Bastet’s Haiga Monday Challenge – A Spring Morning – April 11, 2016

 

Good morning!

As I mentioned on my former post, yesterday I went walking with the city of Arco.  This is a yearly event.  For a chosen charity each year people gather together to either walk (a five and a half kilometre itinerary) or run (a twelve kilometre itinerary) together.  Here are a couple of photos of the event.

And now for today’s prompt:

A Spring Morning

 

And here’s my example:

turtle haiga

 

For those who would like to participate you may do so simply by tagging: Bastet’s Haiga Monday and linking up to Bastet’s Haiga Monday Mr. Linky App below!  Have a great week!

Monochrome Monday – (Haiga and Tanka) – April 11, 2016

Dream Haiga

tanka

moonlight dreaming
as crickets sing for lovers
hidden gazebo
on this balmy spring morning
creating illusions

© G.s.k. ‘16

Yesterday I went for a walk with the city of Arco … one of our stop overs was at the Arch-Duke of Austria’s historical botanical garden (for which I did a Sunday walk in 2013).  This morning one of the photos reminded me of moonlight …  so  with a little magic of imagination and an app … my haiga was done.  My next post will be this week’s Monday Haiga Event … hope to see your there!

Carpe Diem #950 dreams – this month Carpe Diem Haiku Kai will be prompting for a daily haiga for those who enjoy this type of work, a great opportunity!

napo2016button1
NaPoWriMo: Day 11

Sabi is a Chaise Longue – Haiga/Haibun – March 28, 2016

What is “sabi”?   Something old, past, demode … something that’s somehow a faded memory like the old plastic chaise longue in the haiga above,  that in its heyday was an object that made someone happy or proud to own it.  I can almost feel the sensation that must have accompanied that first vision of the object … the elation.  Now, so many years have passed.  The chaise longue sits in my son’s garden in Padua, slowly losing it’s lustre as it weathers.  No one remembers who bought it .. the house has changed had many many times over the years as one group of student substitutes another, no one even uses it except the cat. That to me is one meaning of “sabi”.

chaise longue
memories of summer’s days
long forgotten
© G.s.k. ‘16
§§§§§§§§§§§§
Well, that is one of the aspects in my opinion of “sabi”.  What does the Encyclopedia Britannica have to say?

Sabi

  • place in Japanese culture

    Japan: Aesthetics
    …related are the twin ideals of cultivated simplicity and poverty (wabi) and of the celebration of that which is old and faded (sabi). Underlying all three is the notion of life’s transitory and evanescent nature, which is linked to Buddhist thought (particularly Zen) but can be traced to the earliest examples of…
  • poetry of Bashō

    • Bashō
      One term frequently used to describe Bashō’s poetry is sabi, which means the love of the old, the faded, and the unobtrusive, a quality found in the verse

      Scent of chrysanthemums . . .

      And in Nara

      All the ancient Buddhas.

    • relation to tea ceremony

      Sen Rikyū
      …who founded the Japanese tea ceremony. He firmly established the concepts ofwabi (deliberate simplicity in daily living) and sabi (appreciation of the old and faded) as its aesthetic ideals. During his time the teahouse became smaller (from Shukō’s 4 1/2-mat room to a…

One Month of Haiga – Haiga 29 – February 29, 2016

Hello!

Today ends my birthday tour de force!  It has been a more difficult task than I’d imagined due to some external factors, but it’s had its rewards with the challenges.

Today I’ve chosen one of my favourite spots in Riva del Garda near the port and the ancient fortress that used to protect the town from invaders. The plaza is the home of several linden trees, it was also a favourite spot of my husband’s.  He called it the cathedral.

Today’s theme is:

a favourite spot

And here is today’s haiga:

Haiga 29

To participate with your completed haiga just tag your post Bastet’s One Month of Haiga and link directly to this post, then link your haiga post in the Mr. Linky app:

Thanks to those of you who’ve actually come here to Through the Eye of Bastet to follow this month of haiga and to those of you who have linked up day after day keeping me company!  It’s been great to have you along for the ride!

Have a great day … and I hope I will be seeing you on future haiga adventures!  Ciao,  Georgia.

 

The Linden or Tiglio

 

 

One Month of Haiga and NaHaiWriMo – Zydeco – February 28, 2016

Hello!

This morning I was finally able to connect to the internet with no problems (let’s hope that lasts!) even though it’s raining like judgement day!

I went over to see what the prompt for NaHaiWriMo was today and found zydeco.  “Uhm …” I said “what is zydeco?” so I looked it up and found out that it’s a form of “folk” music developed in rural south Louisiana, and I was fascinated by it’s history.  So I decided to mix the daily NaHaiWriMo prompt with my haiga … though my personal theme is:

silence

based on the photo I chose for today.  It’s one of Bolognano’s major streets:

Haiga 28

zydeco …
even the blackbird listens
fiddled creole blues

© G.s.k. ‘16

To participate with your completed haiga just tag your post Bastet’s One Month of Haiga and link directly to this post, then link your haiga post in the Mr. Linky app:

Have a great day today!  Ciao, Bastet!

 

Zydeco

One Month of Haiga – Haiga 27 – February 27, 2016

Hello World!

I’m so sorry that I’m a bit late today but I’ve been having connection problems again …

Today has been  one of those dull rainy days that just sort of dampen your spirit – I’m sure we all know them.  On a proper grey day a photograph can come out with a certain sort of dark mysterious character that can be quite inspiring.  The pitter-patter of rain falling on the roof on other rainy days can be  kind of soothing, but a dull grey wet day without character just kind of seeps into you. So my theme today is:

a moody day

The photo I’m using  is of a small plot of land just out back of my house in Bolognano.  In Italy, in small villages like the one I live in are a mix between multi-storied old houses (the basement used to be where one kept their animals and still have a stone manger  – the top floor was where silk worms used to be raised and so was full of mulberry leaves and stems – The middle floors is where the family lived) and vineyards.  The photograph itself is partially blurred by raindrops that fell on the lens.

 

haiga 27

To participate with your completed haiga just tag your post Bastet’s One Month of Haiga and link directly to this post, then link your haiga post in the Mr. Linky app:

Have a great evening and I hope to see you earlier tomorrow!  Bastet

Silk Worm Farming in Italy

One Month of Haiga – Haiga 26 – February 26, 2016

Hello!

We’ve all seen it … the moon peeping through the clouds or boldly looking on the world during the day.  It’s popular belief that the moon is never seen when the sun is up, so we all make up lovely poems and fantasy stories about the this romantic impossibility.

One of my favourite films (with Rutger Hauer and Michelle Pfeiffer) is “Ladyhawke“.  Here a cruel and somewhat corrupt Bishop of Aquila (his name means eagle and is also the name of a city in Italy) desires Lady Isabeau d’Anjou for his own but  realizing that she’s in love with the Captain of the Guards Navarre uses dark magic to transform them into a hawk (she during the day) and a wolf (he during the night)  so that even though always together, they are eternally apart … unless there is “a day without a night and a night without a day” or when the moon and the sun shine in the sky together.  Not even taking into consideration that actually the moon and sun do show up from time to time together,  the writer tells us that what will save them from their fate is appearing before the Bishop during a total eclipse.   Sigh … isn’t that so romantic!

However in our everyday life, no such magic exists and we don’t need a total eclipse for the moon and sun to be out together … so there she was in January peeping over Mount Baldo in Malcesine and I captured her in a few photographs  (though in my haiku I’m treating it as a late February moon 😉 ).  Today’s theme then is:

a daytime moon

And here is my haiga:

Haiga 26

 

afternoon visit
peeping behind veils
late winter moon

© G.s.k. ‘16

To participate with your completed haiga just tag your post Bastet’s One Month of Haiga and link directly to this post, then link your haiga post in the Mr. Linky app:

Have a great day, ciao!  Bastet

 

Why Do We See the Moon in Daylight?

One Month of Haiga – Haiga 25, February 25, 2016

Hello!

There’s something particularly beautiful about swans.  If you’ve ever had much to do with swans,  you’ll know that they are not really friendly birds, especially in the breeding season.  I remember a scene where a Japanese tourist was trying to photograph a family of swans, the male hissed him soundly and when he refused to back off charged the man.  Swans are also a symbol of monogamy.  When a swan loses its mate, they often refuse to mate again with a substitute (though this is not always true, see the link below)  so a lone swan is a sad sight to see, except in the winter when the young are full-grown and off on their own.  At this point swans often take some alone time unlike what happens once the brooding urge comes upon them again.   I think this  is very sensible of the swans but most people don’t realize this and think sad thoughts of separation 😉 .

Today’s theme isn’t about swans though,  the swan info  and all the meanings we attach to the birds came to mind as I looked at the photo I’ve chosen for today.  However not everyone has a handy swan about so today’s theme is:

Clouds

Your clouds might be the bright fluffy kind, that remind you of animals, or dark brooding kind like just before a storm.  There are oodles of things to do with clouds .. and of course they’re not assigned to just one season.  Here’s my haiga:

 

Haiga 25

To participate with your completed haiga just tag your post Bastet’s One Month of Haiga and link directly to this post, then link your haiga post in the Mr. Linky app:

I’d like to apologize for not commenting and acknowledging your posts.  My Internet was spotty all day yesterday, I’m hoping that today things will be different!  I’d like to thank all you who have kept participating through thick and thin!

Have a great day and ciao!  Bastet

 

Swans