October Photo-a-Day Challenge

I’ve been taking part in another daily photo challenge this October, and this time the theme is letters of the alphabet (and numbers, once the letters run out). This month encompassed our trip to Florida, so there’s been plenty of inspiration! Here are my efforts.

A is for… Antlers

I think it was actually Lee who took this photo, when we were walking in Charlecote Park just before we got engaged. The striking white deer really stands out from the others, and his fine antlers made the perfect subject for Day 1.

B is for… Bed

This is little future guide dog Ike. He’s amazingly chilled out, and loves lying in his bed!

C is for… Canal

Just before we went to Florida, I went into town for a haircut. On the walk home I passed the canal, which makes a nice scene in black and white – especially with the flock of birds in the distance.

D is for… Dance

This one’s from back in August, when I danced with my friend Kate at her wedding.

E is for… Engine

Inspiration for the letter “E” came as we were awaiting our flight to Florida. Sitting in the departure lounge, desperately searching for an E before it was too late, I spotted the engines of the Boeing 777 that would shortly be carrying us across the Atlantic.

F is for… Florida with Fiancé

More than one F for this one – it was the first day of our Florida holiday, and our first holiday as fiancé and fiancée!

G is for… Grill

After our seaplane flying lesson, we wandered down the road to this bar and grill, where we shared a pulled BBQ pork roll. It was so delicious!

H is for… Huge

“H” came on the day we went to the Kennedy Space Center, so I went with “huge”, in the form of Space Shuttle Atlantis.

I is for… International Drive

International Drive is one of the really touristy areas of Orlando, so we didn’t spend much time there. I took this photo as we were on our way to a museum there.

J is for… Jam Doughnut

Or Jelly Donut, as they’d say in America. We sampled various famous American chains when we were in Florida, including the ubiquitous Dunkin’ Donuts. I have to say, the doughnuts were really good, especially with my morning coffee!

K is for… Krispy Kreme

Doughnuts again, though we didn’t go into this one! I couldn’t think of anything for K, but I spotted this Krispy Kreme sign on the way out of Daytona Beach and took a quick snap as we drove past. The original photo is awful, but cropped thus, and with added blur effect, it looks really good I think. Classically American, with the power lines, neon lights, green roof and famous brand name.

L is for… Lilypads on Lake Kissimmee

Lilypads and lake were both a good subject for “L”, so I chose both. The edges of Lake Kissimmee are absolutely covered in lilypads. You wouldn’t think, looking at the photo below, that it would be possible to boat through all those lilypads, but we did!

M is for… Monday

Monday was our second anniversary, and we spent it lounging around at the villa by the pool. It was so nice to have a day of reading and writing!

N is for… Nom Nom Nom

For those not in the know, “nom nom nom” is the internet way of saying that you’re munching on something tasty. In my case, M&Ms, at the M&M World in a mall we visited when trying to purchase cheap Levi jeans (I did, by the way – £25 a pair, compared with £70 in the UK!). Anyway, it’s a shame that this hadn’t fallen on the M day, as it would have been perfect! You got a bag and chose your own selection of M&Ms – great fun.

O is for… Orlando International

Orlando International Airport was the ideal thing to photograph for O. Even the airport has palm trees – and the mandatory giant American flag, of course.

P is for… Post

We returned home to a mountain of post, including lots of engagement cards, which was lovely!

Q is for… Quail Eggs

I reused a photo from my blog post on cooking with quail eggs for Q, which was a harder one to find a photo for!

R is for… Recovering

After we returned from holiday, wedding venue viewing began in earnest. After the first one, the guy talked so much that we thought we’d never get away, so we retreated to a cosy country pub to recover when we eventually got out!

S is for… Santa’s Space Shuttle!

Without a doubt the silliest thing I’ve ever bought back from holiday, this Santa riding a Space Shuttle was a good one for S. I know it’s tacky, but I like Christmas tree ornaments with a story, and this will remind us of a wonderful holiday every time we put our tree up.

T is for… Trees

Autumn leaves on the trees was the inspiration for this photo, which I took down at the airfield. You can just about make out a camouflaged Vulcan in the background!

U is for… Unsorted

I struggled to think of something for U, so I went with an unsorted collection of leaves from Westonbirt Arboretum.

V is for… Vast

Another one from the Space Center – the vast (replica) fuel tank and rocket boosters from the Space Shuttle.

W is for… Wilhelm

Our little plane, Wilhelm, was the ideal theme for W. This is one of the photos taken of us flying him earlier this year.

X is for… Xmas

A bit of a cop-out with this ‘word beginning with X’, but I couldn’t think of anything else! I got a free subscription to Country Living with my bank account, and the December issue is out already.

Y is for… Yellow

More inspiration from Westonbirt, with the plentiful yellow leaves.

Z is for… Zonked

Last weekend we spent a couple of days at Stowe House, near Buckingham, selling Air Experiences vouchers and promoting our company. I was ‘zonked’ by the end of it!

One… Pelican

Back to Florida, with this solitary brown pelican that I photographed in the waters off Clearwater Beach.

Two… Florida Sandhill Cranes

Florida again, with the fantastic pair of Sandhill Cranes that we saw hanging around at a petrol station!

Three… tomatoes

These were my grow-your-own efforts from this year’s tomato plant. Amazingly, the plant is still producing yellow flowers, which just goes to show what a warm October it’s been.