Tag: Color

Malta Doors

Published on by Anita29 Comments

Have you ever thought about how many doors there are?
Doors can really look different depending on where in the world you are.

I’m from Sweden, live in Malta and will soon move to Cyprus after twenty years on this small Mediterranean island. Here I have chosen to show a selection of traditional Maltese doors.
Hope you enjoy!
  • Colorful red and a small extra door.
  • Here you also see one of the typical Maltese balconies.
  • A garage door.
  • Pillars can look magnificent,
    at least as long they are well maintained.
  • Yes, here we put our garbage bags outside the door for collection. Some days for plastic and paper and some days for organic.
  • Both the wooden door and the stone wall are old and worn.
    Someone has left food and water for the cats.
  • I guess someone from Sweden lives here.
    They have named their house “Blå Dörren”
    which means the blue door.
  • Blue doors are quite common.
    Of course, the shutters have the same color.

This post was inspired by a challenge hosted by Dan.
Thursday Doors Challenge

Pre-Moving Checklist:
All our belongings (almost) are now packed and stored in one of the bedrooms in our rental apartment here in Rabat. The date for loading in a 20 foot container, shipping and storage is now booked.

Seventeen days left…

Lovely Spring!

Published on by Anita28 Comments

It feels wonderful to be able to go out and find nature just around the corner. I’ll never regret moving from Sliema to Rabat. Even if it’s temporary, this is how I want to live in the future, close to nature along with my lovely dogs.

  • Lovely Poppies
  • Grains
  • The grapes will ripen in autumn
  • Lavendel?
  • Within a few months, the figs are ripe to eat
  • Bituminaria bituminosa
  • Borago officinalis
  • Prickly Pear
  • Felicia, always curious…

A selection of images taken while walking my dogs in the surroundings of Rabat.

Malta 25 April 2021

Yellow Mellow

Published on by Anita24 Comments

  • “How lovely yellow is! It stands for the sun.”
    – Vincent Van Gogh
  • English name(s):
    Crown Daisy, Garland, Chop Suey Greens
  • Indigenous.
    Present on the Maltese islands before man.
  • “Silence isn’t golden. It’s yellow”
    – Zell Miller
  • Species name: Glebionis coroniaria  
  • “Some painters transform the sun into a yellow spot,
    others transform a yellow spot into the sun.”
    – Pablo Picasso
  • “Yellow usually means it’s not that serious.”
    – Bobby Unser

Above are some trifling knowledge, a couple of quotes and some flowers from yesterday’s walk with my doggies. I chose the yellow ones, there are plenty of them now. Don’t forget to click on an image to enlarge.

Cee’s Photo Challenge Flower of The Day

By the way, we’ve moved from Sliema to Rabat! Nature around the corner, the dogs can run freely and it feels great! Here we’ll live temporarily, finally on our way to “who knows where” to our new home in Cyprus. Meanwhile, now that the first move is complete, I’ll get more time for the blog and to visit you and others out there, in this amazing bloggosphere.

Morning walk in Rabat
Malta 19 April 2020

Poppy- Flower of The Day

Published on by Anita23 Comments

Yesterday I saw the first poppies of the year, one of my favorites when it comes to wildflowers.
“The earth laughs in flowers.”
― Ralph Waldo Emerson”

The purple is not as common as the red ones. Sure, they’re all beautiful!
“If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change.”
– Buddha

This look a bit like a butterfly.
“Butterflies are self propelled flowers.”
― Robert A. Heinlein

With this post, I wish you all a Happy Easter Holiday!
Now I’m takinga short break and I’ll be back in a week or so.
And don’t forget…

Cee’s Photo Challenge Flower of The Day

Flower & Color of The Day

Published on by Anita19 Comments

I still have some pictures left from the bouquet of tulips that I bought in early February.

In a previous post, I showed the pink ones while these have shades of orange, red and yellow with hints of green.
Please click on one of the images above to enlarge, then it will be more colorful!

“With color one obtains an energy that seems to stem from witchcraft.”
~Henri Matisse

“Mere color, unspoiled by meaning, and unallied with definite form,
can speak to the soul in a thousand different ways”.
~Oscar Wilde

“Color is a power which directly influences the soul.”
~Wassily Kandinsky

Cee’s Photo Challenge Flower of The Day

Life is good…

Published on by Anita21 Comments

The pandemic cannot be ignored, it is here and we are all affected in one way or another. Therefore, it’s so important to try to pick out the positive parts of our everyday lives. Even the smallest things can mean a lot.

I really enjoy the beautiful flowers and colors of Spring.

Being surrounded by greenery in the middle of nowhere can bring pure joy for most creatures.

I’m grateful and very happy about having my beloved dogs Fanny and Felicia.
After all, Life is good.

Gerbera – Flower of The Day

Published on by Anita23 Comments

Gerberas are believed to symbolize Beauty, Innocence, and Purity.

“Colors, like features, follow the changes of the emotions”
– Pablo Picasso

“Whether the flower or the color is the focus I do not know. I do know the flower is painted large to convey my experience with the flower – and what is my experience if it is not the color?”
– Georgia O’Keeffe

“We are all called upon to do small things with great love”
– Mother Teresa

Why do two colors, put one next to the other, sing? Can one really explain this?
No. Just as one can never learn how to paint.”
– Pablo Picasso

Cee’s Photo Challenge Flower of The Day

Skyltsöndag, fast på fel dag!!

Published on by Anita16 Comments

Nu är det väldigt länge sedan jag var med och skyltade tillsammans med Beate så här kommer några skyltar från Malta, trots att söndagen passerat. Bilderna som syns här ovanför är dagsfärska och har en tydlig gemensam nämnare, SÖTT!

Sött kan ju vara både gulligt och gott medan den här skylten är mer åt det motsatta hållet.

Förhandsgranska i ny flik

Avslutar med några skyltar från mitt arkiv som iallafall för mig förmedlar en känsla av charm och återblickande retro. Har många skyltar och fotar ofta skyltar så jag kommer säkert vara med igen. På söndagar…

Trogna deltagare som håller sig till reglerna och inte skyltar på vilken dag som helst hittar du hos BP

Marsaxlokk – Part 1

Published on by Anita22 Comments

Last Sunday we visited the small and picturesque fishing village of Marsaxlokk which is the largest fishing harbour of Malta and has been so since antiquity. Here, among many other things, you’ll find the colorful and traditional luzzu’z.

The luzzu is a sturdy carvel-built boat with a double-ended hull brightly painted in shades of yellow, red, green and blue. The bow is often pointed with a pair of eyes, “Eye of Osiris”, said to protect the fishermen while at sea.

There’s much more than just the colorful boats to discover in this village, especially on Sundays.
More to come…

Greenery

Published on by Anita32 Comments

The other day I took Fanny with me and went to Victoria Lines for a long walk.
The view from here is amazing and in the distance you can see the island of Gozo.

Here, in the scenic lush nature, you can walk for hours.

  • “Nature is the place where your soul go free”
  • Cape Sorrel
    A common yellow flower found all over the islands
  • “In nature you don’t get lost, you find yourself”
  • Arisarum vulgare
     Friar’s Cowl, Arison.
    Present on the Maltese islands before man
  • Mimosa buds, soon in full bloom!


  • Felicia! Lost in the greenery!!

That’s all for today from Malta!

💚💚💚💚💚💚
💚💚💚💚💚
💚💚💚💚
💚💚💚
💚💚
💚

January Wildflowers

Published on by Anita27 Comments

Ja, alla dessa vilda blommor växer och frodas här på ön just nu.
Som vanligt lägger jag upp lite för många bilder men det är så svårt att välja.

Dessutom är det av olika skäl lite långt mellan inläggen just nu, tid har jag men känner ofta att jag inte vet vad jag vill med mina bilder. Fotograferar mycket och kan sitta i timmar och sortera och redigera, men sen blir det oftast inget mer.

Min finaste lilla Felicia, hon får alltid vara med på ett hörn.
Trots att hon inte är en blomma, är hon ändå en slags blomma, för mig.

Liksom hennes mamma, ett riktig guldkorn i tillvaron. På den här på bilden är Fanny bara något äldre än vad Felicia är idag. Då, i november 2017 var hon drygt fyra månader gammal. Time flies..

Malta 11 January 2021.

Welcome Year 2021

Published on by Anita25 Comments

“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.
The important thing is not to stop questioning.”
-Albert Einstein

“The past is our lesson. The present is our gift. The future is our motivation.”
– Anonymous

I am prepared for the worst, but hope for the best.
– Benjamin Disraeli

Among wild flowers, colors, thoughts and happy-go-lucky dogs.
Life is a challenge, Life is good, after all.

Close Your Eyes & Make a Wish.

Trust the Magic of a New Beginning.
Malta 01 January 2021

Flower of The Day

Published on by Anita22 Comments

“To see a World in a Grain of Sand And a Heaven in a wildflower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand And Eternity in an hour.

And Robin Redbreast in a Cage Puts all Heaven in a Rage.
A dove house filled with doves and pigeons Shudders Hell through all its regions.”
– William Blake

Cee’s Photo Challenge Flower of The Day

That was then…

Published on by Anita23 Comments

That was then, last summer, when the bumblebees were playing hide and seek.
“Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin”
― Mother Theresa”

This spring I saw lots of these, as well as during the summer and fall.
Now that winter is here, they are still there. Unaware of seasons…
“Time is an illusion.”
― Albert Einstein

“It’s being here now that’s important.
There’s no past and there’s no future.
Time is a very misleading thing.
All there is ever, is the now.
We can gain experience from the past,
but we can’t relive it
and we can hope for the future,
but we don’t know if there is one.”
― George Harrison

That was then, just a few weeks ago.
Puppies, growing and exploring a new world.
“Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.”
― Marthe Troly-Curtin.

More from Ta’ Qali

Published on by Anita31 Comments

Here are some more images from Ta’ Qali Nature Park.

The weather here on the island is fantastic considering that we are already in November.

It’s the first time this year that I see a ladybug and the berries of the olive trees are ready to be harvested.

Now that the first rains have fallen after the summer drought, it’s easy to get a sense of spring.

I don’t feel I have succeeded so very well in photographing insects this year and now the dragonflies are fewer.
There are many yellow butterflies in the park right now but they are not easily caught.

I end the post with Fanny, an amazing mother who will now slowly but surely spend less time with the puppies so that at the age of eight weeks they are no longer dependent on their mom.

Hello! I’m five weeks old now and still need my mom. I guess I’m the one who’s going to live with my mother while my five siblings move to their new homes. Although she who decides seems to have a hard time choosing ❤️

The Power of Color

Published on by Anita34 Comments

“Life is a painting, and you are the artist. You have on your palette all the colors in the spectrum
– the same ones available to Michaelangelo and Da Vinci”
– Paul J. Meyer“Color is a power which directly influences the soul.”
― Wassily Kandinsky“You’re only here for a short visit. Don’t hurry, don’t worry.
And be sure to smell the flowers along the way.”
– Walter Hagen

The power of color is inescapable. Color affects your behavior, moods, and thoughts. Your reactions to colors are often deeply personal and rooted in your own experiences. A certain color has the ability to soothe your frazzled nerves, agitate a hostile adversary, motivate and empower you to take action, and also to bring healing energy when you need it. As Wassily Kandinsky proclaimed, “Color provokes a psychic vibration. Color hides a power still unknown but real, which acts on every part of the human body.”  
Written by Renee Phillips

 

Make Life Beautiful

Published on by Anita39 Comments

“A good life is a collection of happy moments”
-Denis Waitley“Don’t cry over the past, it’s gone. Don’t stress about the future, it hasn’t arrived.
Live in the present and make it beautiful”
– Unknown
Cee’s Photo Challenge Flower of The Day

And for those who may be curious about Fanny’s pregnancy.

Fanny is always curious about what’s in the bag when dad comes home from the store.
She is curious about everything.

She gave birth to six puppies last Sunday night.
Everyone’s fine, more to come…🐕🐕🐕🐕🐕🐕

Lens-Artists Challenge – Negative Space

Published on by Anita48 Comments

This week’s theme, Negative Space chosen by Amy feels both challenging and fun. Although at least one of the images I’ve chosen may not fit the theme completely, they all have something in common. The blue color.“There are always two people in every picture: the photographer and the viewer.”
— Ansel Adams“Photographs open doors into the past, but they also allow a look into the future.”
– Sally Mann.“When people ask me what equipment I use – I tell them my eyes.”
— Anonymous“To me, photography is an art of observation. It’s about finding something interesting in an ordinary place…
I’ve found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them.”
— Elliott Erwitt

Lens-Artists Challenge #114 – Negative Space

Xwejni Salt Pans – Part 2

Published on by Anita23 Comments

Here I’m again, among the Salt Pans in Gozo. Now much later in the afternoon and it’s a bit cooler.
As you can see in the first picture, the dried salt has now been collected in white bags.I wonder how big these caves really are and what might be inside, I guess tools and more sacks.Needless to say, someone taking a bike ride just before dusk.Others choose to fish.I’m curious about the salt, it looks like it hasn’t dried properly yet.
It looks like snow, wet snow.But it’s not snow, it’s too hot for that on this small island in the Mediterranean.
Now the sunset awaits…
🐕
In case you missed part one, you’ll find it here

Anything to Do with Boats

Published on by Anita20 Comments

This week’s CFFC topic is “Anything to do with boats” and since I’ve been to Marsaxlokk recently I show some pictures from this small, traditional fishing village located in the South Eastern Region of Malta.For the sake of the colors and for Horus’ eye which is said to protect the fishermen when they are at sea.

“We may have all come on different ships, but we’re in the same boat now.”
– Martin Luther King, Jr.“There are a lot of mysterious things about boats, such as why anyone would get on one voluntarily.”
–P. J. O’Rourke“The sea is the same as it has been since before men ever went on it in boats.”
– Ernest Hemingway.

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge.

White Beauty

Published on by Anita36 Comments

“White has it all, its beauty is absolute, it’s the perfect harmony”
– Coco Chanel“For those colours you which to be beautiful, always first prepare a pure white ground”
-Leonardo da Vinci“If peace of mind considered as pure as white colour then I know why it’s my favorite color”
– Rubeena Khan. “Let the beauty of what you love be what you do”
– Rumi

Marsaxlokk

Published on by Anita28 Comments

Last Sunday we went to the small and picturesque fishing village of Marsaxlokk. The village is famous for its Sunday fish market and its many decorative painted boats.The traditional Maltese fishing boat, luzzu, is usually painted in bright colors, while the bow has a pair of eyes. The eyes are referred to as the Eye of Horus or of Osiris and said to protect the fishermen while at sea.

If you are hungry and like seafood, this is the place to go. Here you’ll find a selection of the finest fish restaurants on the island. Or just sit down and relax with a cold drink after a peaceful stroll in the area.

It’s well worth spending a few hours in this colorful charming village. More to come…
Marsaxlokk, Malta 21 June 2020

Flowers of The Day

Published on by Anita33 Comments

When I look at above images, I realize that they would probably fit better in a theme called “Today’s insect”.

So here I show some wildflowers that are found here in Malta, without any visible insect.Finally, Fanny, in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by a stunningly flourishing scenery.

Susan’s Flower on Fridays 
Cee’s Photo Challenge Flower of The Day

Spiny Caper – Wildflowers in Malta

Published on by Anita37 Comments

I have shown this flower before, its very common here in Malta and I like it a lot because it’s so special.

The plant is actually a bush and each flower lasts only for one day and one night which means you can see a lot of flowers in different stages on the same plant. The flowers bloom from April to mid July. Spiny Caper or Kappar tax-xewk as it’s called in Maltese, grows abundantly here in our Mediterranean climate and even in arid deserts. For me it is a beauty at all stages and it has a lovely scent.I have many favorites when it comes to flowers here in Malta and this is undoubtedly one of them.
And yes, the flower buds, capers, can be used as a taste in different dishes and sauces.
Click on an image if you like to see them enlarged.

Susan’s Flower on Fridays  (a day late)
Cee’s Photo Challenge Flower of The Day

 

Dragonflies

Published on by Anita36 Comments

Often when I’m lucky enough to find a dragonfly that doesn’t fly, I have noticed that they put their wings forward towards the head, as if they were trying to protect themselves, or maybe they sleep.Regardless, it is an amazing insect that is usually seen flying by very quickly. Some are really big and shine in different shades of color. Maybe, I’ll succeed to capture at least one of them this summer. Never give up!

Hide and Seek with a Bumblebee

Published on by Anita34 Comments

    Don’t ask me why but I really love bumblebees and there are many to be found now among the flowers.

    Bumblebees are not as aggressive. Males cannot sting, and females only do so when they feel threatened.
    Bumblebees are excellent pollinators, they are in fact much more efficient pollinators than honeybees

    But they are not always so easy to capture as they usually hide half of themselves deep into a flower.Thanks for not hiding. Sometimes you’re lucky!

    Pomegranate – From Bud to Edible

    Published on by Anita20 Comments

    3. Now things are starting to happen and it continues to grow.
    2. Here it has opened up a little more.
    1. The bud slowly starts to open.

    The healthy and tasty Pomegranate are not yet ripe here in Malta and, like all other fruits, it has to go through different stages before it is ready to pick and eat, as shown above. Click on an image to enlarge.In full bloom.Here the fruit is ripe and ready to harvest. But in Malta we have to wait another few months. This is an image from my archive.Ready to eat!
    Anyone who wants to eat pomegranates year-round can buy imported ones.
    Although I prefer those who grow here on the island.

    Flower of The Day

    Published on by Anita11 Comments

    Now the cactus is blooming and within a few months we can pick tasty and sweet Prickly pears for free. When you see them like this it feels hard to believe that they will be edible.

    Cee’s Photo Challenge Flower of The Day

    Macro photography A Colorful Insect

    Published on by Anita32 Comments

    Photographing different kinds of insects is a fun and exciting challenge. Apart from butterflies and dragonflies which are not always easy to capture I’ve realized that there are a lot more in nature to discover.

    I don’t know what kind of beetle this is, there are too many species to choose from. I had some trouble getting sharpness on its head but it shines beautifully in blue-green and has colorful covered wings.An interesting little creature on its way through life.

    Flower on Fridays

    Published on by Anita16 Comments

    This flower has a red-colored visitor with eight legs. It’s almost invisible but you’ll see it if you look closely.This visitor isn’t at all invisible and may take up more space than the flower itself.
    But you cannot miss these flowers different shades of the vibrant and lovely purple color.

    Susan’s Flower on Fridays
    Cee’s Photo Challenge Flower of The Day

    The Year’s first..

    Published on by Anita27 Comments

    This is the year’s first dragonfly that I managed to capture with my camera a couple of days ago.
    It sat on the stick only for a few seconds before it flew away and disappeared. Bye, bye..I also managed to photograph a few butterflies. This is quite common but rarely sits still.
    Could it be an Green-veined White butterfly? It has green eyes.This is a colorful beauty and surely it gives you a sense of joy that at least now and then succeed in capture these unique little insects that are such an important part of our nature.

    Tired of running very fast in search of rabbits in Majjstral Park.
    Always waiting for me while I shoot.

    Fanny is always my companion. She’s the best, she’s curious, awake and very funny. We have a heat wave here on the island, almost 30 degrees so now we are heading to Il-Majjistral Park where we can take a dip in the sea. Take care! ❤

    Hidden In a Shell

    Published on by Anita24 Comments

    “It seems to me that the Natural World is the greatest source of Excitement; …

    …the greatest source of Natural Beauty;……the greatest source of Intellectual Interest. It is the greatest source of so much in life that makes life worth living”
    – Sir David Attenborough –

    Flowers on Fridays

    Published on by Anita17 Comments

    “Let the beauty of what you love be what you do”
    – Rumi –“Remember to look up at the stars, not down at your feet.
    Try to make sense of what you see and wonder about what makes the universe exist.
    Be curious.” 
    – Stephen Hawking –

    Susan’s Flower on Fridays

    Friday’s flower

    Published on by Anita19 Comments

    I’m not very good at wild flowers and tried to find the name of this colorful one via Google “Search by image”. I got the suggestion Carpobrotus rossii, also known as Karkalla. Then I read that that’s a plant native to Australia which is quite far from Malta. Regardless of it’s name, it’s a real splash of color in nature.

    Susan’s Flower on Fridays
    Cee’s Photo Challenge Flower of The Day

    Just a Small Difference

    Published on by Anita12 Comments

    There’s only a slight difference between these two pictures.
    I prefer the last one. The flower itself is very small.

    “Small Differences can lead to Big Changes.”

    Cee’s Photo Challenge Flower of The Day

    Life is good…

    Published on by Anita15 Comments

    Life goes on as usual, I can still go out while my husband since three weeks now has to stay indoors. I go to the supermarket when needed and I take long walks with Fanny twice a day, otherwise I stay home as advised. I’m grateful to have my beloved dog as a companion when walking in nature.

    Now in the spring you will find different flowers everywhere and thus a variety of colors while bees are looking for nectar. This flower is as small as my thumb nail.Despite prevailing circumstances, life is good…

    Joy in Today’s Reality

    Published on by Anita18 Comments

    These pictures are from the Carnival that went on in Valletta at the end of February.
    My images of this cheerful young lady may not be photographically perfect
    but as long as they can spread some joy into your heart I do not care about the quality. That was then, when our daily lives went on as normal while we, as we always are, were unaware of our future. Today, the world looks different. Malta is a small island with less than half a million inhabitants.
    So far there are 350 confirmed cases and two deaths…    I believe in the future and I know that hope is stronger than fear.
    ❤ Take care!! ❤