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James Rebanks, author of Pastoral Song : A Farmer’s Journey (do read it!), shared this photograph on BlueSky of a hedge being laid. I am guessing that it is on his farm in the Lake District in England?
Rebanks’ photograph took me home, back to Britain, to a time and place that sits deeply in my heart. I’m seeing a clear winter’s day as in this picture. I’m seeing a hedge being laid, the first time that I have seen one, or at least noticed the practice of hedge laying.
Sitting outside the other morning, drinking the first coffee of the day, I noticed leaves shaking out of sync with the early morning breeze that was blowing throw. I noticed it there, and there, and over there. Almost everywhere I looked there was a leaf or two shaking.
On closer look I noticed geckos either on the leaves, or jumping down to a patch of grass that lay in the sun.
Through open windows this morning I could hear the rain approaching.
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Have you ever been on the London Underground? If not and you have used another subway system, I wouldn’t be surprised if the experience on the Underground is very similar to that of any of the world’s subway systems?
And if you have not travelled on a subway system, let me explain my experience of the London Underground.
To those waiting for the next Bunker mural, I have not forgotten you. There simply have been no updates since the beginning of the year.
When I started this series I had number of photographs of past Bunker murals and so I was able to get several photos out quickly. Now we are down to the regular pace of Bunker updates. In the past I have not paid so much attention to how often a new painting was added to its face.
Offa’s Dyke Path is a walking trail, part of the United Kingdom’s network of National Trails. The path is a 177 mile (285 km) walking trail which follows the Dyke that was ordered to be built by King Offa in the 8th century. Offa’s Dyke runs the length of the border between England and Wales, running from Sedbury Cliffs near to Chepstow on the Severn estuary in the South, to Prestatyn on the Irish Sea in the North.
The author reflects on cherished memories of sharing Fred Basset cartoons with their late father, highlighting the bittersweet nature of reminiscence after his passing.
I haven’t written much on my blog for a few weeks now. There were a couple of posts at the end of January related to a big storm that was passing through the islands, otherwise for the most part I have been silent for almost three weeks. Up until that point I was posting most days.
It isn’t that my blog has lost interest for me. I value this space. My little corner of the internet.
Well last night was quite the storm. This storm was passing through the Hawaii Island chain. It had already battered Ni’ihau, Kauai and Oahu and was now approaching the county of Maui made up of the islands of Maui, Lana’i, Moloka’i and Kahao’olawe.
Being a Kona storm, it came in from the south. Living on the north shore of Maui, the bulk of Haleakala protected us through the day - the winds were slight and the rain was non-existent.
I love writing. It is my therapy, my confidante, my playground of creativity, my place of exploration. It is a quiet place where I can go and get lost, forget the passage of time and come out refreshed.
In August 1988 I was nearing the end of what would be a 17 month journey. At this point I had spent a couple of weeks in the United States en route to New Zealand. In New Zealand a two week stay morphed into three months. From New Zealand I traveled to Australia where I spent a year. Now I was on the home straight back to England.
Some artists, or an artist was busy last night. This new mural was on the Bunker as I drove by today. I’ve included a few photographs to show what was created.
A couple of nights ago we had not long turned out the lights and were dozing off when both my wife and I heard a thump sound outside. We had no idea what it was or where exactly it came from. My first thought was someone snooping around the house, something that thankfully has never happened and so my mind let go of the idea straight away, …but that reason also did not allow me dismiss that there might be someone outside!
I can remember being there when this photograph was taken, though I don’t know exactly where there was or who took the photo? I wasn’t even aware of it being taken. I was given a copy much later by a friend who I was traveling with and who took the picture.
There is an entrance around the back of the Bunker that lets one peer inside. It is possible to go inside, but that involves climbing over a railing, and for now I decided to make do with looking in.
Last night I was happy to find this photograph of the Bunker from a few years back. Yet another capture of this small building to fill in its changing faces.
While I have known others to do so and have read about others’ processes for finding theirs, I have never had a word that can inform me and be a beacon as I move through a year. The idea of having a word has sparked a curiosity in me, but finding that word has never come naturally to me, and I have not given myself time to the processes that people have used in finding their word and have kindly shared with me.
With 2024 drawing to a close, only 7 more hours left here in Hawaii, I thought that I would review the first year, first month actually of The Bunker project. Only a couple of new murals have been added since I started this project at the beginning of December, so most of this first batch of paintings are Bunker murals that I just happened to have captured over recent years.
Yesterday evening a group of us went up to Polipoli Spring State Recreation Area for sunset and a picnic. The views were spectacular, looking across the Valley Isle to the West Maui Mountains, with Lana’i in the distance.
This photograph is of the ocean facing side of the bunker. If anything happens here related to art, it is usually random graffiti. However, I took this photo because of the cow and her calf sitting in the shade of the building.
I watched A Charlie Brown Christmas on Christmas Eve afternoon, as I do each year. I say ”each year,” though it is a fairly new tradition for me, perhaps stretching back to a few years before the COVID outbreak. I find that this short animation touches the Christmas spirit on so many levels. Whatever your experience of Christmas, I think that you will find it within this annual tradition.
When I went back to the cliffs to see the waves the day after the last posting, someone had defaced or graffitied over the image from the day before. So I thought to include that update here, as well as a photo giving another perspective of the location of the bunker. Here you see people out watching the big swell that was breaking that day. In the distance are the lowlands of the West Maui Mountains, as well as the island of Moloka’i.
Another double billing of the bunker. Aside from the front facing, main painting, some graffiti had also been added to the side, so I decided to share that as well.
I posted a photo of this smiley face on the bunker before I started The Bunker series, and so I decided to
post two more angles of the building on that day.
I was going to post this yesterday evening, but after starting to write on our return I was just too tired to finish it. So I’m completing it on the day after. I’ll leave the post in the tense fitting of my initial draft.
In going back through my photographs I found this distant view of the bunker. Although the artwork is not clear, it can be seen if you zoom in. I also like how this photo gives another perspective on where the bunker sits.