October 11, 2021 at 1:54 pm (destinations, Links, postaday, Recommended, Weather)
Tags: blogs, Gardens, Golden Gate Park, Mondays, photo challenge, San Francisco
Yet another new Photo Challenge: Water Water Everywhere.
This one’s hosted by Photos by Jez. Enjoy his gorgeous photos of trees reflected in the Forth & Clyde Canal.
Guidelines for Water Water Everywhere are here.
Below: the last time self took a picture with water in it was at the Strybing Arboretum, 23 September.
It was a somewhat chilly day, not unusual at all for San Francisco. Note the flock of geese in the background.
October 5, 2021 at 9:57 pm (destinations, Family, Holidays, Links, Niece, Places, plans, postaday, Relatives, Traveling)
Tags: blogs, life of B, memories, opportunities, photo challenge, Prague
This is only self’s third round of participation in Life of B’s Squares Challenge, so instead of choosing favorites from her previous rounds, in April and July 2021, she’ll focus on past trips. She used to be quite the traveler! Everything came to a screeching halt in 2020.
May 2019: Self’s niece was going to Prague and asked if she wanted to come along. Self had never been to Prague. Of course she wanted to come along!
Dinner the first night was in the hotel’s rooftop restaurant. All the surrounding buildings were lit. The view was stunning! The next day, at Prague Castle, we stumbled on a wedding photo shoot. Self was able to squeeze off a quick candid photo.
October 3, 2021 at 6:16 pm (Artists and Writers, Links, Plays, Recommended, Sayings, Sundays)
Tags: blogs, humor, inspirations, photo challenge, Shakespeare
Another photo challenge!
This one is loose: any picture taken with your cell. The host is Journeys with Johnbo.
Here are self’s fridge magnets. Shakespeare rules!
August 6, 2021 at 9:02 pm (destinations, Eavesdropping, Links, Places, postaday, Traveling)
Tags: blogs, Carmel, Fridays, Gardens, photo challenge, road trip, summer
Here is another fun challenge, Xingfu Mama’s Pull Up a Seat.
Self was just in Carmel, so she will share a picture she took of a secluded backyard. They have amazing gardens there: tiny, most of them, but full of quirky, unexpected touches:
August 6, 2021 at 9:56 am (Links, postaday)
Tags: blogs, concerts, music, photo challenge, summer
This is self’s entry for Mama Cormier’s Thursday Trios.
Two nights ago, she and a friend attended a free concert in Stafford Park. The series was suspended last year, this year it’s back with a vengeance. The day before, a mask mandate had been issued for all San Francisco Bay Area counties, whether you were vaccinated or un-vaccinated. No one was thinking of that — it was summer, people were dancing to “September” and other Motown hits. The weather was perfect, the Optimist Club was there, selling hot dogs, hamburgers, chips, and soda. The energy was infectious.
July 19, 2021 at 5:32 pm (Flowers, Links, postaday)
Tags: blogs, Cee Neuner, farmers markets, Menlo Park, Mondays, photo challenge
Self thinks these are dahlias. She’s never had any luck growing them in her yard. She bought them yesterday from the Menlo Park Farmers Market.
Thank you to host of the Flower of the Day (FOTD) Challenge Cee Neuner!
Stay cool, dear blog readers. Stay cool.
July 18, 2021 at 5:25 am (Links, postaday, Surprises, Weather)
Tags: blogs, California, climate change, environment, Garden, memories, photo challenge, Saturday, summer
Self was looking over the pictures in her archives. She was shocked to come upon the pictures of the backyard in September 2020. There were wildfires raging up and down the state. The Lightning Complex Fires in Santa Clara County, Santa Cruz County, and San Mataeo County began in August and raged through the first half of September. The air quality was so bad, and there were days she could distinctly smell smoke.
For today’s #TreeSquares Challenge, she’s posting these pictures as a reminder. She heard on the news that the fires raging now in California (there are quite a few) have burned four times as much acreage as the fires this time last year. Can you imagine if we get to September with worse air quality than what’s in these pictures. The heat so far this summer is so intense. Cross your fingers and pray.
July 16, 2021 at 10:48 pm (Artists and Writers, destinations, Filipino Writers, Links, Places, postaday, Traveling, Women Writers, Writing)
Tags: Annaghmakerrig, artists residency, blogs, Fridays, inspirations, Ireland, memories, photo challenge, seasons, summer
I did a post last week about Annaghmakerrig Lake. These are from the same visit (March 2017), but taken of the trees outside my cottege at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre at Annaghmakerrig.
For a blissful month each year, I journeyed to this beautiful corner of Ireland, with one purpose only: to write. I was supposed to go in 2020, but of course COVID. My hope is to return, perhaps in 2023?
Thank you to Becky of The Life of B. If not for her #TreeSquare Challenge, I would not have thought to post these pictures.
July 12, 2021 at 2:59 pm (Links, Places, postaday, Recommended)
Tags: blogs, California, Garden, Mondays, photo challenge
Two new views of self’s backyard — with trees!
Thanks to Becky at The Life of B, host of this and other creative Squares Challenges (The previous Squares Challenge was #BrightSquares in April)
July 6, 2021 at 12:47 pm (destinations, Flowers, Links, Places, postaday, Sundays)
Tags: blogs, Fourth of July, Golden Gate Park, inspiration, nature, summer
Learn about this challenge, hosted by Life of B.
Yesterday a friend and I went to Golden Gate Park. We parked up by Stowe Lake, and wandered around quite lost. Her cell said to go right, mine said to go left. I said I wanted to see the de Young (I have a membership card and I needed to go to the bathroom) My friend wanted to know why, whenever I’d ask for directions, I’d ask for the Japanese Tea Garden. I said, The de Young and the Japanese garden are right beside each other; if you find one, you find the other.
Originally, we were supposed to hunt up the Conservatory of Flowers, but it seemed a long way, and I hadn’t brought a sweater (It was cold and windy. Lucky she had a grey hoodie; I only had a thin cotton top. Anyhoo, I’m kinda glad we never found the conservatory, because when I got home I looked it up on the map, and we’ve had had to cross the entire park, lengthwise.
The park was lush and green, and it felt good just to be alive. The eucalyptus trees (not native, I was told by a naturalist on a tour last month) smelled heavenly.
Here are a couple of trees I saw in the Park.
Stay cool, dear blog readers. Stay cool.
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