Photo Blogging Challenge (August 2022): Pooch

I thought this would be a nice and easy one but I think easy ended up being a little lazy. I need to break out my big camera more often and stop relying so much on quick snaps with the phone. Maybe next month! :) 

Here's what I got. Starting off without Rosie at all...

Here's Will with my sisters crew: Biscuit, Fletcher, and Luna. I love the Luna side eye.

 

Rosie in her natural habitat. She lets me sit here sometimes.

Rosie hates the thunder. We have to open the pantry for her to hide in when the storms come.

She had a friend, Tyson, follow her home from a walk the other day. Tyson had escaped both his collar and his yard but Facebook to the rescue found his family quickly. They had a good time together though.

This is Rosie showing her displeasure that I have blocked her kitchen spot while loading the dishwasher.

There are my five. I've seen a couple of the others already and like what I see. I'm looking forward to checking out the others at a 'lil hoohaa post. And hope to participate in more in the future.

Photo Blogging Challenge (July 2022): Get Low

I'm back. But I didn't really leave. The last two months, I sat down to pick out photos to use and came to the conclusion I was just trying to back into the theme and that wasn't much fun. This month, I took photos specifically with the theme in mind. So here we go.

I caught this little Hummer taking off from the fountain in the front yard. They are fast!

OK, so I did leave. We got out of Texas for a few days and headed to Colorado for some much cooler weather. Got out on a hike that the boys and I had backpacked a few years ago. I forgot how rocky the trail was.

Found these 'shrooms along the way. Did not eat.

More sights along the hike.

I got low and high at the same time. But I didn't get high even though it's legal here.

There's my five. Here's a couple of bonus pics. If you've never been to one of the Meow Wolf installations, you should go. This is the only one I've visited but there are 2 more, Santa Fe and Las Vegas. I hear Dallas and/or Houston soon. It's indescribable.

   

Hope to keep going for next month. Thanks for looking.

Photo Blogging Challenge (April 2022): Enjoy Life

 

Enjoy Life was a perfect theme for me for April. I'm just barely squeezing this in because we have had quite a busy end of the month. For the first time since the summer of 1999, which, if you follow me at all, can sort out that was about a year from our first born, Amy and I were able to take a big trip sans kids. A trip that took us overseas for the first time since that 1999 trip, a new continent for us, Asia Minor, and two new countries, Turkey and Greece, We were a little afraid that the trip would be cancelled after Russia invaded Ukraine; Turkey isn't too far away, but our fears were unfounded. We were also a little nervous about traveling on a cruise ship in this day and age but we were a little under 50% capacity, proof of vaccine was required, masks were required in public areas, and the tested us before boarding. On to the pics!

 

We planned an extra day in Istanbul to get a taste and a we got a huge meal! We had a wonderful tour guide that met us at our hotel at 9am and got us back at 7pm. We walked a bunch. Our first stop was Topkapı Palace. We spent close to two hours looking at all to be seen there.

We had a few hours to kill before boarding our ship so I pulled up the Geocaching app to see what was nearby. I found one at the terminal to The Orient Express and it was just a few minutes walk from our hotel. I snagged that and we walked around a bit more. We found our ship and some fishermen and enjoyed the view for a bit.

There is so much ancient history in this part of the world. This is the Library of Celsus in Ephesus. It is one of the sites there that have been uncovered in my lifetime. Truly amazing to walk through the same paths that people have walked for thousands of years.

In Bodrum, Turkey, we stayed at port until 11pm and that allowed us to try out a Wine Tasting dinner at a local winery. The wine and the meal were fantastic. These three guys, along with a cat friend, provided the entertainment.

In Santorini, we rode this gulet to an island with an active volcano. We hiked to the top of it to check out the crater. We later sailed to another island close that had hot springs from the volcanic activity. I was able to swim over the hot springs and enjoy a tiny bit of warmth from the very cold ocean.

It was an amazing trip. We ended our cruise in Athens on May Day. It was just about impossible to pick just five photos. If you have the inclination, take a look at my Flickr Album and enjoy the rest of my trip! I know I did,

Photo Blogging Challenge (February 2022): Photographer’s Choice

It's a photographer's choice for this month's photo challenge. I ended up seeing quite a few animals this month. A few that live with me, but some others in the wild. Let's take a look.

The weird Texas weather brought some snow again this February. Fortunately we didn't have the major power outages this year.

 

Sheriff Jem Bizness looking handsome on the stairs.

Rosie voted: Steak for dinner. It was soundly defeated by the incumbent Kibble.

I found myself at a cutting horse competition. This was the warm up area.

We had a visit from our house deer. I tried to get them away from the barn as a background but they didn't want to cooperate.

I'm looking forward to seeing what the other choices were for this month. Hope to see you again next month.

Photo Blogging Challenge (January 2022): Black And White

Welcome to the first Photo Blogging Challenge of 2022. And it's already February! This month's theme was Black and White. One of my favorites as I did so much of it back in my early film days. Let's get cracking!

 

This angel is part of a Nativity that I got from my mom who got it from her mom. I actually keep it up in my home office year round. 

 

I think black and white allows for a different view of mundane objects.

I had originally planned on all five being shot on some old expired Fuji instant that I have in the fridge but my camera was giving me issues. This was the only image that came out while I was testing it.

The weather was nice enough to get out some hikes this month.

 

With all the black and white cats we have running around this house (3 b&w, 1 solid black) how could I not include at least one of them. Penney was happy to oblige. 

There's my five. Looking forward to seeing the others and what fun February will bring. Thanks for visiting.

Photo Blogging Challenge (December 2021): Holly Jolly

Another year come and gone. And another weird one as well. I think we are all ready for some kind of normal. I am for sure. I was happy that family at least got to spend the holidays together and we are all still healthy. My photos this moth are pretty self explanatory so I think I'll leave them to speak.

 

 

 

 

I'm looking forward to another year of photos and another year of photo challenges. I always enjoy everyone's photos; it's a treat to see your slices of the world. I wish you all a Happy New Year and we'll see you on the January challenge.

 

Photo Blogging Challenge (November 2021): Give Thanks!

Let us give thanks, once again. One more month left of 2021. November was full of thanks!

 

I'm thankful for beautiful morning in the wilderness.

I'm thankful for this group of friends that enjoy learning together and like to be outdoors even if it's a little cold.

I'm thankful for friends and family that were able to join again to break bread together and visit.

I'm thankful for these four, that they are still alive and still friends.

I'm thankful for football victories and the celebration that comes with conference championships especially when those that "know" didn't give the team much of a chance.

I'm thankful for PJ hosting this challenge and for all of you sharing your world.

Photo Blogging Challenge (October 2021): Get Out and Play

October is always a good month to get out and play. The temps are finally dropping and the weather is generally pretty good. October also bring fairs, football, and Halloween fun. Let's go!

After a year off, the State Fair of Texas was back. All I really want to do is eat me a Fletcher's corny dog. Although they are now available outside of the fair, the ones from the fair stand just hit different.

I also had the first golf trip in 18 months. A business trip to North Carolina offered a chance to catch up with some folks I'd only seen online for awhile.

I went to my first Formula 1 race at the Circuit of the Americas. I heard it set a record for largest sporting event in the US with over 400,000 attendees over the weekend. Billy Joel performed Saturday night and the race was exciting. But the Spam toss caught my attention! There is nothing as exciting as exciting as flying pressed meat. I put some links there for my weekend photos.

Football is back. Halloween weekend saw my Bears beat our long time, down the road rival, Texas Longhorns. They are moving conferences so this may be the last time we play for a while. 

Halloween night, we had a Slightly Spooky Downtown Walk. My wife is on the board of the Animal Birth Control Clinic, a non-profit animal clinic that offers low cost spays and neuters as well as vaccinations and medications. There were lots of dogs and we visited some of the allegedly haunted spots of downtown Waco.

I can't believe we are at the tail end of 2020 already. I wonder what November brings.

Photo Blogging Challenge (September 2021): It’s Your World

September has come and gone. Another busy month in the books but plenty of time spent out and about in my world.

Cameron Park hikes are always a good way to get the heart rate up and get out of the house.

 

It's not my world, it's Rosie's world and she just lets me live in it!

We got out of Texas to Colorado to an actual concert at Red Rocks. Vaccine cards were required for entry. Brandi Carlile with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra was electric!

Waco was one of only two cities that had legalized prostitution. The gentleman on the porch led a group of us on a walk around what was known as The Reservation.   

Football is back. Saturday's are for watching my Bears, win or lose. Days like this, we are all winners anyway.

That's my 5 for September. Hope you enjoyed them and maybe spend some time with us next month.

Photo Blogging Challenge (August 2021): Adventures

My adventures in July made me completely miss last month's link up but I'm here in time for more adventures this month. 

Sometimes you don't have to go very far to find adventure. I didn't expect any of these right outside my back door. 

Oh, hey buddy. I'm not sure what's worse: that he was there in the first place or that I have no idea where he went.

 

This guy was as big as my foot!

And then I almost walked right through this headed to check on the pool equipment.

Enough of that, I got myself a new (to me) adventure wagon. A 1970 Kaiser Jeepster Commando. It needs a little bit of work but is very drivable as is.

Out walking the dog, the skies turned it into an adventure.

That's five. That'll do! It's such a weird time we're living in. It seems like I have nothing but time abut have no time to get things done. These challenges offer a good distraction. I hope you join in next time.