The Tears of a Rose
Parting is such sweet sorrow that I shall say goodnight till it be morrow.
– Bill
I’m taking a break for several weeks, so will see you all again next month.
Keep well and have fun while I’m gone and I’ll catch up with you later.
Cheers Scifi.
Sunset/Moonrise
We get the pinkest of skies here in Cape Town in winter. A subtle hue spreads evenly across the sky as the sun thinks about setting.
You have to be quick to catch this tint though, as the sun sets so rapidly that suddenly all colour is gone.
To add a little glamour to the scene, a sliver of a moon shines out in the pinkness.
You noticed it without the title, right?
And if you want to know what a Blue Moon is, check out my post Blue Moon!
Poinsettia Sunset
Radiant
A typical winter’s evening
Sun sinking to the horizon
Blasts out one last burst of light
Golden leaves irradiated as a backdrop
Highlight the reddest of red Poinsettia
Christmas Rose mid-winter bloom
Splendid splash of scarlet
In the coldest months
Alleviates the dull green hues
Of a Cape Town garden
.
post script: To achieve the best effect on the photo, turn the brightness up on your device.
Winter’s Day
Sunrise on a cold winter’s day.
This is my neighbour’s tree, which I love because it is the only one near me that is deciduous and waves its bare branches in the pink winter skies.
Most of my trees are evergreen, like my Eugenia. My large Syringa will eventually shed all its leaves, but at the moment it’s still looking very green. It better get a move on though, as the sun is starting to come back already!
Syringa
And it’s only chilly until the sun rises higher in the sky, then, barring any storm fronts heralding gales, the day rapidly warms up.
Winter is mild here in Cape Town.
Orson 1
Rose Bud does not care that it is the middle of winter here.
Nor that I hacked her almost to death very recently. (See I Thought I’d Killed You.)
She just does her own thing, regardless.
Orson 2
The whole stem that you can see here has grown from the tiny stalk that remained.
On the left is new growth from the larger pink rose bush.
Due to the angle of the sun, the shadows of the rose buds and leaves on the wall behind, do not entirely match those that you can actually see, creating an abstract effect that I love.
And if you wonder why my Rose Buds are always called Orson; check out Orson Welles’ excellent movie, Citizen Kane.
Red Skies 1
It is rare for me to see a red sky, with little hint of blue or purple, and this is such a deep red, it is really dramatic.
Red Skies 2
While I was taking my photos at dusk, with the sun rapidly setting, I was “serenaded” – if you can apply that term here – by a couple of Egyptian Geese, standing atop a neighbour’s roof and screeching loudly to another couple some distance away.
It is not a pretty sound!
You can read more about the noisy birds here: Sittin’ on a Roof and Cacophony.
Winter Solstice 1
Yes, it is officially the Winter Solstice down here in Cape Town. This is our shortest day with the longest night.
Apart from it being a little chilly now and then, when a cold front all the way from the Antarctic sweeps over us, you wouldn’t know it was winter just by looking outside.
Winter Solstice 2
It still looks sunnier here than most summer days in the northern hemisphere, where, yes, you have your Summer Solstice right now; longest day and shortest night.
Winter Solstice 3
All I could wish for really, is some rain!
