Silhouette

(I will edit to make some sort of explanation of these images later.)


OK, I am back. I had to get something posted before I headed out this morning or I would have been receiving those, hey Kathy do you know it's Wednesday messages.


This was most fascinating. We saw it along the waterfront in Tacoma when we did the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Light the Night Walk last October. (We will be doing that again this coming fall--watch for a chance to sponsor us.)


The only reason I did not use it as my header is that it is not a true silhouette--it looked like one in the thumbnails, but there is too much detail visible to really call it a silhouette. Then again, it is just bizarre enough--maybe I should resume "Odd Shots Mondays".

Winter leaves silhouetted against a cloudy sky.

Not so many leaves at all on a cloudy sky.

For several days this winter this cat sat at the top of the hop poles. I was not sure if he knew how to get down, but one day he was gone and the next he was a couple of poles over, so obviously he was not stuck. Again, a bit too much detail to call it a silhouette.

These ducks on Dumas Bay became my header.

...but it could just as easily have been the eagle flying over.

And of course, I always have my hopyard sunset silhouettes--well, until another month or so when the hops will be covering the trellises.


The others have their posts and headers up before I did get a chance to write. Their links are in my sidebar. Give them a visit.

Shadows

Trillium, I believe, spent, gone to the pod, and there its shadow.

When I go to the Anaheim Convention Center each spring, I always take a picture of the palm trees from the upper floor balconies. Why, I wonder. Don't I already have four or five sets of pictures of this scene? I like the shadows in this one.

We visit our daughters in Arizona once or twice a year. There are always interesting hikes and interesting flora and fauna. And, in this case, interesting spikey shadows.

Our older daughter in Arizona had several vacant lots in her housing development. The housing situation has settled and now there are houses on all of those lots. I was surprised by these shadows across the street.

 

But for my Shadow header, the frog in Shadow Lake (what a coincidence) throws not only his own shadow but the shadows of the rings in the water.

Shadows.

The other headbangers are linked in my sidebar. I am tired. I did a dinner honoring our volunteers this evening. Though it was a simple meal, any time you serve fifty or sixty people it is exhausting. And we must be up for an early doctor appointment tomorrow.  I am glad I remembered the header challenge for this week.

Letting Go

I thought of a number of ideas for letting go, the theme Christine gave us for headers this week.

Ryan immediately wrapped himself in his graduation quilt.

 

A picture on my refrigerator is of my oldest grandson whirling in a toddler's dance--I thought of how my daughter and son-in-law have let him go--then, and now--on his own to college.

The waiter at his graduation dinner asked if he was going to live at home or on campus. There was a lengthy pause as he pondered, then finally responded "I didn't know I had the option."

His university requires freshmen to live on campus, but I think his parents might have made that the only option anyway, as he needed the experience. They knew they had to let him go.

 

I need a visual that will fit into the header space, though, so I thought and thought about what I might let go.

 

So I thought about this:

Let it go.

 



and this is what you get.

Headbangers--a small group of online photo crazy friends who challenge weekly with a theme for their headers. You can find the others from their links in my sidebar.

Any Sport that's not played with a ball



Various members of my family have their chosen sports activities.

 

Chris plays tennis. He and his kids run the Bloomsday race and several others, ski, and do gymnastics. His wife Natasha skis and runs and organizes the ski teams.

 

Aiden is into karate. So is his cousin Benjamin, who also dabbles in soccer, baseball, and basketball.

 

Andy plays football. Maybe I should say he lives football. Karen and her friends run half marathons. Other distances occasionally. Kate does various events in Special Olympics and she rides horses.

 

My son-in-law Greg is an Ironman triathlete. A triathlon includes swimming, bicycling, and running. The Ironman swim is 2.4 miles, followed by a bike segment of 112 miles, and finished off by a marathon run (26.2 miles).

 

Here is Greg in his bicycle segment during his Ironman in Arizona in 2012. It was his third race within one year. He had done the Arizona race the previous year and the race in Coeur d'Alene in between.

The Ironman creates a lot of enthusiasm.

 

Somewhere in the midst of his run. Greg finished the 140.6 miles total distance in approximately twelve and on half hours.

This was the most recent Ironman Greg has run. He has had a couple of knee surgeries that have interrupted his training.

My daughter Karen continues to run. Her most recent half marathon was last month's Race to Robie Creek, which is advertised as the most difficult half marathon in the Northwest since it is mostly uphill.

I know that Tom went fishing for this theme. I wonder what the other headbangers have done with sports played without a ball. Their links are in my sidebar.

Triathlon IS a sport. But can you call that PLAY?