The Queen of Seaford: 2025

Wednesday, December 31, 2025

The last three photos of the Photo-a-Day challenge and a wrap-up

Welcome to the last post of the year, the last of the daily photo challenge, and a little write-up of my thoughts on this year-long challenge.

Day 363-

I have inadvertently had dog hair on many of my posts. We have two long-haired dogs and they shed a lot. With our dining room table open with a leaf in it, the passage between the tree and the table is a little tight. One white dog doesn't seem to mind knocking into the tree to get to the sliding glass door to watch for squirrels or birds. Consequently, her fur is adorning the ends of the branches of the Christmas tree. Last time the vacuum cleaner was out, the branches were vacuumed.

More dog hair

Day 364-

The kids, grandkids, and I took a walk along the shoreline of our lake since the lake level is down for the winter. The wind was blustery, and waves crashed on the sand. Our lake is a man-made lake, so there are remains of trees where there had once been dry land. During the summer this stump is under about four or five feet of water. That is our dock in the background. The little ones had a great time finding shells, rocks, and sticks. They jumped on rocks and had a great time.

Tree stump

Day 365-

I wanted to have a special photo for the closeout of this year-long event. The moon was close to setting as the clock passed the midnight position into the last day of the year. On the left you can see the constellation Orion. It will be a full moon on the 3rd of January. It will also be a Super Moon. If you have a clear night, be sure to check it out.

12:09 AM 12/31/2025

Thoughts on this challenge-

I think my photography has improved a bit over this year. I know I take a lot of photos, but to be critical of subject matter and composition is a work in progress. Almost all of the photos were taken with my cellphone. It isn't a new one, Google Pixel 7- think Pixel 10 is the newest version now. Editing the photos was limited to what the phone app offered. There was one Prisma app photo used of Fiona, my fluffy Border Collie.

There are a few photos that were never taken. I drive by a small cemetery, near the Gnome house, that I kept meaning to stop and get a photo of some of the older headstones. It just didn't happen. Driving up to the airport the other day I saw a field of tall browned grass. Sitting in the field was a black cat, grasses covering up to her shoulders, watching something. The contrast of the shiny black fur and the brown grasses would have been a great photo. I was driving on a rural highway, not a place to stop. Also on the trip to the airport is a row of rusty old tractors. Another missed opportunity for a photo. I did take a few photos of church steeples; there could have been so many more!

I will still look at my immediate surroundings to see if I can get 'that perfect shot', but without the pressure of having to get a photo to share.

I have a link to the entire year's photos. You are welcome to enjoy the whole year. I tried to vary the photos so that it wasn't all flowers or trees or my dogs, but there are a good number of those kinds of photos, it is who I am- a gardener with a camera and dogs.

TheQueenOfSeafordphotos2025 Let me know if you have a favorite or two. Thanks for coming by and seeing all my photos.

Happy New Year to you!!

Sunday, December 28, 2025

Photo-a-Day Week 52

We have reached week 52, but have 3 more days to complete the year's worth of daily photos. We still have kids and grandkids here, so tonight's summary will be brief. Come back Wednesday night for the year's conclusion.

Day 356-

This Christmas stocking has been with us since a year before we got married. This past June, we celebrated our 45th wedding anniversary, so it has been around just a few years. The names of us, our kids, their spouses, their kids, and all of our pets over the years cover this relic. Instead of a wreath on our front door, I like having this on the glass door so you can see both sides of the stocking.

A Stocking for Everyone

Day 357-

In the winter the views of intermittent creeks really stand out through the woods. On some of our warmer days you can hear chorus frogs singing in the wetlands.

Intermittent creek

Day 358-

The late afternoon's sun's ray shine through the woods. Our maple trees keep their leaves long into the winter. The leaves really glow, making for another long angle sunshine photo. The pine needles hang on the branches like tinsel on a Christmas tree.

Backlit Maple leaves

Day 359-

Turning the lights off and leaving the tree lights on a timer makes for a magical look. The lights from the tree reflect off all the windows, making it appear as though we have multiple trees.

Reflections

Day 360-

I know I have shared snails before, but this one being so dark looked different to me. Not sure what happened to its tail end. It is kind of cut up or scarred. Of course there is dog hair on the tail.

How I'm moving OR Snail with Dog Hair

Day 361-

Greenville-Spartanburg airport parking garage. Since I drove to pick up part of the family, I could only grab a photo once at the airport. Good angles and shadows of the parking levels made for a decent photo.

Stairwell

Day 362-

Our three little grands came the day after Christmas and we celebrated once they arrived. When we were at the beach this summer they had cousin crew beach towels, so it was perfect for the kids to have t-shirts for this gathering.

Cousins

Like I said at the top, come back Wednesday for the final installment of the 365-day Photo Challenge.

Sunday, December 21, 2025

Photo-a-Day Week 51

We are so close to the end of the year! My week count is off a little, but the daily numbers are on target. With Christmas in just a few short days, there will be more holiday items in the daily photos. Come along and read more about the photos.

Day 349-

We went to a concert in Honea Path last week, and I wanted to photograph the decorations on Main Street. The concert venue is called Fiddle and Bow, a small former storefront building that hosts intimate concerts. This week was a bluegrass show. Small-town America really does Christmas decorations well!

Honea Path

Day 350-

Another day playing with the dogs in the driveway. It made me laugh when Liebling had the ring caught on her ears. She was ready to run after the other ring, not noticing she still had one on her head.

I did drop it, throw the other one

Day 351-

We had another cold snap, and the water in the ditches froze in an interesting pattern. The curvy patterns caught my eye as I walked Fiona.

Curvy ice

Day 352-

The tree is up and decorated. Millie has found a safe spot to hide from the dogs and check out the ornaments that are within her reach. I chose not to put the icicles on this year, some of Millie's favorite ornaments. She loved to knock them off the tree and scoot them around and tuck them under the edge of the rug. Not this year, sweetie!

Quality control

Day 353-

If you could choose a rotten day to drive an hour to go to Costco, this would have been it. The traffic was crazy when we got up to Greenville, and the crowds were what you would expect right before Christmas. UGH!!

Rainy foggy day

Day 354-

This winter bloomer is one of my favorites. Prunus mume 'Hokkai-bungo' is blooming a little earlier than usual this year. I look for it to be blooming by New Year's Day, but never before Christmas. Our weather has been different than previous years. Some days were a lot colder and others a lot warmer. If you can find a Flowering apricot, they are really nice to have, especially loved by the honey bees.

Flowering apricot

Day 355-

I was spreading some wildflower seeds on our septic drain field and noticed the holly berries on the Possumhaw holly at the corner of the lot. It is a native holly and grows wild in our area. Ilex decidua, like other hollies has male and female flowers on separate plants.

Holly berries

The ones I didn't use-

While riding to Costco, I was taking a lot of rainy, foggy pictures. It was a toss-up whether to use this one or the one I chose.

Here's another picture of the curved ice. Because I was walking Fiona, it was a quick couple of photos. Sadly, this one was blurry. A better view, but blurry, of the curved ice formation.

I got out the kaleidoscope again to capture some Christmas magic. Do you see Santa?

Thanks for reading through another week's worth of photos.

Sunday, December 14, 2025

Photo-a-Day Week 50

We are getting close to the end of the year, and Christmas items are starting to enter my photo array. Hope you have been enjoying the various photos and maybe you would consider doing your own photo-a-day challenge for 2026! It certainly has been an interesting exercise in observing my surroundings and finding something to photograph. Some of the photos are interesting photo techniques, and others are purely subject matter-centered. Let's look at this past week's photos and the also-ran photos.

Day 342-

Lebkuchen tins. I have more than I would like to count. Each and every tin was purchased filled with lebkuchen. I can count seven more from my chair that are visible. Downstairs, there are more- another stack like this one. There are more in the closet with the Christmas decorations. We lived in Germany two times for a total of almost seven years. We like lebkuchen and I LOVE the tins. Each tin is different, a different decoration each year. When the girls were little, they had some of their 'treasures' in a tin, another had their artwork, and others recipes. Some of the tins still have a faint aroma of lebkuchen, that yummy gingerbread cookie from Germany. Our second time in Germany, we lived near Nuremberg, home of Otto Schmitt lebkuchen (these tins are from Otto Schmitt). Starting in October, you could smell the gingerbread in the air as they began the holiday baking.

Lebkuchen

Day 343-

These two items are from my mom's house. The Ruth stained glass window is in the Chevers chapel in the casement at Fort Monroe, Virginia. My mom, along with a number of other ladies from the Chapel of the Centurion at Fort Monroe did the needlepoint chairs for the Chevers chapel. Years later Fort Monroe ended up closing, and they closed the Chevers chapel. Those who worked on the chairs were able to have one. Fort Monroe is now a National Park facility. The Ruth stained glass window has the quote, "Whither thou goest, I will go. Where thou lodgest, I will lodge." A memorial to the Army wife.

Ruth window and Chapel chair

Day 344-

This is a pet peeve of mine. Bills or bank statements that come with an additional page printed with "This page left intentionally blank". Once those words are printed on said page, it is no longer blank.

But is it?

Day 345-

Grocery shopping, looking for products that are gluten-free for when my daughter comes at Christmas. I took a photo of the shelf of breakfast cereal to see if any of these were of interest to her. She passed on these.

Gluten free

Day 346-

After college, one of my friends and I went to Europe with Eurail passes and our backpacks. I bought a couple of pairs of wooden shoes while in the Netherlands. I like having them on the side table in the living room. I also have one of the others that my mom did some tole painting on. I can't remember where it is, will have to look for it one of these days. (not a high priority)

Wood on wood on wood

Day 347-

Our neighborhood book club has a cookie exchange in place of a book discussion in December. Others from in the neighborhood are invited. The group has grown over the years. A few years ago the option of not bringing cookies was offered. I am glad as we are up to baking eight dozen cookies. We share a half a dozen in each baggie or tin. Everyone who brings cookies takes home the same number of cookies they brought. The selection of cookies is always fun to see and sample! This is just some of the cookies, I put some into the red tin with the gold rim- to keep them fresh.

Cookie exchange haul

Day 348-

I got our Christmas cards done and in the mailbox to get mailed. Charlie helped me with addressing them. It was most appreciated as the list grows. Do you still send out cards? I feel like it is a nice way to stay in touch. As the grandkids grow, it is a nice way to share their cute little faces. Our kids don't want them on social media, which I totally understand, so this is my way of being the grandma showing off her little loves.

Christmas greetings

A couple also-ran photos-

Liebling was checking out the front yard, now that the leaves are down, the street is visible. She lets us know if anyone drives or walks by.

She also likes to stare at me, hoping it is time to go out and play. Between her and Fiona, the plea to go out and play is strong.

One of the possible choices was my plant window. I have grow lights to supplement the light from the southern window. Some years, I think about starting my indoor plants over again- that means tossing the leggy, not good-looking plants, and trying something new.

Another sunset photo from a moving vehicle. It wasn't as bright and colorful as the sky, so I decided to use the mailbox full of cards.

Well, two more weeks!! If you decide to try this year-long challenge, let me know. I would love to follow your challenge. See you next week.

Sunday, December 7, 2025

Photo-a-Day Week 49

Another week is in the books! Hope you enjoyed this week's photos. Let's take a closer look at each and see what might not have been selected.

Day 335-

I hope you enjoy live music as much as my husband and I do. It is great to see artists in person and feel the energy of the crowd. This night was standing room only, and we were able to get up to the rail along the left side of the stage. This band is American Aquarium, lots of fun.

Live Music

Day 336-

I love our cabinet pulls; you saw some in a previous day's photo of the day. This door hook is part of the collection. It is a great spot to hang my aprons.

Mustache

Day 337-

I planted a number of Illicium parviflorum 'Florida Sunshine' in the woods and along the driveway. During the summer, even though they are bright yellow, they don't pop in the landscape. In the fall and into the winter, once the other leaves have faded, these yellow leaves shine. The nice thing about the Illicium is that the deer don't like them; the leaves have a strong licorice aroma. Their flowers are small and rather unnoticeable. During the winter, the low angle of the sun finds its way to shine directly on some of these shrubs.

A Couple Spots of Sunshine

Day 338-

This is my cereal bowl, full of plump blueberries. I liked how the milk settled into the recesses of the berry.

Blueberries with Milk

Day 339-

This time of year, I find myself at the post office mailing our family calendars across the country. I put these calendars together every year. All the members of the family have their photo on their birthday date, and each month is a photo of something blooming in my garden. It is fun to see how the little ones grow and change over the years. We currently have two birthday doubles, my grandson and my brother, and my granddaughter and my sister. There's a new member of the family due to be born around the grandson/brother date, so we shall see if that date will have three born on that day!

PO Box

Day 340-

We had a cold blast of weather this week, and it is nice to be able to turn on the gas logs to take the chill off the room. These are vent-free logs, so they do warm up the room nicely.

Cozy

Day 341-

I know many of you have Robins in your gardens, and they aren't a novelty. I noticed a large flock of them in my front yard, high up in the pine trees. They were making a lot of noise, fluttering and calling to each other. If it were springtime and a nest was nearby, I could understand the commotion, but that wasn't the case. I did a photo book of the birds in our neighborhood, but there were no Robins. I have updated the book a few times with newly observed birds, so it might be time to update the book again!

Robin

And the also-rans-

I took a few photos of the band and the stage for the photo of the day- trying to get that perfect shot. The black and white one was kind of flat. The one with the yellow spotlight didn't measure up either.

Driving to the concert I tried using a slow shutter speed and get the lights of traffic. Will try this again in the future.

The day I posted the fireplace, the frozen bird bath caught my eye. Again, it was kind of a meh, not too exciting.

The last one not used was a flock of Canada Geese swimming on the lake. Getting a photo through the trees was not easy. You can see the gray, dismal day. The fireplace photo took the spotlight for that day.

Thus ends another week for my photo a day! Come back again next week.

Sunday, November 30, 2025

Photo-a-Day Week 48

Hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving. Ours was quiet, but we are looking forward to a full house at Christmas. Let's see what we had this past week with the photos.

Day 328-

I bought this planter after one of our Flings. I had seen it in one of the gardens, and I loved it. After a Google search, I found him! I change out the plant material every so often. Currently, there is a pup of a Color Guard Yucca and some 'Angelina' sedum. Our front porch is home to countless Anoles. Seems like every time I take the dogs outside, the first statement out of my mouth is, "Leave the lizards alone!"

I have an Anole on my face

Day 329-

The crescent moon was bright on Monday night. If my ride to bridge had been a few minutes later, I would have taken the photo from my driveway. She was right on time, so I waited until we got to our neighbor's house where we were playing cards. I wasn't sure the photo would come out because as soon as we got out of the car, her motion sensor lights came on. I tucked around the corner of her garage and captured the moon through the branches. It is not easy to photograph a bright moon with a cellphone.

Crescent moon

Day 330-

The rain came, and there were ripples and splashes of water on the deck. Shadows and light are a great way to show off ripples of water.

Ripples

Day 331-

After a light frost, most of the herbaceous plants have disappeared. This little volunteer seemed to appear overnight. The little ray of sunshine made it really glow. I think it is another of the Golden Asters that have been volunteering in this area of the yard. Chrysopsis mariana, a lovely little native plant.

Golden Volunteer

Day 332-

Not sure if this is the first hard frost, but when I finally rolled out of bed, there was still a good bit of frost on the deck. First frost or not, I love the water crystals.

Frosty

Day 333-

There was a lot of bird activity in the side yard, and I decided to get the big camera and zoom in to see who was flitting around from branch to branch. Turned out it was a flock of Eastern Bluebirds. I like how this male Bluebird was staring at me from afar. There were a couple of not chosen photos, check them out below. I love Bluebirds!

What are you looking at?

Day 334-

The bird feeders on the deck attract lots of birds and a few squirrels. The dogs are on alert; unfortunately, they will bark at the birds in addition to barking at the squirrels. Liebling, the German Shepherd didn't used to bark at the birds, but now with Fiona, our Border Collie, there is a lot of barking. We are working on it.

On bird/squirrel alert

Our not chosen photos are as follows-- like I said before, I love Bluebirds!! I just thought the photo of the one looking at the camera was my favorite.

On the frosty morning there was also ice on the top of the hose caddy, where there was once ripples of water.

The skies before the rains and the cold weather were kind of cool. Not used, but still an interesting sky.

This brings us to the end of another week of photos. Leave a comment and let me know what you think. You can comment on Blogger, on Substack, or on Facebook. Thanks for visiting.

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