Art, Random Art, Random

Cactus flowers

These pictures come with an interesting story.

I started using the bike track where I live when lockdown happened this year, and I used it to jog. At first, struggling and sore lungs after 100m, and then eventually being able to run about 3km! I've still been regularly jogging along this path, and now cycling along it too!

This path is quite interesting, throughout my jogs along this path, I've encountered mystery fruit - a melon/cucumber type fruit from a vine long dead but the fruit still looked fresh. Roadside watermelons too, which looked nice and then disappeared the next day, so I guess someone harvested them. I also started noticing that geraldton wax grows along the path and I took a bit as flowers for home, and other people were doing that too.

Then, three weeks ago, I was on the train (which runs parallel to the bike track) when I saw a couple of people taking photos of a random plant on the path. I'd thought to myself, they look like tourists taking photos of plants! And then thought nothing more of it.

I opted to walk back for whatever reason, and as I was walking, I stopped. Something compelled me to stop, and it was the huge ugly cactus plant. It had always been just an ugly cactus plant with super long death spikes, but now, it was flowering! I realised then, that I was in the same spot as the people I saw earlier - and this is what they were taking photos of.

The flowers were so beautiful that I also took photos with my phone, and understood why the people stopped to take photos of it in the first place.

I then continued to see other people stop and take photos. It seems when something is so pretty, it really does cause people to stop and appreciate it! I found that very cool. However, my phone camera just didn't do it justice. I needed to do an actual photoshoot with my proper camera.

It just so happened today I had my camera and was travelling along the path, and there was shade, meaning I wouldn't get harsh sunlight in my photos as much. And at last, I got my photoshoot.

How gorgeous are the flowers? And I love that the bees are so busy too!

It had crossed my mind that maybe I could somehow take a leaf, if I could find away to tackle the death spikes, but I was worried too - even if I could propagate a leaf, would it ever flower? How would it grow? As randomly and ugly as the one here, or could I "train" it to grow a certain way? Would it even be happy?

I think I'd best not touch it. I think the beauty comes from the fact that it usually is just an unassuming ugly mangled spikey death cactus on the side of the path, and so when it flowers, everyone sees it - and that's the way it needs to be. The wonder would be lost if I took took a leaf home... or would it help recall the memory of today?



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Art Art

Redeeming myself

"Come what may"

I probs don't put a lot of scribbles here but something has to hide my previous abomination!

Also random thought, I didn't post my Xmas cooking from last year. I really should post more food pics and get cooking back on this blog...

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Random Random

Spiffy Wheels! And a blue house

Behold my shiny new bike! I barely know how to ride a bike, but I've always loved the idea of riding a bike. And the near future may necessitate bike riding (well ok, it's not the bike riding that's necessary; it's the commute to work), so I decided to get one and get used to it!

It's a hipster style bike and honestly I'm in two minds about it. I used to really want a hipster bike, but now I think it's a bit too flashy - I wanted something low key but they're all expensive and didn't have chain guards and basket fitouts. This was the only type with everything I already needed. So looks like my hipster on the inside persists! And I've already had a stranger fangirl over this bike haha.

So far I love riding on it! It feels like a great bike, better than the one I used on Rottnest Island back in 2018! Riding around on the footpaths isn't too scary, but I'm still so uncoordinated and wobbly! Hopefully I will improve by the time I actually need to commute.

SHINY PURPLE! Should I give it a name? I have no idea. I'm not good with names for actual objects lol.

And look, I made it to the Blue Boat House! It was a thing in WA that became Instafamous and everyone started lining up to take pics of it. I didn't want to go but now seemed like the perfect time! Because I'm not yet confident in my bike skills, I didn't ride it all the way here (I parked my bike at Felix and Co instead) since I didn't know if there was a cycle path or parking etc. But now that I've been, I know what to expect next time! So I want to revisit when the sun conditions are more camera friendly, since the sunlight was way too harsh.

YAY for a long post, new things, and fun things!

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