A Quote from Life

Need I say more?

Snowdrops & a slab of wood

Hey! Welcome to a new week! We are definitely still in tidy and clean-up mode here after a busy weekend of mundane activities.

Getting wood ...in the Desert

It's Friday today isn't it? Yes, it is..  I just checked on the calender.

Thursday's Thought from my Life

Thursday's Thought from my Life: "I Like Photographing Trees"

A French Find from Alice

Well hello! A few days ago I mentioned that I'd found a little french thing in Alice Springs..

A Quote from Life

Here's the quote for today. Thanks to the Adelaide Zoo, yet again. Last week's quote is here and the one prior to that here.

A Frosty Friday Morning

We are having glorious days here at the moment... Once the frost has melted and the fog has cleared! The morning starts with very chilly temperatures. When it's sub-zero getting out of bed is tricky, you need the promise of that sunshine to help you greet the day and put your feet onto the floor;-) Generally you can sense the brightness behind the fog and it just provides that little bit of something that I (at least) need to get the day started. Here are some shots of our morning yesterday. It was a frosty Friday morning!

Here's a shot from my viewpoint, I first mentioned my viewpoint here. Although it looked pretty chilly, indeed it felt chilly, there was just a sliver of blue sky peeking over the fog encouraging me us to start the day. The birch looked really lovely too, with iced spider webs draping like pretty ribbon. It's seed 'pods' provided further iced decorations.

I'm glad I'm not a spider! Pretty chilly conditions on this web. I'd not leave that leaf 'til the sun was shining right onto it!

 

Even this fence post looked chilly with the fog thick behind it. Poor old cows across the road weren't even visible. They had magically disappeared! A bit more zoom and the frost on the grass was revealed, see down below....

I hope your Friday wasn't quite so chilly, or at least that you had gorgeous sunshine (like we did) to follow the chilliness :-) I'm using the sunshine to finish off the mountains of washing that returned home with us after this trip. Will pop some more Red Centre photos in a post for the new week too, plus I have a very cute frenchy find from a VERY normal store in Alice Springs to show you! Talk soon.

Uluru; australia's heart

Uluru. Here she is. The heart of Australia. 

It's hard to find the words to describe this place. Our trip to the centre really was a sojourn to Uluru. We went to many other fantastic places too along the way. But this was our focus. And certainly the small people were telling everyone who asked that we were going to Uluru. It wasn't a trip to the red centre, or to Northern Territory. It was a trip to Uluru. So we were hyped up about this red rock. Well, it certainly didn't disappoint!

Our campsite, at the Uluru Resort, was great. We were 5 steps from a walkway leading to this viewpoint... this is sunrise from just beyond our campsite (and yes, I got out of bed to take this shot, it was FREEZING!).

We were soaking up this site, or sight. But we wanted to touch it, to feel the rock and to be right there! So we drove to the national park, paid our park fees and found a carpark. Then we walked to the base of the rock. And looked up at her. It was steep! I had no idea... As an aussie kid I've had the image of Uluru imprinted in my mind ever since I can remember. But this was my first experience at the rock. And no-one could have convinced me that it was sooo steep. In this photo you can see the people in the first stages of climbing, note how small they are. Yet, still this photo doesn't really look steep. In reality the angle is probably 40 or 50 degrees. It's hard to get a photo showing the steepness, you'll just have to go and experience it for yourself!

The colours are unbelievable. We decided that the red of the rock makes the blue of the sky pop. Giving that contrast between the burnt red/oranges and the blue of the sky. We had gorgeous days while we were there. And we soaked it up. The aboriginals ask you to listen, to listen to the place. It's a lovely way to explain that you need to sit and experience the place. To soak it all up. There are these bench seats made of gnarled wood situated all around the rock. Just for people to sit and listen.

We walked, we looked up (you look upwards a lot at Uluru, there is a lot to look up at!) and we took photos. Sometimes we just stopped and sat. There are fantastic signs telling you the stories of the place... There are also signs asking you NOT to take photos. I hope you can read the text on this sign, it states that the rocks in that place are like the text in bible; sacred. And they tell a story which must be read in that location, in context, and not via a photo. It's all about respect. From us and to the place.

The light of Uluru is just as dramatic as the colours. So it's often difficult to take a photo which properly captures the image before you. As you walk around the base of the rock the shadows overpower the detail in the photos sometimes...

At other spots the shadow provides the drama.

We are genuinely privileged to have this rock as the heart of our country. You really feel the place when you are there. The rock almost seems alive; it's warm in the sunlight with the colours and light changes making it change a million times a day. I'm sure variations in the weather would also present the place in another way; I'd love to see it in the rain! We'll be back one day, to listen again. Do you listen? Do you have a place where you just sit and soak it up? I've a few other places to show you like this, I will be back tomorrow.

A Quote from Life

Here's a little quote found on a window at the Adelaide Zoo. I took a photo of it there but it didn't look as cool as it was in real life. So I have transcribed it onto one of the three thousand Red Centre photos we took (and I'm not joking about that figure!). Isn't the desert sand a nice contrasting background to simple little flowers? And they were right by our campsite... So very everyday, if you live in the desert ;-)

PS - Uluru will be blogged tomorrow! I've just sorted through the photos for those days and am now trying to find suitable words.

PPS - The last 'Quote from Life' is here.

First, there was a jetty.

So, are you with me?Do you know where we are?