Serenity and space

Posted on October 30, 2012 by Rachael

If you have read my blog during the last few weeks, you will already know that I have fallen in love with Jersey, one of the Channel Islands. One of the things I enjoy most there is the feeling of space and the peacefulness that brings after the rush and bustle of crowded Surrey. That is what I wanted to convey in this shot.

I realise that of late this blog has tended towards the image-a-day style, which is not what I originally intended. I am going to try to get back to including longer, themed posts now that the nights are drawing in. Tomorrow, I will write more about my new favourite island.

Alone

Posted on October 29, 2012 by Rachael

“The most terrible poverty is loneliness, and the feeling of being unloved.”
-Mother Theresa

La Corbière, October

Posted on October 28, 2012 by Rachael

We’re back from another trip to Jersey. Here’s La Corbière in rather different conditions from my August sunset shots. I dragged my poor family down to the lighthouse every evening this week and the sky remained doggedly grey until yesterday when we were supposed to be going to the airport for our flight home. A small detour was begged and granted. I only had ten minutes, but made the most of them.

Tiny spiders on Autumn leaves

Posted on October 23, 2012 by Rachael

Autumn is spider time. The monster house spiders invade our homes and scare us arachnophobes silly. But in the garden, their smaller and far less intimidating brethren hang out on and even in Autumn leaves. The green orb spider didn’t stay long enough for me to get its legs in focus, but I like the shot anyway, for the colour.

This next one, sitting in a hole in a cherry leaf, is probably the smallest spider I have ever photographed.

The last shot is an old one but it fitted the post, so I thought I could get away with repeating it.

We are away on holiday at present so I am not doing a very good job of keeping in touch with everyone’s blogs. I will catch up on our return.

Little nymphs

Posted on October 21, 2012 by Rachael

Is this not a cute little thing? This is a psocid nymph, pottering about on a dogwood leaf. These are so small you hardly notice them, unless you spend a ridiculously long time staring at leaves, risking ridicule or at least benign amusement from your family.

This little nymph has a parasite in its belly, which I understand is very common for these little critters. But if you ignore the parasite, it tones quite prettily with its colourful Autumn environment. Perhaps that’s just me…

St.Ouen’s Beach

Posted on October 20, 2012 by Rachael

I love the space and solitude of St. Ouen’s beach on beautiful Jersey in the Channel Islands. This shot, believe it or not, was taken at 10.30am on August bank holiday Monday.

La Corbière again

Posted on October 19, 2012 by Rachael

Another photograph from my evening shoot on Jersey, in the Channel Islands, in August. La Corbière (in Jèrriais, La Corbiéthe), is a lighthouse on Jersey’s SouthWestern tip. We are going back there soon and I am hoping for some rougher seas for a different type of shot.

Kite surfing, again

Posted on October 17, 2012 by Rachael

Last month I blogged about the amazing kite surfers I had the pleasure of watching one day during our holiday on Jersey. I promised then to post some more shots, so here they are. Yahoo!

Flowers in the Rain

Posted on October 16, 2012 by Rachael

Woke up one morning half asleep
With all my blankets in a heap
And yellow roses scattered all around
The time was still approaching
For I couldn’t stand it anymore
Some marigolds upon my eiderdown

I’m just sitting watching flowers in the rain
Feel the power of the rain making the garden grow
I’m just sitting watching flowers in the rain
Feel the power of the rain keeping me good

So I lay upon my side
With all the windows open wide
Couldn’t pressurize my head from speaking
Hoping not to make a sound
I pushed my bed into the ground
In time to catch the sight that I was seeking

I’m just sitting watching flowers in the rain
Feel the power of the rain making the garden grow
I’m just sitting watching flowers in the rain
Feel the power of the rain keeping me good

If this perfect pleasure has to be
Then this is paradise to me
If my pillow’s getting wet
I can’t see that it matters much to me
I heard the flowers in the trees
Make conversation with the trees
Relieved to leave reality behind me
With my commitments in a mess
My sleep is not a way of rest
In a world of fantasy you’ll find me

I’m just sitting watching flowers in the rain
Feel the power of the rain making the garden grow
I’m just sitting watching flowers in the rain
Feel the power of the rain keeping me good

Watching flowers in the rain
Flower in the rain
Power flowers in the rain
Flower power in the rain

Roy Wood Flowers In The Rain (1967)

Westminster Autumn

Posted on October 15, 2012 by Rachael

Autumn in the Victoria Tower Gardens, Westminster. In the foreground (and below) is the Buxton Memorial Fountain, commissioned by Charles Buxton MP to commemorate the emancipation of slaves in 1834, dedicated to his father Thomas Fowell Buxton, and designed by Gothic architect Samuel Sanders Teulon (1812–1873) in 1865.
In the background, of course, is the Palace of Westminster aka the Houses of Parliament, designed by Sir Charles Barry with advice from the great Augustus Pugin.

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