It being Halloween, a foreign custom to me, I had thought of combining orange ghouls and other fantastical sillinesses in honour of Ailsa’s Spooky theme this week. But what with Super Storm Sandy, Cyclone Nelum here in the Bay of Bengal, and deadly Son Tinh, the typhoon that swept through the Philippines en route to Vietnam yesterday, that seems trite and frivolous in the face of the misery now faced by the victims of these savage storms.
Lets rather give thanks that the damage and loss of life was not as catastrophic as it might have been, and dig deep, whichever way we can, to assist those who are today beginning to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives and livelihoods.
In honour of these millions, I’ve chosen some images in orange, which (as Cee points out in her Orange challenge this week) represents creativity, determination, strength and endurance – characteristics they will need in the days, weeks and months ahead.
Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge – Orange.
The Wanderlust Gene 
Love your thoughts here. Your images are wonderful too!
Adversity unites us all somehow.
This is a very timely post – wonderful, and photos are so exotic..
Well, there’ll be lots more Halloweens to celebrate (and if there isn’t, it hardly matters) – today it just doesn’t seem quite right.
I don’t know how many times I’ve thought in the past few days “how lucky we are”.
Yeah – it’s something I re-learned, living here, Jo. 🙂
I really like your post…Because of the words, first of all…Then, your pics are great, specially the last one….It is a carnivore plant, isn´t it? (I do not know if this is the name in English…I am afraid I have done a literal translation ;( )…
Thank you ilargia. Don’t want to sound preachy, but silliness doesn’t seem quite right today.
You’re 99.999%! We describe the pitcher plant, Venus Fly Trap etc. as being carnivorous – and of course you’re right, the Nepenthes is carnivorous! So glad you liked the shot – I love it 🙂
Thanks to you…
When I was a child I had one of these plants, very small, on my study table, and I enjoyed approaching a pencil, or my finger, to the “teeths” of the plant…And watching how they were moving, opening and closing…I had not think about this for eons..And it came back just now…;)
Isn’t blogging grand? 🙂
Indeed!
Very well said. Your photos are beautiful, and your take on the theme is perfect.
Good thoughts. Tough times for so many people.
I love the orange challenge! What is that orange plant? It’s amazing.
I love your thoughts on this and the photos are well representative of them. Really nice.
Nicely put, Wanderlust! Many people are reeling in the after-effects of this latest tropical storm system, and particularly if we are feeling grateful, we should pay it forward! ~ Kat
Yes we do! Here, we had a near miss when Cyclone Nelum changed its mind and turned due North instead of crashing into Trincomalee but even the flabby outer reaches of that giant storm are filling the dams and now the island’s big rivers (a relative term, Sri Lanka doesn’t have big rivers by world standards) are beginning to spill their banks – there will be widespread misery here tonight as well …
I like i like the photos! 🙂
Thank you – it was a photo challenge, so I appreciate your comment aysabaw.
Wonderful post, and great images. 🙂 Giving thanks is always a good thing.
Yes ad. I suppose it’s how we as humans learned about praise, and finding someone to thank for life itself. 🙂
Wonderful post, and I have to agree that feelings of Halloween silliness right now just isn’t feeling so right. And Kat has a great idea to pay it forward! This is the time to do that. Beautiful photos of orange.
Sad for the kids, I guess, but they’ll have plenty more to enjoy. How do we pay it forward?
Thanksgiving is certainly in order, and your cheery orange post seems just perfect for the occasion 🙂 The Nepenthes is stunning! Is this from your exotic garden?
Ah, there you are, Madhu – on line! That means you’ve power (or the generator?)! We’ve been out most of the evening – just back. Some flooding in town earlier, but no major disasters reported so far. What about Chennai?
The Nepenthes – isn’t it wonderful – is from my garden in Australia – I hope I have the opportunity to create another exotic paradise in Southern Queensland!
We got off lightly as you probably know by now. All sound and little fury 🙂 Didn’t even have our scheduled power cut on that day!!
Glad to hear about the power remaining on – and another lucky escape for most of us 🙂
As always . . .great photos and lovely thoughts.
You’re back in town! How’s your Dad?
I am back! Yeah!
He is on his way to the nursing home in Portland as I type this. It is about a 14 hour drive so he has a long day ahead of him. But, he sounds good and can sleep while my brother-in-law drives. Thanks for asking!
Lovely thoughts and photos, and I really like the way you put the challenges together in such an appropriate way for the day. Nature has her fury, but also so much beauty.
Blogging is such a wonderfully immediate medium – it was so nice to be able to post something just for yesterday 🙂
What a lovely post – you are so right – we have so much to be grateful for. Nicely done!
Don’t we just 🙂
The colour orange always lifts my spirit, as does being grateful. We just had a conversation in th eoffice re similar. There are happy people, grateful people who give so wonderfully just because they are (and thi sis so you), and it takes no more energy than to be the opposite, so there’s no point in being un-anything, except unafraid 🙂
They say orange is a colour for young people – but I adore it and don’t see why I can’t wear it too (and so I do!).
Now, ‘unafraid’ – that’s a challenge 🙂
What a lovely interpretation of the theme, Wanderlust. That will be echoing through my week, I think: let’s rather give thanks.
🙂
Love that beautiful striking orange in the photos…what interesting shots…lovely!
That’s great Lisa – thank you!
I love Your photos. Especially the second one.
It’s one of my all-time favourites too – just popped up there, with its dusty pieces of orange cloth, a prayer mat left behind … 🙂
Wonderful words and pictures. That bottom one looks like a huge pitcher plant, but also like a ravening wild animal!
It was about eight inches long, Viv and I always thought of the wide open mouths of pelicans – I just love the fluted edges of the pitcher part, with the neat hinge on its lid 🙂
Sending prayers and blessings to all affected by these terrible events… and remembering to be grateful too.
Gratitude seems a bit under-rated these days – it’s nice to hear you state it 🙂
Your photos ooze peace, calm and soothing balm for wet and windy times, as indeed do your very kind thoughts!
It seemed the world was being buffeted at the same time, Patti!
First Sandy crashed right through the West Indies, then the cyclone Son Tinh hit the Philippines, then Sandy began boring up your East coast, while at the same time Son Tinh tried obliterating Hoi Ann in Viet Nam and a tropical depression in the Bay of Bengal was fanned by the North West Monsoon into a an erratic and malevolent storm that they eventually called Nelum as it headed straight for our East coast before changing its mind and slamming into India instead. And the mop up from all three storms, wherever they hit land, continues.