Fleeting beauty
There is nothing as joyful
As walking underneath the pink clouds
(Waving gently in the wind)
Of the sakura or Japanese cherry blossoms.
They remind us that life
Is intense and fleeting
As it follows the natural cycles
Of birth and death and renewal.
They flower for such a short time, like us,
And remind us that we too are as beautiful
And transient as a cherry blossom.
For more blossoming stories, please visit: Our World.
Swan light
I do believe
The wings of the swan
Love the light of the setting sun.
“Sometimes I need
only to stand
wherever I am
to be blessed.” — Mary Oliver
For more lovely light, please visit: Skywatch.
Spring sparkles
It was one of those perfect spring evenings
When the sun made stars out of water
And Oscar made abstract art
Out of water pearls.
On the way home, I turned around
To see my daughter caught in the fairy glitter
And become one with nature.
The setting sun
Threw its golden drops
On grass and woodland flowers
As if to say: Stop. Look. Listen.
And appreciate.
For more fairy glitter, please visit: Our World.
Dawn gold
Something woke me up far too early (before 5 am).
Perhaps it was the golden silence
Calling my name;
Or the beaver in the lake
As he swam through watery clouds.
Perhaps it was the glory
Of a new day whispering:
Do not miss a single golden moment.
For more gold, please visit: Skywatch.
Beribboned
An April sunset
Of soft ribbons in the sky
That blush as they kiss
The still surface of the water.
A lone tree and I
Enjoy the sight of a double bridge
Of crimson beauty.
For more loveliness, please visit: Skywatch.
The Yin and Yang
A while back, my daughter received a bouquet of flowers after singing in her school show.
As they graced the kitchen table, I notice a bright beam of light leading the eye to
A bud holding the fuzzy promise of hope to come –
In stark contrast to the unfurled beauty of a tulip already in full bloom.
I took the bouquet outside
Into the gentle snow,
And enjoyed the yin of the white snowflakes
On the yang of the rich red petals.
Suddenly, my philosophical mood was broken
By Oscar photobombing my photo session.
But I guess that’s what yin and yang is all about –
Complementary forces (even if it is just a dog’s tail)
Forming harmony to remind us
That we are all part of a greater whole.
For balance, please visit: Our World.
Finding rainbows
Sometimes you can find beauty in the most unexpected places.
Entering the interior of Paris’ oldest church, Eglise Saint-Germain-des-Pres, once so mighty but now eclipsed by Notre Dame,
I was struck by the beauty of a humble set of chairs next to some ancient chipped pillars.
The light from the stained glass window behind them
Transformed the chairs into miracles of colour and form
And the floor, worn by centuries of visitors,
Became a dazzling thing of rainbow beauty.
(I have to say that out of all my Paris photos, these are some of my favourites.)
“The most astonishing thing about miracles is that they happen.”
G. K. Chesterton
For more everyday miracles, please visit: Our World.
Snow blossoms
There is something so delightful
About the bright light of spring
And the cold of a lingering winter.
If you look carefully, you can find snow moons
Dancing on the snow.
And instead of flowers,
We have snow blossoms
And dazzling light.
And – just as in real life –
You might be lucky to find
A diamond in the rough.
For more hidden jewels, please visit: Our World.
The many shades of cold
Since we’ve had fresh snow and sinking temperatures –
Down to minus 19 C this week –
I am inspired to show you the colours of cold.
Sometimes the cold is a golden fog,
Sometimes an intense orange framed by trees.
When the dawn is really cold,
The fingers of the sun paint the treetops
With frosted red.
My favourite winter colour
Has to be the diamond carpet of snow
Topped off by dazzling blue skies and sun –
It’s moments like these that lift my spirits.
For more winter/summer shots, please visit: Skywatch.
Dawn’s blush
That first blush of dawn
Is a marvel of pink and purple and cold.
The hidden birdhouse
Enjoys wonderful views from its perch.
As dawn’s blush fades
The crooked trees stand still -
And like me -
Enjoy the moment.
For more colours, please visit: Skywatch.
Snow fairies
I love it when the snow fairies come to visit:
Turning pine trees into candles;
Decorating reeds
With garlands of ice –
And giving them hair-dos
Made out of spiky crystals.
The sunlight filters through
Icy fairy art to warm a long-forgotten leaf
And to remind us that we are intertwined –
Together, we can make
The mundane magic.
For more fairytale worlds, please visit: Our World.
Making your own pattern
Sometimes in the middle of winter
I like to nourish myself
With the patterns and colours
And silhouettes of vibrant summer.
This shot reminds me that
You don’t always have to go with the flow –
Going against it can also create beauty.
For more vibrant creatures, please visit: Camera Critters.
Golden lace
About a month ago, the ice was finally thick enough
For the snowplough to come and make an ice skating track around the lake.
This was happy news as I was finally able to walk over the lake
To enjoy the beauty of the setting sun
As it cast its net of light
And turned branches into golden lace.
I met a woman out with her camera too –
And for a few minutes, we shared a bond
As we enjoyed the simple gift of the sinking sun.
For more golden skies, please visit: Skywatch.
Chandeliers in the sky
Endless blue skies,
Beautiful snow,
A sunbathing dog –
And crystal chandeliers
Glittering in the sun.
My paradise!
For more sparkling skies, please visit: Skywatch.
And swing by Camera Critters too!
Shades of grey
You’re not tired of snowy pictures yet, are you?
Good. Because neither am I!
The skies are often grey over here
As they are weighed down by snow clouds.
But that suits my world so full of grey and silver highlights.
Roofs are utterly delicious
As they remain hidden under white frosting
And cats smile under snowy hats.
My favourite view is this lovely grey wooden house
With a wonderful curl of roof icing.
For more lovely greys, please visit: Our World.
Here is my most popular post ever – about the beauty of grey.
Cathedral of light
A rare and magnificent gift from winter:
A cathedral of light.
For more lovely presents, please visit: Skywatch.
Want to get to know me a little better? Then visit Amazing Australian Adventures, who interviewed me recently. (Remember to check out her lovely photos too if you have time!)
Chasing the light
The skies over the past few weeks have been grey –
So I’ve been chasing down the light.
I found it framed in golden fog
Hanging over the lake;
It danced over the football field
On fairy rainbow feet.
And, there – at last -
Like a cold winter flower
It blossomed in rays of light.
For more de-light-full posts, please visit: Skywatch.
Dawn, reflected
The Christmas skies so far have been white and heavy with snow.
So, I went digging in the archives to find photos from last Christmas –
When we still hadn’t had any snow or ice:
Just a beautiful celebratory reflected sky
And a dog who was overjoyed
To take a Christmas swim.
For more festive posts, please visit: Skywatch.
And visit Camera Critters too!
The lost art of tree hugging
We tend to take them for granted – the trees –
Even when their bare bones
Create art on a sun-drenched wall in winter;
Or when the mistletoe
Hangs like disco balls from their weathered branches.
Some say ‘tree hugger’ as if it were a bad thing.
But I agree with my son,
More of us ought to take the time to thank the trees
For their beauty.
For more tree-mendous posts, please visit: Our World.
Frosted skies
It’s cold and deliciously wintery now.
But a couple of weeks ago,
When it seemed as if winter would never arrive,
The promise of winter hung in
The frosted sky
Painting hopes and lake
With glorious tones of gold.
For more fabulous skies, please visit: Skywatch.
The grand finale
It takes but a short time to go from a blaze of colours
To the soft grey pastels of November.
But autumn knows how to make
A stunning grand finale –
Teaching us that finales
Are also glorious transformations.
(Picture taken a couple of weeks ago. It’s grey and bare here at the moment.)
For more last stands, please visit: Our World.
Magical light
When the sky burns bright
As the sun sets
And the red turns
Into a magical purple tapestry…
Then the only response possible
Is one of wonder
And thankfulness.
For more great-full skies, please visit: Skywatch.
Of silver and feathers
After many days of mild grey weather,
The early morning light
Carried whispers on the breeze
Of a frosty world of silver.
(See how the iced reeds match the bark of the silver birches?)
In the silence of that iced-over dawn
Peace floated down
As light and beautiful as a feather.
For more peace, please visit: Our World.
Leaf ballet
Autumn was short-lived and intense this year.
But last weekend I had an amazing experience.
In the distance, I saw a sunny bower of branches
And a shower of leaves dancing in the wind as they fell to the ground.
I stood under those trees and listened.
The leaves danced and twirled and fluttered down on me,
Sounding like gentle rain as they came to rest on hair, ground and an icy bench.
I like to look for the new beginnings in these ends.
Don’t leaf without visiting: Our World.
Who says what?