Moth in Tweed

This morning my husband pointed out this beautiful little moth as a possible macro shot. The moth was on the bath mat which created a lovely textured background to the moth.
It was only when I had taken the photo and looked at it on the laptop that I saw the beautiful tweed-like texture of the moth. This photo challenge has opened my eyes to so many beauties of nature that I just didn't notice before. What a blessing!

Dietes in the light

I did post a photo of a dietes a month ago but this one looked particularly beautiful in the garden this afternoon. I love the way it glows in the light. The colours are clear and almost translucent. Truly a beautiful creation - and they're indigenous.

Butterfly

I have been frustrated in this challenge by my inability to capture a butterfly photo. The butterflies in my area are not easy to photograph. Those that I do see keep flitting around and don't settle long enough for me to photograph them.

My photo friends, Maggie and Jill however manage to find  of butterfly subjects. Jill particularly attracts these beautiful creatures.

Well today I went into a local craft/ novelty shop. Whilst there I saw these lovely paper specimens. So today's photo is a bit of a tongue in cheek. My answer to the dearth of real specimens. :-)

Garden at Twilight

Today has been a warm day - perhaps one of the last days of summer-type weather. This evening was still very warm and I sat outside with a glass of wine watching the beautiful clouds in the sky change to the most glorious colours. That's what I love about this photo challenge. It makes me take time to "smell the roses". I spend time in my garden just enjoying the sights, sounds and smells. This evening there was barely a sound in spite of being so close to a main road. The birds had left, the sun had set and the stillness and peace just settled into my soul. Thank you Lord for Photo Challenge and gardens and creatures and flowers and trees and clouds.... and of course my photo friends.

Charlotte's Web

At last I managed to get a great shot of a spider. Mark and I visited the Addo Elephant Park today. Whilst he went to pay at the office I was watching butterflies and other insects flitting around. I then spied this beautiful spider in a spekboom tree and I was able to take a close up shot.

There were thousands and thousands of white butterflies in the Park but I didn't manage to get a close up shot of any of them.

Hockey Tournament

Today I was facilitating a course in ThinkQuest Projects at a school in PE. The high school which is right next door were having a hockey tournament. This was the view from the window of our computer lab. The school buildings are so beautiful and gracious and the fields looked such a brilliant green - even if the one in the foreground is astro turf. Judging by the cheers coming from the fields it was an exciting and successful day. Our training indoors was also great fun and a success.

Colours of Autumn

I love to see the leaves turn in Autumn. It's getting pretty chilly here - especially when the sun sets. The leaves on this creeper are a reminder that Autumn is upon us. I don't mind the winter. I'm not very happy in the heat of summer. I prefer to warm up than try to cool down.

The colours of the leaves are delicately mixed on God's palette and they add richness and variety to the world.

The Bird

This is one of my favourite South African flowers. I really love the contrast between the orange and blue. The whole flower reminds me of a beautiful bird. I came across a glass jar with three of these beautiful blooms at the pool this afternoon. Thanks to whoever has an eye for the beautiful.

New Life unfurls...

This large bird's nest fern is growing in a corner of our garden. We are in the grip of a serious drought and a few weeks ago is was looking very stressed. Then we had a good shower of rain followed by more showers over the past couple of weeks. The fern is beginning to perk up and enjoy life again. Today I couldn't resist taking my photo of this beautiful new leaf unfurling. We haven't had enough rain in our catchment areas to break the drought but things are improving in our garden - especially with the two rain tanks overflowing. God is good!

Winter Sky - 11 May 2010

Late afternoon and there was a chilly wind blowing. I had wandered around the garden searching for a subject to photograph without much luck. I have a hard act to follow with my friends Maggie and Jill with their gorgeous macro shots of insects. It was just before sunset and I saw this amazing cloud behind the pin oak which has lose most of its leaves. A lone dove sitting on one of the upper branches was looking very cold - poor thing.