Wonder-focal

Common Daisy

How many people would look closely at the humble daisy on the lawn?

It is not what you see, but what you focus on.

Had the whole flower been crystal clear in the above photo, the pollen clumps would not have stood out from the contrasting fuzziness of the petals.  The dreamy quality of the shot would have been lost.

Sometimes, when we feel drained by life's trials or just inexplicably down, taking a moment to focus on something else positive really helps.  And voila! There are wonders to behold in places you don't expect or have long forgotten to look.

The uneven focus of the daisy also reminds me somewhat of myself.  I don't deny or embrace my imperfections.  I just acknowledge them and try to improve where possible.  It is every individual thing about me that together make me uniquely me.  However, the desire to improve is also a quality in me that I value.  To improve is to evolve.  To evolve is to live.

Speaking of evolution, when I first saw this photo of a dandelion (below), I was fascinated by the presence of tiny bristles, the long petals' shape resembling empty pea pods, and the general uniform complexity.  It turned out that a single flower head is actually a collection of tiny individual flowers (called ray florets).  Each skinny petal visible to our eyes is actually 5 petals fused together.  The visible cylindrical thingies with filament 'legs' are each 5 stamens (the male part of the flower that produces pollen) fused at the top part.  And so on, and so forth.  If you are interested in the biology of it, have a look at the Asteraceae wikipedia page.  Here is a wonderful botanical drawing of a ray floret.

The dandelion is a rather complex thing, and we are way more complicated than that.

Dandelion

Monumental Power

Mount Ruapehu

If it hadn't just been overcast and raining, this shot would never had happened.

Some people go to the extent of being grateful for the bad things and bad people in their lives for the 'lessons'. Of course, you choose your way.  In my humble opinion, it is much better to have some balance.  I prefer a plain dish with no garnish: acknowledge your pain (important step for preserving the sense of self / self-worth), accept that there will always be both good people and bad people, mourn your loss, get back on your feet to move forward, and appreciate the better views you will get coming out on the other side of the storm.

The photo above was taken back in May, when we just passed Waiouru travelling north to Taupo.

Second Serve

Tennis star Novak Djokovic first made fun of fellow tennis star Maria Sharapova back in 2007.  The humor must have gained more fans than critics, because this year Djokovic is back at it with a full swing - in a commercial for Head tennis rackets.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Head sponsors both players. I guess no one needs to tell Sharapova to lighten up.  What a gracious gal!

Actually, Djokovic's little satire in 2007 was even funnier.  Sharapova wasn't the only 'victim', either.

Don't forget to feed my fish at bottom of the page!  Thanks.

na na ne nA naaa naaa

New Zealand yellowhammer

This photo was originally framed without noticing the cat.  The left edge of the photo was clipped to highlight the unintentional capture (bet the cat was contemplating the same verb, only in cat).

Grasshopper, humor in life is sometimes right there in your camera’s viewfinder.   Hee hee hee….

Obscure Beauty

A tulip towards the end of its life is hardly an intuitive subject for a debut post.

A bloom evidently past its prime is hardly an object you would expect to find beauty.  Yet, here it is – sporadically fading pigments creating an alluring range of shades of the original pink-purple, intensified at the dried frilly edges; deepened texture lines flowing through every curve of the silky petals, as if some magical brushstrokes had moved through thin air and defined the bloom’s very form – a feast for the eye, the eye willing to see.

When we are in quiet appreciation of something (or someone), those moments spawn a sense of calm and peace inside us.

For seeing beauty unfiltered by preconceptions and expectations, this aging tulip is perfectly fitting for the debut of this blog.

Happy sightings!