Category: Weekly Photo Challenge
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All Time Favorites: Angular
I know I’m not alone in feeling sad the WordPress Weekly Photo Challenges have come to an end. I’m not the most prolific blogger these days but this recurring event has been both my favorite online group activity and source of inspiration when my creative well is dry. Not only…
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Awakening New Voters: Your Vote Your Voice
The whole art of teaching is only the art of awakening the natural curiosity of young minds for the purpose of satisfying it afterwards. Anatole France Ryan came home from his week as a Page in our State Senate with a newfound respect for what concerned citizens can accomplish when…
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I’d Rather Be…
Today I’d rather be a dog. Our dog Finn to be precise. His day started with a nice walk followed by breakfast next to the heater. Late morning meant it was time for a nap in his favorite sun spot then a second trip outside so he could patrol the…
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Tour Guide – Olympia, WA in Black and White
Labeling this post a “tour guide” might bit of a stretch as I’ve left out all the touristy bits about landmarks, photo-ops and directions but it fits the theme of the weekly photo challenge and it’s been years since I spent time in our State’s Capital so when we took…
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Ascend to a Higher Development
One can ascend to a higher development only by bringing rhythm and repetition into one’s life. Rhythm holds sway in all nature. Rudolf Steiner We can find Nature outside us only if we have first learned to know her within us. What is akin to her within us must be…
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A Serene and Settled Majesty
There is a serene and settled majesty to woodland scenery that enters into the soul and delights and elevates it, and fills it with noble inclinations. Washington Irving When the stresses and sounds of daily life are just too much my go-to escapes for some peace and quiet are the…
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The Simplest Pedestrian
Far better to be the simplest pedestrian, with knapsack on back, stick in hand, and gun on shoulder, than an Indian prince travelling with all the ceremonial which his rank requires. Jules Verne Substitute the above mentioned gun for a trusty slingshot and Jules Verne perfectly describes Ryan’s preferred method…
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Layered Trees and Exposed Identities
In the spring and summer I watched my plants flower, but it was, perhaps, in winter that I loved them best, when their skeletons were exposed. Then I felt they had more to say to me, were not simply dressing themselves for the crowds. Stripped of their leaves, their identities…
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Waiting…
“The greatest fear dogs know is the fear that you will not come back when you go out the door without them.” ― Stanley Coren Labor Day has come and gone, our summer weather is turning to fall and after a long stretch of quiet days Ryan is back to school…
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Shades of Blue: Part 5 – Dusty Corners
Walk, run, cycle – When you live inside your head for such long periods of time, you have to open the windows, air it out a bit, let sunlight stream into all the dark and dusty corners of your mind. Twinkle Khanna I like to think of summer as a…
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Textures and Elemental Sounds
The three great elemental sounds in nature are the sound of rain, the sound of wind in a primeval wood, and the sound of outer ocean on a beach. Henry Beston Regular readers know I like to start these WordPress photo challenges with a quote that leads to a small…
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Satisfaction
Nature holds the key to our aesthetic, intellectual, cognitive and even spiritual satisfaction. E. O. Wilson If you’ve ever wondered why Pacific Northwesterners put up with dreary, wet winters it’s because of summers like this. We don’t have formal vacation plans this year but when an island hike is…
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Transient
In the presence of eternity, the mountains are as transient as the clouds. Robert Green Ingersoll I don’t know about you but the question “What do you want for your birthday/Christmas/Mother’s Day?” always makes me a little uncomfortable. I know the asker means well but I don’t like telling…
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Evanescent
Night is brushed aside like so much cobweb. The day is wound up and begins even before the last haunted dreams, the last of the fog, those spectral and evanescent residues, have faded away. Gregory Maguire, After Alice That 2017 is setting records for the coldest and wettest spring in pacific…
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Reading, Good Company and Reflection
Education begins the gentleman, but reading, good company and reflection must finish him. John Locke We live in a house full of books. Stacks and shelves of printed pages line our walls, our phones and Kindles have digital titles for break time and the cars usually have an audio…
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Wanderlust
You don’t even know where I’m going. I don’t care. I’d like to go anywhere. John Steinbeck While the word wanderlust brings to mind images of grand vacations and months long backpacking adventures I have the Merriam-Webster Dictionary to thank for a definition that makes sense to those of us who…
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Dogs are our link to paradise…
Dogs are our link to paradise. They don’t know evil or jealousy or discontent. To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring–it was peace. Milan Kundera My goal for today was to write an…
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The Road Taken
The parks do not belong to one state or to one section…. The Yosemite, the Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon are national properties in which every citizen has a vested interest; they belong as much to the man of Massachusetts, of Michigan, of Florida, as they do to the people of…
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A Good Match
Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out going to the mountains is going home; that wilderness is a necessity… John Muir So many interpretations of a good match are running through my mind tonight – father and son, mountain hiking and stress relief, nature and escape,…
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Against the Odds
I had always enjoyed the title of Commander-in-Chief until I was informed … that the only forces that cannot be transferred from Washington without my express permission are the members of the Marine Corps Band. Those are the only forces I have. I want it announced that we propose to…
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Shadow
Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing. Abraham Lincoln Shadows come and go but like strong character, trees are what really leave their mark on the world. Posted as part of the Weekly Photo…
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Solitude
Whosoever is delighted in solitude is either a wild beast or a god. Aristotle I’m certainly not a wild beast or a god but it’s nice to know we have something in common. Solitude.
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The Weekly Photo Challenge: Time Is An Artist
Time and memory are true artists; they remould reality nearer to the heart’s desire. John Dewey I’ve spent a few days looking at this colorful map of the US on my desk and while I thought it would be a fun way to mark the final destinations of our new Etsy orders…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Weight(less) Kites
You will find truth more quickly through delight than gravity. Let out a little more string on your kite. Alan Cohen This week Ben asks us to share a photo of something marked by its weight – or it’s weightlessness. Ryan carried his new kite through a full day of hiking and…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Circle (Goodbye 2015 and Hello 2016)
If I had to make a list of favorite ways to welcome the New Year visiting a beach would be right up at the top. John and Ryan have bravely joined me for some of cold, wet and windy walks along the shore followed by a quick photo to mark our presence…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Trio
A happy family is but an earlier heaven. George Bernard Shaw A trail-side “selfie” of John, Ryan and I illustrating everything that makes me happy and grateful as we celebrate Thanksgiving here in our sunny pacific northwest corner of the United States. Posted as part of the Weekly Photo Challenge: Trio.
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Careful (Father and Son)
Be careful to leave your sons well instructed rather than rich, for the hopes of the instructed are better than the wealth of the ignorant. Epictetus One of the best things about my usual “third in line” hiking position is capturing moments like this. John and Ryan like to walk…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Grid (Seattle’s Great Wheel)
This week, let’s take the humble grid out of the shadows, and make it the star. Michelle W. The Daily Post I’m always amazed by how much weight can be supported by such delicate grid work. Watching these viewing cars float in circles above the Seattle Waterfront was almost as much…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Monochromatic (Summer Greens in the Pacific Northwest)
A powerful monochromatic image is composed of a gradient of a single color, and has an emphasis on texture and composition. Jen H. The Daily Post After a steep but scenic hike up the Snoqualmie Region’s Ira Spring Trail winding through an evergreen forest, wildflower meadows and granite avalanche zones we enjoyed our…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Connected (The Web of Life)
“All things are connected like the blood that unites us. We do not weave the web of life, we are merely a strand in it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves.” – Chief Seattle Posted as part of the Weekly Photo Challenge: Connected
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Creepy
This week, show us something creepy — because hey, we can’t take photos of rainbows and puppies every day. Well, okay, I guess we can. But let’s branch out anyway! Michelle W. The Daily Post Our long hot summer has been filled with fun day trips through some beautiful Pacific Northwest locations…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Searching For Inspiration
We’ve reached the middle of the hottest summer on record here in the Pacific Northwest and the soaring temperatures combined with our home’s lack of air conditioning are making me long for cool forest pools and fresh waterfalls. Thank goodness it’s time for vacation! This year we’ve decided to shake things…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Close Up In The Garden
This week, discover the hidden details that can only be seen up close. Brie Anne Demkiw – The Daily Post During our walk to the grape vines from my previous post we passed a colony of bees harvesting pollen from this lovely border of sedum… Posted as part of the Weekly…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Symbol (Summer Smiles)
Share your smile with the world. It’s a symbol of friendship and peace. Christie Brinkley This morning I’m remembering our 2014 Lopez Island adventure and dreaming about planning a return trip. One year ago today we hiked to the top of Iceberg Point and Ryan’s smile shone brightly from morning to night. Sharing friendship and…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Muse And The Spirit of Our Inner Child
“The most potent muse of all is our own inner child.” Stephen Nachmanovitch When I saw “muse” was the theme of the latest Weekly Photo Challenge I knew the days ahead were going to be full of beautiful photos and posts as bloggers around the world let us peek behind their creative curtains while…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Vivid Peonies
Can I have one of each? I couldn’t walk past this flower stand without picking out a few for myself! Posted as part of the Weekly Photo Challenge: Vivid.
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Weekly Photo Challenge: On The Way To Klahhane Ridge
“In-between moments can be just as memorable as grand finales. This week, share a photo you took on the way to something else.” – Michelle W. The Daily Post Last August John, Ryan and I spent four days exploring The Olympic National Park and even though I was recovering from a summer…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Broken
The violets in the mountains have broken the rocks. Tennessee Williams While today’s photo doesn’t include violets or mountains it still reminds me of Tennessee Williams’ quote from Camino Real. Symbolic opposites are incorporated throughout this play illustrating a world full of harsh contrasts and in the end we learn the only thing that conquers the broken is…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Enveloped in the Marvelous
The life of our city is rich in poetic and marvelous subjects. We are enveloped and steeped as though in an atmosphere of the marvelous; but we do not notice it. Charles Baudelaire Our everyday lives are filled with marvelous moments just waiting to be acknowledged and the richest of…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Motion (Sounds of the Hoh River)
“A stream is music and motion: smooth glides, fast, turbulent riffles and deep pools, each posing a special challenge.” Nelson Bryant We could hear music from the Hoh River long before we reached this rocky beach in the Olympic National Park. The water literally sang as it rushed over the flat stones and…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Blur (Morning in Westlake Park)
Ah, lives of men! When prosperous they glitter – Like a fair picture; when misfortune comes – A wet sponge at one blow has blurred the painting. Aeschylus I spent some time searching quotes this morning looking for a starting point to accompany the word “blur” and of the many pages of quotations…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Fresh (Pike Place Market)
I’m pretty sure this “fresh” sign is meant to advertise freshly caught fish at Seattle’s Pike Place Market but each time I walk up this ramp I read the two signs together and think “fresh restrooms” below… Posted as part of the Weekly Photo Challenge: Fresh.
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Wall (Deception Pass Bridge)
The walls between art and engineering exist only in our minds. Theo Jansen Whidbey Island’s Deception Pass Bridge is a wonderful example of Dutch artist Theo Jansen’s premise that the walls between art and engineering exist only in our minds. Dedicated in 1935 this beautiful cantilever truss bridge joined the…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Reward (Gifts From the Sea)
The sea does not reward those who are too anxious, too greedy, or too impatient. One should lie empty, open, choiceless as a beach – waiting for a gift from the sea. Anne Morrow Lindbergh Our first view of the Washington Coast from Rialto Beach and posted as part of…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: The Rule of Thirds at North Creek Park
Ryan and I spent a fun fall afternoon exploring North Creek Park’s peat bog and floating boardwalk but when it came to photos I couldn’t decide which element I liked more, the wild grasses, the blue sky or the curvy path leading us across and around the water. I finally…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Symmetry in Seasons
There is in all things a pattern that is part of our universe. It has symmetry, elegance, and grace – these qualities you find always in that the true artist captures. You can find it in the turning of the seasons, the way sand trails along a ridge, in the…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Scale (Dragons in Chinatown) B&W Challenge 4
One of my favorite public art installations in Seattle is the series of 11 Chinese dragons twisting and turning their way across light poles in Chinatown’s International District. Under the direction of chief designer Martin Brunt it took a team of sculptors, painters, boat builders and a feng shui expert two years…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Express Yourself
Don’t keep all your feelings sheltered – express them. Don’t ever let life shut you up. Dr. Steve Maraboli Walking through Seattle’s Pike Place Market on Christmas Eve I deliberately looked away from the brightly colored food and flower stalls to spend some time watching people and their surroundings. The traditional market attractions are…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Serenity
I’m a leaf on the wind. Watch how I soar. Serenity – Hoban “Wash” Washburne For this week’s photo challenge Cheri asks us to share our interpretations of serenity. I’m sure the prompt was meant as an encouragement to explore calm, peaceful feelings and I’m happy to do that with a photo but…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Shadow
We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves. Buddha A place to clear my mind and fill shadows with joy…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Yellow
The middle of the road is for yellow lines and dead armadillos. Jim Hightower I’m glad John and Ryan chose the side of the road for their summer walk. Posted as part of the Weekly Photo Challenge: Yellow.
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Twinkle
We are all of us stars, and we deserve to twinkle. Marilyn Monroe It’s always fun to window shop at Tiffany. Here we get a little glimpse of New York City while walking the streets of Seattle. 🙂
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Gone, But Not Forgotten
The remote beaches and rugged coastlines of the San Juan Islands are frequently mentioned as one of the top vacation destinations in the world but travel magazines rarely mention their history as a haven for turn of the century smugglers and rum runners. Famous privateers made and lost fortunes smuggling drugs, immigrants and…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Converge
Converge: to come together and have one interest, purpose, or goal. Thanksgiving in my family is a logistical puzzle but any of us who can be in the same place come together for a meal and between our various groups we share phone calls and goofy texted photos of turkey dinners and happy tables. This year…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Angular
“Look at situations from all angles, and you will become more open.” Dali Lama Libraries have always seemed like magical places to me and the freedom to walk aisles full of stories and information is a luxury I never take for granted. Through my childhood, school years and now as an…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Achievement
We have a small patch of wild strawberries growing in the backyard that are pretty to look at but the birds and squirrels always beat us to eating the fruit. Since I haven’t been able to taste one I don’t know if the berries are tart of sweet but this year the…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Minimalist
A few days ago I visited Lynnwood’s Heritage Park hoping to tour a vintage trolley car from the Seattle – Everett Interurban Railway and learn a little about the town’s pre-Depression era poultry boom as the second largest egg producing area in the country. This three acre city park is actually…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Descent
Even though we hiked out to Sol Duc Falls during one of the driest summers on record the powerful sound of water rushing over the edge and down the canyon was something John, Ryan and I will always remember. After admiring this view from the center of the narrow log…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Refraction
Finding an image to suit this challenge has taken me all week and I’m still not sure I’ve really captured refraction but at least it’s given me the chance to share one more photo from Lake Crescent, WA. This crystal clear water is due to a lack of nitrogen which inhibits…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Dreamy
I close my eyes, then I drift away, into the magic night I softly say. A silent prayer, like dreamers do, then I fall asleep to dream my dreams of you. Roy Orbison – In Dreams Posted as part of the Weekly Photo Challenge: Dreamy.
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Signs
The test of an adventure is that when you’re in the middle of it, you say to yourself, “Oh, now I’ve got myself into an awful mess; I wish I were sitting quietly at home.” And the sign that something’s wrong with you is when you sit quietly at home…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Nighttime
“How did it get so late so soon?” Dr. Seuss Long summer days are one of my favorite things about living in the Pacific Northwest but nighttime still comes far too fast. Posted as part of the Weekly Photo Challenge: Nighttime.
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Endurance
“Few people know how to take a walk. The qualifications are endurance, plain clothes, old shoes, an eye for nature, good humor, vast curiosity, good speech, good silence and nothing too much.” Ralph Waldo Emerson We made it to the turn around point of our Klahhane Ridge adventure with nothing…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Humanity
My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together. Desmond Tutu Posted as part of the Weekly Photo Challenge: Humanity.
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Adventure
The mountains are calling and I must go. John Muir “Mom, this is the best day ever!” Ryan’s first steps on the Klahhane Ridge Trail in the Olympic National Park. Posted as part of the Weekly Photo Challenge: Adventure.
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Fray
This lone surfer quietly watched the water from Washington State’s Rialto Beach for 30 minutes before he decided the time was right to grab his board and enter the fray.
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Silhouette
Some of our best hours in the Olympic National Park were spent exploring Second Beach on the Washington Coast. The one mile forest hike to the beach from a small parking area is just enough distance to keep crowds away and the sound of roaring surf echoing through the trees…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Zigzag
This week, share a photo that foregoes the straightforward in favor of the twisting and winding. Ben Huberman – The Daily Post I’m using a loose interpretation of Zigzag today and sharing a photo of this small blue sailboat that has chosen to forego straightforward, nautical themed decor and try…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Summer Lovin’
When I was a kid three activities ruled my summers: Root Beer popsicles, great books, and riding my bike as fast as possible. I’m a little afraid to try Root Beer popcicles today for fear they won’t live up to my memories but I always have a book to read and…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Containers
From “Don’t judge a book by its cover” to “Don’t look at the jug, but at what it contains” (an old Rabbinic saying), we’re constantly taught that the contents of things are more important than the vessels, wrappers, and boxes that hold them in place. This week, let’s give outer shells their due…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Relic
This International Boundary Monument sits on top of Iceberg Point on Lopez Island, WA and marks the 7th turning point of the US – Canada border along the 49th parallel. As part of my plan to see as much of this beautiful island as possible in a four-day vacation we…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Contrasts
Light and dark, tall and short, happy and sad — this week, share a shot that captures a contrast. Michelle W. – The Daily Post I wrote a Word A Week post about Contrasts a few months ago so today I thought I would take a different approach and show…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Extra, Extra
It’s been a busy week here filled with family activities, end of school projects, a band concert and a Wednesday birthday. Mine! I was lucky enough to have the day off but couldn’t fit everything I wanted to accomplish into the happy day and still try to relax at the same time.…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Room
Every time I walk past our local library I see the backside of a mysterious little house covered in moss and protected by a fern. Each week some new element appears and while I didn’t want to creep around the planting bed to take a closer look I finally gave…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Split-Second Story
Who can get the closest without a soaking? In the summer this fountain is full of happy kids but only the bravest are willing to face the random spray pattern in early spring. Posted as part of the Weekly Photo Challenge: Split-Second Story.
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Twist
In the winter of 1945 the USS Nereus left for it’s first voyage departing Pearl Harbor bound for Japan. Through it’s 25 year career the Nereus supported US submarines across the Pacific and as far north as the Arctic Circle. An Edmonds resident served aboard the ship in 1955 and in 2012…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: On the Move
Regular readers know I’ve had fun posting small exterior images of the multi-colored Experience Music Project Museum in Seattle, WA. So far we’ve seen snapshots of the Silver, Pink and Blue sides but I haven’t had a good Red image to post until last weekend. Our manageable spring showers had just turned to…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Spring
I’ve posted a lot of pretty spring flowers lately so for this weeks photo challenge I’m going in a slightly different direction… This is a close up view of a fascinating kinetic sculpture at the Pacific Science Center and I thought the chrome coils looked like heavy, industrial springs. Posted as…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Letters
I really like this shot looking up from our table at The Yard in Seattle but since I cut off most of the sign trying to include more of the light fixture I’ve held back from posting it. Waiting for the right moment was a good thing though because this week Cheri has…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: On Top
On top can be a feeling, a perspective, or a physical location. The Daily Post – Sara Rosso This eagle perched on a weathered driftwood pirate ship had to feel like he was sitting on top of the world… Posted as part of the Weekly Photo Challenge: On Top.
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Monument
In this week’s challenge, show us your take on a monument (broadly defined). It could be a fresh angle on a well-known tourist site, or a place nobody knows outside your community— anything can be monumental as long as it’s imbued with a shared sense of importance. Ben – The Daily…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Threshold
Crossing this threshold means entering one of my favorite shops in Seattle, Greenwood Space Travel and Supply. GSTS operates to support the amazing non-profit writing and tutorial center 826 Seattle and inside the shelves are full of an amazing assortment of science themed books, toys, equipment and all around cool stuff. Where…
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A Word A Week: Contrast
Ryan has a habit of picking up what ever electronic device is left lying around and secretly leaving his mark. I never know what to expect when I realize I haven’t seen my phone for a few hours but usually I discover new voice recordings, fun messages on my fitbit…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Street Life
A place reveals itself on its streets, from pedestrians strolling during lunch time, to performers entertaining tourists on sidewalks, to the bustle of local markets, and more. Whether you’re shoveling snow from your own driveway or walking a familiar route to work or getting lost in a foreign city, a…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Reflections
Yesterday John, Ryan and I spent a fun few hours walking through Seattle Center, peering up at the Space Needle and meeting family for a play at the Seattle Children’s Theater. I took plenty of interesting reflecting photos with this challenge in mind and even though you’ll still get a…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Inside
So much of life happens inside something. A house, a car, a sleeping bag, a UFO… The Yard in Seattle’s Greenwood neighborhood is our favorite place to relax on a wet Northwest afternoon while Ryan attends a new debate workshop at the fantastic writing school, 826 Seattle. The school is a…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Perspective
Perspective is important to every photographer. With the creative use of perspective narrowed down through the lens of a camera, a bit of gravel can look like a barren desert landscape or a few trees can trick the eye into thinking you’re deep in a centuries-old forest. Who hasn’t seen…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Abandoned
Bandelier National Monument is a 33,677-acre National Monument in New Mexico preserving remains of homes of the Ancestral Pueblo People. Human presence in this area can be traced back 10,000 years but permanent settlements in Bandelier date from two time periods – 1150 to 1600 CE (common era). By 1550…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Three
Michelle’s latest photo challenge asks us to use a three picture posting style to tell a story through images. This is a technique I’ve enjoyed in the past and when you have a son with a flair for the dramatic composing a visual story is a fun way to pass the time. Today, with three images,…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Object
Some photographs, like portraits, focus on individuals, while still-life moments capture the beauty (and often treasured stories) of belongings and found objects. The Daily Post – Cheri Lucas Rowlands I’ll bet this old basket ball has a few good stories to tell… Found during a walk in the woods and posted…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Juxtaposition
Wandering with my camera, I often find my eye drawn to strange bedfellows. Juxtapositions. Foils. Unexpected pairings. Michelle W. The Daily Post Growing up in the Pacific Northwest I was fascinated by stories of hunters and scientists finding possible Sasquatch tracks in the woods. There was even a TV show…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Family
What is family? For some, family is defined by genetics. For others, it is simply those with whom you share a bond of love. Or maybe it is nothing less than an expression of the universality of human experience… Josh R. – The Daily Post I don’t know about you but…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Window
The Glacier Public Service Center on the Mt. Baker Scenic Byway welcomes visitors to the north side of the Mt. Baker Snoqualmie National Forest and North Cascades National Park in Washington State. The stone and wood Cascadian style Center was built in 1938 by the Civilian Conservation Corps and is listed in the…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Beginning
Beginning. Hello, 2014. And hello and happy new year to our readers, old and new. This week’s theme might be obvious, but I couldn’t help it — it’s a simple and common word, yet can evoke very powerful, emotional images. Cheri Lucas Rowlands – The Daily Post As many of…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Joy
Whether or not you celebrate a winter holiday, the years’ end is a perfect time to look back at the year-that-was and happily forward to the year-that-will-be. A time of renewal, celebration, and joy. This week, let’s set ourselves up for a happy new year: share a photo that shows…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: One
Every good photograph needs a focal point. It’s the thing that draws the viewer’s eye and tells the story. Michelle – The Daily Post This is the first year my son has been able to take the bus to school and since our pick up location is about fifteen minutes away the thirty…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Community
In 1916 Washington State outlawed the sale of alcohol and four years later the nation wide prohibition on the sale, production, importation and transportation of alcoholic beverages in the United States became law. This ban remained in place until 1933 but as you can see from the 1932 photo above alcohol was…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Grand
Grand. We’ve hosted a “Big” photo challenge in the past, but for this week’s challenge, we want you to consider not just the size of something, but also that special element: the “wow factor” of a scene or subject that makes a picture so stunning. That magical quality you’re always out looking…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Let There Be Light
Take a look around you. Choose one of the light sources you see, and make it the focus of your challenge entry. Ben – The Daily Post This week Ben asks us to focus on a point of light and feature it in a post for the Weekly Photo Challenge. …
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Unexpected
Unexpected. The world is an interesting place: we stumble upon unexpected things each day, like signs that are unintentionally amusing… Cheri – The Daily Post When read today’s weekly photo challenge and saw the prompt was the word “unexpected” I couldn’t think of a single image in my photo roll…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Layers
Layers. Layers can reveal, conceal, and make something more complex. They can vary in size, texture, color, or functionality. Each layer can have its own story, meaning, or purpose. They can overlap, blend, or be distinctly separate. A layer doesn’t have to be a part of a single object but can…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Habit
This week, show us something that’s a HABIT. Capture a moment both constant and fleeting. Michelle – The Daily Post For each new photo challenge I aim to trust my instincts and create a post around the first image or location that comes to mind. As Michelle says above, moments of habit can be…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Eerie
…a photo doesn’t have to be blatantly macabre to be eerie. But it can have a mysterious, otherworldly vibe — the viewer wonders what lurks in the shadows. Something eerie has a story to tell — one you aren’t quite sure you want to know. Cheri – The Daily Post The night before the…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Horizon
Horizon. The space or line where the sky meets the earth. Sara Rosso – The Daily Post Here in the Puget Sound we’ve been blanketed by a cold stretch of deep fog and this photo is from the last time I saw the horizon, one week ago today. Keep your fingers crossed for us, this gloomy…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: The Hue of You
For this challenge, we want to keep it simple: share a photograph with a prominent color (or assortment of colors) that reveals more about you. It could be a symbolic, meaningful shade; a color that expresses how you currently feel; or a combination of colors that excites you and tells…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Infinite
Infinity can produce contrasting effects on (and in) us: it might make us feel dwarfed or amplified, afraid or empowered. The Daily Post – Ben How do you feel under a summer sky filled with the constantly changing combinations of fluffy, white clouds? Do you feel small in comparison to the infinite expanse…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Good Morning!
This week, show us a photo that says “Good morning!” It could be a shot taken during your morning walk, the morning vista out your kitchen window, your cat doing a pre-breakfast stretch, or a textured close-up of your oatmeal bubbling away at the stove. I’m excited to see how…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Saturated
Every year I find at least one place to plant this combination of ferns and red begonias. I enjoy almost every color variety of begonia but non stop red has claimed the top spot as my favorite with the maidenhair fern. This pot spent most of the summer in a shaded spot…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: From Lines To Patterns
From lines to patterns. We see lines and patterns in the world around us, in nature and things man-made. Sometimes we don’t realize they’re there: on the street, across the walls, up in the sky, and along the ground on which we walk. Cheri Lucas Rowlands on September 20, 2013…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Inside
I don’t know what it is about small spaces that pulls children inside, ready to play, hide or even relax. I was one of those kids who didn’t like being squished into someplace small but as you can see, Ryan and his cousin Emma have been doing it for years.…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: An Unusual POV
Challenge yourself to rethink your ideas about what subjects are appropriate, and then challenge yourself again to find an unusual perspective on your subject. Lynn Wohlers – Photography 101 post on Point of View I’ve always been fascinated by street photography and as a kid spent countless summer days laying on…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Sea
Sea. What kind of emotions does the sea or ocean make you feel? Do you remember the first time you went in the water? Had a wave crash on you? Felt the sand burn your feet? Do you feel more peaceful around water? Do you hate the beach? What’s the…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Focus
For this challenge, get out there and take a picture demonstrating the concept of focus. Depending on your skill level or type of camera, tinker with the manual settings, use the auto focus feature, or play around with an app. Daily Post August, 23rd 2013 This week’s photo challenge is…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Carefree
One of our favorite places to spend a sunny Sunday afternoon with a fishing pole, crab pot and picnic lunch. Posted as part of the Weekly Photo Challenge: Carefree
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Weekly Photo Challenge: One Shot, Two Ways
For this challenge, capture two images — a horizontal and a vertical version — of the same scene or subject. There are no concrete “rules” here, but a) it should be evident that both shots are of the same place/location or person/thing, and b) your photographs should ideally have been taken during…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Foreshadow
After catching four-year-old Ryan with his third stolen cookie of the afternoon I really needed to take a quiet walk away from our family picnic on the beach… He was ready for me to leave too and I can still hear him say “I’ve got this beach figured out mom, take a…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Masterpiece
Masterpiece…a location or scene that’s special, unusual, or even magical in some way. Weekly Photo Challenge: Masterpiece Cheri Lucas Rowlands on July 26, 2013 This maple tree, tucked in the far corner of our backyard, shares its beautiful pattern with every season. Posted as part of the WPC: Masterpiece
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Fresh
Originally posted on "I dwell in possibility…": From the daily post: “Fresh. The definition for fresh has a bit of a fork in it – it’s a state (new, recent, previously unknown) and it’s a taste or sensation (cool, sweet, invigorating, refreshing)” I’ll take both interpretations and run with them. In…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Fresh
Fresh. The definition for fresh has a bit of a fork in it – it’s a state (new, recent, previously unknown)… – Sara Rosso This morning, home after a busy week in Texas, I couldn’t wait to sit down and catch up with the latest posts in my reader. As I expected it is filled with…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: The Golden Hour
The Golden Hour. In photography, the “golden hour” is the first and last hour of sunlight of the day. Cheri Lucas Rowlands on July 12, 2013 The Golden Hour is my favorite time of day here in the Pacific Northwest. I love how everything (and everyone) around me glows with…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Nostalgic
Nostalgic. Sometimes, we long for the past: for moments we want to remember or recapture. The good times. The golden years. Or perhaps we’re homesick, or longing for something — or someone — that might have been. Cheri Lucas Rowlands The Daily Post I have been in a…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Companionable
Companion – A person who is frequently in the company of, associates with, or accompanies another. Share a picture of a COMPANION and explain why you chose that picture. Michelle – The Daily Post I have been thinking a lot about companions today. I am definitely a creature of habit and…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: The World Through Your Eyes
My first few photos from our recent summer trip to Santa Fe are actually of snow-covered Mt. Saint Helens. This is the view out the airplane window as we broke through the clouds on our way from Seattle, WA to the high desert of northern New Mexico. For more unique views of the world please see the latest Daily Post: The World…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Curves
Curves. I bet you can find curves wherever you are. Show me! Sara Rosso – The Daily Post Sara’s right, curves are everywhere when you begin to look. I have a gallery of curvy images to share from some memorable summer vacations around the Pacific Northwest.
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Fleeting
I’ve been thinking a lot about the fleeting moments in our days, and in our lives. The quiet, precious moments between the ones we love. Cheri – The Daily Post In a new post created specifically for this challenge, share a moment that means Fleeting to you. May in the…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: The Sign Says…Family Fun
Signs. Funny, poignant, symbolic, incorrect, informative, foreshadowing…there are so many signs in the world. Sara Rosso – The Daily Post I am unpacking and trying to catch up with my reader after a work trip to Phoenix but couldn’t resist taking a break to answer the latest Weekly Photo Challenge: The Sign…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: In the Background
In the Background: The places that we pass through day after day, or even once in a lifetime, leave in their small way, echoes and traces of themselves upon us. But so often when taking self portraits or pictures of friends, the places themselves become a soft blurred mush of…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Escape
This was a long day spent trying to escape from our escape… They call it Shallow Bay for a reason! For more great tales of escape and adventure please visit the Weekly Photo Challenge: Escape.
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Pattern
“Pattern. Patterns are everywhere. Patterns are sometimes intentional and sometimes accidental. They can be decorative or merely a result of repetition, and often patterns can be in the eye of the beholder to discover them.” – Weekly Photo Challenge: Pattern Today I made an effort to slow down and look…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: From Above
From The Weekly Photo Challenge: Above. Change your perspective on something. Find a subject and instead of taking a picture from in front of, at an angle, to the side, or from behind, take it directly from above! With Sara’s directions in mind I went outside looking for something that I don’t usually see from…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Culture
Aaron Joel Santos, the guest host for this week’s challenge writes: Culture is a bit of a loaded word. In a photograph, it can embody everything and nothing. So where do we draw the line? Shopping culture, hippy culture, Asian culture, Thai culture, ancient culture, and on and on. These…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Up
If you look up in Seattle there is a pretty good chance you will see The Space Needle. At the time of its completion in 1962 it was the tallest building west of the Mississippi River. The Pacific Science Center is also on the site of the 1962 World’s Fair,…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Change
Today the Weekly Photo Challenge asks us to select an image that represents change. Looking through my pictures this morning I realized that while my life has been filled with twists, turns, evolutions and surprises I have very few photos capturing these occasions. I thought about the big family moments of birthdays, graduations, weddings and funerals…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Color
I love bright, beautiful colors and many of my pictures are filled with images of vivid flowers and sunny waterfront days. For me the hardest part of this Weekly Photo Challenge: Color was sorting through these pictures to choose just a few photos and finally I decided to share some of the Rhododendrons that grow freely in Washington and fill…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: A Day in my Life
The new Weekly Photo Challenge is all about documenting a day in your life. I hope you enjoy this quick view of my Friday!
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Future Tense
March is phoneography month at WordPress and the Weekly Photo Challenge: Future Tense asks for images showing the both the present and a hint of the future in one frame. I thought about going outside to take a new picture of the early signs of spring but when I saw freezing temperatures and falling snow I…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Lunchtime
My Travel Theme post about the color green mentions our first crab caught from the Edmonds Fishing Pier. We had a great day figuring out how what kind of bait to use (chicken), how to throw the pot, visiting with the other fishers and crabbers around us and discovering what kinds…
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Phoneography Challenge: Neighborhood
Today the Weekly Photo Challenge is all about capturing your neighborhood through phone pictures. We love our small town and I’m always taking pictures on my iPhone so after school my son and I had a little fun on Main Street. All pictures were taken with my iPhone 5 and…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Lost in the Details
Today’s photo challenge is about getting lost in the details. Late winter in my backyard can be dark, muddy and sometimes a little depressing. I love to garden but this time of year is tough for me to appreciate as the ground is covered with debris from winter storms and too wet and cold for most spring flowers. After spending…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Forward
In response to today’s Weekly Photo Challenge I have two pictures of a great friendship moving forward through 11 years. When my son was one he found a new friend at daycare. It didn’t matter to them that they were boy and girl and happily, 11 years later, this still isn’t a factor in their…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Kiss
When I saw today’s prompt for the Weekly Photo Challenge: Kiss I immediately thought of this picture of my son and his cousin at the Oregon Coast. I love the contrasts between her sweet heart hoodie, his rough “end of the summer” knees and their tender little hands. The sweetness soon turned to flying sand and salt…
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Home
When my son heard we were selling our house and moving to a new neighborhood he insisted he wouldn’t leave without his “thinking” rock. Turns out his idea of home was a quiet place to sit in the backyard and I suspect he thought if we couldn’t lift the rock he wouldn’t have…
Northwest Frame of Mind 