In summary, I sat at my desk and wrote 1058 blog posts. I published 1054, soon to be 1055 (aka, this post), and put to draft 4 posts. One sunrise years ago, I posted and didn’t care for the heated discussions generated, so I moved it to draft as a forever sunset post never to see the light of day again. For those inquiring minds who didn’t see it back then, sorry, you’ll have to trust me, it’s better left in the abyss of my “That’s not my niche” blogging ideas. I like to keep those blurred for eternity in the back of my mind.
Instead, as each sunrise blesses my day, I post as I play with what feels better to me – as it should be!
I treasure that retired post though, as a reminder of what is best left unsaid, remaining there only as a hint of what’s to blossom.
Before I post, I adjust and focus on my thoughts as I scroll through my camera’s SD card and look for delicate sprouts to share with you.
The sum of photos that stay just thoughts (or data space taken up on the card) outnumber thoughts that make it onto a post. Many I hope will blossom to see the light of day someday or await the click of the hesitant delete button on my keyboard.
I take whatever stream-of-consciousness idea that’s about ready to burst onto the screen and run with that for the day.
Sunrises are my favorite time of day. For those who are night owls, I’m not one. I’m a tried & true, forever and ever, morning person. Therefore, I know, the sun is starting to rise at 4ish am in June. Many days, I’m up at 3:25 am and by my second cup of coffee, I’m looking out the window admiring the sky as it wakes up.
This past Saturday, the pink clouds indicated rain to come.
I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world.
E. B. White
The first airplane flight crossed above and left a contrail in the distant sky, and a faint rainbow also known as a Sundog formed.
The full morning sun burst through the rainbow as the cloudy, rainy day ahead was underway. We took a road trip to hang out with our daughters for a few hours. It was a time filled with golden moments to treasure.
Later in the day, smaller sunnier thoughts took shelter from the rain knowing the sun was shining and smiling somewhere else.
Life itself is the most wonderful fairy tale.
Hans Christian Andersen
I noticed our local momma on the tea house railing doing twitchy tail things. And I smiled – (and took a LOT of photos) whether a squirrel or a human, a parent’s job of looking out for our kiddos never ends.
There will always be ideas I’m on the fence about sharing or not. It’s a woman’s prerogative, right? And there will always be photos I wonder if I should edit/enhance or not before sharing. Can you tell when I edit or not? This one below looked softer to me by not doing so.
I often look elsewhere for more details or characters in the same old familiar scene in our backyard.
I branch my way to see other big or little thoughts, which often remain fuzzy in my brain.
Big and little thoughts can exist in the same space as clarity appears.
I’m left looking at the photo I took on the sunset of the day it rained – 12 hours past the time I took the sunrise photos.
And there you have it, I summed up a day of enjoying the sunrise, sunset, the moments in the forefront, and those in the background of a day behind my camera lens.
Post Inspiration – Linda G. Hill’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday: Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “sum.” Use the letters “sum” in a word in your post or use the word “sum.” Enjoy! Terri Webster Schrandt’s Sunday Stills: June 16 Sunrises and Sunsets and Ritva for Lens-Artists #304 – Behind
PS – Happy Father’s Day to all the dads! What is a favorite memory you have of being with your dad? My favorite memories are fishing with my dad as the sun rose on the calm lake. So peaceful. How many blog posts have you written so far? Have you ever posted and wished you hadn’t? Did you delete it or draft it? Are you a sunrise or a sunset fan?
My goodness, morning is a beautiful time. I agree, I have taken some in summer mornings, when I have gone out to visit the outhouse :-), but then I go back to bed 😀 These are lovely and the theme of behind is shown so that they highlight the subject. Great response.
Thank you, Ritva, your words of encouragement are so appreciated. I chuckled at your comment too about the outhouse. Been, there, done that too. The earlier in the morning the run to the outhouse is for me, the easier it is to go back to bed and catch some more zzzz’s. I did find it advantageous to get up too early when the Northern Lights were in the sky. Gotta take the wins when we can, right?!
Absolutely 🙂 this is the season to enjoy light
You took so many beautiful photos, Shelley! I love the first one with the bokeh. ❤️ At 3 or 4 AM, I am sawing logs, I’ll see you at 6 or 7 AM. I have over 5000 posts on my site and recently removed a ton of old ones too.
Hi from Michigan, I’ve been out since 8AM bush hogging the trails which haven’t been cut this year for a couple of reasons, so my being here includes taking care of the trails in the woods. More to mow today before the 90s hit tomorrow!
I hope you guys like the humidity, I’m just not acclimated to Michigan weather these days. Happy Sunday!
Thank you, John! I’m a big fan of bokeh too! LOL – yeah, 3-4 am isn’t for everyone. 6-7 am is a good time to get up for the day. WOW – over 5000 posts. That’s an accomplishment to weed through and delete. I’m lucky to get one posted! 🤣
Yay – for time in Michigan. I bet the weather is a bit of a shock to your Vegas blood. It’s easy to sweat in the weather MI & WI are having. That’s great that you’re able to help your dad with all the bush hogging. That’s a big job and kind of you to help out! I hope your recovery from all the muscle aches is a quick one. 😉
Oh yes, I’m feeling achy this morning! My left leg is sore from the clutch on the tractor. But, I got all of the trails mowed so it’s worth it! It’s 6:15AM, just woke up but it’s three AM back home. This messes with your sleep big time. Happy Monday! 😎
I bet you’re sore – that’s a lot of time on the trails. Congratulations – I bet you and your dad are smiling at all you accomplished. You know…you officially got up at my normal wake up time. 🤣 I agree, it does mess with sleep cycles though. I hope the rest of your stay is grand and that you adjust back to Vegas time without a hitch!
Thanks, Shelley. It takes me three days or so to adjust back to the Pacific time zone. I head back this Thursday.
I’m bearing down on 7500 posts, believe it or not. I don’t think I’ve ever posted and wished I hadn’t, but then I try to avoid controversy. I don’t have any incomplete posts sitting in draft mode. Sometimes I think I should…
WOW John, that’s a huge accomplishment. You’ve been devoted to daily posting which is astonishing to me. I did that for a month or so once. The groove of daily posting made it easier to post for some reason. Now I sometimes struggle with once a week. 😂 With daily posting, I’m also impressed that you don’t find topics that would fall into the off-topic lists. 🤔 Is the topic of daily posting controversary? Guess it depends. You are an excellent example of a daily blogger who succeeds at doing so. “I think, therefore I am” fits you well.
Great photos and backgrounds. Well done.
Thank you, John. I enjoyed your playful take on the prompt!
Great post, and lovely photos, Shelley. Unfortunately, we all have those posts that brought more pain than joy. I didn’t even stick mine in the draft folder, I just deleted it. There’s enough ill will in the world, I don’t need to invite it to my blog.
Keep snapping. Your photos prove that you know hoe to focus, and unfocused can still be beautiful. I hope you have a great week.
Thank you, Dan. I remember you commenting on that post I’ve hidden and your encouraging words. I should do just that – delete the dang thing and move on. It’s like a ghost I don’t need in that closet. 😉
It’s fun to play with the camera, I appreciate your words of encouragement! Thank you – I hope you have a great week too!
So captured so many beautiful shots..
There are many a tweet, comment, thought in my brain that gets deleted without being written.
Thank you, Hena, I appreciate you stopping by to share your thoughts. I bet all bloggers have those moments where we’ve deleted what we might’ve wanted to say. Imagine the cloud full of all the deleted comments……………!
Shelley – You are lucky to see sunrises and sunsets with a clear view, instead of having utility lines in the way. You see the sun rise like it should be seen – a perfect to start off your day. I was always an early riser when I worked and even now, although this morning when we had that torrential rain and thunderstorm it was nice to snuggle down into the covers a little longer.
I liked your little mama and the idea of the mama in you with your own young’uns.
I like the softness in the picture of the little bird.
It is hard to think of a special memory with my dad because my memories are clouded by how things turned out with him years after I was a kid. I think I have shared how the one and only time I went fishing with my dad, he had the fancy reel fishing rod, shiny lures and he bought me a bamboo rod so I could go with him. My parents rented a cottage for two weeks in northern Michigan and it came with a boat. Mom gave us the rest of a bag of Jiffy Pop Popcorn we had made the night before to snack on and I put some on my fishing line hook and caught a big pike. My father caught nothing and sulked, then we never went out in the boat, nor fishing, the rest of the time we stayed at the cottage.
I can’t say whether I am a sunrise or sunset person. I can’t see them out my window as my blinds are permanently stuck in a down position. I have not seen a sunrise or sunset in a while. I thought of getting one or the other, or both, for Terri’s Challenge post, but due to crime, I decided going out before dawn or after dark was not wise.
As of today, I have published 1,950 posts. I probably should delete some of the earliest ones which have no photos, or where I just used a quote, but I’ll leave them for now.
I have done a couple of personal-type posts that I did put some thought into making that private info public or not, remembering that as a kid I was told “never repeat what goes on in the house” – both posts involved my father, the one post I wrote on Mother’s Day 2019 as I disparaged my father in it and the second such post was yesterday when I similarly disparaged him, but in more than just one paragraph like the prior post. Everything I wrote is true and he deserves what I said … he will be 98 in December, so I guess/hope he’s not coming after me.
Thank you, Linda – yes, I admit, we live in a lucky spot to be able to see both the sunrise and the sunset each day. I appreciate your feedback about the photos. Every time I talk to that little momma squirrel I change my tone from frustration to kindness when I think, “Linda would talk nice so I should too!”
Yes, I remember your stories about your dad. Your post about him was sad and appropriate at the same time. Your photos are splendid though. I would guess he’s not going anywhere if he had lived to 98.
Congrats on that many posts!! A clearing out of old posts can be a winter’s project someday – I’ll be here learning from you on how to do so! 😉
I soften up when I see squirrels – I know some people call them tree rats with furry tails, but I’m just a sucker for them. Years ago not so much when they wreaked havoc in my yard, especially when they tore the life-sized Holly Hobbie doll to shreds.
It’s a lot of posts for me, but in the beginning, right after I started the blog, then we had a lot of snow, so I used some “fillers” (quotes and a few whines about all I did was walk to the garage to run the car and shovel), but I did that so people didn’t think I dropped off the face of the earth!
You have a kind heart for the squirrels. I saw and talked to ours last night. (Funny that I’ve claimed her as ours. Sigh. She seems to find me intriguing until I get too close. Squirrels can be very destructive indeed.
Thanks for sharing your early blogging tales – you’ve taken lots of walks since then and still have great tales to share!
She likely knows she is “yours” … she will not be going anywhere. Jeff is feeding the squirrels and birds in the front yard too now. This morning I was running the car and they were sitting there eating peanuts and birdseed (while the sparrows watched of course). I felt badly for all of them in this heat and took over a bowl of water and put it on his porch steps. I don’t think anyone around here has a birdbath that I can see.
Squirrels are very destructive, cute as they are. If I never mentioned it before, my grandmother had a family in her attic. They only had black squirrels in Toronto, so they are smaller squirrels, but still – how they got there she didn’t know. The pest control guy got them all out, but they chewed on wood and did some damage.
Yes, many walks – I hope I don’t run out of tales. 🙂 Do you ever start to write a comment and decide instead to save it for a blog post later? I do that sometimes – did it tonight for a future Grandparent’s Day story – I’ll run out of them for my grandmother and I don’t necessarily want to write about the old coot, a/k/a my grandfather.
Yeah, the mamma squirrel appears to be my pal. Her offspring is a bit more skittish. Cute, but very skittish. I made a new friend last night with the ground squirrel who appears a bit plump and hungry and wasn’t afraid of me at all. 🙄 That was kind of you to put out water. I often wonder where they do find water?
Yes, we’ve had squirrels in attics in our rentals. I’ve never been up in the attics to see the damage, but I’m sure they can do some serious damage if left alone to do as they please. That’s great the pest control guy was able to get the ones out of your grandmother’s house.
Yes…I’ve done that with comments too. 😄 I also do it with post-it notes. I should’ve bought stock in those. And I have so many little ideas floating around I think I need a decluttering session. I remember you not liking your dad and your grandfather. As you continue on your decluttering project maybe you’ll find more grandmother stories to share?
Yes, cute but a pain. I gave them more water and a earthenware dish I found the other day in a closet, so I put that out with water too. I thought bowl might scare them as it was kind of high. Hope the sparrows don’t bathe in it. He’s not only getting squirrels, but Jays and Cardinals, just like I did, but whatever type of seeds he is putting out, he is also getting Crows … I will go out in the morning and see Crows flying around and landing on the lawn. That’s fine in a rural area, but not in a residential neighborhood … multiple Crows eating seeds.
That’s so nice you’ve been giving them water. Do you think they’d be getting water somewhere with all the rain if you weren’t doing so? I always struggle with that seeing the critters that don’t visit our bird feeders. Yeah, crows are big and dirty, they do take care of the yucky things that other birds won’t eat, but they aren’t as pretty to see as the Jays and the Cardinals are.
I didn’t fill them up this morning as we had so much rain and last evening too it would have still been in the bowls … and fresh, not warm. I really don’t think any of these neighbors feed or water the birds, just Jeff and that is a new thing he started last Fall and no birdbath. I worry about my critters at the Park though I guess they can drink from the Creek. I used to put ice “popsicles” out for the critters on my porch in the extreme heat. I filled up large Styrofoam coffee cups with water and froze them and put peanuts next to them. I put some peanuts next to the bowls at Jeff’s to ensure they came over. So this morning, I put a note on the door for the Fed Ex guy to knock (even though he needed my signature so he would have to interact with me, not just leave it), a couple of squirrels saw me and Jeff had not fed them yet and they came running over. I don’t want to start that and shouldn’t have yesterday … I can’t leave the garage open for a minute as they wander in or will try to climb into the car when I’m bringing in groceries, etc., so I don’t want to start that, plus I don’t want it on MY head if the hawk gets them like the other ones I lost. He should not feed them in the front – I lost the squirrels from the hawk, then I started up again a few years ago and one got killed running across the street to his tree with a peanut. So, I don’t want that on my head.
And when I went to the door for the Fed Ex guy, the Robin had started building a nest on my coach light over the door – I shoved something into the gap as it was hot and I was not going to mess with it – I will hate to see what they’ve done by tomorrow – ten strands of grass came flying down when I opened the door to the Fed Ex guy!
Thank you for sharing, Linda. I so enjoy reading your stories.
Glad to hear this Shelley.
Wonderful shots for sunrise or sunset. And the cute little creatures are captured well complementing its backgrounds. Well done.
Thank you so much for your feedback, Teresa, it’s nice to hear from you!
I have been very much a morning sunrise person, especially when I had Katie who liked to get up by 4 and do her business. I saw SO MANY beatiful skies in those last 3 or 4 years of her life. Penny, on the other hand is NOT a morning dog. At all. Come to think of it she’s not that big into sunsets either. She’s a snoozer, that girl, any time, anywhere. We’re going to test that by brining her over to my campsite tonight to see if she can be a good girl or if she’s going to bark at every kid riding by on a bike.
Aw, Dawn, maybe Katie knew how much you appreciated the views and wouldn’t want you to miss out on them. Copper was like that too his last few years. Still tugs on our heartstrings missing them, doesn’t it?
That’s interesting about Penny being a snoozer. Still growing and recharging to keep up her spunky self for the next Sheltie ball chasing party. Penny’s post about the day with Vivian and Olivia is so delightful. I hope the camping night went well.
Beautiful photos, I like seeing your world through your eyes and your thoughts. I understand about not publishing everything you write, I’m the same. I don’t want to be a whiner and I fear that some things I write sound whiny, so I delete them and move on. I’ve never thought about keeping a folder of them.
Thank you, Ally, I appreciate your words of encouragement. And, I appreciate your words of writing wisdom. I should delete and move on too. I need to get better at letting drafts go as they really serve no purpose other than fodder for a blog post. That’s done now, so what am I waiting for?? 🤔🤣
Aww! The squirrel! The little bird! Such wonderful photos! I have deleted many drafts and many published posts. It’s nice to read that others do that too.
Yes, the little squirrel and the birds are fun to watch. They seem to have figured out how to get along. I appreciate your feedback about the photos and that you delete drafts too.
I’m sending you healing hugs your way – I’m glad to read you had a good trip to the eye doctor! 🤗😍
Oh, my that first set of three is otherworldly. Love the squirrel and birds too, but the first ones really caught me.
Thank you, Sofia!
Ilike very much your flowers pictures. Thank you!
Just Anne from France
Thank you!
Thank you, Anne – so nice to hear from you!