photography – Second Wind Leisure Perspectives

Sunday Stills: The #Pink Side of October

October 17, 2021October 17, 2021Posted in leisure, photography, weekly photo challengeTagged blogging, breast cancer awareness, Cees FOTD, cellpicSunday, leisure, life in colour, October, pastsquares, photography, pink, Sunday Stills, Susan G Komen, WQWWC100 Comments

I know, I know, another color challenge, well, kinda…

I enjoyed all of your fabulous oranges last week for the monthly color challenge. But Elle Woods would argue…

“Whoever said orange was the new pink was seriously disturbed.”
Elle Woods, Legally Blonde

These “pretty in pink” adorable twins enjoyed riding the harvest train and frolicking all morning at the Stone Lodge Farms Fall Festival.

farm girls love pink — Farm girls love pink!

While we read a little about Breast Cancer Awareness, please think of ways to honor the month with your favorite pink images.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

It has been a while since I posted something to acknowledge Breast Cancer Awareness Month which is typically recognized in October. With the focus on Covid, many of our wellness campaigns for illnesses and diseases we still encounter every day have taken a backseat to the pandemic.

Sadly, they don’t go away just because Covid so rudely took center stage for almost 2 years.

At the height of the pandemic, routine cancer screenings declined by 90%. Screenings have resumed and doctors are diagnosing later-stage cancers — things that might have been caught earlier, according to NPR Radio.

The familiar pink ribbon stands for prevention, detection, treatment, and increased breast cancer awareness and is recognized as the traditional trademark of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

(image by Pexels)

Way Too Many

Do you know someone, a friend, colleague, or family member who has been diagnosed with breast cancer? I have.

Way too many.

Do you know someone, a friend, colleague, or family member who has died as a result of breast cancer? I have.

Way too many.

In the popular media, we are surrounded by images of pink ribbons promoting the fight against breast cancer. From the National Football League where players sport pink towels, shoe laces, socks, and other uniform accessories, to people wearing pink clothing, or sporting pink ribbons on their cars (and windsurf sails).

Security dressed in pink! — Me flying on my pink sail!

Terri Sailing on a very windy day! — Me flying on my pink sail!

“In 2020, there were 2.3 million women diagnosed with breast cancer and 685,000 deaths globally. As of the end of 2020, there were 7.8 million women alive who were diagnosed with breast cancer in the past 5 years, making it the world’s most prevalent cancer.
World Health Organization

No matter who you are or where you live, understanding breast cancer is important. But the most important thing to know is this: a diagnosis is not a death sentence. Breast cancer can be treated.

Men can also contract breast cancer, too.

The Susan G. Komen organization is instrumental worldwide in fundraising efforts for the research and prevention of breast cancer, as well as the advocacy and support for those afflicted.

I hope you have given some thought to the victims and survivors of breast cancer. I personally know (and knew) over a dozen women who battled breast cancer…some won, some lost. A best friend and work colleague, both just over 50 at the time of diagnosis…survived. My daughters’ step-mom, 41, and another work colleague, 63…both lost their battles.

I traditionally get a mammogram during the month of October. If you are a woman over 40, please get one. If your health provider balks at 40-year-olds asking for mammograms, argue with them.

A young woman who worked for me a few years ago was diagnosed at age 31. The cancer was aggressive and resulted in chemo, radiation, and a double mastectomy. She is a cancer survivor at 38.

Years ago, when my daughter, Lauren, lost her step-mother to breast cancer, she wanted to honor her step-mother and help raise funds for research and prevention by doing a walk for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure event traditionally held in April, in Sacramento. She asked me to join her. I did.

And the 10,000 breast cancer survivors and their families?

Happily, that day, I walked alongside way too many.

The Pink Side of October

“I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.” – L.M. Montgomery

Pink and red Maple Leves — I blush pink and red!

Although we are focusing on pink, October is a prime month for some of the best Autumn colors as many leaves reach their color peak in the Northern Hemisphere. This took some getting used to as I recall my almost 40 years of Autumns in Northern California when the peak was typically between mid- to end of November.

Here in Northeastern Washington, we seem to be at the normal peak of colors now that maple trees have blushed their way into Fall. Hey, it’s almost pink, and I am saving the dark reds for November’s color challenge “ruby wine.”

Speaking of color, I’d like to share Sue’s 100-day project, Bringing More Color into My Life. Her blog Women Living Well After 50, talks about active aging for women over 50 and beyond.

Enjoy my pink images inspired by the pink ribbon that represents hope for the cure.

“Pink is a beautiful color, because it is one of the colors that the sun makes at twilight and in the dawns.”
C. JoyBell C

A pink dawn to inspire yet another day for breast cancer survivors.

Colorful dawn in the mountains — Pink Lady on Pink

Other Ways to Acknowledge Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Friday, October 22, 2021: Real Kids Wear Pink Day
Wear pink the rest of the month.
Share your pink images on social media and in the blogosphere.
Donate to your local Breast canceer awareness campaign.

liquid amber leaves — A mix of orange and pink leaves

So while we celebrate those who have survived breast cancer and remember fondly those who succumbed to it, think of something special in the color pink that holds a memory for you.

Photo Challenges This Week

Marsha’s WQW Autumn or Fall
Dawn’s Festival of Leaves
Jude’s Life in Color
Cee’s Flower of the Day
Johnbo’s CellPic Sunday
Becky B’s Past Squares

To see more of my images and other news, consider following Terri on Social Media by clicking the icons:

“Orange” You Glad These Bloggers Linked Last Week?

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 27 bloggers who shared their favorite orange photos. I always appreciate those who visit other Sunday Stills participants and support our blogging efforts!

Cats and Trails and Garden Tales

Cee’s Photo Challenges

Dandelion Fuzz

Deb’s World

Easin’ Along Image shared in comments

Geriatrix Foto Gallery

Graham’s Island

Hugh’s Views and News Image shared in comments

Philosophy through Photography

Picture This

Retirement Reflections image on Instagram

This is Another Story

I look forward to you all filling up the pages of WordPress with your pink images!

Sunday Stills Monthly Color Challenge: Burnt or Blood #Orange

October 10, 2021October 10, 2021Posted in leisure, photography, weekly photo challengeTagged bloggers, burnt orange, Cees FOTD, cellpicSunday, dogs, fall festival, festival of leaves, leisure, life in colour, orange, pastsquares, photography, Sunday Stills, WQWWC116 Comments

Beware! This post has something for everyone today, including cute dogs, pumpkins, and lots of orange!

I don’t know what it is about October that it seems to represent the various shades of orange. Perhaps it’s the variety of the fall leaves, pumpkins and Halloween jack o’ lanterns. Hence our color challenge this month, focusing on burnt orange or blood orange. Those names just sound like October!

Burnt or Blood Orange Pallet — Orange Color Palette

Any shade of orange will do! I’m easy. I read somewhere that orange is the color of joy and creativity. I definitely agree.

Orange is the happiest color.
Frank Sinatra

Sinatra was right, especially when this image of my orange kettle smiled at me!

That Hometown Feeling

We were ecstatic to learn that there is a local nursery/farm down the street from our house, about a quarter of a mile away—easily within walking distance. The owners sell trees, plants, shrubs, etc, and we have purchased a few items from them. When I discovered the farm puts on a harvest festival every year, four weekends in October, I almost died from excitement. The manager asked us to volunteer which gets us a deep discount on the trees we want to buy and plant! Just the small town feel we had hoped for when we moved here.

Stone Lodge Farms Fall Festival — Neighborhood Fall Festival

Neighborhood Pumpkin Patch — Neighborhood Fall Festival

A few miles away in North Spokane, GreenBluff Growers Association boasts over 60 farms, wineries, breweries and event venues. When we visited there two weeks ago, stepping into the various farms felt like we were right at home during the harvest.

Painnt Filter of Terri — Fun with filters… and pumpkins!

Pumpkin Patch and Dog — Fun with filters… and pumpkins!

As much as I enjoyed what Greenbluff had to offer, our neighborhood Fall Festival is on par with any of those farms with vendors, entertainment, kids activities, pumpkins and food. Did I mention their homemade pumpkin donuts? Amazing!

Dogs Love Orange Too!

My liver brown dogs look darling in their orange attire. Aero seems to love his orange harness…because he know it means a walk is imminent…

I’m not sure Brodie is too thrilled pictured here 4 years ago in his life vest. Now he swims without it. He loves the water.

Brodie, Boykin Spaniel in life vest — Brodie not too sure about his life vest

Needing More “Orange”-spiration?

Smoky Suns

Smoke during the summer from nearby and distant fires in the west gave us unhealthy air quality but strangely beautiful orange sunrises and sunsets. Our firefighters worked overtime and we are grateful for their efforts.

Smokey orb over pine trees — 2021 Smoky sunrise in Washington

Sunset over wind turbines — 2021 Smoky sunrise in Washington

Fabulous Flora

The trees and wildflowers are showcasing their orange right now. My neighbor’s maple tree is orange now but will turn bright red in a matter of days.

Maple in orange and red — Neighbor’s Maple Tree

autumn wild coneflower — Neighbor’s Maple Tree

Even the Rocks Cry Out in Orange

While we visited Sedona, Arizona, in August, the “red” rocks for which Sedona is famous, showed their joyous orange hues in certain lights.

A Past Look at Orange

October’s poplars are flaming torches lighting the way to winter.
Nova Bair

Photography Challenges this Week!

As always, I appreciate the inspiration and dedication necessary by bloggers who host their weekly and seasonal photo challenges. This week I’m inspired by the following challenges:

More Fun

A shout-out to successful blogger (and friend) Janice Wald at Mostly Blogging in her article Blogging for Fun . Last week I posted about leisure, sports and hobbies and most of us who blog fall into the category of hobby blogger. We do this for fun and a variety of other reasons. And its nice to get validation from Janice. Her blog started out as a hobby blog but moved on to helping bloggers with her experience and words of wisdom.

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 if you share on social media.

To see more of my images and other news, consider following Terri on Social Media by clicking the icons:

Busy Bloggers’ Who Love Their Hobbies

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 photos of their hobbies, sports, and leisure pastimes.

Bushboy’s World

Cats and Trails and Garden Tales

Deb’s World

Equipoise Life Image shared in comments

Graham’s Island

Geriatrix Fotogallery

Hugh’s Views and News Image in Comments

Jacquie Biggar Author

Kamerapromenader

Loving Life

Now At Home

Once Upon a Time and Happily Ever After

Picture Retirement

Stevie Turner

This is Another Story

NEW Toortsie.com

Woolly Muses

Working on Exploring

A Young Retirement

I can’t wait to see all your joyful orange colors this week! Remember you can link to Sunday Stills all week and feel free to link to other challenges in the same post. Next week we’ll be “in the pink” as I make my annual nod to Breast Cancer Awareness Month with current and past pink images. Pink works for Becky B’s Past Squares challenge, too. Have a wonderful week!

Sunday Stills: #Sports and #Hobbies

October 3, 2021October 4, 2021Posted in leisure, photography, weekly photo challengeTagged autumn leaves, Cees FOTD, cellpicSunday, cycling, festival of leaves, greenbluff, hiking, hobbies, kayaking, life in colour, pastsquares, photography, photography challenges, sports, Sunday Stills98 Comments

Hello October! As spring ramps up in the Southern Hemisphere, I’m sure many folks can’t wait to get back to their favorite outdoor activities and hobbies. Here in the cold north, most of our outdoor sports and pastimes are ending or adjusting as the changing weather and cooler temps of Autumn close in.

A hobby a day keeps the doldrums away.
Phyllis McGinley

Fallen reflected leaves — In the gutter but still beautiful

Hiking, biking and walking are still doable in Northeastern Washington with cool sunny days, but colder nights dictate warmer clothes. My last day on the bike was in Sacramento in November 2020 when I visited the American River Bike Trail for the last time.

Autumn Bike Ride American River Bike Trail

Hiking

Last week, my good friend and her fiancé visited here from Sacramento. We hiked around the area that included The Bowl and Pitcher and our local trails.

Make a commitment to having fun. See your best friends and make time for your hobbies and passions.
Robert Holden

Hiking at the Bowl and Pitcher — Enjoying hiking with my friend from Sacramento

Enjoying hiking with my friend from Sacramento

Shopping/ Exploring

We visited GreenBluff, a farm area featuring over 60 local growers, wineries, breweries and other venues. Autumn is a great time to visit and purchase famous Washington apples while getting in the groove for harvest-themed activities and food, like pumpkin donuts and sparkling mead. Did I mention shopping is a legit hobby?

Kayaking

Last weekend while outdoor temperatures were still in the upper 70’s and low 80s (25-27 C), lines of vehicles drove down the main highway to get their last warm days of kayaking in. Although I did not get out on the water this time, I managed a few trips over the summer.

August Kayaking Little Spokane River — The second image is the Painnt App Filter

Kayaking Watson Lake, Prescott, AZ — Kayak Trio on Watson Lake, Prescott, AZ

More watercraft were out enjoying the late summer weather.

Late summer kayaking Lake Spokane — Late summer on the lake

late summer Fishing — Late summer on the lake

Other Hobbies

While many of us think about what defines a hobby, our blog and the photography that goes alongside the blog are year-round hobbies that engage us in many ways. From these, we get creative with poetry, writing, visual art and other fine arts that keep the creative juices flowing.

Photography

Of course, you know I’m all about photography. With mobile devices, snapping a pic is easy and provides hours of fun. Creating the blog signatures is also part of the fun!

I spent last week leaf-chasing. With my dogs leashed to my left arm and phone in my right hand, I found beautiful Autumn scenes within my own neighborhood and beyond.

Many photographers experiment with filters, apps, and other creative measures to enhance their photos. I put some of my existing images through a mobile app called Painnt. Hope you enjoyed them throughout this post.

Learning a New Language

As of today, I have logged 673 days in a row learning German on Duolingo. I actually began in August 2019 but managed to accidentally skip a day. The streak before that was 50. You’d think with all these days logged I would know more. But given a decent context, I can understand some spoken words and read a variety of words. I can also correct some of my hubby’s German to a small extent, with his excuse being that I’m learning high German, LOL. Not bad for him speaking the language since birth. He also speaks Spanish fluently. I’m just relieved that I can speak English fluently 😉

Wildlife Watching

My love of the outdoors involves seeing as much wildlife as possible. So far in the Spokane/Nine Mile Falls area, I’ve seen a few bald eagles, two moose (while kayaking), heard the bugle cry of an elk late one night, and adorable flocks of quail. We see white-tailed and mule deer almost daily.

Flock of Quail — Quail family from 75 yards away

Volunteering

Volunteering is a wonderful hobby that benefits both the giver and the receiver. In our new community I have had several opportunities to volunteer. Over the summer, our church operated a free weekly day camp at a nearby school. My job was to help prepare 180 sack lunches every Wednesday. Two of the days were hot dog BBQs on site. This month, at our local nursery/farm (down the street!), we are volunteering each weekend as they host their annual Harvest Festival. Saturday was our first day and it was a blast, meeting neighbors, and just being out in the Autumn air. We are going to get some free trees for our efforts!

Yay for Photo Challenges!

Today I’m sharing this post for several other photo challenges including Becky B’s October Squares, where past meets present. In many of these images, I present “bright, trees, blue, lines, perspective, and time.”

Also, JohnBo’s CellPic Sunday, Cee’s Flower of the Day, Jude’s Life in Color, Jo’s Monday Walk, and Dawn’s Festival of Leaves

To see more of my images and other news, consider following Terri on Social Media by clicking the icons:

Last Week’s Linkers

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 29 bloggers who shared their favorite Autumn and Spring photos.

Bushboy’s World

Cath’s Camera

Cats and Trails and Garden Tales

Cee’s Photo Challenges

Deb’s World

Denyse Whelan Blogs

Easin’ Along Image shared in comments

Equipoise Life

Frost on the Moose Dung

Graham’s Island

Heaven’s Sunshine

Hugh’s Views and News Image in Comments

Jacquie Biggar Author

NEW The Sandy Chronicles

NEW TBL

This is Another Story

It is in his pleasure that a man really lives; it is from his leisure that he constructs the true fabric of self.
Agnes Repplier

I hope to see you next week for the Monthly Color Challenge! October is all about Burnt or Blood Orange with shades in between! Have a great week.

Please bear with me Sunday as I am away from the internet for a few hours while we volunteer for a local Harvest Festival, as I mentioned earlier. I will share about that next week!

Sunday Stills: #Signs of …Autumn? Spring?

September 26, 2021September 26, 2021Posted in leisure, photography, weekly photo challengeTagged autumn, autumnal equinox, Cees FOTD, cellpicSunday, color2021, fall, festival of leaves, photography, seasons, spring, Sunday Stills, WQWWC100 Comments

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!

“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.

Smoky Spokane in September 2020 — 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!

KREM News weather graphic — Credit: KREM 2

Those temperature drops each month bring the promise of this…by mid-October.

For the time being, September gives us these signs of Autumn:

What are the signs of the season changing where you live?

Fall Florals

Early Autumn shows off her sense of humor with spent sunflowers, heavy with seeds:

Or, Fall Asters, a purple contrast to the yellows and golds.

Apart from the obvious plant life changes, other signs of Autumn include:

September’s Harvest moon
Migrating birds
Crisp, clean air
Less daylight
Cool (and cold!) temperatures

–Fire in the wood stove or fireplace
-Smell of smoke from chimneys

-Cozy blankets

-Seasonal home décor

-Store displays for Halloween and Christmas(!)
-Lots of apples, pumpkins and squash

Inspired By Other Bloggers’ Photo Challenges

This week I’m linking with the following bloggers who offer their creative photo challenges:

Cees Flower of the Day; Dawn’s Annual Festival of Leaves; Marsha’s WQWWC: Communication ; JohnBo’s CellPic Sunday, Jude’s Life in Color: Gold, and Lens-Artists Challenge.

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.

October themes for Sunday Stills can be found on my Sunday Stills Photography page.

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.

Bushboy’s World

A Day in the Life

Cats and Trails and Garden Tales

Cath’s Camera

Cee’s Photo Challenges

Deb’s World

Denyse Whelan Blogs

Easin’ Along Image in Comments

NEW Linda Schaub Blog

This is Another Story

Have a wonderful week!

Sunday Stills Monthly Color Challenge: All that is #Gold

September 19, 2021September 22, 2021Posted in leisure, photography, weekly photo challengeTagged Cees FOTD, citrine, color2021, gold, leisure, monthly color challenge, photography, rise/set, Sedona, September, Sunday Stills, travel, wedding111 Comments

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.

leaf reflections — 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.

Roof Top View as seen from Sacramento State University — Rooftop view of my former university

Delta Yellow Wildflowers — Rooftop view of my former university

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.

Mojave Desert Sunrise — Golden dawn in Helendale, Mojave Desert

Baja Sunrise — Golden dawn in Helendale, Mojave Desert

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.

Wedding vows in Sedona — Sharing their vows

Golden moments at dinner. The bride contemplates her array of special beverages.

Bride contemplates an array of goblets — Too many goblets!

Golden hues of the L’Auberge de Sedona Resort lobby. Citrine Sedona rocks and me!

Lobby, Hotel L'Auberege De Sedona — L’Auberge de Sedona Resort Lobby

Step Mom of the Bride — L’Auberge de Sedona Resort Lobby

Time for cake!

Cutting the wedding cake — Have some cake!

Today’s images are also shared and inspired for the following challenges: Cee’s Flower of the Day; Gold Life in Color; Johnbo’s Cellpic Sunday.

Sunday Stills Photo Challenge Reminders

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

NEW This is Another Story

Travel with Me

NEW Wind Kisses

Woolly Muses

Working on Exploring

To see more of my images and other news, consider following Terri on Social Media by clicking the icons:

Have a great week!

Sunday Stills: Going #Back … ?

September 12, 2021September 17, 2021Posted in leisure, photography, weekly photo challengeTagged friendships, going back, Helix High School, leisure, photography, Prescott, Sedona, Sunday Stills, travel87 Comments

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!

Helix HS 70-year football celebration 2021 — 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!

Blogger Friends in Prescott, AZ — 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.

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!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Terri Webster Schrandt (@terri.websterschrandt)

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.
Sarah Orne Jewett

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Terri Webster Schrandt (@terri.websterschrandt)

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!

Sedona Red Rocks — Camel Head Rock on Friday

Snowy Red Rocks — Camel Head Rock on Friday

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!

Sign showing mountains of Sedona — 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?

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.

Dad walking bride down steps Sedona — Proud Papa walking the bride down the steps

Proud Dad and Bride — Proud Papa walking the bride down the steps

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.

Sharing photos (except Sedona Rocks–most taken with my Lumix) for Journeys with Johnbo’s Cell Pic Sundays.

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.

It’s always good to be back home.
Unknown

Sunday Stills Photo Challenge Reminders

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:

Once Upon a Time and Happily Ever After

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.

Sunday Stills Monthly Color Challenge: Walking in a #Burlywood World

August 15, 2021August 15, 2021Posted in leisure, photography, weekly photo challengeTagged blogging, burlywood, Cees FOTD, monthly color challenge, photography, Sunday Stills, Weekend coffee share, weekly photo challenge, WQWWC101 Comments

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.

color challenge burlywood — 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!

I’m tying in water to this post for Marsha’s Writers’ Quotes Wednesdays Writer’s Challenge. How does one find light brown water—perhaps we really don’t want to know…but I did have one in my archives.

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.

Reflections of Green and brown — 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 in a brown dry world — Purple thistle pops in a burlywood world

dry brown wildflower — Purple thistle pops in a burlywood world

Here is a gallery of more burlywood inspiration:

Front porch mat — Front landing with Aero photobomb

Mule Deer — Front landing with Aero photobomb

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!

Always Write
Away We Go
Cats and Trails and Garden Tales
Cee’s Photo Challenges
Cool Esse
Deb’s World
Denyse Whelan Blogs
Easin’ Along Image shared in comments
Equipoise Life
Graham’s Island
Kamerapromenader
Horse Addict
Live Laugh RV Back again!
Loving Life
Musin’ with Susan
One Million Photographs
Philosophy Through Photography last week’s bugs
Retirement Reflections Image shared on Instagram
Stevie Turner
Travel With Me
Woolly Muses
Working on Exploring

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.

I’m a Guest on Denyse Whelan’s Blog in her “Women of Courage” Series

August 12, 2021August 11, 2021Posted in Guest Post, lifestyleTagged change, leisure, photography, retirement, Sunday Stills, travel, uncertainty, women of courage

I am pleased to be a guest on Denyse Whelan’s blog this week in her series, “Women of Courage.”

Denyse and I “met online” through blogging when she discovered my Sunday Stills photo challenge that I have hosted for over three years. Denyse is a resident of Eastern Australia and survivor of head and neck cancer. Like me, Denyse is a retired fellow educator and we hit it off with our interests in blogging and photography.

The following is an excerpt from her post.

What have you faced in your life where you have had to be courageous?

I’ve never really been afraid of anything, being raised in nature and the outdoors. My temperament requires that I exist without uncertainty and a lot of structure, so you can imagine how 2020 has treated me (and the rest of us)!

Before I begin, I want to acknowledge that everyone of us has shown immense courage and faith simply by existing in a world-wide pandemic, the likes none of us has ever seen.

But if I could define “courage,” I would describe that over the years, I have taken several life-changing leaps of faith, most recently:

At 55, having given 32 years of service to my long-term job, I retired with a decent pension while continuing to teach at the university and take on more classes. Have you ever retired? It takes a bit getting used to, even though I considered myself “semi-retired” at the time.
But more notably, my biggest act of courage was to buy property in another state, build a new home there and completely retire. Imagine leaving a successful teaching job after 10 years? Imagine packing up belongings in a house you’ve lived in for 32 years? And doing it all during a pandemic where uncertainty was the operative word of the year.

To read the rest, please visit Denyse here. Comments are closed on my post.

Sunday Stills: Song Lyric Photo Challenge–Summers of My Dreams

August 8, 2021August 8, 2021Posted in leisure, photography, weekly photo challengeTagged cellpicSunday, climb every mountain, home, Lens-Artists, mountains, photography, song lyrics, summer, summer rain, Sunday Stills, wedding anniversary, windsurfing, WQWWC99 Comments

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.
Wikipedia

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

Hans Schrandt Executes Big Jump — Hubby with a Big Jump!

Windsurfing-Woman — Hubby with a Big Jump!

My love warm as the sunshine
Sittin’ here by me, she’s here by me

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

Happy on our half acre — First look at property in Washington, May 2020

Settle down, raise up a family
To call our own, yeah, we’ll have a home

House and Shop — 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

Summer Wedding, Climbing Mountains

I’m also sharing for Marsha’s Writers Quotes Wednesdays Writers’ Choice “Writer’s Choice” or Mountains this week.
Summer Rain is a celebration of my 8th wedding anniversary on August 22. In two weeks, we will be in the Sedona, Arizona area over a long weekend.

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.

Wedding photo credits © Kimberly Washington 2013

This verse is my entry for WQWWC this week:

“Climb every mountain,
Ford every stream,
Follow every rainbow,
‘Till you find your dream.”

Climb Every Mountain lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC

I’ve always wanted to live in the mountains and we do!

Rural Mountain road — Street view of home

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:

Johnbo’s Cellpic Sunday and Lens-Artists Challenge hosted by Patti this week.

Bugged Blogger Links from Last Week

Cats and Trails and Garden Tales

Cee’s Photo Challenges

Deb’s World

Denyse Whelan Blogs

Easin’ Along Image shared in comments—you gotta see it!

Equipoise Life

Graham’s Island

Geriatrix Fotogallery

Heaven’s Sunshine

Hugh’s Views and News Image in Comments

Retirementally Challenged

Retirement Reflections Image shared on Instagram

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!

Sunday Stills: What’s #Bugging You?

August 1, 2021August 1, 2021Posted in leisure, photography, weekly photo challengeTagged bees, beetles, bugs, Cees FOTD, dragonfly, exciting, insects, photography, praying mantis, Sunday Stills, weekly photo challenge, WQWWC95 Comments

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.

Speaking of exciting, I’m responding to Marsha’s Writers Quotes Wednesday Writer’s Challenge (WQWWC) prompt—exciting!

Dragonflies and Praying Mantis

I do get excited when I see dragonflies. My all-time favorite is this one of a dragonfly molting out of its exoskeleton.

Dragonfly nymph sheds into adulthood — 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.

Praying mantis eyes me as he hangs out on my windsurf board. — This one enjoyed our windsurf boards

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.

Root Borer Beetle — 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.

Bee on sunflower macro — Don’t get too close!

pink sunflower with bee — Don’t get too close!

Flowers are shared for Cee’s Flower of the Day challenge. All photos in this post are shared for John’s CellPick Sunday.

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.

Always Write
Cats and Trails and Garden Tales
Cee’s Photo Challenges
Deb’s World
Denyse Whelan Blogs
Easin’ Along Image shared in comments
Equipoise Life
Graham’s Island
Geriatrix Fotogallery
Hugh’s Views and News Image in Comments
Jacquie Biggar Author
Kamerapromenader
Life Lessons
Light Write Life
Musin’ with Susan
My Forever Blog
Natalie the Explorer
One Million Photographs
Philosophy Through Photography
Retirement Reflections Image shared on Instagram
Robert’s Snap Spot
Travel With Me
Whippet Wisdom
Woolly Muses
Working on Exploring for Evergreen

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!

Sunday Stills: Circles, Triangles, #Squares, Oh My!

July 25, 2021July 25, 2021Posted in leisure, photography, weekly photo challengeTagged backroads, Cees FOTD, geometric, Journey the Eagle, leisure, Lens-Artists, photography, Post Falls, squaretrees, Sunday Stills, walking, weekly photo challenge, WQWWC92 Comments

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.

Marsha’s Writer’s Quotes Wednesday Writer’s Challenge is all about relaxing this week.

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 rural fence — Rectangular gate stops ATVs from the trails

Pinecone within angles — Rectangular gate stops ATVs from the trails

Geometric Circles and Orbs

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.

Abstract angles from table and rug — Triangles galore in this abstract shot of my outdoor rug and table

Shop interior angles — Triangles galore in this abstract shot of my outdoor rug and table

Journey the Eagle Update

Bluebell Court Eagles ©Diana Gigler — 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

My 80-year old dad loves Tuolumne Meadows.

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:

EVERGREEN LINKS

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.

Always Write

Away We Go

Cats and Trails and Garden Tales

Cee’s Photo Challenges

Deb’s World

Denyse Whelan Blogs

Easin’ Along Image shared in comments

Graham’s Island

Green Dreams

Hugh’s Views and News Image in Comments

One Million Photographs

Be sure to check out my Sunday Stills page for August themes.

I am looking forward to seeing your posts featuring geometric lines, circles, squares and angles!

Sunday Stills Monthly Color Challenge: Ageless and #Evergreen

July 18, 2021July 18, 2021Posted in leisure, photography, weekly photo challengeTagged Annas Hummingbirds, bald eagles, birds of prey, Birds of Prey Northwest, birdweekly, blogging, evergreen, exploration, Lens-Artists, monthly color challenge, photography, Sunday Stills, treesquare, WQWWC93 Comments

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.

quote meme exploration — 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.

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.

Juvenile Bald Eagle, Journey Bluebell Court Eagles ©Diana Gigler — 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.

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…

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.

Eagle released © Tina Penny, Volunteer BOPNW — Journey is released! Image used with permission by © Tina Penny, Volunteer BOPNW

Journey Soars © Tina Penny, Volunteer BOPNW — Journey is released! Image used with permission by © Tina Penny, Volunteer BOPNW

You can view Journey’s flight here.

https://www.krem.com/video/entertainment/places/inland-northbest/journey-the-eaglets-first-flight/293-1c1a5df4-9a73-4f41-b26d-e4630e2a1fdb

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?”

Also sharing for Lens-Artists Challenge: Getting Away

Last Week’s Links Under the Trees

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!

Sunday Stills: Under (And Over) the #Trees

July 11, 2021July 12, 2021Posted in leisure, photography, weekly photo challengeTagged birdweekly, cellpicSunday, Nine Mile Falls, Opie the Birdman, photography, pine trees, Portland, quotes, Raven, Sunday Stills, treesquare, Turkey Vulture, weekly photo challenge, Western Osprey, WQWWC91 Comments

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).

While we were in the Beaverton area, we stayed in a lovely AirB&B and I discovered a wonderful suburban trail….

pathway under the trees — 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.”
John Muir

Tree images are shared for Johnbo’s Cellpic Sunday and Becky B’s July Tree Squares.

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 POST until 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.

Partially inspired by Lisa’s Bird Weekly (common birds found in your neighborhood), I have three species of birds that can be found over and under the trees.

R-rr-rr–Raven

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).

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!

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.

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.

Always Write
And Miles to Go Before I Sleep
Artistic Pension
Cats and Trails and Garden Tales
Cee’s Photo Challenges
Deb’s World
Denyse Whelan Blogs
Easin’ Along Image shared in comments
Equipoise Life
Frost on the Moose Dung
Graham’s Island
NEW Green Dreams (Maria is back with a new blog!)
Heaven’s Sunshine
Hugh’s Views and News Image in Comments
Jacquie Biggar Author
JP The Wide-Eyed Wanderer
Kamerapromenader
Light Write Life
Loving Life
Natalie the Explorer
Now at Home
Once Upon a Time and Happily Ever After
One Million Photographs
Photos By Jez
Picture This
Retirementally Challenged
Retirement Reflections Shared in Instagram
The Day After
The Platinum Line Blog
Stevie Turner
Travel with Me
Woolley Muses

Have a wonderful week!

Writer’s Quotes Wednesday Writing Challenge: Writer’s Choice or Culture

July 7, 2021July 6, 2021Posted in leisure, writingTagged blog challenges, blogging, cellpicSunday, community, LAPC, photography, quotes, treesquare, WQWWC, writer's choice57 Comments

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 Challenges and 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!

I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.
Jimmy Dean

Shared for John’s On the Water LAPC and John’s CellPic Sunday

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

Painnt Filter Forest — 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!

Always Write
And Miles to Go Before I Sleep
Artistic Pension
Cats and Trails and Garden Tales
Cee’s Photo Challenges
Deb’s World
Denyse Whelan Blogs
Easin’ Along Image shared in comments
Equipoise Life
Frost on the Moose Dung
Graham’s Island
NEW Green Dreams (Maria is back with a new blog!)
Heaven’s Sunshine
Hugh’s Views and News Image in Comments
Jacquie Biggar Author
JP The Wide-Eyed Wanderer
Kamerapromenader
Light Write Life
Loving Life
Natalie the Explorer
Now at Home
Once Upon a Time and Happily Ever After
One Million Photographs
Photos By Jez
Picture This
Retirementally Challenged
Retirement Reflections Shared in Instagram
The Day After
The Platinum Line Blog
Stevie Turner
Travel with Me
Woolley Muses

Have a wonderful week and thank you for linking to all the wonderful blogging prompts and challenges available.

Bird Weekly: “H” is for Hummingbird and Haliaeetus Lucocephalus

July 2, 2021July 2, 2021Posted in leisure, photographyTagged Annas Hummingbirds, bald eagle, bird weekly, birdsofpreynorthwest, community, freedom, Journey, leisure, Nine Mile Falls, photography, Spokane Birders, treesquare, WQWWC61 Comments

Catch your attention, did I?

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.

Bald Eagle Soars over Lake Couer d' Aline — 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.

A Baby Eaglet is hatched in early April!

Journey Matures!

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…

…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.

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.

Here is Beauty’s story…better get a tissue handy! Read here HOW SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND A 3D-PRINTED BEAK RESCUED A BALD EAGLE.

I’m not kidding when I learned this organization is thee place for rescuing birds of prey!

Why the American Bald Eagle Symbolizes Freedom

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.
source

“The power and autonomy of the eagle in the air makes it a symbol of unrestrained freedom.”
Elizabeth Atwood Lawrence, a professor of veterinary medicine and anthropology at Tufts University

Freedom quote Bluebell Court Eagles ©Diana Gigler — original image ©Diana Gigler

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 hummingbird — Floating to the feeder

Male Allen Hummingbird — 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.”

Stay safe and cool!

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Way Too Many

The Pink Side of October

Enjoy my pink images inspired by the pink ribbon that represents hope for the cure.

Other Ways to Acknowledge Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Photo Challenges This Week

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“Orange” You Glad These Bloggers Linked Last Week?

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That Hometown Feeling

Dogs Love Orange Too!

Needing More “Orange”-spiration?

Photography Challenges this Week!

More Fun

Sunday Stills Photo Challenge Reminders

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Busy Bloggers’ Who Love Their Hobbies

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Hiking

Shopping/ Exploring

Kayaking

Other Hobbies

Yay for Photo Challenges!

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Last Week’s Linkers

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Fall Florals

Inspired By Other Bloggers’ Photo Challenges

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Sunday Stills Photo Challenge Reminders

Fall Has Fallen and Spring Has Sprung

Golden Bloggers’ Links

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Golden Moments of a Sedona Wedding

Sunday Stills Photo Challenge Reminders

Bloggers Who Dared to Go Back

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Why did I take a blogging break?

Going Back out on the Field for…High School Sports

Going Back to… Celebrating Friendships

Going Back to a Place…Sedona, Arizona

A Sedona Wedding, Part 1

Sunday Stills Photo Challenge Reminders

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While on My Three-Week Blog Break…

Sunday Stills Photo Challenge Reminders

Lyrical Bloggers’ Links

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Summer Rain, All Summer Long

Summer Wedding, Climbing Mountains

Next Week’s Monthly Color Challenge

Sunday Stills Moves to Canada for Three Weeks Beginning August 22

Bugged Blogger Links from Last Week

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Dragonflies and Praying Mantis

What’s Bugging Me About Our Property

Bee-utiful!

Geometric Bloggers Links

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Relaxing Between the Lines

Geometric Circles and Orbs

Angle Abstraction

Journey the Eagle Update

Busy with Dad

EVERGREEN LINKS

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