Microfiction Monday: A Fairy Tale

Clever Susan at Microfiction Monday asks us to elucidate on the photo she provides in 140 characters or less.

 

With 120 characters, here is my take on this week's prompt.... 

 

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Part fairy dust and angel dreams,

                 our nights are wrapped in elfin schemes.

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Come sunrise and the break of day,

                like fairy dust, they've blown away...

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For more of Microfiction Monday, do visit the link below...there is much good reading to be found there!

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http://www.stonyriver.ie/

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Shadow Shot Sunday: Relics

 I like all things weathered and worn, (tilting swiftly into that category myself!).

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Where some in my neighbourhood are offended by this local property turned into a vehicle graveyard, I consider it a gluttonous feast for my photographer's eye!

Coming across it late one day with the afternoon sunlight slanting through the trees, and a dappled coat of shadows blanketing all, I shot frame after frame…as eager and pleased as if I’d found a palace to photograph!

Some time ago, I vehemently refused to sign a petition, begun in an effort to force the owner to clean up his lot...heaven forbid!

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 In my staid suburban enclave of subdivisions virtually indistinguishable from one another, this jewel of a yard adds a much-needed note of whimsy and individuality that stands out and makes one take notice.

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I say it’s time beauty at all ages was admired…even we weathered and worn relics need our day in the sun, after all!!

I'm linking this to Shadow Shot Sunday hosted by Tracy at Hey Harriet. I know you'd enjoy stopping by the link below to check out other shadow shots!

http://heyharriet.blogspot.com/

Saturday Photo Hunt: Monkeys

On photo safari through East Africa's game parks, one is lifted from the ordinary and transported to a world of such stunning beauty that the senses can barely take it in. Miles of golden savannah, thorny acacia trees that dot the landscape, and sky that goes on forever instill such awe that speech becomes inadequate and unnecessary.

 And most amazing of all is that this brilliance is but background to the

majesty of the animal life that calls these grasslands home.

While I marvelled at the lions and elephants, and found myself enthralled by the gangly giraffe, I developed a special fondness for the cheeky Vervet Monkeys with their tiny black faces and soft brown eyes.

 Locals do not consider these little guys cute...they are bold, opportunistic and altogether too quick to leap into safari trucks and dining rooms to steal away what they can...

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  I never tired of watching their antics, and the futile efforts of the humans who tried to control them!

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You might like these other posts of my Africa trip:

http://imaginationlane.blogspot.com/2010/07/african-morning.html

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http://imaginationlane.blogspot.com/2010/07/hot-air-balloon-over-serengeti.html

The photos above were taken at the Samburu National Reserve in Kenya

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I'm linking this post to Saturday Photo Hunt, graciously hosted by tnchick. Do stop by and check out other photos that spotlight black this week!
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http://tnchick.com/

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I am also linking up to a great meme I just discovered called Camera Critters. I can see I'm going to love this one...
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http://camera-critters.blogspot.com/

Racoon Reflections

One of our favourite spots for weekend wandering is a small fishing settlement called Finn Slough that remains little changed since it  began early in the twentieth century. For many years, it provided work for the now-historic cannery in Steveston, and is still inhabited by a handful of fishers who seem to live in easy harmony with their surroundings, despite being minutes away from the busy metropolis of Richmond B.C.

One day as I stood on the shaky wooden drawbridge looking up the slough, I was delighted to see a racoon making his way toward me. He slouched along methodically, digging into the mud and rinsing off whatever edible treats he brought to the surface

 Low tide had uncovered a treasure trove for him and he was not going to miss a bit of it...every inch of mud got a thorough inspection.

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Patiently, I waited and watched, until he was right under me, completely unconcerned by my quiet presence.

Busy with his labours, he continued under the bridge to forage some more...

I am linking this post to the wonderful 'Weekend Reflections' hosted by James. For a real treat, stop by and peruse more reflective photos!

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http://newtowndailyphoto.blogspot.com/

Thursday Think Tank: Lemons

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Like lemons, bitter

on the tongue, your caustic words

eat into my soul...

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For more poems using 'lemon' as a prompt, do drop by Poets United Thursday Think Tank at the link below...you'll be glad you did!

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http://poetryblogroll.blogspot.com/2011/02/thursday-think-tank-37-lemons.html#more

Irish Signposts

A wonderful crossroads in West Ireland.

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Profusion of signs... 

  shall I follow a lead or

  seek my own clear path?

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I am linking this post to 'Theme Thursday', graciously hosted by Megan, who supplied this week's prompt, 'point'. Do check out the link below...

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http://themethursday.blogspot.com/

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I am also linking to 'Signs, Signs', hosted by Lesley. You'll want to check out this link...
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http://signs2.blogspot.com/
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Celestial Windows

Belfast City Hall,

which I thought church-like when I was a child.

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Salisbury Cathedral, England

Since I posted dark and mysterious windows last week, I thought to offer contrast today with portals so heavenly and bright, one can easily imagine spirits being drawn to the light that beckons with a promise of hope and joy.

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St. Peter's Catholic Church, Belfast, N.I.

Growning up with the Troubles in Northern Ireland, I have not always been a fan of organized religion and the wrongs so often perpetrated in its name. That said, I have since sat quietly in a good many churches, temples and abbeys…and felt myself infused with love, goodwill and the unrelenting sense that mankind’s innate goodness will triumph above all.

I hope these windows will offer momentary respite from the trials of the moment and be a sweet reminder that each day is precious beyond words….
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St. Brigid and St. Patrick
St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, Ireland

I'm linking this post to Mary T's Wednesday meme, 'Window Views...And Doors Too!'

For more intriguing photos, do stop by the following link...
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http://windowviews2.blogspot.com/
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Microfiction Monday and Thursday Think Tank

I originally posted this poem only to Mirofiction Monday, but as it is a good match to March 10th's Think Tank prompt, I'm adding a link back to that site....
http://poetryblogroll.blogspot.com/2011/03/thursday-think-tank-39-ghosts.html#more
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I came across Microfiction Monday by accident, and was drawn in immediately by this intriguing photograph of the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in West Virginia, a facility that housed the mentally ill in the mid-1800s, and has since become an historic national landmark.

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The site's host asks us to elucidate on the photo she provides in 140 characters or less.

This immediately came to mind...

Past empty rooms that
echo still with distant lives,
I tread with care…
mindful that the sly ghosts
of yesteryear reach out
to touch my heart and

draw me to their breasts.

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(140 Characters)

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For more of Microfiction Monday, do visit the link below...there is much good reading to be found there!

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http://www.stonyriver.ie/.

Shadow Shot Sunday: Utah Shadows

If you've read my previous posts, you'll know that I fell in love with Utah after a road trip there last year. Its breadth and topography left me gasping with awe at each turn of the road. In all my travels, I have never seen its like before...it is, quite simply, a photographer's dreamscape.


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Among many possibilities on the trip, Utah offered endless opportunities for shadow shots. The light had a radiant quality, clear and unfettered, that spun swirls of shadows across the red soil and undulating rock faces.

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It seems certain I will once more succumb to the call of these great canyons and cliffs, and the

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wide grassy valleys... I know I would never tire of watching shadows shift and form anew as the sun moves across the sky...

I am linking this post to Shadow Shot Sunday, hosted by the gracious Tracy. You can be assured of a treat for the eyes if you pop in for a visit!

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http://heyharriet.blogspot.com/
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Photo Hunt: Silhouettes

Although I’m sporadic in visiting, one of my favourite memes is the ‘Saturday Photo Hunt’ hosted by http://tnchick.com/

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Each week, a theme is provided, with participants asked to submit a photo they think best illustrates that theme.
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When I saw that today’s prompt was ‘silhouettes’, it brought to mind a crisp Fall day spent in a corner of our West Coast known as Steveston. That afternoon stands out in part because we shared it with our younger son - walking along the waterfront and watching the sun sink lower in the sky.

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As this grown man clambered over the rocks and launched logs into the water, I was reminded of countless afternoons over the years when our children were small and each day was an adventure waiting for them to undertake.
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For me, it is most certainly the small moments in life that have sculpted my contentment…

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Thank you tnchick, for hosting this weekly event..so glad I've rediscovered you.
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Me and My Kobo

I never expected to own a Kindle, a Kobo, or any other eReader. I am too fond of books to ever consider replacing them. I love everything about them…the feel and the smell of paper, the heft of a fat book in my hands, the pleasing symmetry of volumes lined up on shelves, ready to be perused at my leisure. A book goes with me everywhere, be it to the dentist or the grocery store…one never knows when the chance for a cup of tea and a read will present itself!

Above: A corner of my home library.

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I, therefore, had mixed feelings when my husband bought me a Kobo for Christmas. Holding something the size of a calculator to read was so foreign to how I’d absorbed knowledge and pleasure since childhood on that I felt only awkwardness. It must also be said that I am a techno-peasant…computers often seem out to get me, I still write poems longhand, and will generally choose the sound of silence over the constant input of television and radio.

To my surprise, I have come to very much enjoy my new toy. The eReader came loaded with one hundred classic books. I can add another thousand to it, and insert memory cards for more. I find myself re-reading my favourite authors, like Charlotte Bronte and Ralph Waldo Emerson. Last night I started ‘Anna Karenina’, and earlier in the week, eagerly opened ‘A Tale of Two Cities’. EReaders are perfect for reading several books concurrently, as I’m wont to do.
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Left: My craft room, also filled with books!

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It is a definite boon that the Kobo fits neatly into my purse. On our last trip out of the country, I carried with me a bulky tome written by Ken Follett. I certainly could not leave it at home for two weeks when I was in the middle of the story; nor could I abandon in a café it to be picked up serendipitously by another traveler, as I have done in the past with lesser-loved reads. This book had a space reserved for it on the shelf at home.
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I am pleased to discover that it does not have to be an either/or situation…I can enjoy my electronic reader, and still revel at the three thousand or so books filling the rooms that make up my home library.

Possibilities abound! The whole world is spread before me in books, and with the turn of a page – or the click of a button - I can explore every inch of it.
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Mysterious Windows

Lincoln Castle, England

Windows let in light...they illuminate our inner rooms and allow us to clearly view the world outside our doors.

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But when those windows are besmeared by the ravages of time and weather, an element of mystery adds drama that clouds their usual clarity.

These are the windows into which I eagerly peer, in hopes of uncovering what secrets have been hidden...
and returning them to the light.

Asford Castle Boathouse, Ireland

Bose Farm Dairy Shed, Surrey BC, Canada

I've picked windows that intrigued me and am linking them to Mary T's 'Window Views...and doors too!' . For more photos, do stop by the following link...
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http://windowviews2.blogspot.com/

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My World Tuesday

Life in our West Coast rainforest means that many birds stay all year round to enjoy the temperate climate, a definite boon for those of us who delight in their daily visits.

Chickadees, wrens and finches abound, chased away only briefly by the appearance of the loud and bossy Steller's Jay.

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I am posting these photos as my first entry into My World Tuesday, graciously hosted by Klaus, Sandy, Wren and Sylvia.

For a glimpse into other corners of the world, do stop by and visit at the following link...

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http://www.showyourworld.blogspot.com/

Remembering Angel...Repost

Because today is the anniversary of a

beloved friend's passing, I am reposting this piece to affirm that love is the one thing that never dies....

We only had eleven years to share with our beloved Yorkshire Terrier, but they were years we will always cherish. Angel was a delight to us...so bright...so loving and sweet. She adored us with every fibre of her being and wanted nothing more than to share her life with us. We are so very grateful that she did...

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We chose Angel from a kennel in Revelstoke, knowing as soon as we met her that she would become part of our family. On the long drive home to Surrey, she lay content in my arms, the beat of my heart soothing her in sleep and bonding her to us so easily it was clearly meant to be. She had been named Angel because she was a scrappy little devil, full of mischief and play. We kept the name because surely if there are angels, they would come in the form of this most loving of companions.

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She was everything you could ask for in a friend: funny... feisty... loyal...and always there when comfort and unconditional love were what was needed. I like to think we enriched her life as bountifully as she did ours, but I don't believe any of us shone as brilliantly as she did.
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Angel has been gone for three years now, and it has been difficult to move on without her. Quite unexpectedly, we found another little soul who needed us as much we needed her, and we are dog guardians one more. With a boundless capacity for love, our hearts can always find room to accept more...but for all time, there will be a special place in each of us reserved for the joy that was Angel.

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We love you, Angel...we miss you terribly... and will never forget you and the blessing you brought to our lives. You were the best girl in the world...

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