Here’s my entry for the Lens-Artist Challenge #261 – Work In Progress. I’m always very impressed by artists like this woman. I know it probably takes both natural talent and hard work to be able to create amazing art. In a few years, when I retire and have some extra time, I’d like to take some painting classes.
And a special thanks to Cee’s entry of her “Work In Progress” photo since it reminded me that I had something similar I could use as my entry. Actually, I kind of wondered if we photographed the same woman! Same hair length. Same body build. I took this photo on our trip to the Tetons in June (my stash from that trip keeps on giving!) I’ll have to pop over to Cee’s site and ask her if she happens to know her model, haha!
Have a great day! I hope you learn or do something NEW today!
This foto might only be funny to me, because of my initial reaction. I was walking past a building on the university campus where I work, and out of the corner of my eye I see this. I don’t remember what I thought it was, but I definitely did not think it was only a lab coat and a green Kermit hat hanging on a coat rack!
Sorry for the reflection, I took this from outside. Have you ever had something strike your funny bone before you realized what it really was…an every day item?
Have a great day! Do or learn…or experience something NEW!
I realized I didn’t include this peaceful shot of Jenny Lake when I posted most of my other photos from our trip to the Tetons. Isn’t this lake beautiful?
Also, I listened to an old audiobook from author/speaker Jim Rohn recently and appreciated the message below. I hope you like it too:
The Gardener and God
There’s a story about a man who took a rock pile and in two years, turned it into a fabulous garden. And people came from everywhere to see it.
One day, a man came by and saw the garden and thought it was fabulous, but he wanted to make sure the gardener did not take all the credit. He had this deep feeling inside that a lot of people leave God out.
So the man toured the garden to have the chance to meet the gardener. He eventually found the gardener, shook his hand and said, “Mr Gardener, you and the good Lord together have made this beautiful garden.”
The gardener immediately understood his message and his point. So he replied, “I think that’s true. If it’s not for the sunshine and the rain, and the miracle of the seeds and the soil and the seasons, there would be no garden at all.”
And he continued, “But you know, you should have seen this place a couple of years ago when God had it all by himself.”
Have a peaceful Sunday and I hope you do or learn something NEW!
Have you ever put together a jigsaw puzzle without having a picture of what it’s supposed to look like? It’s a bit tough! While traveling in May to Colorado to see the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, we stopped at a small touristy gift shop. The sales lady was good! She talked me into trying this NEW (to me) way of jigsaw-puzzling; so I bought a Bepuzzled Mystery Puzzle. The idea is, you read a short mystery story, then put the puzzle together to discover the cryptic clues hidden within the puzzle. I read Sherlock Holmes and the Speckled Band. After finishing the puzzle, I had to finish reading the story with a mirror because the ending is printed backward. If I would have thought to Google it, there are photos that pop up that I could have referenced, but I didn’t, haha!
This year I started snapping pics with my phone when I finish a puzzle. Here are all the puzzles I’ve finished since January:
All of them are 1000-piece puzzles except the succulent puzzle. That one we borrowed from the game room at an RV park where we were staying because it was raining all of that weekend and our outdoor plans were postponed.
Did you know that jigsaw puzzles help improve short-term memory, problem-solving skills and combat cognitive decline? That’s my reasoning for spending my precious time on this somewhat puzzling obsession haha! Plus, I’m usually listening to an audiobook at the same time. That’s gotta be good brain-health exercise, right?!?
Have a great day! I hope you do or learn something NEW!
Happy Monday! We recently visited the Flaming Gorge Recreation Area. It’s a huge reservoir in southern Wyoming and northern Utah. We stayed in a little town called Manila, Utah. It was fun to visit somewhere NEW. Certain areas were crowded, but it’s such a large reservoir that many places, especially up in the mountains (from where I took the above photo), were relatively quiet.
Maybe we’ll go again sometime and play in the water. There wasn’t a very big beach area, so those places were the most crowded. Although I’m not too sure we’ll return, because there are SO many other NEW places to explore!
Have a great day. I hope you learn or do something NEW today!
So, I’ve been disappointed lately that I haven’t been out shooting more. Life is busy. But today I decided to just go in my backyard and try something NEW! I was very inspired by the impressionistic look from a recent post at melinda anderson photography using the camera shake method. I thought her “Wildflower Impressions” photo was so beautiful. So I tried it. It’s rather FUN! What do you think?
Here is a “normal” shot of the daisies. AND, we finally got rid of the ugly plastic edging and put pavers on the sides of our garden path. So that is another NEW thing!
Lesson learned. Even when I’m busy…getting prepared for a son’s wedding, working long hours at the day job, preparing for our upcoming Europe trip, yardwork etc., I need to take the time and have fun with my camera. This only took a few minutes, and now I have an impressionist photo to enjoy. Thank you to Melinda Anderson for the inspiration!
Have a wonderful day! I hope you do or learn something NEW today!
Happy Monday! It’s been a while since I brain-dumped some miscellaneous NEW stuff, so here goes.
Miscellany #1: It was fun to see some wildlife on our hikes in Grand Tetons National Park. There were quite a few of these little guys running around! A grandpa pointed to one and asked his grandson if he thought that one was Alvin, Simon, or Theodore. I really doubt the little boy knew what his grandpa was talking about! Haha!
This guy wasn’t fazed at all by the attention he was getting!
Look very close. That’s a bear across the lake. I need a better zoom lens!!!
Thanks to Google, I believe this is a Western Tanager. Again…Santa, I need a zoom lens for Christmas! Haha!
AND, what do you think of this “wildlife”?!? He (or she) is livin’ the life!
Miscellany #2: What I’ve been reading lately. I’ve already hit my GoodReads 2023 Reading Challenge goal (my goal was 52 books, and I’m already at 62…). So I think for the last part of this year, I’ll make a goal to read a book from every genre that GoodReads list on its browse page. I figure that’s one way to read NEW and different material (I hope to learn LOTS of NEW stuff!). Here’s the genre list.
AND lastly, miscellany #3. I learned something NEW recently. I showed my friend at work my photo from the Tetons and she taught me that these yellow flowers that were everywhere are called Mule Ears. She had been to Colorado that same weekend and noticed a lot of them there too! Here’s more from our trip to Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. I’m taking her word for it (so I hope she’s correct). It’ll be an easy name to remember (I hope).
That’s it for today’s NEW miscellaneous stuff. Have a great day and I hope you do or learn something NEW today!
Happy Tuesday! What?! Posting two days in a row? Amazing, haha!
Well, after updating my National Parks bucket list yesterday, I had to also update my 100 Waterfalls bucket list today. While at Grand Teton National Park, we hiked around Jenny Lake and up to this wonderful waterfall. It’s called Hidden Falls. We could’ve taken a boat across the lake and then up to these falls, but we opted to hike around the lake. It was beautiful and peaceful.
There’s something about bucket lists that make crossing off items so much fun! If I haven’t forgotten any, this is my 49th waterfall visit. 51 to go until I retire this particular bucket list.
It was fun to visit this NEW (to me) waterfall. Have a great day and I hope you learn or do something NEW today too!
Explore Newness 