Sunday Selections #433

Sunday Selections was originally brought to us by Kim, of Frogpondsrock, as an ongoing meme where participants could post previously unused photos languishing in their files.

Huge thanks to Cie who gave me this wonderful Sunday Selections image.  
  
The meme was then continued by River at Drifting through life.  Sadly she has now stepped aside (though she will join us some weeks), and I have accepted the mantle. 
 
The rules are so simple as to be almost non-existent.  Post some photos under the title Sunday Selections and link back to me. Clicking on any of the photos will make them embiggen. 
 
I usually run with a theme.  Last week was busy.  The coming week will be busy.  And the week after will be manic.

So I am sticking close to home with my photos this week.  Winter has finally arrived.  A wimpy winter, but winter just the same.  There is not a lot blooming in the garden, but both the birds and I are enjoying what there is.

Remember the tree dahlias?  The next photo shows what happens when the frost hits them.

A neighbour, who has since died, gave me this lovely iris a few years ago.  I think of him fondly each year when it blooms.  I think he would like that.

 I really like this African daisy (Osteospermum).  I like them so much I have bought (and planted) another seven in varying colours.

We have a number of grevilleas.  We like them and the birds love them.  The next photo (not very good) is of a male Eastern Spinebill.  I hope to get better photos of this charmer soon.  He is a regular visitor to the grevilleas but quick and camera shy.

There have been foggy mornings.  The dampness of the fog gave me this beauty.

Finishing with more visiting birds, beauty and sadness.

You know that I love our Sulphur Crested Cockatoos - despite them being noisy and incontinent vandals.

While this bird is healthy we have also been visited by one suffering from Beak and Feather Disease.

This disease apparently can affect all parrots though I have only seen cockatoos with it.  They lose their feathers and their beaks can grow to the extent that they can no longer eat or drink.

 

Heartbreaking isn't it?  In the past we have captured birds with the disease and taken them to the RSPCA for a quick and gentle end.  Sadly this one could still fly and evaded us.  I haven't seen him for a few days and assume he has died.

I will finish on a nicer note, with a healthy happy male King Parrot.

I hope your weeks are packed with beauty.

Words for Wednesday

This meme was started by Delores a long time ago.  Computer issues led her to bow out for a while.  The meme was too much fun to let go, and now Words for Wednesday is provided by a number of people and has become a movable feast. 

Essentially the aim is to encourage us to write.  Each week we are given a choice of prompts: which can be words, phrases, music or an image.   What we do with those prompts is up to us:  a short story, prose, a song, a poem, or treating them with ignore...  We can use some or all of the prompts.

Some of us put our creation in comments on the post, and others post on their own blog.  I would really like it if as many people as possible joined into this fun meme, which includes cheering on the other participants.  If you are posting on your own blog - let me know so that I, and other participants, can come along and applaud.

The prompts will be here this month

Here are this week's prompts. 

1. Sleeping
2. Burnt
3. Broken 
4. Undercover
5. Swallows
6. Universe

And/or

1. Voyage
2. Heart
3. Diary
4. Falling
5. Star
6. Samurai

Have fun.

Sunday Selections #432

Sunday Selections was originally brought to us by Kim, of Frogpondsrock, as an ongoing meme where participants could post previously unused photos languishing in their files.

Huge thanks to Cie who gave me this wonderful Sunday Selections image (which I forgot to use last week).  
  
The meme was then continued by River at Drifting through life.  Sadly she has now stepped aside (though she will join us some weeks), and I have accepted the mantle. 
 
The rules are so simple as to be almost non-existent.  Post some photos under the title Sunday Selections and link back to me. Clicking on any of the photos will make them embiggen. 
 
I usually run with a theme.  A little while ago on a grey day we headed off to The Beaver Galleries.   This is a privately owned gallery which showcases the work of Australian artists (existing and emerging) across a wide range of genres, including sculpture, ceramics, paintings, glass, jewellery, textiles...  There is always something to delight in, and the cafe is good too.

Today I am going to focus on an eclectic mix of things which took my eye.

These eucalyptus leaves in cups stand outside the galleries' main entrance.  I didn't get either the name of either the artist or the work (an omission I will rectify later).

The gallery encloses a courtyard area which is filled with sculptures many of which have been there some time.  Given the prices I am not surprised they are slow to shift (which is not to say that I think they are over priced).

I really liked this one.  'Hiije' by Clara Hali.  The  $27,500 price tag puts it well out of my league though.

Others which I liked in the courtyard included these (sadly not getting the name of the artist or the work was a theme to this trip).

 There was a lot to enjoy inside too.

 I adore magpies and these immediately caught my eye.  Both are by Dianne Fogwell and are linocut on archival rag paper.  They are labelled as unique which I assume means only one print was made from each linocut  (they were a little over $3000 each).

I really liked the wintry landscape in the foyer too - an entirely appropriate image on a windy day where we never reached double figure temperatures.

I will do better about attribution on future visits.  We have another treat in store too - our National Gallery's winter exhibition is largely devoted to Monet.  We will go, and post(s) will follow.

WEP/ISWG JUNE CHALLENGE - Caged Bird

WEP/ISWG June Challenge - Caged Bird

The WEP (Write, Edit, Publish) Challenge is back.  The team is now made up of Laura Keltner, Olga Godim and Nilanjana Bose.  Denise Covey has stepped down to concentrate on her own writing.

WEP has joined forces with the IWSG (Insecure Writer's Support Group).  The collaboration has brought very welcome support to the WEP administrators and will also attract more entries.  And this greedy reader loves that.

WEP is changing.  Participating writers can now select their favourite entry and the only award is People's Choice.  I have some reservations about that move, but will be happy to be proved wrong.

 

This month's challenge is Caged Bird.  Fiction, non-fiction, photography and poetry are welcome, which gives us a lot of scope.

If you visit here and click on any of the entrant's names you will be taken to some wonderful pieces.   As always I will marvel at the other participant's creations.  If you do visit, please leave comments to encourage the writers.  A little encouragement never goes astray.  The site is worth revisiting as people have until the third Wednesday of the month to post.

For a variety of reasons I have wimped out on the last few challenges but have joined in again this month.

 ***

STICKS AND STONES...

you led him on... you always did like it rough...you shouldn't have been out so late ... that skirt was too short... you have brought shame on us... no-one will believe you...  you should have fought harder... you shouldn't have been drinking... it is just sex... you weren't a virgin anyway... it could have been worse... tell the truth, you fancied him... you need to get over  it...why didn't you?... why did you?... you... you... you...

The words surround me.  They overpower me.  They are heavy, hard and loud.  They bludgeon and bash me.  Some cut deep, incisions that cannot be stitched.  Even the softer words have rigid and inflexible cores.  They form a barrier between me and the speakers.  A wall between me and the person I thought I was.  A blockade between me and the person I hoped to be.  A cage.  I shrink inside.  I try to disappear.

this will teach her a lesson she won't forget... it is god's will...  god's gift to you... she said it was rape, but no-one was charged... a baby is always a blessing... you should... you shouldn't... why did you... why didn't you... you will have to...

These words come from family.  They come from friends.  They come from strangers.  They are mostly quieter now.  Soft and insidious.  Relentless.  Some I am not meant to hear, but I do.  They make me feel as sick as the seed he planted does. Lacerated and isolated I shrink further.

you must be so excited... it is all part of god's plan for you... enjoy your freedom now... you were made for this... you will love your little stranger as soon as you see him or her... everything happens for a reason... you will forget the pain immediately... god's gift to you... you are HUGE... you are tiny... you look wonderful... you look drained... you should... you shouldn't... you must...

My body is heavy.  Nearly as heavy as my heart.  They anchor me firmly into the here and now.  My dreams have died.  And still the words continue.

congratulations, you have a fine healthy boy... 

The same impersonal doctor as last time repairs the wound and stitches me up again.  Like father, like son. 

He is here, where I can finally see him.  Do I love him?  No. 

Can I ever love this powerful and needy reminder?  Perhaps.  My arms instinctively reach for the small stranger I have cradled in my body for so long. 

But... as he was born I saw, heard, felt the door to my cage being welded shut.  Will I remember the words to my song when I am paroled years from now?  Can I learn to fly again? 

***

436 words

Full Critique Acceptable.

 

Words for Wednesday

This meme was started by Delores a long time ago.  Computer issues led her to bow out for a while.  The meme was too much fun to let go, and now Words for Wednesday is provided by a number of people and has become a movable feast. 

Essentially the aim is to encourage us to write.  Each week we are given a choice of prompts: which can be words, phrases, music or an image.   What we do with those prompts is up to us:  a short story, prose, a song, a poem, or treating them with ignore...  We can use some or all of the prompts.

Some of us put our creation in comments on the post, and others post on their own blog.  I would really like it if as many people as possible joined into this fun meme, which includes cheering on the other participants.  If you are posting on your own blog - let me know so that I, and other participants, can come along and applaud.

The prompts will be here this month

Here are this week's prompts. 

1. Lever
2. Poison
3. Fragrance
4. Between
5. Immediate
6. Oven

And/or

1. Sunshine
2. Feathers
3. Rotten
4. Dubious
5. Becoming
6. Hard

Have fun.

Sunday Selections #431

Sunday Selections was originally brought to us by Kim, of Frogpondsrock, as an ongoing meme where participants could post previously unused photos languishing in their files.
 
The meme was then continued by River at Drifting through life.  Sadly she has now stepped aside (though she will join us some weeks), and I have accepted the mantle. 
 
The rules are so simple as to be almost non-existent.  Post some photos under the title Sunday Selections and link back to me. Clicking on any of the photos will make them embiggen. 
 
I usually run with a theme.  This week I am focusing on public art, which my city has in abundance.

Lots of our junction boxes have murals on their side.

 These pieces are at a small suburban shopping centre we go past on our way to the lake.

I really liked this drain set into the path (and to my shame had never noticed it before).

This statue 'A delicate Moment' by Suzie Bleach and Andrew Townsend replaces one which was stolen (and no doubt melted down) by oxygen thieves a year ago.

And to finish on something completely different, these murals are on the sides of a public toilet block.

I think the overall effect is mostly better than the close-up view, but love that it is there.

Next week I might take you to less public art and a visit we made to a private art gallery.