As I have more than one photo this week, I’ll start with Monique’s, which she took while in Tasmania a couple of weeks ago.

Walking through the rainforest in cold, wet south-western Tasmania, I took the opportunity to get some macro shots before the rain came down again. I had to be quick—the rain was on and off as though someone up above was playing games with me.

This shot of a leafy tendril embracing a water droplet is my favourite. The plant is holding on to the droplet for all it’s worth. While there’s a survival element here, it also strikes me as nurturing. It must be that embrace, reminding me of holding on to my children, not wanting to let them go. Maybe it’s because they’re so grown up now …

A simple rain drop looks magical up close!

I went with flowers again this week, but with a difference. Last weekend, my family and I were invited to an annual music concert and outdoor dinner with friends. This night has quickly become one of our favourite events of the year.

The evening begins with a concert, during which all the kids play their musical instruments. They then come together, under the guidance of a couple of friends who are professional musicians, and play an ensemble piece. This year, the piece was based on the Midsomer Murders series and told the story of a serene village that descended into murder and mayhem. 

We then watched their home-made movie, ‘Midwinter Murders’, a beautifully scripted and finely acted murder-mystery-thriller that was produced over a 24-hour period whilst on a camping holiday in the Murchison. It was even more impressive than it sounds (!), and the post-production music and special effects only added to the magnificence. The clues as to the murderer were so subtle that I don’t think anyone could have possibly guessed the heavily Russian-accented Svetlana was the culprit. 

To finish the evening, we sat for dinner at long tables in their backyard. My friend has a gift for floral arranging, and the day before, she and her mother had scoured neighbouring verges and gardens for flowers. I took my camera and photographed her simple-yet-elegant table settings:

You can see how wonderful it looked. In fact, the whole evening was enchanting.

~

If you’d like to look back over some of our past Midweek Moments, click here. Please visit Monique’s website, too, for more of her writing and photography.