Taking in Life Around Me......#SundayStills.....Theme: The Elements

This #sundaystills challenge is hosted by Terrie from Second Wind Leisure. I've also been loving visiting the blogs of the other participants and being inspired by their interpretations of the theme.

This weeks theme is The Power of the Elements. The elements; Earth, Water, Air and Fire. All with their place and purpose, all powerful and perhaps calming in some regards. I love nature and weather, and honestly enjoy a good storm, if it's results aren't devastating. The video below was taken last fall when here in the PNW we were due to have what they called a Bomb Cyclone. I haven't seen it this windy in a really long time. It was crazy. What is a bomb cyclone? See what I found below. 

Bomb Cyclone:  

The National Weather Service (NWS) confirmed on Saturday that the storm had undergone bombogenesis, meaning that colder air mixed with warmer sea air, leading to a swift drop in atmospheric pressure. The process leads to a so-called bomb cyclone...bbc.com

EARTH: I love the phrase "the feel of the earth beneath my feet". I love it from dirt, to rocks, to sand, so much beauty, I love how it feels (9/10 times) when I'm walking barefoot. 

Earth:

I found this photo above and loved it. I don't know when it was taken. I'm guessing it's one of my daughters hands. Digging into the dirt. 

When I was in Ohio in 2020 I visited the above location, Glacial Grooves on Kelley's Island. This photo isn't the best. It is a National Natural Landmark. The grooves are 400 feet long, 35 feet wide and up to 15 feet deep. They were created by the slow movement of the massive glacier that created the Great Lakes and Lake Erie islands. (kelleysislandchamber.com)

When visiting Central Oregon we love visiting the Big Obsidion Flow Trail in the Newberry National Volcanic Monument. The rock is beautiful and it's fun to pick up pieces of pumice too.

View of the stunning PNW from the sky. Mt. Hood showing off. 

Water: I'm not a fan of rain, but if I'm cozied up inside, I enjoy it. I love snow, I love a good hail or rain storm, again, if I'm not outside in it. 

"Water" in the form of snow, is so beautiful, but also destroyed my blueberry cage. So sad. Now we have a spring project. 

Quite a few years ago my daughter and some friends at the beach. It was a stormy weekend, the waves were huge, and it was quite windy. That didn't stop them from having a blast. 

I'm thankful we live by so many gorgeous bodies of water. From lakes, rivers, streams and the ocean. 

Air: We live in a stunning part of the united states. Clean air 90% of the time. In the last several years, we've experienced so many forest fires. I never worried about air quality until about 5 years ago. Now, summertime often means checking air quality.

For the most part, our skies look like the above photo. Blue (unless of course it's cloudy and rainy, but still the air is clean)

Driving home from Central Oregon last August, we drove through this. Most of that trip, except for 1 day was smoky like this. Our October trip was much better. 

Fire: Fire can be devastating, it can be comforting, it can create ambience. 

How about breakfast around a fire pit? It was a cold morning but we opted to eat outside instead of wait longer to eat inside. 

Nothing like a bonfire to bring people together. Laugh, tell stories, eat S'mores and hot dogs. maybe sing? A family beach trip full of fun. 

In the PNW we know all too well the devastation of fire. Above is photo of fire damage along Hwy 22. That stretch has experienced so much devastation from fires. 

I drove along the farmland in our town I think in 2015, and caught this photo of smoke from a wildfire that was way too close to the homes of several of our friends. Thankfully they didn't have to evacuate. 

With Joy Unquenchable,

Kirstin