Tag: photographs

This week’s Foto Friday Fun includes 10 images chosen by readers picking a number out of my photo archives.  Several people chose ages for either themselves or someone else.  Considering we are all youngsters these low numbers bring out some real treasures from the past, though not always of the highest quality photos.

Firefly chose #13, “An unlucky number for most but my fav number.”  This image shows a lucky day for me, when I got married.  Maybe another lucky number would be the day I divorced but that’s a different story.  Here you see my Dad and Mom, husband and me, and my two step-children.  The wedding was performed at Morton Arboredum so all 40 guests had to pay $1 to attend.  Reception held later at a restaurant.

Sherry chose #836.  I don’t usually get to see the Grand Canyon with snow unless I visit the south rim during winter like I did a couple years ago for a gathering of historians.

Jo chose #61, “I’m heading for that age in 2014.”  Jo is a birder so should like her choice this week of a burrowing owl who lived at the California Living Museum where I volunteered as an animal keeper.  We called this one Wilbur and the other one Orville.

Diane chose #71 following Jo’s lead for her age, I presume next year.  She’s a jewelry maker so will probably appreciate this necklace I strung many years ago.  I haven’t taken out beads almost since I started blogging. Maybe I should put together a store page on the blog to sell some of the pieces I still have, like this one.

Sally chose #164, “just because!”  My dear friend Berta collects just because she can and this display of colorful glass over her sink shows what amazing taste she has.  I loved when the morning light created a colorful glow in this window.  So glad I took photos of this because it is now just a memory after the Yarnell Fire.

The butterbean carpenter, who may be a new reader so I don’t know if they blog, chose #173, “for why I don’t know !!!”  I’d like to welcome you to Geogypsy with this sunset over Transept Canyon.  Did you know that Rangers get paid in sunsets?

Yogi chose #197, “It just popped in my head.”  Even after six seasons my eyes pop every time I look into Grand Canyon.  Yet my favorite sight is the ever changing light and shadow play as the sun moves across the sky.  Can you see where the shadow of Angels Gate is perfectly outlined on the far canyon wall towards the left?

Arija chose #77, “Yep, I have reached three score years and seventeen, aren’t I lucky?”  Yes, I believe you are lucky in many ways Arija.  Your number takes us back to 1986 when I made this stained glass clock as a wedding gift for friends.

Elaine chose #57, “our high temperature for the last two days, and likely the last we’ll see in the 50s for a good like time.”  Being she lives in Alaska there will be plenty more of this white stuff than I see here in Yarnell, Arizona.

MaryBeth chose #46, “the age of my oldest.”  She really likes road trips and so do I.  This is one of my old trucks and RV at a rest stop in Boron, California on a road trip from Oregon to Arizona.

My choice this week, twice because I couldn’t decide and seems they couldn’t either:  Three generations of elephants in Kruger National Park, my favorite animals on safari, with lions my second or maybe zebras or…  Guess I’m thinking elephants because I’m planning for my next trip to South Africa leaving in mid-January for three months.  And that’s why you’ve been seeing so many posts about the last trip which I feel duty bound to finish posting about before going again.

Thank you for joining in Foto Friday Fun. I really enjoy digging through my archives and pulling the stories from my memories. Next week I’m asking for a number between 1 and 1302 for the number of posts I’ve published.  I will show an image from that post and share the link.

Do you have a favorite from this week?

Look for other photos posted on Geogypsy Facebook page not usually seen here.

This week’s Foto Friday Fun includes 7 images chosen by readers picking a number out of my photo archives.  A lot of birth years chosen for this week.  Tried to find year numbers to match, but some are before my time and I’m missing quite a few years of my life in photographs.

Jo chose #1953, “the year I was born.”  This image of the dragonfly comes from Jo’s neighborhood in South Africa along the Echo Ravine trail in Golden Gate Highlands National Park.  Maybe next year’s visit I’ll get to see her again near here.

Yogi chose #1998, “the year son was born.”  In September of that year these puppies were born to Motsy and my dog Carson.  This is when I was living and working at Eagles Cliff Resort in Washington.  No problem finding wonderful homes for all these cuties.

Diane chose #1947, “My husbands date of birth.”  My parents were married on January 3 of that year.  They were together for 61 years.  Me not being quite 60 years old and single/divorced has a hard time imagining being married that long.  Yet my hat is off to any that can.

Elaine chose #1973, “my daughters birth year.”  I graduated from High School the year before that.  This photo was taken of me by a dear friend at White Pines State Park, Illinois in 1973.

Sherry’s visiting daughter Carrie chose #1241.  Which takes us on a drive across the meadows on the Kaibab Plateau leaving the North Rim.

Firefly chose #2000 which is a pretty, yet unidentified, flower seen along Echo Ravine trail in Golden Gate Highlands National Park not that far from where he lives in South Africa.  So get the family out there.  And maybe even ID that flower.

Arija chose #1240 showing a small summer pond on the meadows.  The meadows change so much during my six month season.  I’ve seen them buried under snow in the spring, covered with wildflowers during summer and browning out in the fall yet dotted with mule deer.

My choice this week shows how life returns from the ravages of the Yarnell Fire.  The burnt oaks are rather sculptural and some may have survived but we probably won’t know for sure until spring.  An Arizona wildflower seed mix was dropped on the nearby burnt hills to hold soil during the monsoon rains and I’m seeing flowers never seen here before.

Thank you for joining in Foto Friday Fun. I really enjoy digging through my archives and pulling the stories from my memories. To join in the fun for next week leave a number between 20 and 200 in a comment and maybe see your chosen image next week.

Do you have a favorite from this week?

Look for other photos posted on Geogypsy Facebook page not usually seen here.

This week’s Foto Friday Fun includes 7 images chosen by readers picking a number out of my photo archives.  It’s a real mixed batch this week from Arizona, Utah and South Africa.

Yogi chose #1371, “no idea why that popped in my head but there it is.”  This large Poplar sits, or sat, at the edge of a small pond nestled in the Weaver Mountains where I hike near my Yarnell home.  Haven’t been up there since the fire so don’t know if it survived.  Guess I’ll find out soon enough as I’m headed that way with a layover in Flagstaff where I’ve watched it snow.

Jo chose #911, “For all Americans, also my dad died on that day in 2000.”  I don’t know how she does it but this photo was taken when Jo and I met for the first time during my 2013 visit to South Africa.  We’ve both been blogging since 2008 and I met her son John in 2010 when he guided me on an overnight backpacking trip into the Drakensberg Mountains.

Firefly chose #1975, “The year I came into this world screaming… or was I a good and quiet baby?  Gotta ask my mom.”  In 1975 I was getting ready to move from Illinois to California and had this photo taken for my parents.  I don’t think it survived the Yarnell fire so sure am glad I took a photo of the photo.  My dog at the time, Denver, was very cooperative with the photographer but we did have to sneak into the mall for this shot.

Bibi chose #1111, “no reason, just a cool number.”  The reason I took this cool photo was multifold.  First I love all the patterns and directions seen in the sandstone cliffs and second the clouds seem to be pointing to this amazing example of deposition and erosion.  And I’d bet the Johnson Canyon road is open even if it does travel through Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument because many areas on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land are open during the government shutdown.

Arija chose #1944, “the year we fled our homeland with the advancing Russian front in sight, not a pleasant time but a huge turning point in our lives.”  I am in awe of this extraordinary woman and herstory which I hope is being documented for her daughter and us all.  Knowing Arija likes to visit the sea and watch birds this seems like a good match where I relaxed along the Indian Ocean watching these Cormorants at Tsitsikamma National Park in South Africa.

Elaine chose #333.  As another bird watcher I think she’ll like this Swainson’s Hawk I saw along the road into the North Rim on the Kaibab National Forest.  I am not the best at capturing birds and this crop is a little fuzzy.  But birders get that.

Diane chose #1943, “the year I was born!”  This active lady currently lives in France but has lived and traveled in many parts of the world including South Africa where this carved wall of sandstone towered about the Echo Ravine trail in Golden Gate Highlands National Park.

My choice this week is the Ghost Squirrel.  The drinking fountain by the campground amphitheater provides a welcome drink to many including this Kaibab squirrel which visitors often think is a skunk.  They are uniquely found only on the North Rim area of Grand Canyon.

Thank you for joining in Foto Friday Fun. I really enjoy digging through my archives and pulling the stories from my memories. To join in the fun for next week leave a number between 1 and 2000 in a comment and maybe see your chosen image next week.

Do you have a favorite from this week?

Look for other photos posted on Geogypsy Facebook page not usually seen here.