Secret Place...

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

 Messy branches, silence and awe...

Chasing Sunsets

I'v been chasing sunsets during the last week. We have been having all these amazing storms, with lightning and thunder and fantastical clouds, which give you some amazing sunsets to photograph! These have been taken in the Adelaide hills, South Australia. I really do believe, sometimes, that I live in one of the most beautiful places in the world. 

These was taken near Nairne

Another evening, you can see Nairne in the distance.

And this one, overlooking Hahndorf. I took this one three weeks ago. How the hot summery days have changed the colour of the grass! I Love the green!

This one is overlooking the Mount Barker wetlands, just down the road from where I live!
Yes, it's hay carting time!

Beautiful Day Today.

Just playing around with this photo I took today. It doesn't really capture the true awe of a great view, but, anyway, I thought I would share it.

Sunset

Just a quickie post. We don't always get spectacular sunsets here, or at least, I don't usually catch them as it's always tea time... Bath time.... Story time... yes, the list goes on! Anyway, with the weather turning up the temperature, we are having longer nights, which means most of the menial tasks of life are done, my husband is home before the dark hits, and and I can dash out and chase a bit of golden evening sunset. After three goes at it, I finally got one... I can't wait for the next!

Funny ol' shed!

I was thrilled to hear my photo has been printed in the courier ( our local paper ) and realised I have not put it up on here, so here it is, a crazy way of stacking your round hay bales!

Into The Woods

Just a quickie post, one from the visit at kuipto forest earlier in the month.

Early August Morning...

You know, every single morning I get up, and go into the family room of our house, and open the blinds, and look into the valley below for Fog. Yea. Fog. I'm a little bit obsessed by it. I see it, and I have this irresistable urge to  grab the camera and go on a fog chase...

And every time I open those curtains, it seams to me that the fog only ever appears when I have to work that morning, or get the children ready for school or go somewhere else that day.... Till yesterday. Ahhh. A foggy morning on a Sunday. So So Awesome! It was 7am, and I awoke before the children did, usually it is my little girl ready and rearing to go at 530am, but she had a sleep in. Something in me said get up.... GET UP!! And I was thinking, but the kids are still asleep, how often do I get that extra snooze time? 

But get up I did, and did the daily first thing in the morning fog check. 

Y.E.S! My day for fog photos!!!

So, here you go, some sunrise and fog photos, from the Adelaide Hills!

The view from Mount Barker Summit.

Blackiston Anglican Cemetery

Its odd, isn't it, how you can miss things for years, and only just discover them and wonder why you had not noticed it before.

That's what this little place is. Tucked behind the agapanthus, on the main road between the towns of Littlehampton and Nairne, is this sorely neglected cemetery. It has such a hint of old things, old times and forgotten people. A time when people died young, and they erected magnificent head stones and planted rose bushes and hawthorn trees, to remember their existence. To remember the love. And now there is not much left at all but falling, crumbling stone and tombs, and the drip of the rain and long grass and weeds to wet your feet.

Today it was so densely foggy. I nipped out this morning, it is just around the corner from where I live, and went for a little visit. I do have to say, I got a little thrill down my back bone standing in all that fog, in a desolate and deserted cemetery. But all I heard were the cars driving past, in a hurry to go somewhere, and a few birds cawing to each other.

So I guess this is it. The way it all ends, some day. With the headstones facing east, toward the rising sun, with the clouds above, and the silence below. And the peace. And things keep on growing, and changing, and old things fall, and new things are built. 

But there is a sense of peace, here, a silent, well earned rest. Just a cycle of life. And these few memories left behind.

 The Old Anglican Church. ( No longer in use. )

   

Hahndorf on a foggy morning...

Just a few shots taken around Hahndorf. The old barn looked beautiful in the morning light...

Langhorne Creek visit

Today I thought I would just pop out after work, and take my daughter for a drive and walk. I don't often go in the opposite direction from the city, and thought that it  could be fun to go somewhere different. 

Still a part of the wine region of the Adelaide hills, but in the lower, flatter part of the murray plains, Langhorne creek is full of silence, long dirt road, massive views and farmland. 

Sometimes, when your looking for something interesting to capture, you forget to look into the sky for inspiration, as often we photographers don't look towards the sun for our photos, as it can damage the lens...  (Not to mention our eyes! ) But the sun today was incredible. Hidden behind two layers of cloud, one thick, one thin, it was almost misty and golden. Incredible. It made an ordinary scene into something special.

This road has cactus growing along it, that are Huge! Like, I mean H.U.G.E!! Their amazing. I don't think I will be planting anything like these in my garden any time soon! Look at the flower spikes!

End of the day.

A May morning in Balhannah ( In the Adelaide Hills )

It's been raining. I love it. And when it stops, and the sun peeks out while the sky is still moody and black, thats when I love going for a drive in the car, to have a look around for maybe something that tells me a story. This dirt road is out the back of Balhannah, and there are plenty of vines that are colouring up beautifully, all golden and reddish and brown. The air is crisper, the sun, when it sneaks past the clouds for a moment, is still warm and inviting, autunm is here, and winter is just around the corner. 

My favourite of all the seasons...

And in the opposite direction, over looking that view, is this very old house...

So, after enjoying that little walk, I decided to visit the town church. Its a lovely old building, and still well used and loved. I adore the fact that people took such pride in creating something beautiful for their community. These days, many buildings are "slap it up quick" and just don't seem to have the love or attention to detail that these old ones do. 

And while wandering around the grave yard for a bit, I came across this head stone. I love what was written on it.

While mortals mourn and weep and pray,

Around him as he dies,

The angel -watchers sing and say

He soon shall scale the skies.

Just a view.

This is where I come from.

The Adelaide hills. The place is filled with glorious views, rolling hills, bustling places, slow towns and those spots that fit in between. It is a place where I longed to run from, and escape, to the city, in my late teens, and have returned to and have fallen in love with, more and more, as I get older. Deep inside me, it just sings of home. The memories of starry nights, lying in the paddock with the grass gently swaying above me, the silken webs clinging to each blade of golden grass, in the evening twilight, The dirt roads, and bike rides, and the views. Those beautiful views. The ones I now have to stop and breathe in, to fill my eyes with their peaceful wonder...