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.

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.

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)

Pretty in yellow

Posted on October 14, 2012 by Rachael

Well, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But to me this little yellow psocid, hanging out against a complimentary background, is a thing of beauty.

Its common name is rather less attractive – it is a bark louse.

Unlike its relatives who live as pests in the home, this critter eats organic matter in the garden and really isn’t interested in coming indoors. It is very small indeed, about the size of a garden ant.

Psocids in the garden are often mistaken for aphids, but they can be distinguished by their large jaws, resembling those of crickets, and long antennae. If you can squint closely enough. Really, these details can only be noticed with the aid of a macro lens, or a magnifying glass.