Beating the blues with the blues!!!

So finally beaten the blues, the fact is, I am still feeling blue! :-/

The beautiful Iris at my friend's garden...

The Purple / Blue Iris

Hope you all had a good start to the week. Have a great week ahead!

Peace and love...

Livingsta :-)

The Wild Clematis...

And it's Friday!!!

Loving the sunshine and the beauty it brings to the world around me...

The Clematis near my workplace are in bloom and Dora Read Goodale's poem comes to my mind, it's not August though!

Clematis by the alleyway...

Where the woodland streamlets flow,
Gushing down a rocky bed,
Where the tasseled alders grow,
Lightly meeting overhead,
When the fullest August days
Give the richness that they know,
Then the wild clematis comes,
With her wealth of tangled blooms.
Reaching up and drooping low,
.....
.....

~Dora Read Goodale

Hope you all had a lovely week...

Have a relaxing weekend!

Peace...

Livingsta :-)

Beauty and Purity...

"Rare is the union of beauty and purity." 
~Juvenal

When I shot the picture below, this is what I felt!

Beautiful White Spring Flowers in their Pure form!!!

I am not complaining, but yes, we did not have a perfect Spring, but I am grateful for the precious few days that we had, besides the cold, the wind, the rain and the storm!

The beautiful quote above lifts my spirit up sometimes....

Because it is so true...

When we look at the life around us, we do sense this in 
Every way
Every day and in 
Every walk of life.....

I leave you all with this wonderful and positive feeling....

Have a good evening!

Peace and love...

Livingsta :-)

Spring Rain...

So we've had a rainy week, with little breaks in between and outbreaks of sunshine now and then. Well, spring rain makes everything look pretty. As I am writing this, I can hear the rain water splattering on my window!

As Vivian Greene quotes:

“Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass...
It's about learning to dance in the rain.”

I still see the buds dormant in the trees, and so are the bulbs. Not a very cheerful atmosphere. Due to the frost, snow, rain and freezing temperatures, most of the flowering plants and trees look dry as if they've come straight out of a drought. 

And they also say,

Anyone who says sunshine brings happiness has never danced in the rain. 

Off I went, not dancing in the rain, but enjoying the rain! I love it when everything looks so neat and sparkling in the rain. I love the smell of rain, the smell of the earth!

My walk on Monday this week was a bit disappointing but I did manage to capture a few odd bunches here and there and I am grateful for that. 

 The best thing one can do when it's raining is to let it rain. 
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I yearn for flowers that bend with the wind and rain. 
~Tso Ssu

I hope you are all having a lovely weekend. Have a blessed one everyone.

Peace and love...

Livingsta x

Where is Spring?

Just when I thought winter's gone, we've had some flurries again this weekend! Spring seems to be too far away this year, and we are still having frosty days with occasional snow or sleet. 

The weekend has started off a bit milder than last week, and hopes are there for Spring. I can even see a few bulbs of daffodils and crocuses that are in bloom. 

The Cherry blossoms!

Last year this time, all the trees and bulbs were in full bloom. I remember shooting spring flowers all through the month of March 2012.

The cherry blossoms in full bloom by the flats across the Embankment!

As I was looking through the spring photos from last year, I thought I will share a few from March 2012 as March 2013 is coming to an end!

These were the beautiful willows, in all their glory. We are still waiting for them this year!

The glorious willows!

This picture below was my desktop wallpaper at work for quite a while during spring last year!

Spring is when life’s alive in everything. 

~Christina Rossetti

So true to Christina's words, during the spring season, everything is so full of life as if they woke up from a deep slumber. All I remember about the spring season are the hustle and bustle of people, the happy geese and ducks by the river, the ice-cream vans, colours, the buzzing of the bees and my long walks by the river.

No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn.

~Hal Borland

So hoping that spring is not going to disappoint us this year :-)

Spring is nature's way of saying, "Let's Party!"

~Robin Williams

Let's all stay in faith that spring is on its way, not really far away! Hoping you all have a blessed and holy weekend friends! 

Peace, Love and Gratitude...


Livingsta x

Frozen-White Spring!!!

So, this week started off with heavy snow and biting cold winds; 20 to 25 mph while the temperatures were between -5 and 1 degree Celsius giving a feel of less than -10 or even -14 degree Celsius. It's not that I do not like winter; in fact I love winter, for its beauty; the frost, the snowfall that brightens up the landscapes, the foggy days...

This was 2 days after the snowfall, something that I least expected!

The snowfall was heavier where I work, so last Monday, at work, I was taken by surprise; the thick layers of snow over the fences and hedgerows, while the alleyway and the front area of the building were covered in frozen sheets of ice, I call it a "lethal ice rink." This makes my colleagues laugh! Wonder why! Maybe ice rinks are not supposed to be lethal!

Peek-a-boo....has the snow stopped !!!

Well, this weather just did not help; in order to cheer me up, I walked down the road from my office at lunch break. I wasn't disappointed as I had a few beautiful shots to capture. Nature always has something for you; never fails to surprise you! It was fun, seriously fun; "Frozen Memories!"

Frozen surprises!

“Hope is the thing with feathers 

That perches in the soul 

And sings the tune without the words 

And never stops at all.” 

~Emily Dickinson

These buds are hope that spring isn't far away :-)

We are still having some flurries this weekend! But I am staying home! Hoping for the spring!

Hope you're all having a beautiful weekend !

Peace!

Livingsta x :-)