Trees – Wandering Dawgs

Lens Artists Photo Challenge #396 – Pick a Favorite Quote and Illustrate it

May 4, 2026May 3, 2026Posted in PhotographyTagged beach, Helen Keller, Henry Cuyler Bunner, Jimmy Buffett, Laura Ingles Wilder, Lens-Artists, Nature, Photo Challenge, Pick a Favorite Quote and Illustrate It, Quotes, Sunrise, Trees34 Comments

This week Ann-Christine’s challenge is Pick a Favorite Quote and Illustrate it. We can choose one quote accompanied with a maximum of five pictures or a maximum of five quotes illustrated with one picture each. She asks us to “Make us ”feel”your quote(s) in pictures!”

My first quote is one of my favorite sayings. I have a plaque on my kitchen wall to remind me of it’s message every day. Seeing the sunrise is a beautiful gift to start a new day.

“Yesterday is History

Tomorrow a Mystery

Today is a Gift

That’s why we call it the Present”

— Anonymous

The next quote reminds me to live life to the fullest. One of my greatest adventures was flying in a small plane over mountains and glaciers in Alaska and seeing Mt. Denali from the air. I’m not a fan of flying in small planes!

***“Life is either a great adventure or nothing” — Helen Keller***

Almost twenty years ago volunteers on Tybee Island planted Oak Trees to help celebrate the 120th anniversary of Tybee Island. Today the trees are thriving and getting taller every year.

“What does he plant who plants a tree?
   He plants, in sap and leaf and wood,
In love of home and loyalty
   And far-cast thought of civic good—
   His blessings on the neighborhood,
      Who in the hollow of His hand
      Holds all the growth of all our land—
A nation’s growth from sea to sea
Stirs in his heart who plants a tree.”

— “The Heart of the Tree” by Henry Cuyler Bunner

The final two quotes and images need no explanation.

***“If there is a heaven for me, I’m sure it has a beach attached” — Jimmy Buffett***

***“Some old fashioned things like fresh air and sunshine are hard to beat” — Laura Ingals Wilder***

It was my pleasure to host last week’s challenge. Your responses took us all around the world with fantastic images On the Water. You wowed us with all types of water from puddles to mighty oceans, peaceful landscapes and thundering waterfalls. The variety of animals, people, and plants on the water were great. Thank you to everyone who joined the challenge..

Many thanks to Ann-Christine for this fun challenge Lens-Artists Challenge #396: Pick a Favorite Quotes and Illustrate It.

Be sure to check back on Saturday, May 9 at noon eastern time when Anne will be hosting the challenge.

You can receive our weekly challenges by subscribing to the Lens-Artists team members websites: Tina, Patti, Ann-Christine, John, Sofia, Anne, Egidio, Ritva, Beth.

For information on how to join the Lens-Artists challenge please click here.

Every Day is a Gift

Sunday Stills – Trees in Coastal Georgia

August 26, 2025Posted in Nature, PhotographyTagged Cabbage Palms, Coastal Georgia, cypress trees, Live Oaks, Photo Challenge, Spanish Moss, Sunday Stills, Trees30 Comments

Terri’s theme for this challenge is Trees. She asks us to share any kind of trees and be creative with the simple prompt. I am going to focus on three types of trees we see all around us in Coastal and South Georgia.

My featured image is a mixture of Live Oak trees and palm trees in our neighborhood. The first image in the below gallery is a Maritime Forest on Jekyll Island. The other two are Live Oak trees draped with Spanish Moss.

Cabbage Palms, also known as a Sabal Palmetto, is the only palm tree native to Georgia.

The final gallery shows Cypress trees in the Okefenokee Swamp in south Georgia.

Many thanks to Terri for her Sunday Stills challenge All the trees in the field

Every Day is a Gift

Lens Artists Photo Challenge #357 – Into the Woods

July 21, 2025July 21, 2025Posted in Georgia, Nature, PhotographyTagged Forest Bathing, Georgia Marsh Hammock, Into the Woods, Lens-Artists, Maritime Forest, Nature, Photo Challenge, Trees35 Comments

This week Egidio challenges us to go Into the Woods for some Forest Bathing. He tells us “Shinrin-yoku is a concept that was developed in Japan in the 1980s as a form of natural therapy and stress relief. In English, it is translated as “forest bathing” or immersing oneself in a forest atmosphere. It is a way to allow all your senses to experience nature mindfully.” His challenge is to show how we do forest bathing in our corner of the world.

I think I was “”forest bathing” before I knew what it was. I just know that I love the quiet of being in the woods. I feel peaceful and calm when I stand in the woods surrounded by trees.

I think that I shall never see, A poem lovely as a tree. – Joyce Kilmer

The trees in my home state of Georgia vary depending on where you are in the state. In coastal Georgia the common trees are pine trees, oaks, palmettos, and palm trees. The featured image is of a maritime forest on Jekyll Island. The following gallery was taken on a Georgia marsh hammock near my neighborhood. Wood Storks are one of the many wading birds that are seen on the trees here.

The Okefenokee Swamp in south Georgia is filled with Cypress trees. Seeing these ancient trees from a boat makes me feel like I have stepped back in time.

*Cypress Trees in the Okefenokee Swamp, Georgia*

Sweet Gum, Winged Sumac, Maple, Sycamore, Pine, and Water Oaks are just a few of the trees that I see when walking in the woods of middle Georgia. The landscape changes with seasons. No matter what the season I feel a sense of serenity in these woods.

*Wild Dogwoods bloom in the spring in the Georgia woods*

Many thanks to last week’s guest host SH for his challenge of Quiet Hours. Your responses to the challenge took me to many beautiful quiet places. I hope you will join us next week as Tina leads us in our next Lens-Artists challenge on Saturday, July 26 at noon Eastern Time.

Many thanks to Egidio for this challenge Lens-Artists #357 – Into the Woods

For information on how to join the Len-Artists challenge please click here.

Every Day is a Gift.