Starting the day

It took us over 25 hours to travel from from India to NY for a crazy 48 hour stay. So what  better way to start this fresh clear day than a coffee and muffin in Starbucks! 

Well hello ....

I was busy reading emails and putting some rubbish in the bin when this squirrel made an appearance with a large chunk if sandwich in its mouth, which it dropped as we frightened each other. Is there anywhere these guys can't get to?

The time has arrived

After months of saving I purchased my D4 today! I remember when I was a young girl spotting a Victorian dressed doll in my local toy shop. In order to have the doll my mother took me to the toy shop each week with my pocket money and they would enter the amount in my little orange payment book. It took me 12 weeks before the doll was finally mine and I could take her home. I remember it so clearly and it made that doll more precious to me. I still have the doll, she is immaculate and in her original clothes. Having to save up for something really does make it feel much more rewarding.

Gardens by the Bay

We visited these amazing gardens in Singapore by night and day just to get the full impact. Such a magnificient piece of architectual design.

Pencil and paper

It's felt strange with all this time on my hands. I had this idea after my course I would do all these different things to keep me occupied but it proving a little difficult finding the motivation. Then a few days ago I came across an ipad app called Artstudio. What fun I had doing silly little drawings. It certainly started my drawing craving and whilst reading through a paper yesterday I came across a photo which I instantly wanted to draw. Paper, pencils and a day later this the result. It's probably about 24 odd years since I last sketched and I'm certainly a little rusty but I really enjoyed enjoyed myself. It made me realise that it's so easy to get bogged down with our crazy lives and we end up forgetting the things that we enjoy doing. I wouldn't replace taking photos but I do plan to do more sketching of things I see.

Frangipani

Just outside our front door the Frangipani has just come into bloom the scent first thing in the morning or early evening as you open the door is devine.

Sun, sea and sand!

That's pretty much it in the Maldives. Not forgetting all the wonderful food and drink. To make use of all the sand a sculpture artist, Peter Redmond from Australia is creating some iconic sand sculptures this weekend at The W Retreat & Spa. Here is a little taster!

Watch out... there's a squirrel about!

Easter here in India was a quiet affair. Some of the large hotels has special Sunday brunches and easter egg hunts. It has also marked a mile stone in my time here as I have just submitted my final project of the garden and landscape design course I have been studying over the last 18 months. I have no idea how I will fill my time going forward. Perhaps its a good opportunity to focus on my photography again. My first jobs are a lot of house admin and sorting out of my belongings, something I really didn't get the chance to do when we first moved here. Perhaps I will enjoy my surroundings for a while without feeling guilty that I am not studying. It's good to have lots of options I guess.

Whilst I was tidying up my study these two Indian palm squirrels caught my eye. They are very cute but can make a lot of noise when they suspect danger. We had an unfortunate incident whilst on holiday, one got into our house and sadly died on my day bed in my study. The smell was terrible and I had to throw the mattress away. They are considered sacred in India and are not to be harmed. Hindu families may also feed them and they can be domesticated. Im not sure I will enticing them into my house again!

Indian palm squirrels

Green Insect

Just as I had sat down to do some of my course assignment. A green object on the house wall opposite my study caught my eye. I'm so easily distracted, especially when studying. After a careful manoeuvre along a narrow ledge of the pool trying to keep my distance from the mass of spider webs with camera in hand I got close enough to get a shot. I'm actually not a fan of insects I hate the way they scurry around so quickly and always head for me sensing my fear of them. This 10cm insect seemed to be attached to the sac on the right and then after some time moved away from it. Im not sure if it is laying eggs but I would have expected with that camouflage of looking like a leaf they would lay eggs in scrubs or trees. So I am a little baffled as to what the scene is actually about.

Red Bicycle

Whilst walking around the streets in Kerela last week,  we came upon this young boy painting his bike. He was being extremely careful how he applied the paint and was very proud of the great job he had made of it.

Edited with Snapseed

Common Winter Visitor

I haven't quite decided if I've chosen the right or wrong time to be back in the UK. I should be flying back to India this week but with all the problems at Heathrow it doesn't look good. It's been wonderful waking up to that silence only snow can create. My first job each day is making sure the bird table is full with winter fattening food for my garden birds. We have had quite a collection in the last couple of weeks and today I was rewarded with a visiting Redwing. I grabbed a very old 70-300mm lens and managed to get a couple of shots before it flew off.