This is one of my top faves, from the archives, from when I used to live in Sonoma County, CA, which is about an hour or so north of San Francisco. I came across it and thought I might have taken it at about this time of year, or maybe March. Those huge live oaks are so dramatic when they are bare. Sure gives you that changing weather feeling of early spring.

Visit Scenic Sunday for some lovely views of the world. And this sure is a great shadow shot for Shadow Shot Sunday.

Since this is one of my all-time favorites, I’m tagging it Best Post of the Week.

Also, I’ve fixed the little problem with comments not being available when you click on a category to the left. Now comments are available whenever you click on a page (or should be). Thank you, Marsha Perry of Perry Internet Consulting! She made this blog on a WordPress template for me, and I am so grateful. What a great addition to my life.

My sister brought me some flowers the other day and these gerbera daisies are still going strong. So cheerful in the Seattle “sunbreak” we had for a while this morning.

See more interesting shadows at Shadow Shot Sunday. And more brilliant colors at Color Carnival. More straight-out-of-the-camera shots at SOOC. More yellow at Mellow Yellow Monday. More macros at Macro Monday. And more flowers at Flowers for Today!

I’ve discovered that I’ve left incorrect links to some recent meme entries, and I apologize. I thought that by leaving the link to the category it would help people find things, but I didn’t realize that sorting by category disables the comment feature. No wonder it seemed so quiet out there! Sorry, everyone. I’ll go back to leaving the general blog url for most memes and let visitors find their way by category if they wish, or just by scrolling down a little bit. Please DO leave a comment if you feel so inspired; I love them. I’ll do my best to return the visit as soon as I am able.

Since everyone likes this photo so much, and since I like it a ton also, I’m calling this my Best Post of the Week. Check out the cream of the blog week there.

Yes, this is with the new camera, but unfortunately I did not have the right settings in place, and the quality of this image, which is straight out of the camera, is pretty poor. But isn’t it a lovely scene? There I was down near the water, with such a sunset and the ferry right there, as scenic as it gets, and fumbling around in the almost dark I just failed to get it right. Darn. Well, try to imagine it with sharp, brilliant edges, and all the water ripples showing.

Visit Thursday Challenge for other special images. This week is free choice as to theme.

This is a kind of oakleaf hydrangea, I think, with very double flowers. This was blooming in mid-September in the Seattle area. I’ve not seen another one like it.

For more flowers photographed all over the world, visit Flowers For Today. And for more straight-out-of-the-camera shots, visit SOOC.

The weather has been so cold that it’s discouraging to be out of doors too much, but the sunny weather is so appreciated for us sunlight-starved Seattlites. Here’s a recent photo of my early morning window view of cacti, right where I have my coffee. The rocks (mostly heart-shaped, although you can’t see that here) including the agate one, were found digging in my garden.

For more truly fascinating view of shadows around the world, visit Hey Harriet on Shadow Shot Sunday.

Visit Weekend Reflections and Window Wednesday, too. And SOOC, while you’re at it.

And just a few more days of Photoblog Awards stuff: PLEASE IGNORE IF READ BEFORE about the 2009 Photoblog Awards. If you like my photos, please vote for this photoblog before Dec. 15 and leave a comment in the link  below. You have to register (name and password only) and then click on the word Vote in the upper left. Thanks very much! Photoblog Awards 2009.

I saw this dappled sunlight (my favorite) on a path back in September. What a beautiful day it was, and the scene seems to call for dancing fairies, or pan pipes.

For more shadows of all kinds, visit Shadow Shot Sunday. And it’s certainly a good post for Scenic Sunday, and SOOC (straight out of the camera) as well.

PLEASE IGNORE IF READ BEFORE about the 2009 Photoblog Awards. If you like my photos, please vote for this photoblog and leave a comment in the link  below. You have to register (name and password only) and then click on the word Vote in the upper left. Thanks very much! Photoblog Awards 2009

Here in Seattle we have a special kind of weather called a sunbreak. It’s so cloudy so often, that when the sun peeks through briefly, we rejoice and grab our cameras. At least I do. Here’s the view from my bedroom window, catching the very last leaves of the dogwood tree.

For more shadows scenes, visit Shadow Shot Sunday. And this photo, like most of the ones in this blog, is SOOC, or straight out of the camera. Also check out Scenic Sunday for little slices of heaven, sometimes in a backyard, like this one.

PLEASE IGNORE IF READ BEFORE: Readers arrive on different days, so I’m repeating about the 2009 Photoblog Awards. If you like my photos, please vote for me and/or leave a comment in the link  below. You have to register (name and password only) and then click on the word Vote in the upper left. Thanks very much!

Photoblog Awards 2009

This was in a garden I visited last month. It’s been typical fall (gray) weather in Seattle for the last week or two and this kind of brilliant sunshine seems far, far away. For more shadows seen with awakened eye, visit Shadow Shot Sunday. And for more scenic shots, visit Scenic Sunday.

I’ve entered the 2009 Photoblog Awards. If you like my photos, please vote for me and/or leave a comment in the link  below. You have to register (name and password only) and then click on the word Vote in the upper left. Thanks very much!

http://vote.photoblogawards.com/photoblog.php?name=saras-fave-photos

There was a chance of a light frost last night but thank goodness, false alarm. Most plants are fine with a brush with 32 degrees, but not nasturtiums. They totally melt. Glad we have some more time with these lovelies.

Visit Macro Monday for more close ups and Mellow Yellow Monday for more . . . yellow (you guessed it!). And this one’s for the Color Carnival folks, too!

This is one of my very top faves, taken just a few weeks ago. It’s straight out of the camera, too (most of these blog posts are, but this one really looks fake!) and I just like it a lot. Hope you do, too.

For more scintillating shadows seen, visit Shadow Shot Sunday. Have a sibilant day!