Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: The Color Blue

The colour blue for Cee’s challenge – what do we think of more than the sky and the sea? To me those two represent Blue.

In the first photo is the dark blue sky with ”fireflies” from spring, and in the second one – the light shimmering , glittering sea of this autumn.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Endurance, and Travel theme: Strong

This week I am in for combining two challenges, the WPC and Ailsa’s Travel theme. I just could not resist this…

Of course it has to be a tree…enduring hundreds of years, every season’s challenges – rain, heat, draught, storm, frost, snow – still standing tall and strong. In Sweden no other tree but the giant old oak trees measure up to this concept.

From the Nature Reserve in Gö, Blekinge, here he is – as usual, click to enlarge. Love him!

Uglies or Beauties?

A walk in a Blekinge forest with Totti – and I found quite some junk among the trees. Do I only see ugliness in these things…or maybe there is something more to them? I don’t like things being thrown out into nature like this, but this morning I decided to find some beauty in them instead. Just to not be the usual angry and disappointed one…And, it worked for me. Does it work for you as well?

So, cold winds are blowing…

So, the election for governement is accomplished and finished this Sunday. And the outcome is … not very positive for solidarity and empathy. Everyone expected there to be a new governement of course, and that the Social Democrats would win. No big surprise. The disturbing fact is that the extreme right wing/foreigner hostile party SD (Sweden Democrats) got so many votes. We were afraid this would happen as we had a touch of that for the EU election this spring. And when I say ”we”, I mean me and my friends and collegues – all the people I know, really.

Good rethoric and people not finding any other good alternatives…wanting changes…the other parties too much saying the same things…

I work with the elections every time we have them, and has done so for about thirty years. Not for any party, but helping with the democratic voting process. Now, this SD party has a stronghold in the southern parts of Sweden – in fact close to where I live. Only some 50 kilometres from here they got 27% of the votes. In my little village, the percentage was about 20…So, every fifth person might be an SD-voter! Their faces do not say, their mouths do not speak of this…I look at people I meet in the street and think…Who are you? Really?

There is something growing here in Sweden as well as everywhere in the western world …a cold wind blowing. It frightens me. Together we must stand up against those forces. They must never win.

Mushroom magic

My mother and I like to walk, and every year we visit Vedema, only some miles from where I live. This area is perfect  for hikers and others who want to enjoy the outdoors. Follow me and Totti on a day out with my mother, looking for this autumn’s lovely mushrooms! Indeed they are all wonders, and all different ones…

 

After a couple of hours – and a beautiful couple of gigantic red toadstools, we met a young lady called Bella – and Totti fell totally in love…For some 15 minutes we were all in the middle of ”The Fast and the Furious”.

Walking back again after some coffee and buns, we felt we’d had a refreshing day.

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Buildings

Buildings can be serene and beautiful too – not only functional. I have chosen the glass building covering an old cathedral in Norway, and a tree building for birdwatching in Sweden. Both are new, but somehow naturally fit into their environment.

For Cee’s challenge – Buildings – Hamar, Norway, the Cathedral ruin totally under glass cover.

The bird watching centre – Hornborgasjön, Sweden.

Travel theme: Noise

Ailsa’s travel theme this week is about noise. The strange and interesting thing is that we all are different here – some say noise and some say sound and some cannot stand it and some love it…

My concert pictures are from the hard rock band Kamelot – my favourites in the category.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Humanity

Humanity is the WP challenge – what first comes to my mind is all human beings collectively – the human race. Then the human nature – what does it mean, being human?

 

Secondly, there’s the quality of being humane – kindness and benevolence. Tolerance.

 

So…I’ve been playing around again…

As I’m having wonderful students this year – too – I’m rather busy with my big classes! I try to blog, and try to read as many blogs as I can as often as I can …Thursday evenings though, there are usually some hours free – and today I have been trying Fotosketcher again. A way to relax before the Big Day. There’s the Big Election coming up here in Sweden this Sunday, and as I’m responsible for the election held in my area, I will be very busy that day. Fun, but a lot of responsibility. I have been doing this since the 1980’s. This year I guess everyone expects there to be a totally new government on Monday morning.

Now to my pictures…which one turned out the best? Technically? Colours? Your preferences? The flower and the beach are from Blekinge, Sweden. The building is the Edinburgh Parliament and the cat – was watching me from a window at Greyfriar’s, Edinburgh.

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Contrasting Colours

Contrasting colours makes the picture pop – Join in Cee’s challenge!

Red and green

Blue and orange

Yellow and violet