The Barber of Seville
has loops of hair
fit to kill
a mo to rival any other
and an affinity for
his longhaired brothers.
Photography days #20.
All work is my own and subject to copyright. I do not use AI. I do not want AI to use my work.
This ancient place
of an ancient race
is nature's gallery
viewed from a balcony
Photography days #16
All work is my own and subject to copyright. I do not use AI. I do not want AI to use my work.
Photography days #15.
All work is my own and subject to copyright. I do not use AI. I do not want AI to use my work.
They're swimming in the water
they're sunning on the bleachers
they're traditional old school
public pool
loving creatures
Photography days #14.
All work is my own and subject to copyright. I do not use AI. I do not want AI to use my work.
Oh my God!
I never knew!
who would have thought,
they could do that to you?
Photography days #13.
All work is my own and subject to copyright. I do not use AI. I do not want Ai to use my work.
A dreamy filter diffuses the sun
path, walking and sun all become one
the foliage the light the green and the gold
wombolano morning a sight to behold
Photography days #12.
All work is my own and subject to copyright. I do not use AI. I do not want AI to use my work.
Photography days #11.
All work is my own and subject to copyright. I do not use AI. I do not want AI to use my work.
for the clearest view
here's what to do
climb the highest mountain
to just above the snowline
where the trees fade away
on a clear blue day
Photography days #10.
All work is my own and subject to copyright. I do not use AI. I do not want AI to use my work.
There is a garden in the Dandenong Ranges
I call it Alfred Nick
after its long departed owner
who bequeathed it to our state
There are many gardens in the Ranges
but this one is the pick
of autumnal Ranges' splendour
vivid colour above
below lying thick
I drive the winding roads most every autumn
with camera in my hand
at the gates I pause
deeply breathe crisp mountain air
in anticipation of trees so grand
there is a lake in the Ranges
in the garden I call Alfred Nick
in autumn leaves make artful arrangements
on the surface
ephemeral so be quick
in this magical place full of growth and life
the photography is opportunistic
where human design and nature's creations
blend native, exotic and mystic
where ethereal mists linger and clear
for ambient blur and clarity rarely seen
in one place at one time
without ever repeating
every visit is unique
every visit is a joy
every vista a delight
reigniting the spark in
every nature loving
man, woman, girl and boy
For this week’s dVerse prompt Punam has asked we poets to write of autumn. My favourite season. The prompt speaks of love, so I present one of my autumn loves – Alfred Nicholas Gardens in Victoria’s Dandenong Ranges.
All work is my own and subject to copyright. I do not use AI. I do not want AI to use my work.
evening light
green shed machine shed
for grass and pruning nicely cropped
wood shed drying shed
wood split and chopped
Photography days #09
All work is my own and subject to copyright. I do not use AI. I do not want AI to use my work.
A gallery of 10 images. To see each full image click on any photo, then click the arrows to scroll.
Photography days #08.
All work is my own and copyright. I do not use AI or wish for AI to use my work.
A gallery of 8 images. Click on a photo to view the full image, then click the arrows to scroll.
Photography days #07. Laverton Air Show.
All work is my own. I do not use AI.
In Merimbula the birds
don't need too many words
to describe their grace and beauty
let's just say they are all mighty
Photography days #06. For the walking map and description I have published on Victoria Walks see: https://walkingmaps.com.au/walk/5767
All work is my own and subject to copyright. I do not use AI. I do not want AI to use my work.
Shafts of sunlight break up the gloom
into luminous green rainforest rooms
every moist step and touch of the earth
another experience of the wonder of life
Photography days #05. You can find the Goodenia walking map and description online at Victoria Walks: https://walkingmaps.com.au/walk/5756
All work is my own and copyright applies. I do not use AI. I do not wish for AI to use my work.
Just confirming I'm the right bird in the right place
Lakeside - check
Reed beds - check
Tasty aquatic life - check
Big grey bird, yellow legs, long neck, spear like beak, white face.
This photo was taken while creating a lakeside accessible walking map for people who use mobility aids. You can view it here: Edwardes Lake Accessible Walk.
Photography days #03. All work is my own. I do not use AI.
A photo a day #02.
There is also a great walking path along Stoney Creek here. You can view the Victoria Walks’ walking map I have published here: https://walkingmaps.com.au/walk/5731
Where the river meets the sea
I’ll wait patiently
until your ship comes in
carrying you to my smiles
we’ll walk the miles and miles
to a place to begin again
upriver to where small streams
become the water of river dreams
where meadows grow green under
skies of sun and thunder
there we’ll settle on high ground
ever fertile and sound
we’ll labour to work the earth
and give a family birth
a family that will grow
to work together and sow
under that mantle of blue and grey
after years and many a day
we will turn to each other and say
the life we chose has been a good one
as good as the river is long
to its banks we will continue to go
hand in hand
watching the river flow
Like paper to the wind
my thoughts I scatter here
unable to rescind
I let them travel where
I know not what they’ll achieve
succeed with or accomplish
I fear they’ll find readers
with care only to admonish
then there is the question
why bother anyway?
so many smarter and stupider minds
have so much more to say
and louder voices
because they so often agree
to speak their thoughts
only to celebrity
a different purpose is theirs
to be heard no matter what
without the necessity
of thinking intelligently
of sharing something
of value they have got
I speak simply
of observations
of thoughts I mull over
instead
I speak of imagery
of the wonders of earth
that crowd
inside my head
Fragile like a bubble floating gentle on a breeze
uncertain airy eddies dropping it and raising it with ease
a dip toward a branch and a child waits for it to pop
breath held eyes wide standing still mid hop
then it spirals up just before the moment
a random push to nowhere special
rescued by chance
bound only by circumstance
the brittle coloured shiny shell wafer thin and precious
we await another chance buffeting the waiting is delicious
to influence things the child waves hands and blows with her small mouth
she hopes to help it survive the ground disaster beckons from the south
her little puffs send fragile bubble in unintended directions
she watches amazed the effect she has on the subject of her affection
her will her thought her decision to act on the outcome she desires
embolden her to further acts beyond bubbles she aspires
eventually the bubble pops its streaky rainbow skin
we both sigh in satisfaction at its inevitable oily end
as it bursts in prism lit spray asunder
the fragile bubble also releases wonder
the child and I are compelled to create more of these globular gems
to see what control we can exercise what we can contrive with them
such is human life
Feeling jaded I walked around the block on one of those particularly clean and crisp Melbourne autumn mornings
the type only Melbourne seems to have
the sun was bright and immersively warm every time you emerged from cold dark shadows
the sky was a spectacular sky blue blue blue all the way to the top
everything was precisely defined like it had been edged with the blackest finest fine liner pen
I found a banksia bud on the ground and picked it up for closer examination
nature had loaded it with deep brown lidded eyes in a repeating pattern designed to go on forever
lighter brown probosci with vivid tan tips emerged from between each eye and the nett result was glorious
awe and wonder
jaded faded
lovers
a contradiction
the joyful anticipation of time spent together is heightened by the inevitability of separation
whether one waits for the other to arrive or the timing is perfect
buoyant hearts rush to the coming
the anticipation of separation casts a shadow over time spent together
time to dread and then watch the leaving
heavy hearts drag at the going
both will love and hate the preoccupying delirium of the in between
lovers
linger and pine long
The sun is a furnace around which we orbit. It sits in space 152 million kilometres away, providing just enough heat to keep our planet and its inhabitants alive. Every time I recognise this fact I have the same response – what are the chances? WOW!
This is a fantastic day walk in the Victoria High County near Mansfield. Autumn laid on a delightful smorgasbord of wildflowers and clear skies. For the full map, photos and description see my online publication here: https://walkingmaps.com.au/walk/5822
Man
built over grassland
built into sky
built atop mountains
to nature defy
built into forest
built under water
built in the desert
built bricks and mortar
built with cut wood
built with the earth
never understood
non stop building is death
every built patch a carnage
every built patch an ending
every built patch a destruction of what nature would have seen
every built patch an obliteration of what nature could have been
poetography.ink 