242/365 Smack

"Puppy Love"

Today's prompt was "bump."  Elaboration on that was given as jolt, crash or smack.  Thankfully I did not have anything in my day that could be described by any of those words.  I had a day at home.  I did do some work, but it was at a leisurely pace and did not require that I be dressed by 7 am.  

We spent this evening with friends.  It was a wonderful evening during which we shared a meal and good conversation.  I also managed to take a few pictures.  They were not taken under ideal circumstances, but hey, not everything in life happens under perfect circumstances.

At the point we left for dinner, I had not taken a picture for today and had no idea what I was going to do.  As is often the case, however, luck and a little creativity jumped in and saved me.  I had to go with a loose interpretation of the prompt, but it works for me.  Smack is a kiss, right?  I love the way Tyler, the dog, is looking into his dad's eyes.  And as a bonus, I got a picture of my friend as well.  Thanks guys for helping me out today!

And not to be left out, here is Tyler's brother, Trevor.

"Party Animal"

These guys are fun to photograph!

241/365 Fashion Statement

"Hell on Heels"

We have already established here that I have no fashion sense.  Clothes at best are a necessity and are at worst an encumbrance.  Therefore, I knew that I was going to be searching for a willing participant to help me with today's photo.  Brooke is definitely the one in our family who uses clothing to make a statement.

We always kid her about her shoes.  She already towers over all of us by a couple of inches naturally.  Add to that the five inch heels that most of her shoes have and we all become midgets.  Self expression through clothing has been her thing for a long time so she actually volunteered to help me today.  

These particular shoes definitely make a statement - I'm not exactly sure what they are saying, but I do know they are saying something.  Come to think of it, it may be better that I don't know what they are saying. 

I was OK when the "spikes" on her shoes came in the form of soccer cleats.  

After we were done taking pictures, we noticed this critter climbing along the wall.  As we got a better look, we noticed that he/she too is making a fashion statement by shedding old skin.  I have seen snakes shed their skin, but I have never seen a lizard do it.  This one didn't seem to be camera shy at all.

240/365 Rust

"Handle on the Past"

This shovel has been around here for a long time.  It has dug many holes and shoveled many piles.  Though it is a bit weathered and rusted, it is sturdy and has many more chores left in its lifetime.

239/365 With Seeds

"Chance and Necessity"

It is hatch chili season and we have about ten pounds of them.  As I write this, Brooke is roasting them so that they can soon become sauce for enchiladas or some other such goodness.  

238/365 Green

"First Day 47"

Today was my 47th first day of school.  Every year since beginning kindergarten at age 4, I have had a first day of school.  Some were as a student, some have been as a faculty member and then there were those as a graduate teaching fellow where I had one foot in each camp.

Since our school color is green and the campus map shown here was a big part of life on campus today as our new students found their way to the correct classrooms, this perfectly represents my day and contains a little green to address the prompt.

In case you are wondering,  there are no students in this picture because I got to school much earlier than most of them.

237/365 The Extraordinary in the Ordinary

"A Tisket, A Tasket …

…  a shadow and a basket"

I wish that I had had more time to look for things for this prompt.  It is a great mental challenge to try and find interesting perspectives and parts of seemingly uninteresting things to photograph.  This is a laundry basket casting its shadow in the afternoon sun.

236/365 Steps

"Saturday Sunset"

What does this have to do with steps? Umm … they both start with "S"? 

Finding an opportunity of a photo that included steps wasn't happening today.  This is what was happening and thus is the picture of the day.

I learned that sunsets are hard, at least for me, to photograph such that they are as beautiful in the photo as they are firsthand.