Bah humbug to all.
But the season to be joll…?
Nope, still bah humbug.
Only joking, just trying not to be overly sentimental like so many can be. This was just a phone shot from the winter light walk at Wollaton Hall. A cold, but thankfully dry, evening. Will I get another one in before the end of the year? Maybe, maybe not. If I don’t – have a good holiday, and hopefully a peaceful 2026.
Choices have been made,
Lines have been drawn in the sand.
There’s no turning back.
Although we are coming up to the season of goodwill, we remain in the shadow of two men in severe mental decline, who are also leaders of countries with rather large nuclear arsenals, and who seem anxious to use them. An apocalyptical haiku seems appropriate, and the image is hopefully sombre enough.
Happy holidays 😂😂
After a hard day
Putting up decorations,
Sweaty clothes get washed.
Do mice sweat? I have no idea. I suppose I could have used dirty, but in reality I think clothes get washed more often because they get sweaty than grubby. But what would I know? I just put clothes in a basket and a magic cleaning fairy washes and irons them, and they mysteriously reappear in my drawer. Life can be strange.
It’s that time of year
When spending goes a bit mad.
Happy December!
The nice thing about December is that number of places that make a special effort with festive decorations, and festive themed activities. This one is from a National Trust property in Derbyshire. If you view it full sized you might notice there is a mouse theme, that continues throughout the displays. If I can think of a haiku to go with wet washing I might post another…
Lost in his own world,
Unaware and uncaring.
Just letting life flow.
One of the pleasures of landscape/seascape/nature photography is that you do have the opportunity to just turn inwards and get lost in the process of looking and finding compositions. Normally unhurried, the world just falls away as you focus on the scene unfolding in front of you. It is no wonder it is supposed to be good for your mental health.
Is it the dark side,
Or the light side in the shade?
Or could it be both?
The image is from the Witchcraft Museum in Boscastle, Cornwall. Is it a force of evil, or a misunderstood force for good, misunderstood and condemned? If you draw a 6 on a piece of paper, the person opposite will read a 9. Both are correct, it just depends on your point of view. The truth is not absolute, good and bad is relative. Terrorist or freedom fighter depends on which side of oppression you are on. Here endeth the lesson – sorry, I didn’t realise it was going this way when I started…
Life can be messy,
Weighed down by reality.
Rise free of the weeds!
This boat, in the harbour at Appledore in Wales, was clearly unused, and feeling the depression of abandonment. In my mind I saw the possibility that it would get its act together, rise up, and shrug off all the seaweed. Then when the tide came in, it would leave the harbour proud and defiant.
Ice cracks underfoot.
Birds fluff their feathers for warmth.
Blue sky and cold sun.
I may have mentioned before that I prefer the cold to the hot weather. Today has been around freezing point, with clear blue skies. Difficult not to think the sun is laughing as it shines its cold light. Unfortunately no snow as yet, despite all the weather forecasts raising my hopes, so this image is from last year on Wollaton Park.
Sometimes I listen
To what others have to say.
And sometimes I change.
Notice anything different? The haiku and the image are not related at all? I have been doing this all wrong, starting with the image and making a string of syllables fit. It means that although the images are ok, the haiku are often engineered to fit, and not really all that good. So I am going to try and change. I am going to try and put more into the haiku, and if there is not a fitting image then the image will have to stand alone. A bit of eye candy if you like. Let’s see how it goes. Wish me luck.
Catch a falling leaf,
Luck will follow you all year.
You might have missed some?
Getting out in nature is good for you. Especially if you are able to catch a falling leaf before it hits the ground. It is supposed to be lucky, but on this occasion my wife was waiting a loooong time for nothing. Then as soon as she gave up, one solitary leaf drifted down exactly where she had been standing. I swear the trees were laughing.
