Cleo...

A cat is a lion in a jungle of small bushes...

- Indian Proverb



Testing times

I'm just trying to get to grips with my new piece of technology! If this works I'll be amazed! I'll have taken a photo on my phone and then put it in a blog; all via phone! Ok, I'll see if it has worked...

Red light...

It's a gorgeous day today - bright blue sky and blazing autumn leaves! I'm desperate to get out for a walk where I can crunch in the leaves and take some photos, and maybe actually start writing again... Today though I had to make do with admiring the world mainly from my car window... (although I did have a close encounter with one of the infamous 'civic centre bunnies' in the car park; we were literally just a couple of feet away from each other! : )
Here's a photo (of leaves; - sadly not of the afore-mentioned bunny!)...

November's Sky...

The view from my office window today, just as the light was beginning to fade...

Rockin' Robin...

I took these photos on my walk this morning... the little robin was singing his little heart out!...

 

 

 

Happy Halloween!...

When witches go riding,
and black cats are seen,
the moon laughs and whispers,
‘tis near Halloween.
~Author Unknown



Swallow Pond...

I had a nice wander round the Rising Sun park this morning. It was cold and damp, but the light was lovely at that time of day. The sky in the distance was pale pink and there was an early morning mistiness which added a feeling of mystery to the scene... I had hoped to catch a glimpse of the resident stag, but I wasn't lucky enough on this occassion. I was more than happy to see a bunny, a kestrel and some blue tits though. And I fed carrots to some bewildered horses. It was a very pleasant way to start the day!...

All at sea...



Sometime the sea is calm and soothing, like a snoozing cat... at other times it's more like a playful kitten, but sometimes, like yesterday, it is like a wild and ferocious lion. Never underestimate the power of the waves thundering against the shore, or the speed at which the sea can change its mood from being seemingly innocent and peaceful one minute, then angry and tumultuous the next... 

Yesterday afternoon I was walking along to work via the lower promenade, as I often do, but didn't really expect it to end up with me witnessing an air-sea rescue, and having a couple of my photos shown on the local news on TV the next day... I was even asked to speak about it on TV but I said I'd rather not... I've spoken on local radio about Anger Management in humans a couple of times before, but I haven't had much practice at speaking about the angry sea - although I did study 'Coasts and Coastal Managment' as part of my degree, so I'm actually more qualified to talk about that than I am to talk about human anger issues...

Anyway, needless to say, the sea was quite choppy. I was completely in awe of the waves crashing and thundering against each other, and towering several feet upwards into the sky. I, along with several others, was snapping away furiously with my camera, trying to capture the majesty of it all....



Some people were getting a bit too close for my liking, and the possibility that something bad might happen ran through my mind. Even chunks of tarmac were being ripped up by the jaws of the raging sea...  I decided to steer several feet clear of the edge, and quickened my pace.



When I got to Brown's Bay, there was a lot of screaming and shouting. At first I thought it was children fooling around, but when I zoomed in with my camera I realised that it was much more serious.

I've often taken photos of the life belts, but never considered that I'd ever actually witness one being used...

Within moments the lifeboat appeared and almost in one fell swoop they made their rescue and sped off round to the harbour, to be met soon afterwards by the rescue helicopter...





The rescuee was then winched up into the helicopter and whisked away to hospital...



It was amazing to observe, but left me feeling tearful and emotional, and totally in awe of the braveness and courage of all involved in the rescue.

Later, as I was sitting in my office looking through the photos, the sound of a merry ice cream van outside with its jangling tune seemed sadly out of place after what had just happened....

It turned out that what had happened was that a 12 year old boy had been swept out to sea by the waves. It seems as if he was rescued in the nick of time... His guardian angels must have been watching over him, that's for sure... Well done to all concerned for doing such an amazing job...





splishy splashy...

I love puddles - especially when they are full of clouds, or trees, or other interesting things...

under the bridge...

I had a lovely late afternoon wander along the quayside and over to the Baltic today, to have a look at the Turner Prize exhibition, along with the other couple of exhibitions that are also running at the moment. As you can see, I also took the obligatory photo of the Tyne bridge too...

Pinky blue...



On the beach (again!)...

I love the patterns left behind by the sea when it comes in and out - and the effects of the sunlight...



Day trippers...

My daughter said that it looked as if these pigeons were on a daytrip to the beach...



pigeons...



Silent Sea...

Oystercatchers....

To stand at the edge of the sea, to sense the ebb and the flow of the tides, to feel the breath of a mist moving over a great salt marsh, to watch the flight of shore birds that have swept up and down the surf lines of the continents for untold thousands of years, to see the running of the old eels and the young shad to the sea, is to have knowledge of things that are as nearly eternal as any earthly life can be.
Rachel Carson

 

This morning...

It was sweet to see this grandad and his grand-daughter having fun on the beach this morning...

 

“If you look deeply into the palm of your hand, you will see your parents and all generations of your ancestors. All of them are alive in this moment. Each is present in your body. You are the continuation of each of these people.”

Thich Nhat Hanh



Waves...



Happy Accidents!...

I took these photos on a walk a couple of day ago - I accidentally had the camera on the wrong setting, but I'm really pleased with how they came out - quite lomo-like!

On the beach...

A couple of (very amateur!) videos from my walk yesterday...

Autumn Days...

This morning...



I love the golden colours that autumn brings - whether it's leaves, sunrises or even the moon, which was a warm golden colour a couple of nights ago; the warm colours bring a comforting warmth to my soul, even though the weather is turning colder...

"There is no season when such pleasant and sunny spots may be lighted on, and produce so pleasant an effect on
the feelings, as now in October." 

Nathaniel Hawthorne

The owl and the pussy cat...

...And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand,
    They danced by the light of the moon,
          The moon,
          The moon,
They danced by the light of the moon....

Edward Lear

... although in this case they snoozed by the side of the fire, the fire, the fire, they snoozed by the side of the fire...

but that's what autumn nights are all about!...