I think I took some very good photos last year, and I am quite happy to post them again. I’ll start with my very favorites, the best ones I took last year. I think they would make good postcards. They are boats at the Everett Marina, which I took after dark in November. There was not a hint of a breeze, and the water was glass-smooth. There was so little motion of the boats in their berths, you didn’t hear any of the sound of the rigging clanging against metal masts. The sky was perfectly clear, and the Big Dipper was visible along with other stars. Every single condition was absolutely perfect for photography. Even the presence of a concrete retaining wall along the walkway made it easy for me to steady my hands, on my iPhone 15 Pro.

I also love some of the photos I took in downtown Aiken, South Carolina in October. Businesses along the main street were having a Halloween decoration contest, and the shop that used pumpkins for their Little Shop of Horrors man-eating plants did a superb job! No way could you walk past this without smiling.

Another thing that drew me to this particular display was the name of the little restaurant that did it. Who could resist the Vampire Penguin?! It helps that Hubby loves penguins. I hope they won the contest.

The autumn in Washington was particularly colorful this year, and I think I was able to capture our trees in all their glory, in spite of a couple of big wind and rainstorms.

These multi-colored leaves are on the pear tree right in front of our house. In 2015, the tree lost a limb when a big tree from the little forest next door fell and sheared it right off. Maybe that caused the color to be concentrated on the branches that were left.

After a big rainstorm, the overflow pond in a corner business park was nearly full-as full as I’ve seen it in my 25 years in the area.

Same overflow pond-see the ducks?

We went to northern Arizona in February, and we visited some places we’ve never seen before. One was the Sedona area, which is a big “tourist trap” in town, but surrounded by beautiful red-rock scenery.

The red rock cliffs were so majestic.

We also visited a lake which we had never seen before, Watson Lake, and it was very picturesque.

Since Arizona, dry as it is, often has flash flooding, you can easily see the high-water lines on the rocks. February is a great time to visit Arizona, as there are fewer crowds. Where we were in Prescott, we didn’t have to contend with crowds anywhere, and it was very pleasant sitting by the lakeside and watching the calm waters.

It wouldn’t be a year in Western Washington without the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival, and this year was particularly fine. We went early enough to catch the tulip fields in full flower in mid-April.

In August, we went for a little mini-vacation to LaConner, not too far from those tulip fields. I took one photo that I think the hotel where we stayed should pay me for, to use in their advertising. It shows the place to its best advantage, right along the Swinomish Slough.

Finally, 2025 was a pretty good year for me to photograph Silver Lake, where I live. Since I retired in June, I have more midday time to go spend time there.

I’m hoping that 2026 turns out to be an equally good year for photography. In early February, we again will be traveling to the Hillsdale College campus in Michigan, so we should be seeing new sights, a long way from home. Here’s to the next challenges!

Here’s the link to this week’s original post. And Patti’s. And John’s too! Surfeit of riches this week.