Picture caption: Photography submitted to Dan Antion’s TDWC26 by Yvette Prior.
I spy with my little eye …
something …
but what is it?
“A hartebeest,” says TC
“I disagree. It’s a common tsessebe.”
“A tess… a … what?“
“A tsessebe.”
“There’s no such creature!
Check on your phone.“
“Hmmm! AI says … it’s an elk.”
“What! You don’t get elk in South Africa.“
“I know that. Let me try a different picture.
“Now AI says its a mammal.”
“What kind of mammal?“
“AI doesn’t go into details. It’s just a mammal.”
“Useless AI. It’s having illusions.“
“Not really. A tsessebe is a mammal.”
The two sets of photographs below are of first a hartebeest and second a tsessebe. You can see how similar they look.
Bird of the Week
I took this photograph on Friday at Pilanesberg Game Reserve. TC and I were there for two days to celebrate his birthday which is tomorrow. It’s not the best of my photographs (TC was hogging my camera) but it was such a striking blue that I’m using it for this poem. It’s nice not having to work on a Friday in my new job. If I do have to work on a Friday, I get another day off at a later date so that is very nice for me.
After six weeks of sabbatical, I am starting a new job on Monday. I’m glad I was able to see Paris over Easter and nurse my mother and Michael through the new Flu B. It is a reduced hours job so I’ll see how that goes. Wish me luck.
d’Verse, TDWC26, Sunday Stills, and The Flower Hour
Terri’s Sunday Stills challenge is pastels. My Primrose antique doll and the flowers in the background are pastels. The flowers are for Terri’s The Flower Hour challenge too.
Picture caption: Yellow, blue, and white house photograph contributed by Restless Jo
Primrose looked at her freshly painted home with satisfaction. Arthur had recently finished reading a first edition of Tom Sawyer. He’d been so inspired he’d volunteered to give her dolls house home a fresh look. It looked terrific. Its yellow, blue, and white walls sparkled under the bright display lights of the antique children’s books and toys room.
She glanced at the tapestry on the opposite wall. The dark yellow room was exquisitely sew with careful, even stitches. She liked the wall hanging and it helped to keep the room warm and snug. Museums were drafty. She was glad she had her delightful dolls house to live in and her home wasn’t merely a 2D dream.
rainbow dreams elude
bricks and mortar evidence
my reality
Picture caption: Art inspiration provided by Punam
Click on the bar to view Primrose, an antique doll form Faversham in England, with a background of roses I received for Mothers Day last Sunday. A little past their prime but they are still pretty … and pastel. You will also see Arthur, a vintage doll from Graaf Reinet in South Africa.
Thursday Doors
These are a few more random photographs form my short trip to Paris over Easter.
The two images above are of the moving walkway in the Paris Airport (Charles de Gaulle). It was very long and there wasn’t another soul in sight. For me, it was a little creepy as it was my first time in this airport. I was glad to see the door at the end of the walkway coming into sight.
Last Sunday, TC and I went for a 5 kilometre walk at the Johannesburg Country Club in Woodmead. The trees were all dressed in their autumn best and there were plenty of birds out and about enjoying the warm day. We came across a strange scene where a cat and a peahen were living together in a little domed shelter. There were water and food dishes so they are obviously fed by the residence of the surrounding houses.
I was immediately reminded of the nonsense poem by Edward Lear, ‘The Owl and the Pussy-Cat’. It was first published in 1870 in the American magazine Our Young Folks and again the following year in Lear’s own book Nonsense Songs, Stories, Botany and Alphabets.
I cherish the near silence of the early mornings, suffering the rasping cough of the kettle just long enough to make a welcome cup of tea. Outside the window, a garden bird twitters and the hadedas screech their ode to the dawn. In a world that worships noise, my love of silence is just another characteristic that differentiates me from my family and colleagues. I’ll take it.
When I was a girl, children had a lot more freedom than they do now. My little sister, Cath, and I used to go out and about on our own. We both had bicycles so we had the option of riding or we walked, depending on where we were going. When I was in Grade 3 at primary school, roller skates came into fashion. The roller skates then took the form of a boot with four wheels on the bottom. The wheels were spaced out more like the wheels on a vehicle and were attached to a chassis-styled frame on the bottom of the boot, unlike the modern roller skates which are more like ice skates with wheels.
Cath and I both received a pair of roller skates for Christmas that year and I spent the rest of the December / January school holiday learning how to skate. I soon go the hang of swinging my legs correctly to enable forward motion and quickly learned to add arm movement to go faster. I learned to do spins and turns and how to skate backwards. It was an obsession for me and I spent hours practicing. As time passed, I started creating dances on skates to music. I’d set my small cassette recorder up on my bedroom windowsill and practice skating to my favourite soundtracks. The theme song to Flashdance was the track I liked the best and remember practicing my skating dance over and over to that song on repeat. Thankfully, Dad was out working during the day when I practiced so he didn’t complain about the endless refrain of ‘What a feeling’.
Skate dancing to Flashdance is one of my best memories and it was this process of mastering motion on roller skates that taught me I could learn to do anything if I set my mind to it.
Through the window of the airplane at Dubai AirportThe Eiffel Tower which has a lift to take you upCrane to lift up people and building materials – ParisTokyo Tower which has a lift to take you upLondon EyeStaircase in the Tate Modern, London
This poem is another contribution to my Paris Diaries Poems.
Chateau de Chenonceau (Loire Valley, France)
A survivor of the French Revolution
Five-arched bridge its saving grace
Not sacked; it survived dissolution
Ladies chateau of flowers and lace
Due to it’s owner’s quick actions
It’s now a major tourist attraction
***
Famous for its facade of white stone
And spectacular gardens with terraces
Diana de Poitiers lived there alone
The first of its female heiresses
She planted flowerbeds, vegetables
And an orchard before the entrance
***
King Henry II favoured his mistress
Causing resentment by his jealous wife
When he died after a short illness
Catherine de Medici changed her life
Evicting Diana from castle and court
Queen Regent her vengeance wrought
***
The chateau received an Italian facelift
And a grand gallery over the bridge
Catherine was a notorious spendthrift
Living a life of splendour and privilege
Installing beautiful historic tapestries
While France fell deeper into anarchy
***
Madame Louise Dupin saved the castle
Nicknamed ‘goddess of beauty and music’
She advocated the bridge’s use for travel
Utilising her popularity and good ethics
In spring, the gardens still flourish
It’s natural beauty the soul does nourish
Thursday Doors and The Flower Hour
For Dan’s Thursday Doors I am showing you the exterior of the Chateau de Chenonceau and the separate tower as well as an outside cottage. You’ll have to wait until next week to see inside. You can join Dan’s Thursday Doors here: https://nofacilities.com/2026/04/16/the-hungarian-room/
My photographs of Medici Fountain and closeups of the sculptures are in the slideshow below.
Side view of the Medici Fountain
Close up of Polyphemus looking down on the lovers, Galatea and Acis
Close up of Galatea and Acis
Close up of Polyphemus with the dead bull across his back
My Youtube video of the Medici Fountain.
Fountaine de Leda (at the back)
Fontaine de Leda
hidden fountain
depicting in stone
the seduction of Aetolian princess, Leda
by sky and thunder god, Zeus
in the form of a swan
Leda holds the bird
on her knees while
water flows from its bronze beak
the pair, encircled by roses
are shot by an arrow
from Cupid, lurking in the corner
The Fountaine de Leda is at the back of the Medici Fountain and a lot of people miss it. I saw it because I walked around the back of the Medici Fountain to get photographs on the other side.
Tanka Tuesday
My prompt for this week was to use onomatopoeia in a poem. I’ve written a tautogram poem using onomatopoeia using the American cinquain form.
The Jardin du Luxembourg was created in 1612 when Marie de’ Medici, the widow of King Henry IV, constructed the Luxembourg Palace as her new residence. This is the number one garden in Paris and is known for its lawns, tree-lined promenades, tennis courts, flowerbeds, model sailboats on its octagonal Grand Bassin. It is also home to the Fontaine de l’Observatoire and Medici Fountain. I’m showcasing the Fontaine de l’Observatoire today.
Click on the slideshow to see the Fontaine de l’Observatoire:
This is one of my Youtube videos of this fountain:
You can see more of my Paris Youtube videos on my channel.
Thursday Doors
The Universite de Paris Institut d’Art Et d’Archeologie is near the Jardin du Luxembourg. I really liked the brick patterning of this building which is why I took these photographs. It reminded me of lego.
These photographs are of flowers and statues in the Jardin du Luxembourg. They are for Terri’s The Flower Hours (most of the flowers are tulips) and for Dan’s CFFC as these were taken while we walked. We walked approximately 20,000 steps a day for the 6 days I was in Paris.
Kim at d’Verse challenged poets to write an acrostic poem using someone’s name. When I read here post here: https://dversepoets.com/2026/03/19/meeting-the-bar-tell-me-your-name/ I realised there is a lot more to this form than I have previously believed. I embraced it and wrote two acrostic poems.
The second poem forms the name of my oldest son, Gregory, who graduated from University with Honours in Mathematics this week (with distinction). He is working as a tutor at the University while he does a Masters in Homological Mathematics. This poem is for the d’Verse challenge. Thank you, Kim!
I have also written a micro poem which is between the two poems and about my son.
Mother Love (for W3)
My son, you have made me so proud. It’s an
Outstanding achievement to pass Honours with distinction. Now,
There you are on the threshold of an exciting new life. I
Hope your hard work and dedication will serve you well. You are so
Ernest in your quest to find meaning in your life. Your
Resolve to help others up the education ladder makes you a
Lighthouse in the lives of those less gifted than you. You turn the
Ordinary into something brighter and better. You are calm and never
Vexed when things don’t go your way. This quality makes you quite
Extraordinary in addition to your unusual mind and abilities.
my best qualities
in your hands have become a
lighthouse in the dark
Gregory (for d’Verse)
Guidance kindly provided in your
Responses to your students. You are
Exceptional in your patience. Ready to
Guide others on their way and help
Overcome obstacles along the
Road to success: Yours and other peoples.
You are a wonderful teacher and person
Thursday Doors
This is the door to the Great Hall where the graduation takes place. It is from last year. We were later arriving this year so I couldn’t get as good a picture due to the crowds. You can join in Thursday Doors here: https://nofacilities.com/2026/03/19/polish-room-announcement/
These are some pictures from the graduation (click on the slideshow to see the pictures).
roberta-writes.com 