Alpine Transportation
Morna Road, London, SE5
Today was a truly magnificent cloud day. I looked out of the window this morning at about 9:30 am and was pretty excited because I thought I had been transported to the Alps during ski season.
On closer inspection I realised, of course, that the mountains were actually clouds. But far from being disappointed, I found this just as exciting.
All day, in fact, I have been delighted by the clouds. The sky has been so clear and blue, yet it has been full of all sorts of clouds, all at once.
Really fast moving ones, and others, much higher, that seem to be dead still; big fluffy ones, thin wispy ones, small blobby ones, wavy stripy ones, bright white ones, really dark grey monster ones.
There has been so much amazingness going on up there.
Come to think of it, I wonder what is happening up there right now?
Souvenir of a vibe
Sanford Walk, London, SE14
I have been moving house over the last week. As a memory to the gorgeous sunny bedroom that I lived in for almost five years, here is a photograph of the piece of yellow cloth that I used as a curtain, taken just before I removed it and put it in a cardboard box.
The curtain was down to help keep the room cool. I never really like having curtains down in the day time, but the upside was that it looked totally beautiful.
I love the colour. I love the messy crinkles. I love the sunshine shining through. I love the silhouettes of the plants, some more alive than others. I love the shapes of the windows, all open to the best of their abilities. I love that I know the trees and the train tracks that lie beyond the yellow. And I love the warm and joyful sunny afternoon vibe that I know is permeating the whole room.
This Land Is Our Land
Hunsdon Road, London, SE14
There has, most certainly, been a lot of rain recently. It doesn’t make some people particularly happy, but it sure is good for these little plants.
Under the cover of rain, whilst the general human populace strides by purposefully, with heads and rain-blinkered eyes pointing firmly forwards and downwards, and thoughts focussed on indoor shelter, these little green settlers troop in to reclaim their land.
Teamwork
Trafalgar Street, Brighton, BN2
As I was running to catch a train at Brighton Station, I spotted this lovely yellow stuff.
I’m sure that lots of you know that it is Lichen, but did you know that a lichen is formed when an alga and a fungus club together in a joint effort to create something that is more than the sum of their separate parts?
They each bring their individual, complimentary skills to the partnership. This results in some yellow stuff (or green or white or orange), that is not only lovely, but also very clever and interesting.
So Near and Yet So Far
Lambeth Palace Road, London, SE1
On tuesday evening, I attended a really interesting and enjoyable talk on the topic of weeds, by Richard Mabey, as he has a new book out entitled ‘Weeds: How Vagabond Plants Gatecrashed Civilisation and Changed the Way We Think About Nature’.
The talk was held at the Garden Museum in Lambeth, and, considering the topic, I thought it only right and proper that I find myself a suitably vagabondish plant to photograph.
I took a liking to this one, especially because he was growing on the outside wall of the Garden Museum’s grounds, just a few feet from the entrance gate. I felt pretty sure that his aim was to be inside the Garden Museum’s garden – a place of status, where many a young and ambitious plant aspires to be. If only he could get in, he thinks, then he’d really be some plant. He’d really have something to write home about.
But it’s tough to get accepted. Especially for the naughtier plant types.
Mister Moss’s Moment
Sanford Walk, London, SE14
Every sunny day, at about 3:30 in the afternoon, this otherwise inconspicuous and rather dull-coloured piece of moss, experiences a moment of glory.
Sunshine, dappled by the overhead trees, has reached it at last. Each individual mossy strand stands out, glowing reddy-brown, shining brightly in the spotlight.
45 minutes later, and it is almost invisible again, nestled in the shallow hollow of a rock, awaiting tomorrow’s sun.
Moorscaping
Old Canal Bridge, Burgess Park, London, SE5
A rocky, sparse, moorland landscape, complete with gorse and heather, big blue sky and fluffy white clouds – it’s just perfect for a day’s exploring, with my camera and some cheese and pickle sandwiches.
If only I were a little bit smaller…
In fact, I’d need to be the size of a ladybird in order to have a proper adventure on the top of this lovely wall.
Inside Outside, Outside Inside
Cranmere Court, Warner Road, London, SE5
In a forgotten corner of an otherwise manicured housing complex, this flourishing, verdant patch of life accosted me, growing in a space that used to be an inside, not an outside.
Did this used to be somebody’s home? Did the blue tiles form part of their bathroom? Were the white bricks to the right their living room wall? Did they sit here of an evening, reading a book in an armchair with their slippers on?
I am now imagining a lush meadow growing in my bedroom. It is making me smile.
