Tag: Challenges

Posted on

Twelve Snippets from Prague

As real travel would neither be safe nor legal, I’m indulging in photo-travel by using Becky’s Squares Challenge (Up) as an excuse to revisit our brief trip to Prague in January two years ago.

Painted tree trunk with the John Lennon wall, Prague

1. (Layered up) Locals and visitors have been adding slogans, quotes, I-was-heres and drawings to The Lennon Wall since the singer’s death. The wall has always been controversial, so authorities and activists have often covered up the colours with  fresh layers of paint, to find it quickly filled with artwork and slogans again. It is now protected by new rules (no spraying) while cameras help enforce the theme of peace and love. Continue reading “Twelve Snippets from Prague”

Posted on

Footprints in the Snow

Bird prints in the snow

We had a scattering of snow on Friday, so around lunchtime I wrapped up and went out to see if there was any fun to be had.

One of the pleasures of a fresh covering of snow is the chance to lay down a trail of footprints, and to follow other people’s. (Unless that’s just me being childish!) Finding this bird print pattern in a quiet part of town was a small treat. Two or perhaps three visitors had left their traces on the pavement before me. Continue reading “Footprints in the Snow”

Posted on

Sarasota Sunset With Silhouettes

Sunset view of Sarasota Bay

Darwen is not known for its sunsets. Now the evenings are drawing in, I get excited to watch grey or lavender clouds pass over a paler blue-grey, pink-grey or silver-grey sky. The effect can be dramatic, often in a glowering, it’s surely going to chuck it down before you get home kind of way.

And on a clear day, it is possible to see the Irish Sea thirty miles or so away, but not from the town. We have to be at the top of the Jubilee Tower, or to have made our way up the cobbles of Donkey Brew and out on to a track through farmland towards Roddlesworth. From the crest of that hill we can glimpse the sun silvering the sea away in the distance. Continue reading “Sarasota Sunset With Silhouettes”

Posted on

The Art Of Bonsai

Twin trunk style bonsai (Acer buergerianum)
Maple and fern | Mendip Bonsai Studio

Bonsai trees provoke mixed responses, although well grown, they can be as beautiful as one of nature’s giants. This Trident maple (Acer buergerianum), grown in the twin trunk style, is around 120 years old. Its eggcup sized companion is some kind of fern. Techniques to keep plants so small include wiring them into shape, then pruning roots and branches while restricting them to very small containers.

It’s tempting to see them and feel torn. Is it unnatural? If so, is going against nature cruel? Continue reading “The Art Of Bonsai”