summer haiku d’été – fawn surprised = faon surpris

summer haiku d'été – fawn surprised = faon surpris




fawn surprised
by my off-the-cuff photo
licks my hand

faon surpris
par ma photo impromptue
lèche ma main

Richard Vallance

photo © by Régis Auffray 2019

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Even more photos of my sweet little adolescent kitty, Petunia!

Even more photos of my sweet little adolescent kitty, Petunia!

The most adorable photos yet of my sweet new kitty, Petunia!

The most adorable photos yet of my sweet new kitty, Petunia!

She is only 1 year 9 months old, and as you can see she is all black on top and all white on her underside. And very fluffy too! She is just a doll. 

You are going to love these!

3 photos I took of my lovely new cat, Petunia, age 1 year 9 months

3 photos I took of my lovely new cat, Petunia, age 1 year 9 months, on April 11 2019. You can clearly see she is a medium-haired cat. She is the gentlest cat I have ever known and she purrs like mad! She never puts out her claws. 

3 of the first 5 photos I have ever taken of my lovely new cat, Petunia, age 1 year 9 months, on April 10 2019.

3 of the first 5 photos I have ever taken of my lovely new cat, Petunia, age 1 year 9 months, on April 10 2019.

This is what my new Norwegian Forest Cat, Lorenzo

This is what my new Norwegian Forest Cat, Lorenzo, whom I will be adopting on Friday, March 29, looks like:









Gorgeous! He is only 2 1/2 years old!

Photos of my lovely and extremely smart Maine Coon mix cat, Argentée,

 

Photos of my lovely and extremely smart Maine Coon mix cat, Argentée,

throughout her lifetime, 2003-2019. I had to euthanize her on March 14 and it was horrible. All the more so that my sweet tortoiseshell, Daisy, died a natural death on Dec. 28 2018! Argentée was a completely leash-trained cat, who used to go for walks with me for years, and who climbed trees until she was at least 9. She was so smart that unlike most cats, who get stuck in trees when the climb them, she shimmied down trees like a squirrel! Astonishing! She also responded to certain verbal phrases, such as:







Do you wanna go outside? (Trust me, she knew exactly what THAT meant!)
NO
cheese (She loved cheese)





She was by far the smartest cat I have ever known in my life, and was always completely at home on her leash, when we went for walks and when she was in my front yard. Her leash was at least 4 metres long, so she had plenty of room to move around in in my front yard!

And here are her photos, lovely as she was!

PLEASE comment on them!

spring haiku de printemps – Argentée poses = Argentée pose

spring haiku de printemps – Argentée poses = Argentée pose

Argentée poses,
pretty as she pleases –
no one’s April fool



Argentée pose
comme elle se voit jolie –
poisson d’avril ? ... non !

Richard Vallance

in loving memory of Argentée = à la mémoire précieuse d’Argentée

senryu – oceans of colour = océans de couleurs

senryu – oceans of colour = océans de couleurs

sorcerer moon
through my photo’s filter –
oceans of colour



océans de couleurs
dans le filtre photo 
lune ensorcelante

Richard Vallance

summer haiku d’été – our forest cat = notre chat forestier

summer haiku d’été – our forest cat = notre chat forestier

our forest cat
stands at his swinging door –
nah! who wants in?



notre chat forestier
est à sa porte battante –
zut ! je reste dehors

Richard Vallance

The cat in this photo taken by Louis-Dominique Genest when he was in Norway in June 2018 is a Norwegian forest cat. These cats are stunningly beautiful.

Le chat est dans la photo prise par Louis-Dominique Genest quand il était en Norvège en juin 2018. C’est un chat forestier norvégien. Ces chats sont admirablent beaux !    

winter haiku – super blood wolf moon = lune du loup sanglant

winter haiku – super blood wolf moon = lune du loup sanglant

super blood wolf moon
a total lunar eclipse
photo from last night 



lune du loup sanglant
éclipse lunaire totale
photo d’hier soir

Regis Auffray,
French translation by Richard Vallance 

Photo by/ par Regis Auffray 

Special note:

It is impossible to literally translate the first and last lines of this haiku from English to French without running to too many syllables. This frequently happens when we try to translate haiku from one language to another, let alone from English to French. We simply do the best we can.

Il est impossible de traduire littéralement la première et la dernière ligne de cet haiku d’anglais en français sans utiliser trop de syllabes. Ce phénomène se produit très souvent quand on essaie de tranduire des haikus d’une langue à une autre, que se soit l’anglais et le français ou n’importe quelles autres langues. L’on fait simplement de son mieux. 

Not a haiku, but My Christmas tree is alive and thriving!

Not a haiku, but My Christmas tree is alive and thriving!





Why? ... because it is potted! I will put it outside this spring, summer and autumn, and by next Christmas it should be 30 % higher. Talk about being environmentally friendly!

Check it out!

How beautiful the Prince of Lilies and his consort on the Knossos fresco must have looked!

How beautiful the Prince of Lilies and his consort on the Knossos fresco must have looked!

On the fresco:

In life, ready for marriage to the equally beautiful Princess of Knossos:

As she might have appeared on one of the Knossos frescoes:

And in life:

 

Our assistant site moderator, Argentée, June 9 2017

Our assistant site moderator, Argentée, June 9 2017

The full range of marvelous, rich colours the Minoans at Knossos used on their stunning frescoes!

The full range of marvelous, rich colours the Minoans at Knossos used on their stunning frescoes!




 
We notice right away that the colours they had at their disposal ran from various shades of yellows (saffron) and oranges to blues and various shades of purple. The Minoans at Knossos, Pylos, Thera (Thira, Santorini) and elsewhere were unable to reproduce green pigment.  This minor drawback had little or no perceptible effect on the splendid results they almost invariably came up with in their breathtaking frescoes, the likes of which were not reproduced anywhere else in the Occidental ancient world, except perhaps by the Romans, especially at Pompeii. The Romans were able to reproduce greens. 

Two lovely frescoes from Pompeii:

 

Beautiful photos of some of the magnificent frescoes at Knossos, taken by Richard while he was there on May 1 2012

Beautiful photos of some of the magnificent frescoes at Knossos, taken by Richard while he was there on May 1 2012:

3 impressive photos of the Bull Fresco Portico Knossos, taken by Richard while he was there on May 1 2012

3 impressive photos of the Bull Fresco Portico Knossos, taken by Richard while he was there on May 1 2012:

Photos of the pithoi storage room at Minoan Thera by Thalassa Farkas (Canada) Part B

Photos of the pithoi storage room at Minoan Thera by Thalassa Farkas (Canada) Part B:

Photos of the pithoi storage room at Minoan Thera by Thalassa Farkas (Canada) Part A

Photos of the pithoi storage room at Minoan Thera by Thalassa Farkas (Canada) Part A:

All new photos of the Museum of Prehistoric Thera, Santorini, by Thalassa Farkas, Canada, 2016: Part C – Theran/Minoan ship

All new photos of the Museum of Prehistoric Thera, Santorini, by Thalassa Farkas, Canada, 2016: Part C – Theran/Minoan ship

Here are two photos of a lovely Theran/Minoan ship, the ultimate in luxury sailing, complete with a canopy and with a bowsprit sporting a sun and a gorgeous little butterfly. What exquisite taste these Therans and Minoans had!