Wordless Wednesday
People
Lens-Artists Challenge #53 – Your Choice
New Zealand is not a small country, but a large village – Peter Jackson
There is real purity in New Zealand…It’s actually not an easy thing to find in our world anymore – Elijah Wood
Today is a very special day for us here at Lens-Artists – the one year anniversary of our Challenge. While we were all initially saddened by the discontinuation of the WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge, for us it became an opportunity to expand our blogging horizons and to create some amazing new friendships.
I feel that New Zealand is my second home. – Luke Evans
On our end, we have transitioned from four independent photography bloggers to a tightly-knit team that supports, encourages and helps each other as we develop and create our weekly challenges. We’ve also been fortunate to have expanded our follower base thanks to bloggers like you who support and inspire us.
Toitū te whenua (Leave the land undisturbed).
As a result, our challenge has become near and dear to each of our hearts. We’ve gone well beyond being individual members of a team and have become four good friends. We are tremendously thankful to you for your appreciation of our efforts; and for making us smile or feel touched by your responses. As our thank you for your support and encouragement, we’re suggesting that you respond to today’s challenge with any subject that’s near and dear to YOUR hearts, as we’ve done with our images today. If you’d prefer some guidance, choose any of the four subjects we’ve selected this week (Friendship, A country that’s special to you, Imagination and Connected).
We are a proud nation of more than 200 ethnicities, 160 languages, and amongst that diversity we share common values. – Jacinda Ardern
Each of us has included several captures that are special to us in some way.
Mine are from a country and people that occupies a special place in my heart – New Zealand. Aotearoa is the Māori name – and the most popular meaning usually given is the ”land of the long white cloud”. A strikingly diverse Nature, warm-hearted People with strong Environmental care and – an insane sense of humour! It is also the country in which JRR Tolkien’s characters so naturally belong. New Zealand opened its arms to me – and I immediately felt at home there. I would never have guessed that our blogging community could feel like ”home” too – but it does. It is a privilege to host this challenge once a month.
I’ve learned that home isn’t a place, it’s a feeling.
―
Thank you again from the bottom of our hearts for making this such a terrific experience. If you have a subject that you feel might inspire us, please feel free to suggest it – we’d love to hear from you. Should you be new to our challenge and interested in joining us, please click here and be sure to include the Lens-Artists TAG so we can all find you. Happy Blogging to all of our loyal followers and friends, and Happy Anniversary to us!
Whatungarongaro te tangata toitū te whenua
(As man disappears from sight, the land remains) This demonstrates the holistic values of the Maori, and the utmost respect of Papatuanuku, Mother Earth.
Have you seen these
Each week on Lens-Artists, we highlight several responses from among our followers. This special week we’d like to thank ALL of our followers for their thoughtful, funny, often-feisty and always wonderful posts. We hope you enjoy them as much as we do, and will continue to join us as we move into year two of the Lens-Artists Challenge.
Thursday Thoughts – A Life’s Work
Söderto is a tiny place in the southern part of Skåne, Sweden, where Karl-Göran Persson built a fortress for himself, his family and friends – in case of an attack from Russia. Karl-Göran died in 1975, and he had spent his whole life building and reinforcing this fortress.
One day we decided to try and find it, all of us intrigued by the story. So this spring we went, the three of us. And it became a strange adventure, a day to remember. You can come along if you want to…
It is not a very big place, Söderto, and the remains of his own home nearby were gone.
Karl-Göran was a simple man, a single farmer, and well known in the neighborhood for his warm heart, for his building and for his transporting all material on his bicycle.
He even mastered setting rails and railroad ties into the fortress – all by himself. The thought was to build a balcony.
He used what he could find to reinforce his fortress, be it iron beds, chamber pots, baskets or bicycle parts. Look closely at the pictures, and maybe you will find them…
After so many years of withering down, it is not advised to go inside anymore. But…
there is a friendly silence, a loving atmosphere when you walk here… you can feel his spirit still being there – in his life’s work.
A soft whisper in the fields, and the beauty of the landscape touches your soul.
Thinking of him, Karl-Göran, I believe he would have loved it that we came all that way to visit. And how much we enjoyed it too.
Just see how beautifully the villagers keep his memory.
CFFC: Smiles
Cee asks us to smile this week – Here’s one from me, last summer when I finally got away from the heat and drought in Skåne and reached the sweet, fresh air of Norrland and Lofoten. The best smile that year…
And the sweetie in the header, from Jokkmokk’s Market in Lappland, Sweden.
You can never get too many smiles in your life!
Thursday Thoughts – Feeling Good
Enjoying each others’ company!
Tuesday Photo Challenge – Connections
Frank goes for Connections this week, and I have a story. Last week I went to The Netherlands for the grand flower festival and the parade – but also to reconnect with a man I met almost exactly 30 years ago when hiking the King’s Trail from Abisko, Sweden.
We have not seen each other for all those years, but we have kept contact by writing letters. A great deal of ones life ”happens” somewhere between 30 and 60. But, we recognized each other immediately. He was still shy, and so tall and thin, though his big bush of hair had turned greyer and a bit less bushy. Like mine.
We spent some hours walking, talking, eating good food and remembering those happy, hiking days in the mountains. 1989. I walked with my dog and he walked alone. I was very impressed by him being a professor in theoretical mathematics and he was impressed by me hiking alone, heavily packed and only accompanied by a big dog.
Where did all those years go? We still connect…Wim and I, and it was not easy to say goodbye again. Life is a strange thing, but so are connections. Just how do they work? What makes us connect, never forget, and still ”know” one another after so many years? Wonderful.
Friendly Friday Photo Challenge: Mistakes
Friendly Friday – and Mistakes. In the header, a street in Copenhagen with a very famous Danish toy figure trying to amuse a little girl – but she started crying and ran away to hide behind her dad… And below, the mistake of leaving your tasty bit unattended…
Thursday Thoughts – Looking Back
Do you sometimes look back and remember what happened the same month the year before? I seldom do…but thought I would try it today, as Totti’s birthday is approaching, and our wedding anniversary as well. But let’s start off with the strawberry tents – and a sculpture. Last week I saw the tents were up again – how I long for those strawberries!
In the header you see the last spell of snow on March 8, 2018. Not much this year so far.
Then, I had the privilege of meeting the world’s oldest blogger – Dagny, 106 years old. She was hit by a car this winter, but is still going strong… after a short hospital visit.
Totti turned 10 and my husband and I celebrated 40 years of marriage.
A memorable month – I wonder what will come out of March 2019? Milo is a new family member, and Totti will turn 11…Do you think summing up sometimes is a good thing?
Why or why not?
Today it is…
International Women’s Day 2019
Even if she is far too young to be called a woman, Greta Thunberg is the first name on the list from a poll made by one of our most important evening papers:
Rent allmänt, vilken svensk kvinna tycker du har utmärkt sig särskilt positivt under de senaste 12 månaderna? Generally speaking, what Swedish woman do you believe excelled in the most positive way during the last 12 months?
https://www.aftonbladet.se/a/ddxJn1?refpartner=link_copy_app_share
Keep up the good work, Great, Greta ♥ And mother, going on 84, having forest fika –
I love you ♥!
Thursday Thoughts – from Umeå
I went to Umeå for a couple of days to visit my daughter – my son wanted to go as well.
Listen to Sara – the voice of Västerbotten!
Umeå is a student’s dream – and was the cultural capital of Europe in 2014.
Walking this passage we can both listen to and see the work of the author Sara Lidman – the voice of Västerbotten (this part of Sweden).
Umeå (ca 90 000 inhabitants) started in the 14th century, and is called the capital of Norrland and the City of Birches. I really should visit in spring to see the fragrant green.
Gammlia
Gammlia is an open air museum with many old buildings for people to visit and remember the olden days. Sami people have a special place here.
The sun has returned to Norrland as well – and sitting outdoors to catch the warmth is essential. Skiing and ice skating on the river is for every person, old and young. It is fun to watch three year olds racing like wild things – and are they skilled!
In the middle of the city they build ice playgrounds and a maze. And many roads have a built in heating coil to take away the snow.
After some 12 kilometers walking, we took a break at a lovely old book store.
And we had some delicious food as well…before walking back home – in the middle of the street like everyone else did. Too much snow and ice where we should have walked! But we did not slip or fall, despite the difficult weather.
Normally the temperature never rise above zero during winter, but now, due to climate change, it frequently jumps up and down. Last week -25 C and this weekend 5-6 plus and thaw. The Sami people and their reindeer suffer from these changes because when the temperature drops again, there will be a thick ice cover and the reindeer cannot reach the necessary food under the snow. The animals starve and the Sami people have to use state funds to survive.
Leya 
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