Wednesday 30 January 2013

Marigolds and wanderlust...

Cripes my feet are itchy.  I mean, time to take a trip kind of itchy.  I've been looking back over my photos from my time in India (and Nepal) in 2010.... and suffering from a spot of wanderlust.  In the meantime, since reality dictates that for now, I must work and pay bills - not wander off into the sunset, I tend my little patch of marigolds in my garden, and dream of far off lands...

In India and Nepal, marigolds are everywhere.  Their colour is so intense and shrines, homes, boats, cows and shops are adorned with marigold offerings.  Here are some of our pictures... I couldn't walk past a marigold offering without stopping to ooh and ahh...

Stupa with marigold offerings on the streets of Kathmandu...

 Buddha with offerings of rice, vermilion and marigolds in Nepal...
 Stupa adorned with vermilion and marigolds in Kathmandu, Nepal...
 I'm pretty much living my dream being a Henna artist, but if I wasn't wielding a henna cone for a living, I'd quite fancy stringing marigolds together with this lady...
 Monkey temple - Kathmandu...
 Kathmandu, Nepal...
 Diwali garlands in India...
 An abandoned garland on the beach in Goa...
Hope this has brightened your day...

Tara

Friday 25 January 2013

Gypsy Caravan...

Words of wisdom, fortunes told, jewels, spices and mystical tales from the road...









 



Tara

Thursday 24 January 2013

Tara's neighbourhood summer tour...

What amazing weather we are having this summer in Melbourne. Sadly with all the hot weather comes the ever present threat of bushfires, and the lack of flowers (and I am rather partial to a nice bloom).

As I keep my eyes on the weather report to see if my weekend markets at St Andrews are affected by total fire bans... and my Fountain Gate customers tell me of fires near their homes in Pakenham, I look around at this hot country I am living in and wonder how do the plants even survive a run of temperatures over 35 degrees...

Well I guess they just shut down and hibernate (much like us) and wait until the rains come to bloom again. This morning I took a walk around my neighbourhood in search of flowers. Didn't really find any (!) but I did notice some pretty amazing tree trunks and bark formations which I've overlooked in the past because I normally go skipping gaily from one blooming bush to the next.

Erm... this bird of paradise looks a little dried up...
 Hardy Eucalyptus - native trees are always the strongest...

This one smells divine when you crush the leaves - no wonder the Koalas like it (well not actually sure if they like this particular type of Eucalyptus...)
 Lens flare... or angels??  (Yes, lens flare Mr Tara - I can see you rolling your eyes...)
 These trees shed their bark and shine in their naked glory (ooh steady on!)...
 Here is some of the bark left at the base of the trunk...
Cracks appear in bare earth - this still fascinates me - its like a dried up river bed... some summers our lawn does this...
 Mottled bark ...


 Nature is stunning...
 
  Yep, everything is crisp... and it still fascinates me even after 7 years of living here.
 Fake grass on the cricket pitch showing the rest of the park up...

 Stop awhile (I usually do)...
 This cricket pitch is watered so its keeping its green...

 Peeling bark...

 This one always cracks me up... standing on the corner of Lorraine and Doris...
You don't see letterboxes like this much anymore.  Good on you number 22 for rocking the home-made letter box...
 Seriously, there were no flowers, I got to photographing drain covers...
 No wait!  I found this!!!!  Phew, the walk was not in vain.

Keep cool Melbourne, we are headed for 37 degrees today.  I'm a hot weather girl so despite my crisp neighbourhood, I'm enjoying the sunshine.  I hope you enjoyed my crusty bark tour... she's had too much sun I hear you say....

Tara

Monday 21 January 2013

Tribal Monday...

It's Tribal Monday here at Nomadic Tara.  Today's collection is of some of my favourite jewellery plus a few snippets from around my home.  As I fluffed around arranging this collection of bits and bobs I did pause and consider where these treasures had been before they made their way into my little world.  Don't you love that about second hand tribal things?  They have always been loved by some other lady (or man!) with the same penchant as you, for vivid colours used in wild abandon (for I do admit, this lot is colourful!).

 Afghani pouch and necklace...


 Indian garnet and silver necklaces on an Indian spice box...

 Prayer beads from Tibet with a Moroccan bowl (a gift from a friend)...
 A special piece... a Tibetan necklace made with a Bhutanese coin, bought on my first ever trip to Tibet in 1998...
 Tibetan necklace with Afghani earrings, Indian spice box and Tibetan singing bowl...
 Shiva with Indian earrings and Tibetan pendant and prayer beads...
 Thai necklace and Indian pouch...
 Tibetan Gau with Tara image bought after trekking in Nepal...
 Indian toran detail...

 
 Dancing Ganesh... (Mr Tara lugged this one home in his backpack from Mumbai)
 Children's hat from Thailand...

Wooden Ganesh...
 Ganesh dangles over an Indian wall hanging...

 Turkish ball hangs in front of a Tibetan belt...
 Bali umbrella...
 Afghani tassel necklace...

 Om carving bought on a trip to Bali...
Indian rupee necklace from Delhi on a Turkish mat bought on a cycle trip in Turkey many moons ago...
There you have it - Tribal Monday.  After that lot I'm dreaming of far off lands.... once again.

Tara