Lights out and #Allseasons house keeping

Alas VIVID is done and dusted for another year. 

Always a little sad.

The city suddenly seems a little dull, or the mood drops as we start to focus on reality a little more...

I spent the last night dancing away at Carriageworks - Golden Features and Porter DJ - both excellent. And the crowd was so wholesome - singing their hearts out. mindful of body contact even in a massive crush. All around perfect and great vibes!

I've been getting up and watching the last half of the morning game for the World Cup. Unfortunately I'll miss the 2 games today as I've organised a lunch, well in advance before I made the connection with what was happening today.

Anyway, the house keeping. There are 2 more #Allseasons before I shut the blog for a month.

I'm off travelling in July, however, I'm off to Dark Mofo this weekend so the comments & posts won't get looked at until next week. I am very excited!

Hope you are all enjoying your Summer, Winter, World Cup or Dark Mofo - whatever seasonal event is bringing you sparks of joy! (I had to share the gorgeous cakes from Koi that were at VIVID)

#Allseasons linky runs from Thursday to Wednesday each week. 

Link one post that shows something seasonal. Traditional weather wise, a seasonal nature marker or a seasonal celebration or event.  Please link relevant posts only.  Don't dump and run - please comment on the host and at the least the post linked before yours.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Tell us about...Sunshine

In Australia, we have a tricky relationship with sunshine. It is infact one of the biggest killers in this country. According to the Australian Cancer Council, skin cancer constitutes 80% of all new cancer diagnosis, and more than 2 in 3 Australians will have some form of skin cancer (approx 67%). We are also regularly in severe drought - this pending severe El Nino that will alter weather patterns around the globe is already making us think ahead to water restrictions by the end of the year. It can mean unbearable heat and dreaded deathly bushfires.

However, especially in Sydney, we don't cope without sunshine. One day of rain is enough to affect our mood. A week of rain makes us question if we suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder.

Sunshine is synonymous with Sydney Harbour in my head. You want what I call those Champagne Sydney days if you head out on the water, or round the harbour on a coastal walk. You want the light dancing on the water, flashing like diamonds.

Given the season, I am constantly walking with my face upwards to the low winter sun. I bask in the warmth any chance I get - reading a book on the deck, eathing lunch outside, and walking before the shadows take over the foothpaths. On my walks recently, I've been searching for komorebi, like in Perfect Days, after being reminded of this word by Kwarkito in this post.

I stumbled across this quote, and while I unfamilliar with the person who said it, it's good life advice:

"Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine". - Anthony J. D'Angelo

Just in the same way sunshine can bring joy and delight to our daily lives, and bringing some magic to the way the most simpliest things appear....we need to carry this warmth with us and share it around. So shine on those around you whenever you can. 

I could quote almost all of this song's lyrics as good advice but there's a legal cost to that so give it a listen. Lyrically perfect, but also musically sunshine. 

Do you chase sunshine? Where do you find it? How do you capture it?

Linking with #TellUsAbout...

Banksia in B&W

 The detail in the banksia seems sharper in B&W for some reason. I guess the colour distracts the eye?  A little googling found this article - the eye tends to ignore black backgrounds and focus on other things. Without colour, the eye focuses on contrast. 

These photos are in colour here.

Linking with #WeekendinB&W

Big Bad Banksia Men

As a kid, I was terrified of the Big Bad Banksia men. Which is weird because I was less terrified of Snake who really orchestrated all the menace.

And if you read The Adventures of Snugglepot and Cuddlepie as an adult, you discover the gumnut babies killed way more people than Snake and the Banksia men put together. It's quite bizzare to reread this beloved book. Very, very different to how I remember it.

However, the Banksia Men could have been handsome and gorgeous people, had she not been in need of villians. In bloom, they are so gorgeous! There are apparently around 170 types of Banksia in the genus.

For those OS they don't know the May Gibbs story - a picture of the villainous Big Bad Banksia Men is here. Anyone my age was terrified of them as a child, when our parents chose to read this to us as a bed time story...

Have you ever gone back to a familliar story and discovered it's quite different to how you remember?

Linking with #GardenAffair #FloralFridayFoto (also for the OS, Gumnuts are here.)