Blanc

"Blanc" is about being blanc-minded, when you just want to let your senses make whatever they feel out of a particular moment in time, without you putting any cognitive effort into it. It's about detaching yourself from anything negative, about finding the love within.

First try at doing a slide show in a long, long while. It can do with some improvements but overall I have enjoyed working on this little project. If you know me personally, then you probably know how passionate I am about Synaesthesia and how much I love combining images, words and sounds.

Quiet Wakes

Just take my hand;
I'll hold your silences close to my heart. Forever.
Our souls make music in these quiet wakes
And we shall share this infinite together
For as long as it takes,
On this forgotten land.

A Big, Warm Hug

 

A long time ago, when my beloved Nana passed away, I promised myself that I would never go to a funeral again – except mine.

Joke aside; it doesn’t take a Rocket Scientist to figure out that I really don’t deal very well with loss and grief.
A very selfish approach - I came to realise - but my birth day this year has changed it: this year, I chose to spend my 40^th birthday honouring the life of a very brave fellow mother who lost her battle with cancer.
We weren’t very close, but the friendship we struck during the school drop off and pick-up times has left such a strong mark. I feel very lucky to have known her, and maybe we did cross paths for a reason.

While grieving is still a very raw issue to me, I now understand that here are so many other heartaches out there. Like how do you say good bye to your loved ones, especially to your children? How can you keep positive, trying to make some great last memories for them? How do you hide your tears, knowing you will not see them growing and that you will be missing out on everything we otherwise take for granted?

I keep thinking about her randomly. This morning, she popped in my thoughts while I peeped outside, over the grasslands and I was greeted by this view.
I don't easily believe in signs, but fog is very unusual at this time of the year and during the entire period we have been living here, I have only seen this particular type of sunset only once before. today, it really felt like the Universe was sending down a big,warm hug. I thought I'd pass it around to everyone in need of one.

Life's Metaphors

Mother Nature gives the most selfless and unexpected gifts. Our little family got bigger, it seems, as we have new residents.
This little guy is the tiniest blue tongue I have seen to date.
My next door neighbour is a wildlife rescue volunteer and quite a bit of an expert in bluetongues so I followed her advice on keeping an eye on this little guy without hindering him. He seems unhurt, healthy and happy.
By chance, I have also discovered the tiniest snail on the very same spot. They seemed blissfully unaware of each other - especially the snail.
I wondered whether the bluetongue has started to eat snails yet - he seemed totally un-phased that dinner was literally under his nose.

I couldn't help but feel like one of life's big metaphors was right there, in front of my eyes, for me to learn. We are all born unbiased, unspoiled and definitely without narrow minds. All these are acquired much later in life, depending on our personal experiences. As children, we are natural explorers, curious and eager to learn.
Just like the bluetongue and the snail, when we meet other humans, the dialogue could go either way: "Let's be friends" or "Run for your life". It all depends on that starting point that defined our childhood.
 
This was also the first time I have looked so close to a snail "in action". It was quite fascinating to see it moving up onto the clovers and not topple over its own weight.
 
Unfortunately, I didn't have time to switch to a macro lens - it would have been fantastic. These shots were taken long after the sunset, in the shade, under the kids' water play area; the light was beyond sparse. My battery warning was flashing yet surprisingly despite all the odds, I managed to take a few shots.

A Monday Rescue Story

This is a rescue story with a happy ending - just in time for Christmas.
You know those Monday morning when you show up late for work with a wild excuse to make up for it? Well, this is actually not of them.
However, I would have thought it wild, had I not witness it myself.
At first glance, there is nothing wrong with this car. Or is it?

What would your boss say if you were to show up late telling him a Galah bird got caught in your car while driving to work? This is exactly what happened to one of my neighbours.

Luckily, the Wildlife expert lives just next door and the entire complex got mobilised pretty quickly in an improvised rescue team.
Two of my neighbours worked diligently to free the bird tangled in the car front.

We are all anticipating the sweet moment when he is finally freed: will he be all right?
Understandably distressed, the little fellow is very lucky to be alive and seemingly unhurt.

I've saved the best for last: a few words about our wildlife expert in residence.
Emma is the sweetest soul. She is very passionate about her work as a wildlife volunteer. Under her expert eye, the bird was kept under observation for a short while. He settled pretty quickly and then he flew away as soon as Emma opened the cage.
He sure has a tale to tell to all his other peers who aren't bothered much to move away from the road when cars drive past them.

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#Winter Wonderland in THAT Special Place

 

 

 This fence is the imaginary line I draw between the real world and my special, happy place.

 

A place that changes from one hour to another; let alone days or seasons. My Grasslands have me spellbound – I always return for more of its peaceful scenery.

 

I haven’t been out and about in a while so this morning it felt so good to return. Although a tad chilly.

Armed with my very basic camera and with a very vivid imagination, I entered through the thick fog enveloping the grounds. And what a sight this crisp Winter morning was. If I closed my eyes, I could even pretend it’s really like the winters I used to know. The fog and frost made it possible for me to pretend that everything was covered in snow. For a few minutes, Winter Wonderland had moved in my backyard – as I liberally call the grasslands – and Christmas in July really is knocking at the door.

I love my early morning walks – today it seemed to be too early and too cold for anyone else to be out. Alone with my thoughts, I loved taking in the sounds, the smells and the colours.

One would never imagine how colours really pop on a foggy background.

But on the other hand, for me - the fog is still one of the hardest things to master when it comes to photography.  I didn’t take brilliant shots today and they needed an occasional tweak; nevertheless I had a great time seeing the place come to life.

It's always busy in the grasslands – this morning lots of birds, kangaroos and hares saluted me hurriedly.  

I am not sure whether the mist is making the animals more alert to the small noises or whether the kangaroos aren’t used to me anymore, since I haven’t been able to follow them for a while.

One thing is sure, they were very wary of me this morning. Usually, I was able to go quite close to them. Today however, they ran as soon as they saw me.

There are a few foxes too but I have never been lucky enough to photograph them. I have quite a long list of “missed opportunities” - things that I would have liked to photograph but wasn’t fast enough or didn’t have my camera at the right time. Until I get lucky, enjoy my imperfect frozen beauties, from the comfort of your warm toasty house.