Thursday Thoughts – We Must Make it Work!

My post from November 30, 2017, a year ago – I thought a reminder to us all would not hurt. What do you want to give your children and grand children for the future?

 

Every December I remember our month in New Zealand some years ago. Never have I been to a country where I found so much and so many to admire and love.

This is where our antipodes live, this is where I had one of my first penfriends, this is the country whose nature I believe to be the most diverse and beautiful in the world. And this is where Rainbow Warrior went down, sending many people around the world into an unbelievable state of shock.

We are constantly reminded of how much we contaminate our world, and the focus here in Swedish media, right now,  is the sea, the oceans.

Just like in Wellington, we can still bathe, swim and fish in Stockholm – but for how long?

I am a member of many organizations trying their best to help preserving our planet for generations to come. But right now, we receive news every day about all the plastic and micro plastic in the oceans – a terrible threat to all organisms-

So, I think again, with my heart wide open, about how much I respect and love NZ, its people and its genuine efforts to help the world stay healthy. Down to every detail… for example the artwork made for making us humans see and do the right things.

And these are only two, small,  brilliant examples out of many, many…we saw new examples every day.

Hopefully it is not too late for the world – but You and I, and all of us, have to do our bit, our part, every day – to save our enigmatic and fantastic planet. Start with the little things…don’t use plastic bags, bring your own when you go shopping. Don’t throw old medicine in the toilet, in Sweden we leave them at the pharmacy for destruction.

Can you say you try to do everything you can to help? I know I try – but I also know I can do so much more.

Tuesday Photo Challenge – Contact

Tuesday Photo Challenge – Contact

From Dutch Goes the Photo – an agility dog! Which made me remember how my two Lagottos, Mille and Totti, were experts on how to overcome obstacles. They still managed to keep up their close contact…

…despite certain difficulties…

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #21: Splash!

 

This week, Patti is hosting our challenge – and she has chosen an interesting subject –  ”Splash!” for us to illustrate, and relate to. The essential Water. And in order to survive and live on this beautiful planet, we rely on water. (And oxygen…and…)

In the header, the photo shows the bathroom at Casa Battló in Barcelona. (Fake water…)

Memories from the Spanish west coast – a warm and glorious evening!

The sound of a River in Iceland, making its way to the cold winter sea.

Lofoten, Norway, is something otherworldly…

And down to the tiniest spot, we rely on water. To catch fish, drink, but also to play with – and in…Bring your mum if it looks too dangerous!

My students always had to go through several ”tests” when they first started college. One of them meant filling a tube with water, and to cooperate to stop the water from splashing through the holes in it. Using yourself only! And there were several holes drilled in it…. They almost always threw themselves into the game – After some minutes the leftover water was measured, and the winners were…:-D

 

 

Tuesday Photo Challenge: Memories

Tuesday Photo Challenge – Memories

After a wonderful, one month long, trip to New Zealand 2011, suddenly our tour guide from The Lord of the Rings tour in Wellington turned up for our Midsummer celebrations in 2012. And he brought a girlfriend as well. One of the best Midsummer events ever!

 

 

CFFC: Things People Drive…

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Things People Drive (ride, pilot or captain)

Drones…are maybe not well liked by all of us…but this one is for mapping an area of scientific interest.

Motorbikes – driven by old gentlemen!

Taking down the forest – is done by these big machines nowadays.

Galapagos friends found when traveling with a” panga”.

The reindeer races at the yearly Sami market in Västerbotten, Sweden.

In the header, The Kingston Flyer of New Zealand.

CFFC: Places People Visit

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Places People Visit

Places people visit – a short summary for Cee! There are so many places…

In the header – mountains.

Majestic churches and cathedrals

Famous buildings by famous architects

Inspiring exhibitions

Cemeteries

Forests – any season

Markets

Beaches

Botanical gardens

Lens Artists Challenge #12: Path

Our host this week, Tina,  asks us to send paths her way. I have chosen some of my favorite paths walked in Sweden, the Azores and Switzerland. They all live in my memories and thoughts – because they still have something to tell me…every season of the year. And tomorrow, we celebrate the autumnal equinox.

“True morality consists not in following the beaten track, but in finding the true path for ourselves, and fearlessly following it.”
Mahatma Gandhi

“A beautiful path does not need to invite people; the beauty itself is already an open invitation!”
Mehmet Murat ildan

”I see my path, but I don’t know where it leads. Not knowing where I’m going is what inspires me to travel it.”
– Rosalia de Castro

“The path of light is the quest for knowledge.”
Lailah Gifty Akita

“End? No, the journey doesn’t end here. Death is just another path. One that we all must take.”
J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings

“A path well traveled may still yield secrets that only one person may discover.”
Anthony T. Hincks

”If the path be beautiful, let us not ask where it leads”.
– Anatole France

“A beautiful mind is like a beautiful path! The more you travel with it, the more you find peace and happiness!”
Mehmet Murat ildan

“No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path.”
Gautama Buddha

 

 

 

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #11: Small is Beautiful

”Just living is not enough,” said the butterfly, ”one must have sunshine, freedom and a little flower.”

Hans Christian Anderson

For Amy and the Lens-Artists Challenge, I have chosen a series of small beauties from a trip to the Pyrenées in 2011.

A hidden valley that has kept its biodiversity almost intact –

– and is renowned for its variety of butterflies

A couple of days hiking this valley, and I felt harmony restored

Serenity

And …

… I even managed to capture a Hummingbird Hawk moth – what joy!

CFFC: Men and Instruments

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Week 5 Photo – Music, guitar, instrument, men, coffee, etc.

All men…

 

…and good at what they are doing!  Irish in the header, in Madrid I admired the glass player sitting in a street market, and…

…happy guys playing cards in the streets of Beijing.

All candid shots.

 

CFFC: Mirror, Reflection, Frame in Frame

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Week 4 Photo – black and white, mirror, air plane, power lines, etc.

Some years ago I remember walking into a hotel – where I never got any longer than to the lobby…because of all the mirrors and chandeliers. Here it is again!