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Saturday is a Sandy Caption Day!

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Got a witty, profound or just plain silly caption for this picture? Then leave it in the comments below!

Then click on the little boy’s head here & you will be magically transported to the funsome Mammasaurus’ blog for many more pictures crying out for a witty / pithy #satcap caption.


The priorities of a 2-year-old

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I’ve been a bit blocked – lost my Mojo, if you like – pretty much since back in April when we moved to our little house here in Wales. Things haven’t gone according to plan, & as time passed & it became darker & colder I had become increasingly disheartened. I wrote about it a bit here & will probably post more soon. 

But: new year, new start & all that. I’m trying to get myself together & be more positive & productive.

So this is a post which I probably should have made at the time, back when that strange stuff called ‘Sunshine’ was about & we were all a little bit warmer. It’s a good story I think & so should be told…

Our tiny little Welsh house (which I don’t like) is in a tiny little Welsh town (which I do).

Having spent the first half of my life in New Zealand I especially like the fact that it’s on the coast. It’s a 5 minute walk from the house over grassy dunes to a stony beach, & there are other beaches & bays within easy driving distance.

bay1We had driven to a bay we hadn’t visited before & were out on the beach running around & exploring. The beach was sandy but punctuated with rocks & pools.

Ellie was really enjoying jumping in the shallow pools (aka “muddy puddles!”). She was lining up a good one, ready to jump…

You know that scene in ‘The Vicar of Dibley’? With the puddle?

Yep.

We tried to warn her but we were too late! I don’t think she was listening anyway.

She wasn’t happy. And quite wet. I blame Peppa Pig!

Meanwhile Jake grabbed my hand & indicated that he wanted me to walk with him, somewhere. Ellie seemed OK & drying out, so we left her pootling about with Mummy.

But where were we going? Jake was a Man on a Mission. He led me back up the beach: over the sand & past the rock-pools. Up the ramp. Back up the winding approach road. Over the little grassy field. Up the hill.  Into the car-park. Past the car. To the car-park’s ticket machine – and there we stopped.

He wanted to push its buttons. He hadn’t done it when we were first there, so he took me all the way back just to do so.

He’d passed up sun, sand, sea & rock-pools for a grotty old car-park, all because he wanted to push some buttons. I think that’s when I finally realised that what’s really important to a 2-year-old isn’t always what we expect!

The Gallery: Light

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This is another shot taken on my Honeymoon as was my last entry for Tara Cain’s Gallery.

This one is from one of the Galapagos Islands. Their main claim to fame is in being one of the most important locations for Charles Darwin in his formulating the Theory of Evolution. So I guess for Creationists it must be one of the most evil places on Earth!

For lovers of nature like me it’s more like Heaven on Earth. The landscapes are often other-worldly, bizarre. Wildlife there is unique, not least in the way that animals are grouped together unlike anywhere else on the planet. One minute you’re admiring beautiful flamingoes in a lake, soon after you could be watching penguins swimming around on a rocky coast lined with cactii, where iguanas are sunning themselves in between diving into the sea for food. Birds with bright blue feet dive-bombing the surf in unison, nesting birds with red balloons for throats trying to attract a mate, albatrosses dancing with each other, brightly coloured crabs, flying fish, groups of playful sea-lions as friendly as puppies, giant tortoises. A weird & wonderful place!

So of course my photo features no animals at all – unless you count me – on a beach that probably isn’t that unusual. But trust me, it’s from one of the Galapagos Islands.

And where are the rest of the party we were travelling with? They’d been rafted out to some nearby rocks which were great for snorkelling. I’d been left behind, probably because I’d lost something. That happens a lot. I’d asked our guide on the beach if maybe the raft could be sent back, but he just said: “Just swim there”. It was quite a way out!

I’m not a strong swimmer, mostly because I am one of these odd people who doesn’t float, at least not enough to keep my mouth above water. So I hate & avoid being in water over my head. But give me a good snorkel & mask & a decent pair of flippers & I instantly become Aquaman! Or at least Aquaman’s Uncle – you know: the one who turns up at weddings, drinks too much & dances very badly…  

So swim there I did, & it was great. I came across creatures I wouldn’t have otherwise, notably a couple of turtles who I managed to get really close to before they dived too deep for me to follow. The hardest part in fact was trying to get onto the ladderless raft from the sea!

Back to the Theme: what I like about this photo is the Light. Shooting against the sunlight has made the foreground appear a lot darker than it really was, partially silhouetting the subject while he sits in a finger of light sparkling on the surf ahead & on the sand behind.

I’ve always loved this photo; as well as capturing a great memory it to me is really atmospheric, peaceful, happy.

To achieve True Enlightenment, or at least to see some great pictures & posts about Light, go to Tara Cain’s wonderful Gallery at her ‘Sticky Fingers’ blog. Just click the pic:

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