“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
…lovely thoughts.
When the prickly pear cactus fruit are ready to eat, it’s autumn. This delicious fruit has a sweet, melon-like aroma and grows wild throughout Malta and Gozo. Tasty and said to be healthy but with a prickly skin. 
This giant flower, like the other images in this post were chosen for their colors, to give a sense of autumn.
First of October and yet few signs of autumn while the temperature slowly drops, today we have 28 degrees. Did you know that Malta enjoy around 3,000 hours of sunshine per year, one of the highest rates in Europe!
“Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.”
― –
Creating an illusion with simple means has been used by artists for a long time and the varieties are many. Here the artist has used plant parts for his composition. The flowers become a woman’s face and the leaves form the impression of a bird. These motifs are found in many variants. Here I’ve photographed two paintings and edited them to get a white background. Wish you all an enjoyable weekend! Love from Malta 💕 🐕
The original artist of the woman face is Octavio Ocampo and the painting is called “Mouth Of Flower”.
The original artist of the bird is Oleg Shuplyak, an amazing surreal optical illusion painter.
“If you’re feeling blue, try painting yourself a different color”
–Hanna Cheatem-
“Every drop in the ocean counts”
-Yoko Ono-
“The worst kind of sad is not being able to explain why“
“Color is to the eye what music is to the ear”
Insects, flowers and pollen. A fantastic combination for reproduction, created by nature.
“If we were to wipe out insects alone on this planet, the rest of life and humanity with it would mostly disappear from land. Within a few months”
-E.O. Wilson-
Lovely butterflies! I’ve not seen so many of them this summer. I used to capture a lot among our plants on our roof terrace, which is now gone. These are from Sicily while those in the circles were taken in Malta.
Thank you! I’ll will reply and I’ll visit your site, as soon as I catch up with my time. You are all precious!! Take care out there. Love from Malta 💕
Not much blue here but a Satisfied Flower fly!! 
“The Sky is Not the Limit – It’s Just the View”
Blue Feeling / Feeling blue…
Alone…
This week’s photo challenge is about keeping things fluid.
Let the imagination flow…
Barefoot in soft sand and crystal clear blue water.
Reflections in the sea from the sky and a boat.
WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge / Liquid
If all insects on Earth disappeared, within 50 years all life on Earth would end.
If all human beings disappeared from the Earth, within 50 years all forms of life would flourish. 
Quote by Jonas Salk
Life is nothing but a bubble, a valuable and sensitive one.
It sometimes feels, like we all walk around on a bridge, over troubled water…
When you’re weary, feeling small
When tears are in your eyes, I’ll dry them all
I’m on your side, oh, when times get rough
And friends just can’t be found
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down
When you’re down and out
When you’re on the street
When evening falls so hard
I will comfort you
I’ll take your part, oh, when darkness comes
And pain is all around
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down
Sail on silver girl
Sail on by
Your time has come to shine
All your dreams are on their way
See how they shine
Oh, if you need a friend
I’m sailing right behind
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind
“Paul Simon“
There is a place where adults and children gather to blow bubbles. It`s amazing to see how all these bubbles, somehow, build bridges of fellowship between so many people. There´s so much joy between everyone and it`s funtastic to take part. Conclusion, we need more bubbles in our world, to build more bridges of joy between each other.
