So, it’s the end of a wonderful summer – but also a frightening summer with far too high temperatures.
The little port at the other side of the water, is glowing in the morning sun. It’s September, and temperatures should be falling. Should be…but are not. We swim every day in the warm sea.
I pick up Milo and we walk along the summer houses by the water. The neighbours let their flowers invade the walk, and I love those high, handsome bells.
As we head for the meadows and the canal, one of the big herons sweeps over our heads. It is the last visit to our summer house this year, and I always feel sad to say goodbye to this beloved place. A piece of freedom – a haven of peacefulness it is. And when the summer tourists have left, everything is quiet, and Mother Nature can take it back and have it all to herself.
The car is packed, and we drive back home again. The first thing to do is to water all the plants and flowers. Hardly any rain fell here this summer, and some plants didn’t survive. We don’t have our own well – so – there are choices to be made. Which plants or flowers do I absolutely want to live? Which ones must I let go?
It’s easier indoors, where I can close the blinds and and save all the plants from the scorching sun.
I try not to think about that ominous heat – only to love the beautiful summer we had. But, something is very wrong with the climate. And – with many other things in this world. Still, I am grateful for a wonderful summer with family and friends. They are my hope. I hope you had a lovely summer too. Or the season you are in.
Ritva wants us to share a quiet moment. ”Where is your serene sanctuary?”, she asks. Is it the warm comfort of sipping your morning coffee or tea – alone in the silence? Or, maybe the peaceful moments engaging in your favourite hobbies? This week’s challenge is encouraging us to connect with our inner emotions and experiences.
You who follow me, or often read my blog, will know how much I need and love those quiet moments. I think we all crave them to have harmony in our lives.
I so envy cats. They seem to effortlessly land in those moments every day. And I, I quietly look at them and would love to know their secret…
Once I had an otherworldly experience, one that I know I might never have again. This is the tiny island of Corvo in the Azores archipelago. We were only allowed to stay for half an hour, and those soundless 30 minutes passed all too fast. We sat looking down in the hydrangea filled volcano crater – that was all the island consisted of – floating in the skies around us. Everything was blue and green – no borders, nothing.
And the white and black dots you see deep down there – are cows.
Summerhouse sunset, and my two children growing… too fast. I remember this moment, maybe 16-17 years ago, standing there looking at them, tears burning, loving them with all my heart.
These last photos are from an early morning, same place, no dog, only my camera. A quiet walk, contemplating the last days of a beautiful summer.
As I reached the path, I stopped breathing when the delicate deer stepped out of the forest and into the light.
At the end of the path, is the sea. In the smooth water sailed silent birds and boats.
This beautiful family was sailing while eating, teaching their young how to dip down and dive for food. In quiet moments, details become more clear to us, we can watch, enjoy and learn.
Thank you Ritva for this wonderful challenge. I warmly recommend a visit to Ritva’s beautiful post and be inspired by her thoughtful photos and words. Remember to link back to her original post and to tag Lens-Artists so we can easily find you.
Last week we had so much fun with Anne’s challenge. I loved to see how differently we can interpret a theme! Next week it is Egídio’s turn to host, Saturday 13th September. Until then, take care and be kind.
If you want to know more about the Lens-Artists Challenge, please click here.
Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after.
– Henry David Thoreau
I feared this would be a difficult challenge for me – I don’t do sports anymore even if I enjoy watching some of them. My daughter was in a gymnastic team and my son an avid skater. My husband a handballer and myself, I was a swimmer, runner and a horse girl. I definitely never (?) photograph sports. Fortunately I have my archives and hoped to find some pictures anyway. Beth´s challenge gives you many possibilities!
Well, searching my memory and archives paid off – here are some different sports and games:
Sports are such a great teacher. I think of everything they’ve taught me: camaraderie, humility, how to resolve differences.
– Kobe Bryant
In Bhutan, the national sport is archery. We went to see some teams compete at a sports arena – and their long shooting bows were incredibly sharp.
I’m a competitive person and I love the challenge of mastering new things.
– Sasha Cohen
Some of my son´s happiest moments were in the big bowls of Malmoe skate park. And still are. (Photo by David P.) The skateboard was with him on all vacations for several years – at Figueres as well. I wonder what Dalí would have made out of it…
Sports involving both animals and humans are the most difficult ones. Cooperation is essential. One of my old students is a Swedish champion in jousting.
The only way to prove that you’re a good sport is to lose.
– Ernie Banks
A spectacular racing event was the famous reindeer race in Jokkmokk, Lapland. Reindeer are very tough to train – they are not like our pets. To handle them, you have to keep your tongue steady in your mouth too!
It’s a crazy world, so sports and athletics and music can be a form of escapism.
– Eddie Vedder
Finally some competitions/sports for dogs. I never really liked that, but if we wanted to buy our dogs it was necessary to let the breeder have his certificates. Good memories though – Totti won Swedish and Danish Champion titles.
Totti at Hovdala championshipsHamar, Norway for a dog show. This is Totti’s son.More competitions…Me and Totti to the right
– In order to really enjoy a dog, one doesn’t merely try to train him to be semi-human. The point of it is to open oneself to the possibility of becoming partly a dog.
– Edward Hoagland
And Totti held a boxing title too…shared with Mille of course. Those were the days – daily entertainment in our garden!
Just play. Have fun. Enjoy the game.
–Michael Jordan
In the header, debating monks at the Sera Monastery in Tibet. A popular sport where the ”performers” loved to show off both their versatility and knowledge. I wish I knew their language so I could follow their intelligent arguments!
A massive thank you to Beth for this challenge that got me hard working and showed me I need to take more photos of sporting events. When you join us, (I know you will find something in the end, even if you despair like I did…) remember to tag Lens-Artists and to link back to Beth’s original post.
Last week meant so many beautiful doors raining over us! A big thank you to Sofia, and to all of you for sharing your doors and doorways with us.
Next week it is Anne’s turn to lead us, Saturday 30th August. Until then, take care and be kind.
Anne is making us reflect…and our different reflections will be remarkable, I am sure! This is a much loved theme for photographers. There are so many ways to show reflections, and these are only some of my own favourites. Looking forward to seeing Yours!
My number one favourite was captured in Switzerland – the Fluela Pass. I have told the story many times…but here it is again: We drove out to a tiny little village, knowing we would pass this beautiful pass (!). We could not find the view along the road though, even if we had seen it in the guide books. Finally, on our way home, the sun stood in the right position and we stopped, overwhelmed, to take it all in. I can still feel it every time I look at this photo.
Water turning into ice is also a possibility for reflections. This is Totti walking on thin ice at Vedema. I still don’t know how he dared to…being just as afraid of water as a cat! Luckily he didn’t walk through the ice.
Buildings – I love those opportunities for reflections and possible fun distortions. This is in London, and I even got a red double decker in the picture.
Canoeing a silent morning at our summerhouse – the river doesn’t stop over there…it turns right beyond the trees. Herons usually fly up along the growing reed.
An old reflection of our first lagotto, Mille. He was patiently waiting indoors when we returned late from the sea.
A Yayoi Kusama exhibition in Copenhagen with multiple mirrors and holes to peep in through. My camera in the upper right corner!
A standing mirror in a dark room in a Danish castle.
At Vanås architecture park, you can walk on mirrors in one of the barns. Exhilarating – but some people just cannot do it…even I had to brace myself.
An installation of mirrors in Copenhagen. (Really, one of me is quite enough…)
Another old favourite of mine, taken in Beijing many years ago. I photographed a lantern in the street – and the result turned out like this.
In the opener is a whole block of houses covered in fragments of glass. Tough to look at in sunlight, but very special. Finally a favourite from a botanical garden with giant waterlily pads.
Many thanks to Anne for giving us an opportunity to enjoy the most lovely reflections. Be sure to visit her original challenge post here, and to use the Lens-Artists Tag in your response to help us find you. Thanks also to Beth for her first challenge as a Lens-Artists team member, and to all those who responded with amazing, stormy scenes. Finally, I hope you’ll join us next week when I, Leya/Ann-Christine, will lead – this time with a new Lens-Artists ”look-back” which we’ll be using again from time to time. Until then as always please stay safe, be kind and enjoy the good things in life!
I just found out that our dear blogger friend Cee Neuner passed away on March 3, 2025. She will be forever loved and remembered in the blogging world.♥
My son was born on the 14th of May – the most beautiful time of the year. I always go for long walks that day, feeling grateful for everything I have been given.
An early wake up again on the train – the last part before Lhasa. The Tanggula pass is more than 5000 meters above sea level, but we were well taken care of with oxygen in our compartments.
The Tibetan Plateau is breathtakingly beautiful – I still have tears in my eyes when I look at the old photos-
– and again we were glued to the window. The whole journey is almost 2000 kilometers and today it takes some 40-45 hours. I guess hour train ride took a bit longer 16 years ago.
We passed by majestic rivers, lakes, mountains in every kind of weather – but I think above all we loved the magical cloudscapes over the vast open spaces.
I remember we didn’t sleep much…as we didn’t want to leave the magic outside that train window. In fact we were earlier up than ever. We rose with the first light shining in.
The colours were beautifully contrasting between warm and cold, and the numerous jaks and sheep were grazing everywhere. We also saw a wolf, but weren’t quick enough to photograph it.
The clouds created a moving palette on the ground – with shadows and light playing. Sometimes we felt the clouds were sailing so low we could have touched them had we been able to get off the train for a minute!
As we approached Lhasa, we came closer to the mountains and the valleys –
which we hadn’t done before. There were some people too out there – but very few and not easily spotted. If you can see them, they speak of the vastness and grandeur of the landscape.
Time stood still during the train ride, so we couldn’t imagine we would soon be there – at our final destination Lhasa, Tibet. A destination longed for since I was a child, but I never could have dreamed of such an amazing journey to get there!
A couple of minutes left, and then – a new adventure would unfold. Tibet. We were sad to leave the Plateau behind, because we knew we would fly back to Beijing in a couple of weeks, never to see it again.
Thank you for taking the Quinghai train with me – at least a bit easier than staying glued to a train window!
In 2009 we travelled by railroad to Tibet from China. A grand adventure on the Tibetan Plateau.
It is the world’s highest and largest plateau above sea level with an area of 2.500.000 square kilometres. The average elevation is more than 4.500 meters (14800 ft)
I have gone back to look at my old photos from the train – a train that never stopped and only let us take photos from where we sat. All four of us were glued to the windows those few days.
The landscape was breathtakingly beautiful, vast and wild – and I tried to capture it all with my simple, little Canon camera.
I am so grateful to have these memories, and despite the old camera, I will post some more pictures next Thursday as well.
This morning I had an appointment for Milo – his annual big haircut, bath and spa (if I can call it that…). He has a love/hate thing with it. He rushes to his beloved Mia – and doesn’t want to have an ordinary walk before the ordeal. But after suffering a couple of hours at her hands, he then emerges as a RENEWED DOG.
While he is there, I take a long walk in my old surroundings, where I worked for about 20 years. This walk was always a pleasure, and now, with some colours still lingering – it’s a treat.
Please walk with me even if it is damp and foggy in the morning –
– it will get brighter when the sun has soaked up the mist.
And it’s on its way now…
I can feel it!
The forest is silent and the air crisp and clear. Autumn at its best.
Now when Milo was his loveliest self again, he happily jumped into the car to go home. But first another walk where I always used to stop after work – The Old Mill. See you there next time!
Everyone who once has owned the friendship of a dog, will love the story of Hachikō – Japan’s most famous dog.
Hachikō was an Akita-inu, born in 1923. He followed his master to the Shibuya station in Tokyo every day and met him there every night when he returned.
But one day, professor Ueno suddenly died and never came back. Hachikō waited for almost ten years for his master, sitting at the same place outside the station. Many people cared for him and helped him, so…
…his story got wings and travelled around the world, even to Sweden. As a child I read about him and was very moved by his faithfulness. At home we always had both cats and dogs, so my heart was aching for his fate.
In 1934, his statue was unveiled, and Hachikō himself was present too. Today there is always a long queue to his statue – young and old – everyone wants a photo with him by their side. Even if it is heavily raining…The station gate and exit wear his name and on the wall there are several Akita-inu dogs portrayed.
Leya 
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