The Light From Stars. Photography. Art Works. Imagination.

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This is a mixed gallery taken over the last few weeks. Rain storms and frequent heavy showers have been a feature of this period as the air heats up and thunderclouds building during the afternoon humidity often release biblical downpours. The traditional seaside holiday resorts of the Clyde Coast used to welcome day trippers for a week or two during the "Fair Fortnight" when working class folk from Glasgow, Paisley, The Vale of Leven/Dumbarton/ Clydebank etc would get time off work to have a break.
Whoever thought of giving a holiday to families then,( During July and August as each town/district had their own staggered dates to spread out the population more evenly) must have known rain would be a major feature of that holiday in the UK ( and especially Scotland with its mountains) but maybe they wanted their workers keen to get back to work. Give them an extended break when the weather was more settled and predictable and they might not come back.

Most of my childhood holiday trips during the Glasgow Fair I enjoyed but it did seem to rain a lot and any woods nearby became lifelong friends. Also...if you stay still for a long time without movement ... things happen.... to your surroundings and inside yourself. You notice far more. Mystics have known about this natural effect for centuries as the brain always amuses itself when the body is static for a while. The elastic power of thought I first discovered then.   It was humid so thunder and lightning storms were common and intense heavy downpours could appear at any time, usually miles from anywhere and trees became important natural shelters to stand or sit under until they eased off.
Hordes of flies and midges descending on sweaty, rain chilled children at this time of year seemed perfectly normal back then as well. Real magic can be found at this time of year though... and captured on camera. Turning base metal into gold and ordinary everyday landscapes around my local district of Anniesland, Glasgow into extraordinary visions of beauty and delight. As above-so below.

When the afternoon thunderstorms do eventually clear they can leave wonderful skies and fluffy clouds behind in their wake, captured here with a cheap ( £3:50) pair of sunglasses held up to the lens to act as a filter.

You can then add artwork to the mix. A natural sunset with "Green Egg." And why not?

Or planets. A match for Saturn here.

Or maybe a blue moon sliding out from behind a cloud.

Or several.

A local fox on the hunt.

Skies become oceans of imagination, serene islands floating above with clouds as perfect mirror reflections in any water below and long lasting sunshine until 10:00 pm at night which turns an evening walk into a special journey of discovery and wonder all it's own. If you let it transform and do its work on you that is- meadows and green hills come alive under the fading rays as they are dipped in gold and bronze. That rare and illusive 'sparkle time.'

The deciduous woodlands of Bearsden hide many grand mansions with the sunlit Campsie Fells as a backdrop.

An unusual coloured duck. This is it's true colours, probably a mallard hybrid.... maybe....or.....

Colour drenched flower after rain.

Sometimes you can walk over familiar green hillsides around Annie's Land and the Templar Woods, remembering Red Town, the old mines, and the hunting forests of yesteryear as if it was a day ago it happened. Modern houses fade and Templar Knights with hunting horns are dimly heard in the forests below the slopes again.... if past legends be true.

With summer growth and numerous grasses four feet high in places it becomes a wild and tangled land again...

and you can easily slip inside a fairy tale world for a short time in your mind. Sweet "Tink" with dust to sprinkle over ordinary surroundings and inhabitants so that you see the mundane and average everyday surroundings as "special.".... and it's so easy to do with the right lighting effects provided by nature and the time to see it.

Just see the world for what it is today. This is heaven ..... now. A million angels would die in vain to live on this fair ball spinning through the multiverse yet we grumble and complain daily..focused on the everyday or the trivial... each seeing in inches it seems.

And we all exist in it.

And surely that is the real magic here.

I do believe in Fairies... and her name is.................. my companion on this walk :o)

 A nice video of the secret places and scenic gems Scotland has to offer. Not as secret as they used to be though :o) Best watched full screen.