Lens-Artists Challenge #135 – Glimpse Into My World
“Share my wildlife with me. Because humans want to save things that they love.”
Steve Irwin
We are happy to welcome Sheetal as our guest host this week, and especially pleased to be asked for a glimpse into our world(s). As much as I love to travel and experience the world’s many cultures, for me Dorothy said it best – there is indeed “no place like home“. How better to celebrate Valentine’s Day than by sharing some of the many things my husband and I love about our beautiful island.
“If you take a flower into your hand and really look at it, it’s your world for a moment.”
Georgia O’Keeffe
This week I’ve been playing a bit with collages, and have found them helpful for today’s response because there is so much we love about the island we call home. My opening image pays homage to a few of the many creatures with whom we share our world. The image just above includes a small subset of our beautiful blooms, while the collage below features a sampling of our many avian neighbors.
“The reason birds can fly and we can’t is simply because they have perfect faith, for to have faith is to have wings.”
J.M. Barrie
Of course, I cannot close without including our signature treasure, Kiawah’s beautiful beach. Beneath ever-changing skies, the importance of our shoreline and its protective dunes cannot be overstated. Because we are a barrier island, our seas are more gentle than most – except of course when a major storm threatens. Our sand is hard-packed, making running, walking and/or bicycling an important element of many residents’ daily agendas. We enjoy seasonal fresh crab and shrimp – and for those less squeamish than yours truly, wonderful oysters.
“In every curving beach, in every grain of sand there is the story of the earth.”
Rachel Carson
I could have included many more images of these and several other important elements of our world – the amazing marshlands, our beautiful trees (including our iconic live oaks), and our golf courses. I could also have featured nearby downtown Charleston, which offers an easy getaway whenever we need a bit of city life – restaurants, culture, shopping, a major airport, etc. But we do need to save some things for future challenges, don’t you think?!
Sincere thanks to all who responded to last week’s editing challenge, which was enlightening and great fun. Again, thanks to Sheetal for hosting this week and for her interesting and fun theme. Please remember to link your responses to her original post, and to use the Lens-artists tag to help us find you. Until next week when Patti is back at the helm, please stay safe and be kind.
- Kiawah Critters, clockwise L to R – Bobcat, Fawn, Stranding Dolphin, Newborn Loggerhead Turtle, Eagle, Green Tree Frog, American Alligator
- Kiawah Birds, clockwise L to R – Hooded Merganser, American Oystercatcher, Black-crowned Night Heron, Red-tailed Hawk, Anhinga, Roseate Spoonbill, Black Skimmer, Osprey, Great Blue Herons, Great Egret
- Please Note – while I have not named the collage flowers, Kiawah’s iconic sweetgrass is included in today’s header
Travels and Trifles 
Your world is exquisitely beautiful,majestic in nature
multi colored with multicolors in stature
softer petals upon tender silky threads
embroidered, finely shaped, in royalty grand,
in panorama classic, with all this beauty,
my world becomes an amazing wonderland
when on the screen before my eyes
Travels and Trifles on Island Kiawah lies.
Thank you so much for the lovely praise AWD. I hope you are well.
Your world reflections reminded me of the beauty and blessings all around us,which somehow gets covered by the sadness and sorrow of distances and separation…while trying to comfort my soul I felt I was missing you all and so made my journey to your so soothing comforting world. We are doing well but heaviness persists, I think of you….
Hi
What’s not to love in a place called home, Tina. There’s beauty everywhere.
Thanks Perpetua, there is indeed
Stunning post and photos Tina!
Thanks very much Aletta
Saw and read your blog for the first time, mesmerized!
Thanks very much, and welcome!
Beautifully written.
Thanks very much Vipin
Great assortments Tina. A good way to show so many favorites. Well done.
thanks John – so many subjects so little time 😊
Amazing variety of photos Tina from the island in South Carolina ..never been to that island but would love to. That baby deer is a great poser.
Many thanks Anita – yes he was really sweet, and did stand on alert long enough for me to capture his pose 😊
Wow, what a post, Tina! So many special pictures. I liked the fawn peeking over its shoulder. So cute! Also liked the elegant egrets with reflections and the simple shape of the starfish.
Many thanks Siobhan – I had fun putting the collages together which was a first for me. Had to learn how to do them for another project so as always it was Google to the rescue LOL. Glad you chose some favorites!
What a treasury of lovely photos, Tina. I’m ready for a walk on the beach! 🙂
Thanks Marsha – I’m ALWAYS ready for a walk on the beach 😊
Such a beautiful place to live. You are one lucky lady!
I am indeed Sandy, thanks!
My pleasure.
I truly believe you live in paradise, especially if judged solely on your photos. Seeing the wildlife and the natural habitats brings peace to my soul — and makes me want to jump in the car and travel to Kiawah! That quote by J. M. Barrie is also a great find. I truly believe that to have faith is to have wings. Keep flying high, Tina!
Thanks Rusha, I suspect having spent time in Pawley’s Island you’ve seen some similar scenes up there. Our coastal / marsh views and wildlife are fairly similar. Happily we’ve not become as densely populated as our neighbors further south.
Kiawah is unique, though. And beautiful in its own way. I always love seeing the island through your eyes.
😊
Nice collages. I love that orca (?) flipping a fish into its mouth. Have you shown it before? I would love to take a closer look at that photo.
Thanks I.J. It’s actually a river dolphin here on Kiawah. They have a unique behavior here on the SC coast where they form a “team” and corral bait fish, pushing them up onto the shore to catch them more easily. I did a previous post about it specifically with a few more images here. https://travelsandtrifles.wordpress.com/2012/09/16/weekly-photo-challenge-everyday-life-among-the-dolphins/
Kiawah looks like paradise!!
Well it pretty much is, thanks Nora 😊. It looks like many of our followers, present company included, are also living in different versions of paradise.
Nice collages. If I had to choose one collage set, it would be your florals. But, if I had to choose just one from the three sets, it would Kiawah Sunrise (bottom collage, top left corner) followed by the bobcat. 🙂
Thanks David. A good friend has a large framed canvas print of your favorite hanging in her living room which always makes me smile. And the bobcats are an iconic member of our four-legged residents as well as a way to control our deer population. We truly love them and their kits are the cutest thing you’ve ever seen!
Your gallery collages are stunning, Tina (as usual 🙂 What a beautiful place to live and love! Snow falls as I type this, so thank you for the armchair tour of warmth and good times!
LOL, snowfall is one of the many reasons we relocated to the south Terri. I’d love a few days of snow but not the cold that goes with it, and not more than once a year! Thanks for your visit and comment.
Your collages are amazing! And that wildlife … what great captures, Tina!
Thanks very much Teresa, I had fun putting them together
A great post Tina! I love your collages. You’ve given me something else to learn! Your island is beautiful and photos make it enticing.
LOL, I’ve only discovered them myself recently Anne, and they did come in handy this week! Have fun, you’ll have it mastered in no time!
What amazing beauty, flowers, wild animals, the beach, and a ship. It don’t get much better. Thank you.
I surely doesn’t, especially for one who loves the quiet beauty of nature. Many thanks for your visit and comment.
You live in a Paradise – and now you have showed us just a tiny bit of it…but what a bit! Amazed and stunned, silent in taking in all this beauty. Mother Nature is thriving in your world! These collages are something to return to for body and soul. ♥
Oh Ann-Christine, I think we are all living in paradise these days, and it’s taken a pandemic to prove it to us! While you couldn’t pay me enough money to visit you at -13 degrees, I’d surely love to spend time wandering through your gardens on the best of days, or reading by lamplight in your glass house ❤️. Many thanks my friend.
♥
Stunning, stunning, stunning. You really do live in paradise, Tina.
Thanks Wendy – as this week’s responses have shown and John commented, it seems there are many versions of paradise around the world. We are all fortunate to share our little pieces of them!
A beautiful series of collages Tina, you live in such an amazing place! I’m really enjoying seeing more of your natural environment while you’re at home 💜
Thanks very much Xenia – I suppose if I think about it, I am too 😊
What a marvellous array of vistas and wildlife: lots of magic-making in these collages, Tina.
Many thanks Tish – always magic to be found if we’re on the lookout for it, right?!
You are absolutely right, Tina.
You live in a truly beautiful place, and your collages are a wonderful way of highlighting that fact 😀
Thank you Sarah, we are surrounded by beauty and know how lucky we are for that.
The collage is indeed a great way to show off your part of the world. After seeing several of this week’s challenge responses so far, and saying basically to everyone, “You live in a beautiful part of the world,” I’ve come to the conclusion that we all live in a beautiful world.
That’s a lovely conclusion John. I suppose there is beauty everywhere if we only look for it.
Each and every one of your collages are stunningly displaying the beauty of your island, Tina. What a clever way to present a multitude of images without appearing overloaded. You have inspired me to learn more about creating collages.
I honestly can’t pick a favourite but I‘m totally with you in the order you present what your surroundings on Kiawah has to offer – a photographer‘s haven with the wildlife, nature and beach. A treat for sore eyes!
Happy Valentine‘s day from all four of us. Xxxx
And a Happy Valentines day to you too Fab Four! Thanks for the lovely comment – we do truly appreciate the beauty around us, even when the days are as dismal and wet as this week has been. I’ll admit I had fun with the collages – once again Google to the rescue for that!
Thanks for the tip, Tina!
We too are grateful for living next to the salt marshes and being so close to nature. And to have each other and having mutual interests. For almost a year now I have only seen my friends in the camera club on Zoom and the ones that are singles do suffer so much more on their own in lockdown.
Very true Hanne. Hopefully we can begin to venture out again soon.
Love your collages. Beautifully done, Tina. Wonderful to see these beautiful birds, flowers, and creatures on a gray, cold morning. A glimpse of your beautiful world!
Many thanks Amy – we’re in the midst of a gray, cold morning ourselves down here today. It’s nice to have warm, sunny images to enjoy instead!
Thanks for starting off my day with these gorgeous images! I love the collages. I can feel the love you have for Kiawah in every photo. The dolphin stranding is my favorite. I’ve witnessed it once years ago but the dolphins were too far away for a photo. You and I must have been on the same wavelength because I was thinking about doing a post with scenes of coastal Georgia.
Thanks Beth – I’ll look forward to that as our worlds are quite similar I think. Yes, the stranding is really magical. Last year I enjoyed a visit from one of the friends I’ve met through blogging. We did a kayak with our husbands along the Kiawah River and were surrounded by a pod of dolphins who then proceeded to strand right in front of us. It was an amazing moment for all of us.
Great images, Tina.
Many thanks Jane.
These collages were just packed with treasures… I took my time enjoying them! Particularly loved the ones with the reflections in the waters…
Much appreciated Miss Linda. We are truly surrounded by beauty – even as the rain pours down I’m enjoying laugh at the expense of the golfers outside my window and the pelican surveying its chance at snagging breakfast in our lagoon.
That’s positively encyclopaedic in its scope. Wonderful!
Oh I like that description Margaret – many thanks!
🙂
You live in a beautiful par of the world Tina. Gorgeous pictures.
Many thanks MM – it seems everyone has shown beautiful worlds this week and I’ve enjoyed exploring them.
🙂
Love these collages, Tina!
Thanks Sue! I’d not played with them before and once I got the hang of it I really enjoyed it.
Way to go!
Your island is wonderful, but your images still enhances it more. 😍
Thank you Ana – I’ve enjoyed the responses this week. Our worlds so very different yet each equally beautiful in their own way.
There was so much packed into those collages and much to gaze and admire. You painted a very pretty picture of your world, Tina. You are indeed blessed to live in a place surrounded by so much beauty and life. Fantastic post, Tina !
Thanks so much Sheetal – loved your challenge. How fun to see the worlds of the many followers we enjoy each week.
I love your island with all the wildlife, Tina. It surely is heavenly to have the lovely birds, flowers and animals on your island. It’s wonderful.
It is indeed Miriam. We could ourselves very fortunate.
So many wonderful opportunities and interesting vistas on Kiawah. No other place like it and you are it’s finest ambassador!
Oh what a lovely compliment Kathy! No other place like it that I’ve ever found – and I’ve looked! Thanks so much.
This is why I love your world, Tina. An overwhelming gallery of beauty.
janet
Thanks very much Janet – this is also why I love my world 😊
That of the flowers are beautiful 🌷💐 nice one🔥💝🤙
Many thanks! I’m no gardener but love the wildflowers that grow all around us.
Wow that is great. Keep it up 👍👍
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Wonderful wonderful wonderful Tina How many people add in their comment that croc is too scary etc like I get when I bung a snake or spider into a post 😀 😀
LOL thanks Brian – indeed the gators do get more than their share of attention 🙂. We have had a few incidents but 100% of the time if you leave them alone, they’re not interested in you in the least. However, if we have one sign about leaving them alone, we probably have 100! Tourists love to get photos of them – not smart when you’re using a cellphone!
and I have done a post as some people wanted me too. Yep the thing is to leave animals and nature alone. The rule here is don’t poke the snake lol
Hmmmm…..don’t poke a gator – has a ring to it! Consider it stolen Brian!
Excellent Tina 🙂 🙂
Each of these collages are wonderful. Sure, I’m partial to the beach ones, but oh my … cheers to the tree frog, sunflowers, & captures of flight. Thank you, Tina!
Thanks Frank – I remember that little tree frog. He was actually able to hide in a leaf. Go figure! Glad you enjoyed these, figured you’d like the beach of course 🙂
If only we were connected on my first 30 or so posts that focused on beach-related stuff. Oh well …. a later connection with you is better than none.
LOL, I”m thinking you may get back to that eventually Frank!
>
It’s possible … but certainly not many.
This is a wonderful tribute to your home, Tina. You’ve embraced its beauty, its nature, its charms! Lovely images as always and heartfelt thoughts to accompany them. Happy weekend and happy Valentine’s Day!
Thanks Patti – you and Rich need to come back for a better day of wildlife. You’d love a bit of kayaking on the river while the dolphins are stranding. Happy weekend and Valentine’s day to you both as well.
Yes, we want to plan a return visit. Hopefully, soon we can really put things on the calendar. Can’t wait!!
YAY – Come when we can go out to Magnolia Gardens in the spring. You’d love it.
Oh…that would be wonderful!
The flowers are probably my favourite part, Tina, but I’m pretty sure I’d love your island. But not the ‘gators, please? 🙂 🙂 Happy Valentine’s Day!
And a Happy valentine’s day to you too Jo! I was thinking maybe you’d name my flowers for me – I’m hopeless on that score as you well know!!
I spotted lanterna, which we have here in abundance right now. I’d need to come back for another look, Tina. See you soon 🙂 🙂
Bottlebrush and hibiscus, of course, and a glorious camellia… 🙂 🙂
OK, well that’s three anyway!
So many opportunities for a good photo. Glad you took them.😘
Many thanks Sharon – I know you recognize every image! I’m glad too 😊
Wow wow wow. LOVE your collages. What a wonderful world you have. Thanks for sharing.
Very much my pleasure Dianne, many thanks!
Tina, you have a beautiful world! Collages are wonderful, so many beautiful photos! 💙
Many thank Lisa – just wanted to offer a flavor of the beauty that surrounds us.
Loving this view from up here in the snowy north! I’d love to visit your island someday.
LOL, I spoke with one of my friends this afternoon about how we are whining about our 50 degrees and rain. compared to many other parts of the country this week, we’re in heaven! Thanks Mei-Mei
What a wonderful tribute to your home island. Beautiful flowers, birds and beach!
Many thanks Anne, the nature here is amazing.
A total delight!!! All of my favorite subjects…many thanks, Tina!
Glad you enjoyed this Laurel, thanks!