glorious moments
Ahhh, Bergen area. Just when I think I can’t handle another blah and dreary day, you gift us with glorious moments like these: Warm, muted, or brilliant sunshine; contrasting and textured clouds; a subtle rainbow; glimpses of blue sky; a sparkling dusting of snow; glistening tree bark; dancing snow flakes gently falling.
Thank you.
the serenity of Kysthospitalet in Hagavik
Yesterday I was at Kysthospitalet Hagavik for medical appointments. This is a specialized hospital, one I’ve gotten to know fairly well in the last five years.
Yesterday’s fourth-day-in-a-row of sunshine (and, as it turns out, the last for now) was glorious. After my appointments were through I took a brief walk in the sun while waiting for Jan.
It was so peaceful to stand in the warming rays and experience the calmness of the area from the different perspective of being outside the hospital instead of in. The crisp air, sparkling ice-covered fjord, bright sunshine, and winter-bare surroundings were magic.
It was the very definition of serenity.
Wordless Wednesday: Sun? Yes, sun (and ice)!
Weekly Photo Challenge: Minimalist
Jen’s Photo Challenge this week is Minimalist.
“Minimalist photography is characterized by a large portion of negative space, a fairly monochromatic color palette … and an interesting subject that is able to stand on its own to capture the interest of the viewer … A minimalist photo can also effectively tell a story, in spite of its relative simplicity, and it is anything but ‘plain’.”
I had fun looking through photos to find a few that fit this challenge, and decided to take the definition of “minimalist” apart and find images that fit specific qualities better, but still have the overall minimalist look. Does this one fit the description of “a large portion of negative space”?
Lysekloster moon on January 14, 2014 at 7:52 pm
I found two that I think are a good representation of “a fairly monochromatic color palette,” one with warm tones and the other with cool. Which do you prefer?
May 24, 2014 – warm sunshine through a Lysekloster pine tree’s new growth
January 16, 2010 – ice crystals on a below freezing Langeskogen walk
And then for the last one, “an interesting subject that is able to stand on its own to capture the interest of the viewer” … if you hadn’t already joined me vicariously on the journey, would this photo capture your curiosity as to what we were going to see?
August 20, 2014 – a peek towards the journey
Which photo is your favorite? And, if you’d like, share why it is!
Georgia on my mind ….
The winter weather last week in the southern states of the U.S. got me thinking about my years of living there.
Born in Michigan and raised in Illinois, when my family moved to Pensacola in 1973 it was a shock to my winter-loving-personality to have warmer weather in the winter. Four years of high school in Florida (Pensacola), four years of college in Mississippi (Hattiesburg), and three years of Army-wife-life in Georgia (just south of Atlanta) didn’t ever “cure” me of my love of cold, and when the temps would dip lower than usual during the winter I was always happy.
I was digging through my photos and found these two contrasting shots of our little backyard in Rex, Georgia. The first one is 11:00 pm on January 18, 1992 – the next morning there were eight inches of the white stuff on the ground. It probably melted quickly, but was a lot of fun for a few hours! The second one was taken a couple months later.
(Here is where this part of the world is located on the map.)
As you’ve probably read in the news, the South comes to a standstill with winter weather, and last week was even worse than usual. It’s understandable, as there isn’t a need to keep a lot of snow- and ice- removal equipment on hand, but it’s dangerous when events such as last week happen. There is no way that they can handle the snow as quickly as areas in the northern climates can – and if ice is part of the pattern, it’s really treacherous.
The weather last week was worse than anything I ever experienced when I lived in the South. I had a “comments conversation” about it with a blogging friend who lives in Birmingham, Alabama. Another expat blogger I follow (Rachel, a Brit married to her German and living just outside of Atlanta) wrote about her experience trying to get home from Midtown Atlanta – if you want a real “insider’s view” of the experience in words and photos, visit her thoughts here.
moving
A busy few months of organizing and a frantic few weeks of packing … and tomorrow the movers come.
We’re moving from our home of not-quite five years – to a beautiful and modern place about half an hour away; downsizing a bit, eager for the next phase of life.
We’ve loved the views, location, neighbors, and way our combined furniture has “fit” this townhouse on the side of Løvstakken, but our friend we’ve been renting from needs to sell, and we can’t live with stairs anymore. Ah, the reality of post-surgery bodies. :/
I thought I’d share a few of my favorite views from our windows overlooking the southern Bergen valley and Nordåsvatnet. Such changing patterns in the sky, caused by mountains and water! Rainbows (the ones I caught on camera are here – most of them double) and the moon (here – there are a LOT; I sure like the moon!) have been shared … but I have a few other captured “OMG” moments that need to be posted.
Words really couldn’t express a physical response to the views; they need to be experienced and lived. I remember my Dad standing in our living room windows staring at the winter landscape almost every day of his month-long visit in December 2009/January 2010. I knew exactly what he was experiencing. I’ve felt it often too.
December 11, 2009 – 3:04 pm
(yes, there’s a valley under that cloud cover)
December 11, 2009 – 3:20 pm
December 21, 2009 – 10:08 am
December 25, 2009 – 3:58 pm
October 21, 2010 – 3:29 pm
October 21, 2010 – 3:29 pm
October 22, 2010 – 4:19 pm
December 21, 2010 – 11:50 am
October 25, 2012 – 8:17 am
Little Patuxent River
My home for fifteen years in Jessup was a few minutes’ walk from the Little Patuxent River as it made its way through Savage. I loved walking in the woods and along the river, usually accompanied by a canine family member. It’s not surprising that a winter walk was my favorite time to go into the woods.
Time alone among the trees and listening to the river gave my mind clarity. This river knows many secrets!
