Amazingly there are quiet corners to be found even close to the centre of Marrakech. This view of the Koutoubia Mosque was taken from the the cool and calm of the orange grove in the adjacent Jardin De La Koutoubia.
photography
All tucked up
Posted in response to the Daily Post weekly photo challenge – this weeks theme ‘Enveloped’
This is a bud of an Allium. Sorry, I can’t remember the name of this particular type of Allium, but its little individual flowers will soon burst out of this wrapper and in no time at all look like a brilliant blue firework.
Dead or Alive?
Posted in response to the Daily Post Weekly Photo Challenge. This week’s theme – ‘Forces of Nature’
This gnarly, worm eaten,old apple tree in our meadow is all but dead, showing no new growth at the top at all. But it’s still fighting for life, pushing out these blossoms towards the bottom. Wonder if it will produce any apples?
Intricate
Posted in response to the Daily Post weekly photo challenge. This week’s theme ‘Intricate‘
Well, I was spoilt for choice with this topic. First of all I thought of some of the lovely patterns on the buildings in Morocco, then I thought about taking some pics of the beautiful tablecloth that my mother-in-law spent years embroidering for me, but then, I remembered China. The beautiful buildings there are all covered in gorgeous decoration one way or another, but I thought these roof details that we saw at the Temple of Heaven in Beijing just about take the biscuit as far as intricacy goes. What do you think??
Motion – splish splash
Posted in response to the Daily Post weekly photo challenge – this week’s theme ‘Motion’
I captured this battle at the Cardiff International White Water park a couple of years ago. I don’t know who he is, but he was a masterful Kayak-er!
Japan
I dream in haikus
From the cherry blossom land
Which I long to see
Sun Day
Although it’s spring time
Marble clouds churn overhead
No sun on Sunday
Floating
So hard to choose between pictures for this weeks Daily Post photo challenge so I’ve given you a selection. Let me know which you like best!! The prompt is ‘Afloat’:
Ok, this first one is a little self-indulgent. I didn’t take the picture either….’cos yes, that’s me up there, floating about, light as a feather, above the beautiful blue sea off the coast of Marmaris, Turkey. I was particularly chuffed with the smiley face parachute! 😉
This next one is of the harbour at Kovalam, Kerala, India. When you see these hundreds of fishing boats out at night with their lanterns lit, it looks like the stars have fallen from the sky and are bobbing about on the water.
These next three were all taken on the backwaters of Kerala.
We were astonished by the ‘school buses’ like the one below that were crammed alarmingly with chattering children on their way home!
It was very atmospheric in the deep dark midst of the backwaters!
But at least when you eventually surfaced into the open, you could get a snack from a floating restaurant!
Oh I nearly forgot my paper boat made with my own fair hands especially for this challenge. The photo’s weren’t as stunningly wonderful or even half as interesting as I’d imagined,but hey ho, I’m sharing anyway!!
Pond life
My beautiful fish, along with all the wildlife in our pond, always keep me entertained. This morning they were fighting over a freshly laid feast of frogspawn. Must be Spring!
Bores? I don’t think so!
Doing a bit of voluntary work sometimes brings the most surprising rewards. I was assisting one of the ladies at the IT group where I teach a few weeks ago and happened to ask what her password was for something. ‘Hellebore****’ she said. Now, Hellebores happen to be amongst my favourite plants, and when we had the garden landscaped in 2013 I insisted on a bed planted only with them, so of course we got talking, and to my delight she told me that she was a Hellebore ‘breeder’ and had lots of unusual types in her garden.
This week, she invited me to go and see them and take a few ‘babies’. Her garden is quite magical and bursting with Hellebores of all types and colours – spotty ones, double ones, ruffed ones, a quite gorgeous and rare bright yellow one… all currently in their full glory. She generously dug up seedlings and small plants and I came home with a car full! They’ll take a couple of years to grow, but in the meantime I thought I’d share with you a few photos of those that I do have that are already in a profusion bloom!
Rebooting 