Music – my first attempts on the Double Bass

My first attempts with the Double Bass

First a short riff

then with a backing track I found on you tube. ( playing the first 12 bars only as it is repeating itself)

This is an amazing instrument.

The strings are thick and hard and the fingers need to press hard and at the right height to get the right tone out.

I am having such fun to try it and am very happy when I can play/improvise with a Blues Backing track.

I will always look at Double Bass players with great admiration.

Learn something new.
Try something different.
Convince yourself that you have no limits. 

Brian Tracy

Kew Gardens 18th Smile – Wonderful Finds with a Friend

This time I went to Kew to find the Autumn colours.

My blogger friend Colleen loves to travel and loves Kew,

so I invited Colleen along to enjoy the Gardens.

She loved the yellow Ginko Tree,

behind is a golden Larch just starting to colour.

Along the bridge a variety of colours…….

hang on Colleen I need to catch up.

This is a very tall Monkey Puzzle Tree.

We looked at it closely.

It looked more like a column.

Amazing nature ♥

I couldn’t stop Colleen climbing this Bonsai Tree.

We needed a break and sat down for lunch and a chat.

Colleen brought enough for all in the rucksack, thank you.

On our way we found this beautiful Autumn tree

and rustled through the Autumn leaves.

Thank you Colleen, I’m so happy you could come.

We were having so much fun in Kew Gardens together!!!

I loved every minute of it!!!

♥ Sharing is having more ♥

The best way 
to multiply your happiness
is to share it with others.

Kew Gardens 17th Smile – Japanese Festival

As the seasons change – Kew Garden does too. We went to the Japanese Festival in Kew.

Japanese Gateway

God's beauty never ends.
We just need to take time to open our eyes to see it,
to feel it and to experience all it can be. 

Laura D Field

In the Temperate house we saw Art work

‘A thousand Springs’ from Chiharu Shiota.

5000 Haikus – in Japanese – referencing nature – suspended on red threads

while listening to beautiful music by a Japanese composer.

5000 Haiku suspended in a web of red threads

The Chalk Garden was a mixture of chalky English limestone and beautiful Japanese planting.

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We saw colours with Bonsai Trees

I’ll leave you with a Japanese proverb

One who smiles 
rather than rages 
is always stronger.

Wishing everyone a great weekend !

Kew Gardens 16th Smile – shapes

Another trip to Kew Gardens – this time I found lovely different shapes in the plants. We walked through the rainforest, grasses and admired another beautiful open waterlily.

Never lose an opportunity
of seeing something beautiful,
for beauty is God's handwriting.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

God was very creative making wonderful shapes for us to admire.

• 

  Aloe – spiral

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  soft long thin grass in the wind

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  long – titan arum

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  just amazing….

We saw a fruit in different stages

God gave us eyes
to see the beauty of nature
and hearts 
to see the beauty in each other.

Kew Gardens 15th Smile

This time in Kew Gardens I admired the flowers and learnt some Photography tips from my Photographer friend I went with.

I learnt to focus on the flower with a blurry background. This was even possible with my Mobile phone camera and I was so happy that this worked well.

Please click on the individual picture to enlarge it. I’m proud how the pictures came out.

This little fellow fell on my trousers while we had lunch under an Oak tree.

He was not even 1 cm long.

We passed a fascinating tree, a Maritime Pine which did not grow straight. The bark was smoother on one side and really rugged on the other.

Maritime Pine not growing straight, and view up

We stayed so long we nearly needed a lantern home….

A sweet friendship refreshes the soul. Proverbs 27:9

Kew Gardens 14th Smile

A new day – a new visit to my favourite Kew Gardens

A walk with a friend through Kew, drinking in the many beautiful colours of plants, I don’t remember the names of.

Here a collage of the beautiful mix.

There are some Eucalytus trees, it fascinated me that there are blooms, fruits and unripe fruits on the same tree at the same time.

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  blooms

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  fruits

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  unripe fruits

Kew surprises me every time.

Sometimes …. just spending some quality time with good friends is the only therapy you need.

Kew Gardens 13th Smile

The Waterlily house is open again, hurray, of course with limited amount of people going in at a time.

Some close ups:

The Rose Garden was amazing, all roses blooming and giving their wonderful scent to us.

I found some beautiful coloured flowers, which I thought need a bit of ironing…only joking 🙂 The crumbly look made them even more special, they were rather delicate in both colours.

A special playful large scale bench waited for us to simply sit, relax and smell the planted circle of rock roses in the middle and enjoy nature.

New growth coming form every tree, and plant. I always love to see growth.

Every time I visit I find different plants, flowers and enjoy nature more than ever. It pushes happiness button every time and makes me grateful to live in such a wonderful world.

Heaven is under our feet as well as over our head.

Outings in nature – Part two – Scotney Castle

Next we went to see Scotney Castle with its vast garden and old Castle.

The old Castle is very picturesque, featuring the ruins of a medieval moated manor house – it is on an island on a small lake. The lake is surrounded by sloping gardens with a wonderful collection of Rhodoendrons, Azaleas, Wisterias and Roses.

I have never seen so many blooming Rhododendrons together, it was the perfect time to visit.

There is nothing quite like the pleasure you get from plants and flowers,
they certainly cheer you up.
~Charmain Hussey~

Outings in nature – Part one – Sissinghurst

With the weather so beautiful,

we went to some outings with gardens.

Let me take you with me to enjoy.

First we visited

Sissinghurst Castle in Kent with its garden.

What a beautiful sight it was, in glorious sunshine when

everything was in full bloom.

Beautiful White Wisteria

I smile like a flower
not only with my lips
but with my whole being.
~Rumi~

Kew Gardens 12th Smile

It has been a long time since visiting Kew Gardens.

Yesterday I visited it again during the day with glorious sunshine,

as it is open for the grounds only.

Everything is starting to bud and grow.

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  Enzian

• 

  Pagoda

• 

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  Japanese Garden

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  Monkey Puzzle tree

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  Monkey Puzzle tree

The Monkey Puzzle tree is among the top ten species in need of conservation.

It is such a beautiful tree.

Kew Gardens never disappoints, a true oasis.

We had such a wonderful time walking the grounds.

Enjoy nature and smile with your whole being.