Debbie at Travel With Intent has a “One Word Sunday” challenge and this week her word is dust.
I drew in the dust on our rental car’s back window after driving along dusty roads in Saguaro National Park, in Tucson, Arizona. This photo was taken from inside the car.
Cee’s Fun Photo Challenge this week is: Ground: sand, dirt, paths, walks, trails, roads, etc.
Bridges, paths & walkways, desert and mountain terrains, and national parks – these are some of the places to find interesting “ground.” Sometimes there is an added bonus: a lizard, a flower, or a butterfly, or something ugly, like trash. This challenge is a way to showcase the photos I don’t usually publish in other posts!
Chicago Botanic Gardens: bridges, paths, and walkways
Cuba Marsh Wildlife Preserve (Illinois): walkways and grassland
The Middle East (Egypt and Israel): Desert landscapes, markets and farms
Mountain and Southwest (USA) terrain: ground above & below the tree line and rocks at Rocky Mountain National Park; trails and paths at Bryce Canyon National Park
Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge is things found in a park.
Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge this week has the topic of hole/whole. And for her newest challenge, Cee’s Midweek Madness Challenge, the topic is orange.
Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah is a wonder of geological formations called “hoodoos.” These orangish sandstone shapes were carved over millions of years through water and wind erosion. Besides being orange, look carefully to see the holes!
Another beautiful national park in Utah is Arches National Park, named for the many arches carved by nature into the orange rocks. The first picture below is an iconic image, which many people have seen on calendars or posters. I had to use my telephoto lens to get a good shot of this beautiful arch, because without an arduous climb we could not get very close to it! The second photo is another of the park’s arches, which form a type of hole due to erosion, out of the whole rock!
Pumpkins, when they carved, become jack-o-lanterns for Halloween. At night you can see the light of the candle glowing through the holes!
Chihuly piece at Museum of Glass in Tacoma
Orange foliage with “holes” between the leaves!
I keep this (whole) water bottle next to my bed.
It has a hole in the top where the straw goes in!
Patterns are everywhere in nature. Indeed, humans have imitated nature in creating patterns. Patterns in Nature is the wonderful topic for Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge this week.
Flowers make many patterns.
I love photographing mushrooms, which appear in many shapes and sizes.
Tree branches, leaves and trunks make their own complex patterns.
It is always worthwhile to stop and admire small leaves and plants – often they surprise you!
Some animals have patterns on their skin, tail, or feathers.
Layers painted rock formations over millions of years. In Arizona, there are many examples of this, at the Grand Canyon, the Painted Desert and in Oak Creek Canyon in Sedona.
Lisa Coleman’s Bird Weekly Challenge this week is birds with black feathers.
Share Your World Meets Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
I think this makes more sense to have at a school or at a large company, both of which are rife with gossip and in both places, you might like to know where everyone is so you can continue the gossip! As for my town, GPS does well for me.
Muggle Questions (of a more philosophical bent this week):
Is intelligence or wisdom more useful?
Both are useful. Intelligence can lead to wisdom, but intelligence can exist without wisdom, at least early in one’s life. Wisdom requires that you have had experiences in life that you learned lessons from and you can look back on. Intelligence is just having knowledge and knowing how to apply it. So children may have intelligence, but only when they are older will they obtain wisdom.
How important is play in living a healthy and fulfilling life?
Play is as important as work. Play is when you learn things while enjoying yourself, or engaging in a hobby or interest. Breaks from work are necessary to be healthy, physically or mentally. Some workaholics would say they have a fulfilling life, I guess if their work has given them that fulfillment – I think one would have to have a job they really love to feel fulfilled, unless one was lying to oneself. I’m all for play! Take a vay-cay!!
Is happiness just chemicals flowing through your brain or something more?
If you study happiness scientifically as to how it manifests itself in the brain, then the former may be true. But for most people, happiness is an important part of life, without which you would probably be rather unhealthy. Positive emotions are necessary in order to have a satisfying and healthy life. I think everyone seeks happiness. I sometimes ask myself if I am happy – not just that day, but in general. I always want the answer to be yes, but it isn’t always, if I’m honest with myself… I think a lot of people reflect on this because happiness is something we all strive for.
GRATITUDE SECTION (Always optional)
I’m grateful for:
happiness
the ability to play (i.e. find enjoyment in life)
living a fulfilling life
both intelligence and wisdom
it being currently summer with no possibility to be hit with a snowball!
Lens-Artists’ 100th(!) photo challenge is long and winding roads.
And to end, I can’t resist – because this is what I was singing in my head while composing this post.
There’s snow on the mountain tops in June, at Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado – such gorgeous scenery!
Becky’s Square Tops
Since I have been posting flowers from our road trip in the stretch from Grand Junction, Colorado into eastern Utah, here are some beautiful scenes along the road into Arches National Park, for Which Way Photo Challenge.
We got out of the car and took the walking path around Balanced Rock.
Here’s me on the path.
Wanderlust & Wonderment 