Leaf: Do you have Jacaranda trees in Canada? I love that every November the colour mauve is everywhere. (Yarramundi, Australia)

Rae: Some days it's the littlest things that give the heart its dose of beauty, like the deep colors of black beans in my kitchen. (Pai, Thailand)

Leaf: The sweet little feet of my newborn daughter…the tiniest person I have ever known. (Penrith, Australia)

Rae: One of the many tall Victorians in this city where Chinua and I lived for many years. (San Francisco, USA)

Leaf: This colour must be called Spring Green…what do you say my Artist Friend? (Yarramundi, Australia)

Rae: Christy and I went on a little retreat at the Korean Prayer Mountain near Santa Cruz. This is what our cabins looked like, just a tiny bit of floor in the Redwoods, no food allowed, a perfect place to retreat and rest. I lay under the stars and watched the sky, then walked in the morning and found a clearing with a wooden cross where I sat and prayed and walked and prayed. Both Christy and I were in bliss. (Scotts Valley, USA)

Leaf: Pete found a place to make music while his four kids play below…a little loft! (Colo, Australia)

Rae: This is the home of a dear, dear friend, one of the prettiest places I've ever seen. Chinua and I slept under the stars (and down blankets-it's getting chilly) on sofas in the backyard. Beautiful. (Ojai, USA)

Leaf: We spent the afternoon chatting with our old friends Pete and Erin in their new 'almost off the grid' shed that has been made into a house. The views from this lounge were spectacular. (Colo, Australia)

Rae: This picture says a lot about Central California. The drought this year and the lost jobs (huge farmland). Also the "comida China" (Spanish for Chinese food) because in some places in California you find more Spanish speakers than English speakers. (Somewhere outside Bakersfield, USA)

Leaf: "It is spring again. The earth is like a child that knows poems by heart." Rainer Maria Rilke (Leura, Australia)

Rae: The courthouse had incredible tiles everywhere. (Santa Barbara, USA)

Leaf: The cutest washing ever! Nesting, nesting. I remember Taran wearing some of this stuff…oh how they grow! (Yarramundi, Australia)

Rae: I went for a walk with my friend and we ended up at this old Spanish courthouse. It was beautiful, with big magnolia trees dropping blossoms on us. (Santa Barbara, USA)