(Week 47) A week after the weak chicks cried without a voice, the industry of the parents (and the scale of the grub) and the size of the nestlings have increased exponentially. The parent looks a little worn around the edges, but the pace of creation hurtles along towards the next major milestone – the…
The parents have emerged, as both take turns to feed the nestlings and to keep the nest warm. Here, a parent keeps a moment of vigilance on surrounding intruders before disappearing into the depths of the well-camouflaged nest in the bush. This is the crucial period for survival – humans can only keep a watchful eye from…
(Week 46) The eggs of Week 45 came alive today(?) on Good Friday. The nestlings were too young (and weak) to even make a sound – but how vigorous were their zest for grub! (Week 45) The bauhinia and orchids continue to bloom in their quiet domains, when the birds come to nest. The diversity and…
(Week 45) The bauhinia and orchids continue to bloom in their quiet domains, when the birds come to nest. The diversity and cacophony of the dawn chorus and evensong is transformed into the persistent urgent shrills of hungry nestlings and their affectionate parents……… and immediately, we know there and then – there is life. (Week 42) The Bauhinias…
These are the views of the South Sulawesi skyline, looking towards the east across the highland spine that runs down the length of the huge island. The pictures are taken from a downtown Makassar hotel over a 48 hour period. In the Sulawesi islands, also known as the Spice islands, the rainy season stretched from the…
(Week 42) The Bauhinias are in fully perennial bloom – and they are joined by a rare flowering of an epiphytic pink phalaenopsis orchid on the adjacent black bamboo (Phyllostachys-nigra)in the garden. A rare beauty and a true blessing, four weeks to Easter Sunday. (Week 18) The first flowers. And more. The plant looks very jaded,…
These two photographs of the Golden Gate Bridge in Mist, and By Crissy Field, were taken six hours apart on a mild autumn Sunday. There is a certain timelessness about a still photograph (or two) that is lost in a motion image. The still image allows one to return to a day of finite proportion, and to transform…
The paddy fields turn into long strips of chic boutique hotels, while the adjacent rice saplings provide a serene and tranquil sea of green. The mornings are wet and luscious, and the wooden decks and rattan sofas beckon you to stay on and linger, to be carefree and timeless, and sprinkled by the occasional flashes of…
The timeless beauty of the Ishibashi bridge is shown, with the Imperial Palace in Tokyo across the moat in the background, surrounding by a moat with its classic white swan in the foreground. The bridge is featured in the 2014 Japanese film Snow on the Blades, a sensitive portrayal of the fate of the Bushido code and the ageing Samurai and the rapidly…
God Meets You Where You Are Even though God is always calling us to constant conversion and growth, and even though we are imperfect and sometimes sinful people, God loves us as we are now. As Fr Anthony de Mello, SJ said, “You don’t have to change for God to love you.”…you are loved even…