My header photo this week seems perfect for the topic, doesn’t it?  I took it with my phone, from my chair at the nail spa where I get my monthly pedicures.  Once every month, I get to have someone else do my tootsies, and I get to just relax and feel pampered.  It’s also a benefit that the salon is within walking distance of home.  In fact, I have an appointment this afternoon, with my best friend, who introduced me to the salon in the first place.  Bliss!  In more ways than one.

Since my retirement in September of 2020, I have had lots more time at home to indulge in another bliss-bringing activity, photographing the birds who visit our backyard feeders.  This year was different than other years, because the weather was quite warm, and we had next to no rain.  I had to keep the birdbath/drinking fountain full for all the visitors.  We had quite a variety this year.

This Downy Woodpecker (pic taken through a window, so not too sharp) just visited last weekend.  He rarely comes around, so this was a special treat.  We do, however, have another variety of woodpecker, the Red-shafted Flicker, who visits often.

A slightly more exotic visitor is our Townsend’s Warbler.  Most years we only have the one, but this year we had at least one pair visit.  They are so beautiful with their yellow highlights and black mask.

These pictures were taken on three different occasions.

Living in the Pacific Northwest, we are surrounded by water on every side.  We have Silver Lake just a short distance from our house; Puget Sound a few miles to the west, and Lake Washington south and east of home.  What do bodies of water have?  Beaches!  Yeah, it’s a big cliche, about walks on the beach, but I do love going to the various beaches near home, and before I went to work at my temp job, I would visit a beach every week, just to hear the water lapping at my feet, and watch people and birds.  This past summer, Hubby and I went to a Puget Sound beach we had never explored before, at Picnic Point.

We went in the late afternoon, so I was able to get some interesting shadows.  I also took video, which I posted over at my Rumble site.  Here are links to my video.

https://rumble.com/vhyojt-on-its-way-to-the-sea-picnic-point-creek-edmonds-wa.html

https://rumble.com/vhyomv-on-its-way-to-the-sea-ii-picnic-point-creek-picnic-point-county-park-edmond.html

In 2019, when I turned 70 years old, I bought my first iPhone, an XR model.  I discovered how wonderful it is to have a pretty good camera with you at all times.  I’m certain that I was able to get all sorts of great photos, in places where I never would have thought of taking photos before.  Like our Asian grocery store.  I got a bunch of good posts from all those photos!  I have always been partial to jewel colors, and the shelves at Uwajimaya are stuffed with brightly-colored packages, jars, and bottles of food.

Finally, I am always blissful when in the presence of my cat, Kikyo.  She is so soft, I can’t help but pet her whenever I see her.  With the phone always at hand, I can take lots of pictures of my beautiful companion.

Here’s the Link to the original post for this week.