Muted colours - TP 258

Some muted shots for Thematic Photographic 258.

Ducks on a lake at dusk

Early morning, Wellington

Different ducks, different lake

Winter morning on the estuary

Rice "paddies", northern Italy

I didn't shoot this...

I have always been fascinated by the story of Fordlandia, a folly perpetrated 

by Henry Ford in the Amazon rainforest in 1928.

It was supposed to supply a never-ending source of rubber 

for his factories, but it was a dismal failure.

The Wikipedia entry gives a background to the venture, and 

outlines why it failed. It also has this beautiful, haunting photograph, 

taken about 2005 (author: Meduse). 

Please enlarge it so that you can see the dog...

 If you are interested in seeing more photos of Fordlandia, see some by Dan Dubowitz here.

Posted for Thematic Photographic #257

Downward - Thematic Photographic 256

Looking downwards to watch the watchers at the 

Auckland Art Gallery:

And looking down at an outdoor installation:

Other downward photos can be found at Carmi's Written.Inc

Repetitious - TP 255

A little late this week, but here are my repetitious offerings.

These palms line one of the entrance roads to our small town:

New cars unloaded at a wharf in Auckland:

Oher people have posted bridge shots, which I like taking too:

Lots of repetitions in the Placa de Catalunya, Barcelona:

 

Finally - spring!

To see other people's repetitions, go to Written.Inc

The End of Winter?

This has been a very unusual winter, so far.

In this country, we consider winter to be from the beginning of June until the end of August. 

September 1st is celebrated as the first day of spring.

However, with 3 weeks of August left to go, spring seems to have already begun. 

The last couple of weeks have been fine, dry and sunny, with daytime temperatures 

around 16 or 17 degrees, at least in the northeast of the country where I live. 

Leaves are opening on the trees, birds are displaying mating behaviour, blossoms 

are blossoming, lambs and calves are visible everywhere. 

It all seems so early!

Of course there's plenty of time left for nasty southern storms to come through. 

Time yet for frosts and floods, cold and sleet. 

If that does happen, it will almost seem reassuring.

Finally, the garden is getting established in our new house. 

The above is a photo of the first camellia (and the first plant) to bloom in my new garden.

I'm really enjoying the lovely weather. It just feels... strange.

Spring is the time of plans and projects.
~ Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina

Skywatch Friday

Earlier this year I visited my daughter and her family in Adelaide, Australia. This was a favourite shot - it was taken in the late afternoon at Seacliff beach.

Check out other entries for Skywatch Friday here!