Freakishly Fantastic Fractals

AMID THE messiness and chaos, there are patterns that emerge in our world that some might view as fractals. A fractal, as I understand it, can be defined as a similar pattern repeated at different scales indefinitely.

Although we rely on our senses to find geometric patterns in nature, there are also hidden shapes, unseen until intensely magnified, at the very fabric (or energy) of existence.

I would not be surprised if masters of physics that rely on technology, microscopes and mathematics will one day unlock life's greatest mysteries and explain what reality truly is in provocative and completely new ways.

Recently, I had fun searching for aspects of fractals in the environment and found broccoli in my fridge. Anyone who chops up this vegetable knows there is broccoli within broccoli, within broccoli, within broccoli.

Fragments of trees, snow, clouds and mountains that I love to photograph duplicate the whole, even though each of the smaller parts is unique in its own right. Looking out and within there is a sense that the finite world is more deeply entrenched in the realm of infinity than we imagine.

William Blake might have been freakishly intuitive as well as poetic when he wrote those famous words: “To see a World in a Grain of Sand And a Heaven in a Wild Flower, Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand And Eternity in an hour.”

From grains of sand to ever smaller branches resembling blood vessels in the human body, remarkable replicating shrinking shapes are everywhere.

For more design repetitions see my homemade kaleidoscope HERE.

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Copyright by Penelope Puddlisms

Our World In A Snow Globe

WITH ALL the natural beauty in the Southwest Coast of BC, there is no need to stray from familiar paths.

The trail (below) at Blackie Spit Park in Crescent Beach is one I know well. The scene transforms with the seasons and is never dull. But if it were in a snow globe, its flakes would be few.

Although some see gray skies, the light that creeps through the trees is aglow with subtly changing colour.


Birds chirp loudly in this rainforest climate. Their vigorous chorus is hushed when winter breezes blow through the quivering leaves in delightful, sometimes frightening ways. I walk wooded and seaside paths almost daily. The scenery is enchanting but my well-trod destinations would likely have been viewed as far from adventurous by Ralph Waldo Emerson who said, "Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."

Whether forging new trails or being refreshed by the old, it is strange to think that wherever I roam, my journey is confined to one earthly dome of circling seasons in space. Everything and everyone in this place is subject to the same upheavals, storms, sparkles and gravity as the fairy (above) in her decorative globe. Together we are having the best adventure imaginable ... sailing the universe in a fantastical blue-green bubble that is our home.

There was no spinning sensation, though, when I recently walked down a Vancouver street bordered by mossy big trees. The bent limbs reaching out from opposite sides of the road linked in a canopy sheltering travelers below.

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Copyright by Penelope Puddlisms

Underground Art Gallery In South Surrey

DEEP WITHIN an underground parking lot, I was pleasantly surprised this week to find works of art on cement walls and pillars. Since some of the images were duplicates, I assume they are reproductions of paintings by unnamed artists. The bold First Nation patterns brightened the claustrophobic gray spaces where cars squeezed in and out under an oppressively low ceiling.

I have no background information on what these (pictured) creatures represent but perhaps the (top) image is of an oncoming owl or eagle chasing away evil spirits or wannabe car thieves?

I like the rounded frontal view and circular shapes in the side views. Circles can hold special meaning and are often expounded upon by creative thinkers, including Canadian and Cree playwright Tomson Highway who said during a CBC interview, "Native theology works in a different way. There is no heaven, there is no hell, there's just a circle. The circle of life and death that interconnect, and that when we pass away, we leave this planet, we don't go up or down. We stay [in] another part of the circle."

Aboriginal art of the Northwest Coast is normally displayed in BC museums and galleries. But swatches of colour, often depicting animals that teach life lessons, are appreciated wherever found and make dramatic garage décor.

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Copyright by Penelope Puddlisms

2015 Starts Off Like A New Pair Of Shoes

THE NEW YEAR stretches before us like 365 bright pennies twinkling with promise of good days ahead. The symbolism of newly minted coins (in Canada, no longer pennies), spotless calendars and reinvigorated resolutions is as buoyant as a new pair of shoes destined to flatten with wear.

Even if hardships and disappointments from 2014 have not faded, hope is often at its peak when life grants us a fresh calendar year. That is when we are more likely to see the world anew as if through the eyes of a child. The picture (above) shows a slushy day brightly conveyed by 15-year-old artist Kyra. Her painting was in a calendar given to me after paying our yearly car insurance fee at the Automobile Association (BCAA). Each month shows a different child’s drawing making it one of the year’s most charming calendars in my view.

Surveying the skies, I spotted these two characters (above) during my New Year's Eve morning walk.

The crows were oblivious to human joy and suffering or the need for footwear.

Each species perceives the world differently, which makes existence deeply fascinating and a tangled mystery seemingly impossible to unravel.

In the evening, I went for another walk to find 2014 coming to a close beautifully and peacefully at Kwomais Point Park.


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Greet the New Year with luscious skies from around the globe at Skywatch.

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Copyright by Penelope Puddlisms