Willow Yellow

This week's theme for Photo Hunt is "yellow".

This is one of Mother Nature's little wonders.
I took some macro pictures every few weeks, from mid Winter until today.
I thought it would be interesting to share the progress of a tiny Pussy Willow.

Before I started taking macro's, I had no idea.
The first one was taken mid Winter.

A few weeks later on in the season, the furry hairs start to grow longer,

as they turn pink ...

until suddenly a little yellow starts to shimmer through .

Then I discovered hundreds and hundreds of tiny little flowers growing out of the furry hairs.

And only a few days later they look like bottle brushes!


If you click on this one, you can even see the pollen.

Photo Hunt " Four"

( Click to enlarge)

quadrigeminal,
quadripartition,
quadrivium,
quadrumvirate,
quadruple,
quadruplet,
quadruplets,
quartet,
quartette,
quaternary,
quaternion,
quaternity,
tetrad,
tetralogy

or just simply ....

FOUR!

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Photo Hunt "Space"

This week's theme for Photo Hunt is "space"
Like ever so often, I used my dictionary to look for inspiration for this post.


Among the many definitions of "space" I have found in there, this one caught my eye because I knew I had the perfect picture to go with it:

"Reserved or available accommodation on a public transportation vehicle."

And while I was at it, I found a quote that made me smile:

"Space isn't remote at all. It's only an hour's drive away if your car could go straight upwards." [Sir Fred Hoyle, "London Observer," 1979]

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Photo Hunt Thankful

This week's theme for Photo Hunt is "thankful"




I'm thankful for all the happy things, great and small, happy and sometimes sad ...
that have made my life what it is now.

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Photo Hunt " Warm"

This week's theme for Photo Hunt is "warm".
When I started working on this post this morning, my initial idea was to upload a landscape from the Moroccan desert. It had been very warm when I took those, but when I saw the picture, I realized that was not what I was looking for. There are many more definitions of "warm" ...


(Click to enlarge the picture.)

1.	having or giving out a moderate degree of heat, as perceived by the senses: a warm bath.

2.	of or at a moderately high temperature; characterized by comparatively high temperature: a warm oven; a warm climate; a warm summer.

3.	having a sensation of bodily heat: to be warm from fast walking.

4.	conserving or maintaining warmth or heat: warm clothes.

5.	(of colors) suggestive of warmth; inclining toward red or orange rather than toward green or blue.

6.	characterized by or showing lively feelings, passions, emotions, sympathies, etc.: a warm heart; warm interest.

7.	strongly attached; intimate: warm friends.

8.	cordial or hearty: a warm welcome.

9.	heated, irritated, or angry: to become warm when contradicted.

10.	animated, lively, brisk, or vigorous: a warm debate.

11.	strong or fresh: a warm scent.

12.	close to something sought, as in a game.

13.	uncomfortable or unpleasant: His opponents made things so warm that he decided to quit.

14.	British Informal. well off; in easy circumstances.

–verb (used with object)

15.	to make warm; heat (often fol. by up): to warm one's hands; to warm up a room.

16.	to heat or cook (something) for reuse, as leftovers (usually fol. by over or up): to warm up yesterday's stew.

17.	to excite enthusiasm, ardor, cheerfulness, or vitality in (someone): The wine soon warmed the company.

18.	to inspire with kindly feeling; affect with lively pleasure: It warms my soul to hear you say that.

19.	to fill (a person, crowd, etc.) with strong feelings, as hatred, anger, or zeal: Restrictions had warmed the crew to the point of mutiny.

–verb (used without object)

20.	to become warm or warmer (often fol. by up): The room will warm up when the fire gets going.

21.	to become ardent, enthusiastic, animated, etc. (often fol. by up or to): The speaker quickly warmed to her subject.

22.	to grow kindly, friendly, or sympathetically disposed (often fol. by to or toward): My heart warms toward him.

–noun

23.	Informal. a warming: Sit by the fire and have a nice warm.

—Verb phrases

24.	warm down, to conclude or follow a period of strenuous physical exercise by walking or gentle stretching.

25.

warm up, a. to prepare for a game, sports contest, dance, etc., by moderate exercise or practice beforehand. b. to increase in excitement, intensity, violence, etc.: The racial situation was warming up. c. to become friendlier or more receptive: No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't warm up to that proposal. d. Radio and Television. to entertain (an audience) prior to a broadcast to increase receptiveness.

—Idiom

26.	warm the bench, Sports. to serve as a substitute who rarely plays in a game: The young outfielder warmed the bench for the Yankees last season.

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Photo Hunt Nautical

This week's theme for Photo Hunt is nautical.
I had a hard time picking only one picture ... in fact, I just could not!

So I decided to publish this series of pictures, taken May 2008 in Honfleur, Normandy France.





To find more pictures with this theme, click here.

Photo Hunt "Furry"

This week's theme for Photo Hunt is "furry"


I had the chance to take several pictures of this little bumble bee, because he was taking a nap on this flower. At first I thought he was dead or maybe dying, because he hardly moved.
But when I looked closer I saw him breathe. The poor little fellow must have had a hard day at work ... he was absolutely exhausted.
This picture was one of the first macro's I made when I got my new camera last summer.


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Photo Hunt "Hats"

This week's theme for Photo Hunt is "hats"


This picture was taken in Saint-Rémy, in France when we were on holiday there in June.
It speaks of summer .... I'm counting the days ...


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Photo Hunt ' Squeaky"

This week's theme for Photo Hunt is "squeaky".
Now, you might know I like words, specifically cute ones like this one.
And what I love about this word is that it is used in many different ways,
some of them quite amusing.
Lots of different things can make squeaky sounds.
Anything from mice to hamsters, brakes on a car or wagon wheels, floors and carpets...
I should not forget to mention the squeaky beds, rusty hinges on old doors ....
and most annoyingly ... squeaky shoes, ewww!
So, it's really not too hard for me to imagine the squeaky sound of this gate.


But it also made me remember the "bubble and squeak" we had for lunch in London this summer.
There it is in the next picture, that round vegetable cake hidden underneath the lamb.
I had heard of that dish through BBC cooking programmes but I had never eaten it before I ordered it. It turned out to be very tasty.
The British often refer to it as "bubble" but I love the squeaky bit in the name of the dish!
It's made with left over vegetables and meat, mashed with potatoes.
The vegetables are being boiled, which accounts for the " bubble".
While "squeak" refers to the sizzling sound of this mash meeting the hot butter in the frying pan.
Squeaky vegetables, don't you just love the thought?



I managed to find yet another use for this word which is this:
squeak through/by To manage barely to pass, win, or survive: squeaked through the test; squeaks by on a limited income. This also makes sense, serving left over vegetables would manage you to squeak by on a limited budget, that's very true!



Oh, and I like this one by the American humorist Josh Billings (1818-1885)
from his poem, "The Kicker":
"I hate to be a kicker [complainer], I always long for peace,
But the wheel that does the squeaking is the one that gets the grease."

Don't you just love this? I do!

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Photo Hunt " Wide"

This week's theme is "wide"

The water is wide

And I cannot get o'er;

Nor yet have I

The wings to fly;

Bring me a boat

That can carry two

And both shall row -

My love and I.

Down in the meadow

The other day,

Gathering flowers

Both bright and gay,

Gathering flowers,

Both red and blue,

I little thought

What love can do.

I leaned my back

Against an oak,

Thinking it was

A trusty tree,

But first it bent

And then it broke,

Just like my own

False loving be.

Oh love is gentle

And love is kind,

Bright as a jewel

When first it's new,

But love grows old

And waxes cold

And fades away

Like the morning dew.

There is a ship

And it sails the sea;

It's loaded deep

As deep can be,

But not so deep

As this love I'm in.

I know not if

I sink or swim.

The water is wide

And I cannot get o'er,

Nor yet have I

The wings to fly;

Bring me a boat

That can carry two

And both shall row -

My love and I.

I found a very nice version of this old Irish song by Vangelis. Just click on the radio to hear the music.

Discover Vangelis!

Photo Hunt "Favourite"

This week's theme for Photo Hunt is "favourite".
I had to think about it, I have so many favourite things.
But it's got to be this one:
It was taken at the swimming pool of our favourite place to be,
La Provence France in Summer.
Summer is one of my favourite seasons, and my favourite footwear are flip-flops.
I wear them all year round!

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Photo Hunt "Breakfast"

This week's theme for Photo Hunt is breakfast.
This one is really up my alley, I love breakfast!
Breakfast is one of the most important meals of the day,
it's good healthy "fuel" for the rest of the day.
On Sundays, I enjoy doing just a little bit extra.
In Summer, when the weather is fine, we get to eat outside
and I like that even more, but still ...

There, sit down ...
What will you have?

Some fresh fruit or some orange juice perhaps, freshly squeezed of course?
Hot chocolate and a piece of French Toast?
Or some Parma ham with a little melon soup on the side?
Strawberry yoghurt?

Mmmm, I think I just made myself hungry!

Look for more pictures with this theme here.

Photo Hunt "Metal"

This week's theme for Photo Hunt is "metal".
I saw this wrought iron frame in Crestet,
a lovely little village in the south of France.
My husband and I were taking pictures
when the owner of this house arrived and started a conversation.
He even invited us in to show us the breathtaking view from his patio.
When we came out again, I took this picture.
You see, behind that metal frame, there is a mirror glass panel
which hides their swimming pool.
They can look right through the glass from inside the pool,
while on the outside -which is near the street-
all you can see is a reflection of this beautiful view.

I have a slide show with pictures of Crestet on my computer as a screen saver.
I had almost forgotten about this picture until I saw it appear on my screen.

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Photo Hunt " Reflection"

This week's theme for Photo Hunt is "reflection"
This is a reflection of the De Koninck Brewery,
in the window of the pub across the street.



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Photo Hunt " Ruin"

This week's theme for Photo Hunt is "ruin(ed)"
(Click to enlarge and discover the carved details in the top wall.)


Every little village in La Provence, France has one ...
This is the ruin of an old church in Eygalières,
a small village not far from St.-Rémy.

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Photo Hunt "Together"

This week's theme for Photo Hunt is "together".


I'm sharing a series of pictures today of two Cuban dancers dancing the salsa.
I could not choose only one.
I love the first one best I think,
but I really love the movement in the next three pictures.



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Photo Hunt "Blue"

This week's theme for Photo Hunt is "blue".
A blue sky is something to be grateful for if you live in Belgium,
that's why I chose this one. It's a rather boring building in Antwerp,
but I liked how the blue sky and the buildings across the street reflect in it.

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Photohunt ..... Family

This week's theme for Photohunt is "family". I saw this family of swans when we took a boat ride on the canals of Bruges this summer. Here's Mr and Mrs Swan proudly presenting their young ones.

If you should ever visit Bruges, you'll be charmed by the amount of swans that live on the canals . There's a historical reason for that, a legend. In the year 1482, after the death of Mary of Burgundy times were rather restless in Bruges. Maximillian of Austria summoned the people of Bruges to pay excessive taxes. One of his best friends and his personal councellor was called Pieter Lanchals. That would be"Peter Longneck" if you translate his name. The people of Bruges were not at all happy having to pay so many taxes, so they captured Maximillan and held him hostage at the House of Craenenburg, which is still one of the historical houses at the market place in Bruges. Through the barred window of his room, he was forced to witness how his friends were being tortured. Among them was his good friend Pieter Lanchals, whose head was being chopped off and placed on a stick outside one of the city gates. Once Maximillian was released, he ordered the people of Bruges to keep swans ( long neck's) on the lakes and the canals of Bruges, not just for a decade or so, but for all eternity ... Visit the other Photo Hunt players here.