199: Cacophony

The din created by the waterworks at Pocahontas State Park is incredible.

186: Library

181: Replenish

177: Easy Peasy

I took this from the driver's seat this morning, stopped at a traffic light near my house. I was visually impressed by just how far the cab of the truck is from the end of the bed. And then, it turns out, the license plate has blue! So there you go, a little red to go with your blue today.

I have to admit, a day at a local pool is almost a day off from the creative work of this project. It doesn't get much easier to find cool blue shots. 

173: Fill

Coffee is one of my favorite sensory experiences. We grind the beans and fill the pot in the evening as part of the kitchen clean up. The dark aroma of the grounds creates a craving for a cup, no matter how late the hour. First thing in the morning, whichever parent awakens first starts the pot brewing. We anxiously await the burbling noise that signifies the end of the brewing as we sort out breakfast for the kids. Morning with early-rising children usually finds me feeling a bit fragile and harried, but that first sip of slightly sweet, slightly creamy, fresh-brewed coffee fills me with hope and fortitude for the day ahead.

147: Crowds

This was my husband's response to the cicada casings he discovered lined up on the kitchen windowsill the other day. He painted the figurines many years ago, but this is their first glimpse of daylight in quite some time.

Some out-of-town family visited over the weekend, and we headed to Cobblestones water park to beat the heat.

The people watching in this 25,000 square foot pool is fantastic. I hope I wasn't too obvious, swiveling my neck to check out all the different people splashing in the water.

One of the benefits of the huge crowd is that I felt totally anonymous with my camera, which freed me up to get my fill of candid portraits.

144: Float

When I knelt to take this photo, I thought of Cathrin Schulz's Poolside series. I love the calm and simplicity in this series. I discovered Cathrin, along with David Welch, who I mentioned the other day, through the Hey, Hot Shot! blog that I've been following for the last few weeks. Many thanks to Beth of ...the year of the written word... for pointing me in the direction of this fascinating and motivating website.

137: Poolside

We filled up the wading pool this afternoon, as we've been doing frequently. I really like to get the kids outside for at least an hour, preferably more every afternoon, but when it's 90+ and humid, this is the only way to make it bearable.

My preschooler son called me over to show me the "fire" he was making in the water as he sprayed the hose across the surface. Of course when I inverted the colors, that's exactly what it looks like!

119: Walking

My son and I took a walk around our neighborhood this morning. In theory, it was a photowalk for both us, but he's easily frustrated by his camera, and handed it off to me early on.

After lunch, all four of us headed over to Belle Isle. We spotted this collection of blue items on one of the old bridge piers almost immediately, but couldn't tell what we were seeing until we got home and looked at the photos on the computer. A village! Complete with steepled church, lighthouse and houses on the hill. Such a  neat find. Click on the photo to see a larger version of the Little Blue Village.

And a few of the other sights and activities we saw while exploring the island today...

110: Fountain of Rebellion

Hit the pedestrian mall fountain for the first time of the season today. Discovered that I still have that ol' rebellious streak, at least as far as mall cops are concerned. They busted me twice. Soon after we arrived, a yellow-shirted man on a Segway rolled up to me and asked me to put my shoes back on. Later, another yellow shirt told me I wasn't allowed to photograph the stores. "They get really upset when you do that." I'm not sure which was more refreshing, the water or seeing that I can still ruffle some feathers.

90: Flotsam

 

Three months in, and today is the first time I completely forgot to take a Blue picture until dinner time. (If you're looking for the blue in this one, the (blurry) duck and the (alligator? dinosaur?) both have some.) For those of you familiar with our "early to bed, early to rise" routine, you know that's fairly late in the day for me!

85: Glass of Water

New challenge for myself on the project: post just ONE picture per day. At least on days I don't get out of the house. Tomorrow I head back to the school to work on grouting the completed mosaics. Of course I can't limit that to one picture!