I was not sure whether I had any photos for this but realised that the eyes of the wild were central to a discussion I had with my friend and artist Ruth Koenigsberger. We were talking about illustrations for some of the animal characters in my novel. So I looked back and there were lots of eyes looking out at me!
For one of Ruth’s first local exhibitions I wrote a poem which was about when we see wild animals and they look back at us. Her painting of the owl and her drawing for my character Milvana, the black kite, show how eyes are the ways we can make connections. We can also think there are eyes when perhaps there are not such as the tree and the butterfly wing markings.




Above – a chameleon seen in the Olhaö nature reserve on the Algarve. (Iphone and then cropped.) Ancient one eyed tree and butterfly in the Sierra Aracena.
House Martin babies, of only one pair, near Congleton, UK. ( Lumix camera zoom and cropped) I hope now in March, the house martins are back from Africa and building up their nests in the Algarve. 1000 more miles to go if nesting in the UK. Incredible flyers.
Below Iberian frog in Sierra Aracena by source of the River Odiel. (Lumix Camera and cropped.)




These were the ‘eye’ studies that inspired my poem that was read out in Spanish at the opening of the exhibition. We both thought how important the eyes would be in illustrating the characters in my book.
Quotes from La Vida en la Huerta and I guess it’s all about eyes and seeing one another. ( Translation by Margaret Van Epp)
I see you on my terrace
You see me see you
Your eyes hold onto mine
Te veo en mi terraza
Me observas
Me sostienes la mirada
•••
I do not want you to see me.
But when you stare,
I freeze.
I know your eyes are on me
I can be rock or leaf.
No quiero que me veas
Cuando fijas la mirada
Me congelo.
Sé que estoy ante tus ojos
Me disfrazo de roca u hoja.
•••
But you do not know me
Till you see me.
I may never reappear.
You may not even notice,
I have gone forever.
Sin haberme visto
No me conoces.
Puede ser que nunca reaparezca.
Tal vez ni te darás cuenta
Me haya ido para siempre.
Thanks to Denzil again for inspiring and helping me remember these poems and the illustration ideas for representing the wild animals in my novel. https://denzilnature.com/
I venture to put forward the possibility of publication of my first novel this year! This will be discussed with the publisher more this March.
With best wishes to all from Navasola
Another super portfolio Georgina, thanks for taking part again. I love those young house martins. Brings back memories of them nesting under the eaves of my family home when I was 10 years old, listening to them chirping away like budgerigars.
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Yes, noisy and messy but quite endearing! Good memories!
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Captivating photos! And the included poem is profound and charming at the same time.
Best of luck with your publisher, Georgina! When your book comes out, I’ll look forward to ordering it.
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Thanks, Denise, it all came together and I remembered discussions over 3 years ago now!
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Isn’t that how it always seems to work? Conversations, observations, and hapoenings bide their time until the right moment, when their usefulness and potential are realized.
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It is indeed, a form of serendipity perhaps!
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Or synchronicity!
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Fabulous shots, Georgina. That chameleon is other-worldly. But it all adds up to a great collection.
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And I forgot to say. A great poem, and so looking forward to hearing about your novel.
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Thanks, yes hopefully, this will be the year!
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Wonderful series Georgina!
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Great post Georgina. Good luck with that novel!
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Thanks, I know as seems a long time now!
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Takes time. I’m still trying to get my Sci-fi properly published. Getting nowhere. But I keep writing.
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Yes, you must!
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Love all your photos🥰
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Thank you Arlene.
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House martin. Here we call them cliff swallows. Where I used to live they’ed come once a year too. So cute.
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Yes, I think these used to use cliffs before they found the ‘rocks’ of human houses.
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These photos are wonderful 😍😍😍
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Thank you! Glad you stopped by or the eyes caught hold of your attention!
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My personal favorite would be cats eyes for some reason. Thanks for inspiring a new topic for a poem.
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I love that photo of the House Martin babies – they look so cosy but a little uncertain about what lies beyond the nest! I see you use a Lumix too – I’m a big fan of them 🙂
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Yes, I just wish I could get the best out of the camera and I find it hard to zoom in and capture the birds well.
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Which model is it? I have two. I have the same problem with my small point and shoot, but the larger bridge camera is pretty good on zoom.
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I can get really good zoom pics but it is hit and miss and the birds just fly off! Think its a Lumix DMC FZ2500 bought in 2017.
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Mine’s a newer one, FZ2330, bought just last year. But it replaced a very similar one, the FZ200
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I have some reasonable zoom photos from Mexico but think I find it difficult to work on the best focus. Sometimes it works well and other times frustrating. Some oriole photos could have been so much better. They were just outside our balcony in some trees. And not really hiding.
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