Another butterfly shot

Obviously, I'm lacking time and appropriate blog fodder so I'm posting another shot of the same sort of butterfly as in the previous shot. It may be a bit boring but at least the focus is in the right place this time...

Two is a crowd

Oh well, the focus is not where it should be in this shot but...

Haze

It was a hazy day as is obvious from the photo but down beneath these green hills is the city I live in... well, part of it anyway.

We've been having some heavy sultry weather lately... now, I don't mind the heat but the humidity usually gets the better of me. And the nights in particular have been difficult... you can't sleep, you can't stay awake... and when it's time to get up, you feel exhausted as if from hard labour.

Anyway, we spent part of the day in these hills and it was a welcome refreshment from the stale humid air and overheated concrete.

New way

Some time ago, as a part of the alphabet project, I posted a photo of a hay-rack (May 8 post). Objects like that were used for storing hay. Nowadays those are rarely used anymore and plastic bales prevail in the fields.

Wrong timing?

Accidents can have interesting effects...

Thirsty bug

Underexposed

Oh well... in near darkness I optimistically took this shot of a passing helicopter. When trying to save as much as could be, this came out... the photo is still crap but I kind of like the effect...

Hot day's end

I'm posting this picture exactly as taken save for the resize. At the end of a clear hot day clouds formed on the horizon and this one looked quite menacing. However, it remained in the distance and evaporated into the night.

Summer at last!

Incongruity?

Sultry day

She swore under her breath as the bus no.7 passed her by. She knew there was no way she could catch it. She didn't care much when she saw no.5 drive past her just a few moments previously but this... she knew she would have to wait much more than she wanted to. She sighed and proceeded a bit more slowly toward the bus stop.

After days of rain the sun stood bright in the sky, heating full force for the first time this early summer. She could feel the heat emanating from the asphalt through the soles of her moccasins... the asphalt doesn't take long to accumulate heat. But further north, toward the mountains, some menacing looking clouds were beginning to form.

She assumed position from which she could see the approaching buses but it wasn't until much later that her line appeared. She entered and looked around. Almost all the seats had been taken but she didn't feel like sitting anyway. So she took a stand at the back of the bus. It was a short ride anyway, or so she thought. A pair entered after her and stopped uncomfortably close. Her personal space was being invaded! The girl's bag brushed against her thigh as the pair kissed and canoodled right next to her, oblivious to her presence. If looks could kill, she would easily be accused of a double homicide. She had no other choice but to stand the ground, as much as she could. When her stop finally arrived, she was mighty relieved to be able to descend.

"I wish you would break up!" she muttered as she trod toward home, the sky darkening by the minute. There was going to be a thunderstorm soon.

Signs

I suppose these are easy to understand for anybody.

Geometry at dusk

I'm quite aware the quality of this photo is nothing to write home about but I'm posting it because I still think it's interesting enough. It was taken close to my home just before dusk on a rainy day. The three male blackbirds were just getting ready for the evening concert (the guys sing beautifully) and came close to each other as you see in the photo, measuring up each other's strength. They dispersed shortly afterwards but their singing echoed deep into the dusk as it does every evening.

Some colour on (yet another) rainy day

Exhausted

A difficult day at work, after which I had to take the French test. I was a bit nervous as is always the case before events like this but eventually I did well. But now I'm too tired to do anything but drop into bed (10 p.m. here). Good night!

Brighter

We were finally awarded a few hours of sunshine today but the temperature is still way below the average values for this time of year, and we still couldn't do without some raindrops.
I should be studying for my French test tomorrow but most of the day I've been doing anything but. I should do ok, though, but I'm still a bit nervous...

A rant

If it weren't for the lush green leaves, I would think we're in November. The sky has taken on those dull grey tones and hard drizzle keeps watering the already oversaturated soil. For a few brief moments before the sky closed over completely, the mountains disclosed their brand new cover of snow. The thermometer stubbornly refuses to show figures higher than 10°C.

Hey, we're in mid-June! Aren't we supposed to have summer, dammit? Or am I missing something? If this goes on for a while longer, I may well become suicidal!

Passion?

Quilly asked on her blog a few questions about passion. That's a tough one for me as until very recently I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life, what I wished for. Truth be told, I still don't think I can answer that question quite satisfactorily.

The love of my life? The only man I ever met that I wouldn't mind becoming father of my children disappeared from my life way before any of my wishes could materialise. I do live in a relationship with a good man but... said relationship is by no means based on passion of any kind, at least on my side. *sigh* It is probably the cosiness and the feeling of safety that keeps us together.

At a time in my life sport was my big passion. I used to be a basketball player, and a good one at that. But there was no money in it in my time, no way of making a living off it. And the injuries eventually made me turn away from it.

I hated writing - any form of writing - for many years. I had problems composing an essay that would please my teachers... I have never been able to elaborate on something I felt could be told in a few sentences. It took me years - many years - and a number of coincidences to finally realise I CAN write after all. And what I can do best - which is saying as much as possible in as few words as possible - fits one certain form of poetry just perfectly, the form which is the shortest and purest of them all: haiku. Thus I have found one of my passions.

Another one followed shortly after. When asked what I wanted for Christmas one year, I replied on a whim I would love to have a camera. And I got my Canon Powershot A620, a compact camera with good performances and started snapping away. I had no idea about the technicalities or the rules of photography but enjoyed taking pictures of just about everything... everything but humans, that is. For some reason, I still don't enjoy photographing humans - other than an occasional candid shot, that is. I still take a lot of pics with the snapper although I have acquired my first DSLR last autumn. And the more I know about photography, the more I realise how much more I need to learn. And that applies not only to photography, but just as much to life in general.

A boy with a flute

Okay, here's a leftover from another project... I hesitated to post it because the statue is overexposed and taken from a naughty angle but I thought it might be interesting nonetheless.
The canopy of leaves looks rather nice, doesn't it?

Void

With the finished projects there comes a dilemma: what to post?
Well, how about some flowers...

I may let this blog rest a while but then again, I might also post again tomorrow and the day after and... I just don't know at the moment...

The moon and the stars

or

the last day of Project Blue.
It was fun.

Blue bike

Leaning against the lush greens covering a wall, by y passage... left behind or just waiting for the owner? Anyway, I found it interesting...

This is ny ninth entry for Anna Carson's Project Blue.

Blue damselfly

Some rest, anyone?

On a blue recliner, of course...

Blue sign with sky in the background

I'm away for the weekend but have this one and another post scheduled.

Blue paint crumbling

off a graffiti-painted wall

...

Blue flower (no idea what it is) and a butterfly...

Blue, From The Ground Up

This shot was taken last November when we visited the coast. There was something - obviously some sort of food - floating on the surface of the sea (btw, the sea really is that blue) and one of the gulls spotted and grabbed the stuff. Others weren't far away and a dog fight (gull fight?) ensued. I took the opportunity and snapped a few shots but everything was happening very quickly so this is one of the more successful ones...




I'm posting this for From The Ground Up finale as well as for Project Blue.

From The Ground Up, Blue

Another photo that fits both projects:

From The Ground Up
and
Project Blue

From The Ground Up: Different kinds of power

I know I posted power lines before but not against billowing clouds which might bring thunder storms... a different kind of electricity. And although it can be barely seen, there is the third powerful thing in this photo: a bird of prey perched on the left side of the pole.

Oh, and since I saw a new project has started this one might also qualify for Anna's Project Blue.
I know I'll be awfully busy for the next ten days or so but I'll give it a try nonetheless.
Meanwhile, excuse me for not being around others' blogs as much as I would like to be.