So far it’s a quiet cloudy morning, everything wet from last night’s rain. It should be one of the quietest Independence Day this year because of Covid19. All five of the camps around the lake didn’t open, for more than one, it’s the first time they’ve not opened in their over 100 year histories. Businesses are reopening up here and hopefully people are wearing their masks. I can’t say for sure though since I have had very little time out. We been staying on our property, except to go pick up our groceries we pre-ordered that they deliver right to the trunk of your car and the dump.

We are fortunate to have many acres of wilderness on our side of the mountain to explore, so we don’t feel trapped at all. We didn’t go out much before the pandemic, so from that standpoint, our lives haven’t changed a whole lot. The big exception is that this year we won’t go sit on the patio of our favorite seasonal restaurant for hours the way we’d like to. Instead, we’ll simply continue to enjoy take out from there for the time being. Better safe than sorry.

The photo of the Uncle Sam hat I took back in 2014 with my iPhone – not sure which version I had back then. The filter app I used was Popsicolor, a fun little app which gives you some really cool effects.

I shot this photo of the fireworks on the lake with my Sony A7. I’m still working on improving my night photography skills. Fireworks are wicked hard to get right I find.

I was in the garden the other day when I photographed the flags at sunset with my iPhone 11Plus. Since beginning to write this post and finding my photo of the Uncle Sam hat I had used Popsicolor in, I decided to reload the app on my current phone and give it a try again. It’s been a couple of years since I have used the app and I see they have added a bunch more features! But I am a creature of habit and when straight to some of my favorite presets.

To my fellow Americans, may you all have a wonderful and safe Independence Day. And to everyone else throughout the world, may you too have a wonderful and safe day. And may we all have health and happiness in our lives.