Author: glenys mahler

I live in Patho, Australia.

Colour vs Black and White

August 28, 2020

The purpose of this challenge is to compare the black and white photo to the coloured version. So, just for fun, here’s my contribution.

Apples have to be red. Sweet and juicy. But red, most definitely red.

Not green. It’s just wrong, in oh so many ways..

And black and white leave a lot to be desired.

But seriously.

Pianos by their very nature would be odd if they were anything but black and white. However, I’m leaning towards the coloured version of this photo. The piano is old, a single key is missing. The ivory (or plastic in this case) has naturally turned to cream. The ebony (also plastic) is starting to fade. The shades of brown tone in to emphasize the cream. It’s mellow. The feeling is one of warmth and love for the aged instrument.

The black and white version works for me too. I keep changing my preference here every time I reexamine the photos. I really like the reflections and interplay of light in the black and white. The missing key stand out starkly, making the same visual point, maybe with even more emphasis. Thus it shows the age, by the state of repair, not by the more emotive colouring.

#2020 Photo Challenge

Native Hibiscus

August 28, 2020

This is an Australian Native Hibiscus (Alyogyne huegelii), some times called Lilac Hibiscus. It has been claimed that it thrives in the most desolute of places (Simpson, A.G.W. (1982) Bush Garden Handbook, Rigby Publishers, Australia). That goes a long way to explaining why it grows so well in my garden.

Actually, I managed to kill off the original one in my ‘garden’. This one self seeded and thrives on the bank of the lagoon, literally just on the other side of the property boundary. I guess it left home.

For Cee Neuner’s FOTD (Flower of the Day) challenge.

Shades of brown

August 27, 2020

I don’t know what happened to these two plants. The weather can be harsh here. It is winter and we’ve had some frosts. My gardening care is sometimes lacking. It’s a famine or a feast, over watering and under watering. I can’t strike the right balance. It comes from love and a sense of guilt. If plants look a little seedy, (excuse the pun), I rush into action often making the problem worse.

I suspect that this time I sprayed some sort of magical horticultural product on their foliage and, well, observe the result. It was supposed to feed them and promote lush growth. Maybe they’re in shock. The first was a lovely lily. It was just past its best, but sadly has been going downhill for a while. Its beautiful white flower, (only the one), developed these brown stains on both sides. I think it is still beautiful in its own way.

But, my potted gardenia seems to be suffering more. It is so finicky. It doesn’t take much for it for it to threaten death. Until now, it has recovered.

I did feel a pang of guilt and stupidity when it last turned up it’s toes. I realised last summer than the air conditioner was pumping out hot air and it was in its direct path. That combined with the general heat was too much for it. I apologised to it, moved it away and nursed it back to health. This time I’m not sure of the cause, maybe the liquid fertiliser spray or maybe the frost or it might be under attack from bugs. Whatever; no flowers this year.

I should probably throw them away and replace them. But, I develop a strange attachment to my plants, so I will persevere. Hopefully, I will be able to put up some photos of them post recovery.

Sunshine at last

August 25, 2020

and pesky shadows

Introducing a friend of mine.

When I began my blog I wanted to merge two of my passions, one for gardening and the other for my creations. I don’t call them ‘dolls’ because not all of them take the human form. They are very impressionistic. They’re not perfect in proportion and my sewing can be impatient. I still haven’t found the language to express my ideas, (I don’t know what to tag them), but the images might tell my story.

When I began my blog I was frustrated with the quality of my photos. I have been fixated on trying to improve them. I’ve studied lots of other blog and watched countless videos. Now, I have a new challenge taking inside photos indoors. I cheated and went outside in the brief sunshine we’ve had. Who to take first? This one seemed appropriate for the sunshine.

You might be shy too, in this outfit
Look at me up here

As I was playing around with the sun and the pesky shadows, (there is a downside when the sun comes out), I noticed something through the viewfinder. Oh wow, blossom. Here, as I’ve said often lately, it’s the end of Winter. Wait on, maybe I should say the start of Spring

Look what I found
Cheers

Details about the doll on My Friends

Saying goodbye to winter

August 24, 2020

Today marks the start of the last week of winter. The wintry weather is persisting, but I’m looking forward to the start of Spring.

Yesterday I took some pictures from my upstairs window and noticed a little dot of colour down below in a pot. It was a bit of a mystery. Being winter here, there’s not much of this colour in my garden at all. So I braved the cold to investigate.

It was a rose flower that has clung on since I pruned them last. At that time I couldn’t bear to nip off the final rose. Looking more closely, it was a fairly battered about, missing a few petals and looked a bit wind blown. With the arctic ‘breeze’ this week, I have to say I’m surprised it had any petals at all.

I’m awaiting the time when it has new blooms so that I can share them.

Also for Cee Neuner’s Flower of the Day Challenge (FOTD)

Storm Out My Window

August 23, 2020

For Sunday Stills : What can you see from your window?

I glanced out the upstairs studio window and grabbed the iphone in excitement. There was a storm coming. There might be a drop or two on the window.

There was a sudden darkening of the sky and the colours were all changing. No post-photo adjustment to the photo here.

Then the sun peeked through the cloud and lit up a patch of reeds beside the water. I love how the colour changed, (without resorting to after photo fiddling with the colours.) Isn’t sunlight amazing…

Cold as snow

August 23, 2020

Snowdrops and Snowflakes

It’s not often it’s cold enough to keep me inside but today it is. It feels like snow. I was going to post about Snowdrops, (the bulbs not the weather) but after a little research, I realised that what I have are actually Snowflakes.

If I was a Galanthophile, I would be loving Snowdrops, but alas there’s no official title for Snowflake lovers.

Snowdrops’ botanical name is Galanthus. It comes from the Greek word ‘Gala’, meaning milk and ‘anthos’ meaning flower. Put them together and you have milk flowers. Galanthophiles are people who collect these beautiful bulbs. And there are more than 2300 different varieties. They are similar to, but different from, Snowflakes, and apparently are frequently mistaken for them.

Snowflakes, as I have discovered are often confused with them, especially where I live in Australia. What I have here are Leucojum. They are taller and they have more than one flower per stem. The feature I love is the little green dot on each petal.

When I was a young girl I was fascinated by these and I still am. My mother’s side of the family were all gardeners. Mum loved them too. There was always a clump or two of these snowy little plants around during winter.

Did you know Hans Christian Andersen wrote about a story and the life of a single Snowdrop flower? The snowdrop ends up being pleased to be a book mark in a book of poetry. He called it simply The Snowdrop. In my imagination I’ve always visualized them as snowflakes. Fancy learning that all these years later.

Snow drops are exquisite. I’m doubtful that they could withstand the harsh Australian conditions. But, I’m tempted to give them a try.

Water them Geraniums

August 22, 2020

Henry Lawson ( 1867-1922) is one of Australia’s most famous short story writers and poets. My favorite story is entitled, Water Them Geraniums. One of the characters, Mrs Spicer, tries to maintain some beauty in her difficult life of isolation and hardship in the Australian bush, by growing geraniums. Her final, dying, words to her daughter were “water them geraniums”. It’s worth a read. Just follow the link.

I never take any drop of water for granted where I live. If my garden is neglected, it shrivels up and dies in the harsh Australian climate. Luckily I live on an irrigated farm, so I have access to water. It’s expensive, but I couldn’t imagine living without a garden.

The geranium pictured above, lives in a pot under the verandah, just outside my door. It needs very regular water to survive. It’s just about to flower.