Often when I am out with my camera I am looking for photo opportunities, such as pairs to share on Helena's weekly meme over at Helena's Creative Maven. The problem is I download them and then get involved in other things or don't get round to posting. Which is a shame as I love photo challenges and taking part with others. I must find a way round this....
But for now I do have a pair to share, taken on a walk the other day when I visited a local garden. I took a path I do not often venture down and stopped in my tracks to admire the bark on this tree:
And while I looked up I noticed something on the tree next to it.
A pair of Koala's! I had to add this pair too!
What was interesting is that as I looked up, other people passed and were tempted to do the same. This created conversation about the importance of looking up and amusement at seeing the unexpected. It also made me think of my friend Melanie in Australia. And how much pleasure I can get from a simple photo challenge. Thanks Helena. I really will post more and not just take photos to leave them in my downloads!
Thanks for popping by and if you missed my last post you can see more photos taken on my walk including daffodils in December. And for more photo pairs, just click on the link at the beginning.
I hope you had a wonderful Christmas, doing what you enjoy most. Ours was a nice mix of relaxing and time with family, and after all the pre-Christmas rush and preparations I was in need of some quiet time. So today I visited a local garden and took my camera.
I wasn't sure what to expect because in the weeks running up to Christmas I watched daffodils in my
sister's garden shoot, bud, then flower. It is hard to
imagine daffodils in December, but there they were, in their full glory.
Meanwhile in other parts of the country and the world there have been extreme weather conditions. One friend has been unable to return to her Yorkshire home after spending
Chirstmas with her family. Severe flooding means her home is
inaccessible and she doesn't know what to expect when she finally makes
the journey. I feel a mix of guilt and gratitude, because here in the south we have
experienced mild weather for the time of year, and some days of blue skies. Yes,
we've had rain and a bit of wind, but many days have been so warm that
we've not bothered to put the heating on.
So as I set off to the garden, I wondered. Would I see dafodils? Plants in bud perhaps, a few winter flowers?
No. I saw a spring garden in all it's glory! Let me show the photos and try to imagine, if you can, the incredible scents of mimosa, daphne, jasmine and mahonnia....
Even the fish in the pond were putting on a show, usually they keep to the bottom at this time of year.
What surprised me even more was the number of bees flying in and out the flowers. And not just these little bees, but large bumble bees too. Unfortuantly my attempts to photograph these was less successful but they were a joy to watch.
And yes. I saw daffodils too!
It's hard to believe this is the end of December. But I'm not complacent. I'm aware that the worse of the weather is probably to come and I wonder what will happen to the bees and flowers that have been lulled into early life. Time will tell, and while I enjoy the unexpected flowers and mild winter in these parts, my heart goes out to those who are struggling with floods, fires and droughts. I hope you have not been adversley affected by the strange weather we are experiencing and that these flowers make you smile as much as they did me. Thanks for popping by.
