I very much enjoyed the September 2023 Photo-blogging Challenge at Micro.blog, it gave me a lovely opportunity to look back at all the photos I’ve taken over the years; as I’ve been taking photos since December of 2004, it’s a lot of media to look through (at the time of this post, I have 422 videos and 76,313 photos). While you can go look at the individual posts if you like, I thought it would be fun to post them here and add a bit more details about each photo.

Note: Each day matches the corresponding day of the month of September.

Day 1: Abstract

Decided it would be fun to use DiffusionBee, used the following for the prompt: “random collection of splashes of colors, focusing on shades of blue and silver, Jackson Pollock, HD” #mbsept

Abstract image with shades of blue and silver.

I really didn’t have anything in my photo library that I could call abstract and thus, I tried out the whole “using AI to generate images” approach.

Day 2: Build-Up

The inverse of “buildup” is “tear down” and in my case, devouring breakfast while catching up with an old friend. 🍽️ #mbsept

Vegan slinger (sourdough toast, vegetarian sausage, and scrambled eggs, covered in gravy) on a white plate with a fork.

I almost always take photos of my food when I eat out, for a couple of reasons…the chief of them being my leaky memory. Usually these sorts of things end up in Day One but I ended up posting it, which greatly amused my breakfast companion.

Day 3: Precious

Sadly, our little puppy-rabbit crossed the rainbow bridge back in February but this little fur-ball is still with us, eating us out of house and home, puking all his food up, and wailing plaintively to go outside. 😸 #mbsept

Grey long-haired cat (with a tuff of lighter fur on his chest), looking straight into the camera, with light yellow-green eyes.

Just one of the more recent photos of Alex the fat/annoying/adorable/crazy cat. Since Russell’s passing, he’s become much more social with us, and thus, the crazy is more on display. 🤣

Day 4: Orange

Every time my partner and I visit Quebec City, we have a dinner at a local crepêrie and inevitably get cider with the meal. This time, there was cinnamon on the glass and an orange slice. 🍎🍊 #mbsept

Cider in a glass, the rim dusted with cinnamon powder, with a vertical orange slice on the lip of the glass, on a white-cloth covered table with a spoon in the foreground.

My Partner is a French teacher and as a result, we end up in Canada a lot, with a particular focus on the Province of Quebec. We alway end up going to the same crepêrie when we visit Quebec City and more often than not, end up getting cider with dinner. 😋

Day 5: Forest

The view from some random trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park a couple years back. 🌳 #mbsept

Landscape photo with clouds in the sky and a distant view of forest-covered 'hills' (they're called mountains on the east coast but they would be called hills when compared to the Rocky Mountains), with a forest in the foreground of the photo.

The view from one of the hikes me, my Partner, and a few friends went on when we rented a cabin in Tennessee a few years ago. It was the first vacation with friends we ever went on…and was a smashing success.

Day 6: Well

Closest thing I could find in my photo library, this is a “well” of alcohol at a Holiday party back at University. 🎄🍾🥳 #mbsept

Big bucket of red liquid in the foreground, with a person directly behind it (their face has been replaced with a smile emoticon) in a white shirt, with another person in the background; a white Christmas tree, with lights, is in the background behind the second person.

I don’t really remember much about this night… 🍺😁

Day 7: Panorama

A panorama view of Montmorency Falls, just outside of Ville de Québec (Quebec City) in Canada, as it tumbles down into the basin and flows into the Fleuve Saint-Laurent (St. Lawrence River), on a sunny day in August. #mbsept

Panoramic view of a water fall on the right, with a bridge going over the falls, wooden steps in the lower-right of the photo, leading down to a covered octagon pavilion on a hill-side, and a large body of water in the center of the photo, flowing out to a river in the distance, in the upper-left of the photo, where several bridges can be seen.

I absolutely love visiting this waterfall right outside of Quebec City, every time we head north, we visit.

Day 8: Yonder

Another one from photo library, this view into the yonder was taken near the Four Corners monument in the South West of the States in 2019. 🌵⛰️ #mbsept

View of a desert, with distant hills in the background, rocks and short brush in the foreground, and a sliver of a small creek in the middle.

Another photo from the not so distant past, we were heading home from Arizona.

Day 9: Language

Given this photo was taken around ten years ago, I’m not sure why I took it but this was the view of an arrival/departure board at a train station in Paris. 🚄🇫🇷 Now if only I’d learned French… 😢 #mbsept

View of a split-flap display board (looking up from below) with times, places, and destinations in French, along with a clock on the left side of the board.

I always marvel at people who can speak more than one language…and my Partner speaks French; he was the perfect tour guide around France when we visited some time ago. I would never have made it around the countryside without him. 🤣🇫🇷

Day 10: Cycle

Winter in Québec has a tendency to cover everything and clearly, some people should have brought their bikes inside. 😆❄️🇨🇦🚲 #mbsept

Two bibles in the snow, one showing the handle-bars and the seat, while the other, only one of the handle-bars is poking out of the snow. The sidewalk is visible in the lower-right of the photo and cars are in the upper-left, along with a sign in French.

This photo was taken right outside our hotel. 🥶

Day 11: Retrospect

It’s been a little more than ten years since I was in Paris and I have to wonder what became of the couples who symbolized their relationships with these locks. 🤔🇫🇷🔐 #mbsept

Series of locks on a rail, on a bridge, with a slight view of the river below, in Paris.

All over Paris, on bridges, you find these locks. Couples will place them on bridges, as a sign of their love. 💕

Day 12: Panic

Per the “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” one should never panic, hence the security system. 🚨 #mbsept

Plastic dongle on a table, with three buttons on it; 'off' in grey, 'away' in blue, and 'panic' in red.

A photo of the dongle to arm / disarm the house, from our old security system.

Day 13: Glowing

Nothing like a glowing sunset on one of the Great Lakes. 🌤️🛥️ Took this on my summer vacation. #mbsept

Sunset on one of the Great Lakes (the sun covered by clouds, casting a yellow-orange glow across the sky), with a sailboat in the distance and a fishing boat in the forground.

Photo from vacation over the summer, my Partner and I went up to Wisconsin with some friends.

Day 14: Statue

While wandering around Montréal back in 2014, my partner and I stumbled upon the Tai Chi Single Whip statue in Victoria Square. 🗿🇨🇦🇫🇷 #mbsept

Stone statue in a tai chi pose, with public bikes in the background on the left and cars parked along a street going up a hill in the background on the right.

Took this photo so long ago that I can’t remember taking it. 😂

Day 15: Red

Taken back in 2020, we got in / out of Québec right before the Pandemic lock-downs in March of that year. Whilst visiting the Great White North, we stopped for a drink in the Ice Hotel and had some Caribou. 😋🥶🇨🇦🇫🇷 #mbsept

Rectangular shot-glass made out of ice, with red liquid inside, in front of a teddybear-like ice sculpture on a bar made of ice, sitting next to another ice sculpture (a random carving) and the '2' and '0' also made out of ice.

Drinking in an ice hotel was a lot of fun but I couldn’t feel my fingers by the end of it. 😆🥶 Still, it was a pretty good time and how many people can say they’ve had drinks in a bar made out of ice?

Day 16: Oof!

All I can say is that falling into a glowing fire-pit would result in far more than saying “oof!". 🔥 #mbsept

Fire contained within a metal fire-pit, with glowing embers and a few logs with flames licking upwards.

Another photo from our summer vacation, took this as the fire was dying down on the 4th of July. 🎇

Day 17: Intense!

It was rather intense watching my friend pose for this photo, I was panicking the entire time but he really wanted that photo while we were hiking in the Smoky Mountains. ⛰😱 #mbsept

Person holding onto wire attached to to the rock behind him, on a trail in the mountains, leaning over the steep hillside off the trail. Trees in the back of the photo, long with the clouds and a view of distant mountains / hills.

I was in a panic the entire time my friend was posing for the photo but he wanted to send it to the guy he’d just started seeing. 🤪

Day 18: Fabric!

Taken during the first summer of the Pandemic, when we were all having backyard gatherings, the friend who was bringing over their projection screen couldn’t make it so we used a sheet instead. 📺😷 #mbsept

Projection of the TV show 'Seinfeld' onto a sheet, outside, during the end of twilight / the start of evening. The sky is a deep purple, fading to black, with some fairy lights strung up in the right of the image, while the sheet with the TV projection is in the middle, attached to the roof of a house with white siding.

The “Pandemic” was just…awful… One of the ways we were able to be someone normal was to have friends over in the backkyard, to watch tv / movies with a projector. 🎥

Day 19: Edge!

Any time I fly, I always feel like I’m at the edge of the world, especially when going over large bodies of water. This is the sunrise from my first trip to Europe, ten-ish years ago, flying into Amsterdam. 🌥️✈️🌊 #mbsept

iew of the sky and ocean, from an airplane; the ocean is a deep blue/purple below, with a hint of sunlight appearing on the water from behind the clouds, while the white wing of the plan is across the middle of the image.

Sunrise over the Atlantic, on my first trip to Europe. You never forget your first time, even if it’s with the family that drives you insane. 😱😆 It was a crazy but fun trip.

Day 20: Disruption!

It’s always good to stop when see a sign, unless you want to cause a dangerous disruption. 🛑 Bonus points when the intersection contains your last name… 🤣 #mbsept

Red stop sign in the foreground, with road names mounted on top: 'Rozier St' and 'Linn Dr'; a True Value hardware store is in the background, the parking lot right behind the sign.

I could go into the backstory of why there is a street with my last name but that would just ruin the mystry of my Family line. 😝

Day 21: Fall!

There is nothing like the crunch of leaves underfoot as you’re strolling around a local park during the Autumn / Fall season. 🌳🍂 The only thing missing is a pumpkin-spice flavored drink. 😆☕️ #mbsept

Wooden bench in a park, with yellow leaves covering the ground and some on the bench. There is a paved trail in the background, with yellowing trees throughout the photo.

Winter used to be my favorite time of the year but as I age, I’m starting to favor Autumn a little bit more.

Day 22: Road

Just a piece of rubbish lying next to the road. 🧱🛴 #mbsept

Broken electric scooter, lying on a brick road, with its headlight still on.

My partner and I were actually in Nashville for this photo, we were passing through on our way to Georgia, and stopped at a Britsh pub we’ve eatten at a few years prior. On our way back to the carpark, we stumbled on this piece of trash (yes, I say trash because these things are still cluttering up city streets).

Day 23: “A Day In the Life”

Breakfast this morning; we’re visiting my Partner’s cousin’s family and as they took us to dinner last night, we showed up with tons of sugary carbs. 🍩 #mbsept

Collection of mixed donuts (some covered with sugar, some with sprinkes, some with a sugar-glaze, some with chocolate), four by three, for a total of twelve.

Who doesn’t love a ton of complex carbs early in the morning?! 🍩🤮

Day 24: Belt

Wanted to make sure my new iPhone made it home safely, so of course I used a belt in the car. 🚗📱 #mbsept

An iPhone 15 Pro box in on the seat of a car, behind a seatbelt.

As we were out of town, I had my new iPhone delivered to the ‘rents house (parent’s house).

Day 25: Flare

Nothing like a little flare to brighten the night sky on the 4th of July. 🎆 #mbsept

Two giant firework explosions, one pure white, the other colored (red / white / blue), in the night sky, with a trail of smoke leading away from them and the city skyline of St. Louis, with the Arch, is on the right side of the photo. The glow of the city can be seen reflecting a little in the river below.

This is one of the first photos I ever took with my first mirrorless camera. Looking back at all those photos, taken over ten years ago, they still look amazing. 📸

Day 26: Beverage

I was never sure if Russell was after the cheese or the mulled wine but I know he was hoping we’d walk away at some point; he made a habit of stealing unguarded food. 🍷🧀🐶🤣 #mbsept

Two stemmed glasses of mulled wine sitting on a tray, next to plates and a cutting board with cheese, crackers, and knives. The tray is on top of a black ottoman, with the head of a white dog staring at the tray in the background.

During the Pandemic, we’d frequently have wine / cheese time on Friday afternoon, after work was done for the week…and watch travel vidoes, dreaming of going anywhere. 🍷🧀

Day 27: Embrace

He didn’t want to wake up,
so he was hiding his face,
in a sweet little self-embrace.
😸💤 #mbsept

Grey cat, curled up and hiding his face with his paws, on a blue bedspread, with blue pillows behind him.

He’s such a lazy cat… 🐱💤

Day 28: Workout

One of my overarching goals for this year was to work on my health, with a large emphasis on fitness. My bestie has work pushing me into lifting weights, for my regular workout. 🏋🏼 #mbsept

Weight machine, with various brackets to hold bar-bells, in front of a wall of mirrors, reflecting other parts of the gym; the machine is set up for squats.

There really isn’t much to this photo, I was at the gym and remember I’d forgotten to post.

Day 29: Contrast

A view from the Terrasse Dufferin during February; I always love Quebec in winter…the contrast of light and dark, ice and life…it’s lovely. ❄️💡 #mbsept

View of the St. Lawrence River, with ice chunks occupying most of the surface, at night, with houses covered in snow and streets with lights at the bottom of the picture. On the upper part of the picture, across the river, lights can be seen up and down a bluff, with a few well-light buildings prominent in the cloudy night sky.

Quebec in winter is glorious, I can’t wait to go back. This is a photo from February of 2020, we got in / out of Canada right before the Pandemic hit the States.

Day 30: Treasure

Playing for pennies during a friendly family (in-law) poker game. I wouldn’t call them treasure but I did win a few rounds…and as I’d never played before…that was good enough for me. ♠️🃏🪙 #mbsept

Cards (9 of hearts, 7 and 5 of clubs on one side, with the Jack of diamonds and the Ace of spades on the other side) on a white tablecloth, with pennies on top of them.

Sadly, I didn’t have any photos of gold bars or cash bonds in my library (oh, how I wish I was wealthy), so I ended up settling for some coins. This photos is from a poker night with the in-laws, they usually play for snacks / candy but as this was taken during the Pandemic, we opted for something less likely to pass along unwanted germs (foolish to believe but we were grasping at straws back then).

All in all, it was a lot of fun hunting through my photos over the last month (I started writing this post in October but then my life sort of fell apart, so…here we are). 😊