These Made Me Smile

Ann-Christine of Leya fame has offered us a challenge. She wants us to forget, if only for a moment, that we’re in difficult times: politically, economically, weather and climate-wise. What a good idea. Let’s smile.

We’ll start out with the intentionally humorous.

Here’s a battered house in down-town Seville. I hope the owners don’t hurry to slap on fresh plaster and paint, and cover up this jovial crocodile.

And here’s a puppet from the Puppet Museum in Cádiz, together with a jolly fellow who was part of a scupture trail in east London supporting chidren’s wheelchair charity Whizz-Kidz 

Here’s a sign outside a bar in Liverpool:

All those intended to make you smile. These didn’t. I hope you’ll smile anyway, when you see our neighbour’s dog Poppy meeting her first snowman, and then spot this tree at Jervaulx Abbey.

We’ll finish with two different kinds of smile. The very first snowdrops of the year, I hope round about two months from now, always bring me joy. As did these wild flowers in the car park at Harrogate Hospital last summer.

My header photo is a shot that always delights me. Going down the drive early one winter morning, I just happened to have my phone on me. I recorded this scene for posterity: that serendipitous moment always brings a smile to my face.

Lens-Artists Challenge #326 – This Made Me Smile

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Author: margaret21

I'm retired and live in North Yorkshire, where I walk , write, volunteer and travel as often as I can.

64 thoughts on “These Made Me Smile”

  1. I love moments like that, Margaret. Driving (or walking) down an English country lane with shafts of light through the trees is a lasting treasure. I do love the dog’s face and I’m a rubbish chess player so I’d fit right in.

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  3. Am I supposed to smile or grin? I am doing both at the same time. The dog and snowman is the best but I love all of them. The intentional smiles and the unintentional ones. The croc makes you want to go out and find an old wall … or … (my husband just wrestled a sledgehammer out of my hands) –

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  4. Yes, amusing. We need some humour in our lives. Love the crocodile and that dog and snowman. However on phone jetpack your header picture is not shown. And also says I don’t follow when I do. Joys of jetpack!

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      1. No worries, I just have to try to get round it. Phone is the easy one to check and see new posts. My lap top copes better and quicker though as keeps me logged in.

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  9. Aaah, for the smiles, Margaret! Your header is so beautiful and I can easily see it is a favourite with you. I love it, the silence and light it brings, and the road that bends out of sight. The crocodile is very sweet and I totally fell in love with Poppy! The colourful flowers are to long for, and so are the snowdrops – some months to wait for. Thank you for the lovely smiles and the reminder…that there is a Spring to come somewhere…

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  13. Poppy is a delight! And the header photo sublime. Hard to smile this week as it would have been Alex’s birthday on Thursday so all sorts of things clutter the brain. Have to ask, is Bunch the name of the café or a misspelled Brunch?

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    1. Oh Jude. What an awful week to get through. You will though. I’ve been impressed by your resilience. Brunch/Bunch? Dunno, you’ll have to go to Liverpool to find out. Thanks for liking the likeable Poppy, and that happy early morning moment.

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  15. These are wonderful captures, Margaret! Love your take on. The sunrays are breathtaking. That jovial crocodile is so creative. The puppet is a lot of fun. So are the rest of your images. 🙂

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  16. Margaret, your photos ALWAYS make me smile, especially those you posted this morning. I saved the photo of light streaming through the trees. I’ll use it with my kiddos when we get back to prime the pump and erase the cobwebs of a week away from school. You are right, there is always something to worry about, but there is also more to be thankful for and curious about….and as you point out things to make us smile. I am thankful for you, my friend. Stay well and hopeful. Peace.

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    1. Oh Clay I’m flattered that you’re saving my photo. I do love it though. Such serendipity that moment. Thanks for the smiles and the curiosity and the engagement that you always bring to your days. Have an excellent (and restful?) weekend..

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  19. They ALL made me smile. And your neighbor’s dog and the snowman reminds me I need to make a snowman for Penny this winter. We have a picture of her first winter, when she was still just a baby, sitting next to a snowman…and then last winter we didn’t have any snow. So I hope I get one built this winter!

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  24. What a lovely theme and you more than do it justice. Perhaps we should all get into the habit of seeking out smile-inducing photos! Those sunrays are lovely – and a very smiley moment to be in the right place at the right time to capture them!

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  27. Pingback: These Made Me Smile – MAKARANTO Na CH∆$£R

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