Spin

Sometimes a spinning world is a good thing.

Lady bug

Today we went to the forest with our children.There was plenty to photograph, but mostly what got me excited, were the Ladybird beetles! Yellow ones! They kept flying off, and our daughter got antsy with me trying to get a decent photo... ( she is the impatient one in the family... wonder where she got that from??? ) So we went for our walk, and on the way back, I told the kids that if they found one and let me photograph it, I would give them a prize. ( Usually it's chocolate! ) Some time past looking for one, when Gisele came up to me and exclaimed, "mummy, you have one in your hair!" It must have come for our entire walk with us! Oh So Sweet! I felt very lucky!

Here she/he is!

Stand Quietly

Stand quietly.

Stop moving and just breathe.

Only then can you hear the beauty of life speak.

Sunshine

Some days, you just have to create your own bit of sunshine.

Happiness

Happiness is not something you get in life.
It is something you bring to it.

Foggy Morning in Hahndorf.

Even on a day when the clouds are low. The crisp air is making smoke of my breath, and I have frozen toes, I have to stop and wonder at the beauty of where I live. Its views, vistas and it's gorgeous foggy mornings.

Visiting Milang.

The other day we went to Milang. I thought maybe there would be something to look at. But there's not. Seriously, unless you like boating or fishing, ( which many do ) there is not much else to see. There was, however, a jetty. With seagulls. Their looking pretty well fed. Pretty excited, too. Ahh. Life at Milang! LOL!

Patch worked the image, just for fun!

View Over Lenswood, South Australia.

On a cold, wet and wintery day, what better way to spend it than to go through old photographs from years ago, that I never got around to editing. I am not too sure if this works well or not, but the hills still enchant me, even though I don't think this image shows you how truly lovely they are.

Found.

Even with all that rain and wind today, there is new growth and beauty to be found.

Just Dandy

Just so delicate and soft. Dandelions.  

Bedraggled.

Oh such a cold, wet and windy day is this! 

Even those daisies, that are so robust and bright are battling to look pretty!

Gold

I closed my eyes, and breathed it in. 
The scent of fallen leaves, of the earth and the damp ground beneath me. 
To lay in the wealth of golds and reds, the leaves softness and the poking twigs in my hair and clothes. To wonder if I ever knew what it was
to be so wealthy as this. 

8 Years Old

Now your 8. 

Halfway to getting your drivers licence. Halfway to being in year 10! A third of the way to maybe finishing that uni degree. Or traveling, or falling in love with your future wife. A quarter of the way to becoming a father... Maybe. 

The future is way ahead of you, son. But for now, don't grow up too quickly! I want to capture all your days and treasure them. Hold them close to my heart and soul. For the rest of my life.

Crazy!

Some people never go crazy, What truly horrible lives they must live. - Charles Bukowski

Dewy drops

I adore the cold mornings. When there is fine, delicate drops of dew on each and every living thing. Something so very special about the way they sparkle and gleam in the morning light.

Golden Eye

There is a flower, a little flower With silver crest and golden eye, That welcomes every changing hour, And weathers every sky. - James Montgomery 

Time to let the water wash over you.

Things that make me think and feel. Things that make me smile. 

Bath time in our household. A time to relax, close your eyes. Let the water flow around and over you. 

Feathers!

Feathers on you = divine.

Jeweled Rose

It's raining today. Soft, gentle rain. It falls on the flowers and turns them into jewels. Fit for a king.

Quince Jelly!

There are Quince trees, planted all over the place in Hahndorf. They are old trees, and you have to "scrounge" to find them! I wonder who planted them, so long ago. All the fruit is all falling off, and I feel a little sorry for them, as the trees put in so much effort to produce them!

So I went and gathered a whole lot of them, and made my own Quince Jelly!

It's actually a tricky process, making this stuff. You have to cook it first, mash it, drain it in muslin for half a day, then start cooking the fluid all over again!
It was strange, as it stayed that yellowish hue for ages, and I was thinking, oh dear, I must have done something wrong. Lo and behold, as i gathered the "scum" from the top, the ruby colour emerged! And boy oh boy, is this yummy stuff. Will be cracking open a bottle of wine, some yummy cheese and my quince jelly this weekend. That's my payment for my hard work!

Acorns

I have always, always adored Oak Trees. Their stature, their strength, their shade and most of all their acorns. With their little caps that sit quite nicely on the tip of your finger and become make believe elfie men! They have always been my favourite tree.
I guess it is entirely appropriate that my husband gave me a new surname of Oakey! 

It's how I knew he was the one!

Just adding the "flipped version of the image. I rather think it would make a lovely little nest for the birdies! If only it were real!

Berry Delicious!

Mmmmm. We love blackberries in our household. I think the thing I enjoy the most is the picking! Hanging out with the children, feeling like we have found treasure each time we spy a huge, ripe bunch. Prickles in our fingers, hair and hooking in our clothes! And the stains on your mouth and tongue, as you eat their sweet, seedy flesh. Yummo!

Noticing The Little Things

Noticing the little things.

Ones that you would pass by without ever seeing, would think of as weeds or, even worse, pointless, useless wild things. And as I have started my journey of putting up a photo a day on my facebook page, I can't help but notice my own personal change. How i don't see the big things, anymore. I am distracted and filled with the wonder of the little things, the small things, that through a lens, become beautiful and special. And the excitement and joy I get every time I find them.

Maybe I need to put that into practice with the people I meet. To see beyond what is in front of me, and look deeper, for the little things that makes up their beauty.

Secret Place...

Secret places, all hidden away, in the Adelaide Hills.

 Messy branches, silence and awe...

My Girlie Girl all Serious!

Can she be any more serious?

 

So, I had to make use of the look and do something a little bit different...

 

This photograph, with her eyes closed, just speaks volumes to me. It's so innocent, but as though she has been lost forever to the dreaming. Like the old Victorian photographs of children, loved and adored by their parents, but only captured when they have passed on.
Maybe it is wrong to portray my child in such a manner. Be assured, she is well and truly living out her dreams with full gusto!

Muse

My little muse...

Just a View

We went up to the mount barker summit for a walk the other day. I had forgotten how wonderful the view is from up there. And it is only minutes away from our house. So quiet, with birdies and the breeze. Not much more than that to hear. It's really special. 

Toxic mushrooms!

Was going through some old photos today, and found these old ones I had taken last year, in Autumn, of little spotty mushrooms in the forest. Sweet to look at, terrible to the person who chooses to ingest them! They somehow remind me of fairy tales, and red riding hood in the forest.

 I remember looking closely at this one. It was actually ooozing and dripping this gross sticky fluid. 

Yuck!

 I love this little button one!