Week 3: BRIGHT

This week's challenge is BRIGHT. The first thought that popped into my head was the old Van Morrison song "Bright side of the road", which always makes me smile.
Then I remembered this day in New York, where the sunset lit up one side of the street, while the other was in darkness. The reflections off the buildings were bright and beautiful, all shining gold and copper.

Inspiration

I'm joining a 52 Week Blog Photo Challenge on Alsha's Space, and the word of the week is INSPIRATION.

I chose this photograph to represent Inspiration, because what inspires me as a photographer, quilter, artist, and person is nature. There is infinite variety in nature, and no matter how often you look at the same thing, it is always different and new, no matter if it is a leaf or a tree or an animal. Nature is there for us to be interpreted in whatever ways we choose. Which is why it is so important to respect and preserve nature in all its forms, from pond slime to an elephant.

I look forward to all the other challenge entries each week - they, too will inspire me!

The heat is on!

The new year is already flying by, and summer has well and truly arrived with a bang! According to research, southeastern Australia is getting twice as many hot spells these days than in previous decades. Three days already over 40C this month, and there are at least 6 weeks of summer to go!
Thankfully we've had a new cooling system installed earlier, so Pretzel, DH, and yours truly are living in cool comfort.
Visitors to the paddock are all looking for shelter and water. White cheeked honey eaters have been visiting, and the local roos love the green grass along the sewer line, and the shade beneath the trees. Rosellas are hoping for more fruit from the apple trees, and the hares lie low in the high grass, trying to catch a breeze.
I've put a few water containers out for the animals, but I think they're avoiding them at the moment. Still, some animals might use them at night.

 This kangaroo mum and youngster have been visiting for a while. They belong to a mob of about a dozen that hang out a few paddocks across amid a stand of pines. Now that we haven't any dogs to scare them off, they come closer to the house.
It's nice to see the hares around too. I was worried one of them had lost its mate, as there was some roadkill a couple of weeks ago. But the other day there were 3 hares in their usual spot, a female and two males vying for her attention. There was quite a bit of rumpy-pumpy going on right in front of my kitchen window! When the female had enough, she turned on the male and boxed him around the - very long - ears! Quite funny.
Must save for a really long lens to capture the visitors in more detail.