Time Marches on

Wow, it’s early March and here I am making my first post for the year. Last year saw a few things take my attention away from blogging, which is annoying, because when I write, I am relaxed.  Some of those issues continue on, hence my not being back here in some months.  But I have decided that I must allocate time for myself, so I hope to become more regular again.

When there was some spare time, I most often found myself, with a friend and her dog, at beachside locations.  There are many to choose from in my area in the south-east of the state (Queensland, Australia). My friends on Facebook would certainly support me in that regard, with numerous shots from the locations.

One of my favourite spots is on a small island off the coast — Bribie Island.  It’s connected by bridge to the Aussie mainland and is a popular day trip location for people in Brisbane (the state’s capital) and surrounds. This particular spot is at Banksia Beach, on the protected side of the island.  The waters are clear and it’s a safe place to swim. The photo below was taken from my camping chair. In the distance are the Glasshouse Mountains, so tiny here, but when you drive past them on the motorway, they are much more imposing. I had the pleasure of living on Bribie Island a few years ago, so I know the good spots not usually overrun by tourists. 🙂

So this is where I have been a lot of late. Next post (how’s that for showing a positive outlook) I’ll showcase some of the other locations we have been relaxing at.

Cheers!  🙂

Time..sometimes scarce, other times plenty of spare time…

Three hours ago I arrived home from a camping weekend, and had a look to see what the WordPress weekly photo challenge is — Spare:

Spare has many connotations: it can mean one too many, or sparse, or even to release something from harm. I’m looking forward to seeing your interpretations! Bonus points to those who tell the story behind their “spare” inspiration.

What came to mind was the camping experience I had these past 2 days. I haven’t been camping in a lot of years (maybe 30) and when a friend asked if I would like to go along, I tossed around the thought of whether I had enough spare time. I have a lot of things on my plate right now, so the temptation was to say no to the adventure. Instead, I rearranged my time (and priorities) and found the time.  A great use of spare time if ever there was one.

The time was spent at the Mt Barney national park, about a 90 minute drive from Brisbane (Australia) where I live. I always imagined camping to take place in the warmer months — not within a few days of the start of winter. But courtesy of a fire and some lively conversation, we managed to stave off the cold weather and had a great time. I’ve got some blog posts planned around the experience, and will be posting them to my other blog, The Experience Evolves in the future.

Frozen in Time (2)

Here is a second entry for this week’s WordPress Photo Challenge, about Time.

This week, think about time and portray it photographically. Perhaps you have a fascination with clocks. Or maybe contemplating time takes you somewhere else completely.

As I looked through my photos, I came across this one — of a man sitting on a bench outside the Gallery Of Modern Art here in Brisbane (Australia). He was using his creativity and sketching a view across the Brisbane River into the CBD.

As this was taken about a year ago, that sketch is a record of how the city looked, at that point in time (I zoomed in from a distance so as not to disturb his concentration). If you look at the larger photo (click on this one to be given a larger shot), you can see his sketch of time even better.  🙂

Frozen in time…

This week’s WordPress photo challenge is all about time.

This week, think about time and portray it photographically. Perhaps you have a fascination with clocks. Or maybe contemplating time takes you somewhere else completely.

For me, I thought about a place I visited recently where time for the inhabitants has been frozen.  An old country cemetery in an area inhabited by the descendents of German settlers who came to the area in the 1860’s. The cemetery has a beautiful outlook across the farming area below and the small village of Marburg.

I sat for a while at the table under the branches of a shady Jacaranda tree, wondering about who was buried here and what their story was. The light breeze raced up from the valley below and the sound going through the branches was one of peace. Indeed a beautiful location.

The inscription on this headstone of a baby who passed in 1905 invoked for me, a feeling of time — “As the ivy clings to the oak our memory clings to thee.”

I am reminded of a quote from Steve Jobs:

My favorite things in life don’t cost any money. It’s really clear that the most precious resource we all have is time.