April 15 ~ Dog Violet

Finally! Back to normal daily posts. I've missed this a lot. I got to spend the morning rambling through the woods and wildlife reserve that's 5 minutes by car from our front door. It was about 21 degrees C here today, which is VERY warm for the NE of England, especially in April! Even our summers here don't get very much hotter than that, due to our close proximity to the North Sea coastline (about 3 miles away).

The violets and bluebells are out in the woods, so I thought I would make a Dog Violet the subject of today's photo:






I've also been given the Thinking Blogger Award from CG - thank you Julie, I'm honoured! :)You've brightened my day immeasurably. Julie's an inspiration to me; she works hard, is devoted to her family, and is an incredibly talented photographer. She's got a great sense of humour and loves a laugh. Thank you Julie!



You can read more about the Thinking Blogger Awards, too!

Now it's my turn to nominate 5 that I enjoy and admire. Here they are, in no particular order:


Pat

Pat is a very dear friend of mine, and I am constantly in awe of her strength and compassion and kindness. She owns and runs Photography Cafe, where I am on the admin team, and it is thanks to the Cafe that my love of photography was kindled. Pat is selfless and generous; she gives so much to so many, and is loved by all.


Anna

Anna - or "the other Anna" as I refer to her so as not to confuse myself! - has a wonderfully creative take on everyday life. Her blog is full of energy and fantastic photographs, and always provides a great source of inspiration. I so admire her and her love and devotion to her family, and this comes through so well in her blog.

Libby

Libby's blog is always a source of inspiration to me, and is guaranteed to put a smile on my face. She has such a sunny outlook on things, and always cheers me up.

Mark

Mark's an inspiration, and to me he embodies what is beautiful about the human spirit. Despite adversity, Mark remains cheerful and upbeat, and is always happy to blog chat. Thank you Mark for helping me look at life from a glass-is-half-full perspective!

Carmi

Carmi's blog ALWAYS is thought-provoking and insightful, and full of incredible photographs! He's an inspiration through and through, both in his photographic style and in his easy, conversational, and thoroughly engaging writing style.

Mrs Nesbitt

Denise, my "neighbour" has a great blog full of fun and music - after every visit, I find myself humming a new tune! Another really cheerful and optimistic view of life, and one which I find inspirational as well. Thank you for always making me grin.

Like Julie before me, I had a REALLY tough time just choosing 5, as there are many blogs I visit daily. Again, like Julie, I decided to choose 5 blogs apart from ones I knew had been chosen already (although they are just as deserving!)


Should you choose to participate, please make sure you pass this list of rules to the blogs you are tagging. I thought it would be appropriate to include them with the meme.

The participation rules are simple:


1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think,
2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme,
3. Optional: Proudly display the 'Thinking Blogger Award' with a link to the post that you wrote (here is an alternative silver version if gold doesn't fit your blog).

That was that! Please, remember to tag blogs with real merits, i.e. relative content, and above all - blogs that really get you thinking!