Taking in Life Around Me: #lens-artistchallenge #406: Summer Daze and #Sundaystills Reflections



This weeks Lens-Artist Challenge prompt is hosted by Anne. Hosts change each week and the list of hosts can be found at the end of this post. They go in order. 

This weeks prompt is focusing on summer.  

I'm also double dipping and posting for Terri's #Sundaystills. This weeks theme is reflections. The two go perfectly together. 

I'm so thankful we live in an area with pleasant summers. Sure it can get in the 80's and occasional 90's but without the humidity that other places experience. My happy place is when it's in the mid, maybe upper 70's. The PNW is full of fun summer activities and living in the SW region of the state means easy access to the mountains, ocean, city, and so much more. I know people who actually get seasonal depression in summer, which I can't quite understand, but perhaps because the heat more than anything, and that I can understand. 

As I "reflect" (see what I did there), on summers past and present, the things that mean the most are spending time with friends and family, enjoying nature, exploring new and familiar areas, enjoying longer days and even earlier mornings.

 At the end I shared some photos with actual reflections. 

Oh my! I could've spent forever looking at images from past summers. So many special times and memories. Because I still am working and we don't have young kids at home sometimes summer seems like any other month, not much extra is planned. Maybe we take in more farmers markets, go outside more, but it depends on our schedules. My hubby has had to travel to Seattle for work every week since June so that limits the things we can do as well. 

I found this photo going through a box I had. I'm on the right, my grandpa, sister and mom are in the photo. We spent a lot of time by this river near our home. 

Near our home is a waterfront that is so nice to visit but especially in the summer. We visited with our grandkids. They love to walk in the sand and look for shells. This waterfront is along the Columbia River. 

Summer means going for ice cream! The same location I mentioned above has an ice cream truck and we love visiting. They serve ice cream from a variety of local ice cream makers. It is all so good. 

I took a photo of my grandson and his friends playing baseball and did some fun ai editing to give it character. It was pretty bland before. Summer screams baseball doesn't it! 

We love to go on adventures and we live in a pretty great area for exploring. 

Fourth of July gatherings with friends and family are perfect for summer. 

Town, County and State fairs usually occur in the summer. In June our town hosts its Planters Day Celebration! 

None of us have pools, but every year for about 3 years we've rented a pool on Swimply, and invite family and friends! It is sooo much fun! 

More ice cream! I think we'll be eating a lot more before this summer is over. 


Our beaches in Washington and Oregon are cold and usually windy, but they are a beach and we love to visit them. 
S'mores at the beach are the best! As long as you don't lose a marshmallow! 

Another visit to Hood River (we enjoy going there), we rented paddle boards and wave runners/jet skis


Kite surfers in Hood River, Oregon are always a sight to see!


Visiting Hawaii was a great excuse to put feet in the sand. So relaxing. 

Now for literal reflections. I was hoping to find more taken in summer, but I just didn't have time to keep looking. 

Colorado last September. 

Granddaughter at the beach. 

One of our local lakes that I especially love visiting in the fall. Lots of reflections on this one. 

I think it's so fun to capture the reflections of birds on the water. I rarely do it intentionally, haha, but love when it turns out. 



Hosts of Lens Artist Challenge



With Joy Unquenchable,
Kirstin
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Comments

  1. Debbie D. July 26, 2026 at 9:09 PM

    Your summer snaps are great, Kirstin! :) You live in a better climate, without the oppressive humidity we get here in southern Ontario. Never heard of Swimply, so I Googled it. What a great idea, to rent someone's backyard pool! Hopefully there's access to bathrooms as well?H ave a wonderful week!

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    1. KirstinJuly 29, 2026 at 9:00 PM

      Thank you Debbie. I do love our climate here. The pool we've stayed at has a bathroom, grill and alot of other amenities and the owner is so nice.

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  2. Kym July 27, 2026 at 4:49 AM

    Fantastic summery photos, Kirstin!! The 4th of July one is so good, and all the adventures and scenery look wonderful. The reflections on the lake are gorgeous!
    I didn't know you could rent pools - I guess it's kind of like airbnb? I'm going to have to check that out because it's a great idea.
    Visiting from Sunday Stills

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    1. KirstinJuly 29, 2026 at 9:01 PM

      Thank you Kym. Yes, like an airbnb but swimming pools. My grandkids are taking private swimming lessons and the lady rents one of these pools for her lessons.

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  3. AnonymousJuly 30, 2026 at 3:37 PM

    Couldn't figure out how to enter myself as a commenter so just posted anonymously. Maybe check how to change that. In the meanwhile, lovely post - fun to see life in a summer so different from ours! Appreciate your joining us at Lens-Artists...welcome!

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    Replies
    1. KirstinAugust 3, 2026 at 5:42 PM

      Thank you. I'll see what I can do....I don't have to the energy to switch my blog to wordpress...haha. I'll look into it.

      Delete

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