Two pasts and a present

To celebrate the Chinese New Year of the Dragon, I offer you three photos taken on successive new years.

When I stand on our wobbly jetty and look to the left,

There is a spit of land with trees on it called ‘The Hill of Love’.

In the New Year of 2010, the sunrise bathed the ice on the lake and the trees in blue.

In 2011, the afternoon sun presented

A  glorious landscape of diamond-studded snow (on the iced over lake).

This New Year, the mild sunset surprised us

With lilac and gold

And perfect reflections in a lake still waiting for the big freeze.

May the dragon roast your marshmallows to perfection this year without singeing your eyebrows!

For more lovely skies, please visit: Skywatch.

Of snow and love

At last – the snow fell as lightly as butterflies

Bringing out the child-like spirits in us all.

It turned the world

Into a snowy poem,

And leaves into fluffy pillows of white.

The magic of the snow is that it

Makes the world a softer place,

A kinder place where dreams can grow.

The Eskimos had fifty-two names for snow because it was important to them: there ought to be as many for love. — Margaret Atwood

For more poems, please visit: Our World.

Celebrating mistakes

Sky and ice are wrapped in a grey embrace at the moment.

Birds flew by in a blur of black and white.

I failed to capture their movement with any focus

But when looking at the shots, I wondered if perhaps

This is what trees looked like to birds as they flew by.

The failed shots look like paintings, don’t you think?

As you can see, I try to live by the philosophy of celebrating my mistakes.

For more artistic creatures, please visit: Camera Critters.

Wintry pastels

As you probably know by now, I love colour and light,

But they are not always possible to find.

A mild winter means getting to love the pastels of grey, as soft as silk;

The muted browns of sky and land;

And the dance of twirling snowflakes

When an Arctic storm rages in.

For more stormy skies, please visit: Skywatch.

Winter bouquet (or bokeh)

We’ve hardly had any snow this year – only a smattering to cover the ground for a day or two.

No matter how little – I always feel as if I’ve won the lottery when it begins to snow.

The white petals have a way of transforming life into something softer, more golden.

The bare bones of flowers look like twinkling stars;

A birdhouse becomes a cheerful red hat with white trimming;

And even a weathered post becomes a silver-haired object of beauty.

(Yes – Mum and Dad: Just like you guys!)

For more snowy (or sunny) beauty, please visit: Our World.

Dog

We shall find peace. We shall hear angels, we shall see the sky sparkling with diamonds.  – Chekov

And sometimes, we find all three things in one:

A dog

Draped in a necklace of snowflakes.

For those of you who asked, yes – Oscar has his own Facebook Page.

For more wintry critters, please visit: Camera Critters.

Sunr-ice

After long grey days of thirsting for colour,

I finally got my chance to run out in my nightie

And scare the neighbours while taking some frosted shots.

Oh, thank you for this glorious winter sunrise

In hues of purple and pink.

The frosting on the pier is as delicious

As the patterns of sleepy water and ice

Forming on the lake.

It’s the greyness of a mild winter

That helps us appreciate the colours more.

For more dazzling skies, please visit: Skywatch.

And Saturday Sareenity.

The art of falling

My daughter and I always enjoy our trips to the ranch.

Over time, I’ve learnt that…

… Horse breath is made up of fairy dust and velvet;

… Anything can look beautiful in the right light

(Even chin hairs);

… And the art of riding is like life – you have to learn how to fall

And how to jump up, dust yourself off and get back on that horse (or your life).

For more insights, please visit: Our World.

I’m sticking to you

When life throws big sticks in your way,

You may as well enjoy it.

It’s all a matter of attitude.

For more sticky solutions, visit: Camera Critters.

Merry colours

Christmas Eve…

A song of rainbow colours as the sun sets

At three in the afternoon.

What better way to celebrate than by taking a swim

(If you’re a dog)?

For more merry skies, please visit: Skywatch.