Category: Photo of the week

“How could rocks and sand and silence make us afraid and yet be so wonderful?” – Edna Brush Perkins

The kids and I visited Fort Casey State Park when we were on Whidbey Island last weekend and had a great time. It’s got a beautiful view of Puget Sound, tons of wide open space filled with grass and deer, and interesting things to see.

But here’s the part that cracks me up. Back when they built it in 1890, the idea was that they were going to have these guns (cannons?) that they’d raised up to shoot and then quickly lower back down. Like some hide and seek with heavy artillery. The guns could shoot projectiles at something like 1,544 miles per hour so it could hit an object 8 miles away in 30 seconds. I guess they figured that was long enough that no ship under attack would notice there’s a fort on the hill and fire back?

Pretty much a moot point because once planes were invented, the guns were easily spotted from above. It reminds me of Dr. Stein’s Perils of Prediction podcast and post – there are so many reasons that we are bad at predicting the future.

Anyone want s’more?

I love how the beach invites kids and dogs to just sprawl. Based on Todd Fulginiti’s April Photo Journal, this applies to grown men too!

The sign of the week. And Cooper lying in the glow of a prism wondering why the heck he was being appreciated.

The quote for this post comes from Cheryl Oreglia: https://cheryloreglia.blog/2022/11/25/weve-been-through-the-desert/

“When God made the color purple, God was just showing off.” – Mae Jemison

This week’s photo collection is mostly about colors. Lilac, fuschia…and the blue of the featured photo.

Then there’s Rusty our Crested gecko who is rust-colored, of course. And Cooper turned green from rolling around in fresh mowed grass.

To top it off, we have Miss O and Mr. D serving up green stuff.

And the sign of the week celebrating dogs — no matter what color they are!

“Dreaming is happiness. Waiting is life.” – Victor Hugo

In between the pictures of all our activity this week: Easter egg hunts, parties, and catching the Ice Cream truck for the first time this season, I was drawn to these photos of my kids being still.

And the dog and the cat sat for still photos too.

It looks like our neighbor’s skeleton must have already gone to the dentist — because he’s all filled up!

“Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game.” – Babe Ruth

A warm Sunday Mariner’s Game. It was so fun to see how much more interested Mr. D was in the game now that he’s playing Little League. Or maybe just because he has a foam finger now.

Basking in the sun light. Of course Cooper might only be in the sun spot because there’s a snake in his bed. But he doesn’t look too worried.

Inspiration to keep fighting to make the world as it should be. And enjoy when a moment is just as it should be.

“Experience is one thing you can’t get for nothing.” – Oscar Wilde

We hurried outside because one of our neighbors had an accident (he’s okay). We only had one coat between the three of us so Miss O figured out how to make the best of it.

Which leads to the second photo. Where else would you store your pizza wheel?

My men of mystery — hiding behind rainbows and foliage.

The sign of the week poses a good question. Clearly it’s not age 55 because I have no idea what was going on when someone put a chair with a net on top of a gymnastics mat. And that’s just one of the many things that remain a mystery to me.

“Let nothing dim the light that shines from within.” – Maya Angelou

I looked at all the pictures I took from the week and there were a lot, even when filtered out for the ones only we were in. Ice skating, hanging out with friends, April Fools Day, going to baseball practice, out for walks, visiting our neighborhood bunnies, enjoying the Spring weather – there was a lot of goodness.

So I tried to pick the three pictures I liked the best. I ended up with 10. 🙂

Cooper’s view of the neighborhood bunnies. They still don’t want to be friends with him. He’s very jealous that they’ll hang out with Miss O and Mr. D.

Play time

Our neighbor has a gorgeous Spring time garden. I bet it’s all the big bees that help!

On the first warm day of April, I’m guessing we were all feeling some re-leaf. Or that guy’s feet just stink.

“Happiness radiates like the fragrance from a flower and draws all good things towards you.” – Maharishi Mahesh Yogi

The featured photo has a sliver of the morning moon amidst the clouds and fog.

Pool time…

Watching the freeway and the free breakfast buffet when we took an overnight getaway at a hotel less than a mile from home.

Mr. D’s first Little League practice. It was so fun that he wanted to podcast about it…stay tuned for that!

Signs of spring

Discarded socks and watermelon rinds. And Mr. D reading to Cooper who was a dog-gone good audience!

A perfectly balanced squirrel and the sign of the week.

“If you’re offered a seat on a rocket ship, don’t ask what seat. Just get on!” – Sheryl Sandberg

We went downtown for the St. Patrick’s Day parade. I’ve lived in Seattle for more than 35 years without realizing we had such a delightful parade complete with leprechauns and Irish Wolfhounds

While we were downtown, we rode the Seattle monorail and Miss O got her ears pierced.

At a birthday party, we experimented with the concept of getting the ball rolling. It’s almost comical how stereotypical this picture is with the older sibling telling the younger one, “I’ll just push it up the hill and get the ball rolling for you.” Turns out even light beach balls can pack a wallop with enough speed. Who knew? 🙂 [Fortunately no younger siblings were hurt in the making of this picture.]

Also this week, Mr. D wanted to learn how to grill and he’s taking the role seriously. 🙂

In an one thing led to another progression, we set the Crocodile Cave up in the backyard and…

The kids had a water fight. It was not swimsuit weather (at least not in my book at about 48 degrees) but at least they filled the guns with warm water.

And that wraps up a pretty typical week on our rocket ship hurtling towards adulthood complete with love (and ice cube hearts) and a punny sign of the week.

“We are just an advanced breed of monkey on a minor plant of an average star. But we can understand the Universe. That makes us something special.” – Stephen Hawking

Featured photo is of the lunar eclipse. It was spectacular — and so considerate to be at a decent hour before I went to bed. What an incredible Universe we live in!

Cooper seems to think that walks around the neighborhood are mostly opportunities to visit with friends.

I thought the people out sailing on a rainy Saturday morning were pretty intrepid. Then I spoke with my brother and found out that he was one of them. Then I knew they were intrepid.

Mr. D and his friend don’t seem to mind the rain as long as the view is good and there are juice boxes.

The kids are hatching salmon at their school. Is that redundant? And you know we take our salmon seriously here in the Pacific NW when we made salmon slides.

Bringing our best drama to pictures. The second one is our attempt at Mary Poppins!

Mr. D looks like a teenager on with his pajama pants on his skateboard. But he wasn’t dressed that way because we were trying to be cool. Just getting cozy after a wet morning at the park.

“The soul of an animal is as delicate as yours…Treat it with kindness and love; It deserves it as much as you do.” – Lights of Venus

Seeing the eye of the goat, the hide of a rhino, the preening of a flamingo, and the hair of a lion made for a great trip to the zoo.

Of course, my own wild creatures showed off their untamed side at the zoo. In the first picture, Miss O is pointing out a giraffe that shares her name.

We also met a puppy down at the local bar and grill. It was so tired from a full day of socialization that it could barely keep its eyes open. Cooper is going full beam with his own cuteness to try to keep up with the puppy.

The kids found a baby snail to put in with Gary the snail. It’s starting to look like spring in our neck of the woods. I hope they don’t think they are going to bring in every snail they find outside!

Mr. D learning how to fly a drone and the sign of the week. I’m trying to think of some drone/done joke to make but I can’t get one to land. I wonder what happens to the last minute when we spring forward into daylight savings time?

Hope you all have a great week!