Secret Beauty of the Sea

Pic by Gemma Wiseman ~ Rocky opening to a small reef at Anthony's Nose, a popular boat launching and fishing area south of Dromana beach, Mornington Peninsula
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Watery Wednesday #24
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Shimmering secrets
Quiet beauty in waiting
Treasures of coastlines
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Riding the Waves

Pic by Gemma Wiseman ~ In the early morning light, trainers exercise their horses at Balnarring Beach, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, Australia.
They park the floats at Balnarring, ride the sands to Somers beach and back to Balnarring.
Finally, the horses take a refreshing dip.
(It's a few months since I last posted a photo of this event, so I thought it was time to post another!)
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That's My World Tuesday # XIX
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Early morning ride
Fresh light dawns on fresh waters
New eyes new heartbeat
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Ruby Sailing

Pic by Gemma Wiseman ~ Boat shed on Dromana beach, Mornington Peninsula
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Ruby Tuesday meme
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Summer hideaway
Red and white holiday glow
Seasonal sailing
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Exotic Mellow Yellows

Pic by Gemma Wiseman ~ A tapestry I made some years ago
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Mellow Yellow Monday #7
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Dreamings of the East
Scents of exotic colours
Some far Shangri-la
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Butterfly Art

Pic by Gemma Wiseman ~ My beautiful metal butterfly made some years ago by a Tasmanian artist (whose name escapes me).
He has since passed away, but he had a wonderful studio, open to the public in northern Tasmania, displaying his wonderful array of metal sculptures and objects.
I remember he always loved to dress in black with a heavy gold chain round his neck.
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Blue Monday meme
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Luminous metals
Bright silhouette of colour
Butterfly magic
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White Bread for White Wings

Pic by Gemma Wiseman ~ Breakfast on the verandah for a wild one
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Monochrome Monday meme
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Nourishing breakfast
A little bread can go far
Sailing on white wings
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Life in the Slower Lane

Pic by Gemma Wiseman ~ There is something so very peaceful about animals grazing in a delightful countryside.
This photo was taken at Red Hill, Mornington Peninsula
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Sunday Scenery meme
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Country peacefulness
Animals walk the slow life
Balm for the spirit
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Summer Stars

Pic by Gemma Wiseman ~ Many streets in the Dromana Hills, Mornington Peninsula display these summer flowers.
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Today's Flowers #28
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Pinky red flowers
Like prickly bright glowing stars
Raining from green leaves
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Wheels and a dog equals happiness...

Pic by Gemma Wiseman ~ I love this photo of an older woman, wheelchair bound, but still enjoying the freedom of being beachside + taking her dog for a walk
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Scenic Sunday #32
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Wheelchair traveller
Freedom is an attitude
Just me and my dog
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Twilight Threads

Pic by Gemma Wiseman ~ Twilight summer skies in the Dromana Hills, Mornington Peninsula
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One Single Impression #52 ~ Twilight
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In the twilight hours
Last sighs of sinking daylight
Yin and yang entwined
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Summer Emeralds

Pic by Gemma Wiseman ~ Summer flowerings and varied emerald green tones in my front garden in the Dromana Hills, Mornington Peninsula
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Emerald Sundays #16
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Summer colour tones
Purples and blues in green seas
Summer tapestries
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Wild Cockatoo Shadows

Pic by Gemma Wiseman ~ Wild cockatoos on my verandah in the early morning light.
(Hope you're not tired of cockatoo shots just yet!)
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Shadow Shot Sunday #40
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Wild morning shadows
Gathering to feed the day
Cockatoo melee
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Rosella Magic

Pic by Gemma Wiseman ~ Rosella on my clothes line, Dromana Hills, Mornington Peninsula
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Camera Critters #46
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Strange colour contrasts
Dusky greens chipped with bright tones
Rosella magic
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Magic in the Glass

Pic by Gemma Wiseman ~ A glass bowl of sweetly scented dried fruits in my lounge room
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Monochrome Monday meme
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Pot pourri of fruits
Semblance of frozen beauty
Magic in the glass
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Mellow Scented Fruits

Collage by Gemma Wiseman ~ Dried and scented fruit in a glass bowl in my lounge room.
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Mellow Yellow Monday #6
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Mellow scented fruits
Luxury in a glass bowl
Drops of fantasy
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Distorted Beauty

Pic by Gemma Wiseman ~ Thick haze of smoke over Port Phillip Bay as seen from my back verandah this Sunday afternoon in the Dromana Hills.
This is just a sign of the ongoing fires still burning north and east of Melbourne.
Usually, this is a beautiful view.
But to see such smoke almost paling out the waters of the bay and Mount Martha in the background is quite frightening.
And then there are the dramatic gusts of wind blurring the leaves.
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Sunday Scenery meme~

In this smokey world
Light seems just a slave to fire
Distorted beauty
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Pic by Gemma Wiseman ~ Another view
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Romance of Sailing

Pic by Gemma Wiseman ~ My old sailing ship
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PhotoHunt #149 ~ Nautical
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Tall ships on tall seas
Weathering survival strengths
Romance of sailing
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Terrible Beauty

Pic by Gemma Wiseman ~ A week after Victoria's devastating fires first began, the morning skies over the Mornington Peninsula (south of Melbourne) still glow with smoky beauty.
Here in the Dromana Hills, we may not be part of the wild fires, but it is as if we are trapped in the eerie eye of a storm.
To the north and east are fires, always lurking on our horizons.
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Scenic Sunday #31
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Such ugly beauty
Gruesome bondage with horrors
Nature's wrath from hell
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Pic by Gemma Wiseman
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Dove in the Shadows

Pic by Gemma Wiseman ~ Dove on my verandah at Dromana Hills, Mornington Peninsula
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Shadow Shot Sunday #39
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Dove in the shadows
Peacefully resting alone
Soft moment in time
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Valentine on Wings

Pic by Gemma Wiseman ~ Dove on my verandah, Dromana Hills, Mornington Peninsula
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Camera Critters #45
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Dove of peace and love
Taking a little soul time
Valentine vision
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NOTE: The dove is well-known in the Western world as a symbol of peace, but it is also a messenger of symbolic love.
The dove and turtledove are often used as love symbols in weddings.
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A Special Post ~ Bushfire in My Victoria, Australia

Pic by Gemma Wiseman
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Like Paradise Found,
I too have been wondering how to write a post about
the blackest day in Victorian history.
The day began with the heatwave on Saturday 7th February, 2009
and is still evolving.
It is a little like
the longest day in the longest night.
BUSHFIRE!
The very word tolls like a forlorn bell!
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TV channels spill out horror story after horror story.
In Yea, people are living in tents waiting for the next stage,
whatever that is.
(Many slept in a car till tents became available.)
Communities like Narbethong, Marysville, Strathewan and Kinglake
have been totally erased from existance.
But the fire burns on still.
One survivor commented that the sky seemed to be raining fire.
As I write, the news says 131 people have perished
and the number is still climbing.
For details of this surreal legacy of Saturday's heatwave,
see The Age newspaper media reports directly from Melbourne, Australia.
Even a popular newsreader from Channel 9 ~
Brian Naylor ~
perished with his wife at Kinglake.
We all have some sensitive connections with someone affected by the fires!
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And so, this post is reaching out
to all those still fighting to survive.
We are with you!
We hope with you!
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Not all reds are fires
Not all reds are danger zones
Somewhere sleeps the rose
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Black Songs on the Wing

Pic by Gemma Wiseman ~ Crow on my roofline
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Monochrome Monday meme
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Haunting scavenger
Black omens sing on the wing
Old superstitions
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Art of Pink Petals

Pic by Gemma Wiseman ~ Flowers in a front garden, Dromana Hills, Mornington Peninsula
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Today's Flowers #26
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Bright burst of pinks
Circles of slender petals
Magic floral art
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