lantern blue background
Terri Webster Schrandt

Sunday Stills Monthly Color Challenge: Putting the Aqua in Marine and the Ice in Blue

lantern blue background

Welcome to the new year of monthly color challenges for 2026. My color challenges are available now on my Sunday Stills page.

January’s colors recall ice, glaciers, and colors you would see in the winter months or in the water. The delicate colors of icy blue, reminiscent of freshly fallen snow …

icy blue snow
Winter 2023’s snow pack

… contrast beautifully with the warm tones of aquamarine, evoking images of sparkling, sunlit waters.

aquamarine shades of ocean water
Tropical colors of the Sea of Cortez, Mexico

Winter

“He who marvels at the beauty of the world in summer will find equal cause for wonder and admiration in winter.” — John Burroughs

The interplay between cool and warm shades captures the essence of the season, reminding us of the beauty of nature in the coldest months of the year. These icicles hanging from the front of our house were seen through the transom window. What an interesting contrast with the aquamarine vase placed there.

white winter window view

Winter roadtrips yield fresh, cold landscapes.

winter landscape

Even our home and property look like a winter wonderland.

cobalt sky and snow
On such a winter’s day

These colors evoke a sense of tranquility and calm, inviting us to reflect on nature’s quiet beauty.

Are you shivering in your boots? Let’s dive into summer’s version of aquamarines and icy blues, promising warmth and vibrancy in contrast to the harsh winter season.

Summer (or Someplace Like It)

“What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.” – John Steinbeck

Human and Avian snowbirds head south for the winter when possible. Before we made the permanent move to the Northwest, we regularly joined our families in Southern California during the holidays. Aquamarine ocean water greeted us during a visit to San Diego’s La Jolla Cove and in the gap left in the Pacific Beach Pier.

Summer day at La Jolla
Cool waters at La Jolla
pier view
gap in the pier

During three separate Januaries, we also flew further south to bask on the wind-swept shores of the Sea of Cortez to enjoy adventures in Baja Sur, Mexico. The summer-like temperatures were a balm to the soul.

Baja Windsurfing
Hubby Windsurfing in Mexico

“What exists beneath the sea? I’d always pictured it in colors of emerald and aquamarine…” – Kelly Easton

I found quiet serenity floating in the aquamarine waters as I waited for the huge whale sharks to visit.

woman floating in the ocean
Me Floating in the Sea of Cortez

And when they visited?? Whoa!

Whale shark also plays peek-a-boo
Swimming with Whale Sharks in Baja
Whale shark near woman

Sharing this week for Johnbo’s Cellpic Sunday.

blue swatch

Whether you live in the northern hemisphere and enjoy snowy winters, or head south to the warmth of summer-like weather, the colors of icy blue and aquamarine will be found in those places

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 color challenge 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 10/Ten (the number, decade, years, symbols, etc.).

ice blue ornament

“Great shades of blue, you find them in nature. They’re all magic.” – Bryan Batt

Winter bitmoji

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© 2026 Copyright — Terri Webster Schrandt and secondwindleisure.com — All Rights Reserved

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111 comments

  9. Lovely and chilly photos, Terri. The turqoise vase next to the icicles really pops! 👌 Swimming with the sharks must have been an amazing experience.

    Like Debby said (we live in the same general area), I don’t need winter to appreciate summer either, but we’re stuck with it. 😝

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  12. I enjoyed all your icy blues. Those whale sharks! Wow!
    We have lots of blue skies here in AZ. No snow in the Valley but I know the High Country has some. Your snow pics were awesome.
    Thanks for the challenge! I will participate in the Flower Hour tomorrow.

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  15. Loved all your icy blue pics Terri. And I had to chuckle at the Steinbeck quote. Sorry, but this Canadian does not require any winter to appreciate the sweetness of summer. 🤣😂🤣🧡

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  18. How wonderful to have swum with a Whale Shark, Terri. But I’d rather you swim with them than me. I know not all sharks are dangerous, but after watching ‘Jaws,’ back in the 1970s, I can’t help but think they’re better off never bumping into me in the sea.

    Living by the sea, I get to see plenty of aquamarine, and it does make the sea inviting, especially on hot days, but then I think about what’s in that sea. Over recent years, we’ve had Jellyfish wash up onshore.

    Hope you are enjoying the winter weather. We’ve had a cold start to 2026, even with snow, but it has returned to the horrid wet and mild now.

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    • Thanks, Hugh! Good thing about whale sharks is their mouths are full of baleen, no teeth! I was a bit worried when I got centered between three of them. They’re just so immense.
      The colors of water are always fascinating to see and how changeable they are depending on the weather conditions. I hope your weather straightens out, but looks like ours in “warm” and wet here too. We still have snow on the ground but it will likely melt this week. Another weird winter. Have a great day!

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  19. Beautiful colors of blue, and I enjoyed how you featured blues in contrasting seasons. Several years ago, I went on an Alaskan cruise, and every moment was awesome. You really have to see glaciers in person to appreciate their beauty. Hugs!

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  24. We are so fortunate to have seasons. My first response to this prompt was the icy blue of frozen water, of the glaciers we saw in Alaska. But then when I saw your warm weather, warm water pictures, I thought of the beautiful blues of the water in Cancun and the Dominican. Will try to compile my pictures to share at the month’s end.

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  27. You literally gave us the blues Terri! What a nice collection of varied blues, from Winter and Summer and the snow is pretty and peaceful looking on your property, even though I’m not a person who appreciates Winter. I suppose if I liked Winter sports it would be different. I know that since Thanksgiving we have had wintry weather, making the drudgery of Winter even worse than usual. At least the ice is gone, but the ever-present high winds are a drag too. Friday we got to 60 degrees – it was like a Blue Light Special … blink and it’s gone. I guess I won’t whine too much about Summer this year! I like the colors you’ve shown us, especially the inviting water shots and I like the John Steinbeck quote. I will be participating in the Flower Hour this week because I really couldn’t come up with the necessary color criteria, but in today’s post I DID come up with some pretty flowers with butterflies and bees on them, so I will link to Flower Hour on Tuesday.

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    • Thank you, Linda! No “blues” intended whether summertime or winter. But the winter blues are reaching their tendrils toward me. Snow on the ground, fog or overcast, ugh! Blue-light special indeed! I’ll look forward to your Flower Hour post!

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      • Terri, I remember you said you were using a light to combat the winter blues. Our wintry weather started far too early this year and it’s a rare day anymore to go outside and there’s no fog, freezing fog, freezing rain, regular rain, snow or this ever-present wind. The weatherman said January is the cloudiest month and January 10th is the cloudiest day of the year here in SE Michigan. I hope the butterflies and bees will make you think Spring.

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      • I hope so Linda. So far I’m enjoying our winter here. I’ve spent 3 January’s in a row in Arizona. Friday was the perfect winter day, bright blue sky, sun and 3 inches of snow on the ground. Cold and sunny! I hope you get past the worst of it. The sun is setting a bit later each day, hooray!

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      • Yes, we had a snow-free day today, but we are getting some wintry mix Tuesday – ugh. It just gets completely clear and dry, then ice again. I like that later sunset … it gives me hope. Only 67 days until Spring!

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      • Yes, I was holding my breath … I’ve had 39 mph winds take down the power lines and burn the backyard at the fenceline back in December 2022 at 11:30 p.m. while I was sleeping. A few years before that event, 39 mph winds blew my shed over and sent it flying across the yard and it broke apart. My neighbor’s tree split in half in her front yard with that same gust of wind. That was in the afternoon. Each time I looked at the wind velocity online later so I knew how strong the winds were, so I was worried beforehand. I have an awning over the side door and my handyman braced it and cemented it to the wall after that 39 mph windstorm. It was wobbling. He said I was lucky it didn’t pull away from the house. We have many old trees in the neighborhood, so that is worrisome too.

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    • Thank you, Suzanne! Yay, the link worked, I just checked! I have learned to be overly excited about winter wonderlands and snow since I moved away from the ocean 40+ years ago. It was nice to go back ten years to Baja and see the aquamarines of the Sea of Cortez.

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