Summer means a few things to me, but on the top of my list: the beach! I love walking along the beach for exercise, laying on the sand to get a tan, or just having lunch ocean-side with friends. And now that I live so much closer to the ocean, I’m able to enjoy these luxuries year round! Being on the beach in the summer means being carefree, happy and relaxed. That’s why I’ve chosen beach-themed photos for this week’s Fun Friday Photos post. Enjoy!

Thanks to all my tweeps (Twitter friends) who passed along these amazing photos!

These two photos below were taken by Liz Jenkins ( @afreshspace) of her daughter a few years ago on Captiva Island in Florida. Isn’t she adorable?! 

She looks so content just gazing at her surroundings. That’s the beauty of the beach- the scenery is always changing with every wave, bird, sun ray, footprint, etc. No matter your mindset, being on the beach helps clear your mind and this little girl is clearly doing just that.

These amazing photos below were taken by Brooke Condolora ( @brookecondolora) in Huntington Beach, California. Breath-taking…

 I love how the wet sand and ocean are both so reflective of the sun in these shots. As the sun appears to be coming down, it reminds me when I was a kid and refused to leave until the sun was going down.

 These photos were submitted by Ashley Miller ( @AshleyMillerSD ). The first photo is of her and her brother Johnathan as kids buried in the sand. They got buried by her step-dad and her mom snapped the photo. What a great memory!

This photo brings me back to my childhood. My sister and I used to ro-sham-bo to see who’d get to be buried first. Who didn’t love doing this as a kid?

Ashley took the photo above of her niece, Marley at El Porto last summer. Clearly a beach-bum in the making. So cute!

This photo was taken by Jenny Devirian ( @DevirianSD) while she was in Hawaii on vacation. Apparently, this is the beach were Lost is filmed. I wouldn’t mind be lost on such a pretty island…

I actually took the photo below  myself on the beach of the Greek Island, Santorini at sunset. Ohh the memories….Don’t you just love how one photo can bring back so many memories?

All these photos make me want to be on the beach right now, but I think I can wait until tomorrow …yay for the weekend! Happy Friday everyone!

Make sure you’re following me on Twitter at @PamelaSD for next week’s request for photos of a different theme. If you have any pictures on topic, I’d love for you to contribute to my next post!

Fun Photo Fridays: Top 5 Animal Photos

Happy Friday everyone!

I came across some amazing animal photos this past couple of weeks and wanted to share them with you.  Below are my Top 5 animal themed picks for the week. Sure you’ll understand why they made my list- enjoy!

        1.    Endangered Mission Blue Butterfly

See Them While You Can: Endangered Butterfly Gallery from By Brandon Keim at Wired Science

Photo: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers/ WikiMedia Commons

Icaricia icarioides fenderi, or the Mission Blue Butterfly, is found only in Oregon’s Willamette Valley.

According to Wikipedia, the mission blue butterfly, Plebejus icarioides missionensis, is a blue or lycaenid butterfly subspecies that is native to the San Francisco Bay Area of the United States. The mission blue butterfly was added to the Federal Endangered Species List in 1976.

I love the blue hue on this butterfly- stunning! So sad to know such amazing creatures are endangered.

Have you ever been so tired? Posted by Radhika

 My answer to that question? YES, I’ve been that tired!

3.    Baby Porcupines!

Baby porcupines! Aren’t they cute?

4. Glass Frog

New Animals and Plant Species Discovered in Ecuador

Photo: Luis Coloma

This one above is a species of glass frog, Hyalinobatrachium pellucidum, named after its translucent skin.

This frog is completely see-through!

5.    Purple and Orange Starfish

Photo: Mark Walz AKA TheMarque on Flickr

Wow, it doesn’t even look real! Wait…is it?

Hope you’ve enjoyed my Fun Friday Photos! Which is your favorite?

If you have a comment about any of these, I’d love to hear from you! You can leave your comment below or contact me on Twitter at @PamelaSD and I’ll be sure to get back to you. Talk soon

Hope you’ll stop by next week to see what I find…