Tankar

Can a windmill sail without wind…?

/ Leya / 36 kommentarer

Six Word Saturday

After all this snow maybe you are hungry for a fresh Beach Walk with Frank? He’ll take you along with him every week, reflecting on life through what he sees and experiences: Moon, Dawn, Storm… and today it is Fog. I managed to find some fog and mist for him to illustrate his ponderings. His thoughts are peacefully reflective and refreshing: just the thing to brighten your morning.

Thursday Thoughts – Glory Days

/ Leya / 71 kommentarer

I thought you might want to walk with me in an area I seldom walk. It is always very windy here, and the open waters make the wind chill you to the bones. But …

…not today! Several degrees below zero, but sunny and no wind. Absolutely still.

There were more than me walking here today…

I met some dogs too, but not many. Summertime this is a very popular area for walkers.

As I had anticipated, there were no birds in sight, but I knew where to find them…
Just follow the snow covered path…

…and you will reach the small pond with warmer waters. Here we find several species of ducks, swans and cormorants.

A very sunny, uplifting day for us all! Thank you for walking with me ♥

Lens-Artists Challenge #132 – Striped & Checked

/ Leya / 231 kommentarer

Once you can accept the universe as matter expanding into nothing that is something, wearing stripes with plaid comes easy. – Albert Einstein

After a beautifully emotional week with Patti, I thought we would make this week’s challenge very straight-forward – but hopefully fun as well. We find Striped and Checked everywhere around us, but maybe this is so common a pattern that we don’t notice it if we don’t go looking for it? One thing is clear though – I love these patterns, but remember that my children used to hate them. Today, our whole family often use a mix of striped and checked clothes as well as interior decoration. So, here we are – what about you?

In the header – almost only striped. Notice that the chairs make it somewhat checked too.

In fact, checked is a pattern of modified stripes consisting of crossed horizontal and vertical lines forming squares. Which make for endless possibilities!

”Simply” Scottish checked…

According to Wikipedia, the word ”checked” is derived from the ancient Persian word shah, meaning ”king”, from the oriental game of chess – particularly from the expression ”shah mat”, ”the king is dead”, or more modern, ”check-mate”. The word came into English from the French echec in the 11th century.

These patterns combined in – naturally striped and man-made checks…
Checked art – colourful, not only black and white…
Only Black & White!

Finally, I had to have some winter striped and glazed – and checked too…

Did you know that the check pattern has a number of symbolic meanings? In auto racing, the chequered flag is displayed at the finish. They say this originates from the ”checkers” who watched the finishing line and checked when cars had finished the race.

In some countries, the check pattern has become a symbol of the police. Known as ”Sillitoe tartan”, it was first used in Glasgow in the 1930s and was inspired by a pattern worn by some Scottish army regiments. The symbol is used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Norway, Iceland and some cities in the United States (notably Chicago).

Before I finish, many warm thanks to Patti and to all of your creative Emotions shared with us last week! Now we are looking forward to seeing some fun Striped and Checked findings from you! Please link to my post and don’t forget the Lens-Artists tag. Stay safe, wherever you are, and we are eagerly waiting for you to check (!) in. And, please stay tuned for January 30, when Amy will be our host.

Lens-Artists Challenge #131 – Emotions

/ Leya / 76 kommentarer

This week, Patti is our host, and LAPC#131 gives us the opportunity to focus on Emotions. We can do portraits or street photography – or, choose a subject or scene that evokes an emotion in the viewer.

Flowers are restful to look at. They have neither emotions nor conflicts. – Sigmund Freud


No flowers this time… In my opener, I have chosen rippling water in a soothingly green environment – Madeira’s levadas. Green is always recommended for bedrooms because of its calming effect – and that is the emotion I get whenever I meet the colour Green.

My images here will show maybe one main emotion – happiness. But, also love and friendship.

I cannot think of better choices than students and the storm of feelings on their graduation day. It’s impossible to get enough of their happy faces and their vivid body language!

After three years of hard work – High School graduation! These used to be my happiest days – sharing their joy.

Two of the photos are of my daughter. Now I am maybe being too personal…, but seeing her walking up the stairs last Friday as a freshly baked Doctor – filled my heart with pride. She looks so happy, so confident – so ready for a working life outside university.

Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort. —Franklin D. Roosevelt

And, don’t we all feel that for our children, for their first steps into this world, for our students and for every person who have worked hard and reached their goal? (For making tears fall it is even enough reading a good book where the hero succeeds…) I am very grateful to have met so many students in my life – and to have left them as fully fledged young men and women.

Looking back at last week, thank you Anne Sandler, for It’s a Small World, which made us all see the beauty in little things. And thank you for the fabulous macro/micro and close-up images from all of your collections!

I, Leya/Ann-Christine, will be your host for LAPC #132 next Saturday, January 23rd at noon. So, stay tuned… and for all of you in the USA – may the inauguration go smoothly.

Now we are looking forward to seeing Your emotional images! Be sure to link them to Patti’s beautiful examples, and don’t forget the Lens-Artists tag. As always – stay safe and well and mind the little things until next time.

Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible. —The Dalai Lama