Rustic Australia
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his readers would take his work for satire rather than for history :-)
Pierre Bayle, Historical and Critical Dictionary
HPPT!! Truth matters! Character Matters!
prunus mume, pink japanese flowering apricot, 'Peggy Clarke', j c raulston arboretum, ncsu, raleigh, north carolina
Relating to things that influence your mind in a way you do not notice. Not recognized or understood by the conscious mind, but still having influence on it
As the darkness gets darker, the light shines brighter Ish 60:1-3
2 Corinthians 10:5
Casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,
Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. 25 He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. John 12:24,25
Keep thy heart with all diligence;
for out of it are the issues of life. Proverbs 4;23
Put on the whole armor of God Ephesians 6:10-18
Psalm 34
James 4:6
But He gives more grace. Therefore He says:
“God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble.”
This is installment number 2 of the Billy Joel collection. It's amazing how Billy captured every day scenarios that anyone can relate to.
This song is dedicated to everyone that is being told what is best for them or that they are doing something wrong.
It's important to have strong convictions and stay true to yourself. While it's great to receive advice from others, ultimately it's up to you to make your own decisions in order to achieve true happiness. Failure to do so can lead to feelings of regret, which can be a burden to bear on your own. It's crucial to follow your dreams and pursue your passions in life, as this is the surest way to live a fulfilling and satisfying life.
----------------------------------------------
Lyrics
Got a call from an old friend we used to be real close
Said he couldn't go on the American way
Closed the shop, sold a house, bought a ticket to the west coast
Now he gives them a stand-up routine in L.A.
I don't need you to worry for me 'cause I'm alright
I don't want you to tell me it's time to come home
I don't care what you say anymore this is my life
Go ahead with your own life leave me alone
I never said you had to offer me a second chance
(I never said you had to)
I never said I was a victim of circumstance
(I never said)
I still belong (still belong)
Don't get me wrong (don't get me wrong)
You can speak your mind but not on my time
They will tell you you can't sleep alone in a strange place
Then they'll tell you you can't sleep with somebody else
Oh, but sooner or later you sleep in your own space
Either way it's okay, you wake up with yourself
I don't need you to worry for me 'cause I'm alright
I don't want you to tell me it's time to come home
I don't care what you say anymore this is my life
Go ahead with your own life leave me alone
I never said you had to offer me a second chance
(I never said you had to)
I never said I was a victim of circumstance
(Gf circumstance)
I still belong (still belong)
Don't get me wrong (don't get me wrong)
You can speak your mind but not on my time
I don't care what you say anymore this is my life
Go ahead with your own life leave me alone
Details Here: danaori.blogspot.com/2019/10/cant-relate.html
Instagram: www.instagram.com/p/B34VJUvpjcv/
Hair: Doux - Tislianna
Outfit: Blueberry - Can't Relate (full outfit)
Photo taken at Friendship Gardens.
maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Strugatsky/36/236/53
Oh, why can't I be what you need?
A new improved version of me
But I'm nothing so good, no, I'm nothing...
Just bones, a lonely ghost burning down songs
Of violence, of love, and of sorrow
I beg for just one more tomorrow!
Where you hold me down, fold me in
Deep deep deep in the heart of your sins
I'd break in two over you
I'd break in two and each piece of me dies
And only you can give the breath of life!
But you don't see me, you don't
Here I'm pinned between darkness and light
Bleached and blinded by these nights
Where I'm tossing and tortured till dawn
By you, visions of you, then you're gone
The shock bleeds the red from my face
When I hear someone's taken my place
How could love be so thoughtless, so cruel?
When all, all that I did was for you...
I'd break in two over you
I'd break in two and each piece of me dies
And only you can give the breath of life!
But you don't see me, you don't
I'd break in two over you
I'd break in two and each piece of me dies
And only you can give the breath of life!
But you don't see me, you don't
I'd break in two over you
I'd break in two over you
Over you
I'd break in two
I would break in two for you
Now you see me
Now you don't
Now you need me
Now you don't
I wanted to work with this donut in the snow one more time, but from a different angle. This has the forest across Trout Lake in the background with the reflections touching the frosted area instead of the snow.
As well, the rock and log within the donut are much more prominent making them more crucial to the success of the photo. And finally, although it is a winter shot, there is warmth to be found in the colors of the forest such as the subtle reds.
Snapshot of last nights dance out. Not perfectly lit and slightly color corrected. I just love my friend Pooch's pose. :)
#background: Satyrs
Dee:
#head: catwa - kimberly
#hair: magika - faye
#choker: meva - lana
#necklace: realevil - hunter necklace
#top: blueberry - can't relate
#pants: erratic - alex
Pooch:
tbd.
cos·mic
/ˈkäzmik/
adjective
relating to the universe or cosmos, especially as distinct from the earth.
Cosmic Women of SL group x [high v.] tee collaboration.
cosmic woman tee.
Maitreya | Hourglass | Physique | Standard| Isis | Freya
Get Yours: bit.ly/2X2QBZW
Help us grow our facebook group, Stars! ❤️
Like us: bit.ly/2Ft38QB Join us: bit.ly/2N7klFD
Managed a quick trip to the beach in order to see if California is OPEN yet. Most coastal access remains closed, with all parking areas blocked.
But I found this Guy racing around a rest stop, and managed to get a shot before he raced off.
For a generation of viewers, the familiar “beep, beep” of Warner Brothers’ cartoon Roadrunner was the background sound of Saturday mornings.
(Although commonly quoted as "meep meep", Warner Brothers, the current owner of all trademarks relating to the duo, lists "beep, beep" as the Road Runner's sound, along with "meep, meep." )
Despite the cartoon character’s perennial victories over Wile E. Coyote, real-life coyotes present a real danger to Roadrunners; Coyotes can reach a top speed of 43 miles an hour—more than twice as fast as roadrunners.
Roadrunner can outrace a human, kill a rattlesnake, and thrive in the harsh landscapes of the Desert Southwest. Roadrunners reach two feet from sturdy bill to white tail tip, with a bushy blue-black crest and mottled plumage that blends well with dusty shrubs. As they run, they hold their lean frames nearly parallel to the ground and rudder with their long tails.
Roadrunners have evolved a range of adaptations to deal with the extremes of desert living. Like seabirds, they secrete a solution of highly concentrated salt through a gland just in front of each eye, which uses less water than excreting it via their kidneys and urinary tract. Moisture-rich prey including mammals and reptiles supply them otherwise-scarce water in their diet. Both chicks and adults flutter the un-feathered area beneath the chin (gular fluttering) to dissipate heat.
Roadrunners eat poisonous prey, including venomous lizards and scorpions, with no ill effect, although they’re careful to swallow horned lizards head-first with the horns pointed away from vital organs. Roadrunners can also kill and eat rattlesnakes, often in tandem with another roadrunner: as one distracts the snake by jumping and flapping, the other sneaks up and pins its head, then bashes the snake against a rock. If it’s is too long to swallow all at once, a roadrunner will walk around with a length of snake still protruding from its bill, swallowing it a little at a time as the snake digests.
Based on banding records, the oldest roadrunner was at least 7 years old.
- The Cornell Lab of Ornithology
(600 mm, 1/2000 @ f/9.0, ISO 1000)
The Swiss Way relates the history of Switzerland surrounded by a scenic landscape. The trail was constructed as a joint project of the cantons on the occasion of the 700th anniversary celebrations of the Confederation (1291-1991). It begins on the Rütli Meadow, where the Confederation was founded, and ends in Brunnen in the Swiss Expatriates Square (Platz der Auslandschweizer).
This piece of national architecture of 19th Century relates to south of Polavshchyna and that as of nowadays has disappeared. It was built in 70th of 19th Century.
The house from Revasivka village has never been reconstructed since it had been built. Its window frames were re-made in the mid-50th of 20th Century. The walls are decorated with clay of different color; inside there is a carved cupboard, painted trunk and national pictures in interior.
The house from Revazivka village was discovered in 1976 by an architect Lukianchuk V.D. and restored in the Museum in 1977-1978.
Few words about Revazivka village, as it were never mentioned in modern sources. In the middle of 19th Century, this village was called Novakivka and belonged to Ploshchanska volost of Poltava povit in Poltava hubernia.
It was a village of a proprietor, with 179 souls in 18 yards. Officially, Revazivka is called sloboda. There were 219 inhabitants in 44 homesteads.
Nowadays, the village of Revazivka has joined to Grekopavlivka village. It now relates to Stovbynska village council in Novosanzharskyi district of Poltavska Region.
The house is of two rooms (a home, a mudroom), of combined structure. A two-room house could be met only in poor villages belonging to proprietors. A three-room house was more traditional for Poltava area.
The house is built on piles. Above the windows, piles are covered with shingles. A longitudinal ceiling beam and upper parts of piles have tips on sidewall adjacent to the stove, so forming reasonable overlap of the roof. A lumber lay on tips to support auxiliary beams of the roof. Ceiling comprises ceiling beam and slyzhni. The slyzhni are surfaced by caber, and then covered with clay.
The four-slope roof of the house is low, supported by rafters and covered with cane sheaves, as there were a lot of cane in the waterlog river valley near Revazivka.
Combines, log and framework structure of a national dwelling on south Poltavshchyna was typical of this region, poor in building wood.
Especially interesting was filling of this house’s framework walls: there were twiggen with mullein. This grass grew high near Revazivka, and had strong stems. The local say: “Even shipworms never eat mullein”.
This is a house of two rooms (a home and a mudroom) with framework and log walls. Under the windows, walls are framework: horizontal hlytsi are nailed to vertical piles, with osier between them. Above the windows, planks of three parts are fixed to piles. A longitudinal ceiling beam is fixed thereto and two transverse ones (one in the home, another – in the mudroom). The longitudinal beam and tops of planks have overlaps on sidewall, adjacent to the stove, so forming reasonable overlap of the roof. Inside and outside, the house is clayed and whitewashed, except for back wall, only clayed. The house stays now on concrete basement.
Area – 53.92 square meters (5.15 x 10.47).
Хата з с. Ревазівка, Новосанжарського р-ну, Полтавської обл.
Пам′ятка традиційного народного будівництва XIX століття в південній Полтавщині, яких на даний момент в регіоні не існує. Побудована в 70 – ті роки ХІХ століття.
Хата з с. Ревазівка від її існування не перебудовувалася. У середині 50-х років ХХ століття перероблені віконні рами. Підводка стін кольоровими глинами, різьблений мисник, мальована скриня, народний живопис в інтер’єрі.
Хата с. Ревазівка виявлена в 1976 році архітектором Лук′янчуком В.Д. і реставрована в Музеї у 1977 – 1978 роках.
Коротко про село Ревазівку, оскільки в сучасних джерелах воно не згадується. Поселення Ревазівка в середині XIX століття називалося Новаківка і належало до Площанської волості Полтавського повіту Полтавської губернії.
Було воно поміщицьким селом і проживало там 179 душ у 18 дворах. Старожили розповідають, що Ревазівкою володів пан Ревазов. У 1926 році Ревазівка офіційно зветься слободою, з числом мешканців – 219, які проживали у 44 господарствах.
Зараз село Ревазівка з’єднане з селом Грекопавлівкою і належить до Стовбинської сільради Новосанжарського району Полтавської обл..
Хата дводільна /хата, сіни/, комбінованої конструкції. Дводільні хати траплялися тут тільки в бідних поміщицьких селах. Традиційно на Полтавщині було тридільне житло.
Хата збудована на сохах. На сохи, вище вікон покладено ощіп. Подовжній сволок та верхні вівнця ощіпу мають з покутнього причілку випуски, утворюючи значний винос даху. На випуски укладено брус, на який спираються наріжники даху. Основу хатньої стелі утворюють сволок і слижні. По слижнях укладено щільно жердини, а зверху шар м’ятої глини.
Чотирисхилий дах хати невисокий, на кроквах. Покриття з очерету, техніка – «парки». Очерету біля Ревазівки росло багато на заболоченій річковій долині.
Комбінована зрубно – каркасна конструкція народного житла південної Полтавщини була характерною для цього регіону, бідного на будівельний ліс.
Особливо цікавим було заповнення каркасу стін даної хати с. Ревазівка: стіни були заплетені коров’яком. Коров′як поблизу Ревазівки ріс високий, з міцним стеблом. «Коров′яка і шашель не бере».
Дводільне житло (хата, сіни). Стіни каркасно – зрубні. До вікон стіни каркасні: до вертикальних сох прибито горизонтальні глиці, між якими всторч заплетена лоза. На сохи, вище вікон, покладео ощіп з трьох вінців. В ощіп врубано подовжній сволок та два поперечні (один у хаті і один у сінях). Подовжній сволок та верхні вінця ощіпу мають випуски з покутнього причілку, утворюючи значний винос даху. Хата ззовні і всередині обмащена і побілена крім задньої, порудованої стіни. Хата встановлена на бетонний фундамент.
Площа - 53,92 м2 (5.15 х 10.47).
that relate to my experiences :-)
Alan Siegel
HMM! Climate Change Matters! Resist the Ignorant Orange Clown and his Cabinet of Stooges and Buffoons!!
prunus persica, flowering peach, 'Bonfire', j c raulston arboretum, ncsu, raleigh, north carolina
It attracts for many reasons, the world is still quiet, your thoughts can enhance the scene and expand in your mind and heart, the dawn approaches, .....so many reasons to just slip out of your sleeping bag and get in your boat...
I would love it if you would look at naturenexus.org a magazine whose mandate is to help science relate to public science, to create a better world. I have an article in the magazine for October, but really it is the hope for the future that these young scientists create that I find so exciting. I'm am not promoting myself but would love to share their work and efforts for us all to relate, learn about and enjoy nature. Just google nature nexus.org, if it is of interest.
Blueberry Totally Relatable Set (top;shorts and flip flops with waifu option) TSS maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Lenox%20and%20Blueberry/25...
Credits :
{Limerence} Georgia Glasses-25 point gift @ The Epiphany
{Limerence} Georgia Hair @ Epiphany @ The Epiphany
Blueberry - Dynamite - Scarf and Perf @ Main Store
Blueberry - Dynamite - Leggings @ Main Store
Blueberry - Dynamite - Jackets with Pockets @ Main Store
Blueberry - Can't Relate - Boots Flat & High Heels @ Main Store
TLC Feeding Gallinule [Common] Set @ The Cosmopolitan until Jan 25, 2020
TLC Feeding Gallinule [Spot-flanked] @ The Cosmopolitan until Jan 25, 2020
TLC Feeding Gallinule [Common] @ The Cosmopolitan until Jan 25, 2020
TLC Feeding - Water Lilly Path @ The Cosmopolitan until Jan 25, 2020
KraftWork Farmhouse Romance . Conservatory Red RARE @ The Epiphany
KraftWork Farmhouse Romance . Farm Stool EXCLUSIVE @ The Epiphany
KraftWork Farmhouse Romance . Bag of Hearts Red @ The Epiphany
KraftWork Farmhouse Romance . Bag of Hearts Pink @ The Epiphany
KraftWork Farmhouse Romance . Lovers Rug Jeans @ The Epiphany
KraftWork Farmhouse Romance . Lovers Rug Farm @ The Epiphany
KraftWork Farmhouse Romance . Column Lamp Red @ The Epiphany
KraftWork Farmhouse Romance . Column Lamp Pink @ The Epiphany
Pose : Serendipity Daria
Taken at Ippos Colletive
Love SL photography and looking for like minded artists or places to shoot? Come visit the Ippos Collective: 4 Picturesque SIMS to visit and/or settle. Come for the magic....stay for the friends. <3
It relates to 18th Century. As of the time of transfer to the museum, the house was the oldest in the village and belonged to Oros family. The house has two premises: house and mudroom. It is one of the most ancient types of house planning in Zakarpattia. Walls of the house are constructed with wide oak cut blocks. Its high four-sloping roof is covered with straw.
This house is the oldest Zakarpattia house in our museum. It displays specific features of national building in valley of Tereblia-river and the middle reaches of Tysa River. The house’s area is 35.4 square meters.
Look at the exterior of the hut:
Характерною ознакою житла лемків (етнографічної групи українського народу), як і бойків, були білий та синій кольори.
Хата із с. Теребля, Тячівського району Закарпатської області
Датується XVIII ст. На час перенесення до музею хата була найстарішою в селі і належала родині Оросів. Хата дводільна: хата, сіни – є одним із давніх варіантів планування житла на Закарпатті. Стіни хати складені з широких дубових колених брусів. Високий чотирисхилий дах вкритий соломою.
Це найстаріша хата Закарпаття в експозиції нашого музею. Вона розкриває особливості народного будівництва у долині ріки Теребля та середньої течії р. Тиси. Площа хати — 35, 4 кв.м.
“Power. If you had power, you had food. You had medicine. You had freedom. She saw those around her fall ill and die, and she equated power with life. One day, Kate thought, I’ll have power. No one will be able to do this to me again.”
― Sidney Sheldon, Master of the Game
SLURL: Kintsugi; Spirited Beyond
maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Runaway/71/122/24
[9th out of 12 Photos]
P.S. And because Freedom needs to be somewhere relatable. Just how free can one be among nature?
Plenty question the word freedom. Is it enough to just be able to do as you please a sign of freedom? We are so caught up in our mind that we do not realize we wrapped restrictive chains around our very existence and just live in an illusion of being free. No one is really 'free'.
”الأشياء الحميمة نكتبها ولا نقولها , فالكتابة إعترافٌ صامت”
:D
Sorry, comments that doesn't relate to the photo & copy paste will be deleted.
For a Better Flickr ،، =)
Merci d'avoir suivi , annoté,et ou commenté cette visite de Beauval.
Initialement j'avais prévu de vous relater un de mes voyages en afrique(inédits sur Flickr) mais venant de terminer une longue suite animalière,j'ai opté pour l'Asie , avec la poursuite d'un voyage à Bali déjà sur Flickr , en commençant par
Java- Est et ses volcans .
......................................................................................................................
Let's go for a new trip
Thank you for following, annotating, and or commenting this visit to Beauval.
Initially I had planned to tell you about one of my trips to Africa (unpublished on Flickr) but having just finished a long wildlife suite, I opted for Asia, with the continuation of a trip to Bali already on Flickr, starting with
East Java and its volcanoes.
.....................................................................................................................
Vamos a un nuevo viaje
Gracias por seguir, anotar y o comentar esta visita a Beauval.
Inicialmente tenía previsto contaros uno de mis viajes a África (inédito en Flickr), pero como acabo de terminar una larga suite de fauna y flora, he optado por Asia, con la continuación de un viaje a Bali que ya está en Flickr, empezando por
Java Oriental y sus volcanes.
The house relates to the middle 19th Century; its last owner was Kuryk Mykola Vasylovych. The house comprises of three parts – a house, a mudroom and a small house. Its external walls aren’t covered, only strips are painted around its windows and doors. Such strips are specific for houses from Vyzhytskyj and Putylivskyj districts of Chernivtsi Region. Art painting and strips are very distinct decorations for houses of lowland Bukovyna. The house’s joyful interior is created by grapes depicted on the stove, around windows and on pokut (the sacred place of a traditional home). The most widespread patterns in Korytne village are grapes, arrow-wood leaves, hops and crosses on bases.
The house is built of smereka and poplar wood, its area equals to 58.8 square meters.
Хата із села Коритне Вижницького району Чернівецької області
Датується серединою ХІХ ст. Останній власник - Курик Микола Васильович. Складається із трьох частин - хати, сіней і хатчини. Зовні хата не мащена, тільки підведені смуги коло вікон та дверей. Така підводка характерна тільки для хат з Вижницького та Путильського районів Чернівецької області. Характерною декоративною оздобою для хат підгірської Буковини є розпис і підводка. Святковий інтер’єр у великій хаті створює розпис у виноград на печі, коло вікон на покуті. Найбільш поширений розпис у с.Коритному – «виноград», «калиновий лист», «хмелик» та «хрести на постаменті».
Хата з Буковини. Складена вона з кругляка смереки і тополі в прості замки з торцями. До верхів зрубу торці подовжуються і переходять ніби в кронштейни. Дах чотирисхилий, покритий соломою.
Площа споруди – 58,8 кв.м.
Three things relating in light,
shadow, shape, pattern and color are assembled here for Macro Mondays theme "Perfect Together
Image spans 2.25 in on the long edge.
Every week at school we get a board assignment. Basically we come up with a photograph relating to the theme given for that week, we print a 8x10 of it, put it up in the school, and the staff have green dots they put next to the photos they like for the week. At the end of the year the photographer with the most green dots gets some sort of prize. This weeks theme is Season Change. I actually really like how it turned out. Wish me luck for those green dots ;)
As a freelancer I can relate to this image, the struggle to make living using antiquated equipment, the long hours and stressful delays.
I made the image in taxi on the way back from a meeting with a potential client on the banks of the Cairo Nile, we were stuck in the mother of all traffic jams, the driver was tired and stressed, I was, for once content as I had eaten fish and concluded what I thought was a successful meeting. Now I look back, the real success was this image, which is one of my favourites.
.
Check out my website for more of my work;
The Hôtel des Invalides (English: "house of invalids"), commonly called Les Invalides (French pronunciation: [lezɛ̃valid]), is a complex of buildings in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, France, containing museums and monuments, all relating to the military history of France, as well as a hospital and a retirement home for war veterans, the building's original purpose. The buildings house the
, the military museum of the Army of France, the Musée des Plans-Reliefs, and the Musée d'Histoire Contemporaine. The complex also includes the former hospital chapel, now national cathedral of the French military, and the adjacent former Royal Chapel known as the Dôme des Invalides, the tallest church building in Paris at a height of 107 meters. The latter has been converted into a shrine of some of France's leading military figures, most notably the tomb of Napoleon.
the exit sign also relates to life and i cant help but to include this great song with words that relate to anyone, any religion, everyone, every religion. and if it doesn't, it should.
i think its from the Adi Granth where Baba Farids poems were included. that is what i love about Sikhism, it is written by many saints from several religions. so much for one dominant religion over others! the Sikhs honor all religions that relate to God.
the MUSIC: Farid Baba
Trying to relate this quote (Prime Minister Boris Johnson on 7/7/22) to the prediction that up to 10 million UK citizens will be pushed into poverty over the coming winter. The position is a quite uncomfortable one. Fuji X-Pro1.
Relatable Post #205
"I don't think I could ever stab someone. I mean, let's be honest. I can barely get the straw through the Cool Fun Juice Pouch!"
Blog: aurora0skye.blogspot.com/2019/07/relatable-post.html
Featured Item:
NEW Junk Food - Cool Fun Juice Pouch!
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"Mad Month" is a Collection of Images that relate to its Title...."MAD"
"M" stands for Minimal
"A " stands for Abstract
"D " stands for I don't know what yet?...….
I will think of a few Reasons as the Month progresses.
So have Happy New Year.....to you all.
1
: of, relating to, or suitable for the country : RURAL
rustic rolling farmland
2
a
: made of the rough limbs of trees
rustic furniture
b
: finished by rusticating
a rustic joint in masonry
3
a
: characteristic of or resembling country people
b
: lacking in social graces or polish
4
: appropriate to the country (as in plainness or sturdiness)
heavy rustic boots
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Digital Composite Photography
14.66inx10.95in
This photo relates to my concentration in more ways than one. To begin, the photo is a relatively dark exposure self-portrait with an abstract twist. The dark exposure is complemented with various editing. This editing includes high clarity and contrast, the boost of shadows and lessening of highlights, and a small reduction in saturation. Also, the abstract twist comes from multiple layers being editing over the original base image. These layers are all different pictures of my arms coming out of the bush. This surreal event and setting ties the self-portrait together and allows for it to fit perfectly into my concentration.
sagittal - Relating to or denoting the suture on top of the skull which runs between the parietal bones in a front to back direction.
don't relate to you
I don't relate to you, no
'Cause I'd never treat me this shitty
You made me hate this city
And I don't talk shit about you on the internet
Never told anyone anything bad
'Cause that shit's embarrassing, you were my everything
And all that you did was make me fucking sad
So don't waste the time I don't have
And don't try to make me feel bad
I could talk about every time that you showed up on time
But I'd have an empty line 'cause you never did
Never paid any mind to my mother or friends
So I shut 'em all out for you 'cause I was a kid
So you may be thinking what the heck is this? Apart from being a photo of birds, obvs, and someone who has just got home from their first offical Xmas party (bit early I know, I refuse to put up the decorations before 1st Dec) let me tell you a little story. It was one of the most memorable moments of my life.
You get woken by a gentle knocking on your door in the middle of the night in your African hut. Or 5am’sh. In the middle of a South African safari park. Doesn’t help when you have been sharing the one that got away photo stories with fellow travellers at the bar the night before. You drag your sorry b%#^^ out of bed and put on layers of clothing. You get all your camera kit prepped. Sit in the back of an open jeep shivering in the pre-dawn darkness and cold in your beanie and gloves and scarf , knowing in a couple of hours you will be stripping off layers because of the stifling heat. You have seen Leopards, Lions, Buffalo, Hippos and all the magnificent wildlife of Africa. The tantalising anticipation, what lies ahead today? You sit in the back of your open jeep, smelling the stench of wildlife , their excrement, the kills , life and death. Life at it’s rawest. Will this drive bring any sighting? Will you see a predator drag it’s prey up a tree only to be surrounded by a pack of Hyenas. Will any stupid tourist get eaten because of their actions , they don’t understand these animals are wild, not there for instagram or TikTok. They are trying to survive. To live. As you drive along freezing in the dark and being jolted left right and centre, the astute tracker points his torch at something in the pre-dawn light. No, it isn’t a lion or leopard or a hippo or any of the big 5. It’s a family of bee eaters snuggled together. Be it for warmth or safety. It was amazing! Small and seemingly insignificant. But everything has its place in the circle of life. I particularly love the guy on the end keeping watch the other direction. I can relate, always looking the other direction. As the tracker said “no creature dies of old age here” . Was so poignant to me. Annnyyyway, thanks for reading my merry Christmas party ramblings if you bothered to. Hope you had an awesome day 👋😀
PS - I promise I will edit this text when I am un-merry tomorrow 😂
Vincent of Beauvais relates that at this time there was a young cleric at Lyons who had a dream in which he beheld a mountain with a beautiful city standing on the top of it. This city attracted him mightily so that he longed to get there. But between him and the mountain was a river, and in the river he saw twelve men washing their garments. With them was another, different from them, in a shining white robe who was helping them in their task. The cleric asked the stranger who they all were, and He replied that He was Jesus Christ and that those were men doing penance with His aid, and as soon as their robes were clean, they would be able to go on to the city which they all desired, that is, to heaven. Some time later the cleric told his dream to the Bishop of Châlons, who advised him on the strength of it to enter Cîteaux. He accordingly made his way to the woods where the monks were dwelling, and finally found the enclosure of the little monastery. The gate was made of wattles, and there was an iron hammer hanging there for a knocker. When the porter responded to his summons, what was the astonishment of the cleric to recognize him as one of the men in his dream. He also recognized all the other members of the community too, and he was not long in becoming one of them.
-Thomas Merton, OCSO In the Valley of Wormwood Cistercian Blessed and Saints of the Golden Age CISTERCIAN STUDIES SERIES: NUMBER TWO HUNDRED THIRTY-THREE, (Saint Alberic, Second Abbot of Cîteaux, France)