© irene waters 2018
The Blue Mountains are a place of wonderment and from a different point I too looked in wonder (see below) but my biggest cause for wonder was “what were those things that looked like lights shining through a building below those looking in wonder from above?
© irene waters 2018
For other entries in this new weekly photo challenge for lens artists.
Each Month Paula gives us five words that we can depict with an image. You can pick one word or all five using one photo or more. The words this month are: canicular, splash, feathered, marine, scenic.
© irene waters 2018
Canicular – had me stumped. Sirius – the dog star- alpha canis majoris – the brightest star in the night sky and I haven’t one photograph of it. I thought perhaps I had a photograph of the ferry HMAS Sirius or perhaps Sirius Cove but then I remembered that Sirius marked the dog days of the Ancient Greeks. A time of inactivity. Our local council, in order to bring some life to this period of inactivity organised a buskers fest. There were few onlookers to watch the buskers but this little girl captured me. Although few walked past, most gave some money either to her or to her little dog Wasabi. Perhaps these two photos fit canicular.
© irene waters 2018
© irene waters 2018
Splash
© irene waters 2018
Feathered
© irene waters 2018
Marine.
© irene waters 2018
Scenic.
Unexpected was the prompt from November 23rd 2013 and my response centred on surprises that caught you unawares – the buddah inside a tree, things found on dog walks and a friend meeting up with us on holiday for my birthday.
On Tuesday, when we were having a building and pest inspection at the house we are going to be moving, I was certainly not expecting to come across a family of snakes. Initially I only saw one and it looked like a brown snake to me. The pest man came and saw it but it was so covered by leaf litter that he couldn’t tell what kind of snake it was.
I returned later thinking that it obviously needed some sun and I was as unexpected to him as he was to me. As the house had been empty for months he probably felt it was safe to reemerge.
© irene waters 2018 (see the others hidden under the leaf)
© irene waters 2018
© irene waters 2018
This time though I discovered it was an entire family of snakes but luckily not our deadly brown snakes. The pest man diagnosed that our family were tree snakes that were harmless. I breathed a sigh of relief. Snakes don’t worry me unduly but I do worry about Muffin with poisonous snakes and our brown snakes – even I am wary of.
I much prefer the unexpected snake I came across on our bush walk in the Blue Mountains last week.
© irene waters 2018
The pest man told us after being on the roof – we have a resident python – a large one. Hopefully Muffin is not small enough to be its unexpected dinner.
Perhaps there was a reason why I unexpectedly photographed a vehicle I came across on my walk a week or so ago.
© irene waters 2018
For those of you that enjoyed the weekly photo challenge there is good news. Four ladies have taken up the gauntlet and starting this Saturday will be giving us a prompt to challenge our photographic skills and creative thinking. For more detail visit Patti Moed It starts this Saturday.
© irene waters 2018
Dishes stacked one upon another
© irene waters 2018
and the floors of a building can be thought of as one stacked upon another
© irene waters 2018
and rocks strategically placed, layered so that they too form a kind of a stack are all man made. A stack of pancakes is delicious to eat but my favourite stack
© irene waters 2018
are those formed in nature. Pancake rocks are found in the South Island of New Zealand at Punakaiki, a most appropriate name for rocks that look like a stack of pancakes as it means sweet food.
© irene waters 2018
The pancake layering is due to alternating layers of marine animals and plant matter, hard and soft layering eroding at different rates.
© irene waters 2018
© irene waters 2018
In response to Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge.
© irene waters 2018
© irene waters 2018
The Blue Mountains were named because in the heat of summer the eucalpyt trees release their oil shrouding the mountains in a blue haze. It is winter at the moment and instead of heat the houses have their fires roaring and those like me from the north shiver as we take in the beauty of the Three Sisters and Mount Solitary in the distance.
© irene waters 2018
The three sisters are named Meehni, Wimiah and Gunnedoo. Legend has it that the three sisters fell in love with three men from a neighbouring tribe but they were not allowed to marry. The men decided to capture the sisters and a battle ensured. One of the elders turned the girls to stone in order to protect them but he was then killed. As the dead elder was the only one who could turn the girls back they have remained in stone ever since. It is uncertain as to whether this is Aboriginal legend or one made as a good story for the kids by a white settler.
© irene waters 2018
In reality the cliffs of the Jameison Valley were created over time by wind, rain and river erosion. The resultant cliffs made it very difficult for the early settlers to reach the other side. The first explorers to find a way across the mountains diarised thoughts and a flash fiction story are found here.
© irene waters 2018
Here you can see the location of the bridge that I posted for Silent Sunday.
© irene waters 2018
A wonderful view of Mount Solitary and the three sisters from Echo Point.
© irene waters 2018
In response to Cee’s Odd Ball Challenge
courtesy of Amazon
I have decided that I love prose poetry. The first one I read was by Marg Collett titled Finding the Place – my review is here. We come Apart by Sarah Crossan and Brian Conaghan I found equally as compelling. Verse is an emotive form of writing with vivid imagery where every word counts. This book was no different.
It told the story of Jess and Nicu, two troubled teenagers. It is in three parts and told from two points of view, alternately narrated by Nicu and Jess. Both had very distinct voices. Nicu was from Romania and spoke as one whose first language wasn’t English. He had come to England with his parents. They needed to make money to provide the bride price of the woman they had picked for him to marry. Jess was a tough cookie who came from a violent abusive household. They met whilst doing community service for petty crimes.
It is the story of growing up, of racism, bullying, parental abuse, cultural differences, arranged marriages. Both Nicu and Jess see their futures as being hopeless but their friendship brings hope – and tears. We watch as Jess’s ridicule of Jess turns to friendship and then the fledgling feelings of love. We see how hurtful comments from others can be.
Nicu ” Back in Village,
going to school not so important for us children.
Political persons don’t
care if I go or not.
Parents
same.
But,
back in village,
no person does the laughing at me
behind my face.
Even in front of my face
it happening.
In class,
Out class,
in corridor,
in yard,
in canteen.
all place.
Snigger, snort, chuckle,
chuck paper,
pens,
pretend knives, guns, bombs,
weapons of massive destruct into my feelings.”
We get taken into the story and into the characters. You can’t help but love Nicu, a gentle soul who only wants the best for all. Jess is slightly less loveable but as you learn of her home life her character becomes understandable and you can’t help but feel for her.
Would I recommend this book – absolutely. I believe it is a definite must read. When I started reading it I found that it was compelling. I put off other tasks so I could continue to read and finished it in a few hours. I guess that is another benefit that a verse novel gives – despite it being 325 pages in length it could be read in one sitting.
I’d love you to read it and let me know what you think.
© irene waters 2018
Thank you for all the contributions to the last prompt The Biggest Change : the responses were insightful and thought provoking. I enjoyed reading and reflecting on all of them. This month’s prompt I am expecting to see differences between generations and geographical differences. I wonder if my expectations will prove correct or not. This time we are looking at bicycles. Were they a part of your childhood? Your adulthood? Where did you ride?
Please join in giving your location at the time of your memory and your generation. An explanation of the generations and the purpose of the prompts along with conditions for joining in can be seen at the Times Past Page. Join in either in the comments or by creating your own post and linking. Looking forward to your memories.
Baby Boomer Australia Rural then city
My immediate thought was that I didn’t ride a bike as a child so what do I find – the first photo was of me riding a tricycle with my brother standing pillion in Central park New York. I was too young to remember our time in the States but obviously I had my feet to the pedals at that time.
On our return to Australia neither of us had a bike. My brother agitated and eventually received one for his birthday probably around 13 or 14 years of age.
© irene waters 2018
I was as jealous as one could be of his new found freedom and although I then begged for a bike none was forth coming. His bike gave him the ability to ride to his friend’s farm and to other friends in town that were too far to walk to. The only times I experienced this level of freedom was on the couple of occasions that my friend lent me her sister’s bike and we rode round the streets near her house. I believed that my parents didn’t think that riding a bike was a ladylike activity as in those days I rarely wore anything other than a dress. However, I think this is probably incorrect as I have seen pictures in recent years of my mother and sister riding their bikes to school.
It wasn’t until I was in my second year as a trainee nurse that I took up bike riding. My friend and I both bought a bike as a form of transport. The first lot of days off that we had together we decided to ride to Gosford around 8o kms there and another 80 back. Embarrassingly, dressed in the same outfit (Bay City Rollers striped sox were all the rage) we set off.
© irene waters 2018
The bikes were ladies bikes with back pedal brakes and no gears. The road to Gosford was mountainous. The first hill I rode down, quite close to the hospital, I picked up a good amount of speed and I found that standing on my brakes did not allow me to stop before I slid across the intersection. It put the fear of God into me and from that time I walked down the hills that were more than a gentle incline. Without gears and not using the momentum of the downhill run I found I then had to walk up most of the hills. We were exhausted by the time we got to Gosford and decided to cheat on the return by riding to Patonga, staying the night and then catching the mail boat back to the other side of the Hawkesbury River to Brooklyn. We woke that night in our tent with the river seeping in as we hadn’t realised just how high the tide would make the river rise.
That was the end of our bike riding days. The bike went with me to a flat at Manly where it sat in the hall and rusted. I don’t recall taking it with me when I moved out.
Recently I again hopped upon a bike and ended up purchasing one which I did manage to ride home. It has sit on our porch for the six weeks since I bought it unused apart from a friend who took it for a ride. Soon I am going to start. Very soon but they are memories that are yet to be made.
Baby Boomer – St Alabans, Queens, New York USA
Bicycles: Times Past | Reflections and Nightmares- Irene A Waters (writer and memoirist)
Baby Boomer – suburbs New York USA
I’m looking forward to reading your memories……. and don’t forget that if you are interested in memoir check out the series on the second Friday of the month over at Carrot Ranch. Join in the conversation.
Baby Boomer – Tainan, Taiwan
Baby Boomer – Rural UK
Gen X – city South Africa
https://bakeandwrite.co.za/times-past-bicycles-and-me-a-bad-combination/
© irene waters 2018
Summer to me means heat and when you are hot everyone gravitates to the water.
© irene waters 2018
In Australia we are still lucky enough to find beaches that have few people on them
© irene waters 2018
and places to sunbake on the rocks (not a good idea these days)
© irene waters 2018
Some prefer boating, others surfing
© irene waters 2018
some like the shade an umbrella gives them when they drag themselves from the cooling water.
© irene waters 2018
When a beach is not available there is always a pool somewhere handy.
© irene waters 2018
© irene waters 2018
Even harbour pools are fun. Possibly more so because the little ones can play in the sand. Yes summer is a time of beach and sun lotion. Being presently in winter I look forward to its return.
In response to Sunday Stills where the prompt was summer.
 | Irene Waters 19 Writ… on Radio Quiz Kid – My… |
 | Kim on Radio Quiz Kid – My… |
 | Friday-Flashback-Pre… on Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge:… |
 | THURSDAY’S SPE… on Over: Thursday’s Special |
 | Mind Lab on One |
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Reflections and Nightmares- Irene A Waters (writer and memoirist) 