fifty missed christmases
I'm a little late for yesterday's offering, but sharing this image of an infant's grave (still?)born 51 years ago today felt timely.
(Fifty missed Christmases as of today's date).
DOLLY
in sure and certain hope [st george’s church, reforne, isle of portland, dorset, england, 2024]
I'm not seeking a resurrection to eternal life, but I'd appreciate the sure and certain hope of a break from major stresses and upheavals, thankyouverymuch.
I offer my sincerest apologies for my radio silence during November.
Ironically, I foresaw November as a month mostly at home where I could catch up on editing, share more work with you and get ahead of editing for my end-of-year wrap-up blog.
Oh, the naivety!
I did spend most of the month at home. However, I was still seeking a new flatmate, even as late as my last viewing on Saturday, 23 November.
I'm sure you know flatmate-seeking - like house or job-hunting - is a full-time job.
Combined with my full-time day job, part-time pet-sitting (although the overnight stays have a full-time feel), and attempts to keep up with my art, I've essentially been doing four full-time jobs, with my art being the most neglected.
It's not through choice. Believe me.
My art - alongside time spent with my (mostly) four-legged clients - keeps me on an even keel. Mentally, emotionally, and sometimes physically.
As some of you may know through our friendship on Facebook or outside the social spheres, I gave notice on my home of 8.5 years on 27 November.
It was a difficult decision for my heart but a no-brainer for my finances. Once I confirmed a plan B for storing my belongings and temporarily housing my being, accepting the decision was somewhat easier.
It doesn't mean I'm happy about it, or I won't miss the place I've called home for the longest of any homes I've had.
But I'm trying to look at the positives and embrace whatever the future holds for me where 'home' is concerned.
I want to find a new home in the same or a nearby postcode. But from mid-December, I'll be somewhat itinerant. (You know, more so than usual). I'll predominantly be based in south London around my scheduled sittings.
House-hunting, like flatmate-hunting, is a full-time job. I'm hopeful that putting that on hold for a while to get things back on track will free me up to focus again on my art, at least over the festive season and New Year period.
In the meantime, this is a photograph I took in St George's churchyard in September on the Isle of Portland in Dorset.
I have many photographs from that trip to share with you. Hopefully soon.
used for garlands
Some Lychnis coronaria or Silene coronaria, also known as rose campion, photographed in summer in one of my pet-sitting client's gardens.
According to Wikipedia, 'The Latin coronaria means "used for garlands"'.
hither green crematorium
untitled #47 [hither green crematorium, hither green, london, england, 2024]
untitled #58 [hither green crematorium, hither green, london, england, 2024]
dog rose [grove park nature reserve, grove park, london, england, 2024]
I captured this rosa canina, commonly known as dog rose, and bearing the fruit, rose hip (though not fruiting when I photographed it) on my walk past Grove Park Nature Reserve to Hither Green Cemetery earlier in the month.
There are various theories for the origins of the plant's name. As you might imagine, my favoured one (though likely not scientifically proven) is that the plant can cure the bite of a mad or rabid dog.
untitled #10 [grove park nature reserve, grove park, london, england, 2024]
As with many flowers and plants, it's the county flower in one country (Hampshire, England) and an invasive weed in others (NZ and Australia).
But it is pretty.
purity and innocence [helmingham hall, helmingham, suffolk, england, 2017]
untitled #317 [helmingham hall, helmingham, suffolk, england, 2017]
allium giganteum [helmingham hall, helmingham, suffolk, england, 2017]
Some allium giganteum, or giant onions, I photographed in Helmingham Hall's gardens in June 2017, the last time my parents visited the UK.
Not the edible kind of onions. But the bees like them, and they're pretty.
untitled #285 [helmingham hall, helmingham, suffolk, england, 2017]
untitled #26 [helmingham hall, helmingham, suffolk, england, 2017]
untitled #287 [helmingham hall, helmingham, suffolk, england, 2017]
untitled #290 [helmingham hall, helmingham, suffolk, england, 2017]
untitled #288 [helmingham hall, helmingham, suffolk, england, 2017]
death in technicolour [st peter’s church, delamere, cheshire, england, 2024]
A couple of flowering Camellia japonica trees brighten up the churchyard of St Peter's Church in Delamere.
Life and death side by side.
untitled #285 [st peter’s church, delamere, cheshire, england, 2024]
coaxing life from death
untitled #87
untitled #89
untitled #91
untitled #86
untitled #16 [redland bay, queensland, australia, 2009]
untitled #17 [redland bay, queensland, australia, 2009]
untitled #15 [redland bay, queensland, australia, 2009]
untitled #2979
Sometimes, my pet-sitting includes fishies.
untitled #2975
untitled #2976
untitled #2982
untitled #2980
untitled #53 [london road cemetery, bromley, london, england, 2023]
untitled #56 [london road cemetery, bromley, london, england, 2023]
untitled #57 [london road cemetery, bromley, london, england, 2023]
untitled #54 [london road cemetery, bromley, london, england, 2023]
untitled #51 [london road cemetery, bromley, london, england, 2023]
untitled #55 [london road cemetery, bromley, london, england, 2023]
untitled #50 [london road cemetery, bromley, london, england, 2023]
untitled #52 [london road cemetery, bromley, london, england, 2023]
untitled #58 [london road cemetery, bromley, london, england, 2023]
granny-pop-out-of-bed [pondwicks meadow, amersham, buckinghamshire, england, 2020]
This post isn't the first time I've shared a photograph of hedge bindweed for my series, a floral tribute. And I'm sure this won't be the last.
Despite being considered a noxious weed in the US and being able to overwhelm and pull down cultivated plants, including shrubs and small trees, and potentially toxic to humans and animals, I think the flowers are beautiful. I tend to photograph them in most places I find them.
In particular, because they're often found in the least beautiful places: by railway lines where people have tossed their trash, growing by or over derelict structures, in the overgrown perimeters of parks and other tended spaces (often alongside brambles and, in this case, stinging nettles).
Reading more about them, they seem like something out of a horror film: they can self-seed, and their seeds can remain viable for as long as 30 years. And whole plants can regrow from discarded roots. Apply those concepts to "dead" humans, and you have the storyline of many of my favourite horror films and novels.
hypoxylon [brockley and ladywell cemeteries, london, england, 2023]
Some hypoxylon I stumbled across in Brockley and Ladywell Cemeteries a few weeks ago.
deadwood [brockley and ladywell cemeteries, london, england, 2023]
untitled #270 [the nut, stanley, tasmania, australia, 2018]
After so much time away from home, I've finally caught up on most things, excluding sleep.
Unfortunately, poor wee Dougal had an operation on Monday afternoon and is still recovering, so we cancelled my sitting with him. His owner and I both hope he comes good soon.
As much as I don't like to hear about Dougal being poorly, having more time at home has been helpful for my mental health and catching up on life admin.
I will still go to Bromley on Friday evening until Monday to sit my regulars plus one.
untitled #272 [the nut, stanley, tasmania, australia, 2018]
In the meantime, I'm pleased to be home and that the repairs to the building are currently paused between the roof replacement and re-pointing (and then painting).
Footpath reconstruction is due to start on our section of the road next Tuesday, so it would seem I chose the ideal time to GTFO of Dodge.
All of these things are well overdue, but so is my sleep!
If I'm being honest, that's the one thing I'm looking forward to most with my time away: some relaxation, alongside catching up with family and friends. I suspect it will still end up hectic.
I woke to a less-than-positive update about an extended family member in Australia today, but I'm hoping the cause proves to be minor. At least, hopefully, I can be of some assistance during my stay.
I've managed to import the photos I took in Brockley and Ladywell Cemetery one day while sitting Mia. And those of Jilly I took with my D700 during my sitting with her. I hope to share some of these with you soon, along with other photos and artwork.
untitled #271 [the nut, stanley, tasmania, australia, 2018]
In the meantime, please enjoy a few photos of The Nut in Stanley, Tasmania, I took in 2018. I didn't know this was a volcanic plug until I looked it up to link you to more information. And I didn't know what a volcanic plug was until now.
Photography feeds my curious mind.
agrostemma [helmingham hall, helmingham, suffolk, england, 2017]
Sorry once again for the radio silence.
As I mentioned in my post of images from Bosham back on 10 February, I had some worrying news about my Mum.
At 19:20 GMT on 28 February, I found out my Mum passed away 10 minutes earlier (though, technically, she passed away at 06:10 on 1 March 2023 AEST. Time differences are weird when dealing with someone's time of death).
So, as you might expect, I've needed some time to process that.
As I do in these situations, I've been writing.
It took time, and there were many tears along the way.
I'm currently editing photographs of Mum and photos taken by Mum to go with the piece.
I'll share it here and on my blog as soon as it's ready. Hopefully, tomorrow but definitely in the coming days.
In the meantime, here are some Agrostemma (common corncockles) I photographed in the gardens at Helmingham Hall on the last road trip I took with Mum and Dad in 2017.
Hold your loved ones tightly.
untitled #118 [st kilda cemetery, st kilda, victoria, australia, 2007]
Some Dimorphotheca ecklonis I captured in St Kilda Cemetery on the first day of Spring in 2007.
untitled #117 [st kilda cemetery, st kilda, victoria, australia, 2007]
untitled #123 [st kilda cemetery, st kilda, victoria, australia, 2007]
untitled #116 [st kilda cemetery, st kilda, victoria, australia, 2007]
untitled #122 [st kilda cemetery, st kilda, victoria, australia, 2007]
untitled #127 [st kilda cemetery, st kilda, victoria, australia, 2007]
And some beautiful monarch butterflies hanging out amongst them.
untitled #128 [st kilda cemetery, st kilda, victoria, australia, 2007]
untitled #126 [st kilda cemetery, st kilda, victoria, australia, 2007]
I took these photos after going to my old GP practice for a check-up because of some odd sensations I'd been experiencing.
untitled #119 [st kilda cemetery, st kilda, victoria, australia, 2007]
That appointment resulted in me having blood tests that revealed I had vitamin D deficiency and B12 anaemia for the first time.
untitled #121 [st kilda cemetery, st kilda, victoria, australia, 2007]
Good times...
untitled #115 [st kilda cemetery, st kilda, victoria, australia, 2007]
untitled #120 [st kilda cemetery, st kilda, victoria, australia, 2007]
rue des mineurs [liège, wallonia, belgium, 2014]