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

Zig Zag

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 something new.  If you look closely at the roof and follow the line up you can see a Maple tree growing out of a canvas bag filled with soil on top of the boat.  The back of the boat is also filled with several hay bales…

I will be away for the rest of the week as we zigzag through Olympic National Park in the NW corner of Washington State looking for wide open mountain top views on Hurricane Ridge, beautiful old growth forest in the Hoh Rainforest and quiet places to relax on the rugged beaches of the Washington Coast.  Wish us luck with the mountain goats and many miles of trails, I’ll be back next week with plenty of new photos to share!

Lisa16 Comments

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

One

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 minute round trip is an enjoyable way to increase my daily exercise.  This change in our morning schedule has opened my eyes to a new view of our neighborhood and details I’ve missed from the car are now clearly in focus as we walk by.  This mushroom is one of those fun finds happily growing on a busy corner underneath a fire hydrant and stop sign.

Posted as part of the Weekly Photo Challenge:  One.

Lisa66 Comments

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

Light

This week Ben asks us to focus on a point of light and feature it in a post for the Weekly Photo Challenge.  I wish we had our Christmas lights up and ready for the season but since we just got home from a wonderful Thanksgiving visit with family our lights are still in storage waiting for another day.

This photo is from our walk yesterday afternoon while the turkey and trimmings roasted in the oven.  My dad, Ryan and I thought it would be fun to see the spawning salmon in Bellingham, WA and just as we walked across the creek the setting sun broke free from the clouds and lit up the rushing water below.

Lisa60 Comments

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

Unexpected

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 to post.  This lack of inspiration was in itself unexpected because I usually have an idea pop up right away and today I had nothing.

I thought about unexpected moments while I worked through the rest of my day and remembered some great old stories but nothing that could be illustrated with a picture.

After school Ryan and I walked through downtown and since it was still on my mind I asked him what he would post today if this was his blog.  He turned around, pointed to this shop window and said “look at that, I’ve never seen a Carnivorous Terrarium before”.  Ok, an unexpected moment, a sign that is amusing and an interesting picture to illustrate it.  Check, check and check!

Posted as part of the Weekly Photo Challenge:  Unexpected

Lisa24 Comments

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 even be a slice of a multifaceted image or scene.

Sara Rosso – The Daily Post

Layers

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted an update about our front yard project but we are still working hard and I’m happy to say we have a good chance of finishing by the end of the year.

Happy was not one of my words though when this load of sod arrived by flat-bed truck in early September.  My worries increased after I asked the delivery driver how long he thought it would take us to lay the rolls.  He told me we should be able to get through the pallet in about four hours but we’d have to move fast.

We had one very long, dirty evening to lay all the sod in our newly terraced upper and lower front yard and I couldn’t believe how heavy  every single roll was.  The layers looked kind of pretty before we started, which is why I took this picture, but after the first few minutes all I wanted to do was turn my back and walk away.  Sadly that wasn’t an option.

Posted as part of the Weekly Photo Challenge:  Layers

Lisa57 Comments

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

The Olga Store 1989
The Olga Store 1989
The Olga Store 2002
The Olga Store 2002
Nostalgic 3
The Olga Store 2008

 

My son and his cousin having ice cream at the same counter we loved as kids.
My son and his cousin having ice cream at the same counter we loved as kids.

 

The Olga Post Office 1989
The Olga Post Office 1989
The Olga Post Office 2002
The Olga Post Office 2002

I have been in a nostalgic frame of mind this summer, paging through old photo albums and revisiting favorite family vacation spots during my days off.  Watching my son spend his first summer without a structured schedule of camp and daycare is bringing back fond memories of wide open summer days with nothing to do but read a book and play outside.

When we were kids my parents rented an old beach cabin on Orcas Island for our summer vacation get-away.  The six of us spent happy weeks in this little place and then the larger farmhouse up the hill for the next 20 years and I still return to the island as often as I can.

It was such a treat to climb in the back of our VW Bus and travel down the twisty road to the little town of Olga. We always brought our allowance to the General Store for souvenirs and ice cream then walked over to the post office to mail postcards sharing our beach combing adventures with friends and family back home.

Posted as part of The Weekly Photo Challenge:  Nostalgic.

Lisa39 Comments

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 could show you a lot of material things that are important parts of my days but instead I decided to show my companions in life. I always have some kind of camera in my pocket and my best days are spent with the companionship of these two guys; my wonderful husband John and my amazing son Ryan. We like to take self portraits during fun times and I have a few here to share with you.

Lisa46 Comments

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 Pacific Northwest can bring snow, rain, wind and occasionally a beautiful, warm evening.  We had one of these rare nights a few weeks ago and I couldn’t resist the chance to hurry to the beach after dinner for a beautiful sunset with my family.  We walked barefoot in the sand, watched boats and kayakers cruise through the calm waters, skipped rocks and saw the final moments of the sun as it set behind the Olympic Peninsula.  A fleeting moment we will always remember.

Lisa19 Comments

Daily Prompt: Green

Green Yard 1

Today in the Daily Post the photography prompt is Green.  I almost posted this iPod picture a few weeks ago but in the end decided the finished image was too green to fit with my other photos.  Today it gets a second chance for a moment in the sun.

This is a small view of my back yard in April.

Lisa6 Comments