Very quiet lately; everyone must be enjoying a holiday break.

Here's a selection of photos I've taken in previous weeks.

5 Snowy Egrets, from my last trip to the wetlands in mid-November...

   

An Osprey scanning the waters of the wetlands, taken on the same outing...

   

A neighbor's African Daisies...

   

From another neighbor's yard; I liked the colors...

   

And another sunrise shot taken during an early walk...

   

Happy Boxing Day.

Dramatic sunrise here this morning, and one of my photos turned out to have strong clarity and sharpness...

   

I hope everyone had a good Christmas.

Happy Holidays to all.

   

And a safe, productive, and healthy 2025.

Merry Christmas to all my Foto Friends! Enjoy your family time together.

Breaking the rules with my "photo" but I'll only do it once this year!

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TGIF Foto Friends

Around 3 years ago a neighbor did some work on their house: repainted in mostly white with black and dark gray accents, got a new roof that was dark gray, and added a nice  little brick planter in front (also white with dark gray accents). It looked quite nice.

I was wondering what flowers they'd choose for the planter, but they chose succulents: a couple of low ones  and a number of what look to be Saguaro cactus.

The cacti grew well and now are taller than the roof...

   

And here's a look of some of the cacti in the shade from the eaves that burst into multiple flowers...

   

I wish us all a happy, safe, and productive weekend.

Greetings all. Getting quiet here again. Hopefully after the holidays it will pick up.

Here is a street scene from Nashville, TN. I gave it a little color saturation bump as it was a dull day.

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Happy Hump Day.

Yesterday's sunrise from in front of my house...

   

Darlene recently shared a photo of an encounter between an egret and a grebe. It reminded me of one I took last month at the Bolsa Chica Wetlands. But instead of an egret and a grebe, it's a Great Egret and 2 Snowy Egrets.

   

I've taken no photos for a week until mid-morning today; got several florals that may we good enough to share, including this lovely yellow succulent...

   

I'm starting to plan a front yard relandscaping project for this spring and may include a few of these.

I wish us all a good weekend.

Triskaidekaphobia

Why do people fear Friday the 13th, or believe it to be an unlucky day?

There are numerous reasons, IMO none are credible.

One common claim is that some events in the life and death of Jesus reportedly happened on a Friday or involved the number 13. While the belief that Friday and the number 13 have been separately considered unlucky, there is no evidence that in combination they were considered especially unlucky before the 19th century.

Some point to the arrest of the Knights Templar by King Philip IV of France on Friday, October 13, 1307 as the origination of the superstition, but this seems dubious.

A character in an 1834 French play attributes his misfortunes to Friday the 13th.

An English biography of Italian composer Gioachino Rossini claims that he (Rossini), like many Italians, felt that both the number 13 and Fridays were unlucky.

The publication in 1907 of T. W. Lawson's Novel Friday the Thirteenth may have popularized the superstition.

It's interesting that other days and dates are believed to be unlucky in different cultures: Tuesday the 13th (both Hispanic and Greek) and Friday the 17th in Italy.

It's amazing to me how many people delude themselves into believing this sort of nonsense.

Personally, I've always liked the number 13. But I don't take it seriously. Those who want to believe can dig up numerous coincidences "proving" their false claims.

Clearly there is no such thing as lucky or unlucky numbers.

But here's a fun fact - Want to know if any given month contains a Friday the 13th? If the month starts on a Sunday, it's got one!

You all have yourselves a great weekend.

And watch out for black cats!