This week, as the Autumnal and Vernal equinoxes we experienced on Sept 22 have brought the planet to equal days and nights for a moment, I’m sure we are seeing weather and temperatures play out as such! In either hemisphere signs of the seasons are already playing out depending upon where you live.
Fall Has Fallen and Spring Has Sprung!
Hint of Autumn in the Aspen trees
“Autumn calls the forest to rest, to exhale in a flood of colors rubbed to a fiery warmth on the hearth of both hill and plain before nodding off to a winter’s slumber.” ― Craig D. Lounsbrough
As I shared in June about the summer solstice making our days a minute shorter each day in the northern hemisphere, Autumn really shows the impact as nights are longer than the days and glorious colors begin to pepper the landscapes. The shortening of daylight will continue through the winter solstice.
Last year’s smoky September in Spokane, Washington
All at once, summer collapsed into Fall.
Oscar Wilde
Ah, darkness. As a sun-lover, I appreciate early morning sunshine and late evening sunsets, especially here in Northeastern Washington. Already, I switch the lights on when I awake at 6-ish and back on by 7pm. By December it will be dark here by 4pm, which is what I’ve already experienced when we moved here in December 2020! Oh well, l hope the glow of the reflected light off the snow will help illuminate what daytime hours we do have.
As we are finishing the month of September, the warm days (mid-70s this week), but colder nights are teasing us with signs of Autumn. Here in the Spokane, Washington area, Autumn colors reach their color peak about mid-October, with reds dominating the vibrant colors, mixed with abundant evergreen trees. A stunning sight to see!
According to my favorite meteorologist, Jeremy Lagoo, on KREM news (Spokane), he says, “Enjoy it while you can…” This image tells you what we are expecting! Brrr!
For those in the Southern hemisphere, spring awakens from its winter slumber to the promise of warm days, green pastures and riots of colorful flowers and blossoms.
To see more of my images and other news, consider following Terri on Social Media by clicking the icons:
Sunday Stills Photo Challenge Reminders
Please create a new post for the theme or link a recent one.
Title your blog post a little differently than mine.
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 into the comments.
Entries for this theme can be posted all week.
Use hashtag #SundayStills for sharing on social media.
Fall Has Fallen and Spring Has Sprung
Share your season’s signs of changes this week. Any type of creativity is welcomed, with your images, stories, poetry, etc.
Golden Bloggers’ Links
Sunday Stills is a wonderful community of bloggers and photographers who desire to connect with one another. Below are the last week’s links from bloggers who shared their favorite golden moments. Please stop by if you haven’t yet.
September’s Sunday Stills color challenge is harvest gold.
“All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost.”
JRR Tolkein, The Fellowship of the Ring
As I enjoy an Eastern Washington Autumn with all the golden colors so typical in September, I recall countless years spent in Sacramento enjoying Autumn’s much slower start. Late August boasts field of sunflowers a few miles from our new home in Washington.
In Sacramento, September was the month to experience that golden sunlight that warmed the land. Sadly, I believe that golden light was caused by smoke from wildfires, and late summer dry conditions.
Harvest gold and citrine adorn the American River in Sacramento
Citrine is also another choice for this week’s color challenge. The color of Citrine can range from a pale pastel yellow to a strong orangey-yellow.My sapphire wedding ring is an example of the citrine color.
While you contemplate your harvest gold and citrine images to share, please enjoy this gallery of images to get you started.
Rooftop view of my former university
Wildflowers
Golden September light in the delta
Golden-mantled ground squirrel
September yellows
Dried goldenrods
In a few weeks, the northern hemisphere falls back into standard time and the nights will get Llooonnger! The first day of Autumn is September 22. Folks in the southern hemisphere–I’ll bet you are looking forward to your spring! For now enjoy this gallery of sunrises and sunsets showing off shades golds and citrines.
Golden dawn in Helendale, Mojave Desert
Early Baja Mexico Sunrise
Golden sunset, San Diego
Sunset on Upper Klamath Falls Lake, OR
Gold and Citrine Sunset
A golden sunset on the delta
Golden Moments of a Sedona Wedding
Thank you so much for your thoughts and comments last week as I shared some preview wedding photos of my step-daughter’s wedding in Sedona, Arizona. As promised, I’m sharing more images from the wedding that took place on Monday, August 23.
The bride and groom shared their vows, then signed the wedding forms in front of the iconic, golden-hued peaks of Sedona.
Sharing their vows
Mr and Mrs Thompson
Golden moments at dinner. The bride contemplates her array of special beverages.
Too many goblets!
Golden hues of the L’Auberge de Sedona Resort lobby. Citrine Sedona rocks and me!
Please create a new post for the theme or link to a recent one.
Title your blog post a little differently than mine.
Include Sunday Stills tag in your post.
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 into the comments.
Entries for this theme can be posted all week.
Use hashtag #SundayStills for sharing on social media.
I look forward to your gold and citrine images for this month’s color challenge. Next week’s theme is “Signs of Autumn (or Spring). Dawn’s Festival of Leaves prompt begins September 23, another great place to share your Autumn posts!
Bloggers Who Dared to Go Back
Sunday Stills is a wonderful community of bloggers and photographers who desire to connect with one another. Below are the last week’s links from bloggers who shared their favorite “going back” photos.
I’m back…as this week’s title might suggest. I can’t thank Natalie enough for hosting Sunday Stills in my absence and with her amazing themes, no less! Thank you to all my fellow bloggers who continued to participate in Sunday Stills and support Natalie while I was on my three-week break. That is if you can call two-out-of-three whirlwind weekends a break!
Subconsciously, I chose this theme a few weeks ago based on some random thought, but as we traveled the first week between August 20-24, I realized how perfect the theme is to highlight our whirlwind weekend.
Before I launch into my photos, “Going Back…” implies going back to something, whether a place you’ve visited before, going back “in time” as you view your photo archives, or how about going back “to the future?” Use any preposition to add to going back that suits you…going back …in, on, to, out, under, over, through, between, by, as far as, across, etc. I’m certain all you clever bloggers will come up with some spectacular ideas and images to match!
Why did I take a blogging break?
As summer progressed, I found myself getting way too busy at the end of August into early September. My gorgeous step-daughter decided on having her wedding sooner than later and she was gracious enough to ask us when we would be available. I mentioned that Hans had a high school football celebration on August 20 where he would be in San Diego for the event. Vanessa is a detail-oriented, highly organized, long-range planner like her step-mom (she refers to me as her “bonus mom”), so she did some checking for a wedding venue. She chose Sedona for a small parents-only wedding on Monday, August 23. I’m sure she and her groom saved scads of dollars by choosing a Monday in the low-season. Sedona is in the high desert of Arizona, two hours north of Phoenix, so yep, it’s hot there especially this time of year.
Between the football event, our wedding anniversary on August 22 (spent in Prescott and in Sedona), and the wedding, this was a crazy weekend that involved me planning three one-way flights and a rental car, securing five nights in the Pet Lodge for the pups and 15 other things that had to happen. Not to mention, I haven’t traveled by air for almost 2 years, which usually makes me a little anxious.
Since my buddy Marsha makes an appearance in this post today, I again was inspired by her Writers’ Quotes Wednesday challenge which is Writer’s Choice or Order. At first, I didn’t think I could combine “order” with “going back,” but, welp, I managed to (thanks, Google).
In order to move forward, you have to look back.
Matt Maher
So let’s go back and take a partial look at our whirlwind weekends.
Going Back out on the Field for…High School Sports
My husband and I met at our high school near San Diego as 14-year-olds in 1974. We did not date but we were friends. Both of us were prominent athletes in our respective sports, me in swimming and track-and-field, he in football and soccer. Helix High School began its football program in 1951, and several former players organized a 70-year celebration honoring players from 7 decades and the coaches who inspired them.
Encouraged by friends on Facebook, we decided to make the trip for this one-of-a kind event.
These “old guys” from the 70s decade enjoyed going back onto the field and eventually watching the varsity football game after the celebration. Hans is front and center!
Going back to high school football
I’d love to go back to when we played as kids, but things change. And that’s the way it is.
Tupac Shakur
Not only were there over 200 players there to receive honors, but alumni Bill Walton, of NBA-fame (playing for Portland Trailblazers and Boston Celtics), was also there to support his fellow Helix athletes.
For you American football buffs, two famous Helix alumni, Alex Smith and Reggie Bush, played football at Helix High school in the early 2000s and went on to become stars in the NFL.
According to Wikipedia, “While at Helix, Reggie played with the 2004 Heisman Trophy finalist and first overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft Alex Smith. During his prep career with the Helix Highlanders, he won the prestigious Silver Pigskin trophy awarded by KUSI’s Prep Pigskin Report. Smith and Bush were later finalists for the 2004 Heisman Trophy, making it the first time a high school had two finalists at the same ceremony.”
Due to their busy schedules they were unable to attend, but how cool, huh?
My lovely daughter housed us overnight at her place and we enjoyed a fun but brief visit with her before we headed out Saturday morning to fly to Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport.
Going Back to… Celebrating Friendships
We arrived in Phoenix and drove two hours to Prescott, AZ to stay with Marsha and her husband in their lovely new home! They treated us to a nice dinner downtown, then we strolled through the quaint streets in the warm summer evening.
We spent Sunday morning checking out Watson Lake and folks enjoying their kayaks and paddleboards. Marsha and her husband decided to drive along with us to Sedona to eat lunch at Butterfly Grill for our wedding anniversary. Such a fun day!
Photo credit, Marsha’s hubby
Speaking of friendships, long-time friend, Marcie, and her husband drove from Sacramento area to Coeur D’Alene, Idaho (one hour drive from our home), to attend a family wedding over the Labor Day holiday weekend. They joined us at our home for dinner and was the first time they had seen our new place! I miss this bestie—we have been friends since 1980, our kids are the same age and we played years of recreational softball together.
Friends for 40+ years!
Going Back to a Place…Sedona, Arizona
After saying goodbye to Marsha and her husband, we headed for the L’Auberge de Sedona Spa and Resort, where the wedding would take place the next day, and where we would spend two nights. At 7pm, we met the wedding party to shuttle to Mariposa Latin Inspired Grill. A wonderful way to spend our 8th wedding anniversary!
We were quite excited to be able to go back and see Sedona again, after our snowy winter road trip in 2018-19. The Instagram post below gives you an idea of the spectacular views that awaited us this time around.
The road was new to me, as roads always are, going back.
In late December 2018, we pulled into the Rancho Sedona RV campground with high hopes of seeing the sights around Sedona for a couple of days. Little did we know how much snow would fall our second day, on December 31, with thousands of visitors driving into the area.
Our views went from this to this in less than 24 hours!
Camel Head Rock on Friday
Camelhead Rock on Saturday
I was told that the rock formation was Snoopy Rock, but, scratching my head, I didn’t see it.
Because we were snowed in, we couldn’t even walk the main street through town that affords all the iconic views. Going back to Sedona, on the morning of the wedding, we strolled the street that boasted views and signage!
Helpful Street Signs
Turns out, from the campground, Snoopy Rock was hidden. Going back this time, I finally saw Snoopy from a higher vantage point, and boy was I excited! Do you see Snoopy as if he is laying on top of his doghouse?
Sedona’s Snoopy
For more about that winter road trip, you can check it our here.
A Sedona Wedding, Part 1
Many of you saw my post on Instagram and Facebook where I shared many images of my step-daughter’s wedding. On the morning of the wedding we enjoyed breakfast by the creek with the bride and groom, then did some shopping and sightseeing. My step-dot Vanessa’s mom was also there and helped her get ready.
Some fun facts about the wedding:
Vanessa and her new hubby live in Tempe, AZ. Sedona was the perfect venue for the wedding.
The groom’s parents live near Toronto, Canada, and travel restrictions were lifted in the nick of time.
Vanessa’s dog, Nala, a Shiba-Inu, was the ring bearer.
There were only 8 guests at the wedding: 5 parents and 3 special friends of the groom. A reception will be held next year in San Diego where most of the family lives.
The bride’s dress was an extra small and did not have to be altered in any way.
And yes, I cried when she was escorted down the steps and the aisle with her handsome papa.
Today I will share just a few photos of the wedding.
Proud Papa walking the bride down the steps
Proud Dad and Bride
I had the pleasure of taking a bunch of photos of the wedding with my Samsung Galaxy Note 10+. I shared dozens of them with Vanessa. Next week, I will share more that happily coincide with the monthly color challenge Harvest Gold!
The small reception went late into the night. Thankfully the wedding venue was close to our room. However, all good times must come to an end, as the next morning, we were out the door at 4:45am to drive 2 hours back to Phoenix, turn in the rental car, and shuttle to the gate to fly home.
This map shows our itinerary, flying from Spokane, WA on Friday to San Diego. Saturday, from San Diego we flew to Phoenix, then drove to Prescott and Sedona. Our return trip on Tuesday, was back to Spokane with a short stop in Seattle.
To see more of my images from our whirlwind weekends and other news, consider following Terri on Social Media by clicking the icons:
Sunday Stills is a wonderful community of bloggers and photographers who desire to connect with one another. Fellow blogger and Sunday Stills participant linked to my last post while on my break:
Join me next week for Part 2 of this post which highlights the wedding, which in turn shows off the colors for next week’s monthly color challenge Harvest gold! I will share more about the rest of the two weeks. Quite a bit happened so please stay tuned.
My last Sunday Stills Photo Challenge post of August before my short break is the popular monthly color challenge. This month’s color is burlywood, a light shade of brown, kind of like khakis. A very non-descript color in the world of browns and tans, but it seems to be a popular neutral as well.
August Color Challenge: Burlywood
By this time of year in the Northern hemisphere as summer peaks, there is an abundance of this color everywhere in nature and beyond!
One dry, May day at the Sacramento River delta a few years ago, I saw this incredible reflection of the golden hills through which the Sacramento River flows. With no wind, the river was abnormally calm. So, I present—burlywood-brown water.
In the words of Willy Wonka from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory:
Mr. Salt: [about the chocolate river] It’s polluted! Willy Wonka: It’s chocolate!
Last week I drove to a local spot in search of a change of scenery for walking the dogs. Just 6 miles away from home are some walking trails, that, to my surprise lead right to the Spokane River. While Brodie took a leash-bound swim, I managed to capture this lovely shot.
Green and burlywood in reflection
Light brown is a pervasive color in nature as a common color for soil, sand, grasslands, rocks, animals and vegetation. In fact, vast regions of the planet Earth appear to be light brown from space.
John Spacey
Not to be outdone by water, nature decided to show off her burlywood colors as florals. (Sharing for Cee’s Flower of the Day challenge).
Purple thistle pops in a burlywood world
People pay good money at craft stores for these
Here is a gallery of more burlywood inspiration:
Front landing with Aero photobomb
Deer parade first day in the house
Hans clearing the windsurf launch site
November leaves
Red and burlywood of Valley of Fire Narrows
Mono Lake and Tufa Towers
And just for fun, my 10×20 foot “she-shed” was delivered on Thursday. It looks so small and plain next to the huge shop! I suppose burlywood is all the rage for sheds. Eventually we will paint her blue.
Where (and why) do I come up with these unusual names for colors? With literally thousands of colors, I like the challenge of choosing an unusual shade from the standard color wheel of six basic colors, plus black and white. I start by searching online for color photo challenges which gives me unique lists of colors. So now you know my secret.
While on My Three-Week Blog Break…
Many thanks to Natalie of Natalie the Explorer who will guest host Sunday Stills while I take a break and travel a bit. You may be familiar with her Weekend Coffee Share Feature. Natalie has chosen the themes for Sunday Stills which are as follows: 8/22 In the Garden 8/29 Afloat 9/5 Colorful Murals
Please enjoy and support Natalie as host. I will have a lot to share about my various adventures upon my return.
Sunday Stills Photo Challenge Reminders
Please create a new post for the theme or link a recent one.
Title your blog post a little differently than mine.
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 into the comments.
Entries for this theme can be posted all week.
Use hashtag #SundayStills for sharing on social media.
Lyrical Bloggers’ Links
Sunday Stills is a wonderful community of bloggers and photographers who desire to connect with one another. Below are the last week’s links from bloggers who shared their favorite song lyrics or poetry with their photos. I am so impressed with the talent and lyric-inspired images from you all! We shall do this again at Christmas!
That’s my burlywood world these days. I look forward to your posts featuring the color challenge this week. By Friday, I may be slow to approve comments/pingbacks as we travel to San Diego for the first leg of the trip. Sunday, Aug. 22, please watch for Natalie’s post to go live at the normal time of 7:00 a.m. Pacific Time. Here is her Weekend Coffee Share post this week with more details on Sunday Stills.
Welcome to the first-ever Sunday Stills song lyric photo challenge! This type of challenge is not new to bloggers but I thought it would be fun to try it. This theme was a challenge for me because I love all types of music, but I wanted to choose songs that made sense in my own life.
The idea of this challenge is to match images related to your favorite song lyrics. If this is unclear, it might be best to think of your favorite song(s) and highlight some lyrics with your new or existing photos. Here is an example from Marsha and my example from 2017: My Favorite Things.
Also, to avoid copyright infringements of published lyrics, only post a few lines rather than the entire song. If you write poetry or your own songs, you can certainly use your work for this theme!
Summer Rain, All Summer Long
Today, to help inspire you with appropriate images, I chose Summer Rain by Johnny Rivers, a popular song released in 1968. According to Wikipedia:
“Summer Rain” was written by Jimmy Hendricks(!) and performed by Johnny Rivers on his 1968 LP Realization. The song reached No. 14 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, No. 6 on the U.S. Cash Box Top 100, and No. 10 in Canada in early January, 1968. “Summer Rain” is a song about lifelong love during “the summer of love” which refers to the phenomenon of Haight-Ashbury in San Francisco between 1965 and 1968.
Think hippie culture and free love. Despite the song’s origins, I simply like the music and the words.
I was 8 years old in 1968. I may have remembered hearing the song in the car on road trips at that age. I suppose it wasn’t until the early 80s upon hearing it again, how much I enjoyed the idea of the lyrics as a celebration of summer. Later as I became a windsurfer, I started to appreciate the types of wind, coming from the four directions, east, west, north, south that the song mentions.
Here are my images for Summer Rain. Imagine the song is written is from my husband’s perspective. I apologize in advance for any subsequent earworms on the part of the reader!
Summer rain taps at my window West wind soft as a sweet dream
Hubby with a Big Jump!
Off I go!
Anniversary sailing together
My love warm as the sunshine Sittin’ here by me, she’s here by me
At the delta, pre-wedding, July 2013
All summer long, we spent dancin’ in the sand
And the jukebox kept on playin’ Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
She wants to live in the Rockies She says that’s where we’ll find peace
First look at property in Washington, May 2020
Settle down, raise up a family To call our own, yeah, we’ll have a home
Us with the dogs
Backyard view the day we moved in
Early view of front of house
Waiting for Shop Doors (taken 8/6)
The snow drifts by my window
North wind blowin’ like thunder Our love’s burnin’ like fire And she’s here by me, yeah, she’s here with me Let tomorrow be
For our wedding day in 2013, I chose Climb Every Mountain from the 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music as the song in which I walked down the aisle with my daughters. This is one of my favorite musicals.
I’ve always wanted to live in the mountains and we do!
Street view of home
View from our street corner
Surrounded by mountains
Next Week’s Monthly Color Challenge
Next week’s photo challenge is the Monthly Color challenge exploring the color “burlywood”—a light shade of brown, kind of like khakis. By this time of year in the Northern hemisphere, this color should be seen everywhere in nature!
Sunday Stills Moves to Canada for Three Weeks Beginning August 22
Many thanks to Natalie of Natalie the Explorer who will guest host Sunday Stills while I take a break and travel a bit. You may know her Weekend Coffee Share Feature. Natalie has chosen the themes for Sunday Stills which are as follows: 8/22 In the Garden 8/29 Afloat 9/5 Colorful Murals
Throughout this post, I share various images for the following challenges:
Sunday Stills is a wonderful community of bloggers and photographers who desire to connect with one another. Below are the last week’s links from bloggers who shared their favorite insect and bug photos.
I’m looking forward to your creativity with song lyrics or poetry this week highlighted by your photos! Have a great week! Join me next week for the monthly color challenge before I go on my break!
How is it the first of August already? For folks living in the northern hemisphere, most of us are experiencing the hottest outdoor temperatures of the year.
With hot temps, guess who comes to visit? Bugs! Whether or not you are a fan of insects, this is an opportunity to look closely in your gardens (or the floors of your homes?) and search for what is bugging you.
If all insects disappeared, all life on earth would perish. If all humans disappeared, all life on earth would flourish.
Jonas Salk
Truth be told, I rather like most insects. I find many of them beneficial to gardens and even places indoors. Spiders are not insects but rather arachnids with eight legs. Insects have six legs. If I find a hapless spider fumbling to climb out of the bathtub, I’m known to get a tissue and help it out…then throw it outside. I do the same for moths. Perhaps I sound like a misguided Mother Nature, but I’ve seen too many 80s horror films in which the bugs strike back against the mean humans by swarming and devouring or growing to giant sizes and biting off heads. Insect karma…sounds exciting, right? No?
The bugs I dislike are ants, cockroaches, ticks, and flies. Not a fan of black widow spiders either.
I do get excited when I see dragonflies. My all-time favorite is this one of a dragonfly molting out of its exoskeleton.
Molting Dragonfly
I’ve come to understand that the most exciting thing about life is change.
Mark Inglis
I found this one a few days ago. When it didn’t fly away from the tomato plant upon my intrusion, I nudged it and it was dead. Forever immortalized in photos.
Praying mantis are pretty cool critters, too.
This one enjoyed our windsurf boards
Resident mantis with 5 legs
This is a California Root Borer, a type of “longhorn beetle,” I found on my doorstep. I don’t know what it’s doing in Washington, but it’s about 2 inches long. They fly at night and only live for two short weeks.
Big, scary-looking, but harmless root borer beetle
What’s Bugging Me About Our Property
Delay after delay, that’s what.
Last week the cement floor was finished and the gravel driveway was completed. There is a delay with the shop doors. Building slow-downs have been a major problem in the construction industry, because:
1. Many workers are staying unemployed because they get better pay than working a real job, and
2. Because there are fewer workers, deliveries are delayed and materials are not available.
We are so close to the finish line and plan to close the loan this month!
Life needs to be like a roller-coaster ride with ups and downs. Otherwise, it’s not exciting.
N. T. Rama Rao, Jr.
This is one roller coaster ride I could do without–I have enough excitement in my life.
OK, back to the bugs…
Bee-utiful!
Enjoy my gallery of bees on various flowers. Without bees as pollinators, we would starve.
Be sure to checkout my Sunday Stills page for August themes. Please note, I am planning a three-week end-of-summer break between August 22-Sept 5.
Geometric Bloggers Links
Sunday Stills is a wonderful community of bloggers and photographers who desire to connect with one another. Below are last week’s links from bloggers who shared their favorite geometric photos.
Next week’s theme will be images related to your favorite song lyrics. If this is unclear, it might be best to think of your favorite song(s) and highlight some lyrics with your photos. Here is an example from Marsha and my example from 2017: My Favorite Things. Also, to avoid copyright infringements of published lyrics, only post a few lines rather than the entire song. If you write poetry or your own songs, you can certainly use your work for this theme!
Thank you for your continuing support of Sunday Stills! I appreciate your beautiful creative photography, poetry, stories, and fun conversations! Have a great week!
It has been a couple of years since Sunday Stills focused on geometry! You know, circles, squares, triangles and rectangles? Geometry appears in nature and becomes a photographer’s dream when angles fit together to enhance an image. This week, look through your archives or search for new geometric angles either made by human hands or by Mother Nature’s.
Relaxing Between the Lines
Just steps from my home are wonderful backroads where I can walk my dogs and relax my mind. I hear the wind in the trees, notice the changing colors and shadows, and understand that no one is within 1000 yards of me. Most of the photos shared today are taken on some of my walks.
Walking is my main method of relaxation. I don’t go over my lines or try to solve the world’s problems, I just enjoy the scenery and the wildlife.
Kevin Whately
Almost in the middle of this backroads trail stands this lone, tall tree, showing off its straight lines.
It took more than three thousand years to make some of the trees in these Western woods — trees that are still standing in perfect strength and beauty, waving and singing in the mighty forests of the Sierra.
John Muir
Some more angular views on my walks:
Rectangular gate stops ATVs from the trails
Circles and lines on a pinecone
Geometric Circles and Orbs
Rusty sun
Geometric landscaped circle
Smoky sunset in the delta
A recent smoky sunrise greets the day
Angle Abstraction
We are very close to finishing the buildings here and to close out our loan, so I will soon be able to relax! Meanwhile, here are a two abstract angles of our pole barn/shop and patio. You can see a little more of the shop in the featured graphic.
Triangles galore in this abstract shot of my outdoor rug and table
Rebar laid, cement next week!
Journey the Eagle Update
Journey practices while Mom look on (Image by Diana G)
The family has not been seen in or near the nest since Journey was released. He looked so strong when he was released, flying high.
According to Bluebell Court Eagles hostess on Facebook, Diana G explains: “I believe Journey is ok, following his parents and learning to hunt. Eagles don’t tend to gather at this part of the lake…although that could be due to Mom and Dad chasing all away.” Another commenter on Facebook said, “Lots of eagles at the far end of the lake…we have counted 16-20 depending on when we go. Good mix of young and adults…they are probably hanging out there.”
Nature gifted these eagles with powerful instincts that we can only imagine. Perhaps it’s time to let go and trust that nature always has its way.
Busy with Dad
I’m sorry I missed reading some of your posts this week! My dad and step-mom were here most of the week visiting from Northern California and we had to explore and relax a little. We celebrated his 85th birthday at a family dinner, visited the Bowl and Pitcher area of the Spokane River, then off to Idaho to Post Falls. I believe they really enjoyed the socialization and the visit was good for Dad to see our new lifestyle and engage with more people.
Below is the Post Falls dam in Post Falls, Idaho. Lots of angles here!
Images are partially inspired and shared for the following challenges:
Sunday Stills is a wonderful community of bloggers and photographers who desire to connect with one another. Below is the last week’s links from bloggers who shared their favorite evergreen photos.
In keeping with inspiration from July square trees, this week, Sunday Stills focuses on the color evergreen for the monthly color challenge.
You will remember I am now surrounded by evergreen trees, and I couldn’t be happier. Evergreen is considered a dark green and also the name we ascribe to most pine trees and other trees that stay green year-round. Also known as conifers (cone-bearing) their needles are small and waxy enabling pine trees to stay green all year long, unlike deciduous trees that lose their leaves seasonally.
Here is an example to get your creative ideas going. As we headed to Sandpoint, Idaho, we drove by this lovely spot. I love the shape of the towering sugar pines. Image enhanced with Painnt filter.
Writer’s Quotes Wednesdays Writing Challenge
This week Marsha invites us to explore “exploration!” I can’t think of too many places to explore locally that doesn’t include seeing evergreens! I found this quote and it begged to become a meme created from a previous image of mine.
Hot air balloon above the evergreens!
An orange dragonfly explored my former garden resting on the evergreen stake.
Come to the woods, for here is rest. There is no repose like that of the green deep woods.
John Muir
Come explore my backyard and neighborhood with me today…most of the evergreens you see are Ponderosa Pines.
Morning walk a block from our home
Suspension Bridge at Bowl and Pitcher
Evergreen waters of Long Lake
Even the Birds are Evergreen…sort of…
Some new-old pics from my archives of my sweet hummingbirds. Perhaps not truly evergreen in color, but the second one is surrounded by actual evergreens. These are my headshots for Lisa’s Bird Weekly.
Update: Journey the Bald Eagle, An Ageless and Evergreen Story for Our Times
Journey the juvenile Bald Eagle was rescued three weeks ago when he fledged too soon due to the extreme heat here in Eastern Washington. See my post here.
Journey
Thanks to the efforts of staff at Birds of Prey Northwest, he was safely placed in a large aviary and treated for heat exhaustion and dehydration. He exercised his wings daily and once our weather “cooled,” he would be ready to fly back to the nest where his parents are waiting for him.
Journey practicing for flight while still in his nest
Well…Friday, July 16th was the day! KREM 2 news in Spokane, WA, covered the story as Diana G of Bluebell Court Eagles (on Facebook) and Janie Veltkamp, MS, Biology, and director of BOPNW, was there to enable Journey’s first flight since he was rescued. He was launched off Diana G’s deck…
Journey’s (and Janie’s) headshot!
Eagle images are shared by Diana G with her permission.
…Success!
…he flew strongly and purposely, never losing altitude, to a nearby pine tree (evergreen!) in the shade. Janie assures us that Journey will return to his nest close by, where his parents will continue to feed him and teach him to hunt!
Another dedicated volunteer of Birds of Prey Northwest, Tina Penny, shared the following images on the Facebook page, Bluebell Court Eagles. She graciously gave me permission to share them.
As of Saturday afternoon, we are still anxiously waiting if Journey was reunited with his nest and parents.
There are thousands of people following Journey’s story all over the world. The rescues of early fledgling birds of prey has ignited our concern for climate change and our ability to be the stewards of God’s creatures while we all inhabit Planet Earth. BOPNW reported that they have rescued over 20 raptors in the last 2-3 weeks due to the extreme heat. The organization averages 1-2 rescues a YEAR under normal weather circumstances in addition to the other work it does.
If you can, I urge you to donate to your local animal rescue organization or the Birds of Prey Northwest. Journey’s story has opened our eyes to the wonderful folks who give of their own time and resources, like Birds of Prey Northwest, to rescue and reintroduce our incredible (some endangered) raptors back into their own habitats.
And as Sheriff Andy Taylor told us last week, “But Don’t the Trees Seem Nice and Full?”
Sunday Stills is a wonderful community of bloggers and photographers who desire to connect with one another. Below is the last week’s links from bloggers who shared their favorite photos under the trees. Please take a moment to visit a few, especially those new to Sunday Stills!
Thank you for reading this week! My dad just celebrated his 85th birthday and is visiting this week from Northern California for the first time! I look forward to your creative evergreen images!
Welcome back to Sunday Stills! I took a weekend break over the July 4th holiday, but I managed to publish two posts between July 2 and 7…whaaatt? I do like my once a week blogging schedule, but I enjoy mixing it up a little now and then, so thanks for reading.
Most of you know I love all types of pine trees, and finally moved to Eastern Washington last December where I am surrounded by Ponderosa pines. Having spent most of my childhood in San Diego surrounded by palm trees (which I love, by the way), my preference for pines was undoubtedly influenced by our two-year stay in Portland, Oregon. We lived on the corner of this Beaverton suburb and you can see the gorgeous view of the Sugar Pines (taken recently while there for a family memorial service).
Childhood home under the trees
While we were in the Beaverton area, we stayed in a lovely AirB&B and I discovered a wonderful suburban trail….
Suburban trail in Beaverton, OR
…That led to this pocket forest.
How wonderful to find a surprise forest in this neighborhood!
“Between every two pines is a doorway to a new world.”
I am still inviting links to Marsha’s Writers’ Quotes Wednesdays Writer’s Challenge while she is out and about exploring trees! Please link to THIS POSTuntil next Tuesday–your choice of theme.
“But Don’t the Trees Seem Nice and Full?”
You may have read last Friday’s Bird weekly post where I shared our neighborhood eagle “Journey,” and my former home’s sweet hummingbirds. Journey, the young eagle is still being monitored at the Birds of Prey Northwest facility in nearby Couer d’Alene, Idaho, and is progressing nicely. He is housed with another adult eagle who can mentor him until he is ready to be released. The temps are still very hot, in fact record breaking for this area and time of year, so he will stay at the facility a while longer. The parents are still visiting and maintaining the nest which is a really good sign.
On my morning walks with my dogs, I take a tree-lined path off the main road. A huge family of ravens inhabit the area and seem rather tame. They are certainly not bothered by my presence even when I creep toward one to take a pic! Of course one will scold me for getting too close! Now that I know the heat caused many young birds to fledge early, perhaps they were keeping track of the fledglings (none that I saw).
Local Raven
Raven Scolds Intruders!
High Above the Trees
Birds of prey abound here in Eastern Washington and especially in our rural area of Nine Mile Falls, 20 miles north of Spokane. On any given day one can look up…way up, and see a variety of birds circling. The best times to see them are early mornings and twilight as they search for food.
Hoping to see more eagles, I was surprised to see this particular bird, the Turkey Vulture, also seen in California, circling the skies here. They soar over 300 feet up but I got this shot with my Lumix!
Turkey Vulture
Another busy bird around these parts is the Western Osprey, a member of the hawk family. Lately a family of three soars the morning and evening skies, often heading back and forth between the forest and the nearby Spokane River (Long Lake). The osprey has distinctive face marking, like a black mask across its eyes. A really stunning bird and fun to capture in flight with my Lumix.
Western Osprey
I’m always a little worried that these huge birds might see my little dog Aero as a tasty treat, but luckily, the Osprey prefers fish while the Turkey Vulture feasts on carrion.
So what does my heading have to do with this section? Let me explain:
The quote in the heading was inspired by an old Andy Griffith TV show from the 60s starring Andy Griffith as the Mayberry, North Carolina sheriff and Ron Howard as his son Opie Taylor.
In the 1963 episode “Opie the Birdman,” Opie accidentally kills a mother bird, then he becomes a foster parent to its three orphaned nestlings and hand-raises them, naming them Winkin, Blinken and Nod. After successfully releasing the birds, Opie sadly remarks, “The cage sure looks awful empty, don’t it, Pa?
Andy Taylor replies, “Yes son, it sure does… but don’t the trees seem nice and full?”
Awwww….I love that reply and the whole episode! And isn’t that how it should be with our birds?
Join me for Sunday Stills the rest of the month:
July 18 Monthly Color Challenge: Evergreen (yes, more trees if you wish)
July 25 Geometric–think triangles, lines, squares, etc
Great Outdoors Bloggers links
Sunday Stills is a wonderful community of bloggers and photographers who desire to connect with one another. With 32 link-ups, you ‘all seem to love the great outdoors! Previously shared on last Wednesday’s Writers Quotes Wednesday, in case you missed the list.
I took a one day break from Sunday Stills to celebrate the Independence Day holiday. My good friend Marsha is busy with her new property as they prepare to get it ready for its new AirB&B status! So I offered to return the favor to host her weekly blog feature Writers Quotes Wednesday Writing Challenge (aka) #WQWWC for her this week!
More About Writer’s Quotes Wednesday Writing Challenge
I have been participating lately…I originally misunderstood the prompt thinking it was more of a writing prompt responding to a chosen quote. Just shows you how wrong I was. Like my Sunday Stills photo challenge that has a prepared weekly theme, WQWWC also has a weekly theme. This week is writer’s choice!
If you think this is still a writer’s challenge, you would be right, sort of. As bloggers, we are all writers to some degree. Many of us focus on different types of writing, whether the subject and focus is poetry, photography, DIY, lifestyle, food, travel, and others. Most bloggers share their craft in several creative ways, combining photography with some form of writing.
Many bloggers also combine their posts into several challenges or prompts—i.e. photo, poetry, flower-of-the-day, color challenge, and more. Hot this month is Becky B’s square trees challenge. Need more inspiration? Check out Cee’s page For the Love of Challengesand click on the challenge of your choice.
If you were planning to share your trees anyway, why not search for a quote about trees?
For Writers Quotes Wednesday Writing Challenge, the sky is the limit. Especially this week as it is writer’s choice—that’s YOU, the writer.
Now that you have the hang of it, let me take a moment to provide a few examples and illuminate the prompts.
Culture
As host this week, it is my sworn duty as a patriotic American to mention culture with a word or two about USA Independence Day, July 4th and what it has morphed into. While freedom and pride are the overarching themes, Americans love a party!
While many cities solemnly celebrate Independence Day with speeches, parades, and a little pomp, as it should be, most Americans are happy to have a summer holiday and blow off fireworks!
Erma Bombeck says it best…
“You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4th, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism.”
Erma Bombeck
Do you have a favorite culture quote from your own country?
Writer’s Choice
From here we explore writer’s choice, so share your creativity… c’mon, you can do it! I’m back outside to enjoy water and trees.
Like Marsha, who loves to combine photo and writing challenges in her posts, I’m linking some images to other photo challenges today.
Last week, hubby spent the week traveling back to Sacramento to bring back the rest of the items in our storage unit—bicycles, BBQ, random outdoor furniture, his tools, etc. Once he was done, he celebrated by doing his favorite activity—windsurfing!
Hubby with a Big Jump!
I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.
While hubby was camping in his truck and hanging with friends in the windy and cool Sacramento delta, my dogs and I endured the record heat by rising early. At 4am I was greeted by this amazing sunrise over the ridge.
John Muir says it best with this quote:
How glorious a greeting the sun gives the mountains!”
John Muir
A serene walk in the forest. Image enhanced with Painnt
“In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks.” “Between every two pines is a doorway to a new world.”
John Muir
These wonderful Ponderosa pines that surround me are shared for Becky B’s squaretrees.
Now It’s Your Turn
What inspires you more, your images or quotes? Now you will be doubly inspired. Your choice or culture…maybe both?
Post it on your blog and link to this post. Leave me a comment to make sure I see it. I will respond to your posts while Marsha is busy! For more information on the writer’s quotes challenge, visit Marsha’s page. Themes for the next few weeks are posted for those who love to plan in advance.
Last Week’s Freedom WQWWC Links
Marsha and I thank you for linking your freedom posts last week. Please visit if you can!
Sunday Stills is Back on July 11 with the Theme: Under the Trees
In the meantime, there is no reason for me to wait to share all the amazing Great Outdoors Bloggers links until July 11th. With 32 link-ups, you ‘all seem to love the great outdoors!
Since I’m not posting for Sunday Stills this weekend as we are busy with a family gathering for the Independence Day holiday, I’m sharing for Lisa’s Bird Weekly.
Amazingly, to satisfy the prompt for Lisa’s Bird Weekly (birds starting with letter H), the scientific moniker of the American Bald Eagle is Haliaeetus leucocephalus.
Terr’s actual image of Bald Eagle flying over Lake Couer D’Alene
I originally planned to only share my Anna’s Hummingbirds seen later in the post, but the story of a juvenile bald eagle is eager to be told.
Inspired By the “Journey” of an American Bald Eagle
When I moved to Nine Mile Falls, Washington (near Spokane), I expected to see a lot of Bald Eagles. I have seen a few in my own neighborhood and I’ve managed to capture some grainy photos of some. Jonesing for a way to find and photograph eagles with my own lens, I stumbled on a Facebook group, Spokane Birders, from which I am inspired daily by wonderful images of local birds and eagles.
A local woman, Diana G, who lives a short distance away, discovered a Bald Eagle’s nest visible from her backyard and has been taking incredible photographs of the adult pair and their newly hatched juvenile eagle, dubbed “Journey.” She shares her gorgeous photos of these eagles and other birds on Spokane Birders, but as her images of eagles grew in popularity due to a slew of newspaper articles and local newscasts, she created a Facebook group called Bluebell Court Eagles.
Diana has graciously given me permission to use some of her amazing photos to share more about the Bluebell Court Eagles and their “Journey!”
It starts with the Bluebell Court Eagles preparing their nest.
Bluebell Court Eagles contemplating their nest in February
As Journey prepares to fledge, the heat is on right now in the Pacific Northwest. Temperatures are as much as 30 degrees higher than normal for late June. Many juvenile birds are fledging early and bird parents are extra vigilant (we hope)!
Videos and images of him flapping his wings and hopping to higher branches of the nest to beat the heat had us cheering him on as he strengthens his wings for his first flight. Until…
Journey practices while Mom look on
…he disappeared from the nest! “He likely fledged,” reported Diana G. This poignant image shows mom in the nest looking in vain for Journey, and panting from the heat.
On June 28, Journey indeed fledged too soon due to the extreme heat and safely fluttered to the ground. A nearby neighbor found Journey in her backyard and reported to someone who supplied her with the contact for Birds of Prey Northwest in St Maries, Idaho, near Coeur D’Alene.
I’m safe in the loving hands of Birds of Prey NW
A volunteer reported they rescued Journey and successfully rehydrated him and intend to care for him until he can fly back to the nest next week.
Journey’s journey continues…please stay tuned.
More About Birds of Prey Northwest
This 28-year old non-profit is dedicated to rescuing and releasing birds of prey here in the Northwest. The organization received many donations as a result of following Journey’s story on Facebook. An even more incredible story is the how the talents of its staff rescued and rehabilitated Beauty, a bald eagle that was shot in Alaska and left for dead. The gunshot wound destroyed her upper beak. Not to be deterred, the talented staff used science and technology to create a 3-D printed beak used as a prosthesis to save Beauty from a senseless fate.
I’m not kidding when I learned this organization is thee place for rescuing birds of prey!
Why the American Bald Eagle Symbolizes Freedom
Colored by me via ColorPlanet
The U.S. Bald eagle, (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), is the only eagle solely native to North America, and the national bird of the United States.
The bald eagle was chosen June 20, 1782 as the emblem of the United States of America, because of its long life, great strength and majestic looks, and also because it was then believed to exist only on this continent. The eagle represents freedom.
Freedom quotes are shared for Marsha’s Writers Quotes Wednesdays. I will be hosting WQW on July 7 while Marsha takes care of some business! Next week’s theme is Writers’ Choice or Culture.
Small But Also Mighty
Annas Hummingbirds are typically found in the Western US and migrate South in cold winter months. My hummer families lived in our former Sacramento home all year ’round.
These first two Annas Hummingbird pictures were taken at my Dad’s home in the Sierra Nevada Foothills.
Floating to the feeder
All mine!
This perched hummingbird nested in our California Redwood Trees in Sacramento. Sharing for Becky B’s July Squares: Trees
“H” is also for HERO, recognizing citizens and volunteers who care for our creatures during extreme weather conditions, injury and beyond. And as we celebrate US Independence Day, please remember those who gave their lives in service to our country. Thank you to those who are serving now.
Are you crazy about eagles? Visit Tofino Photography. His images of eagles are a sight to behold.
Remember, Sunday Stills takes a one week break on July 4th. Won’t you join me as I host Writers’ Quotes Wednesday on July 7th as I stand in for Marsha at Always Write? There I will share all the Sunday Stills links from The Great Outdoors! We’ll be back on July 11 with the Sunday Stills theme of “Under the Trees.”
As you read last week, the northern hemisphere experienced the summer solstice and people are heading for the great outdoors. According to the US National Park Service and National Today, June is Great Outdoors Month. There are still 4 days left in June to get outdoors and of course, that door is still open next month and all year long!
I wanted to title this post: “Can you handle the great outdoors after a pandemic?” But no, enough about it! While some countries still struggle with vaccinating its populace, here in the US, most of us are out and about with few restrictions. Make no mistake, Covid is still floating around, so stay safe if you find yourself around a crowd of people.
“During Great Outdoors Month, I encourage all Americans to explore our Nation’s beautiful outdoor spaces. As we enjoy the great outdoors — from national parks to our own backyards — let us rededicate ourselves to conserving our Nation’s natural spaces for our own well-being, and for the health, safety, prosperity, and fulfillment of generations to come.”
US President Joseph Biden
Ways to Celebrate “Great Outdoors” Month and Beyond
Take a Vacation!
Summer in the Northern Hemisphere is prime vacation time. Join Marsha at Always Write for her weekly feature Writer’s Quotes Wednesdays Writing Challenge, where “vacation” is the theme. I commented back with now that I am retired, every day feels like a vacation. Hard to get used to but I’m managing!
“A vacation helps to relieve stress and boredom, gives us a change of scenery, provides us with adventure, and helps to bring us closer to the people in our lives.”
E. S. Woods
“Life’s short. Eat dessert first, work less and vacation MORE!!”
Lea Mishell
I enjoyed my first Hawaiian breakfast outdoors on the lanai of our beach-front hotel in Waikiki (Oahu) in January 2006.
Enjoy Backyard Birding!
Join a birding or photography group. I follow Spokane Birders on Facebook but I hope to find some fellow local birders to learn more about birds in the area.
Anna Hummingbird
“Bird watching is now North America’s second most popular outdoor activity (second only to gardening).”
Bernd Brunner
Hike a Trail!
“And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul.”
John Muir
Over Memorial Day weekend, we got to take my daughter and boyfriend on an easy hike to a local area along the Spokane River called the Bowl and Pitcher, in Riverside State Park, just minutes from our new home. Large blocks of basaltic rock lie in and above the Spokane River in the formation of the bowl (right) and pitcher (left).
Bowl and Pitcher
Bowl and Pitcher
Us with the dogs
Walk the dogs. Another trail, just 100 yards from our house, is a great place to walk the dogs. With this heat wave, we get up early to accomplish this!
“An early-morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.”
Stop to smell a flower. Remember the earlier quote about gardening being the number one outdoor activity? Plant a garden or simply admire flowers and plants. Sharing for Cees’ Flower of the Day.
Backyard Echinacea
Hubby checking out flowers at Ahwahnee Hotel
Rainy rosebud
Don’t get too close!
More Ways to Celebrate Great Outdoors Month and Beyond
In your backyard or neighborhood… Throw a block party. Grill in your backyard. Start or join a walking club. Relax and read a book on your porch.
In public lands...go camping. Plan a picnic. Swim, kayak, or boat on an ocean, lake, or river. Go fishing.
Sunday Stills is a wonderful community of bloggers and photographers who desire to connect with one another. Below are the last week’s links from bloggers who shared their favorite sunrise and sunset photos as we celebrated the solstice. Please visit a few when you get the chance and welcome three bloggers as they share their posts for the first time at Sunday Stills!
Sunday, June 20th marks the summer solstice in the northern hemisphere. What a perfect week to show off our sunrises and sunsets!
But First, The Solstice!
If being celestial two weeks ago wasn’t enough “geek” for you science buffs, let’s talk about the solstice.
The word solstice is derived from the Latin sol (“sun”) and sistere (“to stand still”), because at the solstices, the Sun’s declination appears to “stand still”; that is, the seasonal movement of the Sun’s daily path (as seen from Earth) pauses at a northern or southern limit before reversing direction.
It’s hard to believe we will lose two minutes of daylight a day in the northern hemisphere for the next six months as we head into Autumn and Winter. As the southern hemisphere experiences their winter solstice Monday, folk down-under will gradually see two extra minutes of daylight each day.
After years of living in both Southern and Northern California, I got used to summer nights lasting until 8:45pm or so, with first light around 5:30am. One year I spent the 4th of July celebration with my Dad in the town of Alturas, in the most northeast corner of California. The fireworks didn’t start until 10:30pm when it finally got dark! As much as I thought that was impressive, Spokane (Nine Mile Falls), WA, sees 16 hours of official daylight on the summer solstice.
Image screenshot from Weather Underground App
You can google more information here if you are interested in seeing your own daylight hours.
There is also something called “Civil Twilight,” where light begins or remains in the sky before the sun rises or sets. Spokane’s begins as early as 4:10am and the light in the sky ends at 9:35pm, that’s about 6.5 hours of darkness. I know many of you live in more northern latitudes (Alaska, Canada, Sweden, etc) and it would be interesting to know what your sunset time will be on the solstice.
For you in the southern latitudes, what time did the sun go down on this cold winter day?
The construction crew is slowly building the polebarn/shop. This was taken at 10:00 pm a few days ago. Still a lot of light in the sky, enough to hide the stars.
“What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.”
John Steinbeck
And so the world turns.
Now that all the science is out of the way, how do you celebrate the solstice? In my world, and for this week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme, we will simply enjoy sharing our favorite sunrises and sunsets.
The Heat is On
Similar to our experience with the summer solstice is the heat that comes with enjoying what summer brings. Marsha at Always Write challenges us this week with “heat” for her Writers Quotes Wednesday Writers Challenge. Marsha has a series of hilarious quotes you don’t want to miss. I found a few of my own to share. But I thought this one seemed appropriate since we just read about daylight hours.
“One benefit of Summer was that each day we had more light to read by.”
Jeannette Walls, The Glass Castle
“Dear weather, stop showing off… We know you’re HOT!!!” “I’m glad it’s finally hot enough to complain about how hot it is.”
Authors Unknown
And with Summer’s Heat Comes…
To me sunflowers are a wonderful representation of all things “sun.”
The sunflower’s name comes from its tendency to reposition itself to face the sun. It’s genus, Helianthus, is rooted in two Greek words — “helios” meaning sun and “anthos” meaning flower. Here is really great article about sunflowers if you want more information…
I miss my sunflowers, the ones I planted from seeds back in my former home in Sacramento. I spent hours taking photos over three summers. I even got great close-ups of bees seeking pollen!
Infant Sunflowers
Fresh Sunny
Teddy Bear
Loaded with pollen
Incoming!
As I’ve mentioned before, I now live in Eastern Washington where sunflowers and their close cousins, coneflowers, grow wild on our property among the pine trees and lupines.
It has been a few years since we visited Baja Sur, Mexico. We typically went in late December and early January. Sunrise was at 7:00 a.m. and I made sure I set my alarm to enjoy the spectacular sunrises over the Sea of Cortez. A real treat to see the sunrise over the ocean instead of the sunset expected on the US West Coast over the Pacific Ocean.
Sunrise over Sea of Cortez
How About Some Sunsets?
A sunset over the Sacramento River Delta never failed to inspire.
After a warm, windy session windsurfing, sometimes a sunset sail is the most memorable.
“Wind is God’s way of balancing heat.”
Author Unknown
Or how about a sunset in the Yosemite high country?
Turn around and even better, alpenglow appears on the opposite horizon from the setting sun!
Unlike the direct sunlight around sunrise or sunset, the light that causes alpenglow is reflected off airborne precipitation, ice crystals, or particulates in the lower atmosphere. source
In case you need ideas, consider sharing anything anything related to sunrises and sunsets: sunflowers, glow, lighthouse, brilliance, alpenglow, dusk, twilight, dawn, rooster crowing, Stonehenge, stone circles, sun god, ancient myths, etc.
In the Pink Blogger Links
Color challenges seem to be waayyy popular! Bloggers shared 17 links just on Sunday alone with a grand total of 33 by Saturday! Thank you for your continuing support and I hope to see a lot more for this week’s prompt!
I’ll sign off with this image of me from 2019 enjoying a very boozy sunset Mai Tai at the Bali Hai restaurant in San Diego in Fall 2019.
Next week, we explore the Great Outdoors (June is Great Outdoors month somewhere). I will share a sneak peak perspective of Becky B’s July Squares: Trees.
Enjoy the solstice and have a wonderful week ahead!
Welcome to the Sunday Stills Monthly Color challenge this week!
June’s color is any shade of pink.
“Pink is a beautiful color, because it is one of the colors that the sun makes at twilight and in the dawns.”
C. JoyBell
Depending on where you live geographically, you may be experiencing shades of pink all around you as we near summer here in the northern hemisphere. If the color pink escapes you in nature now, I’m sure your photo archives are full of pinks. And who needs nature to see pink, right?
Since summer is basically here, it’s time for water sports and I won’t be caught dead (poor pun, I know) without my pink life vests. More about water in a minute.
Before I begin sharing examples of pink, I’m joining Marsha from Always Write for her weekly feature WQW Writer’s Challenge. This week’s quotes focus on summer. Nothing says summer like the image above, or this quote:
Portland’s Parade of Pink
Portland, Oregon, is home to the Portland International Rose Test Garden. It has been a few years since I visited, but the gardens are stunning. Roses really love the climate and in fact, Portland is known as “the City of Roses.”
Last week we spent the weekend in Beaverton, a suburb of Portland, Oregon to gather with my cousin and our family as she put her beloved husband to rest. We stayed in an Airbnb in the Highland area and I had the chance to take a walk through this gorgeous neighborhood. It was a bit overcast so the various lush shades of green made the pink pop even more so! Please enjoy my gallery of pink roses and other pink florals.
American Beauty
Elder
Japanese Barberry
China Rose
I was THISCLOSE to visiting my blogger pal Cee but we didn’t have time. These florals are shared for Cee’s Flower of the Day challenge.
My mom’s birthday was this week (June 9th). She would have been 81. Turns out she shares her birthday with blogger Anne Leueen of Horse Addict! Anne shares her spot-on thoughts on aging and I miss my mom every day. My mom wanted to be healthy and she strove for an active lifestyle. But RA and dementia took their toll and she passed in March 2020. Before we sold mom’s house last August, my daughter attempted to rescue her beloved roses.
Sadly, the two plants did not survive our trip north. I intend to plant some roses in her honor once we figure out our backyard landscape plan.
As I continued my walk, I found the opening to the suburban trails that so uniquely define the Beaverton-Tigard neighborhoods. I happened along a youth baseball game in progress and stood for a moment to watch youth playing, as proud parents watched the game. Even this mom was in a pink mood to go watch her child play baseball!
Inspired by Lisa’s Bird Weekly challenge, at the 11th hour, I found a freckled hummingbird in my archives, interestingly surrounded in pink.
No editing here (other than crop and exposure), just a trick of my camera and lighting I suppose!
Closer to Home
I felt I was in heaven on Memorial Day as we took the eight-minute drive to Tumtum, a lakeside resort area that sits on the oxbow of the Spokane River, dammed on either side to create Long Lake. This was our first time paddling in Washington waters and on my brand-new inflatable pinkish-purple SUP. Hans got in on the action, too, as we took turns watching the dogs.
Isn’t it a relief to see the world getting back to normal?
Sunday Stills Photo Challenge Reminders
Please create a new post for the theme or link a recent one.
Title your blog post a little differently than mine.
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 into the comments.
Entries for this theme can be posted all week.
Use hashtag #SundayStills for sharing on social media.
I hope you had as much fun posting your celestial images as I had to see them all. Many mentioned that this was quite the challenge but we had 19 links to the theme. Celestial moments in blog land indeed! Please take a moment and visit two or three if you haven’t already. Reminder, each week I share your posts on the following week’s post, so please link to my post by Saturday 5pm to make it onto the list!
Next week’s theme is “sunrise or sunset” as we celebrate the solstice. Did you notice that the solstice could be considered a celestial event and many sunrises/sunsets are pink? Cornfused? No worries, have fun, and have a wonderful week!
I’ve always been fascinated by cosmic events, the night sky and constellations, moonrises, comets, and meteor showers. Years ago I witnessed the Space EX launch that we saw in the skies over San Diego.
SpaceX Launched 10 satellites into space from Southern California
The Northern hemisphere reached meteorological summer this week and in light of the recent full lunar eclipse, our Sunday Stills photo challenge theme is “celestial.”
Definitions of Celestial
The Oxford Dictionary defines celestial as positioned in or relating to the sky, or outer space as observed in astronomy. Other synonyms to get you thinking include: supremely good, heavenly, holy, celestial being (aka angels), sky, otherworldly, unearthly, blissful, ethereal, spiritual, supernatural…
“Every beauty which is seen here by persons of perception resembles more than anything else that celestial source from which we all are come.”
Michelangelo
Cosmic Events
Last year, we got a glimpse of comet Neowise on a dark night in the delta. It was just a vague smudge which was a remarkable sight. But as I looked again to show someone else, I saw the light of the international space station juxtaposed against it in its orbit. I almost fell over with delight!
Trust me when I say I will do what it takes to get my camera ready for an eclipse which is what you see in this image from Instagram. I took this shot at 4:15am, and it was already getting light outside. I saw better lunar eclipses posted, but I’m happy with it. Some of you already saw this on Instagram and Facebook.
While my daughter visited over the Memorial Day Weekend, I looked to the skies for inspiration. They did not disappoint.
A hot air balloon flies low over Spokane neighborhood…seen from my brother-in-law’s deck!
In downtown Spokane’s Riverfront Park, old meets new under the skyway as the iron sculpture of the Salmon Chief seeks a blessing for his catch. The Spokane River’s lower falls that run through the downtown area were a fishing spot for native Americans for thousands of years. This sculpture was created by Colville Reservation native Virgil Marchand.
In the same area, the remaining skeletal structure of the Pavilion, built for the 1974 World’s Fair, lends an otherworldly sight to downtown Spokane.
Wild sunflowers at home reach for the setting sun in their celestial quest.
Celestial events are popular inspiration recorded in pop music. According to Spinditty, there are 134 songs relating to astronomy.
Recognize any of these? I was greatly influenced by the 60s-70s generation of music that spoke so eloquently of the cosmos. (By the way, due to copyright infringement concerns, I’ve only published snippets of the lyrics of each song).
“And all that is now and all that is gone And all that’s to come and everything under the sun is in tune, But the sun is eclipsed by the moon.”
Pink Floyd
“When the moon is in the Seventh House and Jupiter aligns with Mars Then peace will guide the planets, And love will steer the stars This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius…
The Fifth Dimension
“Once upon a time there was light in my life, but now there’s only love in the dark Nothing I can say, a total eclipse of the heart.”
Bonnie Tyler
“This is Major Tom to Ground Control, I’m stepping through the door. And I’m floating in a most peculiar way, and the stars look very different today.
David Bowie
Celestial images captured by our lenses spark the imaginations of what really lies beyond.
Daytime Moon
Delta Moon
After the Eclipse
April 2020 Super Pink Moon
When Celestial Becomes Infernal and Funereal
Despite recently installing satellite internet, I crafted part of my post this week without internet. High winds messed with our dish, then the 4G mobile network was intermittent due to excessive heat this week. I could have sworn we moved to Northeastern Washington but it feels like we are still in Sacramento if the weather is any indication. The very antithesis of the meaning of celestial.
As you read this today, we are traveling by car from Portland, Oregon, back to Spokane. My family traveled from far and wide to attend the celebration of life for my cousin’s husband, who passed away unexpectedly a few weeks ago. Though the circumstances were solemn and sad, we know he rests in peace with our Heavenly Father. In our grief, we managed to enjoy seeing everyone in person since before Covid. Nice to be among my fellow vaccinated family.
“The Ancients often believed a celestial event like an eclipse to be a bad omen, that the sun or the moon vanishing from the sky was a harbinger of disaster, a sign of devastation or destruction to come.”
Jenna Wortham
Hmmm, food for thought. Nothing surprises me now that we have experienced a pandemic first hand.
Sunday Stills Photo Challenge Reminders
Please create a new post for the theme or link a recent one.
Title your blog post a little differently than mine.
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 into the comments.
Entries for this theme can be posted all week.
Use hashtag #SundayStills for sharing on social media.
Sunday Stills is a wonderful community of bloggers and photographers who desire to connect with one another. Below is the last week’s links from bloggers who shared their favorite vacation photos. And with that…
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