforts of home, I’ve enjoyed seeing a variety of critters and birds, including my dog, Brodie, who loves to snuggle.

“Art is the colors and textures of your imagination.” – Meghan Trainor

mule deer
Mule Deer on our Property
Sleeping Dog
Cozy Brodie
eagle
Juvenile Bald Eagle

Thanksgiving Textures

Autumn decor allows for a cozy mix of textures.

throw pillows
My Sofa Pillows

“A subtle amount of texture attracts the eye.” – Clyde Aspevig

Thanksgiving Centerpiece
turkey centerpiece
These lovely decorations, full of textures, adorned my sister-in-law’s Thanksgiving table.

The Textures of Advent Season

Today, November 30th, marks the first day of Advent, celebrated by millions of people worldwide.

What is Advent?

A-I generated image for Advent

Advent is a four-week season dedicated to reflective preparation for the arrival, “advent”, of Jesus Christ’s Nativity at Christmas time. Each week of Advent focuses on a different theme – hope, peace, joy, and love. Christians from all denominations and backgrounds celebrate Advent in various ways, lighting a candle each week. Source

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” ~ Jeremiah 29:11

The first Advent candle, known as the prophecy candle, is the candle of HOPE.

Most of the churches I have attended over the years celebrate Advent during services with readings and music while each candle is lit. Each week, a new candle is lit. On the fourth and final Sunday, a fifth candle is lighted.

“Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.” – Desmond Tutu

Inspiring Photo Challenges This Week

Each week, I find additional inspiration from my fellow bloggers’ photo challenges. I enjoy incorporating these into my Sunday Stills weekly themes.

Becky B’s November Shadows, Brian’s Last on the Card, Dawn’s Festival of Leaves (Wrap), Johnbo’s Cellpic Sunday, Sadje and Kym’s Wednesday Quotes: Celebrating Holidays, What’s Been On Your Calendar (Deb’s World)

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.

  • Remember to title your blog post a little differently from mine.
  • Please create a new post for the theme or link to 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 look forward to seeing how you interpret this week’s theme! 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 PEACE.

Whether you experienced the crisp and cozy textures of autumn or the soft, dreamy textures of spring and summer, share your ideas in photos and other creative formats.

Hope quote

For the planners, please visit my Sunday Stills Challenge page for the December schedule.

Have a great week!

graphic trees

© 2025 Copyright — Terri Webster Schrandt and secondwindleisure.com — All Rights Reserved

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115 comments

  3. I’ve never previously thought about this time of year being one for textures but I can see what you mean. Winter clothes as well as scenes in nature, as your photos have shown. You have some lovely autumn colours in your trees still, but the photo that really caught my eye was the one of the juvenile bald eagle – he’s gorgeous!

    And I know I’m a bit late (it’s nearly time for the next challenge!) but I do have some textures for you for this challenge: https://www.toonsarah-travels.blog/gallery-the-textures-in-trees/

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  11. So pretty Terri…..I love these. Fall and winter are some of my favorites even though I don’t enjoy the rain, I enjoy the colors, and “textures”. A few years ago I started doing Advent readings and have loved that practice.

    Taking a bit of a break since I have so many underfoot at my house, I can’t seem to find focused, quiet time to sit and blog. I’ll attempt to do some blogging if I find a window, but I decided to just not worry so much and let go of FOMO, haha!!!!

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  22. You certainly pack a lot into your week, Terri. Walking is something I do a lot of. Not only good for your health, but also good for our well-being. Plus, I sleep much better when I’ve had a walk that day.

    Your Autumn colours have been amazing. I’m glad you caught the last of the leaves. What a difference those leaves are from when they fall off the tree to a few days later when it’s been very wet.

    Your cosy textures also look great for the time of the year. Do you have an assortment of seasonal cushions? It sounds like a great idea to bring some change to the rooms in our homes as the seasons change.

    Happy Advent. I opened my first window on my Advent Calendar. This year, I could not resist and got myself 4 to open (including one that contains Belgian chocolates).

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    • I would like to walk more Hugh, but im fortunate to have a gym close by and take workout classes 3 days a week. Autumn was thrilling this year, and now we’re expecting snow.
      Yes, you guessed correctly, I have more throw pillows than I really need but the two I shared, my SIL gave me. I finally got smart and try to buy seasonal pillow covers. Saves space 😁
      I’m glad I remembered advent began yesterday. It gave me the idea to incorporate the advent season into my next few posts! Happy advent and enjoy opening the calendar dates for treats!

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  27. Ah Terri, this post felt like flipping through a November scrapbook…
    All those textures you mentioned — the ones hiding in leaves, jackets, even the quiet moments between appointments — they really do shape how the month felt, not just how it looked.

    It’s funny… the way you linked photography with touch. I swear, sometimes a single leaf with rough veins tells a deeper story than a wide landscape. Jeff Guyer’s line about “beauty in the details” hit home — that’s honestly where November lives, right? In those tiny corners.

    And your routine — the walks, the gym days, the Toyota repaint runs, the doctor rounds — it reads like the real texture of life. Soft, chaotic, warm, patterned.
    Some months aren’t about big events… they’re about staying in motion while the light changes around us.

    Kinda makes me wonder:
    Which texture stood out to you most this month — something you saw, or something you felt?

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  28. Terri, those bright orange leaves littering the cement, like a huge orange tapestry rug are so colorful. Brodie looks very comfy and does not wish to be disturbed. I really like the Juvenile Bald Eagle and the colors in the background – those browns and other muted jewel tones of Fall are my favorite colors. You had a busy agenda for November. I was busy with some errands to finish up everything before the snow began to fly, but mostly walking my socks off to try and reach my walking goal. This week we had three days of winds 35-40 mph all day, then a snowstorm yesterday, which ended up as rain early today and back with the 40 mph winds again all day The wet roads and sidewalks will ice over tomorrow morning as we’re going to the “teens”, then more snow tomorrow. Not a fan of this weather and we are still Fall, three weeks away from Winter but you wouldn’t know it! I have signed up for a Jacquie Lawson Advent Calendar which begins tomorrow.

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    • Thank you, Linda! I love snapping the leafy carpets when I can. Funny, even retired, we are both busy! Wow you sure have some wild weather! We got all the way to 32 today with sunshine…no complaints. Meteorological winter begins tomorrow and I believe it! My hubby has a beer advent calendar 😁🎄🍺

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      • The leafy carpets are beautiful. We didn’t even get to 30 today and we’re still getting snow tonight. Meteorological Winter started off with a bang! I also bought an advent puzzle and forgot to mention that. I started it this morning. It is 24 small puzzles, one for each day through December 24th. I am going to post about it as it gets closer to Christmas. It is fun, something different. I’ve never heard of a beer advent calendar, but have heard of tea advent calendars.

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      • Okay, I see – it still sounds like fun. Well the puzzles I am doing are a collection too – they are very cute and I did the second one today. If I had more room, I could do larger puzzles, as there are many 1,000-piece and some 500-piece, brand-new puzzles and also puzzles my mom finished years ago, all here at the house. Room and TIME too … I have six or seven long walks I took in the Fall that I’ve not even looked at the photos yet, let alone sort through them. So where to find the time? I am still in Duo, although I let my subscription lapse in October – old habits never die as I still practice daily since I did not want to go down in flames. 🙂

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      • I would have gladly kept learning vocabulary words and sentences, but I hated the grammar when it became a chore. They do take a lot of patience Terri. I do various online puzzles too.

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      • Yes, that would be helpful and practical to learning a foreign language. The last two years of French in college was speaking no English in the classroom, only French, yet, after graduation, with no one to speak with, those skills failed. I bought French newspapers occasionally, but eventually stopped even that. The internet would not come along for decades.

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  31. I smiled when you talked about Advent. Indeed, we started yesterday for the first candle of hope. The bible verse is so enlightening and I enjoyed your autumn photos and your deer pillow.😍 Happy Monday, Terri!

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  33. Terri,

    Love the colors. My favorite pic this week is the leaves scattered over the sidewalk, and Brodie in your lap. Our church has a young family with children read the devotional and light the Advent candle during the season. This morning, a family of four lit the candle. The youngest, a little boy about four, was given one line. With great gusto, he said “Amen!” Everyone loved it. Have a great week. Joe

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  34. I enjoyed the cozy textures, but I also enjoyed the reminder that today was the first day of Advent. Thank you! While recuperating from hip surgery, I pretty much forget what is happening around me.
    Happy new week to you!

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  47. Thank you, Terri, for the great photos and inspiring quotes. I love your tip about textures in photography; I had not thought of that. I have difficulty choosing a favorite from your great gallery here, Terri. However, I do love the Juvenile Bald Eagle…all the shades of brown I can think of are there in the frame…superb.

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  50. Such a wonderful post, Terri… from the cozy autumn and holiday textures indoors, to lovely outdoorsy one, all photos are wonderful! I love the very first photo in this post, and your sofa pillows, they are so beautiful! 😊

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