postaday – Tranature

Haiku: Tranquility

rear view of the head and neck of a mallard drake, his feathers shimmering in the sun

tranquility
a mallard duck basking
in the sun

With love from Xenia xxx

Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.

Camera: Panasonic Lumix FZ200, Settings: f/2.8 – 1/1600 s – ISO 160 and f/2.8 – 1/1000 s – ISO 160.

Carpe Diem #1638: Tranquil

Nancy Merrill’s A Photo a Week Challenge: Sunshine

Paula’s Thursday’s Special: Pick a Word in April Y4 (resplendent, alluring)

Haiku: Bouncing Light

a black headed gull preening himself beside two female mallards on a snow covered river bank

preening gull
the light that bounces
in the snow

close up shot of snow on dead branches with starlight in a melting drop

With love from Xenia xxx

Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.

Camera: Canon Powershot SX60 HS, Settings: f/6.5 – 1/2000 s – ISO 400 and f/6.5 – 1/1600 s – ISO 400.

Nancy Merrill’s A Photo A Week Challenge: Depth of Field

Sunday Stills: Unexpectedly Frozen

Wordless Wednesday: Follow Me

close up shot of an oystercatcher wading into the sea

side-on close-up shot of an oystercatcher wading through the shallows

With love from Xenia xxx

Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.

Camera: Canon Powershot SX60 HS, Settings: f/6.5, 1/320 s, ISO 100, f/5.6, 1/320 s, ISO 100 and f/6.5, 1/320 s, ISO 125.

Wordless Wednesday

Nancy Merrill’s A Photo A Week Challenge: The Great Outdoors

Rag Tag Daily Prompt: Quest

Tanka: Into the World

newly hatched
brimming with a lust for life
a cygnet
swimming beside his father
spring’s first hello

at home
in the water, on land
a cygnet grows
strong wings, white feathers
autumn’s first farewell

The most spirited and independent of the seven cygnets has flown the nest and we wish him well on his new journey.

With love from Xenia xxx

Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.

Settings: f/4.5, 1/1000 s, ISO 160; f/5.6, 1/800 s, ISO 100; f/5.6, 1/250 s, ISO 320; f/5.6, 1/400 s, ISO 100; f/5.6, 1/250 s, ISO 125 and f/6.3, 1/160 s, ISO 400.

Carpe Diem #1556: Fleeting Autumn (yuki aki)

Nancy Merrill’s A Photo A Week Challenge: Things with Wings

Tan Renga: Grass on River Bank

Four Canada geese flying overhead against a blue sky

grass on river bank
bending over in warm breeze
pale moon looking down © Ken Gierke

all through the night and day
the sound of geese returning © Xenia Tran

Five Canadian geese flying North against a blue sky

Kristjaan at Carpe Diem has invited us to create a Tan Renga with the given haiku by Ken Gierke. A Tan Renga is a short chained poem written by two poets. It looks very similar to a Tanka, but a Tanka is written by one poet.

With love from Xenia xxx

Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.

Camera: Panasonic Lumix FZ200, Settings: f/4.5, 1/500 s, ISO 100.

Carpe Diem Tan Renga Challenge September 2018 III (18): Grass on River Bank

Nancy Merrill’s A Photo a Week Challenge: Action

Rag Tag Daily Prompt: Migration

Haibun: Life’s New Garden

pair of swans with cygnets in tow and on the pen's back

The criss-cross waves of high water tell us the tide is turning. Returning to the mouth of the river, the cygnets carry a glimpse of the sea. The pen is doing what she has always done. Prepare her young for the wider world, showing them where and when to feed. Her cob swims quietly by her side, creating an easy slipstream for cygnets who swim behind them. When the current becomes too strong they climb on their mother’s back.

We stand and watch them glide by and thank them for our own glimpse into another world. I am enchanted by their deep communication and understanding. Everything is done in total silence. Neither the cygnets nor their parents make a single sound. All I can hear is our smile.

all by themselves
lilies of the valley bloom
in nature’s garden

a pair of swans in the river with five cygnets on the pen's back

We wish you all a very happy Monday and a wonderful new week!

With love from Xenia xxx

Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.

Daily Prompt: Ceremony

Daily Post Weekly Photo Challenge: All-time Favorites

dVerse Haibun Monday: Silent Sounds

Haibun: The Love between Birds

a swan (cob) patrolling the river

It has been four weeks now, since his pen laid her eggs. While she is on the nest he keeps her safe, patrolling the river. From one bridge to the next, he sees that all is well. He greets familiar faces above the buttercups and shepherd’s purse, the fresh blades of grass. He looks so much better this year, more confident. People stroll along the river bank, to see how he is doing. We all want him to do well. Last year’s eggs never hatched. We are hoping that this year, things will be better.

temple blossoms
seagulls flock to guard
a sleeping swan

seagulls watching over a sleeping swan (cob) on an outgoing tide

You can see images of his pen (female swan) on the nest in an earlier post ‘Nesting Swan‘. She raised 62 cygnets over the last nine years with her previous cob (male swan), before he passed away.

Update: on 17th May 2018 seven cygnets hatched – you can see the first images in our post New Life.

With love from Xenia xxx

Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.

Carpe Diem Spring Retreat 2018: The Light of the World

Daily Post Weekly Photo Challenge: Place in the World

Daily Prompt: Core

dVerse Poets Haibun Monday: Compassion