The hotel lobby was decorated for Fourth of July and our morning was perfect right off when we saw more than half a dozen night herons before sunrise along the Meadowlark Trail. And then the sunrise was beautiful and unique with a layer of fog at the foot of the purple mountains.

Great photos. Love the smiles and how the frames create a frame.

Beautiful page. Love your treatment on the large photo and your anchoring line at the bottom.

Awesome. Love how you did the emphasis and your graphic style and colors. :cool:

Very sad. If I flew a flag on holidays, mine would be upside down. I know way too much about the time before it got better and we thought the wouldn't, couldn't flip this. Alas. Happy Fourth, such as it is. We smile and carry on, hopefully to fight another day.

We had the refuge to ourselves and got at least a half hour of good light after the beautiful sunrise, before the sun climbed into the clouds. There weren't many birds, even fewer than in June. But we did see a good variety, including one yellow-headed blackbird.

The elevation hit me hard and I stumbled around to take a few photos at Alamosa NWR before lunch. I hiked out in my street shoes to see a few iris buds and mostly seed pods. A shortcut on the way back turned out to be wet. Calvillo's was closed, so we had Carne Asada at Chili's and it was very...

It's not at all likely we'll visit either ocean again, because it's such a long drive, and with Covid, we won't fly. I quit collecting ocean beach-related art supplies last year, but I still have plenty of seashells in case I need them. And for the record, I'd still love to drive my Jeep on the...

That rainbow is amazing! No wonder you offer so many ferns. We have wheat and pine and sometimes cactus, but no ferns here. :D

Love your layers and the way you create the sense that we are alone and it's peaceful out in the middle of nowhere. ;)

Love the way you use color and white space here, while technically pretty much every inch is covered with stuff. :D

Another joy ride and I love your shot. Great documentation and an important story that a lot of younger people have probably missed. ;)

Love your design. I'm inspired to file it under possibles. :D

I agree, wonderful. The photos and the smiles, the elements and the textures.

Congrats on the GSO. What I love most is the dark key and the smile shining through. Also wonderful design and collage work.

Love your white space, much needed here to allow me to think about what that would be like. A little man for sure, raised to be tough from birth onwards. I like the stitched fabric at the right edge, and how your kraft paper looks so much like a clipping from a larger page and is a neat idea I...

Oooh! Hot. It just gets even better. Amazing gobs and gobs* of creativity, :D *lots and lots, of something of substance

JULY 2022 CHALLENGE LAYOUT LINKS: Challenge 1: THE AGENCY https://oscraps.com/community/media/challenge-1-gallivant.366100/ Challenge 2: LYRIC/POEMS https://oscraps.com/community/media/challenge-2-jabberwocky.366067/ Challenge 3: QUOTE IT...

The iris had survived the Bobcat that tore everything out of the front garden. At the time I just couldn't bear losing them and hoped they might survive in a pot. They had thrived in that pot and it was time to get a bigger one. Without the crowding they all leaned over but it was their lucky day.

Congrats on the feature. This is fantastic. It draws me in and I have to magnify it and read every word. Great story about a boy's outlook on the world passed along through family. LOVE your collage style and how well Rachel's elements work for me too.