Well, I am back from my month's vacation in California, Hawaii and Sydney. Did you miss me?

Prepare to be bored with my holiday snaps! Here's the first one - the gorgeous California poppy, which I photographed by the roadside in Carmel, California.

You were in California, MG, and didn't stop to say hi?! Looking forward to your vacation pics, and boy does that poppy look familiar.

Edited to say:
I'm late with a warm welcome, Lunangry - tell us about your photo, which looks very inviting to someone who lives in the desert.

a couple of days ago we sailed past this chalk cliff formation, known as Old Harry
Careful navigation is necessary here, because of the strong tidal race at certain states of tide.

These are the shops in the centre of Edgware. I lived not far away for a while before I came to Kingsbury.

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When I was in Louisiana and taking photos of the street murals (posted last week), this less colorful artwork was right next to the murals.

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Clarasue, those look like witchcraft symbols to me. I wonder if they worked?

Picqero, when sailing, is the proper term for your sailing vessel a "boat" or a "ship"?

Here's a closeup of a creosote bush in the last stages of flowering. The little white balls are very soft and fluffy. Couldn't tell you what purpose they serve, however.

I was in London again today, and had time for a walk through St. James Park, and along The Mall. This is one of the traditionally uniformed Palace guards outside Clarence House, home of the late Queen Elizabeth the Queen mother.

IN the new size... I give you...
a very elderly fishing boat, all boarded up for an impending storm.Behind it is Kat O Island (I means something like Crooked Island-(it IS a bit wiggly on the map),and the old Ferry Pier at Sha Tau Kok.

On Memorial Day we had a picnic at my son's house - my Maggie had a fun time romping with his German Shepherd, Poppy!

Wow, those first two new-size photos are gorgeous! They are tough to follow!

These furry friends were at one of the shops at the Devon Horse Show. The shops offer some wonderfully well-made merchandise, with prices to match. Want a pair of custom riding boots? They start at $600. Only $700 for a wool jacket for the show ring. Blaze needs a new halter? A bargain at $135. What’s that old saying… “If you need to look at the price, this isn’t for you.”
Anyway, it was fun to browse there!

This is a very rare sight, according to the curator at the Monterey Bay Aquarium (California). This photo shows two starfish mating (this is probably the nearest you'll get to naughty pictures on FT - ). I took this photo in the touch pool. Needless to say, we refrained from touching anything in this exhibit!

The starfish on the left is the male and if you look closely, you can see his secretion as a bluish-white substance between the arms. The starfish on the right is the female. The orange eggs are clearly visible.

My sister and I went shopping downtown yesterday - and ended up spending most of the time watching a building being demolished. Once again I was reminded of why I carry my camera with me all the time!

I took this picture last Saturday in Sydney and I have to admit I was quite pleased with the result. It's a light house on the Darling Harbour.

I was looking through old pictures a few weeks ago and found one I took on June 9, 1973 that's appropriate for posting today.

It's Secretariat winning the Belmont Stakes and the Triple Crown.

The story is somewhat long for Photo-A-Day, but here it is anyway...

Not one thing went wrong the whole day. First, my parents quite surprisingly allowed me to go to the race with my older brother, who though schizophrenic, was doing pretty well at the time. We left early in the morning and his old Volkswagen Beetle didn't break down -- another surprise. No traffic jams, no problems finding our way to Long Island and Belmont Park. We got good general admission seats in the grandstand and had a great time enjoying the races and day-long entertainment in the beautiful groves behind the stands.

After a very long time, it was time for the big race. The scene was so amazing, that to this horse-loving 13 year-old, it was a bit of heaven. Had we stayed home, it would have been viewed on an old black and white TV with bad vertical control and commercials. To say the crowd was excited is an understatement. The tension built as the horses paraded on the track -- there's Sham! Could he beat the big red horse? Would Secretariat wilt under the distance?

I don't remember if the crowd was screaming or hushed in awe as Secretariat ran away with the race. I do remember the roar after he won, and a sense of realizing that what we saw was far more than what we'd hoped for.

There was one more race and the crowd thinned out. Afterward, we saw there was still a huge traffic jam leaving the track, so my brother and I took a walk back into the barn area. What did we find but Secretariat in a small paddock, being grazed on a lead line! All the big shots had gone away to celebrate, and there was just a small clump of people quietly standing around. There we were, fifteen feet from the horse that had just set a world record, and we had used up all our film! Aaargh! Fortunately, my mind remembers that image well.

So, the photo may be blurry and technically terrible, but it's from a day that was as perfect as a day could be.

WOW, I love all the BIG photos! Great lighthouse Leau, and fantastic story, Kapuskasing!! What a thrill to have actually been there to see Secretariat win.

Wow, I love the larger size photos!

Back again to one of my favorite subjects - cars! This is a Buick Grand National at the races in Bowling Green, Kentucky a couple of years ago. My husband used to have one of these cars and raced it as well. This is warming up the tires or doing a "burn-out" before getting the green light. This is not your mother's buick. All this on 6 cylinders, doing 130 mph in a quarter mile.

We had appalling weather yesterday and I couldn't go to work.(Aw!)
Our river is a bit risen and busy. Wouldn't it be awful if I couldnt work on Monday either?

Piqero just let me know when you are coming here.

OK Professer, what is it? How many is it? The only obvious thing is, that it is asleep!
Great shot!

Yes, please, Professer, what is the wee furry thing?

Ren, the river looks nasty...

Looks like an otter! What a great shot.
Yes, Ren, I wouldn't plan on swimming any time soon.

Big pictures! Just in time for the view of Hampstead Garden Suburb's central church from the heath, a spot I played cricket and football for half my life. I may not live there now but can get there in 15 minutes.

I see these three houses each time I get off the bus on my way to Pilates. There's a little park just to my right, and the river is behind me as I take this photo.