Sunday Selections #490

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. This has been a difficult year across the world.

However I have been heartened by the community spirit which has perhaps not emerged, but certainly been more visible.

The teddy bear trail continues, and I still see bears (and various other stuffed animals) in windows smiling at passersby.  I smile back at them.

I have taken you to a suburban shopping centre to see the statue 'A Delicate Moment' before.  We stopped in on our way down to the lake to see whether locals had rugged her up for winter.  They had (though this has been a warmer winter than usual and she doesn't yet have boots on).

I was very pleased to see a community pantry beside her.  A well stocked community pantry.

Smiling, we continued our journey to the lake hoping for a kangaroo fix.  The park was more crowded than usual (school holidays) but many were masked and social distancing was in play.  
At first we thought there were no kangaroos - but we were wrong.
They were there, totally 'laxed as usual.

It was a sunny day, but on the chilly side.  Just the same the diamond sparkle on the lake lifted our jaded spirits.

On our way home we stopped in at another suburban shopping centre - where there was yet more community spirit on display.

I liked the water feature near it too.  While the photos don't do it justice there was a steady stream of water flowing across it.

I hope your week is safe, healthy and filled with sparkle.

Words for Wednesday

This meme was started by Delores a long time ago.  Words for Wednesday are now provided by a number of people and has become a moveable 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 them 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 creations on the post and others post on their own blog.  I would really like as many people as possible to join the meme, which includes cheering on other participants (definitely the more the merrier). If you are posting on your own blog, please let me know so that I, and the other participants, can come along and applaud.

This month Cindi is providing them, but has asked that they appear here, instead of on her blog.

This week's prompt is:

The year is 2030.  The first astronauts have landed on Mars.  They find a cave with a single human skeleton in it and fifteen words written on the wall.  What are those words?

Have fun.

Sunday Selections #489

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. Australia was doing really well on containing Covid 19.  WAS doing really well.  Our complacency has bitten us firmly on the fundament.  Numbers and tensions are rising.

I am again mostly home, which is where all of this week's selections come from.

The first are early morning photos in the garden.  I seem to have settled into a routine and head out with the camera a little before first light, and again when dawn has arrived.

You will be shocked and surprised that I continue to delight in the visiting birds.

This pair of King Parrots visit us daily.  They are not tame, but are very used to us and their trust is a privilege.

The long-beaked corella is another regular visitor and Susan Kane bitches/moans/complains/expresses her displeasure any time I post birds without a corella or two.

This week we were delighted to see a much rarer visitor in the tree across the road.  Yellow-tailed black cockatoos fly over us from time to time but don't often land.  Naturally I rushed out with the camera as soon as I heard its distinctive call and realised it had landed so close.  Like so many of our native birds it is far from musical and you can hear its song HERE.

I hope your weeks are health, happy and filled with unexpected treats.

Words for Wednesday

This meme was started by Delores a long time ago.  Words for Wednesday are now provided by a number of people and has become a moveable 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 them 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 creations on the post and others post on their own blog.  I would really like as many people as possible to join the meme, which includes cheering on other participants (definitely the more the merrier). If you are posting on your own blog, please let me know so that I, and the other participants, can come along and applaud.

This month Cindi is providing them, but has asked that they appear here, instead of on her blog. 

This week's prompt is:

You have the ability to mentally hear the honest answer to any question just by looking at the person and thinking the question.  It was all fun and games until you looked in the mirror and asked a question you shouldn't have.  What was the answer?

Have fun. 

Sunday Selections #488

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.  I have often said that my city has a lot of public art.  Some of it I love, some of it I loathe - but I am glad that it is there.  Some of the pieces I am showing are 'old friends' and I look for them each time I go into town.

Some of these are new to my blog and others are repeats.  Heading in to do my voluntary work last week I went through two town centers and this is a small fraction of the art on display.

I think this Lollipop is an inspired marker/advertisement for the Lollipop Child Care Centre.

It  is the slippers which caught my eyes - and make me smile every time I see them.

I really like that boarded up building sites are given a splash of colour with murals on the boards.  These buildings have now been under construction for quite some time, but have not attracted any graffiti.

Then into the city 'proper'.

This is by Anne Ross and is called 'The Other Side of Midnight'.

I certainly classify these plantings as art.

My city has been described as 'a good sheep station - spoiled'.

'Ainslie's Sheep' by Les Kossatz is a satirical salute to one of Canberra's  first pastoralists James Ainslie.  There is also a suburb and a mountain (hill by global standards) named for him.

The birds are yet another example of a creative approach to building sites and are a sliding door for construction workers to go through.

The dogs (which I assume are dingoes) are by Amanda Stuart and are called 'bush pack (nil tenure)'.

I hope that all of you find art, beauty and fun in your weeks to come.

And in Jazz news.  I have now given him the alternative name of Captain Chain Yanker.  He has had a very mixed week and has worried me more than once.  For the moment he is eating, playing and enjoying life.

For several years I have used the phrase 'hiss and spit' as a more or less polite comment on things which displease me.

I laughed out loud when a friend sent me this image yesterday.

Words for Wednesday

This meme was started by Delores a long time ago.  Words for Wednesday are now provided by a number of people and has become a moveable 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 them 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 creations on the post and others post on their own blog.  I would really like as many people as possible to join the meme, which includes cheering on other participants (definitely the more the merrier). If you are posting on your own blog, please let me know so that I, and the other participants, can come along and applaud.

Last month Messymimi gave us some truly wonderful prompts.

This month Cindi is providing them, but has asked that they appear here.  She has taken a different approach and I am looking forward to seeing where they take us.

This week's prompts are:

• In 60 words or less, write the happiest scene you can.

Have fun.