Cindy O’Dell
@cmodell.bsky.social
Former journalist, happily retired, writing about this and that on Substack, playing lots of tennis and trying to make sense of it all. Find me on Substack at https://cindy613b6.substack.com
Wild and sometimes wonderful: It’s a little damp out there; coyote spotting; fog; clouds; raindrops; glorious sunset; cool leaves. #aweekofphotos #photography
November 15, 2025 at 5:11 PM
Wild and sometimes wonderful: It’s a little damp out there; coyote spotting; fog; clouds; raindrops; glorious sunset; cool leaves. #aweekofphotos #photography
Random sightings: My neighbor’s always changing “most interesting” man; California autumn natives; my finished if imperfect knitting projects; sunset; clouds and a nearly full moon in the morning. #aweekofphotos #photography
November 8, 2025 at 4:48 PM
Random sightings: My neighbor’s always changing “most interesting” man; California autumn natives; my finished if imperfect knitting projects; sunset; clouds and a nearly full moon in the morning. #aweekofphotos #photography
Ready for their closeups: Bougainvillea blossom; passion flower; Western fence lizard; tropical hibiscus; India hawthorn berries; Sycamore leaf; unidentified berry. #aweekofphotos #photography
November 1, 2025 at 7:58 PM
Ready for their closeups: Bougainvillea blossom; passion flower; Western fence lizard; tropical hibiscus; India hawthorn berries; Sycamore leaf; unidentified berry. #aweekofphotos #photography
Creatures great and small: My dog Shadow making herself small; the genuinely small Baxter; praying mantis;geese; ibis; handsome medium-sized Indie; tiny sparrow on a fence. #aweekofphotos #photography
October 26, 2025 at 6:50 PM
Creatures great and small: My dog Shadow making herself small; the genuinely small Baxter; praying mantis;geese; ibis; handsome medium-sized Indie; tiny sparrow on a fence. #aweekofphotos #photography
Scary, not scary: Autumn sunset; Halloween decorations; the best San Francisco tour guides you could ever want (my son and daughter-in-law); Halloween reading a the FOL bookstore; pretty pumpkin; Victorian ghosts; moon-illuminated clouds. #aweekofphotos #photography
October 12, 2025 at 2:55 PM
Scary, not scary: Autumn sunset; Halloween decorations; the best San Francisco tour guides you could ever want (my son and daughter-in-law); Halloween reading a the FOL bookstore; pretty pumpkin; Victorian ghosts; moon-illuminated clouds. #aweekofphotos #photography
The pleasure of learning something extends beyond a new skill, especially when you find examples everywhere. #ikebana #ceramics #asianart #nature
Ikebana in the wild
One of the things about taking art or craft lessons is the way it changes your perspective.
open.substack.com
October 9, 2025 at 8:33 PM
Signage, random sign.
San Francisco!
San Francisco!
October 5, 2025 at 10:25 PM
Signage, random sign.
San Francisco!
San Francisco!
Shades of October: Perfect weather in San Francisco plus the other side of cable cars and delicious food (a pair of financiers capping amazing dinner at Routier) meanwhile pomegranates, knitted and baked pumpkins and crows on the lookout. #aweekofphotos #photography
October 5, 2025 at 1:56 PM
Shades of October: Perfect weather in San Francisco plus the other side of cable cars and delicious food (a pair of financiers capping amazing dinner at Routier) meanwhile pomegranates, knitted and baked pumpkins and crows on the lookout. #aweekofphotos #photography
Flying into fall: Southern California may not have a classic fall but it never lacks for color (or welcomed imports) including plumeria, Nandi Flame, hibiscus, sunlit snails, Mexican bush sage, crimson fountain grass and high flying crows. #aweekofphotos #photography #fallcolor
September 28, 2025 at 3:40 AM
Flying into fall: Southern California may not have a classic fall but it never lacks for color (or welcomed imports) including plumeria, Nandi Flame, hibiscus, sunlit snails, Mexican bush sage, crimson fountain grass and high flying crows. #aweekofphotos #photography #fallcolor
Randomly: Ikebana arrangement in class and then reworked for the kitchen; tree flowers, skate park stickers; late afternoon on the Venta Spur; the perfect bag for knitting (know your Dickens); Irvine wildlife bandit. #aweekofphotos #photography #dahlias
September 13, 2025 at 10:50 PM
Randomly: Ikebana arrangement in class and then reworked for the kitchen; tree flowers, skate park stickers; late afternoon on the Venta Spur; the perfect bag for knitting (know your Dickens); Irvine wildlife bandit. #aweekofphotos #photography #dahlias
Surviving August: So hot, so still; crossing guard and her dog treats return; Friends of the Heritage Park Library bookstore reopens; back in ikebana class with a wonderful new vase; Canada geese return; ants still marching (rocks to fend off dog sleeping there); #clouds #aweekofphotos #photography
August 23, 2025 at 10:21 PM
Surviving August: So hot, so still; crossing guard and her dog treats return; Friends of the Heritage Park Library bookstore reopens; back in ikebana class with a wonderful new vase; Canada geese return; ants still marching (rocks to fend off dog sleeping there); #clouds #aweekofphotos #photography
August 22, 2025 at 1:13 AM
I managed to avoid listening to the McEnroe brothers all the way through Wimbledon. Not so lucky tonight. Going to be a tough couple weeks. #tennis
August 21, 2025 at 2:55 AM
I managed to avoid listening to the McEnroe brothers all the way through Wimbledon. Not so lucky tonight. Going to be a tough couple weeks. #tennis
A little yellow, a lot of this and that: My dog pretending she’s a cat; sunflower arrangement; hot weather dinner — a BLT; hibiscus blossom; freshly painted lines on thuue school grounds; middle school art adorning restroom entrance; squirrel. #aweekofphotos #photography
August 16, 2025 at 11:32 PM
A little yellow, a lot of this and that: My dog pretending she’s a cat; sunflower arrangement; hot weather dinner — a BLT; hibiscus blossom; freshly painted lines on thuue school grounds; middle school art adorning restroom entrance; squirrel. #aweekofphotos #photography
All the recent bad news created by the White House has had me driving a little too angrily again. This is my solution.
Attitude adjustment (and not the kind that comes in a bottle)
When my parents died within a month of each other six years ago, I found myself stuck in one of the predictable stages of grief.
open.substack.com
August 14, 2025 at 9:25 PM
All the recent bad news created by the White House has had me driving a little too angrily again. This is my solution.
Things that make us stop: Geese in the street; squirrels in trees; one more look at Woods Hole, MA; good reads from reopened Heritage Park Library; bright flowers; a puppaccino; any shade on a hot day. #aweekofphotos #photography
August 9, 2025 at 6:13 PM
Things that make us stop: Geese in the street; squirrels in trees; one more look at Woods Hole, MA; good reads from reopened Heritage Park Library; bright flowers; a puppaccino; any shade on a hot day. #aweekofphotos #photography
Two of the libraries in Irvine, CA, are open again after moving from a county to city system. It made me think about what libraries have meant to me. 📚#Irvine #libraries
My life in libraries
My first library card came from a classic small Carnegie-funded public library in the Illinois town where I grew up.
open.substack.com
August 7, 2025 at 9:11 PM
Two of the libraries in Irvine, CA, are open again after moving from a county to city system. It made me think about what libraries have meant to me. 📚#Irvine #libraries
Martha’s Vineyard variety pack: A little sunshine and lighthouse view, a stuffed lobster, fog and humidity, colorful fun, pickle ball, art and artistic. #aweekofphotos #photography
August 3, 2025 at 7:34 PM
Martha’s Vineyard variety pack: A little sunshine and lighthouse view, a stuffed lobster, fog and humidity, colorful fun, pickle ball, art and artistic. #aweekofphotos #photography
Great afternoon at the Martha's Vineyard Book Festival. Three fascinating panel discussions.#books
August 2, 2025 at 10:04 PM
Great afternoon at the Martha's Vineyard Book Festival. Three fascinating panel discussions.#books
Spider, ants and more: Bird of Paradise basking in the sun; Shadow slurping water; flowering tree (not sure of name); schoolyard construction; spider pas de deux; ant invasion; Halloween already? #aweekofphotos #photography
July 26, 2025 at 9:26 PM
Spider, ants and more: Bird of Paradise basking in the sun; Shadow slurping water; flowering tree (not sure of name); schoolyard construction; spider pas de deux; ant invasion; Halloween already? #aweekofphotos #photography
Good stuff: Good Trouble demonstration; good weather; good color matching for flowers and vase; good idea to bring a broom to clear leaves on the tennis court; very good Oliboli donut; a terrier meet up is always good for a laugh and a good looking passion flower. #aweekofphotos #photography
July 19, 2025 at 8:20 PM
Good stuff: Good Trouble demonstration; good weather; good color matching for flowers and vase; good idea to bring a broom to clear leaves on the tennis court; very good Oliboli donut; a terrier meet up is always good for a laugh and a good looking passion flower. #aweekofphotos #photography
Wimbledon, sunlight and a picnic: Strawberries and tennis on the computer for breakfast; a new bag: sun like a spotlight on plants, the UCI library and my upside down dog; potluck picnic with the Friends of the Library. #tennis #aweekofphotos #photography
July 13, 2025 at 12:02 AM
Wimbledon, sunlight and a picnic: Strawberries and tennis on the computer for breakfast; a new bag: sun like a spotlight on plants, the UCI library and my upside down dog; potluck picnic with the Friends of the Library. #tennis #aweekofphotos #photography
Mostly green: Trying to compensate for the news by basking in green leaves, grasses, trees and green ideas like a grade school garden. Plus a Mardi Gras party in June. #photography#aweekofphotos
July 6, 2025 at 12:36 AM
Mostly green: Trying to compensate for the news by basking in green leaves, grasses, trees and green ideas like a grade school garden. Plus a Mardi Gras party in June. #photography#aweekofphotos