Taexalia

wild.life

Ice Maiden

Staying with the icicle theme because they will be gone soon enough, and I'm enjoying the challenge of trying to do them justice. The second shot involved lying on the floor under the window to get most of the 2' + length of the icicle in without a background of houses. It's a beezer! I had to shoot through glass too (there's probably a setting on my camera for that but I'm not that sort of a ... read more

Transient Pause

The icicles at my bedroom window today... They have an Otherworldy quality with the mix of sunshine and black clouds. Patience caught a drip in motion. Part of me wants them to stay forever...

The person I was yesterday is not the person I am today and in the next moment I can be different again, if I ... read more

December Window

This is the view from my bedroom window this morning. But then again, the view has changed. The sky has since filled with dark grey clouds and I played with some photo editing software to get the orange horse effect. Can one improve on nature?

Is It Spring?

I'm hearing this question all over the place as people wish the moments away looking for something better. I look for signs of new life emerging - the snowdrops and winter aconite shine their carpets of hope amongst the decaying humus of the woodland floor, the owls and foxes make eerie night noise as they mark territory and call for mates, buds on trees seem to swell a little more and my flowering redcurrant is uncurling leaves... The wheel is turning, but the Carlin/Cailleach has not ... read more

Forest Floor

I am the damp dank brown undergrowth

I am the palette of spent life

I am the tangle of the dead of winter

I am the lifeless leaves underfoot

I am the fragrant stench of decay

I am the life that begins in death

I am the humus of ending and ... read more

Snow Brings…

Camera Phone Sunset Punctuated By Greyhound Lunging At Snow Sniffs

I settled in my new reading den, nestled under a woollen patchwork blanket that may have seen better days, but still keeps the winter chills out as much as it did when Grandma first knitted each square from yarn oddments and sewed them together. The new reading den was claimed from the back of the the living room by moving the small sofa right back to the window in-between bookcases and ... read more

Midwinter: Sun and Snow

We took a walk in a snow shower this morning and enjoyed the silence and the light effects as the midwinter sun struggled to break through. Not long now until the days begin to stretch instead of ... read more

Arctic Vixen

Last night the snow was still falling and the blanket of white was almost intact, blurring the boundaries and creating an erie light. This morning the world of humans has taken over and where the road and pavement were one there is clear tarmac and orange stripes of salty sand. The cars, you see, must go on. The gardens tell more interesting tales as the criss-cross of animal tracks bely the journeys of the night. In the dim morning light under clouds laden with more snowfall to come ... read more

How To Begin The Day

[caption id="attachment_503" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Crow"][/caption] As I sat down at my desk to begin work this morning I looked out the window and was taken with the scene outside. The sky was a crisp, clear blue colour with a few cotton wool clouds drifting gently. The clouds were tinged pink by the sunrise, as was the frost on the rooftop opposite and there was a slightly unreal feeling to it all, as if I had arrived a little too early and the Dreamworld was still at ... read more

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

I spent Wednesday afternoon tramping through the snow at Haddo House Country Park. It was a beautiful winter day with the sun low in the sky creating wonderful shadows and perfect lighting for some camera play. [caption id="attachment_487" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Robin redbreast"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_488" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Robin redbreast"][/caption] The robins were delightful and clearly used to people with corn in their pockets as they ... read more