EMPS #46 -- Seen in Summer

It's Monday again, and time for Carly's Ellipsis Monday Photo Shoot. The theme is "Seen in Summer," and she wants to know what says summer to us. I had several items that I couldn't decide between. She also wanted a paragraph about the photo we posted and I will make my paragraph about the following picture.
I bought two tomato plants at Fred Meyer's at once a couple of months ago, one for the Topsy Turvy planter I had seen advertised and ordered (see the following picture) and one for this planter that I had outside and hadn't planted flowers in this year. The tomato plant has taken off and thrived in the planter and has two little tomatoes growing on it already. I am very happy to see them! Now I just hope that the blackberry eradicator won't accidentally spray them when he comes to spray blackberries on Wednesday. I will think positive about that, though!


















This photo is of a leafed-out tree that has grown volunteer in my back flower patch. I have the Topsy Turvy planter hanging from it since my house is going to be painted.


















These petunias are in a basket that my son J.D. and DIL Kris gave me at my Mother's Day/birthday dinner in May. They have really come along.


















To see more EMPS entries, both from last week (in the post) and this week (in the comments), go to the link in the first paragraph above. It's a fun meme if you would like to participate, too!

Feline and Furball Friday -- Socksie looks aloof

Here is my Socksie, on the office bed, looking aloof, according to my friend Cynthia (known as Philosopher Queen on Flickr). The kitty is just dealing with the heat and the camera, I think.

To see more fun and furry creatures, go to Steven's (sometimes)photoblog. There are some fine animals referenced on varying blogs there.

Round Robin Photo Challenge -- Silence

Today's Round Robin Photo Challenge theme is "Silence" -- surely a challenging subject. I don't believe there is a place where one can find complete silence on this planet. I believe it is all relative; at least, that's how I'm presenting it here.

In the picture below, taken outside my house on the road, it was almost totally silent with no cars traveling by and no machinery running on nearby farms. The only noise was the chirping of a few birds.
















This picture shows how quiet my place is, out here in the country -- at least the day I took this picture, before the sanding for the painting started in.
















Another source of silence is when my TV is turned off. There are still things running in the house, such as the air conditioners that are needed right now, but it is very quiet without the TV going.


















Cats are the proverbial quiet animal. Here is Stevie, sleeping in her silent spot, the bathroom.


















Then there is Silver, also a very silent guy unless he's meowing to go outside. Up here on the office bed, he is quietly enjoying the cool air from the air conditioner.


















This wasn't an easy challenge and I don't know if I did it right. It will be interesting to see what the other bloggers who participated in the challenge came up with. Go to the link in the first sentence to find out! (BTW, I've learned you can click on the pictures to enlarge them.)

EMPS #45 -- Black and Blue

Carly of the blog Ellipsis sponsors the Ellipsis Monday Photo Shoot, and today's theme is "Black and Blue." It can include photographs of black and/or blue things or items that make us emotionally blue.

My first photo is of a little cat who makes me anything but feeling blue -- he is such a sweet guy and lots of fun to have around. He is black with silver and I have pictured him on a blue tablecloth so that is my first black and blue item.


















My second black and blue shot is of a black photo album, which contains pictures of my late husband Steve, sitting on the same blue tablecloth.


















Since I am always curious about what is in photo albums, I thought you might be, too, so I included the first page of the album. It has lots of blue on it!


















For extra credit, Carly wanted to know which is our favorite color and why, and how it affects our choices for photography. I'd have to say that bright, primary colors are my favorite -- blue, green, red and yellow. When I have the opportunity to photograph something in those colors it makes me happy. I noticed my mood lifting when I took the picture of the first page of Steve's album, for instance.

If you would like to learn more about this photo challenge, head on over to Carly's blog as linked above. You will find links to last week's challenge posted and to this week's in the comments.

Feline and Furball Friday -- Just being a good Socksie

Here it is Friday again, and time for Feline and Furball Friday, sponsored by Steven's (sometimes)photoblog. My shot is one taken last week, of Socksie just being as good as she ever is, sitting next to my recliner and possibly even posing for the camera.

To see more neat animals, go to the link above for Steven's blog.

EMPS #44 -- Travel Brochure

In accordance with the theme of Carly's Ellipsis Monday Photo Shoot today, I have posted pictures I have that look like they could be in travel brochures. They are in my favorite place, HAWAII!

First is the boat in Lahaina, Maui, that replicated an old sailing ship.










Next is a state park as seen from up above.















Here is my late husband Steve with the Lin Wa II, a glass-bottomed boat that we went out on.










Another pretty Hawaiian park.
















A beautiful sunset on Maui.










I don't have any places nearby that I could take pictures of that would make good travel brochures, so I had to go to my archives for these. For more neat travel brochure-quality pictures, go to the link in the first sentence.

Round Robin Photo Challenge -- Wildlife

The theme of the Round Robin Photo Challenge this time is "Wildlife." These deer are the most easily-photographable wildlife around my place.





















If you would like to join in the challenge, just go to the link in the first sentence and get the details at the site. It's a lot of fun!