Afraid

Fear

Resignation

Protest

Terror

Desperation

Hopelessness

Weakness

But then regained force, strength

freedom

A Tale Of Pure Perfection

This tale speaks in pictures

The feathers and the eyes

tell you a story of pure perfection

and divine grace

This tale makes you see

The Spirit of the Sky

The Swallow And The Cat

A STORY OF TOO MUCH OF A DESIRED THING

The birds that live in the bush around my house have made my home their home. There are thousands of them and listening to them during day time feels like being in paradise.

Since a couple of months these two are keeping me company sitting on the open window frame of my office window while I work. Singing songs to me.

Flying in and out of the house and through the rooms seems a welcome distraction for them. The only problem at the moment are the windows whose transparency is mistaken for the African sky frequently. Transparency and hard matter is something that is not known in the swallow world.

If trapped what follows is great distress. And Fear. And submission. And there is another danger. IT SEEMS. But appearances can cheat. AND OFTEN DO.

Sometimes this can lead to a state of shock.

You do know her by now. Lucinda Engele - the perfect Sphinx like creature.
In the beginning her eyes used to turn black with desire and excitement when she saw a bird sitting outside on a branch. She revealed he cat nature and stalked for hours  as often as she could between long sleeping periods. 

But even her she became obedient to the great RULE OF LIFE : that indeed there can be too much of something in life. And if there is too much of something, even if it is a good and fine thing - that something stays not desirable. 

The wild birds had the impudence to not respect Sphinx territory and invaded her space. And this had to be punished in a definite ginger-cat manner.  

The least one can say is that she got bored... may be even made friends with them and recognized them as "our birds". Fact is she does not bother at all..

And eventually turns her back in a display of utmost ignorance to the feathered fellow in distress.

For me it was a chance to capture the perfectionism and beauty of a feathered dress in all detail.

Before experiencing the delight of having a wild swallow fly of my hand into liberty again.

And of course back to usual business.

Impressions of an hour

La Vie est belle souvent, mais tu dois regarder...
( I was told by a friend in Mauritania)

From time to time I like to do a little experiment. I sit back and imagine a friend had called me and requested that I show him the wonders of life in just an hour's time. I invite you to come with us today. Let me show you what I found.

At first I would show my friend this night-moth comfortably resting on my window since the early morning hours. A lucid light turquoise colored beauty.

Then, the wind breathing clouds onto the bright-blue canvas of the sky. The blue of the sky is sometimes so strong and bright that it can make you dizzy.

Until the blue has lost and it's color has been weakened and is shining through only occasionally through a crocheted-like cloud cloth.

Freshly cooked steaming hot pasta is one of the greatest wonders of life for me. Bless Italy. With oil, garlic and Parmesan. Perfect.

A while ago a big old beautiful tree had been cut in one of the alleys of my town. I took some of the cut-off rings home and painted them white. They have now a new life as rests for books and cups and glasses. But one wanted more. A seed has found new life in old matter.

I would not forget to show my friend the roots of a giant tree in my garden.

An adventurous and exhausted beetle caught on his back in a glass vase. The extended breath of god has saved him in the form of my hand.

A cat-child in deep and peaceful sleep on my couch.

Child or Cat? Cat-child. Peace from within.

And the last thing my friend has to see in this hour are the new swallow-nests in some old dusty enamel pots stored on a shelf on the veranda. It is the second year that the swallows have been using these pots as nests.

There are 8 swallows nests all over the house.