Sharing Early Literacy Learning Journeys

Posts tagged ‘travel’

Weekly Photo Challenge: Unexpected

This entry is later than expected because I had an unexpected computer glitch!

The marvels of daily life are exciting; no movie director can arrange the unexpected that you find in your street (Robert Doisneau).

So, with camera in hand, we attempt to capture the unexpected – if the unexpected happens like…

??????????????????????a snapping turtle trundling across our lawn one sunny Saturday afternoon
– fortunately, photos were possible because it was slow as a …

Turtle on dock

and a midland painted turtle clambering on the dock
– with the bonus of an unexpectedly clear reflection.

??????????????????????After leaving the gym, we never expected to see
a giant stick insect resting on the car.

Joy and bliss can come from the little and most unexpected thing if only we program our mind to enjoy these little things (Unknown), like….

Tulips at  old fence

these pink-orange tulips unexpectedly bright against
green grass and an old grey fence of a farmer’s field.

Life is full of surprises… or expect the unexpected …
Tilted lifeguard hut 2

but a tilting lifeguard hut, devoid of a solid base,
was an unexpected sight on a morning beach walk…

Lifeguard hutand even more unexpected, was the same lifeguard
hut swinging from a crane as it was gingerly placed
on the back of a big truck late in the afternoon.

Revisiting the tropics… no. 3: Birds

Poor indeed is the garden in which birds find no homes (Abram Urban) and being surrounded by trees, gardens and birds is a joy for me.

Amazingly, as I write these words, a yellow breasted hummingbird whirrs to my window. Suddenly s/he flies through the open door and hovers and hums in front of me. It’s only a few seconds. I smile happily and stare. As suddenly as s/he enters, s/he exits. Flits out, over the balcony, into the palms and paper barks… and then to who knows where?

Smiling again, I think of the variety of birds I see and hear each day.
Like colours and the tropics, birds and the tropics also belong together.

Wake early to the shrill, eerie, wailing of stone birds (or curlews) as they stroll through gardens and warily cross streets looking for quiet, shady hiding places to spend the day.

??????????????????????????????? Stone bird
Bush Stone-curlew

Walk to the beach to shrieking, squawking sulpher-crested cockatoos as they fly from tree to tree, calling and squabbling with their mates over breakfast.

??????????????????????????????? Sulpher-crested cockatoo

Pass a wary, silent, snow-white Torres Strait pigeon diligently pecking in the grass on a vacant block.

???????????????????????????????Torres Strait pigeon

Hear, but cannot see, doves cooing quietly in the paperbark leaves.

Walk along the beach and admire striking black, white and orange terns as they dig for pipis in the sand.

??????????????????????????????? Tern

Suddenly the confident, raucous ‘laugh’ of a kookaburra rings out. A distinctive sound. A happy sound. A chuckle… that is a warning to other birds to steer clear. Reminds me of Ibsen’s words, “Each bird must sing with his own throat.”

Revisiting the tropics… no. 2: Colours

Colours

If  colours are the smiles of nature, as Leigh Hunt said,
then the tropics are all smiles.

Cool colours.
Greens and blues of plants and skies.

Warm colours.
Reds, pinks, yellows and oranges.

???????????????????????????????Bright reds of ‘flame’ trees

PicMonkey CollageHot pinks of hibiscus combine with delicate ivory underneath

???????????????????????????????Smiling, sunny yellows of yellow bells

???????????????????????????????and fiery orange heliconia sassy.

Earth colours.
Light browns, dark browns
and every hue in between.

Then there are whites…
Stark whites (I daren’t say snow white!)
of buildings,
??????????????????????????????? a cool, calm frangipanni
??????????????????????????????? and gentle, ivory whites of variegated leaves
behind a bold, bright hibiscus.

Lots of smiles in the tropics…

Good Grief! Where has Mrs Goose gone?

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Saturday, June 1st: A Canada Goose sits on her eggs
on a thin, log ‘island’ in the river.
How long has she been there?
… through wind and rain and ‘a terrible storm’.

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Friday, June 7th: Mr. Gander stands on guard whilst Mrs. Goose sits …

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and sits and sits and sits…
just like Horton, in Dr Suess’ Horton the Elephant.

Monday, June 10th: Good grief! Mrs. Goose has gone…
Where are the geese and their goslings?
I hope they are safe…

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One egg is left.
Is it The Ugly Duckling?
Will she be shunned by her brothers and sisters?
Will she become a beautiful swan?


Children’s books:

Horton Hatches the Egg, Dr Suess, 1962, London: Collins Clear-Type Press
The Ugly Duckling, Fairy Tale, Hans Christian Andersen, Denmark. First published, Nov 11th, 1843

After the rain…

After the rain,

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the dandelions’ delicate ‘fluff’ disappears
leaving a definite structure to admire…

Trillions of Trilliums

Today I feel like Heidi may have felt when she discovered masses of wild flowers in the Alps – except I am in the woods when I come across masses of trilliums.

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Trillions of trilliums!

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One superbly formed flower… after another…

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But I don’t ‘gather great handfuls of flowers and
stuff them all into my apron’ 
like Heidi.

Instead, I photograph the brilliant white trilliums.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

When I get home, I learn three very good reasons for not gathering the wild flowers. One, trilliums bloom in April/May – a short time to enjoy their beauty. Two, a trillium takes up to 11 years to … (read more)

The trillium is Ontario’s Provincial flower or ‘floral emblem’.

Spyri, Johanna. (No date). Heidi: A Story for Children. London: Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd.

Browsing for Breakfast

On an early morning walk, we come across a lone heron browsing for breakfast.

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Slowly, silently slinking…  searching for a bite to eat.

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Warily walking and watching the water he sees…

??????????????????????????????? … something of interest and
quietly enters the water.

His beak deftly pierces the water and comes up with something
for breakfast – but we couldn’t see the tasty morsel.

The lone heron browses until he is startled by a
walker’s ‘shoes on stones’ sound and he gracefully flies off.

Breakfast is over for the moment …

Weekly Photo Challenge: Future Tense

Into the future
with digital literacy…

Young child before school in Hong Kong embracing technology. Will he take the family business to the future PM edit

A young child before school in Hong Kong embraces technology.
Will he take his family’s noodle shop into the future?

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