The Beauty of Thistles

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“If your thoughts is a rose, you are a rose garden; and if it is a thistle, you are fuel for the fire”
– Rumi –

“All my life I’ve tried to pluck a thistle and plant a flower
wherever the flower would grow in thought and mind”
– Abraham Lincoln –“Everything has beauty but not everyone sees it”
– Confucius –

Dog life

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My lovely Fanny! Here she completely ignores me while looking for something exciting to play with.

She loves to play hide and seek in the hight grass.Exhausted after running very fast. She needs to run a lot to feel happy and satisfied, like all hunting dogs.Although she turns two in July she still acts like a puppy.
She knows that chewing on a slipper is totally forbidden!

Looks like Fanny whispers a secret in the other dog’s ear and then sniffs where there is nothing to find.Do not disturb me when I play with my best friend Kimbo. We are both of the same breed originally bred in Africa. We are very intelligent and tough dogs and are often nicknamed the “barkless dog”. Guess why…?  …because we belong to the very few breeds in the whole world that do not bark.
Other basenji may yodel or howl when they are excited but I’m very quiet.
Besides that I’m also playful, cuddly and I needs a lot of love, which I also give back.
💖💖💖💖💖

Delicata’s Art Exhibition – 10 artists, 10 barrels…

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Last weekend I had the opportunity to visit an exciting art exhibition in Valletta. The exhibition was organized by the Delicata winery which is the most awarded winery of Malta with over 100 international awards. Ten artists were collectively exhibiting their so called ‘bettija’rt’, which is an artwork made from a decommissioned wine barrel or ‘bettija’ as they are called in Maltese.

Some of the works explore unconventional techniques such as multi-patterned paintings with shape and line being driving forces. For the majority of artists, the use of color is important and often explosive. In some cases, color has been stripped away, leaving the barrel bare but covered with ingenuity and hard graft. Each finished piece reflects “the joys of wine, art and good living in Malta today and through the ages”. The following artists participated:
Surrealist Joseph Barbara.
Talented painter and model Claire Attard Vella.
Multi-media artist David Xuereb.
Globetrotting artist Caroline Said Lawrence.
Expressionist Carmel Bonello.
Palette-knife virtuoso Francis Galea.
Up-and-coming artist Priscilla Gatt.
Ceramist and painter Donald Camilleri.
Multi-talented artist Sara Pace.
Creative illustrator Zack Ritchie.

Hope you enjoyed this exhibition as much as I did. Cheers!!

Which Way…

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Harmony Bridge in Kuching, Sarawak.
Nerja, Andalusia, Spain.
The foot bridge in Tigne, Sliema from where you can watch the view of Malta’s capital Valletta on the other side.
Il-Majjistral Nature & History Park in Il-Mellieħa late afternoon.

This is my entry for this week’s Which Way Photo Challenge

Same blue sky…

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As soon as we fly back to Spain, Fanny will come along.
The Mediterranean Sea has the same blue and clear water here as there.
It’s low season for tourists in April, same here as there.
Andalusia with its mile-long coastal strip and its warm climate while snow-covered mountains in the Sierra Nevada are seen behind. Not at all the same here as there.

Back in Malta, back to my longed-for Fanny and back to the fantastic world of bloggers. I’ve been in Andalusia, Spain, a lovely place. Same blue sky here as there but in other ways, so totally different.White houses everywhere and many narrow alleys to find in the small town of Frigiliana.A menu in both Spanish and English is perfect if you can’t speak Spanish and I don’t, yet.I love the atmosphere……and I love the colors!!

Bee, Yellow, Blue & Jump to Pink…

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The mimosa flowers shines like small suns.A grasshopper rests on a blade of grass……while a bee searches for nectar among some flowers.Spring is here after a winter that has been too long and too cold.

Another weekend is waiting, on Monday I fly to Spain. It feels like it’s time to move on…

Harmony Bridge – Kuching

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Back in Kuching and to the new foot bridge “Harmony Bridge” which connect the North with the South City. Well, I’m not back in reality but in my thoughts when I look at my pictures.

I came back home with lots of images of this amazing bridge which is designed from the idea of Yin and Yang. It’s S-shaped and curved with two masts inclined in opposite directions.The shape of the bridge symbolizes the balance of cultures living together in harmony.
This is Sarawak in Borneo, this is Kuching and I’ll hopefully be back soon.

A day in Marsaxlokk

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Last Sunday we went to Malta’s largest fishing village Marsaxlokk.

Sundays are most crowded when many people flock to the Sunday market where street hawkers set up their stalls selling souvenirs, clothes and all kinds of things. And of course they sell lots of fresh fish.

But we were not here mainly for the market but for the colorful boats……and the genuine and lovely atmosphere among the locals.

We also found a dog friendly beach but it was quite small and rocky. Fanny just relaxed and enjoyed being in a new place while she was curiously looking at what happened in the harbor among the colorful boats.Before heading back home we stopped at Ta Qali Park to let Fanny have fun and run freely. Lucky me found spring’s first Poppy, my favorite and no, I didn’t pick it but needed a helping hand because of the wind.

Balance & Harmony

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You may not feel or see any balance between these two images,
but I tried to put some harmony in both of them, then I found a balance.

“Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance and order and rhythm and harmony”
– Thomas Merton –

Spring is in the air…

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Back home and back to my usual routines here in Malta.

Last Saturday we spent the whole day in Majjistral National Park.It’s not often that I see mushrooms growing here in Malta, but here is one.

Snart blommar Mimosan / Soon the mimosa blooms.

The nature, the plants, everything are so different from what you find in the rainforest in Sarawak, Borneo. Very soon the mimosa blooms as seen in one of the image above. The very best about coming home is to be close to Fanny again. Away is good but home is best.

Greetings from Sarawak!

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Just some images from where I’m now……in Sarawak.

 

Sarawak is located in Borneo, Malaysia and we are now in Kuching. The playful children was taken in 2016 while the rest are all new.
The children may represent the joy and harmony found here in amazing Borneo.

I haven’t had much time left to create new posts or to visit You but next week I’m back to my everyday life in Malta and my lovely Basenji dog Fanny. Take care out there!!

Depth of Field

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Some images from last weekend in Il-Bajja tal-Ġnejna, Gnejna Bay in Mgarr.

I hope the depth of field can be seen in some of these pictures.Last but not least, my beloved Basenji Fanny, always by my side, a precious part of my life.

For Nancy Merrill’s A Photo a Week Challenge: Depth of Field

Some Fun Growths & Fanny

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There is a lot of growth to be found in nature now here in Malta.

Here are some of more or less funny plants that I saw last weekend when we visited Il-Bajja tal-Ġnejna. Another exciting nature park we never visited before. But thanks to Fanny we still find new places to explore.I’ve never seen anything like this. Looks edible! Wonder how this one will look when growth ends.A cool growth hairstyle.For me, the most precious growth, when Fanny became part of our family.

Tuesday Photo Challenge – Growth

Spring Fever!

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I felt so happy when I saw almond trees already blooming here on the island! But when I downloaded the images to my computer, I realized they weren’t that good. I used my macro lens and have taken better images. What did I do wrong?

Now I know what went wrong, and I learned something. An image doesn’t always have to be perfect for being good. Being happy is the greatest form of success. I’m very happy and my heartfelt wish is, that so are You.

A little bit closer…

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Here we were last weekend, in Għajn Tuffieħa Bay, to explore the amazing scenery.
These images are from the same place as in my last post. Just a little bit closer.

Today I’ve made one thousand posts on this blog! But it’s from when I started, in
Today I have 1,823 amazing followers!My new blog, where I participate in a Swedish photo challenge, has 9 equally amazing followers.
  💕Thank you all for stopping by my little corner of the blogosphere.💕

From Nightmare to Pure Joy

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Fanny may look a little “weird” here.
Like if she would say I’m sorry, sorry because she got out of her collar last night and escaped during an evening walk in Gzira with Charlene who will take care of Fanny when we are in Malaysia in February.

We were looking for her for hours, I was so worried. How could we find her, far away from home, in the dark and all traffic! It was absolutely terrible, until we saw her after several hours. She sat on the stairs outside our door, I couldn’t believe it was true. My beloved doggie had found her way back home by herself.
💖 💕 💖 💕

It was not Charlene’s fault that this happened, she´s great, cried a lot and couldn’t sleep for the whole night. Fanny is with here now to stay over the night so that she get used to her and her lovely home in Ħaż-Żebbuġ.

Today’s Architecture

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When comparing this type of architecture with my header showing the view of Valletta, it’s hard to imagine that when I took that picture I had these high-rise blocks just behind me.

Valletta is today one of the most concentrated historic areas in the world.
It doesn’t seem likely that today’s buildings will have such a long history in the future.

 

Gentle

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Fanny loves warmth. Today it has rained the whole day, it’s windy and only 9 degrees.
She refuses to go out for a walk and now she is sleeping close to the fireplace.She’s not so fond of cats, but likes to chase them.Tuesday Photo Challenge – Gentle