Change of Mood – Photography

January 15, 2016 tribalmysticstories, lazylittlefrog.com 6 Comments

In a few hours, the mood changed. The storm changed the mood of the people on this beach very quickly. First it was sunny, and then this dark haze and dense clouds moved in rapidly. Everyone started packing and leaving the waterfront.

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Most times, the beach in Kingscliff, New South Wales Australia is a glorious place to be. It is a stunning coastline with sugar-soft baby sand dunes. It does not get too crowded and it has gentle waterways the whole family can enjoy. I took these pictures when we were packing up to leave our spot on the beach, three weeks ago.

Writing Stories

About Love: Harry O’Brien, Australian Footballer and Social Activist

January 14, 2016 tribalmysticstories, lazylittlefrog.com 3 Comments

This is a story about what love means to each of us. From the age of three, one of the top footballers in Australia is raised by his Australian step-father. Then, he visits America and is asked about his roots. This question sends him on a search for his biological father until he finds him, but this emotional turmoil makes him realise the meaning of love. I had the same experience over 30 years ago and was moved by Harry O’Brien’s story. In this YouTube video, O’Brien also speaks about his love for football.

Writing Stories

Top 100 Writing Blogs for 2016

January 12, 2016 tribalmysticstories, lazylittlefrog.com 15 Comments

I found this article on the Chicago Writers Association website.

Arnuj Agawal has compiled the top 100 writing blogs for authors and bloggers in 2016. He writes that these blogs are on the top 100 because of their popularity. Click on the link at the end of the post to see the blogs.

“This year I’m starting the year right by highlighting some of the best writing blogs on the web. I love to visit blogs about writing for inspiration, encouragement and motivation, and it’s with those three qualities in mind that I have compiled this list of the top 100 writing blogs for 2016.

You might be a creative writer looking to improve your skills or a beginner novelist looking to pen your first book, or you might be a blogger wondering how to make more money from your blog or turn it into a full-time business. Whatever type of writer you are, the Internet has some great writing blogs that provide advice, tips, tricks and inspiration to help you. This post takes a look at top 100 writing blogs for bloggers and authors”, wrote Agawal.

The Top 100 Blogs

Art, JK. Leahy Short Stories, My Art, Poetry

A Storyteller

January 11, 2016 tribalmysticstories, lazylittlefrog.com 10 Comments

A Storyteller – Stories, Poetry & Art

A storyteller illustrates a story about a girl, her mother and a turtle.

As the graphite glistens like a medieval etching on stone, the crisp white paper grows pictures. The art dances and the images come together and get close in a circle.

The storyteller adds smiles on their faces; the story is going to have a happy ending.

But, as the three characters get closer during the shading, the storyteller accidentally gives the mother a tear. Another tear is added deliberately for balance. Then the storyteller gives the girl a tear, somewhat reluctantly. The storyteller’s eyes fill with tears. She works faster as tears stream down her face. She begins to shade around the three characters. She cannot separate them. The storyteller is pulled into the circle, to the three characters. There is no separation. It is the law of nature. It is the law of memory and love. It is the law of characters that we love.

Photography, Writing Stories

Weaving Art Into Web – Photography

January 10, 2016 tribalmysticstories, lazylittlefrog.com 13 Comments

My shot for this week was this tent spider weaving my garden art into its web. Not literally, but strategically so I could have this shot. I have this paper mache mask I bought at the World Festival for Island Cultures in Cheju, Korea in 1998. It was made by Vijoula, a friend who comes from Mauritius. I have lost touch with her, but I keep the mask in my happy place – the garden. If you are out there Vijoula, get in touch.

Stories about people, Writing Stories

BAREFOOT LIBRARIAN

January 9, 2016 tribalmysticstories, lazylittlefrog.com 2 Comments

I was doing some studies on stilt houses in Papua New Guinea and came across this very sweet story; an expatriate’s point of view of life in Papua New Guinea. I’m sure this ‘wantok’ (friend) does not mind me re-blogging his story about Karina. I have in the past posted historical images of Tubuserea Village, just outside the capital, Port Moresby.

Tim Bruwer Blog

I first met Karina Parina when I started my new job with Papua New Guinea’s National Library Service in Port Moresby in 1980. She was a shy, softly spoken 21-year old girl from the village of Tubusereia, about an hour’s drive eastwards along the coast from Port Moresby.

My job at the National Library was to arrange training programs for the Papua New Guinean library staff, to enable them to fill the positions that were occupied at the time by sixteen expatriate librarians. As my job involved working with staff across the organisation on an ongoing basis, my first challenge was to learn everyone’s names. I clearly remember my first introduction to Karina because her lovely rhyming name was impossible to forget.

Like most of the other Papua New Guinean staff members she went about the library barefoot. A few of the others wore rubber thongs. In the tropical heat…

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Writing Stories

Tiny Tree Frog – Photography

January 8, 2016 tribalmysticstories, lazylittlefrog.com 10 Comments

Tiny Tree Frog

This tiny tree frog was on our house steps tonight. My son spotted the amphibian (and I’m not sure how he did that in the dark at 8pm). Chris called out to me and I ran for my camera. Because the green tree frog pictures were popular in my post this week, I thought you may enjoy another kind of tree frog, this brown one. It is so tiny that it is even smaller than an adult thumb (see picture above). The frog is also called Litoria ewingi or Southern Brown Tree Frog.

Here are some close-ups which the frog did not enjoy, especially when I used a camera flash. He jumped all over the place and disappeared into the garden after a few shots. I must have terrified it. More frogs around the gardens mean less snakes at our place. If you want to read more about the brown tree frogs and other frogs we have in this country, visit Frogs of Australia.

You can also read and see pictures of the green tree frog on this week’s posts.

Poetry, Writing Stories

On Life…Amanda Palmer

January 7, 2016 tribalmysticstories, lazylittlefrog.com 1 Comment

Nature and Environment, Photography, wildlife, Writing Stories

Rain Catcher – Green Tree Frog in Photography

January 6, 2016 tribalmysticstories, lazylittlefrog.com 15 Comments

It rained yesterday. Guess what was on the chicken house? Not a spider this time. The rain catcher, the first Green Tree Frog (I have seen) for 2016. Sitting strategically where all the rainwater ran to it, it had its eyes shut until I approached with the camera.

This frog, the Litoria caerulea or the Green Tree Frog lives in Queensland. It is also found in northern and eastern Australia. It is generally a large frog, and grows to 110mm. The frog is green to light brown or even blue, short snout and rounded face. It has a smooth, thick skin on head and shoulders. Some have white spots or irregular stripe from mouth to forearm. Its abdomen is white and the back of its thighs is sometimes maroon or yellow. More information can be found on Save Our Waterways.

Although they are called the tree frog, they love to live in building drain pipes and water tanks. In summertime of course, they love wide open spaces with waterways…I guess that’s why this frog found this spot and stayed. I wish I could have told the frog this was not a waterway, but as soon as the rain stopped, it disappeared.