Photography

Fly Me to the Moon (Weekly Photo Challenge: Boundaries)

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When I was a child, I would look up at the night sky and imagine myself to be in the company of Peter Pan, Wendy, John and Michael, escaping to Neverland with arms outstretched, as if flying were the most natural form of transportation in the world. After several trial flights off the edge of a barn loft into a pile of hay, I had to accept reality. There have been times in my life, though, when I experienced “flying dreams”–ones in which I felt detached from my physical body, yet was fully aware that I was soaring above the earth, elated by my freedom, no longer bound by the limits of space and time. Even upon waking, the feelings associated with being at peace and in a state of wonder would remain with me long afterwards. While watching the lunar eclipse on September 27, 2015, I marvelled, again, at nature’s awesome display.  As I watched the moon pass through earth’s shadow–our home planet temporarily blocking the rays of the sun–the moonscape took on a mysterious blood red glow. Lovely!  These are a few of the photos I took that night from our deck in the city.

Rainbow Colours of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia (WPC-Roy G. Biv)

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When I first read the subject of this Weekly Photo Challenge, I knew that my pictures of Lunenburg, NS would provide all but one of the colours of the rainbow required to appear in this assignment. For violet, the “v” in the mnemonic “Roy G. Biv”, the irises now blooming in my garden fit the bill. The first photo in the mosaic was taken in Peggy’s Cove, NS, and I chose to include it because the yellows are more visible and vibrant than those of the potted flowers to the right of the mural.  Enjoy.

Bohemians of Spring

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March 23, 2015

For those of us living in Nova Scotia, these last two months have been unusual in that we’ve had several major snowstorms.  As I wrote in an earlier post, “remedies for winter blues” often arrive unannounced and unexpected; I can now count my first sightings ever of Bohemian Waxwings among them.  Harbingers of spring?  Let’s hope so!

Harbingers of Spring
(Oh, no!  Not more snow!)

Tipsy as they land,
Bohemian Waxwings flock
To my apple tree;
Feasting on fermented fruit,
Flaunting yellow-banded wings.

 

 

Crab Apple Boughs in Spring

 

 

The Buds of May

Pink pearls, now in bloom,
Hang in drifts of snowy white–
Wafting spring’s sweet scent.

Fisherman’s Monument (Weekly Photo Challenge: Wall)

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This one hundred foot, granite rock face in Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia, honours both the living and those lost at sea.  Sculpted by William Edward deGarthe (1907-1983), it incorporates thirty-two fishermen, their wives and children, enveloped by the wings of a guardian angel.

Lunenburg Characters

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Waterfront Diner, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia

Waterfront Diner, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia

I was quite taken by the number of life-sized, wood carvings of seafaring characters in the town of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia (Canada)–a UNESCO World Heritage Site–one of five designated as such in this beautiful Canadian coastal province.  Although this photo was taken a few years ago, it’s one that still speaks to me of Scale, a recent Weekly Photo Challenge.  The people on the upper balcony and at ground level are folk art representations, of course, while those on the middle balcony are for real!

Butterflies in Flight (Weekly Photo Challenge: Shadowed)

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Butterflies in Flight

Late afternoon sun coming from the direction of my patio doors, passed through a glass plate on top of my bookcase and created a shadow-image of a butterfly on the wall behind it.  This was an unexpected, but lovely coincidence relating to a recent Weekly Photo Challenge theme, so I grabbed my camera!

The Yellow House (Weekly Photo Challenge: Yellow)

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The Yellow House

The Yellow House

I had written about this yellow house for a post in January of 2014 entitled Remedies for Winter Blues, and this is the second time I’ve been unable to dismiss an earlier Weekly Photo Challenge from my mind, succumbing, at last, to “dealing with it” in my own belated way. You guessed it! The theme for the assignment that I missed weeks ago, in December, was “Yellow”, and there’s no denying that this image fulfills that criteria. To learn more about why I first chose to describe this home across the street from where I live, please read my earlier entry, and tell me what you think.  (The black bear standing on its hind legs–a sculpture positioned between the two marine blue doors of the duplex–holds a basket filled with flowers in its front paws during the summer months.  It gave me a scare when I first noticed it as night was falling, but I appreciate the zany sense of humour expressed by the wonderful couple who own the building.)

Gone, But Not Forgotten (Weekly Photo Challenge)

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Gone, But Not Forgotten

Gone, But Not Forgotten

This photograph was taken a decade or so ago, before it became necessary for Betty–my mom–to move to a senior’s care residence, and before our beloved pet “Bud” passed away from complications of hemophilia within two and a half years of her death.  This image came to mind when I first saw the weekly challenge on this theme in early December.  Over the intervening weeks, prior to my decision to post their photograph, I have experienced such warm memories of them both that I could not help but share their love with you, as they gently cared for one another, and for all our family.  Gone, but not forgotten.  Ever.

The Face in the Window (Photo 101: Glass)

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The Face in the Window

1. The Face in the Window

I was standing across the street from Flight of Fancy: Fine Art Hand Crafts in Bear River, Nova Scotia one summer afternoon a few years ago, when I had the uncomfortable feeling that my husband and I were being secretly spied upon by a stranger.  Intuition, perhaps, made me glance up at a second story window of the gallery, and I was relieved to find that there was, indeed, a mysterious but non-threatening figure staring out through the pane of glass.

Iris Blossoms on Windowsill

2. Iris Blossoms on Windowsill

 

One morning in early spring, I rescued these iris blossoms from where they’d fallen to the ground during a stormy night.  I love how the velvet-textured, purple hues of the standards and falls were intensified by the natural light shining through both them and the vase in which they stood on the windowsill.  The swirling cobalt ribbon of colour in the glass along with the deep blue starfish and a small dish nearby, further added to my pleasure in the scene.  Even the  showers outside my kitchen window were unable to dampen my mood that day!