I’m late. Lost a couple of days because we headed over to Dad’s to enjoy the low tides.
We live a block below the good views. Here is a random gallery of photos taken within walking distance of my house or my dad’s house, my two centers of orbit in response to last week’s lens artists challenge: Local Vistas.
One block up the hill from our houseDramatic late afternoon from Dad’s deck.Mount Rainier from the ferry.Sunset from a couple of blocks east.City view from a small park a couple of miles from our house.City view from a small park a couple of miles from our house.Creek at a nature preserve near Dad’s.City view from Grandma’s nursing home parking lot.Almost sunrise in winter from our front walkway.Mt. Olympus from a couple of blocks south of our place.Winter sunset from Dad’s.Local vistas
Sandy Beach on Oahu really is sandy, but toward one end it has these interesting lava rocks. Watching the waves crash on the rocks is rather hypnotic. Even though the sunrise colors were very lovely I think black and white brings out the drama of the water.
Certainly one of the most memorable things in my life was a three day safari at Masai Mara National Park in Kenya. It was about ten years ago now but the memories have not faded. Words can’t describe being in such an awe inspiring place. I was there for only three days but…wow…I look back and have a hard time believing all of the amazing wildlife we saw.
Watering hole.Afternoon nap time.Baby looks so tiny, but it’s about the size of a normal adult human.Tender moment.Echo in the grass.The little one.Small, medium and large leopards.“Nap” time.Nothing like a good stretch.Best breakfast EVER!Traffic stop.African morningJust out for a stroll.The do look a bit like horses when they are in the water.An opal of a bird.Savannah mixer.Sleek and handsome.Watching us watching them.Safari LinkMasai Mara Safari
A quick snarl from this lioness sent the cubs obediently off. I wish my kid had been so obedient…
My dog, Ginger (the smaller one, she belonged to my grandma at the time) and my Dad’s dog Sam (now deceased) were really good friends. One visit when Ginger espied Sam she raced off and they looked like they were hugging. I managed to grab a picture of them hugging on our arrival before they ran toward me to say hi to me.
My daily grind. Father-in-law made the lovely coffee grinder as a decorative piece (he did amazing woodwork) when we switched to the French Press we discovered that it worked better for getting the grind consistent than the electric one we had before.Another form of daily grind: checking on social media.I spend more time than I should on the daily crossword puzzles.I don’t make bread everyday but the wooden spoon, a gift from a friend in Africa, the knife set, a wedding gift (has served us for over 34 years!) the bowl and pans are things I use most days.
I think I found a photo with everything on the list, plus a couple of the extra credit items.
A bicycle.A church, York Minster.Mountain landscape and waterfall, Myrtle Falls at Paradise on Mount Rainier.Dog in an expressive portrait.Bird, a great blue heron.A double rainbow and a boat, near Punte Arenas.An airplane at sunset, near Beijing Airport.A musical instrument, sculpture in La Conner, Washington.A hot spring in Kurobe Gorge, Japan.A funny sign, at least it makes me smile…it is a “keep off the grass” sign in Weifang, Shandong Province, China.
Challenge Items: Sunrise and/or sunset, Something cold and/or hot, a bird, a dog, a funny sign, a bicycle, a seascape and/or mountain landscape, a rainbow, a church, a musical instrument, a boat, a plane, a waterfall
Extra Credit Items: An expressive portrait of one or more people, a very unusual place, knitting or sewing, a fish, an animal you don’t normally see, a bucket, a hammer, a street performer, a double rainbow, multiple challenge items in a single image. My opening image, for example, includes a sunrise, a seascape and birds in a single shot. See how easy it is?! 😀
Having lived most of my life in the Puget Sound area my life is mostly seascape. But for this week’s Lens Artist Photo Challenge I chose to go through my archives to find photos of unfamiliar waters.
You can click on any image to see it larger and see a description of where it was taken.
My second niece graduated from high school last night. It seems impossible that she is an adult already, about to head off into the future…and feeling like all of our futures may well be better because of her.
One of my favorite things through the years has been spending time with my nieces. Here are some pictures from the recent graduate’s murky past, in no particular order.