It was a fun month of following Fat Mum Slim‘s photo challenge. I discovered a lot about the importance of paying attention to the time of day.  Lounging around in the morning put my shots at between noon and 4 o’clock.  Beautiful blue skies became white glares. Shadows blocked out beautiful faces.  Colors simply didn’t read true.  I’m learning. I’m learning.

 

#1. Blue

The beginning of May saw our gardens and trailsides blooming of Echium candicans (Pride of Madeira).  That’s a lot of blue.

#2. Routine

As the weather gets warmer, it’s time for our Monday picnics in the park.  The routine: he cooks, and I eat.

#3. N if for … 

Night. When I took the digital photography class last year, we spent a great deal of time working on taking night shots.  I spent many chilly evenings taking pictures of stars and light trails.  And I think that I did a pretty good job.  When I saw the topic for Day 3, I knew what steps I had to take to take a great photo. But when I came home late, with a cold, I threw all that knowledge out the window and took this photo of the only working path light that I own.  

#4. Ball

#5. Button

I really wanted to photograph my cat’s bellybutton, but she was not agreeable to allowing me to look for it.  I decided that a few buttons from my button box would do.  I have great memories of playing in my mother’s button box which had been passed down to her.  I would sort them by color, then size, then shape, then age.  Today I wonder if any child would find something so simple so thrilling.

#6. Air

May 6 brought rain to the air. And that was fine with me.

#7. This Means a Lot to Me

This little beast has been through a lot with me over the last 18 years. And this is my favorite photo of us.

#8. My Sunday

On Sundays, I drive out to the mountains to be with my Cali family.  I am always sure to have my camera ready for moments like these: Quail!

#9. A Sign

#10. Travel

I use this black bag when I travel.  The minute I take it out, Zoe crawls inside.  I took the bag out just for the picture.  And, sure enough, she woke up from her sleep made her way inside.  I let her sit in there for a couple of hours before putting it away again.

#11. Tiny

I love to walk the beach and collect tiny shells. It always amazes me that these intricate pieces of nature can be so small and delicate.  The tealight looks massive next to these wee shells.

#12. Text

The Little Free Library in front of our house is one of many in our town.  Lately there have been a lot of mysteries out there. 

#13. Mirror

About a year or so ago, a spider started living in my passenger mirror. I am not afraid of spiders, so he doesn’t bother me, and I don’t bother him. I have my car washed about once a month, and he must hide in housing at that time. He gets to travel all around the peninsula; today he went to the beach.

#14. Eye

#15. Lunch

Sometimes lunch is just a bagel and lox spread while I’m watering the garden.

#16. Behind

… the scenes at the Monterey Bay Aquarium

#17. Liquid

#18. Message

This is the first note that my beloved wrote me.  Instead of tucking it away, I keep it out to remind me every day of how blessed I am.

#19. My Favorite Color

#20. Triangle

In this case, the triangles are gables.  The inn reports seven of them, I think that I caught 4 in this picture.

#21. Flowers

My favorite subject –botanicals! These Anemone hupehensis (Japanese anemone) were at the gardens in Golden Gate Park.

#22. Time

The perk of living in a small town is being able to hear the city hall clock chime. And at Christmas it plays carols. For once, I took pictures before noon.  The sky stayed blue and my colors stayed deep.

#23. I Made This

I grew it and dressed it. I have lots of crafts in my life, but nothing makes me prouder than my fresh veggies from the garden.

#24. In My Bag

In March, my friend Dao gave me this great bag to carry my camera to food and wine events and still be stylish. For some reason, I have also had a fork in there for the last three weeks. A girl never knows when a meal may happen.

#25. Blurry

More on that town clock theme. I didn’t intend for the clock on the Sonoma Square to be blurry.  But this is a curse of aging eyes. I often need to use auto-focus when working when my eyes are tired.  Unfortunately, sometimes the auto-focus isn’t focused on my intended subject.  Clear trees, blurry clock.

#26. Something

Whenever we are in Sonoma, we stop at the Fremont Diner (often more than once).  I am facinated by their old truck and its mysterious driver.

#27. Moody

Timothy Raisin definitely has opinions about things.

#28. View From the Bed

–raised garden bed in this case. This little girl kept me company while I watered that morning. She was simply adorable.  

#29. On the Table

#30. Hair

This fella could really use a blow out.  I had been wanting to take pictures of the three bison on valley road ever since they first arrived. And now they look so grown up from those days as awkward calves just a few months ago. They are moved around between corrals, so they aren’t always visible from the road.  Even when I can see them, there is always at least two sets of fence rails and a line of trees between us.  

31. What I Saw Today

Every morning Elvis waits on my doorstep. Every evening, Elvis meets me on the wall.  He likes a little treat and scratches under the chin.  He is usually very happy, but in these photos he appears slightly irritated  Perhaps he is upset about missing the Bernie Sanders rally downtown.  Or perhaps he is tired of being the subject of my camera.