View allAll Photos Tagged Behaviour
Today was the gloomiest, most miserable day ever, got no energy to do anything anyway so here's yet another one of stag-face. Looks like we might have some sunshine tomorrow though, I'd love some snow please...
My new girl, a Nu Face Perk Colette. I was going to re-root her but I'm in love with her as is. She's just stunning, and was my favourite FR girl before I got her, and remains so, if not even more enjoyable now.
She's going to be either Native American (I'm not sure where in America but bleh) or maybe even Hawaiian/Japanese. Not sure. Feel free to suggest names, you guys have lots of practice of naming girl dolls, I totally don't XD
There were a number of Red-breasted Mergansers in Portland Harbour this weekend. Towards the end of the day, this pair separated from the others and starting to exhibit behaviour that I had not seen before. The male courtship is often seen at this time of year, but this was different, in that the female was looking very submissive with her tail pointing up. Typical mating behaviour but surely not in December. Anyway as this series of images show it was clear was a mating attempt or pair bonding.
A pair of Coastal horseshoe crabs (Tachypleus gigas), for reasons only known to themselves, swimming in mid-water near the boat.
A Tawny Frogmouth trying to "hide".
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Really strange behaviour this tortoiseshell was acting really strange on top of this peacock everytime he flew off he followed it and landed with it and started to vibrate its wings don't quite know what it was trying to do anyone seen this kind of behaviour before ??.
The documentary shots one gets late at night...
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Looks like springs on the way with these Chaffinch squaring up to each other in an attempt to gain the upper hand.
Scrutiny and harassment by a group of crows on Parksville Bay, Vancouver Island. We had a peaceful walk in late morning along with a few paired residents and many varieties of birds. The structure was erected by an anonymous person on an island in the bay that comes and goes at the whim of the tide, currents, and wind.
Usually as in this case the Black Headed Gulls plunge in and grab a piece of vegitation or if there lucks in perhaps a small fish such as a Stickleback either way any gulls in the vicinity will begin the chase to try and steal it's prize.
The documentary shots one gets late at night...
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The howling whine of the BR710s gave this one away as it orbited overhead this morning... G-SGSG of TAG Aviation on, we believe, a test flight out to Farnborough. About 8 to 10 orbits overhead with gear down and what looks like the RAT deployed. Caught my eye, so grabbed a shot (just in case).
Haze and 9000' didn't make for a very clear shot
There's no turning back.
Even while we sleep.
We will find you acting on your best behaviour.
Turn your back on Mother Nature.
Everybody wants to rule the world.
It's my own design.
It's my own remorse.
Help me to decide.
Help me make the most of freedom and of pleasure.
Nothing ever lasts forever.
Everybody wants to rule the world.
There's a room where the light won't find you.
Holding hands while the walls come tumbling down.
When they do I'll be right behind you.
So glad we've almost made it.
So sad they had to fade it.
Everybody wants to rule the world.
All for freedom and for pleasure.
Nothing ever lasts forever.
Everybody wants to rule the world.
Absolutely in love with Lorde's cover of 'Everybody wants to rule the World' at the moment. It just makes me want to get up and start a revolution.
Courtship behaviour, Common Merganser (Mergus merganser) Raptor Tree Pond, Thomson Marsh, Kelowna, BC.
Peregrine pair (Falco peregrinus) shortly after copulation.
She called him back a little later but he wasn't tempted!
A stereotypy is a repetitive or ritualistic movement, posture, or utterance, found in patients with mental retardation, autism spectrum disorders, tardive dyskinesia, frontotemporal dementia and stereotypic movement disorder. Stereotypies may be simple movements such as body rocking, or complex, such as self-caressing, crossing and uncrossing of legs, and marching in place. Several causes have been hypothesized for stereotypy, and several treatment options are available.
Stereotypy is sometimes called stimming in autism, under the hypothesis that it self-stimulates one or more senses. Related terms include punding and tweaking to describe repetitive behavior that is a side effect of some drugs.
The Postcard
A postcard bearing no publisher's name. The people in the photograph have obviously been posed for the shot.
The card was posted in Chislehurst on Monday the 13th. March 1905 to:
Miss Moon,
The Gorse,
Manor Park,
Chislehurst,
Kent.
The left side of the divided back was left blank.
Mata Hari
So what else happened on the day that the card was posted?
Well, on the 13th. March 1905, Mata Hari first presented her sensational dancing act in Paris.
Margaretha Geertruida MacLeod (born Zelle in 1876), better known by her stage name Mata Hari, was a Dutch exotic dancer and courtesan who was convicted of being a spy for Germany during the Great War.
Despite having admitted under interrogation to taking money to work as a German spy, many people still believe that she was innocent, because the French Army needed a scapegoat. Mata Hari was executed by firing squad in France in 1917.
-- Mata Hari - The Early Years
Margaretha Geertruida Zelle was born on the 7th. August 1876 in Leeuwarden, Netherlands. She was the eldest of four children to Adam Zelle (1840–1910) and his first wife Antje van der Meulen (1842–1891). She had three younger brothers.
She was affectionately called "M'greet" by her family. Despite traditional assertions that Mata Hari was partly of Jewish, Malaysian, or Javanese descent, scholars conclude she had no Jewish or Asian ancestry, and both of her parents were Dutch.
Her father owned a hat shop, made investments in the oil industry, and became affluent enough to give Margaretha and her siblings a lavish early childhood that included exclusive schools until the age of 13.
Soon after Margaretha's father went bankrupt in 1889, her parents divorced, and her mother died in 1891. Her father remarried in Amsterdam on the 9th. February 1893 to Susanna Catharina ten Hoove (1844–1913).
The family fell apart, and Margaretha was sent to live with her godfather, Mr. Visser, in Sneek. Subsequently, she studied to be a kindergarten teacher in Leiden, but when the headmaster began to flirt with her conspicuously, she was removed from the institution by her godfather. A few months later, she fled to her uncle's home in The Hague.
-- Mata Hari and the Dutch East Indies
At 18, Zelle answered an advertisement in a Dutch newspaper placed by Dutch Colonial Army Captain Rudolf MacLeod (1856–1928), who was living in what was then the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia), and was looking for a wife.
Zelle married MacLeod in Amsterdam on the 11th. July 1895. He was the son of Captain John Brienen MacLeod and Dina Louisa, Baroness Sweerts de Landas. The marriage enabled Zelle to move into the Dutch upper class, and placed her finances on a sound footing.
She moved with her husband to Malang on Java, traveling out on the SS Prinses Amalia in May 1897. They had two children, Norman-John MacLeod (1897–1899) and Louise Jeanne MacLeod (1898–1919).
The marriage was an overall disappointment. MacLeod was an alcoholic, and regularly beat Zelle, whom he blamed for his lack of promotion. He also openly kept a concubine, a socially accepted practice in the Dutch East Indies at that time.
The disenchanted Zelle abandoned him temporarily, moving in with Van Rheedes, another Dutch officer. She studied Indonesian culture intently for several months and joined a local dance company during that time.
In correspondence to her relatives in the Netherlands in 1897, she revealed her artistic name of Mata Hari, the word for "Sun" in the local Malay language (literally, "Eye of the Day").
At MacLeod's urging, Zelle returned to him, but his behaviour did not change. She escaped her circumstances by studying the local culture. In 1899, their children fell violently ill from complications relating to the treatment of syphilis contracted from their parents, though the family claimed they were poisoned by an irate servant.
Jeanne survived, but Norman died. Some sources maintain that one of MacLeod's enemies may have poisoned their supper to kill both of their children. After moving back to the Netherlands, the couple officially separated on the 30th. August 1902. The divorce became final in 1906, and Zelle was awarded custody of Jeanne.
MacLeod was legally required to pay child support, which he never did. During a visit to Jeanne, MacLeod decided not to return her to her mother. Zelle did not have the resources to fight the situation and accepted it, believing that while MacLeod had been an abusive husband, he had always been a good father. Jeanne later died at the age of 21, also possibly from complications related to syphilis.
-- Mata Hari's Career
-- Paris
In 1903, Zelle moved to Paris, where she performed as a circus horse rider using the name Lady MacLeod, much to the disapproval of the Dutch MacLeods. Struggling to earn a living, she also posed as an artist's model.
By 1904, Mata Hari began to rise to prominence as an exotic dancer. She was a contemporary of dancers Isadora Duncan and Ruth St. Denis, leaders in the early modern dance movement, which around the turn of the 20th. century looked to Asia and Egypt for artistic inspiration.
Promiscuous, flirtatious, and openly flaunting her body, Mata Hari captivated her audiences, and was an overnight success from the debut of her act at the Musée Guimet in Paris on the 13th. March 1905.
Mata became the long-time mistress of the millionaire industrialist Émile Étienne Guimet, who had founded the Musée. She posed as a Javanese princess of priestly Hindu birth, pretending to have been immersed in the art of sacred Indian dance since childhood.
She was photographed numerous times during this period, nude or nearly so. Some of these pictures were obtained by MacLeod and used to strengthen his case for keeping custody of their daughter.
Mata Hari brought a carefree provocative style to the stage in her act, which garnered wide acclaim. The most celebrated segment of her act was her progressive shedding of clothing until she wore only a jewelled breastplate and some ornaments upon her arms and head.
She was never seen bare-chested as she was self-conscious about having small breasts. She wore a body stocking for her performances that was similar in color to her own skin, but that was later omitted.
Although Mata Hari's claims about her origins were fictitious, it was very common for entertainers of her era to invent colourful stories about their origins in order to enhance their image.
Mata Hari's act was successful because it elevated erotic dance to a more respectable status, and so broke new ground in a style of entertainment for which Paris was later to become world-famous. Her style and free-willed attitude made her a popular woman, as did her eagerness to perform in exotic and revealing clothing.
Mata posed for provocative photos, and mingled in wealthy circles. Since most Europeans at the time were unfamiliar with the Dutch East Indies, Mata Hari was thought of as exotic, and it was assumed that her claims were genuine.
One enthusiastic French journalist wrote in a Paris newspaper that:
"Mata Hari is so feline, extremely feminine,
majestically tragic, the thousand curves and
movements of her body trembling in a
thousand rhythms."
Another journalist in Vienna wrote after seeing one of her performances that:
"Mata Hari is slender and tall, with the flexible
grace of a wild animal, and with blue-black hair.
Her face makes a strange foreign impression."
However, critics began to opine that the success and dazzling features of the popular Mata Hari were due to cheap exhibitionism and lacked artistic merit. Although she continued to attend important social events throughout Europe, she was held in disdain by serious cultural institutions as a dancer who did not know how to dance.
By about 1910, myriad imitators had arisen.
Mata Hari's career went into decline after 1912. On the 13th. March 1915, she performed what would be the last show of her career. She had begun her career relatively late for a dancer, and had started putting on weight. However, by this time she had become a successful courtesan, known more for her sensuality and eroticism than for her beauty.
She had relationships with high-ranking military officers, politicians, and others in influential positions in many countries. Her relationships and liaisons with powerful men frequently took her across international borders. Prior to the Great War, she was generally viewed as an artist and a free-spirited bohemian, but as war approached, she began to be seen by some as a wanton and promiscuous woman, and perhaps a dangerous seductress.
-- Espionage
During the Great War, the Netherlands remained neutral. As a Dutch subject, Zelle was thus able to cross national borders freely. To avoid the battlefields, she traveled between France and the Netherlands via Spain and Great Britain, and her movements inevitably attracted attention.
During the war, Zelle was involved in what was described as a very intense romantic-sexual relationship with a Russian pilot serving with the French, the 23-year-old Captain Vadim Maslov, whom she called the love of her life. Maslov was part of the 50,000 strong Russian Expeditionary Force that had been sent to the Western Front in the spring of 1916.
In the summer of 1916, Maslov was shot down and badly wounded during a dogfight with the Germans, losing his sight in both eyes, which led Zelle to ask for permission to visit her wounded lover at the hospital where he was staying near the Front.
As a citizen of a neutral country, Zelle would not normally be allowed near the Front. However, Zelle was met by agents from the Deuxième Bureau who told her that she would be allowed to see Maslov if she agreed to spy for France.
Before the war, Zelle had performed as Mata Hari several times before the Crown Prince Wilhelm, eldest son of Kaiser Wilhelm II, and nominally a senior German general on the Western Front. The Deuxième Bureau believed she might be able to obtain information by seducing the Crown Prince for military secrets.
In fact, his involvement was minimal, and it was German government propaganda that promoted the image of the Crown Prince as a great warrior, the worthy successor to the Hohenzollern monarchs who had made Prussia strong and powerful. They wanted to avoid publicising that the man expected to be the next Kaiser was in fact a playboy noted for womanising, partying, and indulging in alcohol, who spent much of his time associating with far right-wing politicians, with the intent of having his father declared insane and deposed.
Unaware that the Crown Prince did not have much to do with the running of Army Group or the 5th Army, the Deuxième Bureau offered Zelle one million francs if she could seduce him and provide France with good intelligence about German plans.
The fact that the Crown Prince had, before 1914, never commanded a unit larger than a regiment, and was now supposedly commanding both an army and an army group at the same time should have been a clue that his role in German decision-making was mostly nominal.
Zelle's contact with the Deuxième Bureau was Captain Georges Ladoux, who was later to emerge as one of her principal accusers.
In November 1916, she was traveling by steamer from Spain when her ship called at the British port of Falmouth. There she was arrested and brought to London where she was interrogated at length by Sir Basil Thomson, assistant commissioner at New Scotland Yard in charge of counter-espionage.
He gave an account of this in his 1922 book 'Queer People', saying that she eventually admitted to working for the Deuxième Bureau. Initially detained in Cannon Street police station, she was then released and stayed at the Savoy Hotel.
A full transcript of the interview is in Britain's National Archives and was broadcast, with Mata Hari played by Eleanor Bron, on the independent radio station LBC in 1980.
It is unclear if she lied on this occasion, believing the story made her sound more intriguing, or if French authorities were using her in such a way, but would not acknowledge her due to the embarrassment and international backlash it could cause.
In late 1916, Zelle traveled to Madrid, where she met with the German military attaché Major Arnold Kalle and asked if he could arrange a meeting with the Crown Prince. During this period, Zelle apparently offered to share French secrets with Germany in exchange for money, though whether this was because of greed or an attempt to set up a meeting with Crown Prince Wilhelm remains unclear.
In January 1917, Major Kalle transmitted radio messages to Berlin describing the helpful activities of a German spy code-named H-21, whose biography so closely matched Zelle's that it was patently obvious that Agent H-21 could only be Mata Hari.
The Deuxième Bureau intercepted the messages and, from the information they contained, identified H-21 as Mata Hari. The messages were in a code that German intelligence knew had already been broken by the French, suggesting that the messages were contrived to have Zelle arrested by the French.
General Walter Nicolai, the chief IC (intelligence officer) of the German Army, had grown very annoyed that Mata Hari had provided him with no intelligence worthy of the name, instead selling the Germans mere Paris gossip about the sex lives of French politicians and generals, and decided to terminate her employment by exposing her as a German spy to the French.
-- The Trial of Mata Hari
In December 1916, the Second Bureau of the French War Ministry let Mata Hari obtain the names of six Belgian agents. Five were suspected of submitting fake material and working for the Germans, while the sixth was suspected of being a double agent for Germany and France.
Two weeks after Mata Hari had left Paris for a trip to Madrid, the double agent was executed by the Germans, while the five others continued their operations. This development served as proof to the Second Bureau that the names of the six spies had been communicated by Mata Hari to the Germans.
On the 13th. February 1917, Mata Hari was arrested in her room at the Hotel Elysée Palace on the Champs Elysées in Paris. She was put on trial on the 24th. July, accused of spying for Germany, and consequently causing the deaths of at least 50,000 soldiers.
Although the French and British intelligence suspected her of spying for Germany, neither could produce definite evidence against her. Supposedly, secret ink was found in her room, which was incriminating evidence in that period. She contended that it was part of her makeup.
Zelle's principal interrogator, who grilled her relentlessly, was Captain Pierre Bouchardon; he was later to prosecute her at trial. Bouchardon was able to establish that much of the Mata Hari persona was invented, and far from being a Javanese princess, Zelle was actually Dutch, which he was to use as evidence of her dubious and dishonest character at her trial.
Zelle admitted to Bouchardon that she had accepted 20,000 francs from a German diplomat in the Netherlands to spy on France, but insisted she only passed on to the Germans trivial information, as her loyalty was entirely to her adopted nation, France. In the meantime, Ladoux had been preparing a case against his former agent by casting all of her activities in the worst possible light, going so far as to engage in evidence tampering.
-- Mata Hari as a Scapegoat
In 1917, France had been badly shaken by the Great Mutinies of the French Army in the spring of 1917 following the failure of the Nivelle Offensive together with a huge strike wave, and at the time many believed that France might simply collapse as a result of war exhaustion.
In July 1917, a new government under Georges Clemenceau had come into power, utterly committed to winning the war. In this context, having one German spy on whom everything that went wrong with the war so far could be blamed was most convenient for the French government.
This made Mata Hari the perfect scapegoat, which explains why the case against her received maximum publicity in the French press, and led to her importance in the war being greatly exaggerated.
The British historian Julie Wheelwright stated:
"She really did not pass on anything
that you couldn’t find in the local
newspapers in Spain."
Wheelwright went on to describe Zelle as:
"An independent woman, a divorcée,
a citizen of a neutral country, a courtesan
and a dancer, which made her a perfect
scapegoat for the French, who were then
losing the war. She was kind of held up as
an example of what might happen if your
morals were too loose.”
Zelle wrote several letters to the Dutch Ambassador in Paris, claiming her innocence:
"My international connections are due
of my work as a dancer, nothing else ....
Because I really did not spy, it is terrible
that I cannot defend myself."
The most terrible and heart-breaking moment for Mata Hari during the trial occurred when her lover Maslov—by now a deeply embittered man as a result of losing his eyes in combat—declined to testify for her, telling her he did not care if she was convicted or not. It was reported that Zelle fainted when she learned that Maslov had abandoned her.
Her defence counsel, international lawyer Édouard Clunet, faced impossible odds; he was denied permission either to cross-examine the prosecution's witnesses or to examine his own witnesses directly. Bouchardon used the fact that Zelle was a woman as evidence of her guilt, saying:
"Without scruples, accustomed to making
use of men, she is the type of woman who
is born to be a spy."
Zelle has often been portrayed as a femme fatale, the dangerous, seductive woman who uses her sexuality to effortlessly manipulate men, but others view her differently: in the words of the American historians Norman Polmer and Thomas Allen she was "naïve and easily duped", a victim of men rather than a victimizer.
Mata Hari herself admitted under interrogation to taking money to work as a German spy. It is contended by some historians that Mata Hari may have merely accepted money from the Germans without actually carrying out any spy duties.
At her trial, Zelle vehemently insisted that her sympathies were with the Allies and declared her passionate love of France, her adopted homeland.
During her trial, Mata Hari stated:
"A harlot? Yes, but a traitress, never!"
In October 2001, documents released from the archives of MI5 (British counter-intelligence) were used by a Dutch group, the Mata Hari Foundation, to ask the French government to exonerate Zelle, as they argued that the MI5 files proved she was not guilty of the charges for which she was convicted.
A spokesman from the Mata Hari Foundation argued that at most Zelle was a low-level spy who provided no secrets to either side, stating:
"We believe that there are sufficient doubts
concerning the dossier of information that
was used to convict her to warrant re-opening
the case.
Maybe she wasn't entirely innocent, but it seems
clear she wasn't the master-spy whose information
sent thousands of soldiers to their deaths, as has
been claimed."
-- The Execution of Mata Hari
Zelle was executed by a firing squad of 12 French soldiers just before dawn on the 15th. October 1917. She was 41 years of age.
According to an eyewitness account by British reporter Henry Wales, she was not bound, and refused a blindfold. She defiantly blew a kiss to the firing squad.
A 1934 New Yorker article reported that at her execution:
"She wore a neat Amazonian tailored
suit, especially made for the occasion,
and a pair of new white gloves".
However another account indicates that she wore the same suit, low-cut blouse, and tricorn hat ensemble which had been picked out by her accusers for her to wear at trial, and which was still the only full, clean outfit which she had in prison.
Neither description however matches the photographic evidence. One observer recorded her death as follows:
"After the volley of shots rang out, slowly,
inertly, she settled to her knees, her head
up always, and without the slightest change
of expression on her face.
For the fraction of a second it seemed she
tottered there, on her knees, gazing directly
at those who had taken her life.
Then she fell backward, bending at the waist,
with her legs doubled up beneath her."
A non-commissioned officer then walked up to her body, pulled out his revolver, and shot her in the head to make sure that she was dead.
Mata Hari's body was not claimed by any family members, and was accordingly used for medical study. Her head was embalmed, and kept in the Museum of Anatomy in Paris.
However in 2000, archivists discovered that Mata Hari's head had disappeared. Curator Roger Saban has suggested that it could have disappeared as early as 1954, during the museum's relocation. Her head remains missing to this day.
Records dating from 1918 show that the museum also received the rest of the body, although none of her remains could later be accounted for.
Mata Hari's sealed trial and other related documents, a total of 1,275 pages, were de-classified by the French Army in 2017, one hundred years after her execution.
-- The Legacy of Mata Hari
The Frisian museum in Leeuwarden, Netherlands, contains a "Mata Hari Room". Included in the exhibit are two of her personal scrapbooks, and an oriental rug embroidered with the footsteps of her fan dance.
Located in Mata Hari's native town, the museum is well known for research into the life and career of Leeuwarden's world-famous citizen. The largest-ever Mata Hari exhibition was opened in the Museum of Friesland on the 14th. October 2017, one hundred years after her death.
Mata Hari's birthplace is located in a building at Kelders 33. The building suffered smoke and water damage during a fire in 2013, but was later restored. Architect Silvester Adema studied old drawings of the storefront in order to reconstruct it as it appeared when Abraham Zelle, the father of Mata Hari, had a hat shop there. In 2016, an information centre was created in the building displaying mementos of Mata Hari.
-- Mata Hari in Popular Culture
The idea of an exotic dancer working as a lethal double agent using her powers of seduction to extract military secrets from her many lovers made Mata Hari an enduring archetype of the femme fatale.
Her life inspired a number of films, including:
-- Mata Hari (1920)
-- Mata Hari (1927), a German production
-- Mata Hari (1931), a Hollywood motion picture starring Greta Garbo
-- Mata Hari, Agent H21 (1964)
-- Up the Front (1972), a British comedy film in which Zsa Zsa Gabor portrays Mata Hari.
-- Mata Hari (1981), television-series
-- Mata Hari; The Magic Camera, an episode of Fantasy Island (1982)
-- Mata Hari (1985)
-- Mata Hari (2016)
-- Mata Hari (2017), short film
-- Mata Hari: The Naked Spy (2017)
Mata Hari's life has also inspired at least five stage musicals:
-- Mata Hari in 1967, starring Pernell Roberts and Marisa Mell
-- Mata Hari, by Lene Lovich, Judge Smith, and Les Chappell, premiered in 1982 at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith
-- Mata!, with words and music by Stuart Brayson, received its World Premiere at Blackpool Grand Theatre in June 1995
-- Mata Hari at the Moulin Rouge, by Frank Wildhorn, which debuted in Seoul, South Korea in March 2016
-- One Last Night with Mata Hari, written by Craig Walker with music by John Burge, debuted at the Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts, in Kingston, Ontario, in January 2017.
-- Final Thoughts From Mata Hari
"I am a woman who enjoys herself very
much; sometimes I lose, sometimes I win."
"In every woman there is always something
mysterious and interesting."
"I am a woman who knows what men
want, and I give it to them willingly."
"A woman who is not afraid to be herself
is a force to be reckoned with."
"I have been many things in my life, but
above all, I have always been true to myself."
"A woman's power lies in her ability
to seduce and captivate."
"Seduction is an art, and I have perfected it."
"Don't underestimate the power of a woman
who knows her worth."
"A woman's beauty is not limited to her physical
appearance; it is an essence that radiates from
within."
"I may have played many roles in my life,
but the greatest role I have ever played
is being myself."
"True liberation comes from embracing
and celebrating one's own sexuality."
"A woman who embraces her sensuality
has the power to change the world."
"Society may judge, but I refuse to be
defined by its standards."
"A woman's worth is not determined by
the number of men she conquers, but
by the strength of her character."
"I am a masterpiece in progress; ever
evolving, ever growing."
"Powerful ideas are just in your pocket."
"Love is not something to fear, but to
embrace with open arms."
"I may be a femme fatale, but I am also
a woman with a heart."
"In the game of life, you must be willing
to take risks and bet on yourself."
"A woman who embraces her own
desires is unstoppable."
"Life is too short to be bound by societal
norms; live boldly and without regret."
"The power of a woman lies in her ability
to be both vulnerable and resilient."
"The desire to be free is the
essence of living."
"A woman should never apologize for
being herself; she is a force of nature."
"I may be a temptress, but I never
claimed to be an angel."
"The world may judge, but I am not here
to please them; I am here to live my truth."
"Empowerment comes from embracing
and celebrating one's own femininity."
"A fearless woman is a force to be
reckoned with."
"I am a woman who dances to the beat
of her own drum."
Mute Swan - Courtship and Copulatory Behaviour
The Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) is a species of swan native to much of Europe and Asia.This large swan is wholly white in plumage with an orange bill bordered with black. The name 'mute' derives from it being less vocal than other swan species. The population in the UK has increased recently, perhaps due to better protection of this species. Around 5,800-7,000 pairs breeding annually in UK.
Mayesbrook Park (Barking), Britain’s first climate change park, is an attractive nature reserve with a newly restored river landscape. The Mayes brook has been brought back into the park within a widened meandering river channel creating an attractive river landscape to help the park to cope with more extreme changes in climate including heavy rainfall and drought. This new river system, with a gravel river bed and banks, provides an ideal wetland habitat for wildlife and at times of high rainfall it is able to rise in a controlled and natural way within a newly created floodplain.
The southern section of the park features two large lakes which are rich in wildlife. Aquatic plants such as reeds and rushes have been planted in ponds and backwaters, creating a rich habitat for wetland species. With over 40 hectares of open space, the park recently received a Mayor of London Safer Parks Silver award for high standards of site safety and policing.