Sunday, June 21, 2009

Dripping

*


I stand at the front door
of my friend's home
in the rainforest






while I wait for her
to put on her walking shoes,
and I look around...






I can hear large plops
last night's heavy rain,
falling from the higher palms
on to the understorey below





and the early morning sun
is breaking through the canopy






slashing bands of light across
the Raphis palms





picking out the tea tree trunks





and dancing on the soft tree fern





the stag horn fern
grabs a handful





and all the baby bromeliads
lovingly planted by my friend
in warm and soft palm trunk nests
wave and cheer
the day has begun...




while the bamboo
guards the tennis court
and holds the sun at bay...





the smaller plants
on the forest garden floor
will have to wait






to feel the sun
and share its rays





with the elephant eared palm leaves
and forest ferns






once the spider lily has
had her share






the umbrella grass
has spread and dried





and the giant leaf is done...



*

24 comments:

  1. Wow, your friend lives in a rain forest? How cool.The lilly photo with the sun glowing in the midst, was so lovely. :D

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Natalie

    I hope you have had a lovely Sunday. You must be getting cold there but it is the winter solstice today so longer days from now on ...

    Happy days

    ReplyDelete
  3. So much to wonder over - but what I am attracted to are the bromeliads tucked into the palm. What a cool idea.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hello Violet

    Didn't she do a great job - its a piece of landscaping art...

    I have a little 'bromeliad hospital' tucked into a shady spot in my garden next to the herbs, where I take the spent flowering mother plants and wait until they shoot their babies off to the side of the main plant.

    Once established you cut the babies off and replant them and they will flower. The mother's work is done and she will never flower again.



    Happy Days

    ReplyDelete
  5. Nice photos. I recently paddled to Peach Cove in my kayak and took some photos in the bush. The photos I took never seemed to do justice to the grandeur of it all. I think you have done well here with a number of vignettes that give a taste of the variety amongst such a huge green landscape.
    The photo I like the best is the one titled 'slashing bands of light across the Raphis palms' - I like that one a lot - great contrasts of light and shade.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Delwyn...Your friend's space in the rainforest is certainly beautiful and your photos of it are captivating...but the content of your words captivate me as well.

    Smile and take care.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi Alden
    yes I have learned that you cannot capture the splendour of a scene with a happy snapper so I take one or two wide shots then bring the focus down to specific elements of the composition. I wander about looking first for the play of light and then colour, shapes and angles.
    I am learning to take shots from different perspectives - often from underneath the plant and into the light.
    Also I take 5-10 shots of each subject, I find my camera doesn't always focus in macro - you think it has but no... and also something that may appear good and even look ok when previewed can look very different once loaded on the computer. Conversely you can get some lovely surprises, like insects on plants that you didn't know were there.
    To get a set of 15-20 photos which is what I often use...I might have snapped 80 or more photos.
    But I love the challenge and it is very exciting to find you have a few good shots in each set.

    Today I am happy with the sun glowing on the spider lily, the staghorn and the raphis. Other days I can toss 90% the shots away...
    I don't spend time shopping them other than to increase contrast if too much light and then I reduce the pixels right back and loading takes 1/10th of the time. It doesn't reduce resolution enough to notice on this kind of display.

    Have fun

    Happy Days

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi Wanda - thank you.

    I really enjoy the wedding of words to images and usually do not think about it at all. I load the pics in the order that seems to tell a story then run through adding the dialogue that pops into my head or often on a walk it comes to me as I walk and during taking the shots...so that when I am ready to type the words are already there.
    Actually I often work this way come to think about it. My walks are long and I find a story weaves its way around the images as I walk along.

    Yesterday I was walking on an overcast day but the skies were amazing and I took many photos then wondered how I could present them - then the idea came to tell a story which I have done as you will see when I post 'Sky Walk' soon.
    I have a bit of a back log of posts and get a little behind chronologically. Some days the photos give me 2 or even 3 posts so I never seem to catch up to the date...

    Happy Days

    ReplyDelete
  9. simply beautiful, Delwyn. really refreshing...

    i'm back into the hustle and bustle of city life - the concrete jungle. so it's nice to see your jungle... so green, fresh, and alive.

    keep 'em coming, Delwyn =)

    ReplyDelete
  10. hi delwyn, i love that you are playing with the play of light! there are so many beautiful pictures today i'm hard-pressed to pick a favourite - so i won't. i've never even been near a rainforest, it's one of those things i hope to do in my lifetime. i have difficulty imagining being immersed in so much lushness. lucky you!!! steven

    ReplyDelete
  11. I loved the sunshine through the leaves best of all---so magical and ethereal on this first day of Summer! I could almost feel the soft humidity as I walked with you.

    We haven't had rain here in the deep South for over two weeks and have none predicted for many weeks to come. I miss the rain! Thank you for the refreshing walk!!! Hugs!

    ReplyDelete
  12. What a fabulous setting to live in. Beautiful photos. I feel like i'm there. Thanks for taking me along.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Today is a story of light--beams of light, puddles of light, and then the polarity of the shadow. Well done! Great story, great photos.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Thank you Juliet
    Thank you Juliet


    Happy days

    ReplyDelete
  15. Hi Margaret

    yes light and shade, and a new day,

    thanks for your always interesting additions Margaret...

    Happy days

    ReplyDelete
  16. Grace

    It is a beautiful setting but a little dark and cool in the winter with only filtered light- perfect in summer.

    Happy days

    ReplyDelete
  17. Marion

    we have had a very heavy rainy season which should have stopped months ago but still persists. I hope we don't have dry for the remainder of the year...which can happen...
    and its rainy agian today. I walked yesterday in the rain - couldn't stay in all day...at least it's not cold - still 21* (73*F)

    thanks for coming for the walk..

    Happy days

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hi Steven

    There is always something different to see in the forest. These pictures are of well maintained home gardens in the forest's edge so not your usual natural forest flora.

    I'm glad that you took the time to walk through the Nakasendo posts. It was a great experience for me - very rewarding culturally, lovely exercise and views, and a great way to experience authentic rural Japan.

    Happy days

    ReplyDelete
  19. Hello little Moonshin

    You are back at the grindstone?
    I'm happy to bring you some green peace then...


    Happy days

    ReplyDelete
  20. I like the bromeliads planted in the trees. I enjoy playing with light on water to get some great effects.Spider lily shot looks really nice! I used to be a gardener in a greenhouse and there were a lot of these plant there. The staghorn fern I always liked. As usual all your pics rock! I also like your new profile pic.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Hi Lorac

    So you are familiar with these plants then...

    Thanks for the nice comments and for noticing the change in profile pic.


    Happy Days

    ReplyDelete
  22. Well dear,now I know what Im trying to grow on my balkony in the pots, in the Netherlands,a small,private rain forest,daaauh..!!!
    Would it be wise of me to give up when I see the natural habitat of those plants? Good day to you and get well and on your feet.
    XXX Sandra

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.