Friday Fotos 2026 #6

Photo by Designecologist: https://www.pexels.com/photo/image-of-river-on-smartphone-1398339/

Friday Fotos is a post where I can dump some photos from the previous week. The goal is to make me more aware of the beauty and fun in my everyday life. 

On Fridays during Lent, I pray the Stations of the Cross at my parish's Outdoor Stations. There's a lot of noise from the road, but it's easy to block it out.

This made me smile. I just picture a mom with her kids, who were enjoying the warm weather, stopping at this tree to play with the kids' meal toys. Hopefully, they came back for them later.

Dogwoods are coming to life!

Laika is hanging in there. She's doing pretty well since the vet prescribed some anti-inflammatories for her hips. She even got into the creek on the day this picture was snapped.

My neighbor's Kwanzan Cherry Tree

The women's group at church just finished our latest session. This was the first time I was the facilitator. We watched a series on The Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary. We learned a lot and had some incredible discussions.

These red maple pods kind of reminded me of the fuchsia in Ireland. Not nearly as pretty, but the way they drooped down!

Bat houses are all over the park. Hopefully, it will take care of all of the bug problems!

The 5th Sunday of Lent: Everything is veiled, even in the little chapel. In my parish, this happens on the 5th Sunday; some parishes wait until after the Holy Thursday Mass 

Stained glass windows and the Stations of the Cross (found in every Catholic Church) are not covered. Why do we veil everything else? The short answer: to remind us of the importance of Holy Week (the week between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday) and to keep us focused on Christ's Passion during this last week of Lent. 

Thanks for taking the time to see what I saw beauty in this week!

Springing Into Action Hodgepodge

 

Joyce asks the questions, and we provide the answers. See how others answered at From This Side of the Pond.

1. It's officially spring in the northern hemisphere. Does it feel like spring in your part of the world? If you're in the southern hemisphere it's officially autumn where you live. Does the weather say autumn? Which do you prefer-spring or autumn? Why? 

Some days it feels like we went straight to summer, but then we'll have a winter day. Spring and Fall both have their good/bad points. I like both equally.

2. What's your favorite thing about spring? 

The birds singing, being able to sit on my back porch all.day.long. Even though I live on a busy road, I like opening up all of the windows and letting the house air out.

3. Spring into action, spring in your step, spring to life, spring to one's feet...which spring idiom currently applies to your life in some way? Explain.  

Spring to life. I've been super busy this Lent, doing exactly what I thought I'd be doing when I pictured life after CH's passing. It's taken 2 years and 3 Lents to get my act in gear!

4. Which spring food from this list is your favorite? What's a dish you like that includes your favorite spring ingredient? 

asparagus, strawberries, salad greens like mesclun, artichokes, spinach, eggs, peas, spring onions

Definitely strawberries. I don't need them in a recipe! If I had to say one, though, I'd say strawberry shortcake.

5. What's one task on your spring cleaning list? Do you actually have a list? 

A spring cleaning list?  (LOL!) No, I don't have one, but I do need to clean the windows. Ugh.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I published the first post of my Greece trip. I'm breaking it up into the land portion and the cruise portion; the land portion is on Flyin' the Coop.

Friday Fotos 2026 #5

Photo by Designecologist: https://www.pexels.com/photo/image-of-river-on-smartphone-1398339/

Friday Fotos is a post where I can dump some photos from the previous week. The goal is to make me more aware of the beauty and fun in my everyday life. 

I love how, in the midst of trees that haven't woken up yet, the red buds start to bloom

The red buds are all over the park, painting splashes of purple where it's least expected

The starflowers (AKA Star-of-Bethlehem) are popping up in the most random places

Wildflowers are blooming all over the fields in the park

And then this happened on Monday

I made an Irish Cream Pie for dessert for St. Patrick's Day...it was yummy! I cheated and didn't make the crust; it made no difference and saved me a step.

I didn't take a picture of the sunrise on Wednesday, but it was one of the prettiest I've ever seen. There were multiple pale colors as the sun came up over snowy mountains. Gorgeous!

Thanks for taking the time to see what I saw beauty in this week!