Hoo-ha! We’re celebrating the ninth anniversary of the Photo Blogging Challenge! So naturally, this month’s theme is anything and everything to do with the number 9. Here goes…

1. Site 9

Okay, definitely nothing like Area 51, Site 9 is a campsite at the Bow River Campground just east of Canmore, Alberta. I could pay $47/night to camp here in the summer. But far better to walk over from home, second coffee of the day in a thermal cup, to enjoy the sight of fresh snow and the sound of squirrels chattering away.

2. March 9 at 9 a.m.

This is where we were at 9 o’clock, the morning of March 9th. It’s not too far from the Bow Valley Campground, basically a little upstream along the Bow River. That’s Grotto Mountain across the valley.

3. Bus Stop 9

We arrived at our bus stop nine minutes early one morning. So I challenged Mr. GeoK to compose 9 photographs by the time the bus arrived. And I did the same. This is my favourite from my group of nine – the bench inside the bus shelter, backlit by the morning sun. Shot with my selective focus Lensbaby Sol 22 lens.

4. Nine(+) Layered Cloud

Taken at almost the exact same spot as “March 9 at 9 a.m.”, this Pixel 4A shot features a distinctly-layered cloud, just after sunrise. These lenticular layers remind of paintings by Ted Harrison, Monica Morrill, and others.

5. Paper Nines

Start with simple strips of card stock, shaped into paper nines with the help of bits of two-sided tape. Arrange them in an Amazon Basics white box so that they’re a very abstracted spring landscape. Photograph through the opening in the top of the white box. This abstract features shades of green vegetation, with lilac-coloured crocus blossoms, sunny dandelions and bright Western wood lilies, under a cloud-studded bluebird sky.

There are so many more photos I could include, such as some of my favourites among the (more than nine) birds I photographed this month. And others would be of the Lego minifig family tree that I’ve almost finished building.

But I’ve reached my limit of five. So it’s time to express a huge THANK YOU to PJ, for continuing to organize this small – but mighty – community of photo challenge bloggers. Looking forward to year 10! And to seeing what everyone came up with for the theme of nine.

Next month’s theme is Enjoy Life! What a perfect time to join the Photo Blogging Challenge. All you need are five photos. The amount of accompanying text is up to you.