Bright Lights

No view of the lunar eclipse for me.... heavy rain & cloudy skies an hour before moon-rise & the prospects were bleak! But there was a break in the clouds as the sun set & i was hopeful... however, the brightness in the west did not spread to the east where the moon would have appeared over the hills, and as the night wore on, the cloud thickened.

We are on Teesside at the moment in the north east of England, staying near Billingham, on farmland  once owned by the chemical giant ICI. Instead of the glow of a moon in earth's shadow I watched the lights begin to appear on Tees Dock and the burning flares of various treatment plants around me.

Even without seeing, i was aware of the eclipse energy... an energy that can brings things to the surface out of the shadows, that can show things in a different light... a time for renewal & seeing different perspectives. Looking at the burning flares, I thought of energy transforming... of lunar eclipse energy... filtering down around the world...  transforming hearts and minds... breathing compassion & peace into hardened hearts & narrow minds...

I never saw these flames form the shape of a heart at the moment i clicked the shutter... not until i looked through to choose photos for this post. How wonderful is that? Energy transforming before my eyes, a symbol of compassion amongst the industry... funny where hearts turn up, eh? Clytie find them all over & has a weekly link-up at Random Hearts, if you want to see some more.

... and of course, I couldn't leave you without a picture of the moon from another night! I've just printed this one up for myself on Hahnemuhle Photo Rag. It's the first time i've tried this paper & i'm so impressed... it shows up every shade of dark blue & black with rich velvety textures, and the light is so vivid... i love it! This is one of my favourites that i've ever taken at the moment (available for sale here), now i've just got to remember where i saw a perfect frame for it! 

For more skies around the world visit

skywatch

Sycamore Flowers & Seeds

It was back in April when I watched the sycamore buds break out into leaf. We've moved a couple of times since then, so i haven't been able to follow the progress of any particular flowers...

The variation between trees along the same row can be huge, with some trees in flower before others have barely opened their leaves. Flowers & seeds develop at different rates across the sycamore community, spreading the risk of hitting adverse conditions that could hit fertilisation or the spread of seeds.... increasing the chance that some of them will mature under optimum conditions. Thus the species as a whole has a greater chance of new growth & continuity.

We humans develop at vastly different rates too... for some everything clicks into place early on, for others it is much later in life... whenever.... it is the right time for each individual, just as it is right for each tree. Our inbuilt urges to travel, settle, have families, create, pursue ambitions, give it all up, explore spirituality etc etc cover years & generations of human life. Depending on conditions around us & our own make up, some are more successful in certain areas than others... but it is that diversity that allows our species as a whole more chance of growing & continuing.

By the end of april all the sycamores were full of pendulous flowers... masses of them... some will produce seeds, some will be blown adrift, but they all play their part. Just as we are filled with a mass of flowering potentials within us... some come to fruition, some are cast aside.... all play their part in giving us opportunities to develop.

male sycamore flowers

Some sycamore trees produce only male flowers, some only female... and some produce both male & female flowers that grow side by side within one flower spike. The sycamore will retain the same sexuality throughout its life & this is the case for many other tree species, but some, the ash for example are known to change their orientation.

female sycamore flowers

It's quite easy to accept that this is just how things are... for trees... but some have tremendous difficulty accepting that this can be the case for humans too.  Everything that we are is seen in nature.... 

male & female flowers together

Perhaps our attitudes, both as individuals and collectively, are like the flowers on a tree... some seem to flourish for a while... then wither... or don't withstand the wind of change that blows through them... or simply give way to allow other, healthier ones to survive...

Perhaps as we approach the Solstice, it is a good time to assess our own attitudes... to examine them & decide whether any should be cast away... to allow the the celestial winds to blow through our minds & refresh us... to ask that healthy attitudes & practices enrich our lives.... as the year turns & moves into the next half of its cycle & breathes life into the seeds of potential within us...

Treats...

A couple of new blogs...at least relatively new; I've been meaning to post these links for a little while now! Both are a treat, so please pop over & give these ladies some deserved encouragement. Not that either are dipping their toes tentatively into the blogosphere... they've dived in, and the ripples are spreading across the ethers! I could enthuse about both in different ways, but the best thing is to just look for yourselves....

Suzy

Bloodstone Bay

Sarah

Three Strange Angels