DIRTY

There's what my mother called "happy dirt" - the mud covering a toddler's lovely messy time in the garden, and "natural dirt", leaves, dust, etc. that just appears, there's litter, which shouldn't be there but often is,  and there's filthy dirt.    

I've been a bit overwhelmed this week with medical matters, but took this photo of the railings in the park in June.   Definitely comes under the heading of "needs a coat of paint, but there is no money in the Council money box for things like that dirt"

For more "Dirty Pictures" go over to Thematic Photography and see what dirt others have raked up!

ALL THE COLOURS OF THE RAINBOW

Midwinter, its a bit difficult to find colours outside.   So for Carmi's Thematic Photography I've picked a shot I took a couple of years ago. when my Great Granddaughter was busy with her felt tip pens.

Its a busy period now, with Christmas shopping on our minds, but why not sneak a shot of all the decorations in the shops, and post it on the link above!

REPETITIVE

I love patterns, especially those made by repetitive things that maybe we wouldn't look at normally.

So I've found four shots that I like, hopefully you will, to go with Carmi's Thematic Photography theme this week.

Stacked sunbeds

A pineapple

Christmas baubles

and the balconies of flats in Barcelona

Go to the link above to see Carmis really splendid shot (I can't compete this that!) and see what others have posted.

OUT FOR A WALK

Sometimes I go for a walk, just to get some fresh air and clear my mind.   Other times, like on holiday, or visiting another town, then I look for interesting places, and drive my husband mad by photographing odd bits and pieces!

So here are some "Things I have seen and thought interesting"

In the far north of Norway, walking round one of the small villages up there, we saw these cod (or maybe haddock!) drying in the air.

Manhole covers in Stavanger, Norway, are far from boring!

In Cadiz, Spain, we passed a nursery school, and when I smiled at the children, they rushed to see these strange people!!

In Sete, in France, I spotted this pretty net curtain almost hidden behind the blue shutters

And then, of course, there are photos taken of the walk, mostly local.

Non-local, this is my daughter who insisted on having a paddle when she and I went to Nerja, Spain in Spain a couple of years ago!

One of our local walks.   There's always one who goes the wet way!

Autumn

 in our local park is always beautiful

Tittesworth Reservoir and  beauty spot, with lots of birds and walks.

Macclesfield Forest in winter.   This is about the only flat path there!

And lastly, in La Palma, Canary Islands, this is what you enjoy at the end of a long walk!!

Hope you've enjoyed these.   Go to Carmi's website to see what others have found on their walks, and post your own!

ABSTRACTS

Looking at the world in an abstract way can lead to some interesting photographs.   Even just a tiny bit of the whole becomes interesting if you isolate it.   Maybe we should stop looking at the big picture all the time, and think more abstractly!   (only watch where you are going if you are out and about!!)

I photographed a big, rather leaning stack of metal chairs, and then turned the shot round ninety degrees.   Makes a nice study, I think!

I've never eaten Globe Artichokes, but they look interesting lined up at a market in Spain!

The curled bark of a tree in our local park.   Not sure of its name, but it has lovely shiny red bark.   The white lines are a spider's web.

Reflections of bullrushes in the water of the lake in our Park.

A ridge of water as the wake of the liner met the sea coming the other way!

Go to Carmi's Blog to see other abstract ideas, and post yours there too.

WHERE I SHOP

Well, for one things, I am no great lover of pushing a trolley load of food round a Supermarket and then standing in a queue!   So I have most of my groceries delivered by one of a team of lovely men who bring the stuff straight into the kitchen for me, and help me unload.

But I do love markets - food or flea! - and especially love foreign markets.   Unfortunately on our latest holiday we managed to miss the market days, so I am posting some of our local markets.

Join me in the hunt for bargains!

Our local monthly market - no it doesn't always rain!

Flea Market in Leek, Staffordshire

There are a couple of lovely bread stalls - my mouth waters!

And a stall selling all sorts of scones

The other bread stall

And I found two photos of foreign markets I took 5 years ago - Bergen, in Norway, had the most fascinating fish stalls, and a whole stall dedicated to strawberries!

Go to Carmi's blog to see where other people shop and let us know where you find your delicacies!

AUTUMN

One of my favourite seasons - maybe because I was an Autumn baby!!    But Carmi has chosen Autumn as the Thematic Photo for this week.

As I came down these steps this morning, I felt they had a real autumnal feel.   Pity the sun wasn't out!

This was taken a year or two ago at Tittesworth Reservoir in Staffordshire.   Lovely place to have a sit-down on the bench and admire the gorgeous colours!

And this is a Chinese Rowan Tree in our back garden.   I found it as a wee seedling among some stones, and thinking it was from our ordinary Rowan tree, decided to grow it on.   We realised it wasn't an ordinary Rowan and have decided on it being a Chinese Rowan, kindly brought to us by courtesy of a bird!   I suppose it must be about 10 or 12 years old now, and is really spectacular in the Autumn.   The birds don't eat the berries until a bit later, though they will strip the tree eventually, having performed some very acrobatic feats to get at the hanging berries.

Go to Carmi's blog to see what others have posted, and maybe post yours?

SCREENS

To everyone's delight, Thematic Photography has returned, with the subject of SCREENS.

Now there are screens and screens, and I'm sure Carmi and others will think of all the screens we use every day - Phone, tablet, laptop, home PC, TV, and I'm sure there are more.   So I took photos of Screens - on my screen!   Just to be different!

The two above are just a tiny selection of the loads I found on Pinterest.

 But two of my favourites are the Italian painted leather one above, and the Japanese one below.   I reckon in the draughty houses of years past, a screen was a vital necessity if you didn't want a nasty cold wind down your back!   Even in my childhood home, where we had no central heating , we could have done with a screen or two, as each time the living room door was opened, an icy blast came in!!    Oh, the chilblains I suffered from!

To see more screens, go to Carmi ans see what others have come up with.   And post your own!

DISPOSABLE

So much of life seems to be disposable nowadays, whereas long ago we would try and mend things, make them do, use them for something else.   Not just throw them away.

So I try to recycle as much as I can.   At least those old paper carrier bags, plastic bottles and cardboard cereal packets can be used to make something else.

For the Thematic Photography this week the theme is DISPOSABLE.   So here are things I dispose of but try to recycle.   Apart from the wipes, of course, they go in the really and truly disposable bin!   

Our recycling bin!

The paper sacks Tesco deliver my fruit and veg in - and urge us to recycle!

They have to be thrown away, but oh! so useful!

Go to the link above to see what other people dispose of - and post your own!

STREET SIGNS

A nice simple subject this week!    Street signs are everywhere, we probably only see them almost unconsciously, but they can be found all over the world!

A good, clear sign.   You see this on the road in the Arctic, you know what to expect!   And you had better look out, those females have BIG antlers!

Flea markets are fun!   You wanna buy a one-man band?   Table and chairs? a No Entry sign?    To you?   A fiver, sir.   Good condition, hardly used.   No?   A tenner for the band AND the No Entry sign?   Done!   You're a Gent!

Go over to writteninc. to see more Street Signs, or post yours!

PLEASE BE SEATED

There is something about an empty chair that can get us wondering.   Who sits there?   Have they just gone, just coming or what?    Over on thematic photography Carmi muses about a single seat, and invites us to post our seating photographs.

I took the following photographs when we visited Mallorca a couple of years ago.   It was the shadows and the unusual canopy that first intrigued me, and I wondered what on earth was going on.   When we came back along the other side, I could see that rows of chairs were being put out fora concert that evening.   The whole set up was fascinating, especially the shadows made by the canopy, and the rows of empty seats, except for the man doing all the hard work!

From above the shadows and canopy made lovely patterns

But from the other side I could see what was going on!

Go to the link above to see the seating plans of others - and post your own!

HIDDEN

It has been said that the best place to hide something is in plain sight.   Apparently people (and that means us!) don't see much that is staring us in the face, especially if we are not expecting to see it.

So for this week's Thematic Photography we are interpreting the theme HIDDEN.    Camouflage has always followed the line of that people don't see what they are not expecting, so I have tried to take photographs along this line! 

The pond at the bottom of our garden is well hidden anyway........

.........but the frog sitting perfectly still on the stone could easily be mistaken for a leaf.

Four sparrows are fairly easily visible, but they love hiding in the privet hedge.   I can only see them when they move or fly out.   If you look hard you can just see one eye looking at you in the top left hand corner!

There is a bee on these heleniums, its only because his wings are catching the light that he can be seen.

And who knows what treasures might be hidden on this stall at the Flea Market in Leek, Staffordshire?

And lastly, how many tourists would notice the beggar on the left hand side of the old gateway?   (The one on the right in a blue sweater is my husband!)

Do go to the link above to find more hidden items!

REFLECTIVE

For this week's theme over at writteninc, Carmi has chosen REFLECTIVE.   Reflections, and being reflective, can often give us another view on life.   Or we can just enjoy watching the water, or ourselves in a mirror, or whatever!


I love watching water, and seeing how the light is broken up by disturbances, or the wind across a lake.

He's paddling like mad with his feet - breaking up the water round him into little bits of reflected light.

A lovely calm day by the lake in our park

Another park shot.   The purple bits are actually reflections of a Rhododendron bush above the water.   Somewhere in there is a coot's nest, but it is exceedingly well hidden!

Go over to the link above to see what reflective thoughts others have come up with!