In response to this weeks photo challenge – Depth
Birdsong is silenced
In the bleak depths of forest
Where only thorns grow
Pics of Places and Things
Gargoylish
We loved these jolly gargoyles that we found on one of the wonderful old buildings in Oxford. We particularly liked the rather terrified looking Slender Loris!
Without the need for words…
Weekly photo challenge – express yourself
‘Allo..what you got there then? On no, not that bloomin’ camera again…’
‘Ok, I’ll pose. Just the once, and you’ll have to remove the background, ‘cos I sure ain’t moving’
‘That’s enough, I’m bored now’
‘You’ve played with your toy,now it’s time to play with mine!’
Peace in green
Weekly photo challenge – Serenity
This gorgeous Japanese garden (Pureland – click here for more info) is not too far from where we live. It’s a lovely place to visit, either to explore it’s meandering paths, say ‘hi’ to the huge and beautiful Koi carp, or just to sit quietly and meditate…
The first signs….
Despite the downpours and the freezing gale force wind today (that really, really, hasn’t been helpful while I was outside with my camera), there is evidence in my garden that the plants are waking up and that it’s not too long until spring.
As the ancient Chinese proverb says:
‘Spring is sooner recognized by plants than by men.’ It certainly seems so today!
Shadowed
In response to the weekly photo challenge – this weeks theme ‘shadowed’
A couple of photos for you here. First is a nice sensible one of my daughter shaded from the bright sun by the fall of her hair, and the second is a daft snap of me modelling the hat that I wore when we were lucky enough to be invited by the Queen to a garden party at Buckingham Palace a few years ago. On the invitation it stated that headwear was compulsory for ladies, so I took the opportunity to get the biggest, pinkest hat I could find and it certainly kept the sun off my face! To be honest, I was more excited about wearing the hat than going to the party I think. Still we had a fab time and felt very posh indeed.
I might do something a bit more arty farty for you if and when there is any light – it’s really gloomy and grey this morning, hope it’s better where you are! 🙂
Eagle Eyed
I snapped these gorgeous Brahminy Kites taking a rest before swooping onto the water for food on our trip through the magical backwaters of Kerala last August.
New Horizons
In response to this weeks photo challenge ‘New’.
This is a photo of my beautiful mum that I took a couple of days ago, over the Christmas break. Ok, she’s not exactly ‘New’, in fact, (I’m sure she won’t mind me telling you), she’s in her 90’s. However, she is off on a new adventure.
She’s lived in the same town all of her life, and been in the same flat for about 40 years. She’s been happy and comfortable there, but now she has come round to the idea that it might be nice to have a bit more support and company, and we’re in the process of helping her find some sheltered accommodation. Somewhere that she can still be fairly independent, and have her own front door, but where she can have a little bit more help when she needs it. Also, somewhere a bit closer to family – she will still be a couple of hundred miles away from me, but nearer my sister and her family, so for the first time in her life, it’ll be a move away from her home town. She’s both excited and a bit nervous – as you should be with all new adventures in my opinion! It’s a big leap of faith and we’ve all got our fingers crossed that it’s a good one.
Of course, she’s only willing to go if they have broadband so she can still use her ipad!
I’m very proud of her for facing change so stoically. I hope I never get too old for new challenges either!
Keeping warm in Pingyao
Ok, I apologise, this is not technically a great picture, but I think it captures this week’s photo challenge theme ‘warmth‘ well enough to share it. It was taken on our trip to China whilst we were staying in the ancient city of Pingyao. We were there for Chinese New Year, which was one of the most extraordinary experiences of my life – wonderfully chaotic!
It was bitterly cold, the coldest I have ever been, but the gorgeous old courtyards in our beautiful hotel each had their own charcoal brick fires (like the one pictured), and you can also see the doors to our rooms covered with blue duvets to keep the drafts out. The fire and the lanterns gave it all a magical glow. It was still too bloomin’ cold to stand out there for long though!
Varanasi Ochre
Posted as part of the weekly photo challenge – this weeks theme ‘Yellow’
This photograph was taken during our trip to Northern India last year. It was about 4:30 in the morning on one of the ghats lining the banks of the Ganges. We were waiting to board a little boat so that we could view the amazing sunrise from the river. However, there was a very heavy mist which made everything soft and unfocused, it also had the effect of washing out all colour and making the small scene under the lights appear in this delicious yellow ochre glaze.
Rebooting 