Brenda Photo Challenge: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

California strawberries...look at these beauties!

...and they're delicious too!

A beautiful gift from a beautiful person...I wonder what it is? Stay tuned.

..and last but not least, an orchid a sweet classmate brought to me on my birthday. I think it is quite beautiful. I've never had an orchid before. They seem very fragile and mysterious, so wish me luck in caring for this one!

This Brenda Photo Challenge was brought to you today by Karen from Loved and Engraved. Do some blog-hoppin' and check out what others think to be beautiful!

Photo Challenge: signs of spring

The Brenda Photo Challenge...

Camellias in bloom

A pair of doves have been scouring for a good nesting spot.
The female is resting in one of my hanging plants
while this male stays close by...a sure sign of spring.

One of the trees on campus blooming.

There really weren't very many "signs of spring" for me to choose from. Winter is still trying to hang on and most flowering plants and trees are bare...but things should be changing in the next couple of weeks. It was a fun challenge to get out and explore nature a bit and I look forward to seeing what all of you have captured through your lens.

Thanks for stopping by!

Goodbye: a series

I've been having a love affair. With words. It could be the English teacher in me trying to stretch out of this old cocoon (me)...or it could be this book I just read that delivered a plethora of ideas for writing. I'm finding myself pulling words out of the sky and then jotting them down to dissect later...serendipitous, foraging, clanking...I've never collected words before, but the storage capacity appears to be endless (even in the midst of a lingering head cold)...unlike my HD which is filling up and forcing me to do some long overdue file "housekeeping." I've been deleting pictures from solo road trips and explorations in the countryside. Before I bid adieu to a few random pictures I thought I would post them so we could give them a proper farewell...a few words of description, no explanation...just a eulogy of sorts. Please join me in naming these images before I lay them to rest...they did after all lure some of my life moments away...and some of them you will wonder why!

This is Goodbye #1:

old

rusty

nail

dig deep while you can.

Brenda Photo Challenge: textures and patterns

Something to wear...I love houndstooth patterns...this is my daughter's coat up close enough to see the wool/polyester textures in the weave...

Something in the house...intricate patterns in crochet with cotton texture...I can't help but think about the hands that were crocheting this one link at a time (my step-sister made this about 25 years ago).

Something outdoors...nature's patterns and textures in a white birch tree...
This Brenda Photo Challenge is being hosted by Donna at Cottage Days & Journeys. I enjoyed the search for patterns and textures and actually came up with quite a few, but decided on an eclectic assortment to share. I could have easily done a theme...this was really fun! Now I'm off to see YOUR textures and patterns. Thanks Donna for the push to explore things up close!

Brenda Photo Challenge: looking upward

At day's end...isn't this the most beautiful sunset?

building architecture in cemetery...looking up.

eucalyptus tree

Thank you Joan for hosting this week's Brenda Photo Challenge...looking upward was very eye opening for me...it isn't every day we take notice of things above ground level and it was fun sparking curiosity from onlookers. When I was out and about I had a few people stop and stare up to see what the heck was going on...they may still be there! I look forward to seeing what others have come up with! Thanks for stopping by!

i Heart Faces Photography Contest: this one's for you Earl

Yes....it's Earl again and most of us know he is one of my favorite faces coming from the homeless community and what a challenge it has been to help him locate his family. My friend Debbie introduced this wonderful new photography blog to me called I Y Faces and I thought it might be an excellent opportunity to share his face with more people in hopes of someone recognizing him, so I am entering this photo in the contest (that's why I'm re-posting it). Thank you Debbie (great idea!). So wander on over and check out this new photography site!

Brenda Photo Challenge: anything new

With the influx of warm weather we have been experiencing...my flowers are confused and some of them are beginning to show signs of blooming. Too bad their fragile petals will not be able to withstand the frost when it returns...

Christmas treasures...new things!

For those of you following the Earl saga, here is a new picture of Earl. I straightened his hat and told him he looked mah-velous, so he gave me a little smile. His face isn't droopy anymore from the stroke, but his ability to communicate hasn't improved much...but we take it one week at a time and never lose sight of our mission to find his family.



Well, that's my "Anything New" shots...thanks for stopping by. Now I'm off to see "what's new" on your blogs. Thank you Laura for hosting the Brenda Photo Challenge...it's been a fun excuse to get out and take pictures!

photo challenge: water

water in the garden I

water in the garden II

playing in the waters of the Pacific

serene water on campus

Another FuN Brenda Photo Challenge brought to us by Maria from Let The Good Times Roll. Thank you Maria! I enjoyed this one immensely because it provided a nice little outlet for me in between semester crunch assignments...how does that saying go...All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy? Something like that...well it makes me sad and grouchy, so it was a nice reminder of the importance of play and now while I'm suppose to be doing homework I'll be sneaking away to look at all of your photos...no wonder it takes me so long to get my work done...but you are ALL worth it!
Thanks for stopping by!

photo challenge: OLD

an OLD wagon wheel

OLD buttons

OLD cars

Donna from Made In Heaven is the host for this Brenda Photo Challenge...thanks Donna for selecting such a fun theme!
OLD is everywhere!

I love old things and can spend hours upon hours just browsing through old treasures wondering about the stories behind them.

Old, vintage, antique...all wonderful, curious, mysterious things that link us to the past.

photo challenge: things with wings

My daughter's pet parakeets: Poco and Paeleigh

A garden friend: Mr. Dragonfly

A carpenter bee recently evicted fron the birch tree.



This was a fun photo challenge, but I almost forgot to post them today...I had gotten so use to them being on saturday! Thank you Shannon for bringing this Brenda Photo Challenge idea to us...I can't wait to get around and see what others are sharing!

Have a beautiful day!

photo challenge: sweets

My favorite...Mocha M&M's...luxuriously sweet ~

Lemon-Blueberry Tea Bread...perfectly sweet and delicious with
coffee in the morning ~

Chocolate Peanut Butter cookies....sweetness to share ~



This was a FuN photo challenge...thank you Tegan for coming up with such a "sweet" idea! I'm kind of hoping the next challenge might involve exercise after this one! Can't wait to make my rounds to see how creative everyone was...but right now I'm headed off for another cookie!

photo challenge: play

playing the piano



















Lacey playing with her toy.















playing the guitar.

This photo challenge WAS a real challenge for me, partly because I've had a busy week and partly because every day has play time in it so I had a tough time distinguishing between fun and just playing around....but it was time well spent trying to capture something...can't wait to see what everyone else has come up with...thank you Sharon for being our host!

photo challenge: numbers

NUMBERS that keep us anchored to the day.

NUMBERS that enable us to keep in touch.

NUMBERS that connect us to the past.

Thank you Karen for being our gracious Brenda Photo Challenge host. This was a FuN assignment and I can't wait to see how others have captured NuMbErS with their cameras.

photo challenge: patriotism

Stars & Stripes

Patriotic Garden

God Bless America

This was a fun (and timely) photo challenge. I saw a lot of red, white, and blue.....but I didn't always have my camera with me and it was a very busy week for me...that's why when I saw this lady walking I had to take this picture...it was a quick "drive-by" shot and I am ever so thankful she didn't turn around to see me taking her picture, I would have been so embarrassed...her outfit was so PERFECT for this challenge!

Be sure to visit all of the participants of this

Brenda Photo Challenge

and thank you Karen for being our gracious host!

photo challenge: orange

The color orange is everywhere!

I hope everyone had fun finding it!

Be sure to visit all the participants and see how creative they were. Names are listed on my sidebar. Thank you for participating in the Brenda Photo Challenge...I'm looking forward to visiting all of you and seeing what our next challenge might be....? Karen from Faith of a Single Mom has graciously accepted the invitation to be our next hostess, so watch her blog to see our upcoming challenge theme and date!

photo challenge: orange

I hope everyone is having fun looking for Orange photo opportunities...I stumbled across the best one ever, and did I have my camera? Of course not!
I was walking to class and there in front of the Music Hall was a choir of students all dressed in orange with beautiful orange flowers as their backdrop...oh well, orange keeps popping up in other places so I am having fun. Remember to post 2-3 pictures reflecting the theme ORANGE next Saturday, June 28th. I have the names of the participants so far listed on my sidebar, but there is still plenty of time for anyone to join...just leave a comment and I will provide a link to your blog for others to pop in and visit you! This Brenda Photo Challenge has been so much fun and I'm looking forward to next weekend when we can see how creative everyone was!

orange you lucky?

I have been asked to host the next Brenda Photo Challenge and I've been enjoying myself so much with taking all of these pictures, how could I refuse???
I really am inspired by the creativity everyone has demonstrated with the pictures they have posted.
I can easily lose myself in photography and I'm sure it's much the same way with all of you. So far the themes have included, "signs of Spring", "bright", "liquid", keys", and "communication"...all wonderfully imaginative ideas, so I've been thinking hard and have finally decided this next photo challenge will be ORANGE...anything orange, and to give everyone ample time to get those creative juices flowing, I have chosen Saturday, June 28th as the posting date. That will give people plenty of time to join in and time to take pictures! While searching through blogs making sure I wasn't repeating a theme I stumbled across the rules for this photo challenge on Donna's lovely blog "Made In Heaven" and thought it might be helpful for them to re-surface again for the next lucky host (*wink).

Rules:

1. If you're asked to host the next challenge, and you accept the mission..LOL..pick a date (usually two weeks gives everyone time to gather their subjects and snap their photos).

2. Pick a Theme (can be Anything that floats your boat).

3. Post the rules and the next host, on your post. The Next host then does the same!

So if you are participating in THIS photo challenge, leave me a comment saying so and I will post a link in my sidebar...have FuN!

photo challenge: communication

In response to this week's photo challenge I took a little drive in the country trying to find something "different" to fit the theme Communication. It was both fun and adventurous, because I am easily distracted and one photo opportunity leads to another...you know how that goes! This week's photo challenge is graciously being hosted by Cindra...thank you Cindra! Be sure to stop by her blog and see who all is participating...I'll be by to visit everyone's blog this evening and I'm looking forward to it!


photo 1: I thought this communicated more than the paint on the surface.
















photo 2: sometimes communication isn't what it should be.

photo 3: this is me communicating 'Happy Birthday'

to my sweet friend Kimberly...today is her birthday!

photo challenge: keys

In response to a photo challenge hosted by Nita at Red Tin Heart, today's post is a picture of keys...well actually a few pictures simply because I couldn't decide which ONE to share, but it wasn't until I really looked at my keys through the lens of a camera that I realized a person's keys tell a lot about them...very interesting...I look forward to visiting other bloggers who are participating in the fun!