Poetuition

The Peace of Wild Things

madahmas — Mon, 30 May 2011 00:01:45 +0000

When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

— Wendell Berry

Filed under: Poems, Uncategorized Tagged: Botanic Gardens, Poem, wendell berry

Brahminy Kite

madahmas — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 08:35:16 +0000

Some close-ups of a brahminy kite at a bird park. I could never get a close up pic in the wild , although I did witness about 40-50 of them on a feeding frenzy once before, it was mainly videotaped. This kite was the highlight of the show, doing some fly-bys after the parrots/macaws did their segment of cute awesome tricks.

Filed under: Birds, Photography Tagged: Birds, brahminy kite, photos

Cute kittens and a hornbill

madahmas — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 02:22:53 +0000

I confess. I only put cute kittens on the title so I can pull more traffic to this blog. This blog isn’t really about cute kittens . Or is it?

But here are pics of the next best thing, a cute baby hornbill.

You see, a young hornbill is like a kitten .It likes its tummy rubbed.

It likes to play hide and seek.

Here’s a nice angle of the hornbill.

And not to disappoint all the cute kitten lovers who found this blog through googling cute kittens, if any….

Cute kittens trying to get at a yoyo.

Look at those eyes. Aren’t they cute?

Filed under: Birds, Photography, Uncategorized Tagged: Birds, cute kittens, hornbill

Skywatch : Eve of 2010

madahmas — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 07:23:39 +0000

On New Year’s Eve, I went to photograph the fireworks display in the city. There was a display scheduled at 8.30 pm which I thought was a good time for me as I rather not wait til midnight. They had closed some roads at Southbank and condoned off the promenade area so they can check that people don’t bring alcohol in. Hence, I couldn’t park at the usual basement carpark and only found parking about a mile or so away at Kangaroo Point, which wasn’t that bad considering. It’s a pretty lovely place with vertical cliffs ideal for rockclimbing and abseiling. I took some pics of the fireworks at 8.30pm from Kangaroo Point but they didn’t turned out very well… I had to walk to Southbank and wait for the midnight countdown and photograph again. Coincidentally , there was a tourist from Indonesia who had also set up a tripod next to where I was at, an hour before midnight, and he gave me tips with the manual setting. TQVM for your assistance, kind sir!

Here are some photos I took.

The cliffs at Kangaroo Point

Besides fireworks, I was enticed to photograph people with glowsticks that night.

These are the drug glowstick dealers.

The treasury casino all litted up in multicolour.

The countdown begins with serpents slithering up and down buildings.

It’s not New Year Eve if there are no fireworks.

Happy New Year 2010!

Get some positive vibes from this guy (who posed willingly in front of my camera).

More sky pics at Skywatch Friday.

Posted in Australia, Brisbane, Photography Tagged: Brisbane, fireworks, New year eve, NYE, photos, Southbank

Birdwatchers

madahmas — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 10:57:54 +0000

I went birding at the Brisbane Forest Park with Birds Queensland Assoc this morning. It was a fairly big group to start with and they were walking faster than the photo group , I pretty much lagged behind so I gave up taking pics early and tried to concentrate on spotting birds.

I thought I’d turn the table and see how it looks from a bird’s perspective to watch birdwatchers instead. (Not that I’m a bird).

As you can see, every birdwatcher must be armed with binoculars at least and a hat (it is rather hot now), as well as a backpack with some fluid to drink to avoid dehydration.

This is the only bird pic that turned out okay compared to the rest.

This is a dollar bird perched high up on a branch, one of the highlights of the trip.

(I also took pics of a kingfisher with a lizard in its beak but it was too far for a clear digital crop.)

Posted in Birds, Brisbane, Photography Tagged: Birds, birdwatchers, photos

Brahminy Kite

madahmas — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 00:32:19 +0000

We grasp the core only gradually

of each other’s compressed midnights –

black roses flowering in sandy-eyed dawns,

memories stowed to starboard, where a

brahminy’s wings catch first light,

How did we manage it, sailing

on — weathering

Excerpts from Robert Adamson poem ‘Brahminy Kite’.

Posted in Birds, Photography, Poems Tagged: Birds, brahminy kite, Moreton bay, photos

Black-faced cuckoo shrike swoops kookaburra

madahmas — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 23:49:10 +0000

Some action I shot in my backyard. The photos are self-explanatory I guess.

A visiting kookaburra to my backyard was swooped not once , not twice, but maybe in excess of 10 times. Poor kookaburra! I admire its coolness against adversity though.

For more great bird pics , visit Bird Photography Weekly #64

Posted in Birds, Photography Tagged: backyard, kookaburra, photos, shrike

Masked Lapwing

madahmas — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 01:27:16 +0000

Sometimes I would see a small flock of masked lapwings (Vanellus miles) foraging on the grass around the bikeway and try to capture a pic or two of them but they would fly off screeching or something when I try to come closer . The bird calls aren’t very nice to begin with, almost irritating in comparison with other birdcalls.

However, I managed to get up close with a masked lapwing in a park the other day as this one stood its ground.

It’s easy to see why.

She had a chick and she gave me real loud alarming warning calls that probably meant “Don’t even think about it! ” in human terms . Although I did get a little closer but not too close - I’ve been rammed on my legs by a mother hen once when I picked up some chicks and that wasn’t very pleasant so I really don’t want to find what this lapwing would do.

This chick is rather cute though, don’t you think? Check out the fluffy stuff around its neck!

For more great bird pics, visit Bird Photography Weekly #62.

Posted in Birds, Photography Tagged: Birds, lapwing, photos