Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #48 – Wild

1 juni, 2019 / Leya / 44 kommentarer

“In wildness is the preservation of the world.” – Henry David Thoreau

Tina encourages us this week to go Wild! And, this time of the year I spend as much time as possible outdoors, in the wild, so my decision was easy – to go for my own neighborhood and use the most common meanings of the word Wild (according to Wikipedia) –

Wild animal – I met this lovely deer on my morning tour a couple of days ago. She noticed me of course, but waited patiently in the sunlit glade until I was gone.

Wilderness – a wild natural environment not significantly modified by human activity.

Wildlife traditionally refers to undomesticated animal species, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wild in an area without being introduced by humans. Represented in the header by a wild rose.

One of the most fascinating things in the wild is the metamorphosis of butterflies. Here some caterpillars of the small tortoiseshell, feeding on stinging nettles…

…but later developing into these beauties – Wild Wonders!

Finally, Wildness – the quality of being wild or untamed……easily recognizable even in domesticated animals – such as my dogs running and chasing each other like maniacs.

Would you like to go wild for a moment? Welcome to join in! Tag your entry ”Lens-Artists” so we can find you in the reader. And stay tuned for next week’s host, Patti, for challenge #49!

Thursday Thoughts – Looking Back

14 mars, 201913 mars, 2019 / Leya / 18 kommentarer

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?

Tuesday Photo Challenge – Surface

19 februari, 2019 / Leya / 20 kommentarer

For Frank at Dutch Goes The Photo – Ripples on the Surface

Tuesday Photo Challenge – Crawl

12 februari, 2019 / Leya / 7 kommentarer

Tuesday Photo Challenge – Crawl

For Dutch Goes the Photo this Tuesday – Crawl! I thought I had no photos of crawling creatures…but found these. I was looking for a snake shot of a Swedish viper. But No, did not find it…I hope a Galapagos Land Iguana is OK – at least when it is eating from a cactus. And the Swedish variety is a nice little spring frog.

And I could not refrain from giving you this human crawl as well…spotted in Switzerland some years ago…Enjoy!

CFFC: Funny

20 november, 201820 november, 2018 / Leya / 17 kommentarer

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Funny

Surprise, surprise!

Why do you feed reindeer on the road? Because you have all the time in the world when you are on vacation, because it is fun…and you seem not to care if they get hit by a car. Quite a few of them were limping and were in no hurry to leave the road.

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #18: Blending In – or Standing Out?

3 november, 20184 november, 2018 / Leya / 175 kommentarer

As I walk in the forest every day, I notice that the tracks and paths are slowly disappearing with the falling leaves. In the thick carpet of autumn brown, yellow and red, I lose my dogs more easily because of their blending in, and today I could not find the main path ahead at all…

Blending in – essential when you are a child, and in Nature it might be of crucial importance. A matter of Life or Death. How important is it to us humans today?

Blending in is of less importance in this shot, though. A domesticated animal in the first frosty days in the forest. But here blending in brings harmony and beauty to the eye.

Somewhere in Spain, I came upon these cats – and as cats still are hunters, and often wild in these areas, I guess they take advantage of their good camouflage colours.

In the Galapagos Islands the animals don’t have many enemies, but here are two fine examples of perfect blending in:

The Galápagos Dove, like many other animals on the islands, is endemic, and has developed perfect colours and behaviour to blend in.

The Yellow-crowned Night-heron was standing perfectly still, and spotted only when the panga came very close to the rocks.

Standing out, then – is also of great importance. In the world of animals, the female often has to blend in to survive and to protect her young, while the males often must stand out in order to attract the best females.

When it comes to us humans, some hundred years ago I guess it was mostly women who strove to stand out – for the men to pick and choose. At least in the western world. (Read Ovid and his advice for women on how to get/please/keep a man…) Today, men too put make up on, and wear fancy and colourful clothes (- and powder and body painting exists since long in some societies.) Moreover, for our young it has become important to define themselves early in life.

Somehow, everybody must learn how to play the game…when to blend in and when to stand out. And be prepared for swift changes…

A people who do stand out beautifully, is the Sweden living Sámi people. Their colourful culture shows off mostly strong blue, red and yellow clothes for festivities – and here the men are most spectacular. The different colours are used to show heritage and kin.

So, what is most important to you – blending in or standing out? This week’s challenge is to show us your thoughts in a photo!

Last week we all had some very entertaining posts to enjoy, have you seen these from Patti’s challenge Just For Fun?

Scillagrace was a happy wedding photographer…

Pauline takes us to a strange hotel…

And at Journeys with Johnbo, something really cool popped up…

The next challenge (#19) will be hosted by Amy on Saturday, November 10 at noon. Welcome to join in! For more information on the Lens-Artists Photo Challenges, click here. Most importantly, remember to TAG your post ” Lens-Artists ” so it appears in the Reader.

And finally, have an outstandingly(!) inspiring week!

Thursday’s Special: Pick a Word in July Y3

5 juli, 2018 / Leya / 19 kommentarer

Paula’s Pick a Word is always a treat – but this time…I only managed four of her five words. I will have to look closely at how you all solved it!

splash – Seljalandsfoss, Iceland

feathered – Designer Wallin, Sweden. If this does not count…Galapagos’ swallow tailed in the header!

marine – Switzerland

scenic – Switzerland

WPC: Place in the World

9 maj, 20189 maj, 2018 / Leya / 34 kommentarer

My Place

”All cities — especially the big ones — have a way of reminding you of your place in the world.” I like that – but I go to Nature for that feeling. The difference is – Nature is not man made, at least it is less man made…