January 1, 2026

Photo of the Year 2025

The City Daily Photo Theme for January 1st is Photo of the Year. Each year I have trouble picking out one image for this challenge. I’ve shown some of my possible choices over the past few days, and I’ll show the rest of my runner-up photos below. 

First, here’s my photo of the year and I want to explain it. It may look like two pictures, but it is a bookstore window with a reflection of the old county courthouse. A flag in the window says “Abide No Hatred,” and if you look closely, you can see demonstrators in front of the courthouse. This was on. “No Kings Day” in October. 

Britannica states that almost seven million people participated in demonstrations nationwide. It’s the historic importance of this event that inspired me to spotlight this picture. 


Almost a year ago, similar protests took place across America. People came out in our small town to express their beliefs. Significantly, groups have been demonstrating here every week, often twice a week. 


My first runner-up for photo of the year is a winter scene from January. There are many farms here in the Shenandoah Valley.

Other winter photos that I like.


Black and White.


A floral picture that’s different than most.


A few that I find sweet.


I hope your new year is off to a promising start. I did not make any new year resolutions, but instead, I followed a suggestion to pick out a single word that is meaningful to me right now. My word is Resilience.
🎵 “Here in my heart, I do believe,
  We shall overcome someday.”