The butterfly lady

I think she's beautiful anyway with all that gorgeous red hair, even without the painted butterfly.  I snapped this young woman at the Belgrade zoo two weeks ago. In addition to seeing the animals, my son's family and I also enjoyed the presence of various youth performers, including dance groups, magicians, and acrobats.

I didn't see anyone doing face painting like this, but maybe they had fluttered away....oh, that's baaaad.

Daily Haiku

Their powdery wings

In colorful camouflage

 Vanish before me

SUNDAY BRIDGES---Tread carefully....

Just outside one of the walls of Kalemegdan lies the military museum....and a lot of cannons.

See other bridges on Louis La Vache's SUNDAY BRIDGES.

Daily Haiku

Leftover weapons

Shameful silent reminders

Of lost loves and lives

  

WEEKEND REFLECTION--"Row, row, row your boat..."

"Row, row, row your boat...." goes the old round we'd sing as kids.  These rowers on a sign in downtown Belgrade are going to have to paddle very hard to get to water anywhere close.

See other reflections on James'  WEEKEND REFLECTION.

Daily Haiku

Is life but a dream

Are we dreaming or awake

Some day we will know...

  

Steeples of Zemun

Three steeples in the Belgrade community of Zemun.

See other skies on SKYWATCH.

Daily Haiku

Steeples, minarets

Call some of us to prayer

Each in his own way

 

  

A real "wild" flower

Went to the zoo the other day and saw, among other animals, a giraffe.  Do you know that a giraffe's spots are like human fingerprints; no two are alike?  Check out this site for other fun facts about giraffe's...I learned they give birth standing up and the baby falls five feet.....

I liked this giraffe's spots, for some seem to form a flower.

Daily Haiku

Forever in awe

Of Nature's endless wonders

Is it all by chance?  

ABC WEDNESDAY "K" is for "K-9"

Belgian Shepherds like the one you see here are often used around the world as police dogs, members of various K-9 corps.

This one though seems to be pretty much of a lap dog...maybe he's retired, like his owner.

See other K's on Mrs. Nesbitt's ABC WEDNESDAY.

Daily Haiku

We need to snuggle

A warm, soft, furry body

Be it man or beast

 

Do you turn away?

Do you turn away, like most of those who passed by and even those in the poster, from street people?  Is it all "there but good fortune...."?

Daily Haiku

No need to give much

A kind word, a warm smile

Will reach someone's heart

 

Taking a break....

s 

Taking a break from window cleaning....and she's just sitting waiting...

Daily Haiku

 Procrastination

Is reading the newspaper

When you should do work

SUNDAY BRIDGES--shades (or shadows) of the Golden Gate

Shadows on chains on one of Kalemegdan Park's bridges that I turned sideways....makes me think of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.

And that's appropriate, if you check out Louis La Vache's SUNDAY BRIDGES.

Daily Haiku

Kalemegdan chains

Recall the Golden Gate Bridge

But stand worlds apart

   

WEEKEND REFLECTION--shiny brass

Last Monday I showed you a photo of Dušan, the brassfounder, and two of his creations. Here again are three of his candlesticks and a beautiful brass tray, intended for use at saint's day (slava) time, to serve the traditional 'slava' cake. See more reflections on James' WEEKEND REFLECTION.

Daily Haiku  

Smiles clearly show 

On smooth shiny surfaces 

Our feelings hide inside

SKYWATCH--a little bit of symmetry, sort of....

Bright blue sky over this sort-of symmetrical building.  It's one of the last old ones left standing in an area cleared for more modern buildings.

See other skies on SKYWATCH.

Daily Haiku

Destruction threatens

Two slanted roofs and chimneys

Still pleading skyward

  

Can winter be far behind....?

It's not quite officially fall yet, but those who heat with wood have already started their stockpile.  This photo of a terrace in downtown Belgrade is definitely loaded.  The occupants of the apartment most likely heat with a tile stove like the one you can see on this link. (scroll down on that link a few photos) They are not only attractive, but very efficient, though of course the advent of central heating in many apartments has brought about their demise.  We had one once, but since our apartment was small, we took it out to save place and used another kind of heater.

Daily Haiku

Leaves are not yet brown

But winter's shadow darkens

Firewood on porch 

  

ABC WEDNESDAY "J" is for "jigsaw"

This jigsaw VW, photographed in the town of Pancevo, looks like it should be parked in front of this building thatI showed you several years ago.

See other J's on Mrs. Nesbitt's ABC WEDNESDAY.

Daily Haiku

Some things in my life

Are a puzzle to me 

Like why you  love me

Spiderman wannabe

He lacks the tight blue body suit and he seems to be a bit slower in scaling this wall in Kalemegdan, but this aspiring man did work his way up....

Are you into rock climbing?   It's not for me, and the 'because it's there' argument for scaling mountains and high peaks isn't either.

Daily Haiku

Many spend their lives

Climbing and losing their way

Struggling to the top

 

The brassfounder

 This is Dušan (DOO-shan), a brassfounder ( I had to look that up; it's a person who works brass.)  He has a small workshop not far from Kalemegdan Park. I'd been by several times while walking down the narrow street that runs in front of his shop, but never went in, though I'd been intrigued by the darkness and the twinkling objects inside.  

I didn't venture in even now to buy anything, but rather to have a piece of metal frame removed from my old-fashioned backpack.  This he happily did, while explaining this and that about his work.  He produces various objects like the candle holder you see here and the crescent and moon.  Dušan said that these are his best-selling works.

Daily Haiku

You never can foresee

Surprises that await you

Down a narrow street

SUNDAY BRIDGES --Not really that close....

I love long lenses, not only for their reach, but the distortion of distance.  Here Belgrade's newest bridge, that I've shown you several times before (Bridge on Ada), appears to be really, really close to the Austrian Embassy, whose roof you see on the left.  But it's not....  This shot was taken with my little Nikon P510, which has the equivalent of a 1000mm zoom, which is why I bought it.  Even if I had the cash to shell out for a 1000mm or whatever for my D90, it would be too big to lug and I doubt if I'd use it that much.

See other bridges on Louis La Vache's SUNDAY BRIDGES.

Daily Haiku  

Distortion is when

What is far seems very near

But it's really not.... 

WEEKEND REFLECTION--The Chandelier

This chandelier hangs in a newly-renovated passageway just off of the pedestrian street, Knez Mihailova, in downtown Belgrade.

See other reflections on James' WEEKEND REFLECTION.

Daily Haiku

Crystal chandelier

Its pendants twinkle and shine

Refracting the light

SKYWATCH---puffy

This was an extraordinary sky, but I'm not sure my (not-so-hot) cell phone captured it....  Cursed myself for leaving the biggie at home on a short dog walk.

See other skies on SKYWATCH.

Daily Haiku

Like so much stuffing

From my dog's favorite toy

White clouds on blue sky  

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ABC WEDNESDAY "I" is for "Indecent"

Okay, not really indecent, but ha, ha, maybe inappropriate!  Then again, these are only mannequins.

But even mannequins want to have a little fun....  Maybe I should have kept this for O for 'orgy'.

See other I's on Mrs. Nesbitt's ABC WEDNESDAY.

Daily Haiku

Bodies intertwine

Over, under, around, through

Indecent orgy

Wall of water

 A man walks toward me, with the fountain on Nikola Spasic square behind him.

Daily Haiku

Stranger's silhouette

Feelings long forgotten surge

Like gushing water

Two thousand and counting....

Today is my 2000th post and I've sent myself flowers!  These beauties were for sale in front of the National Theater downtown, where flower sellers gather. The theater season will begin sometime early October.

Have you noticed that many roses, especially but not exclusively, don't have any fragrance at all....?  

Daily Haiku

Red and pink roses

Where is the peppery scent

From my childhood?

SUNDAY BRIDGES--the bridges of Grocka

Grocka (pronounced GROT-ska) is a community about a half an hour's drive from Belgrade.  The region is known for its fruit, and many Belgraders have weekend houses there.

A week ago on Saturday I drove there with a friend in the hope of getting some peaches less expensive than in Belgrade...but for some odd reason, their open market was deserted and no street sellers to be found...kind of like the Twilight Zone...

But I did find a photo of a bridge...or three.

HEY!  Drop by tomorrow...it's my 2000th post!

See other bridges on Louis La Vache's SUNDAY BRIDGES.

Daily Haiku

Two bridges, no, three

Over a polluted brook

Pink flowers caught my eye

WEEKEND REFLECTION--the smoker

Showed you some smoke yesterday and here's more, though not so visible.

Caught this fellow taking a smoke break from a window in a building whose facade is not as beautiful, in my opinion, as the one reflected.

See other reflections on James' WEEKEND REFLECTION.

And not to forget the 

Daily Haiku

Cigarette in hand

Calmly inhaling the air

Of busy city streets