Lens Artists Photo Challenge #248 – Mood

I chose a few photos that portray happy moods for Sophia’s challenge of Mood. In the first image I was celebrating my birthday at a restaurant at Disney World when the server surprised me with a Mickey Mouse cupcake after dinner. I was a happy birthday girl!

Our oldest granddaughter’s first birthday cake. I can still remember how happy she was when she saw the cake my daughter made for her.
I love a parade
A night out watching the Savannah Bananas game makes all the fans happy!

Many thanks to Sofia for this challenge Lens-Artists Challenge #248 – Mood

Lens Artists Photo Challenge #246 – Still Life

Patti’s challenge this week is to focus on still life photography.

I created this still life with camellias from my garden

I found this still life scene in an Irish pub

I created this still life while enjoying my morning tea in a Dublin hotel

A traditional Irish breakfast in Galway, Ireland

Many thanks to Patti for this challenge Lens-Artists Challenge #246 – Still Life

Lens Artists Photo Challenge #245 – Environments

For this challenge our host Tina asks us to highlight environments we have experienced.

My husband and I have always enjoyed traveling. When our children were young and we were both still working we only had a limited amount of time and money for vacations. Our favorite vacation environments were campgrounds. We started out tent camping and later moved up to a pop up camper.

For many years we spent time in the Florida Keys at least once a year where the tropical environment revolves around the water.

After our kids were grown and we retired, we bought a fifth wheel trailer to travel around the United States and Canada. We enjoyed sleeping in our own bed at night and not having to pack and unpack as we traveled in our home on wheels. Our camping environments changed from place to place but our favorite places to camp were where we were surrounded by nature.

We made our last RV trip in 2019 and started enjoying different environments when we travel. During our 2019 trip to Ireland and Scotland our environments included cities, small towns, countrysides, and ancient castles.

When we stopped taking the RV on trips our travel environments changed from campgrounds to motels by the interstate, a historical hotel, a quaint inn, a condo near Orlando, and our first stay in an Airbnb.

We discovered a new to us travel environment last year when we took a cruise to the Caribbean and another to Alaska. It was wonderful to unpack once, have the room cleaned twice a day, enjoying delicious meals that I didn’t have to cook, and a different environment in every port.

Many thanks to Tina for this challenge Lens-Artists Challenge #245 – Environments

Lens Artists Photo Challenge #244 – Glowing Moments

For this challenge our guest host Siobhan asks us “What glowing moments have been special in your life?”

Watching the sunset is always special. My first image is of a glowing sunset over the Caribbean Sea.

Nature provides a special glow in the garden when a bee stops for a drink on yellow flowers.

Bee on Rue

While camped at a campground with a view of the Devil’s Tower I was treated to this magnificent view of the monument when I walked outside at sunrise.

Devil’s Tower National Monument at sunrise, Wyoming

Sitting beside a glowing campfire is a relaxing way to end the day.

Glowing Campfire

One of my favorite things to do in Ireland was listening to music in the pubs. These Irish musicians performing in a Dublin Pub had me tapping my feet and clapping my hands.

Glowing Pub lights in Dublin, Ireland

One of the most spectacular sunsets I’ve ever seen was this one we saw from our campsite on the beach in Ninilchik, Alaska at 11:00 pm.

Mount Redoubt sunset in Ninilchik, Alaska

Many thanks to for guest host Siobhan of Bend Branches for this challenge Lens-Artists Challenge #243 – Glowing Moments