The World Through My Lens 09.2026

 

Sweet shutterbugs, thank you for popping by today. Bringing you this month's photos taken for the 2 photo challenges I am participating in this year. They are The Everyday Images challenge hosted by my friend Kym at A Fresh Cup of Coffee and Sunday Stills, hosted by my friend Terri at Second Wind Leisure Perspectives. 

These gals share their photos several times a month but I can't seem to get my photo challenge posts together more often than once a month. You can find the August edition of The World Through My Lens, here, if you missed it.  

Everyday Images #96

sunrise/sunset:  the colors of an early September sunset being softened by a rare skyfull of clouds.  So many poor trees died as a result of our very hot summer.

plants:  admired the backlighting on these plants at the apartment complex where I had a puppy walking gig early one morning.  I think palm trees are pretty terrific no matter what kind of light!!

reflection:  after church one day this month, we stopped in Basil Court Whimsy to pick up the wagon I had on layaway.  While the owner was helping some other customers, I wandered around looking at all of the goodies and stopped long enough to take a selfie in the reflection of an antique mirror.

Monday motivation:  taking photos of trees we like in the neighborhood that we might consider planting to replace our dying plum tree.  This is the bloom on a desert willow which is the tree we eventually went with.

smoke:  fireworks with the smoke that follows at the beginning of the UTEP-San Jose State football game in the Sun Bowl Stadium.

supplies:  these are the plastic Christmas ornaments I used to make the bubbles in my witch's cauldron.  PC's helped.

neighborhood spot (quarterly):  the neighborhood couple who lives in this house decorates for Halloween in a big way each year.  They offer haunted tours of their yard for a donation to the local animal shelter in the way of old towels, pet food, gently used stuffed animals, etc.  Their decorations are over the top!!

Everyday Images #97

steps:  first venture up and down the stairs, 3 days post-op.  But actually, after reading another blogger's Everyday Images response to this prompt, I think these are probably stairs rather than steps.  Same idea, though.  And PC was definitely taking 'baby steps' down the stairs.

from underneath:  took the picture of this crane(?) from the dock underneath where he was perched on the dam at Grindstone Lake.

morning light:  taken just before 7:00 am, with the morning light just beginning to climb above the trees in the Lincoln National Forest at Bonito Lake, New Mexico.  It was a glorious morning.

at home (monthly):  a fall display on our sofa table that has never sat behind our sofa.  See the little houses on the far left?  I made them out of boxes through an online collage workshop with Jennifer Chamberlin.  One of her latest classes has participants making collage flowers.  

beautiful:  these delicate wildflowers were growing volunteer all around the lake in New Mexico.  

landmark:  the Franklin Mountains, which bisect the city of El Paso, almost cutting it in two.  And Castner Range, over 6,600 acres designated by President Biden as a national monument in 2023.  

chair:  3 days post-surgery, settled into his favorite chair.

Sunday Stills

09.06.2026  NO CHALLENGE Labor Day Weekend:  thought I would throw in a bonus photo of me happily toiling in a library.

09.13.2026  Monthly Color Challenge: Apricot/Orange:  I may or may not have mentioned on here at some point that snapdragons are among my favorite flowers.  When my 3-year-old nephew Andrew was battling cancer for his life, we would look everywhere for ways to entertain and distract him.  We told him that snapdragons were the only talking flowers and that they say, "I love you."  You can tell this snapdragon is just beginning to speak.

09.20.2026  Animal or Bird of the Month: Antlers, Horns & Hooves:  you have to look carefully to see the antlers, horns and hooves but they are there.  These moose (meese?) and a lot of deer wander free-range all over Ruidoso, New Mexico.  This particular family was meandering around Alto Lake.

09.27.2026  Your Hometown:  not sure if El Paso qualifies as my hometown because it isn't where I was born.  But it is where I have lived the longest.  Nothing says 'El Paso' better than street art, Mexican food and our majestic mountains.

After the Walmart mass shooting in 2019, murals like this one appeared all over the city.  Many of them with the words "El Paso Strong".  There were similar messages on the billboards and marquees of many businesses.  It was very uplifting and unifying during a difficult time in our community. 

Your Turn

Well, it has taken me 2 weeks+ to get this post put together and published.  I better start working on images for October's edition right now.  

What have you been capturing in your lens lately?   

Thank you for popping by, my friend.  Have a peaceful week.

Hugs and kisses,