I've had fun, this week, taking lots of photos for Monday's photo challenge and, as usual, I've taken far too many. It's been tough to decide on which shots to include so here's the ones that didn't quite make the grade. Is it proud to fall in love with the results of your own work?:-D
Here's Joel, running away from the waves, at the beach on Monday.
Oldest and youngest.
Two little mothers:-)
Sunset, after all that rain.
I love this one of Jordy - he's so sweet.
This is almost as tidy as Joel gets - he's an outdoorsy type:-P
This is a boring shot but, for some reason, I quite like it:-)
That's all, folks! Please leave your popcorn wrappers in the bins provided, as you exit:-D
Today, I'm joining Elisa for our third nature walk.
It's been raining here for a couple of days and this morning was a bit on the cold side. But, instead of being dull and grey, the wet weather has turned everything lush and green, so we took an umbrella and went outside with our camera, anyway.
I had intended to look for bugs to photograph but the mud put me off so I decided to do a rainy day tour of the garden, instead - complete with tour guide commentary;-)
In a flood, this part of the garden can be waist-high - that's why the house is up the steps there.
The water in this billabong is muddy because of the rain
The water's fast-flowing in the creek, today.
Path through the forest - damp and cold, today.
The creek changes every time we have a major flood. We moved in during a drought and the creek dried up completely, over our first summer. We didn't really need the bridge as we could walk across the sand. Now, the creek bed had dropped and the water is well over a metre deep in places. This has meant that the creek life is flourishing.
The trees around the bridge fell into the creek, during our first floods after the drought broke. The weather was really extreme, at the time. But, native plants grow quickly here and everything has regenerated. We still have a problem with erosion, though, so the bridge needs a lot of maintenance.
This part of the garden is inaccessible during a flood. It becomes a huge, fast-flowing lake, for a few hours.
Practising my photography skills with this shot - getting ready for Monday's photo challenge with Erin:-)
The chickens seem happy to see the sun, again, at the end of our walk. These are a mixture of ours and our neighbours' chickens. They all sit high on their perches, during floods, as the water goes halfway up the walls of the chicken coop. They don't seem to mind and it saves them from getting caught in the current.
This is pretty much what the pool has looked like all year - cover on and puddles everywhere. Usually, we spend all summer swimming but this year, we had English weather so it was brollies and gum boots, instead;-)
That's all for now:-)
Everything is drying up nicely - time to go outside and play:-D
Please see the links at Elisa Loves for more nature garden party photos.
If you're getting to feeling that there's too much stuff crowding you out of your home, then it may be time to consider a little decluttering.
At first, this might seem like a mammoth task and, understandably, you could find it slightly overwhelming, so I have put together a few tips to help make the decluttering job that little bit easier for you.
When sorting through all this stuff, you should ask yourself a few simple questions, like- do you really need it?
Have you used it much, lately?
Does it still fit you?
Or, does it take up too much room?
These simple questions should make your declutter much easier and, before you know it, you'll be able to relax in the comfort of your sparkling, clean home, enjoying the well-deserved rewards of a job well done.
So be encouraged and unburden yourself of all your useless clutter - you'll be happy you did!
Day 15: A photo of wildlife.
Not taken this week but the only wildlife I managed to capture, this week, was a dead possum:-O
I decided - very kindly, I think - to spare everyone that sight and settled on this one, instead:-D
Day 16: A photo of flowers.
A little blurry - I had the camera set at VGA:-P
Day 17: A photo of trees.
Taken at dusk, looking up.
Day 18: A photo of something rustic. (Tinted brown)
A 100 year old grass cutter we found scattered around the creek when we moved in.
Day 19: A photo taken after dark.
Our eldest daughter arriving home, while we were sitting around the fire, one evening.
Day 20: A photo of one of your favourite places to be.
Home:-D
Day 21: A photo of daily life.
One of our morning walks in the garden (Oops- two weeks ago. Another cheat!)
Please visit Erin at Seven Little Australians and Counting for more Showcase photos.
I've often thought how great it would have been to have read my grandparents' diaries - if, in fact, they had had one.
Sometimes, I wonder - how did they wash their clothes? Did they have an early type of washing machine or did they rub their hands red raw with a scrubbing board? How did they do their groceries? Did they struggle to carry them home or did they grow most of their food themselves? And, how did they manage their households? Did they experience lives of constant drudgery or did they know a lot of joy?
My grandparents all lived through the Second World War. Two of them were deaf and they coped with the threat of bombing in their city. Once, a bomb hit the street where they lived. Their windows were shattered and a neighbouring family lost their lives. I can't imagine how that must have felt.
I also wonder how they actually felt to be deaf - especially, at a time of national crisis and fear on a civilian level. I know my father's mother found deafness to be isolating, although, by nature, she was an outgoing person with a great sense of humour. I wonder how she felt about the cricket ball accident that changed her life. Was she philosophical about it or did she resent the hand she'd been dealt? And my grandfather, did he struggle to accept his loss of control in a world where communication means power and authority?
My maternal grandmother spent time in an orphanage for an obscure and partly forgotten reason. I'm not sure what happened to her in her youth but, knowing her in later life, I'm certain it left a lasting impression. Sadly, this wasn't her only suffering. A time as a single mother of twins, the loss of a newborn daughter, poverty and the long-term ill health and death of two husbands meant that she experienced sufferings throughout her life.
I wish I'd spoken to my grandmothers about the things that really mattered, when they were alive. Why didn't I think of the life they had had before I had known them? Why are the young so centred on their own lives with such little regard for what has gone before them? Over fifty years' worth of living not given a passing thought! How did they feel about that? Did it make them feel undervalued? Or did they just live for the 'now'?
With this pondering, I'm brought to think about my own future grandchildren. Will they eventually want to know about life in the early 21st century? Would the experience of my many years of living somehow help them through their own journeys? Or will it help them understand their parents and their own place in the world a little better? Could it even bring some spiritual encouragement or enlightenment to their thinking?
I'm not sure. But, knowing how much I would have welcomed the window into my not-so-long-ago ancestral past, I've just, lately, begun a personal diary. As well as thoughts and memories of our present day lives, I'll go back in time, as far as my memory allows, to try and build a more complete picture. In my maternal grandmother's case, I feel I would have understood her better had I known more about her childhood and young adulthood.
These thoughts give an intent and purpose to my diary which, I think, will give it its character. Some people write to help express themselves or to record their memories or to deal with sufferings. In my case, the intention is simply to provide our grandchildren, and however many great grandchildren there may be, with a personal history or some sort of heritage. That means that, rather than write to a symbolic 'Dear Diary' or to a private inner self, the words will be like a letter to future family - meant for their interest and possibly - even hopefully - their edification.
At the moment, I'm using an iPad journal app to write my entries. It's useful because I can include photos easily and it also has an attractive vintage appearance. But, I'm thinking about a more traditional approach - leather book, ink pen and real photos. It's hard to see an iPad app becoming a family heirloom;-)
I wonder how many other people keep a personal diary or have written their memoirs? Do you write in a traditional journal with a nice hand or do you keep your thoughts on a computer? I'd love to hear your ideas and suggestions:-)
