Monday, July 2, 2012

Water, Water Everywhere

"Water is the driving force of all nature."  Leonardo da Vinci


Water is the most essential element of life on Earth. In its purest form, it's odorless, nearly colorless and tasteless. It's in your body, the food you eat and the beverages you drink. You use it to clean yourself, your clothes, your dishes, your car and everything else around you. You can travel on it or jump in it to cool off on hot summer days. Many of the products that you use every day contain it or were manufactured using it. All forms of life need it and, if they don't get enough of it, they die.

You may live in a place where the water is plentiful, but where I live in the Arizona desert, the average rainfall is less than nine inches a year and with the average person using 150 gallons of water per day, we need to be mindful of water conservation. A lot of the landscaping here is what we call "desert landscaping" where there is no lawn that needs to be watered, just low-water-use plants. Our children are taught from a young age not to leave the water running when they brush their teeth and we attempt (usually unsuccessfully) to limit our teenagers' showers to under five minutes!

But at this time of year, thoughts of water are more about fun (and cooling off) than conservation. About the only way to endure the summer heat here is to spend a lot of time in the pool . . .


. . . or at the water  park . . .


. . . or escaping the heat altogether by going to the beach in California.  The ocean is my favorite form of water!


Our July theme here at FOL is "water" (in case you hadn't guessed!) Isn't summer the most perfect time to photograph water? Water is so much a part of the summer for all of us, so whether you are surfing at the beach, sailing a boat on the lake, fishing in the river or just hanging out in your own back yard with a water hose . . .


. . . show us your favorite ways to enjoy the water this month and post your water shots to our Flickr pool.  Don't forget to indicate that they are for the "water" theme to have them considered for an In Focus selection. Have fun, stay cool and most of all, enjoy the water!


14 comments:

Claudia said...

It's been so hot here... I would love to find a beach but it would be a bit of a walk from Utah! Haha

Love this theme,

Hugs

Cathy H. said...

No beaches here either!! But, we do have good old sprinklers that are in use right now due to no rain!! Your images just help me feel cooler!! Love that first one with the gorgeous wave cresting!! And who wouldn't love those beautiful children!! They are adorable!! I'll probably be stalking the flickr pool just to see those images of cool, cool water!!

Deanna said...

Love these water pics....cools me off (a little). Love the beach waves, wonderfully captured and ofcourse your grand-son how cute!! Just trying to keep my head above water here (little play on the theme) Happy July!!

stephmull said...

Such a cool post for July (pun intended!! :-))!! This is going to be such a fun theme! I LOVE your ocean/beach photos....I just have to live vicariously through them! Hope you are staying cool!

gina said...

I'm a water person and so I'm loving this theme! That first beach shot of the waves is amazing! Of course, kids in water is always means fun. Best of all for me, i'm going to the beach next week!

heyjudephotography said...

Ahhh I feel refreshed just looking at your images. Beautiful. I'm glad you mentioned the conservation part of water. I grew up in a house with a well. We had to conserve water in just the ways you mentioned. I have taught my kids the same ways to conserve, even though we are in a different water situation now. (unfortunately I am writing this while my lawn is being watered - but I even keep that to a bare minimum). Can't wait to see all of the water shots this month. Great job Terri!

Dotti said...

As others have said, just looking at the lovely photos (both grans are beautiful but I love the happy expression on your little granddaughter's face!) and reading the post have made me feel cooler. That and the fan I have blowing on me a few feet away. Even with a/c, I need a little fan since my studio is on the upper level of our house.

I digress ... This will be a fun Theme. I have some in archives I'll find to share and I think when my granddaughter gets home from CO, I'll take her to the pool later this week ... just so I can get water pictures of her and her friends.

Lisa said...

Looking at these I love for the ocean to wash over me . Lovely photos and blog. I enjoy my visit. Thanks for sharing.

Carol said...

I love these images, Terri! I'm so happy to see he wave in it's large size. It's great in the banner but it's spectacular large! And I've always loved the hose one - what a classic. It's hot here tonight and you made me feel like I just had a swim!

Kim Stevens said...

Ahhhh, I love water and especially at the beach in the form of waves - my favorite kind! Living only 30 minutes from Galveston, I try to go as often as I can...makes me feel like I was on vacation. I'm going to like this theme {smile}!

kelly said...

wonderful photos! water is the backdrop to most of our family's fondest memories. this month's theme is so up my alley. :)

GailO said...

What a great theme for the month Terri...and spectacular examples! With all the water I live around I hope I can contribute this month:)

Linda said...

Your pictures are so good! There is nothing quite like being at the beach! No oceans over here but the Gulf of Mexico fills the bill for me!
Great theme for July!

xo,
Linda

Anonymous said...

Hi Terri- loved your photos and post! We are at the cabin where it is a cool 76degrees-hard to believe were in AZ. Definately conserving water up here in these small mountain towns. Have a safe and happy 4th!

KerriAnne

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