“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
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.
“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.”
“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…🐕🐕🐕🐕🐕🐕
“Sunflowers end up facing the sun, but they go through a lot of dirt to find their way there.”
― J.R. Rim.
“Wherever life plants you, bloom with grace.”
– Old French Proverb.
“...and are we not all just wilting flowers in a crowded garden
waiting for someone who will appreciate the beauty of our petals
While it still exists”
– G.M
This amazing animal knows nothing about zoos or fencing.
Orangutans are found only in Borneo and Sumatra, and Sarawak has the wild population of these intelligent ginger apes. I’m very grateful to have had the opportunity to meet these wild animals in real life.
And I believe the quote below by Jane Goodall includes true facts.
Semenggoh Orangutan Rehabilitation Center.
Sarawak, Borneo, Malaysia, December 2019.
“Chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans have been living for hundreds of thousands of years in their forest, living fantastic lives, never overpopulating, never destroying the forest. I would say that they have been in a way more successful than us as far as being in harmony with the environment.”
– Jane Goodall.
“Every sunset is also a sunrise. It all depends on where you stand.”
– Karl Schmidt
“Nature is painting for us, day after day, pictures of infinite beauty if only we have the eyes to see them.”
– John Ruskin
“Life does not come with instructions on how to live,
but it does come with trees, sunsets, smiles and laughter,
so enjoy your day.”
– Debbie Shapiro
“I wish I could fly,
Sprinkle happy dust from the sky,
take away peoples pain,
by making it rain”
-Toni Payne”
Give the ones you love wings to fly, roots to come back and reasons to stay”
-Dalai Lama
Fly me to the moon Let me play among the stars
Let me see what Spring is like On a-Jupiter and Mars…”
– Bart Howard
Something went wrong with one of these images, or maybe not…
“The eye sees all, but the mind shows us what we want to see”
– William Shakespeare
“Green is a label for a certain attitude to life, a certain kind of respect
that one might have for the very source of things that we take for granted.”
– Annie Lennox
Vespa crabro, a Hornet attracted by some green leafs on our Hibiscus.
“Greenery is the best scenery”
– Arti Sharma
“For in the true nature of things, if we rightly consider,
every green tree is far more glorious than if it were made of gold and silver.”
–Martin Luther
The lines seen in the last image are the human impact on nature, but it’s usually worse than that.
It’s a sad fact that more than half of Earth’s rainforests have already been destroyed.
The photo was taken in Sarawak, last year, where there’s still plenty of greenery.
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.
“To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.”
– Audrey Hepburn”
“Great photography is about depth of feeling, not depth of field.”
— Peter Adams
“When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs.
When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence.”
— Ansel Adams
“I don’t trust words. I trust pictures.”
— Gilles Peress
That I like quotes is obviously no secret. I often use them when I myself cannot find the words. I don’t want to be anonymous but my blog isn’t intended as a diary, although I sometimes create posts about my everyday life. Still, publishing pictures without a single word reveals a certain personality of the person who took them.
Cee’s Photo Challenge Flower of The Day
It’s true, the last image is not a flower but for me Fanny is constantly blooming and fills my life with joy.
This is just another attempt to capture one of all amazing and valuable insects found in nature. 
Some appreciate them while others ignore or see them as a matter of course, they just exist. I myself am no exception, it was not until I started photographing that I realized the value of our nature and its inhabitants.
“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
“The beauty of the Natural world lies in the details”
– Natalie Angier-
“If you truly love Nature, you will find beauty everywhere”
– Vincent van Gogh –
“There is no better designer than Nature”
– Alexander MacQueen –
“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 –
“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 –
I’d be lying if I said I’m not worried.
The worlds ecosystem is at risk over a timescale of no more than a few decades.
“We are living on this planet as if we had another one to go to”
– Terri Swearingen –
The Amazon rainforest is nearing a threshold and the Caribbean coral reefs are threatened to die off within a very few years while the world’s warming climate has resulted in sustained glacial mass loss.
“We can help the world live without fear. It is our only hope and without hope we are lost”
– Michael Jackson –
Humanity is affected by COVID-19. WHO has declared the rapidly spreading coronavirus outbreak a pandemic, acknowledging — the virus will likely spread to all countries on the globe.
I trust humanity’s willingness to cooperate, what else can we do…
💖 My lovely, curious and playful basenji dog Fanny!
Thank you for being a part of my life.💖
“All animals are born with innocence, curiosity and love”
– A.D. Williams –
I have no idea what kind of plant this is. It can be quite large and it is growing wild now here in Malta.
I tried to search the images through google but got some strange suggestions. I know it’s not a broccoli and for sure it’s not a kind of fowl! For me it’s not a beauty but an interesting common plant. Maybe it’s eatable.
“Plants are like people:
they’re all different…
…and a little strange”
– John Kehoe –
This is the ninth time I join Susie’s fun photo black and white challenge.
In the past I have mostly photographed people, this time I choose pets, dogs and cats.
“When I look into the eyes of an animal I don’t see an animal I see a living being, I see a friend, I feel a soul”
– Anthony Douglas Williams –
“ If cats could talk they wouldn’t”
– Nan Porter –
“Dogs eat – Cats dine”
– Ann Taylor –
“Having a dog or a cat will open your heart. Reading a book will open your mind.
Having both a pet and a book… absolute heaven.
– Mark Rubenstein –
“You can keep a dog but it is the Cat how keeps People because Cats find Humans useful domestic Animals”
– George Mikes –
“Look at animals kindly, and they will see. Talk to animals gently, and they will listen”
– AD Williams – 
“All animals are born with innocence, curiosity and love”
– Anthony Douglas Williams –
Below are the images also in color for those who like to compare. And as always when it comes to quotes, we mustn’t take them too seriously, although some may be worth considering.
“Look deep into nature and then you will understand everything better”
– Albert Einstein –
“It you truly love nature you will find beauty everywhere”
– Vincent Van Gogh 
“Time spent in nature heals your body, mind & spirit”
– Katrina Mayer –
Sarawak Orchid Garden, Kuching – December 2019.
“Be like a tree and let the dead leaves drop”
– Rumi – 
“The greatest Threat to Our Planet is the Belief that Someone Else will Save it”
-Robert Swan – 
Susan’s Photo Challenge Trees on Tuesdays.
“If You feel the Grass is always greener on the other side.
You surely need to water your garden more often”
– Shivangani Agrawal –
“When you photograph people in color, you photograph their clothes.
But when you photograph people in black and white, you photograph their souls”
– Ted Grant –
I’m not sure if I agree with Ted Grant.
These images were taken when I sat in my car waiting while a religious procession passes by along the road. 
Nowadays it is not so common for me to photograph people.
What’s more unusual is that I edit them to black and white, so these are an exception.
But I enjoy trying something new and would love to learn more.
What do you think about my black and white photos, how could they have been improved?
Here the images are also shown in color, for those who want to compare.
Your comment is much appreciated. Thanks!
“Life is too important to be taken seriously”
– Oscar Wild –
” In all things of Nature there is something of the Marvelous”
– Aristotle –
” The earth has music for those who listen”
– Shakesphere –
Cee’s Photo Challenge
Sunshine’s Macro Monday
Photo a day Challenge / Goodbye September
“There are some four million different kind of animals and plants in the world.
Four million different solutions to the problems of staying alive” – Sir David Attenborough –
“Let us develop respect for all living thing. Let us try to replace violence and intolerance with understanding and compassion. And love” – Jane Goodall –
“Ever since we arrived on this planet as a species, we’ve cut them down, dug them up, burnt them and poisoned them. Today we’re doing so on a greater scale than ever.”
– Sir David Attenborough –
“If we [humans] disappeared overnight, the world would probably be better off.”
– Sir David Attenborough –
Most of these photographs are archive images from my travels on Borneo while some are taken here in Malta.
Thousands of small, small stones, shaped by the waves of the sea.
Salobreña beach, Spain September 2019.
“I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the water to create many ripples”
– Mother Theresa –
Tuesday Photo Challenge – Stone
One of the few old trees still left in Malta. Too many trees are cut down to build wider roads.
Tree trunks and a bit of imagination can create different kinds of figures.
“The best friend on earth of man is the tree. When we use the tree respectfully and economically, we have one of the greatest resources on the earth.”
― Frank Lloyd Wright –
“My life is part humor, part roses, part thorns.”
– Bret Michaels –
“A rose dreams of enjoying the company of bees, but none appears. The sun asks: Aren’t you tired of waiting? Yes, answers the rose, ‘but if I close my petals, I will wither and die.”
– Paulo Coelho –
“Butterflies are self propelled flowers”
– Robert A. Heinlein –
“You don’t need to see the sunset to feel the warmth of its color”
– Atticus –
Has a bee ever landed on you, and instead of getting scared, you appreciate the possibility that you got confused for a flower.
A Photo a Week Challenge: Yellow.
Susan’s Flowers on Fridays # 3.
Cee’s Photo Challenge
…creates today’s flower.
“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 –
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!!
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 –
“As times goes on, you’ll understand…
What lasts, lasts;…
What doesn’t, doesn’t…
Time solves most things…
And what time can’t solve, you have to solve yourself”
Quote by – Haruki Murakami –
It’s hard to believe that this creature will transform into a colorful moth. I’ve never seen such a big caterpillar. It’s about 15 cm/6 inches. Could be an Elephant Hawk-moth, Deilephila elpenor but I’m not sure.
Now, that caterpillar was not yet colorful so here’s some sunshine from Ta Qali…
…where the grass was wet with dew.
A spider’s web along with dew create a nice pattern.
Nature is an amazing world to explore and we must all do what we can to preserve it. 
“We are in danger of destroying ourselves by our greed and stupidity. We cannot remain looking inwards at ourselves on a small and increasingly polluted and overcrowded planet.”
—Stephen Hawking
Food for thought can be that earth is home to millions of species, but just one dominates it.
Wish you all a lovely weekend!
“If the bee disappears from the surface of the earth,
man would have no more than four years to live.”
—Albert Einstein
In Ta Qali National Park, there aren’t only lots of different kinds of plants, trees, birds, insects and picnic areas.
There are also many stairs, leading to nowhere, except from where you came.
Posted for Son of a Beach’s Which Way Photo Challenge
