This month has been deemed by Chantelle (aka Fat Mum Slim) to be Gratitude Month, so there is no specific prompt for each day.
I know that I am very privileged and have a lot to be thankful for, but somethings are easier to photograph than others.
1st June
I am always grateful to the pollinators and bees, here helping my japanese wineberry produce fruit.
2nd June
The first day of the Jubilee Bank Holiday weekend meant I was grateful to have the time to stop and smell the roses.
3rd June
I am always very grateful to the person(s) who realised that by burning and soaking the coffee bean you create a lovely stimulating drink.
4th June
I am always grateful to have my garden.
5th June
I am grateful to the rain, as it keeps my garden green and verdant and I don’ t have to water it. Less happy about the slugs and snails that then suddenly appear to demolish my plants.
6th June
I am always grateful to have a job I love. I am also grateful to have a t-shirt that I can be silly with.
7th June
I am very grateful that the slugs and snails that plague my garden haven’t found this hosta…
8th June
I was very grateful to have a most delicious beer at a lovely restaurant in Barcelona after a day of travel.
9th June
I was very grateful to be able to travel to foreign shores and see new things. This was at Park Guell in Barcelona.
10th June
Ok, I was more amazed than grateful about the interior of La Sagrada Familia… but I was so grateful for the light and time of day we went, and the cool of the interior.
11th June
A small thing, but I am very grateful to have access to clean drinking water.
12th June
I was very grateful to have just enough time to go to La Palau de Musica Catalana. Such an unexpectedly glorious interior.
13th June
I was very grateful to have a room with a fabulous view at the second part of my holiday: a yoga retreat run by two of my teachers.
Absolutely gobsmacked that this photo was chosen as a Fab Four.
14th June
Again, grateful for the small things: having access to plentiful water to have a cool shower.
15th June
I was grateful that I was on holiday and felt no guilt about lazing by the pool (which is not something that I do normally)
16th June
I was grateful to this Scarce Swallowtail butterfly for landing and sitting with it’s wings open long enough for me to get a photograph.
17th June
Grateful for another beautiful day, the last, of the yoga holiday.
18th June
Grateful for the location and organisers of the Yoga retreat, as well as the wonderful people taking part. It was just a wonderful time.
19th June
It was Father’s day on this day, so I thought I would share my gratitude for my father in sharing how to pack a car, for teaching me to do DIY, the importance of having the right tool for the job (and that he has the right tool because we bought it for him for Christmas) and that he can have a conversation with anyone, including Victor Hugo in St Peter Port, Guernsey.
20th June
Well, it finally happened: I caught Covid (two and a third years after the start of the pandemic) and I was very grateful that I tested postive AFTER I got back from holiday (don’t quite know what would have happened if I was taken ill in Spain). Less grateful to have got it, and have the unpleasant symptoms of sore throat, sore chest and lungs, a dry cough, headaches and the occassional chills.
Also grateful that the timing meant I could avoid the worst of the train/tube strikes.
21st June
I am grateful to have yoga in my life, which it has been (on and off) since I was 8 years old. This day is also International Yoga Day, so if felt appropriate to use this prompt. I also taught my online class, even with the sore throat and cough of Covid.
22nd June
I am grateful to my mother… Who taught me how to cook, to do the washing, to wash up, to sew (I made the 3m x 3m curtains in my lounge), who gave me the eye for home decorating that utilise the DIY skills my dad taught me (see 19th June post)… And who also taught me how to pack a suitcase… And shared her love of reading…
23rd June
I am always grateful for books, the authors that create them, the world’s they take me too… And the information they share…
I was also delighted that this photo was chosen as a Fab Four this day.
24th June
So, if my calculations are correct, this was the 2000th day of posting on the FMS group, since the 1st January 2017. So this was a thank you to the wonderful group that share their photos, the admins that manage and make the selections, and to Chantelle who created the whole thing.
25th June
I am always grateful to be able to hang my washing outside to dry in the sun and wind (using the latest solar and wind technology).
26th June
I am grateful that I have access to fresh foods via a weekly Farmers’ Market. And I am grateful to the farmers, and producers of the food that I eat.
27th June
I am always grateful to artists who create such wonderful pieces of work. Especially if they touch the soul and connect with the emotions. This work is by Josep Maria Subirachs from the Passion Facade of La Sagrada Famila.
I really wanted to have something that showed the anger and despair I felt at the state of the world (the UK government, the US Supreme Courts’ decision regarding abortion, climate change) but I couldn’t find anything. So this was the closest.
28th June
There was nothing specific today, but I am grateful for so many things. Another journey around the sun completed, sunglasses, the sun shining, getting over Covid with my health mostly intact.
29th June
I am grateful to the musicians and performers who fill my world with melody, rhythm and harmonies. Some to make you think, some to make you feel, some to get the body moving.
30th June
I have been soooo grateful to my wonderful dance partner, who doesn’t always like the spotlight, but has been such a wonderful support over the last 19 years. Love you so much.
Photo credit to one of my fellow yogis on the Spanish Yoga retreat for taking this wonderful photo.
That’s the month of Gratitude done, and it can get quite tricky to come up with photogrenic things to be grateful for each day. There were lots more things I am greatful for, and some of the prompts I squeeezed the fact I was in Barcelona in a bit tenuously.
I’m really proud of quite a few of these phots, and very grateful that two were chosen for special mention. Which always really pleases me.
Tim
