Snowflakes

I'm not exactly fond of snow - or winter in general - but i was having a bit of fun here anyway:-

Phew!

Isn't social life towards the end of the year exhausting? One is expected to be in a dozen different places at the same time plus have fun in all of those places, and then repeat the whole thing the following day and another and another and... and so on. No wonder one feels like a dry leaf towards the end of the year.


I wonder why people feel the need to socialise at this time of year... the short days, the cold and usually dismal weather? There's one thing I know: I much prefer the cosiness of home and a good book or, as is lately the case, a comp to having to spend time with people I hardly know or even dislike, possibly in clothes I can't stand and shoes that will give me blisters.

I know...

I have posted a similar pic before. But here is another proof that ravaging rubbish bins is a behavior inherent in the local population of hooded crows.

Sport Billy was here?

On my way home the other day I came across these. They were hovering gently, suspended in mid-air, apparently waiting for their legitimate owner. I wonder how they got so dirty, though, if they can fly, and what they were doing there, in the middle of the forest, all alone. I tried to grasp them but they wouldn't let me. So what, they weren't my number anyway.

Prešeren

On this day 207 years ago the Slovenian most acclaimed poet was born. His name is France Prešeren and rather than his birth, the Slovenians have chosen to celebrate his death. So, December 3 passes relatively unnoticed whereas February 8, the day of Prešeren's death, is the national culture day, a state holiday in Slovenia.

But I think it appropriate to mark the bard's birthday with one of his poems.


A Farewell to My Youth

O happier half of days decreed to me,
My early years, so soon you passed away:
Few were the flowers that blossomed on that tree,
And they, scarce budded, fell into decay.
Few were the rays of hope that I could see,
And storms would often rage in wild array;
Still, for my youth, dark though thy dawn may be,
My heart will ever cry, God be with thee!

Too soon the fruits of knowledge did I eat!
Where dripped their poison, faded all delight:
I saw how honesty and truth could meet
Among the human kind with scorn and spite.
I sought true love - an empty dream and fleet,
Which disappeared as dawn broke into light!
And wisdom, justice and the learned mind
Were dowerless maids - no suitors could they find.

I saw how those who are not loved by fate
Their ship in vain against the wind may steer;
The one who is not born to high estate
Shall see no Fortune at his cradle appear;
I saw how fame is purchased at the rate
Of current cash - no price too high, too dear;
I saw in glory's and in honour's seat
All that beguiles men's minds with lies, deceit.

These sights and others uglier by far
Burned in my heart till cruelly it bled;
Yet thoughts like these the joys of youth will bar
And quickly drive them out of heart and head;
Fair cloud-born castles glimmer from afar,
Green lawns arise where desert places spread,
Hope kindles many a wanton, beckoning light,
To lure the young and tempt them in the night.

They know not of the sudden storm that blows,
Dispelling phantom shapes that cannot last,
And all too soon forget misfortune's woes,
Forget the wounds once they are healed and past -
Until the changing years show how life flows
Into a vessel that is leaking fast.
Still, O my youth, dark though thy dawn may be,
My heart will ever cry, God be with thee!

Difference

A very subtle difference can make the picture or not. ~Annie Leibovitz

Here comes the sun...

...or does it?