In life, a quest might take us on unexpected paths, with possibilities that are open, wide or endless, or narrow and constricted, limiting our options.
The difficulty is to breathe in, and squeeze through the narrow tunnels of life.
It is then we can fully appreciate the exhilaration of achievement and persistence on the open road.
In Australia, a country aged by the wind, sun and sea, we see many examples of nature’s work and Forces of Nature.
I am drawn to the sea, as most of us are, who cling to the more hospitable coastal regions of Australia for hearth and home.
The limestone structures that survive, here on Australia’s southern coastline, defy wind, rain, tempest and frothing sea and are an example of natural endurance against the continual pounding of the ocean and are geologically, if not also aesthetically, interesting.
Gog and Magog, Great Ocean Road, AustraliaLondon Bridge – that fell down stranding tourists
Captured on a very basic Auto focus camera, with the exception of the first photograph, taken with a Nexus 4 and edited with Picasa.
There’s a new photographic challenge on the WordPress Blogging University, explore the tag photo101 to find out more. This photo addresses four days beautifully. This photo was taken way before the photo challenge existed and it seems I followed the rule of thirds.
For me, most of Denmark and lots of Scandinavia is embodied in the word “Bliss” and scenes like this encapsulate the atmosphere I feel in the Danish countryside.
This is the place where my great grandfather was born. There is a salmon ladder here and the red building is a water mill that dates back to a time in the nineteenth century when a ‘fabrik’ or cloth factory was located here. The factory was run by the Larsens and made uniforms for Danish soldiers battling their southern neighbours!
Those days are long gone and the factory building is now a teacher’s convention centre, and the grounds are used for picnics and recreation. I think great grandfather and his family would find some bliss here!
The Gold Coast Hinterland isn’t that far away from metropolis, but rather is a area frequented by tourists who need a break from the hype of the beaches, shopping, surf and casino lifestyle that is the Gold Coast. So it was a complete surprise to me that we might get lost on a bush-walk with marked trails, but the Australia bush can be confusing, and we completed a 11 km trek instead of a 2 km stroll, all with an 8 year old tagging along!
We must have missed the sign pointing the way out, so we walked and walked, and, walked. We had to carry the 8 year old along the final 500 metres, when cajoling her with sweets and stopping by frequent rests and water breaks failed to work.
It wasn’t all torture, mind you, as you can see there are loads of things to see along the way, rock tunnels, birds and lizards, and it was refreshing to walk behind twin waterfalls and feel the spray on one’s face.
Lovely reward of a gorgeous view and a pretty rock pool, when we finally reached civilization again. An Achievement! More so, for the 8 year old.
Daily Post weekly photo challenge wants a room and here is one of my favourite rooms:
This lady was making ‘kleiner’ – a type of traditional Christmas Donut style dough shaped into a twisted diamond. Delicious. The simplicity of this room both in the nature of the woman’s clothes and kitchen itself, with its whitewashed wooden cupboards, and cluttered yet tidy appearance was, I believed, true to a realistic representation of past times in Denmark.
And here is the inside of a Swedish Torp. Authentic country Northern swedish design. Often the Torps are closed up in winter until summer re-appears.