Fun Friday - Fresh Fish

These fabulously fresh marshmallow fish were quivering on the plate, crying out to be rescued from the large greedy lady who was about to gobble them up. They really were delicious and reminded me of my childhood when one of our uncles used to come and visit on his pay day and hand out these fish to all the kids.

I've really enjoyed the "camer-aderie", sharing and learning that this challenge has brought. Each day I look forward to seeing what my photo friends have posted. And of course I have the stress of finding my own subject to photograph. Today I decided to just have a bit of fun. Perhaps I'll do it every Friday - fine finking.....
P.S. the fish were fabulous.

Welcome to my world

This is the front entrance to our home. The house was built in 1928 and we so enjoy its charm and character.

This photo also reflects the reality of life in South Africa. The entrance is gated and barred and of course there's the usual alarm company board to the left of the stoep.

We've been very happy in this house. It's warm and cosy and just right for the two of us. 

Light of the World

 "The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it". John 1:5 NIV.

Trip Preparations

Only about 6 weeks left before we take off on our trip north through Africa. We anticipate camping some of the time and so today we took out our tent and put it up in the back garden to check out all the bits. Mark washed the fly sheet and the sleeping bags and made sure the zips work easily. Clean, sort, repair.... So now we're one step nearer being good to go.

The photo is not amazing or well composed - merely a record of our preparations for the big trip. We are getting very excited. Tomorrow I will buy my malaria prophylactics (Mark has his), we've both had Yellow Fever injections and we have international driver's licences. The non perishable foods have been bought and packed and we're starting to pick out and put aside clothes we'll be taking with us.

Sorry we'll be missing out on most of the hype of the Soccer World Cup but what an opportunity......

Loveable Face

This beautiful dog is a resident at Heartfelt Home where my Dad lives. He doesn't have contact with the residents but guards the owners' house next door. He has the most gorgeous, appealing face. I'm not sure what his name is - something like Robber - and he wasn't very co-operative when I tried to get this shot. It took me 6 shoots to get his one. Just love those eyes.....

Macro Leaf - 25 April

This is actually yesterday's photo. I had someone holding it up to the sun whilst I took the photo on macro setting. I love the maze of veins - looks a bit like a navigator map. I had no idea there were so many veins in such a small area of a leaf. I'm still really enjoying the challenge of this project. I keep finding amazing sights and it's extending my photography skills. Thanks Jill and Maggie for keeping me going.

Something Fishy

Today I visited someone who has this lovely aquarium in their home. I took this photo using the aquarium setting on my camera. Very useful for capturing this lovely scene.

Popeye Bugs

I called this a Popeye bug because I caught him eating the spinach in our vegetable garden. He is quite small and has rather pretty marking. When I saw about 10 of them on the same leaf I cut it off and placed it on the garden table to get a better photograph with macro. This chap decided he wasn't having anything to do with the papparazzi and decided to gap it.

Dutch Iris

This bloom is actually past its prime. I found it tucked away in the undergrowth today after a shower of rain. I was looking for a topic to photograph when I discovered this iris. I love these flowers and I was delighted to find this one.

The main point about this shot is that I am trying to use the manual focus on my camera rather than the auto point and shoot. A bonus was to see raindrops on some of the petals. Yes!

Gazillion Dollar Gazanias

I'm very aware that when I go into the garden these days I'm looking for insects I can practice my macro shots on. I even planted these gazanias recently to try and encourage butterflies to the garden. Perhaps because we are in a built up area or because of the drought, but we just don't see much. A few bees, the odd butterfly that doesn't perch on a flower or the pesky flies are all we have.

Nevertheless I continue to nurture the gazanias, tulbaghia, wild dagga, plumbago and bush violets in the hope that we will have more visitors. Here's hoping......