I am cloud
Sky inverted
Languishing in golden water
Leads the eyes and heart
Upwards
Soaring to where clouds
Become magical celestial beings.
For more wonderful photos, please visit: Skywatch!
A match made in heaven
They were a mismatched pair… some people said that their relationship wouldn’t last.
“Look! He’s closed and buckled down…” they whispered.
“She’s much too open and trusting!” others tittle-tattled.
….
….
…
But they didn’t care. Their differences were what united them – what made them special. And beautiful.
After a night of dancing and twirling, they liked nothing more than to nestle next to each other in perfect harmony.
Many thanks to the fantastic Maria-Thérèse, the girl who lives in a world of fairies and unicorns, for making these wonderful earrings for me – and surprising me with her gift.
I do love mis-matched things – be it earrings, socks or opinions.
How about you?
You’re telling me!
A couple of weeks ago, the small person you know as Anklebiter #2 (my son) turned seven. His shirt says it all: he is an energy bomb full of mischievous tricks, determination and – dare I say it? – a large dose of stubbornness.
What’s that, mum? He reminds you of someone? Surely… you don’t mean… ME?
He’s a self-assured little fellow, who doesn’t mind what others think of him. Many a time I’ve gone to playgrounds and shopping centres with him dressed in red flowery dresses when he was smaller. Those days are gone (and remembered fondly) – but he still goes his own way.
In spite of my patchy cooking skills, he wanted me to bake him a chocolate cake. It was an interesting experiment as I left it in the oven for a bit too long, and it was – how shall I put it? – very crunchy around the edges but lovely and soft in the middle.
Anklebiter #1 made some icing to hide the burnt bits and we stuck strawberries and sweets on the top. The cake disappeared quickly – in spite of the fact that we could also have played frisbee with it!
For more bites of life, please visit: My World!
See, gulls!
You’ve seen these gulls before. They always seem to be hanging around the small, crooked wooden jetties down by the lake.
Sometimes they blend in beautifully with the colours of Nature: their white capped heads matching the frozen waves and their pearly grey bodies harmonizing with the melting ice.
I wonder if they were waiting for this one golden moment of total serenity: the syrupy sun dazzling their reflections, the perfectly still honey waters, the tree branches glistening with a hundred tiny twinkling orbs?
Or perhaps they just enjoy every moment that comes along?
For more dazzling creatures, please visit: Camera Critters!
Volcanic sunset
A volcano in Iceland seemed to want to teach us a lesson about our place in the grand scheme of things.
That although we would like to think that we are in control and at the centre of things,
We are not. Everything is interconnected.
And we are just a small part of the fabric of life.
These photos were taken the first day the ash came over Sweden and shut down all the airports in the country (as well as most airports in northern Europe).
“When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world.” — John Muir
For more amazing photos, please visit: Skywatch!
The chimes of spring
It’s been a wonderful winter: long, snowy, crystal cold.
We’ve delighted in waves frozen solid, red barns buried under snow and empty jetties.
But now, it’s going.. slowly and reluctantly, winter is receding…
Losing its grip little by little, it bids us farewell with the chiming of hundreds of little bells as the ice breaks up and clinks cheerfully together.
And then one day, the chiming is replaced by the cheerful hellos of birds greeting each other after a sunny winter in Africa or the Mediterranean.
The ice has become the matter it came from: water.
And – oh! – the glorious sun dazzles the senses and soothes the soul.
As George Eliot once wrote: “The golden moments in the stream of life rush past us, and we see nothing but sand; the angels come to visit us, and we only know them when they are gone.”
To seize more golden slices of life, please visit: My World!
Perch with a view
Birds.
Gazing out over iced waves.
Wondering when webbed feet will finally touch water.
Enjoying the sensation of walking on water?
Frozen feet in golden flight.
For more patient creatures, please visit: Camera Critters!
On the cusp…
The cusp between winter and spring is a pendulum swinging backwards and forwards.
Clouds gently lit by golden light.. now warm, now cold. Frosty ears and cold fingers in the morning exchanged for abandoned coats and sweaty feet in the afternoon.
Ice melting, birds twittering, fresh flurries of new snow.
Winter is very nearly over.
Roofs peppered with snow …
Give way to blue skies and merry red tiles. And, of course, a delight of bird song.
For more blue skies, check out: Skywatch!
Pretty please?
You may remember that I entered a photo of Oscar in a competition over at Communal Global.
Well, guess what? It was one of the ten finalists…
Apparently, I should have been voting every day – and getting my friends to vote too. (Apparently, the polls shut on Friday.)
I’m not competitive enough really. But I must secretly admit (Sssh! Don’t tell anyone!) that it would be nice to have a vote or two.
So, if you feel like swinging by the photo competition and voting for Oscar the Swedish Doggy – we would be honoured!
Oh, and your reward is a bag of cyber cookies with extra chocolate…
Pretty please?
Now you see it, now you don’t…
At last, it made its appearance… fierce, bold and welcome.
There is something special about the glorious golden light of the first spring sun. Skin tingles with unaccustomed warmth and freckles pop up out of nowhere.
Spring is a time to kick off those shoes and socks, cuddle up with my best girl and enjoy the view while relaxing in the shade of a parasol.
I felt rested and yet full of energy. I could feel the light bubbling through my veins.
We have to enjoy these golden moments, these precious handfuls of happiness – because you never know what the next day will bring.
In our case, more snow!
For warmer climes, please visit: My World!
Hot dog
Have you every thought about how difficult it must be to go around wearing a thick woolly sweater all year round?
There you are – one minute playing out in the sunshine with a football…
…
…
… and the next minute, you deliberately go off in search of snow in order to cool off!
For more cool pets, check out: Camera Critters!
Bedazzled by … pink!
Pink has never really been my favourite colour. It seems so placid and sweet.
And yet, when Nature decides to take charge, pink takes on a new meaning.
It’s dramatic, theatrical and absolutely thrilling!
Be dazzled by more skies at: Skywatch!
The good, the rad and the ugly
The good: I’m in heaven! I won a stunning pair of earrings from Mid-life Bloggers. A girl can never have too many earrings (or chocolate)!
The rad: After football practice, Anklebiter #2 came home hungry and thirsty. When I offered him a biscuit to go with his water, he said, “No. I want a carrot please!” That’s right – carrots are the new candy!
The ugly: A long winter season means indoor activities like football and floor hockey – and when I say indoors, I mean in our smallish living room. (We even have an ice hockey goal indoors.) Oh, the drama and fun we’ve had… but also some terrible losses. Here’s one of the poor victims of living room hockey…
At least the rest of us still have all our teeth intact.
Trick or treat: it’s Easter!
Swedish Easter traditions really are very different to what I’m used to. For one thing, you can expect children dressed up as Easter hags to knock on your door. They hand over a handmade Easter card and you hand over a fistful of sweets to send them on their way…
Thanks to the Swedish Tourist Board for this photo.
Why? Well, before Sweden became Christian, old folklore said that on Maundy Thursday, witches would jump onto their broomsticks and fly away to Blåkulla (Blue Mountain) to cavort with the Devil. The tradition of trick-or-treating while looking like hags or witches neatly connects the ancient folklore with modern times.
This display in a local florist’s just about sums up a Swedish Easter… except for the fact that they have chosen purple as their theme. (Most Swedes go with yellow instead.) You have cheerful witches, chicks and eggs (symbols of fertility and new life) and, of course, birch twigs decorated with brightly-coloured feathers.
These decorated twigs are a throwback from more religious times when young people used to lash each other with birch twigs on Easter Friday as a reminder of Christ’s sufferings. Decorating twigs with feathers dates back to the 19th century and was a way of ushering in the spring. The burst of colour seems to reflect the joy of spring and the relief that winter is (nearly) over.
So, whether you went wild decorating twigs with joyfully-coloured feathers or not, I hope you all had a wonderful time!
I am dog: hear me roar!
After a lot of hesitation, I’ve decided to take the plunge and support a new venture called Communal Global, by entering a photographic competition they are holding. The theme is: TODAY.
How to choose just one photo that sums up an ordinary day, that shows the small miracles hidden in our everyday lives?
“My goal in life is to be as good a person as my dog already thinks I am.” – Unknown author
(You can click the photo to see a larger version. Oh – and this is my dog, Oscar.)
Dog – a miracle of licks and kindness and snowflakes,
Each golden wisp of hair crackling with energy.
Graceful, proud, majestic.
Serene in a repose that speaks of action.
Self-confident and loved.
Dog that greets each day with licks and joy and leaps,
That lives in each moment, enjoying them as they come.
Gentle, wise and mischievous.
Dog, and children, grabbing each golden second
And making life sing. Today. Every day.
Dog. Children. Unconditional love personified.
You can see more magnificent pets over at Camera Critters and Pet Pride.
And remember to check out the fantastic photos entered in the Communal Global competition!
Of great art and snow
While most of you have been out delighting in the new buds of spring, Sweden has been celebrating in style.
That’s right – someone forget to send Nature the memo about it being spring. Instead, we received several days of snow, blizzards and howling winds.
Which turned out to be a blessing. The anklebiters rushed out in the weekend storm, excited to be a part of creating this great snow sculpture. Don’t you think it looks a bit like Rodin’s Thinker?
It was too dark to take a shot when they had finished, so I crept out with my camera on a glorious sunny morning. (Sir Pe refused to come out in his dressing gown so I could show you just how big this snow sculpture is!)
The view blew away my grumpiness at the lingering winter.
The first blush of dawn on the new snow. The lake with its frosted topping stretching to the church, and beyond that to a sky with a dazzling sun.
As my Edward Monkton card declares:
May the happiness of the Happy Snowman never melt in the WARM and LOVELY garden of your HEART.
For more spring-like skies, please visit: Skywatch!
Of bad puns and posts
Post number 400 in about 20 months…
So, I thought I’d make it a wheely good one!
Have my bad puns tire-d you out yet?
Feel free to celebrate with me and add your own bad jokes…
Who says what?