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When I was a child, I always dreamt of being an adult. Being an older person meant having to make decisions for yourself, creating one’s own private path, so to say. I wanted to be taller, to grow hair on the angles of my baby face, to be able to drink alcohol and light a cigarette without hiding from the elders of my life.
And now that I am? Now that I have experienced grown up things? Hmm.. Lord only knows how much a lot of us want to be brought back to a certain point in our younger lives and never, ever grow old.
But hey, with age comes experience, and with experience comes with wisdom right? So who am I to complain… it’s just that sometimes, It’s really hard to get un-tangled ☺ Have a great Sunday everyone ☺
'Mother and Child' is such a rich and strong theme.
No one stays indifferent to it, and depending on the interaction, it can raise very varied feelings.
My boy Cash. He's going on 8 years old now. Oh, how time flies...
I'm in the heart of my crazy summer work season, so if I'm not around much for the next 2-3 weeks, you'll know why. Not much flickr time with 25 stops a day! Hope you're all enjoying your summer... or winter depending on where you live. =)
When I see someone wearing a cute outfit that I'd love to wear, a "hobby" of mine kicks in... "hunting" online to find the exact same outfit... at a ridiculously low price!
I found the Jeggings on sale for $10 and FINALLY (after 4 years) found the same tunic at an online consignment store... for $3!
Yay!
It was 85 degrees in October!
Texture by Skeletalmess
Inspired by the illustrations in "If I Ran the Circus"by Dr. Suess
Night, the beloved. Night, when words fade and things come alive.
When the destructive analysis of day is done, and all that is truly important becomes whole and sound again.
When man reassembles his fragmentary self and grows with the calm of a tree.
(Antoine de Saint Exupéry)
Not much to add to this, except maybe, why Saint Exupéry TODAY (tonight) and here!?!
EVERYBODY must know the book LE PETIT PRINCE... if you don't; let me know and I'll organise the library bus to bring you a copy!!!
I have read and re-read this little booklet in German, French, English and most likely even in Italian - it's easy to understand and it contains 'stuff' to re-think for ages.... it's subtly bringing facts of life to the point and it is so lovingly written that you can't hold anything against the writer - even if you sometimes might want to! It is - in short - probably the most lovable book anybody can find.
After having bought copies of a very beautiful CD, read by Will Quadflieg (in German) for my nearly blind mother, my little sister and the children of my bros-in-law, I got a copy of my gift sent back to me by little sis..... and after a very long time I have inserted it in the car CD player, where I listen to it on my way to .... somewhere! It made me aware once again how absolutely wonderful this aviator and writer is expressing himself in his work.
These four-leaf-clovers are my latest pride and joy. The make lovely red flowers and if you care to stroll down in the comments, you'll find more close-up shots of those little darlings. I wish all of you who still live through Thursday, A HAPPY GORGEOUS GREEN THURSDAY and to the rest of us a BEAUTIFUL GREEN FRIDAY!
For the shutter sisters: Hello..... (sunshine, morning, night, happiness, smiles!)
Good night, little princesses, little princes - sleep tight!
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Kindly visit my Flickr DNA for more information on me and my work. Thanks!
PLEASE do NOT just add an icon - I delete those - I want your opinions, views, your participation! If you THEN wish to invite or fave, I am all the happier... ;-)
"When cats take over the world
Everyone will be kind
You could jump on the counter
And eat whatever you find
You could cough off a hairball
And no one will mind
Maybe we’ll all purr
When cats take over the world"
I invite all my friends to see this video of a brazilian NGO for stray cats. The images are lovely and the music, "When Cats Take Over The World", by a folk singer named Jamie Anderson, is the ultimate anthem for kitties. Enjoy!
When I was young, much younger than today, I used to wonder why Nana's loved lavender and I just thought it was an old persons thing. Now I am six months off being 70! I understand why. I LOVE lavender. I go to sleep with it each night using it in aromatherapy.
Back to basics for me... I have been preoccupied lately and haven't taken time to photograph anything like I used to. So, I decided, to ease my way back, to take pictures of things I did when I first got my camera.
when I could walk about en femme, and the only thing I had to worry about was getting a heel caught in a sidewalk crack
Now--well, you know
My camera and I haven't been too close this last week or so. She wants to head out and hit the trails, and I have to keep denying the chance in favor of, well, those various reasons that always seem to get in the way of doing the things we want to do.
Instead, today, when I'm feeling every one of the years I've seen fly by, I decided to dig into the archives and find a moment when the only thing that mattered was the complete cessation of time. When the day kissed the night and everything stood still.
–Not a Southern saying that I know about but it should be
Old colonial landmark of St. Michael's church steeple, Charleston, SC
When the kids were little, I loved the autumn days of putting on wellies and going out to kick up the fallen leaves. Didn't have the nerve to do it by myself today though.
Info: Canon S95, 6.0mm, f/2.0, 1/80, ISO 80
When the sun set and the light went and found this beautiful flower and picked up her bad this image
This photo was an accident, but I thought it was still too pretty to delete : ) I was taking photos of this gorgeous Common Grackle, when it disappeared from sight and then suddenly popped up much closer than I was expecting. I cropped the sides of the photo to make it square, but other than that, this is how the photo was taken : ) Though these birds seem to be unpopular, I love to see them and try and capture their iridescent beauty. They appear to be a black bird, but when the sun catches them, they come alive with colour.
"Common Grackles are blackbirds that look like they've been slightly stretched. They're taller and longer tailed than a typical blackbird, with a longer, more tapered bill and glossy-iridescent bodies. Grackles walk around lawns and fields on their long legs or gather in noisy groups high in trees, typically evergreens. They eat many crops (notably corn) and nearly anything else as well, including garbage. In flight their long tails trail behind them, sometimes folded down the middle into a shallow V shape." From AllABoutBirds.
www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Grackle/id
animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birding/common-gra...
Two days ago, on 4 June 2015, it was a dry day, though a thunderstorm was forecast. After grey skies and rain the previous couple of days, I felt like going for a drive. Started at a wetland in SW Calgary, where I saw the usual Lesser Scaup and Redheads. The male Redhead did not like any of the other ducks around him and would chase away each one in turn. Quite the bully! Also managed to get a few more shots of a Common Grackle, including this one, though they move fast and seemingly constantly.
From there, I drove some of my usual backroads SW of the city. The clouds were building up quite dramatically, and I stopped at one wetland where they were reflected quite beautifully. I didn't see all that many birds, but was content to get a few chances to photograph a pair of Mountain Bluebirds, Tree Swallows, an Eastern Kingbird, and a Savannah Sparrow. No Wilson's Snipe this time, though I thought I had one on a distant fence post. Turned out to be a Mourning Dove - only the second time I've ever seen one on a fence post. Also saw a Swainson's Hawk which flew and landed on a high power pole near where the Bluebirds and Tree Swallows were nesting. The Tree Swallows, in true fashion, were causing the Bluebirds enough stress by flying and landing just a foot or two away from the Bluebirds' nesting box. The male Bluebird did such a great job of chasing away its rather beautiful, iridescent neighbours - which I also enjoy photographing. So, a short trip, but one that I always enjoy, especially each spring.
EXPLORED 27/04/08 #172
HDR created from 5 exposures using Photomatix and some Photoshop adjustments. Anna Theodora helped me a lot with the post-processing, "polishing the edges" and making it more surreal and pleasant to the view. Thanks a lot sweetie! If you have time to check her work, you'll be amazed by her creativity and cool ideas!
I also want to thank you all for your support and understanding about the last events on my life and my absence on Flickr. After my exam everything will return to normal and then, I'll be able to catch up with you, my friends! Have a great Sunday ya all!
When I took this shot I could see the light on the grass but I never thought the light would show up on the grass as much as this .
and all the gray is gone, everytime I see you smile. What i'd do to make you see who you are to me.
Say hello to my lovely best friend and incredible sister Hannah. This was taken on the way home from camp tonight and after she shared some heavy things that had been on her heart..
I am so honored I am to be a part of her life. She chooses to stay faithful and strong through hardships no one should ever have to face. Her heart is hands down the most beautiful I've ever gotten to know and she sets an example for me daily. God was thinking of our family when he made her.
~ Antoinette van Kleeff ~
My album of flora in winter here.
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Archway resp. arcade of the Château de Hautefort, connecting its western with its eastern wing, Dordogne, France
Some background information:
The Château de Hautefort (in English: "Hautefort Castle") is situated on a plateau in the northern part of the French department of Dordogne. It overlooks the village of Hautefort and is located approximately 34 kilometers (21 miles) northeast of the town of Périgueux. The building complex is the largest Baroque castle in southwestern France and one of the most significant castles in the Périgord region. Located in the far eastern part of the White Périgord (in French: "Périgord blanc"), the castle was classified as a historic monument in 1958. Since 1967, its French formal gardens and the landscaped park have also been listed as historic monuments.
As early as the 9th century, a fortress was located at the site of the present-day Hautefort Castle, belonging to the viscounts of Limoges. In 1030, the castle became the property of Guy de Lastours after he defeated the rebellious viscounts at Arnac on behalf of the Count of Périgord. Following his death in 1046, his sole daughter Aloaarz brought the property into her marriage with Aymar de Laron, who adopted the Lastours name.
Through the marriage of Agnes de Lastours in 1160, the castle passed to the family of her husband, Constantin de Born. Constantin and his brother Bertran de Born, quarreled over the castle, as they supported opposing factions of the English princes Henry the Young King and Richard the Lionheart. Bertran sided with Prince Henry, while Constantin aligned himself with Richard's camp. In 1182, Bertran managed to expel Constantin from the castle, but in the following year, after Henry's death, Richard the Lionheart laid siege to the fortress. After eight days, he captured it, took Bertran prisoner, and demolished the fortifications.
However, King Henry II of England granted Bertran his freedom and even restored the castle to him. In 1184, the rebuilding of the castle began. By 1196, Bertran retired to the Cistercian Abbey of Dalon and became a monk, while the grounds passed to his son. At that time, the structure consisted of a large donjon and several smaller towers connected by curtain walls and battlements.
In the course of the Hundred Years' War, English soldiers occupied the castle in 1355 and forced its owners to recognize the English king as their liege lord. However, in 1406, the castle returned to French control. Shortly before, the last male representative of the family, Bertrand, had died, and the property passed to his sole daughter, Marthe. Her son Antoine, from her second marriage to Hélie de Gontaut, adopted the name of the Hautefort lordship when he became the new lord of the castle. In 1588, the northwestern entrance wing of the castle was altered and fortified – perhaps influenced by the French Wars of Religion. This renovation likely replaced a less defensible Renaissance-style structure.
In 1614, under François de Hautefort, the seigneurie was elevated to a marquisate. Accordingly, he sought to replace the outdated structure with a representative château. In 1633, the marquis commissioned Nicolas Rambourg, an architect from Périgueux, to undertake a major renovation of the estate. When François passed away in 1640, the work was far from complete, leaving the task of continuing the project to his successor, his grandson Jacques-François. Jacques-François' sister, Marie, gained fame at the Parisian royal court as the platonic companion of King Louis XIII.
The death of Nicolas Rambourg in 1649 temporarily halted construction, but in 1651, the inauguration of a château chapel on the ground floor of the new logis was celebrated. In 1669, the marquis resumed the renovation project, enlisting the Parisian architect Jean Maigret. Maigret completed the château as a symmetrical three-wing complex in the style of classical Baroque, adding the current south tower and relocating the chapel there in 1670. Although the second marquis died in 1680, Maigret's work on the château continued until 1695. During the renovations, the defensive elements that had still been present at the beginning of the 17th century were gradually dismantled.
During the French Revolution, the citizens of Hautefort prevented the château's destruction. From 1793 to 1795, the estate was used as a prison. But after the revolutionary period, Sigismonde Charlotte Louise de Hautefort, the daughter of the last marquis, Louis Frédéric Emmanuel, regained control of the family seat. In 1853, the redesign of the château's gardens was commissioned and the plans were drawn up by Paul de Lavenne, one of the most renowned landscape architects in France at the time. He reimagined the baroque gardens on the terraces surrounding the château and designed a large English landscape garden with broad sightlines into the surrounding countryside.
After the death of Maxence de Hautefort in 1887, his second wife sold the estate in 1890 to wealthy industrialist Bertrand Artigues. Artigues undertook various restoration projects and demolished the old outbuildings to the northwest of the château. Despite these efforts, the structural condition of the château remained poor. After Bertrand Artigues passed away in 1908, his heirs sold the château in 1913 to a real estate speculator. Between then and 1925, the speculator sold off all the furnishings and interior elements, including paneling and parquet floors. Subsequently, the parceled estate was sold off piece by piece.
In 1929, Baron Henry de Bastard and his wife Simone, the daughter of banker and patron David David-Weill, purchased the château. They began extensive restoration work in 1930, which continued until 1965. The couple undertook a complete restoration of both the interior and exterior of the buildings and also worked to restore the baroque garden parterres based on historical plans. While the flowerbeds were replanted, the design created by Paul de Lavenne was preserved.
After the death of the baron in 1957, his widow opened the château to the public. However, this decision proved disastrous for the estate. In 1968, a major fire broke out, caused by a carelessly discarded cigarette butt from a visitor. The fire devastated the main northeastern wing, including its interiors and furnishings. Only the side wings with their round towers at the ends remained intact. But the baroness wasted no time and began restoration work as early as September of the same year. Using old photographs, the destroyed wing and its rooms were faithfully reconstructed and refurnished.
Today, the Château de Hautefort, along with its park and large sections of the French gardens, can be visited for an admission fee. Visitors can explore the interior rooms, including the grand reception hall, the château lord’s bedroom, Marie de Hautefort’s room in the Louis Quinze style, the chapel, and the kitchen. Furthermore, it is worth mentioning that the palace has also served as a film location for several productions. The last one was the movie "Ever After" from 1998, starring Drew Barrymore and Anjelica Huston.