Photo Friday- sentimental

I'm not a particularly sentimental person-at least i don't think i am. However, I have hung on to a couple of old primary school projects that I completed between age 8 and 12.

I wouldn't have them in my possession at all if my mum hadn't kept them safe for many years, although I remembered making each one.

This one was a project on the local plants that i worked on when i was 9/10 - everything in the book was collected in the Clyde valley [Scotland] .

I didn't press the flowers and leaves which was a mistake as the moisture soaked into the paper and wrinkled it.

After 30-odd years the leaves have begone to skeletonise and crumble to dust in places. I also used sellotape to stick the items in place and this has gone a yellow-y brown colour. I really need to photograph the whole thing [Scanning isn't an option as it would proabbly accelerate the leaf disintigration] . It is not going to last much longer - every time the book is opened, masses of leaf dust falls out and smells faintly of past summers.

I spent a lot of time researching the plants and quizzing my grandparents about each one [and checking things in the library and I drew the flowers, seeds or berries that I wasn't able to collect.

I think I'm most sentimental about the botanical illustrations that I drew with felt-tip pens. I remember being frustrated by the colour limitations - but they actually look pretty good.
I particularly like the hawthorn flowers and berries.



As a reward for all my hard work, my grampa gave me this book - the AA Book of the British Countryside -the original 1973 edition.

After all these years, its a bit scuffed at the edges but I still use it regularly as a reference book- the information is still a good starting place , even if I end up searching things on the web or in other books too.

I remember how impressed i was by the photo of daisies on the cover - I suspect this has been a hidden inspriation to my photography.

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Photo Friday - heat

I came across this dead honey bee last year during a heatwave. There had been lots of warnings on tv and in the newspapers at the time reminding people to drink plenty of water and stay cool.

The hardworking bee had obviously keeled over and died while collecting pollen and the hairs on its underside were still sprinkled with the yellow pollen dust. The bee may have been a victim of the heatwave since its not normal to see dead bees inside flowers [it didn't appear to have been injured by a predator.]

It is relatively common to see exhausted bumble bees in the summer time , who seem to be at great risk of being stood on or eaten by birds . If I am able to, I give them a drop of honey and water which quickly revives them.


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Photo Friday- Alone

There are actually two lonely things in this photo, though one isn't so easy to see.

The lonely sea gull is easily visible, but there is also a swimmer who looks like a black dot roughly in the centre of the image.

He swam around for a while despite the gathering storm and he wasn't wearing a wetsuit, so he must have been quite hardy.

The sea temperature was probably higher than the air temperature that day though.


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Photo friday- textured

The word 'textured' made me think of tree bark. I take a lot of photos of trees and i've developed a habit of photographing the branches against the sky and the texture of the bark.
I think its interesting to see how the trees change throughout the year , from the stark bare branches of winter and spring to the masses of summer leaves in all their different shades of green. Not forgetting the oranges, browns and yellows as summer turns to autumn.

This is the bark of the London Plane tree, Platanus x acerifolia . Its peeling bark is really attractive , and very reminiscent of camouflage clothing. .

The bark is shed in irregular pieces and exposes different bark layers. the inner bark is a pale yellowish grey, the mid bark is a greenish grey and the outer bark is mid brown.

The trees can be variable in the bark colours, some are more dramatically coloured and 'patchwork looking' than others.

This is a close up of the bark showing how the different layers are exposed. Close-up it looks like map contour lines.
The upper branches of the plane tree. The branches are cut back at the beginning of winter by the local council which tends to produce a lot of small spindly branches taht get covered in leaves by teh summer.
When the trees are initially cut back it looks incredibly severe, as if the trees will never recover; but they bounce back stronger than ever the following year.
Old Olive trees [Olea europaea] have very characteristic gnarly bark., As they age, they start to look like twisted old people . Some of the really old trees look as if they come to life and start moving slowly around, like Ents, when humans aren't watching. Or maybe they could be trolls or the elderly wise folk who talk in riddles in fairy tales.

Their bark gives plenty of crevices for creepy crawlies ,small animals and other plants to grow. Some of the fallen black olives are just about visible here -its easier to see in the original photo Some small succulents and a couple of other plants have taken root in some of the holes in the olive trunk. The black olives are in various stages of decomposition - they are eaten by birds etc

The sky through the olive trees branches. Olives are evergreen, so they have plenty of leaves in winter.

This is a photo of the texture of the trunk of a tall palm tree.

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La Grippe, Graffiti and weird stuff

I have been ill for the past week with flu- real flu [la grippe in French] . I have recovered to the point that it feels like i have a heavy cold but at least the headaches, fevers and chilly bones have ended. I think it explains why I was having the strange headaches and feeling weird for week or so beforehand too.

This stencilled cat is close to my house - it has been carefully renewed when the wall was repainted - probably not by the original artist/stenciller.


I'm not sure why this pile of dog dirt was stencilled on a stone pillar -it wasn't in a very obvious place in day time as it was obscured by a cafe's awning and terrace tables and chairs.

I'd seen it at night and hadn't had the opportunity to photograph it and when i went back a day or so later, I couldn't find the graffiti so I thought it had been removed.

I was challenged by Sue to write about 6 things people probably don't know about me:

1] I can't drive - I was given driving lessons as a 17th birthday present but had absolutely zero interest in driving so it was a complete waste of time and money. Added to this I am not even a good passenger in cars as I cringe because I have difficulties judging distance when things are moving. I also have problems telling my right from left and can't work out how to go round roundabouts properly - so all in all I am absolutely safer as a non driver-and so are other road users!

I did actually sit my driving test twice - on one occasion the driving tester was wrapped in bandages like a mummy - he had just got out of hospital after being injured in a crash. He spent the whole time shaking and graoning -it didn't help my confidence much.

2] I am ambidextrous - for most things I use the closest hand [or foot ]. I can write and paint with my left hand but I generally use my right -everything else is variable.

3] I can't eat cooked vegetables or they come right back up again. My mum used to try and get me to eat them but quickly realised that it was easier just to let me eat them raw. I think its something to do with their chnaged texture when they are cooked.

4] I hate heights and have problems even looking at other people leaning over railings or waving from windows - even complete strangers. Even reading about the proposed walkway over the Grand Canyon makes me feel queasy.
I am ok with hills and mountains but don't like cliffs. When we decided to take an appartment on the 4th floor, i really had to ponder whether I would be able to cope with being up so high.

5] I have a 4 inch scar on my thigh from a jelly fish sting. I'm not sure what kind of jelly fish stung me- but it was excruciatingly painful and felt like an electric shock to my heart. In fact, I thought I had somehow managed to be electricuted in the sea before I saw the large purply-brown streaked jellyfish body. My leg had a 10 inch long wound wrapping round my thigh -which looked like it had been flayed open - but this eventually contracted and faded.

Earlier that day I had snorkelled through an immense swarm of hundreds of small lilac jellyfish without a single sting but this kind only sting like a nettle . It had been indescribably beautiful watching the lilac jellyfish swimming in the underwater sunbeams and I tend to remember this rather than the horrible sting.


6] I am a big sci-fi fan. I have loved Dr Who since I was really small and am currently addicted to watching the new incarnations of the Doctor as well as Captain Jack in the Torchwood spin-off series.
When I was about 15 I went to a Dr Who exhibition . I screamed when a Dalek came towards me shouting "Exterminate, Exterminate!" -much to the amusement of my 3 younger sisters.
I also love the re-imagined Battlestar Gallactica , oh and Firefly among many others sci-fi shows and films.
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Assorted skies

I've taken quite a lot of sky photos recently- I never tire of the sky since the cloud formations and colours can be so different and dramatic.

The clouds in the next two photos look painted, I think.



Clouds building up before a storm and a few birds flying home.

Some thick black clouds contrasting with fluffy shell pink ones.

An orange striped sky

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Silhouettes

I took this photo as dusk fell and the sky started to turn from grey to faintly peach. I usually try and avold catching people in my photos but in the following two images, i felt that the dark figures added to the mood.
The sky in this photo reminded me of clouds painted in murals and the people seemed to me to be calm and peaceful -maybe because the grey sky and clouds were warmed by the pale peach tones.
The peacefulness was actually an ilusion as the road by the sea is a busy one and i had to take the photo between changes in the traffic lights: the camera definitely lies or at least bends the truth.

The sun setting over the mediterranean sea -the streetlights were still unlit and the people on the Promenade des Anglais were mostly standing by the railings, watching the sunset. This gave the effect of a cut paper silhouette superimposed on the clouds and sea.

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Cat

I've been taking quite a few photos of Gandalf the cat.

He hasn't had the best week of his life since he had to be neutered and have an electronic chip inserted the other day.

When I took him to the vets he was quite upset and it occurred to me later that he thought he was being given away to a new home as his last trip outside had been when we adopted him. [He is a 100% appartment cat]

He was really pleased to see me when I went back for him in the afternoon and he spent several hours just clutching my hand with his paws as he sat quietly on the couch.
After the first 12 hours or so he had perked up considerably and now 5 days later he is just about back to normal and is galloping around the house like a race horse once again.

He isn't a 100% cooperative photographic model , especially for macro shots, but he will sometimes sit and look at me suspiciously for a while before either batting at the lens with his paw or attempting to lick it.

His eyes are quite fascinating in close up -a mixture of amber yellow and green near the pupil.

His little pink nose fascinates me-and his slightly food stained mouth.
I fiddled with this photo to turn it to black and white- i thought he looked a bit like a Silent Film Idol in this pose.

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Ferris Wheel- La Grande Roue

Every Christmas, Nice has a huge ferris wheel in the centre of town as part of the christmas festivities. Unlike the Village de Noel and the ice rink it stays past New Year- though I haven't been able to find out from any of the Nice tourist sites exactly how long its operational- though some friends have said it stays till Carnaval.
I took these photos last wednesday around dusk and the wheel was in use -though i didn't see many people actually sitting on it on this occasion.

I am not brave enough to go on it myself, as even looking up to take the photos triggered my vertigo. Its a really impressive piece of machinery though-it reminded me quite a bit of the Eiffel tower - maybe because its made of industustrial metal grids but graceful at the same time.

The sun is just beginning to set through the metal struts.
Some of the cars and a few palm trees looking quite dramatic against the sky. The view is apparently quite impressive as you can see across Nice to the hills on one side and the Mediterranean sea on the other. The wheel itself is 50 metres in diameter which is 164 feet/54.5 yards and 90 metric tonnes in weight-with 36 cars. It takes 10 lorries to transport the giant wheel and a huge 35 tonne crane to erect it when it arrives.
Here are the specifications/faq for the wheel- I suppose they must have been fed up answering the same questions every year.

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Photo Friday- peaceful locust

I had a hard time choosing a photo for the topic of 'peaceful' as an awful lot of my photos seemed to fit the bill.

I decided to post these photos of a huge bug I saw peacefully warming itself in Juan Les Pins on Friday. The local temperature in the sun [according to the handy temperature guages on many pharmacies] was 20 to 22 degrees C - so it was a pretty warm day.

I had seen two Red Admiral butterflies fluttering around earlier in the day though they were flying too high for me to attempt to photograph.

I'm not sure whether the insect life thinks that spring has sprung early or that winter hasn't actually arrived yet.

I think this is most likely to be a female Egyptian Tree Locust Anacridium aegyptium- the yellowish crest running down the upper back is quite characteristic.

The female Egyptian locust is bigger than the male and can grow to up to 9 cm [3.5 inches] while the male only grows to about 6.5 cm [2.5 inches].

The eyes were quite fascinating with a stripy tiger's eye look to them.
This particular insect was probably about 9 cm. I think she had probably been roused out of her overwinter shelter to lay eggs due to the spring-like heat. They usually roost in trees but this old garage must have been quiet and dark enough to act as a useful shelter. The rusty door was a very close colour match for the locust - a lot of passersby couldn't work out what i was photographing and thought i was taking macro shots of rust [and blocking the very narrow pavement].

Egyptian Tree Locusts are considered a minor pest of grapevines , fruit trees and vegetables unless they are found in high numbers , in which case they are able to cause a lot of damage.



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A chatter of Starlings

In the winter, the starlings [Sturnus vulgaris ] come back to the Cote d'Azur. They aren't really welcomed as they cause an enormous amount of damage and mess due to their droppings.

Cars parked under their roost trees end up in a terrible mess and i think the excreta actually damages the paint finish. Locals tend to avoid the affected parking spaces but I've seen some cars splattered from bonnet to boot in grey and white from the droppings of hundreds or maybe even thousands of birds.


The black specks in the trees in the following photos aren't leaves -they are thousands of starlings waiting for some invisible signal to take off into the sky.


They gather as huge flocks in the morning and at dusk - and chatter very noisily until the whole flock is assembled before taking off like a huge cloud of black confetti. The 'confetti cloud' turns into an amoeba shape and swoops and dives without an obvious lead bird or signal mechanism to coordinate the aerial acrobatics.

I like to watch them flying around- I think it looks like some sort of giant kalaeidoscope and the flight patterns are both amazing and beautiful.
I have never managed to take a decent photo of them flocking but I found some wonderful ones here
This is a close up that gives an idea of how many birds are in the tree - definitely hundreds of birds

I suppose some photos from the cote d'azure aren't completely without a palm tree


They don't manage to crowd on to palm branches as densely as they can on trees that have lost their leaves for winter.

I am quite a fan of collective nouns [probably because they seem to add some interesting detail to the thing they describe.]

I looked up the collective noun for starling, it seems that they have quite a few different collective nouns.
Some have arisen due to their noisy habits: a murmuration, a chatter, a chattering. Some are due to their mess and pest nature: a scourge, a vulgarity, a filth, a clutter and some are due to their flight patterns: a flight, a constellation, a cloud .


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Nietzsche's path

Friedrich Nietzsche spent some time writing in Nice and Eze, inspired by the winter sun and the deep azure blue of the sea.
When he stayed in Eze, he lived in Eze Bord de Mer rather than in the perched mediaeval village. However, he would apparently walk up the steep mule path to the mediaeval village every day - which is a considerable hike.

Nietzsche wrote in Thus Spake Zarathustra [which he wrote partly in Nice and Eze ], "I draw circles around me and sacred boundaries; fewer and fewer men climb with me on ever higher mountains,—I am building a mountain range out of ever more sacred mountains."
Its easy to see how the path ascending 400metres [1300 feet] through an apparent abyss topped by weirdly shaped mountains could have inspired his writing.


This is a photo of the zig-zagging path as it winds its way up to the village of Eze-the lighter coloured zig-zag is the mule path.

The estimated time for walking up the path according to the tourist information is an hour and a half and the descent is estimated at 45 minutes.

I think these are well underestimated, as we took over an hour to descend to sea level, walking quite briskly. The path is also quite rough and steep and in many places poorly marked , so reasonable shoes and good balance are necessary.

This is Eze mediaeval village taken from below, just at the start of the walk. The path is now called Chemin de Frédéric Nietzsche [Nietzsche's Path] and starts outside the town walls.

The beginning of the path -near the village the path still shows some evidence of being cared for at one time but I don't think a huge amount of effort is spent on the path now.

A view of the coast line below Eze , the silver washed sea is due to the direction of the sunThis photo shows the V-shaped valley called the Vallon du Duc [the Duke's valley]
Even on a bright sunny day, the mule path can be full of dark shadows cast by bizarre rock formations.
The valley walls looked like they had been folded, twisted and ripped by a giant's hands.
A huge eroded spire of rock - this was immense. Its really hard to grasp the scale of these rocks looming over the path .I couldn't step back very far as there was a huge drop from the path edge to the bottom of the valley.

There were many side valleys which disappered into crevices in sides of the mountain. There were also some large caves which looked big enough to have been used by humans at some point in the past.

A lot of guidebooks mention the path and say its a wide path, well maintained, well marked and descends in gentle zig zags which makes me think they haven't actually walked down it themselves. After all, even Nietzsche himself describes it as 'a most onerous ascent'

This was my mum acting as a scale marker as she walked in front of me.

The huge scale of the valley and heavy tree cover makes it difficult to grasp that its a calanque - a geological term for a deep valley ending in the sea-sometimes called a Mediterranean fjord. They are more commonly found towards Marseille. The little island in the bay is apparently called l'Isoletta and there is a little causeway connecting it to the mainland. I've often seen it when I've passed by on the train and wondered and what it would be like to own a tiny private island.



In Ecce Homo, Nietzsche wrote about the landscape of Nice and Eze that inspired Thus Spake Zarathustra :

"The next winter, under the halcyon sky of Nizza [Nice] , which then shone into my life for the first time, I found Zarathustra III—and was finished. Scarcely a year for the whole of it. Many concealed spots and heights in the landscape around Nizza are hallowed for me by unforgettable moments; that decisive passage which bears the title "On Old and New Tablets" was composed on the most onerous ascent from the station to the marvelous Moorish aerie, Eza [Eze] ,—the suppleness of my muscles has always been greatest when my creative energies were flowing most abundantly. The body is inspired: let us keep the "soul" out of it ... Often one could have seen me dance; in those days I could walk in the mountains for seven or eight hours without a trace of weariness. I slept well, I laughed much—, my vigor and patience were perfect."


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