So...

..the mists rolled across the pond and it was cold and humid and grey and not very pleasant. But slowly, oh so slowly, the fabric of clouds began to wear out and eventually the contour of the sun appeared on the gently rippled surface of the pond.

Oh no...

...here they go again!

Who does?

Those weird two-legged monsters with funny feathers.

Humans? To hell with them... I want to take a nap.

Maybe they have some bread crumbs for us.

I don't want their mouldy bread! It made me feel sick to the stomach the other day.

Sorry... But look! There's one with that funny box with a glassy eye that goes click.

So what! They keep running after us since we flew in. And if they haven't got a decent picture by now... well, I'm not gonna help them.

What's wrong with you? Why are you so crabby today?

I told you I hadn't slept well. All I want is take a nap and I wish everybody left me alone. Is that so hard to understand?
Besides, this water's starting to freeze and you know how I hate having cold feet!

Ruber rubbish

So...

you hear the weather will be fine for the next few days and think about taking a day or two off work when... you wake up in the morning and all you see is fog. It is so predictable and typical of this time of year that in high pressure conditions inversion occurs and fog or low clouds form above valleys but the weathermen failed to mention it. And it isn't until one or two p.m. that the fog lifts or the clouds break enough to make the sun peek through before everything turns grey again.

Butt...

there's smoking ban in public places so what else can I do?

(btw, I don't smoke and never have)

Bats

Ok, I know these are poor photos and it's hard to guess what you're looking at unless I tell you these are the bats that were flying over the pond the previous day.

Contrast

The urban and the rural, houses and fields, humans and wildlife, they all coexist in this small piece of land. I wonder how much longer?

Today was grey and unpleasant but I discovered a few things that cheered me up. The swans are still at the pond, I saw a grebe paddling among the ducks and, most of all, my friends the bats are still around. I haven't seen them for a long time but today I watched a number of them foraging the area around the pond. I don't know whether that is good or bad but I was pleased to see them anyway.

Tea, anyone?

Has it ever happened to you that you saw one thing and knew that very instant that you want to have it?

Well, it happened to me the other day. I was looking for something else when I saw this teapot. Nothing special really, many people (and perhaps I, too, on some other day) would pass it without as much as a glance. But for some reason I was immediately and irresistibly drawn to it. I didn't intend to buy it and tried to resist but all in vain. I even contemplated buying it as a gift for somebody else but in the end decided it has to be mine. So, today I enjoyed my first cup of tea brewed in it. And it was delicious, too.

Strange things

It was almost dark when I got off work today. And just before getting home I saw a ghostly creature dancing ahead of me. So I took out my little Canon and here's the evidence:

Hectic

I've had a hectic couple of days. I'm tired and need a good night's sleep.

Snow

When autumn turns towards its second part, snow becomes an ever more likely occurrence. Many find the dance of snowflakes and the white landscape charming if not romantic, but not me. All I can see is cold, moist, slush, chaos on the roads, difficulty in getting anywhere, shovelling the heavy whiteness away... Nah, I don't like snow or cold or short days under a thick layer of fog or low clouds... all in all, I'm not fond of winter. I wish I could curl up in a warm den and hibernate the winter away.

We got our first snow today.

Geometry at sunset

a lot of building and renovation going on in and around the capital...

Party over

sinchronicity

chatting with a friend
i haven't heard for months
on the mobile phone
while walking through a park
i pause
to watch a coal tit
darting from tree to tree
in front of me
the next moment
the friend's voice
tells me
she has just seen
a tit or maybe a redstart
alight on her balcony
silence ensues
then
a few moments later
we burst out laughing
and all is well
with the world
for a moment

The sea

There is something about the sea that fascinates me. I love walking on a beach, looking for little treasures that the sea may wash ashore: shells, sponge, starfish. .. I love watching the waves lapping the shore; the interplay of water and rock, the liquid and the solid, and the tenacity of life that manages to thrive in these unforgiving conditions.

And I think of the delicate balance of all the things natural and how little it takes to ruin all that. I think of all the fossil fuel that is being transported by sea and how little it takes for a ship to wreck. I think of the recent disasters and all the damage they have caused. It may take years if not decades for the life to return to the affected areas. Some species may never recover again. And I think: Why? Oh, I know the answer, or part of it. And yet, WHY?!

Humans are nuts.

Watch the birdie...

A Relict

This oil lamp was hanging from a tree in the small forest between the houses and the motorway and more houses and more roads in the outskirts of Ljubljana. I left it there.

The view

This field is just about half and hour's walk away from where I live. I walk here whenever I have the time. The idyl is rather deceptive, though. There is a motorway to the left of this picture less than half a mile away. Houses are just behind that little forest which isn't very far away. Behind, maybe a mile away, is another settlement and to the right of the picture are more roads. Still, it is refreshing to go out there and the mountains looming in the background are quite beautiful. The crows on the wire appear to share my opinion. And by the way, that post is indeed inclined to the right.

The sky...

...in this photo is grey and not very interesting. That's because it was a foggy morning and the sun had just begun to break through the mist. But it cleared up later on in the day although just for a couple of hours. There is no particular reason for posting this pic, which is another of the Tivoli park, other than I like the place. And the colours are less by day and the trees are barer, especially after that wind today almost stripped them naked.

Winter is nigh...

Madness

This Sunday Slovenia will get a new president. I was in doubt whether to write anything about it at all as I try to keep politics off my blogs but then I thought, why not!

So what do we have to choose from?

In the first round the two remaining candidates defeated a left wing economist who was a serious contender and lost his place in the second round by only about a thousand votes, a nationalist with a history of drunk-driving offences, a female quadriplegic, and a couple of other buffoons.

One of the remaining candidates, smiling from the jumbo posters, tells us he is the right man for us. He is a favourite with the rural population and has a silent support from the clergy.

The other one, a long-time diplomat, tries to assure us from other jumbo posters that he is the man we can rely on. He may collect some of the votes from the candidate he beat in the first round neck-to-neck race.

The president of Slovenia has no executive power in peace time so what does it matter at all whom the people choose? But anyone telling me that he is the right (right indeed!) for me or even that I can rely on him induces quite an opposite reaction in me. I only wish someone once had the balls to call a spade a spade and tell the electorate that once elected, they will act only in their own interest and forget all the promises they made in the campaign. A candidate like that might even get my vote.

November...

...is not my favourite month but sometimes it can be pretty, too.
Would you believe it takes just about a 10 minutes' walk from the city centre to find yourself in a place like this?

You can find joggers jogging and young mothers pushing carriages and dogs walking their owners and all kind of weird folk like myself, taking a break at work to snap away with my little canon.

Opportunists

I have often come across upturned dustbins and thought hooligans were at work again. Until I saw them, and they looked nowhere near what I expected.
The local crows have learned they can find useful stuff in dustbins and so they can often be seen turning over their contents. There is hardly a bin left intact as it seems every crow in the neighbourhood has acquired this behavioural pattern.

Nature's Gift

Early November sun spread lavishly its remaining warmth while the wind and the sea were absorbed in the ancient game of seduction, whispering gently to each other in a tongue only known by themselves. Gulls soared above in silence, riding the winds, scanning the landscape.

Other creatures were out there, too, trying to get the most of the nature's generosity, indulging in the unexpected warmth while listening to the ancient songs of the sea and the wind and catching a glimpse of the gulls' wings glistening in sunlight.

The shade was not a place to be, though. The songs there were harsh and bitter and reminiscent of the long winter nights lying ahead. But it was still a time for light and warmth, for a short while at least.

Strange

A strange looking skeleton was found stranded on the shore near Piran today. Marine biologists are in doubt about the species to which the skeleton belongs but they suspect they have discovered a rare representative of the shark family. Allegedly a specimen was last observed in the Clyde under the Glasgow bridge.

Before the sun set today...

... it lingered on the rooftops of the old houses which have nothing better to do than look at themselves in the river.

All Saints' Day

November 1, All Saints' Day... officially a day designated to remember our deceased, pay our respect to them by visiting their graves and lighting a candle.

All fine and dandy if that didn't primarily mean excessive spending in order to make 'our' grave look most spectacular, decorated with exquisite arrangements of flowers, stones polished to perfection; all to induce envy in every passer-by. And, of course, it is vital to show up at prime time wearing the best and most fashionable clothes and linger around to be seen and to see. One-day glamour! What a hoot! Nobody cares that the flowers will wither in a few days and most graves will be every bit as lonely and desolate as they were before the holiday.

So, on this day, while throngs of people shuffle around the cemetery, stop here and there to light a candle and chat in a desultory manner making sure everybody has noticed their presence, crows do what they are wont to do: fly from tree to ground to power line and back, squabble about a piece of this or that. Every now and then a bird pauses and looks at the slowly moving crowd on a gravelly path, then turns away and utters a caw. Which just about sums up the whole thing.

Resilience

I found these bluebells in the mountains beside a patch of snow which must have covered them when it fell last week but melted away sufficiently for the tiny blossoms to reemerge. I am fascinated how well these seemingly fragile weeds are adapted to the vagaries of their harsh environment. It may be too late for these particular flowers to pass on their genes but they are doing whatever they can to secure the continuance of their species. I only hope humans don't affect their environment so much as to put their existence at stake.