Grown Ups, Little People and the Sense of Wonders

 

I don't usually mix personal life and public persona and it is very seldom that I would post personal thoughts but today is an exemption. So here it goes and I am sure many can identify with this.

 

Some mornings I look in the mirror and I can only recognise the eyes. They are truly mines, because the glint of mischief is still there. I am still a 4 year old at heart, trapped into a grown up body, whom I don't know. Some days I wonder who made this silly mistake, putting me in charge of 2 kiddies - surely it must be a joke and any minute now, a responsible adult will come and ask me to go home, as it is time for their kids to go to bed or eat their dinner. 

 

Some other mornings I am quite content, being a mother, and the role fits like a glove. But most of times, I feel it's like a hide 'n seek game, where I am searching for the answers - what is good parenting? The silly things keep running away from me, making my chase a long one. But one day I am going to find those answers and get a good grip on them and never let them run again from me. I am Mother, therefore I have to have the answers.

 

I am not sure whether I am supposed to get upset at my kids for getting muddy from head to toes, or whether I should jump in the puddles with them. Ok, I will probably jump in too. After I take a few pics. I mean, how is one supposed to keep a serious face on these occasions? 

 

I have always been a wanderer - my Nana used to say I have a gypsy soul. I grew up in a village surrounded by hills and forests. I used to leave the house in the morning and come back at noon - or when I was hungry, with armfuls of wild flowers and more flowers knotted in my hair. There was never a safety concern on those days - the whole village was my family - and I never got lost. I knew my way home with my eyes close. I wish my kids had that kind of freedom today and that connection to nature. I was 5 years old and never wrong about the weather. I could always tell a sunny day from storms coming. I still can. Truth be told, an injured knee contributes to my weather sensitivity nowadays but I still have the precision of a Swiss clock. 

 

We live in an age of digital advancement, where there seems to be an app for everything. Sometimes it is vey hard to find the right balance between the "digital" learning and real life, hands-on, direct experience. 

I remember one time in Japan, I saw a group of school kids - aged about 10-12 yo. They were visiting an aquarium at the same time I was. I was amazed at the speed they were taking notes about marine life. And by notes I don't mean pen and pad. They all had phones. They took a picture of the fish, input the information about it, then move to the next tank, new pic, new notes and so on. I am a very old-school gal; while I used to have a reasonably high typing speed on a computer, I was never good at texting. So it was really amazing, seeing these kids typing information at the speed of light. And that was back in the times of the old mobile phones; not the smart phones. Makes you wonder, how much learning has changed over the years. And are all changes good? 

 

We are very lucky to live in our own Paradise corner. While we do use the modern gadgets in our learning and I do understand the benefits of so many wonderful educational tools, I still believe that we must not loose our connection to nature. For me, the Grasslands are Alpha and Omega, the beginning and end of everything. I love walking around and finding new sights every day. The place looks unchanged, yet never the same. Every day will bring a new adventure. Or a new thought. Sights, colours and shapes. Of course, like any parent, I would have lots of fears - rational or not - when taking the kids along. Like "what if they come across a snake while running around"? Or "what if they trip over the logs, or try to climb trees and fall"? "What happens if we come too close to a kangaroo"? 

 

Of course, vigilance has never hurt anyone. But on the same time, I try not to project my own fears over them, or let my fears prevent them from accumulating the life experience they need. It is a very fine balancing act and sometimes I find myself scrambling for answers. 

But most of the times, the magic of the grasslands will win me over. My 4yo has put this in words the best way. One foggy winter morning, walking to preschool she looked over the misty grounds and exclaimed: Mummy, we live in Fairy Land. And indeed we do. Here is yesterday's walkabout, just after the rain. Examining snails, colours popping up in the wet, birds and we even saw two kangaroos fighting far away in a corner.

 

 

The Aboriginal people talk of this deep connection to the Land. I truly believe they are right. If you take the time to know it and to listen to it, the Land will talk to you. One just has to slow down and listen. I have been travelling a fair bit of my life but I have only felt this connection in two places. One is the stage of my long gone childhood - The Apuseni Mountains in my native Romania. A place of legends and beauty.

 

The other place that I feel deeply connected to is my Grasslands Nature Reserve. The place I learn to love more and more, as the days pass. I don't think I could ever express in words the beauty, the peace and the sense of wonder I find there every day. Most of the time, I'll let my camera do the talking, while my thoughts are running free. Here is a collection of favourite moments. Enjoy the magic of my Grasslands.

After the storm

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

Hard to believe that this is the same scene for last night's storm. This is just one of the thousands reasons why I love living in the grasslands. It changes every day. Colours, Shapes and scents change sometimes so subtly that it takes me a while to realise it. I just blinked, and the Spring's green is gone. The Grasslands are golden and more enticing than ever.
 

Sometimes it is a struggle to get there; it's hard to juggle a few hats at the same time and like everyone else, some days I am time poor.
 

But it feels a bit like Antaeus - every time my feet touch the Grasslands soil, I feel stronger, re-energised and happier.

 

A Storm to remember

I have always wondered, what happens to the kangaroos at night. Or during cold & rain. Or storms.
 

Last night's storm was certainly a sight to see. I will always remember how the skies were lightened up every 4 seconds or so. It was really amazing to see those bright display overlayed on the very dark sky. And it was a great surprise to find the answer to my question.

The kangaroos are still here, in the grasslands. Waiting patiently for the weather to improve. It was so dark that I really didn't see them in the beginning. It was lucky that a car passed by and had the night lights on.
 

Excuse the quality of my photos - these were all taken handheld, with a camera that I am just getting used to.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is a bit of a vain act, but it felt so utterly unreal, being there, so I had to find a way to get myself in the landscape, as a way to remember this magical night. I don't think I was ever more grateful for a light post placed in the most convenient spot.

63 Not Out Forever

Coincidence or not, Master G grabbed the cricket bat out of the blue. It was laying in the garage for a long time without being noticed. It got me a bit startled that this was his choice to play with at this exact moment, but I guess the Universe has its own way of communicating with us.
 

Vale Phillip Hughes; You will always live in our hearts.

Testing Manual Focus on a broken telephoto lens

So what does one do, when your favourite lens decides it lived a long and happy life? Unfortunately my telephoto lens has had it and being a cheap, nonVR Nikkor lens, it would probably cost more to have it repaired than the lens itself :(
 

Replacing it is not an immediate option, so I decided to test it furthermore and see whether it's truly dead.
Well, I managed to make it work on manual mode - not a real option for kangaroos and fast subject I am afraid... And I am not to be trusted with the manual focus either, since I repeatedly refuse to wear my glasses... 

 Anyway, couple of weeks later, many hours of scratching my head and ...a teeny weeny photoshop fiddling, here is what I got.

 

 

A Man and His Camera

Meet Master G; a typical 2yo. Active, sporty and very inquisitive. He loves more than anything going out in the grasslands and taking photos. And he is very serious about it; he gets working with the same pedantry as a grown up. 
 

 I couldn't help myself but admiring how concentrated on the job he was. He has a very close, almost organic connection to his camera. He understands its basic functions; even if he puts his fingers in front of the lens every now and then.
 

If you get down to his eye's level, it is really spectacular to see the world through a very new perspective. Sometimes we forget how great it feels to explore the surrounding worlds. Sometimes we just need a little guy like him, to remember that there is still lots to be discovered out there.
 

Sometimes I feel like picking him up during his photo shoots - he is so tiny. But that would change his perspective and the story he tells through his lens.