Weekly Photo Challenge: Summer Lovin’

Posted on July 27, 2014 by Dee Clark

living in the Southern Hemisphere, “the warmth of summer is part distant memory, part dream for the future” as stated by Krista of WordPress’ The Daily Post. as i dream of summer, i am participating in the Weekly Photo Challenge: Summer Lovin’.

seagulls are often regarded as a summertime nuisance. my husband can not comprehend my fascination with these pesky sea birds.

maybe it’s because as a child who loved the beach, one of my favorite things to do was to grab a handful of french fries, toss them in the air and watch them appear as if out of no-where. now that i live close to the sea, sometimes, i sit in my back yard with slices of bread and toss broken pieces into the air just to watch them scurry in. weird? maybe…but i love it.

did you know that seagulls are quite clever? if hungry, they will stomp on the ground with their feet imitating rainfall and trick earthworms into coming to the surface?

seagulls demonstrate intelligence in their feeding behaviours by flying up into the sky and dropping hard-shelled mulloscs on to rocks to break them open so they can eat them.

in Native American symbolism, the seagull represents a carefree attitude, versatility, and freedom.

seagulls are fondly remembered in Utah for helping Mormon settlers deal with a plague of crickets. the seagull is now the state bird of Utah.

still not convinced?

that’s ok.

i can’t explain it…but it’s part of what i love about summer by the sea!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Inside

Posted on March 20, 2014 by Dee Clark

this flower is commonly called a red hot fire poker in New Zealand. stems shoot out from within draping green foliage.

it is one of my favourite NZ plants.

when we moved into our little cottage, i was pleased to see one in the gardens.

inside the foliage of this beautiful plant lives a colony of snails.

by now you have probably guessed that i am not a seasoned gardener.

as i found these tiny little creatures fascinating.

emerging from inside their portable homes, to enjoy the sunlight…

or so i thought!

even though they are considered a garden pest, i delighted in photographing their journeys inside my plant that day.

since many of my blogs deal with the things we find inside the heart, i compared how i looked at these creatures as adorable, harmless little beings. the truth is that they are not harmless if i want my plant to flourish and grow. in the same way, we can allow things to co-exist deep inside our hearts that seems harmless; have been there for a long time and we’ve grown used to their presence; or might even appear to be adorable at first glance but allowing them to remain there, inside of our hearts, will prevent growth. they might cause damage even if it is ever so slightly at first.

i suppose i will have to address the gardening issue but for today, these little creatures are a part of my submission for The Weekly Photo Challenge.

Enjoy.