Wet Days

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Siri: It’s another wet and windy day. I feel horribly uninspired.
Selma: Don’t wait for inspiration. Let’s collect some rain water and flowers from the garden.

Siri: Schon wieder solch ein feuchter und windiger Tag. Ich fühle mich völlig uninspiriert.
Selma: Warte nicht auf Inspirationen. Lass uns lieber etwas Regenwasser und einige Blüten aus unserem Garten sammeln.

A rose submerged in rain water with a hint of Siri and Selma‘s fairy dust

If light passes through water it is reflected. Since the light is passing from the less dense air into the more dense water it is bent. Siri and Selma learnt this at their fairy school. But that doesn’t have much effect, apart from a small shift in the lines. But they wanted more, namely to visualise their magical fairy dust. They want to show how they perceive the world covered in fairy dust.

Wenn Lichtstrahlen durch Wasser fallen, werden sie gebrochen, da sie von der wenig dichten Luft ins dichtere Wasser übergehen. Das lernten Siri und Selma in der Feenschule. Aber das macht noch keinen großen Effekt, außer einer kleinen Verschiebung der Linien. Sie wollten mehr, nämlich ihren zaubrischen Feenstaub sichtbar machen. Sie wollen zeigen, wie sie die Welt eingehüllt vom Feenstaub wahrnehmen.

Add some ink …

Selma had an idea. We need to colour our fairy dust so that people can see it. After some trial and error, we found out that coloured inks are suitable for this, which are carefully dripped into the water drop by drop. Siri came up with the admittedly crazy idea of adding a few drops of milk left over from breakfast to the mixture. And lo and behold, you can already see our fairy dust.

Selma hatte eine Idee. Wir müssen unseren Feenstaub einfärben, damit Menschen ihn sehen können. Nach einigem Herumprobieren fanden wir heraus, dass sich dafür farbige Tinten eignen, die ganz vorsichtig Tropfen für Tropfen ins Wasser geträufelt werden. Siri kam noch auf die freilich verrückte Idee, einige Tropfen Milch, die vom Frühstück übrig waren, diesem Gemisch zuzufügen. Und siehe da, schon könnt ihr unseren Feenstaub sehen.

Aaah.. the water bubbles! Siri and Selma had to do a few tweaks to make them less visible.

However, photography was a challenge for our poor Dina, who initially struggled in vain with reflections on the glass container. It took a few attempts before she realised that she had to drastically underexpose the images to suppress these reflections, which were cheekily interfering with the view of our fairy dust.

Allerdings stellte die Fotografie eine Herausforderung für unsere arme Dina dar, die zunächst mit Reflexionen am Glasbehälter vergeblich kämpfte. Es dauerte einige Versuche, bis sie fand, dass sie die die Bilder drastisch unterbelichten musste, um diese Reflexionen zu unterdrücken, die die Sicht unseres Feenstaubs frech störten.

Add some milk …

The ancient Greeks, such as Empedocles, were not so wrong when they assumed that particles emanate from our eyes hit what we see, i.e. what is reflected. What we see is the reflection of what we emit (emission theory). However, our teacher thought this was a bold assumption that did not exactly correspond to what we think we know about perception today. Nevertheless, we are not that wrong, because we see what lives in our heads as a concept.
Now we have given you a glimpse of how we see our fairy dust.

Die alten Griechen wie Empedocles lagen gar nicht so falsch, wenn sie annahmen, dass von unseren Augen Partikel ausgehen und auf das treffen, was wir sehen, d.h. was reflektiert wird. Was wir sehen, ist die Reflexion von dem, was wir aussenden (Emissionstheorie). Unsere Lehrerin fand dies jedoch eine kühne Annahme, die nicht gerade dem entspricht, was wir heute von der Wahrnehmung meinen zu wissen. Dennoch liegen wir gar nicht so falsch, denn wir sehen, was als Vorstellung in unseren Köpfen wohnt.
Jetzt haben wir euch einen Einblick gegeben, wie wir unseren Feenstaub sehen.

Warm greetings from the cold sea

Liebe Grüße
The Fab Four of Cley
🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

.

© text and illustrations, Hanne Siebers & Klausbernd Vollmar, Cley next the Sea 2024

116 thoughts

  3. Ihr Lieben, was für ein zauberhafter Feen”filter”. Der Tropfen Milch hat das Faß meiner Begeisterung zum Überlaufen und in Folge zum Kommentieren gebracht. Könnt doch ich jetzt auch ein Tropfen sein und in diese Aufnahmen eintauchen. Wirklich gelungen, Dina.

    Liebe Grüße – Marianne

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    • Guten Morgen, liebe Marianne,

      schön, dass dir unsere Spielerei gut gefällt. Wir haben viel Spaß gehabt, mit verschiedenen Farben und Tinten herumzuexperimentieren. So etwas lieben Siri 🙂 und 🙂 Selma und wir auch.

      Wir hoffen, dir und Mike geht es gut.

      Liebe Grüße vom sonnigen Meer und habe herzlichen Dank fürs Kommentieren
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Good morning, dear Steve

      for the final picture we used all three primary colours of ink and hardly any white.
      We can see the two goblets as well.

      Thanks and wishing you a wonderful week.
      All the best
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Like

    • Dear Pete

      what a beautiful weather we have, warm and sunny 🌞

      We all four love to experiment with water and colour. Well, you can see that, our dear Bookfayries are full of colour as well.
      Thanks for your comment and all the best

      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Good morning, dear Mike

      the fairy dust can’t be seen otherwise, it needs the help of Siri 🙂 and 🙂 Selma’s colours and Dina’s photography. And then it becomes arty.

      Wishing you an easy day and thanks for commenting
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Dear Alessandra

      thanks for liking our images 🙏 🙏
      We loved to fiddle around with colours, water and photography when ii’s raining, no weather for doing something outside but for having fun inside.

      All the best
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Like

  15. I must admit, I like wet ands windy days. I can happily stay inside, light a candle or two and read and write and work on new ideas. I love what the four of you have produced on a cold and wet day. Inspiring indeed, Siri and Selma!
    Life is full of beauty, thanks for sharing your fairy dust.

    What are you reading right now?
    Yesterday my new book arrived, The Dancer by Óskar Guðmundsson from Iceland. I very much enjoyed Óskar Guðmundsson’s debut novel, Hilma, which was awarded the Icelandic Crime Syndicate’s Drop of Blood award for the best crime novel of 2015 and this book, The Dancer, marks the start of a new series of novels from Guðmundsson.
    Following your recommendation, I’m now listening to Jeffrey Deaver and (Lincoln Rhyme) and I’m hooked!

    Wishing you a good start in the new week.
    Kram
    Annalena x

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Good morning, dear Annalena 💜

      especially Kb likes rainy and windy weather that makes staying inside so cosy. He would read like you in his rocking chair or experimenting with us.

      What we are reading?
      Dina is reading ‘The Year of the Hare’ by Arto Paasilinna. We all four love Paasilinna’s style. He writes so funny sometimes.
      Our dear Master just finished ‘Helgoland’ by Carlo Rovelli. That’s an introduction in quantum physics and it’s actually relatively easy to understand. Rovelli sees the modern physics as a science of relationships of entities. He called his book ‘Helgoland’ because that’s the place where Heisenberg got his basic ideas about quantum physics. Kb always tells us that one doesn’t need to understand everything in a book like this. You have to get the gist.
      Siri 🙂 and 🙂 Selma found in our library the collected works of Roald Dahl. They want to read all his books. As much as the text they like the illustrations by Quentin Blake.

      We only heard about Óskar Guðmundsson, unfortunately we haven’t read something he wrote yet.

      With lots of love ❤
      KRAM 🤗 🤗
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Like

    • Liebe Uschi, lieber Herbert

      ja, Siri 🙂 und 🙂 Selma sind wirklich zauberhafte Feen und sooooooo liebenswert.

      Alles Gute
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Like

  18. My dear friends, I have always believed that fairy dust – that mystical substance often associated with magic and enchantment – is real. Ever since I was a child, I knew that a sprinkle of fairy dust could indeed bring about extraordinary and wondrous events. This belief has inspired me to see the world through a lens of wonder and possibility, where even the most ordinary moments hold the potential for something truly wonderful. Dina – you captured the beauty of fairy dust. Siri and Selma – that you for sharing your fairy dust with the world. Sending much love and many hugs to my dear friends, The Fab Four of Cley!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Good morning, dear Rebecca

      fairy dust is everywhere but usually one can’t see it but some people can feel it. Siri 🙂 and 🙂 Selma’s idea was to make it seen by colouring it. It’s like a contrast medium. To see the fairy dust opens you up for the magic of the world.

      Thank you very much for your comment 🙏 🙏
      With love ❤ ❤
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • We don’t really know, dear Anne.

      Siri: “It’s just there if we believe it or not. It’s like gravitation.”
      Selma: “It’s there because we think it’s there.”

      Thank you very much for commenting
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Like

    • Herzlichen Dank, liebe Belana Hermine.

      Wir arbeiten weiter daran, Feenstaub sichtbar zu machen. Siri 🙂 und 🙂 Selma gründeten ein Feenstaubforschungsinstitut (FeFoIn.Inc.). Da sind wir gespannt, was sie so alles sichtbar machen werden.

      Mit lieben Grüßen vom sonnigen Meer
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  27. Schön. Ich denke, wenn man in Sachen Fotografie herumexperimentieren möchte braucht es Geduld wie bei Tierfotografie in der Natur. Man freut sich, wenn nach unzähligen Versuchen dann doch tolle Ergebnisse herauskommen. Foto-Kunstwerke. Ich gratuliere zum Ergebnis!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Habe herzlichen Dank, lieber Ernestus.

      Du hast recht, es braucht einige Geduld, um tolle Ergebnisse zu erzeugen, eine Eigenschaft, die Dina bei ihrer Hasenfotografie lernte.
      Wir benötigten einige Versuche, bis etwas Sehenswertes dabei herauskam. Siri 🙂 und 🙂 Selma mussten lernen, wie viele Farbtropfen welchen Effekt erzeugen und wo sie sie einträufeln sollten. Auch die geeignete Farbe zu finden, dauert eine Weile. Aber es machte uns auch viel Spaß.

      Mit lieben Grüßen vom sonnigen Meer
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Dear David

      we love to sit inside and play around with colours and photography. We find that VERY cosy. And it’s exciting to see the effects of our experiments.

      Thanks and wishing you all the best
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  31. I feel this was a very pleasant and interesting way to pass time on a rainy day and I have enjoyed reading of it on my rainy day here in southeast Ireland. Also, I wonder if “fairydust” is a far more pleasant term than “floaters”, that swarms of dull shapes which dims my eyesight, part of cataract condition? Both affected eyes are scheduled for the removal of the cataracts and the insertion of artificial lens. Will I sing, “I can see clearly now the rain don’t fall”?

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Dear Paddy

      Kb had an old teacher when he was in his twenties. Her point was, seeing clear makes you oversee a lot. If you really want to see it helps seeing blurred. – Well she was in her nineties and nearly blind.

      A cataract condition seems to me quite normal nowadays when one gets older. To correct this with an artificial lens is a routine, my eye-doctor told me. He thinks that I need such an operations in a couple of years time as well.

      All the best for your operation. Siri 🙂 and 🙂 Selma send you finest healing fairy dust.
      Thanks and have an easy week
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Yes, surprising as it seems to me, such surgery is quite routine nowadays and I am told life will be clearer and brighter afterwards.

      Liked by 1 person

    • Hi, dear Anne

      You believe in fairies and we are living together with two fairies. One can’t avoid fairies. We love our two Bookfayries.

      Thank you very much
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Like

  38. Stunning beauties, dear friends!
    You certainly have given milk and water a new definition! Did you know that milk works as invisible ink?
    Sending you sunny greetings from the North. At long last it’s finally getting warmer.
    Klem
    Per Magnus x

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Our dear friend Per Magnus,

      while we are writing here, Siri 🙂 and 🙂 Selma are trying out to write with milk. They told us, one has to warm the paper with this writing and then the invisible text is getting brown and becomes readable.

      We had to look up the expression ‘milk and water’. Now we know it means weak.

      Here we have fine weather as well, sunny and warm like in summer.

      KLEM
      All the very best
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Like

  40. Our inner world, our thoughts and feelings, determine what we see and how we see things. So from a higher vantage point, we perceive things that are just as real as the physical world described by our modern day scientists.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Dear Peter

      thank you very much.
      What we see is dependent on our conceptions, most of the time we see what is fitting. Especially the worldview of quantum mechanics (Heisenberg f.e.) stresses the inner world of the observer.

      We wish you a happy day
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

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    • Guten Morgen, lieber Achim,

      ‘Stillleben unter Wasser’ ist ein guter Titel für diese Fotos. Er gefällt uns.
      Danke für deinen Kommentar.

      Wir hoffen, dir geht es gut und wünschen dir eine angenehme Woche
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Like

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