Very cold, but so beautiful.

Thanks for your visit and comments, I appreciate that very much!

Please don't use this image on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit permission. © all rights reserved.

Regards, Bram (BraCom)

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But a Christmas Eve snow

A day early this year...

___________

Even though we remain hovering right at the freezing point, early this morning big, fluffy, and wet snowflakes began to fall, continuing even now and providing a beautiful, fresh white accent to the landscape...the northwoods' annual celebration of the season. This shot, as with so many others over the years, taken from my deck.

[This is also the time of year at which I get confused as to whom I've wished Season's Greetings and to whom I have not. Forgive me if I repeat myself and, in the spirit of the holidays, be patient with an old man, accepting good wishes however often they may be repeated. It's the thought, not the memory, that counts. ;-))]

Gullfoss

the Eurasian Wren is the only Wren species ( troglodytidae ) in Europe, Asia and Africa.

troglodytes troglodytes

winterkoning of winterkoninkje

Troglodyte mignon

Zaunkönig

Chochín Paleártico

Scricciolo

Carriça

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My photos may not be used on websites, blogs or in any other media without my written and explicit permission.

MIXED MEAT PLATTER, awaits its chicks, but the parent is not going to feed them until I am well out the way, so as not to disclose the nest sights location. Seen at Palm Bay Thanet Kent.

===================================

THANK YOU FOR BEING A FRIEND, keep well and safe , keep a smile on your face and love in your heart for everyone. God bless

................................................Tomx.

after a heavy rain shower in a forest

turdus philomelos

zanglijster

grive musicienne

Singdrossel

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My photos may not be used on websites, blogs or in any other media without my written and explicit permission.

Eurasian Nuthatch, sometimes called Wood Nuthatch or simply Nuthatch

sitta europaea

boomklever

sittelle torchepot

Kleiber

Trepador Azul

Picchio muratore

Trepadeira-azul

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Lake Manyara National Park, Tanzania

a tiny kingfisher that can be found near water in many parts of sub Saharan Africa

Corythornis cristatus

kleine gekuifde ijsvogel

Martin-pêcheur huppé

Haubenzwergfischer

Martín pescador malaquita

Martin pescatore malachite

Pica-peixe-de-poupa

Nikon Z9

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My photos may not be used on websites, blogs or in any other media without my written and explicit permission.

So this is one of my favourite tree shots, taken at Blenheim Palace of all places. What a grand old tree, it looks so tree'ish!

I did post a horribly HDR'd version here way back 10 years ago but wanted to share it without the OTT HDR edit.

Happy Thursday from me and the trees :)

... but it was just a paper bag

My Jam

also called Eurasian Kingfisher

alcedo atthis

ijsvogel

martin-pêcheur d'Europe

Eisvogel

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My photos may not be used on websites, blogs or in any other media without my written and explicit permission.

But sometimes one can make a pretty good guess.....

…But in My Dreams, I have Ocean Front Property : )

It was a lovely morning to put my toes in the sand; I left before the crowds arrived ; )

(Nikon, 30mm, 1.6 sec @ f/22, ISO 100)

female Common Kingfisher also called Eurasian Kingfisher

Alcedo atthis

ijsvogel

martin-pêcheur d'Europe

Eisvogel

Martín Pescador Común

Martin pescatore

guarda-rios

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Seule sur la bute à Forêt Montmorency . À -25 . Un plaisir fou. Sur mes bottes, sur ma tête et même sur ma caméra. Avoir été un pieuvre j'aurais fait de magnifiques clichés très amusantes LOL

2 photos

a pair of Wattled Lapwings nesting on rocks in the Kafue River were very nervous as there was an African Harrier-Hawk (Gymnogene) scanning the area.

One of their 2 chicks went immediately into hiding but this one wanted to stay on top of the rock

Taken from small boat in Kafue NP, Zambia

also called African Wattled Lapwing

vanellus senegallus

lelkievit

vanneau du Sénégal

Senegalkiebitz

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Please do not use my photos on websites, blogs or in any other media without my explicit permission.

today at the Baltic Sea -

Durch den steifen Ostwind vom Wasser her war es doch noch sehr kalt heute an der sonnigen Ostsee.

early morning this week in the Castro Verde plains in Portugal

The elusive Little Bustard was one of my main targets in this beautiful region

tetrax tetrax

kleine trap

outarde canepetière

Zwergtrappe

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My photos may not be used on websites, blogs or in any other media without my written and explicit permission.

Looking a little bit tacky here but this Robin is over two years old now which is a good age for a Robin. Always hanging around in the same area in one of my nature reserves I often go to visit. Ever since I first spotted this as a juvenile there has always been a dark patch below the right eye that is still there to this day. My little friend here has become very tame and always so very photogenic and hopefully will be around a bit longer yet. In the 1400's when the Robin was named the colour orange had not been classified and this is why we say that the Robin has a red breast and not orange. America has an eagle so it's about time the UK had the Robin as its national bird !!!!!!

female Puma in Torres del Paine, Patagonia, Chile

puma concolor

poema

Puma

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taken yesterday in a forest. i had hoped to see a Brambling among the Chaffinches but there was hardly any activity because of the stormy weather

also called Common Chaffinch

fringilla coelebs

vink

pinson des arbres

Buchfink

Nikon Z7 with Nikkor 500mm f/5.6E PF

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My photos may not be used on websites, blogs or in any other media without my written and explicit permission.

Hurray! This photo made it to Explore's front page. It is not photoshopped or superimposed or anything. I used a little digital enhancement to bring out the detail in the clouds and color in the backgroud. The balloon was sharp and detailed in the untouched version. © all rights reserved

Today there were 3 balloons up. I had 10 passengers. It was a pefect flight and a perfect day. Just the right amount of clouds and wind and sun and hassle-free landing fields.

This photo shows the Remax Balloon flown by Bill Baker with Black Mountain (San Diego city park open space area) in the background, and way to the back left can be seen Mount Woodson, between Poway and Ramona, a popular rock climbing spot.

Little Owl chick a week ago

Athene noctua

steenuil

Chevêche d'Athéna ou Chouette chevêche

Steinkauz

Mochuelo Europeo

Civetta

Mocho-galego

Nikon Z9

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My photos may not be used on websites, blogs or in any other media without my written and explicit permission.

in northern Serengeti, Tanzania.

a large and handsome antelope found in herds of a few to over 20 in grassy areas where water is available nearby.

The Defassa subspecies is declining rapidly and is classified as Near Threatened

Kobus ellipsiprymnus subspecies defassa

waterbok

cobe à croissant

Wasserbock

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Please do not use these photos on websites, blogs or in any other media without receiving our explicit permission.

On a road on the eastern side of Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, USA.

maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Everlong/74/195/25

but the never needing to say is what counts :-)

Margaret Lee Runbeck

HPPS!! stay safe my friends, take care :-)

butterfly on waterlily, sarah p duke gardens, duke university, durham, north carolina

Local (Basel, Switzerland) view after early snowfall

But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

but what i feel that matters

today it's nostalgia

knowing this will be the last summer

i will enjoy this beautiful, rural scenery

Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough

Not the first to be seen this year but the first one I have photographed.

while it was still dark we had gone to a simple bird hide to be there before the flocks of Meyer's parrots and African green pigeons arrive at the clay eating site at sunrise.

While we were waiting we heard some noise behind us and after a while we knew these were warthogs ( definitely safer than some other possibilities...)

The family of warthogs came closer and had picked up our scent but they had no clue where we were.

The huge male in this image was walking in front and stopped nearby to look in our direction.

You can clearly see both set of tusks of which the very sharp small ones are used for fighting other warthogs or for defense against predators. The larger ones are used for digging etc.

Kafue National Park, Zambia

phacochoerus africanus

common warthog

knobbelzwijn

phacochère

Warzenschwein

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Please do not use my photos on websites, blogs or in any other media without my explicit permission.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZf_8_0bAGg

Usually, Roses are red

But this Rose is blue

And this unique one

Is only glowing for You

Although ...

This BLUE-tifulness

Is not genuine, I guess

(Caren)

[Dedicated to CRA (ILYWAMHASAM)]

Macro of a small translucint plastic rose (1 ½ x 1 ½ “) backlit with a blue light, taken 10 Oct 2020 and

uploaded for the group

Macro Mondays #Translucent

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ200

ƒ/2.8

4.5 mm

1/40 Sec

ISO 400

[Text and image copyright Caren (©all rights reserved)]

please respect my ©copyright : Do not use any image or text without my previous written authorization, NOT even in social networks. If you want to use a photograph, please contact me!

Bitte mein ©Copyright beachten! Meine Fotos und Texte sind ©copyright geschützt (alle Rechte vorbehalten) und dürfen ohne meine vorherige und schriftliche Zustimmung NICHT von Dritten verwendet werden, auch nicht in sozialen Netzwerken. Falls Interesse an einem Foto besteht, bitte ich um Kontaktaufnahme!]

I saw spectacular view of the sunset/twilight colors in the distance but it wasn't possible to take a decent shot while driving a winding road until this spot ...

A snapshot which will stay in my memory.

BUT IT`S NOT MY FAULT !!!!!!!

If you don't know who the loreley was just listen to the song :-)

Dschinghis Kahn - Loreley www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tx1pPJZQ9OE

The chapel of Queen Mary's heart near Transylvania's Bran Castle.

Little known, but invaluable in beauty, is the Church of the Heart of Queen Mary of Bran

hides an extremely beautiful story about Queen Mary.

A faithful replica of the Stella Maris church from the town of Walsik, which was granted by Romania after World War II in Bulgaria, was built in Byzantine style at the request of Princess Eleana in memory of her mother, Queen.

History says that one of Queen Mary's greatest pleasures was spending time in Balchik's chapel and her wish was to bury her heart there after she died. Because this was no longer possible, the princess demanded the construction of a chapel very close to Bran Castle. The box containing the queen's heart was temporarily deposited in the wooden church of Bran Castle and after a year was transferred to a crypt dug into the rock of Bran Maggiore, awaiting the completion of the church.

In 1947, however, it was the abolition of the monarchy in Romania by the communist regime, so although the chapel was completed in time, it was no longer sanctified and Queen Maria's heart remained hidden in the rock for 27 years! It was not until 1968 that the director of the Bran Museum, together with others, opened the crypt and the sarcophagus and found the golden box containing the queen's heart. Inside the gold box was another silver box wrapped in English and Romanian flags, as well as platinum and gemstones. Since then, Queen Maria's heart is in the National Museum of Romanian History

Παρεκκλήσι η καρδία της Βασίλισσας Μαρίας κοντά στο κάστρο Μπράν της Τρανσυλβανιας.

Λίγο γνωστό, αλλά με ανεκτίμητη ομορφιά, η Εκκλησία της Καρδιάς της Βασίλισσας Μαρίας του Bran

αποκρύπτει μια εξαιρετικά όμορφη ιστορία για τη Βασίλισσα Μαρία.

Πιστό αντίγραφο της εκκλησίας Stella Maris από την πόλη Βάλτσικ , που παραχωρήθηκε από τη Ρουμανία μετά τον Δεύτερο Παγκόσμιο Πόλεμο της Βουλγαρίας, χτίστηκε σε βυζαντινό ύφος, κατόπιν αιτήματος της πριγκίπισσας Eλεάνας, στη μνήμη της μητέρας της ,Βασίλισσας Μαίρη.

Η ιστορία λέει ότι μία από τις μεγαλύτερες απολαύσεις της Βασίλισσας Μαρίας ήταν να περάσει ο χρόνος στο παρεκκλήσι του Bάλτσικ και η επιθυμία της ήταν να θάψει την καρδιά της εκεί μετά που πέθανε. Επειδή αυτό δεν ήταν πλέον δυνατό, η πριγκίπισσα απαίτησε την κατασκευή ενός παρεκκλησίου πολύ κοντά στο Κάστρο του Μπράν. Το κουτί που περιείχε την καρδιά της βασίλισσας ήταν προσωρινά κατατεθειμένο στην ξύλινη εκκλησία του Κάστρου Bran και μετά από ένα χρόνο μεταφέρθηκε σε μια κρύπτη που έσκαψε στο βράχο του Bran Maggiore, περιμένοντας την ολοκλήρωση της εκκλησίας.

Το 1947, ωστόσο, αποτελούσε την κατάργηση της μοναρχίας στη Ρουμανία από το κομμουνιστικό καθεστώς, οπότε αν και το παρεκκλήσι ολοκληρώθηκε εγκαίρως, δεν ήταν πλέον αγιασμένο και η καρδιά της Βασίλισσας Μαρίας παρέμεινε κρυμμένη στο βράχο για 27 χρόνια! Μόνο το 1968 ο διευθυντής του Μουσείου Μπραν μαζί με άλλους άνοιξαν την κρύπτη και τη σαρκοφάγο και βρήκαν το χρυσό κουτί που περιείχε την καρδιά της βασίλισσας. Στο εσωτερικό του χρυσού κιβωτίου υπήρχε ένα άλλο κιβώτιο από ασήμι τυλιγμένο σε σημαίες της Αγγλίας και της Ρουμανίας, καθώς πλατίνα και πολύτιμοι λίθοι. Έκτοτε, η καρδιά της Βασίλισσας Μαρίας βρίσκεται στο Μουσείο Εθνικής Ιστορίας της Ρουμανίας.

but my memories are in black and white

with diffuse sepia tones

he longs to go forth into the fields, to feel its steady stream, to scent its fragrance; to stand under some heavy-foliaged chestnut-tree, and hear the rushing music on the crowded leaves :-)

John Richard Vernon, "The Beauty of Rain," 1863

HMM!! HPPT! we have had a very wet winter...fortunately most of the precipitation has not been frozen ;-)

camellia, 'Nuccio's Cameo', our yard, cary, north carolina

but to meet you on a hill.

“I almost wish we were butterflies and liv'd but three summer days - three such days with you I could fill with more delight than fifty common years could ever contain.” -- within John Keats letter to his Fanny Brawne.

In Loving Memory of April Cerise De Fore - Gaddis.

April 20, 1979 - February 21, 2016

Old Doors Don't Open just a barrier between an alley and a parking place on the other side, but a charming alternative to concrete, shot in North Carolina.

But they are very hot when you eat them.

Callistemon is a genus of shrubs endemic to Australia but widely cultivated in many other regions and naturalised in scattered locations.

Callistemon species have commonly been referred to as bottlebrushes because of their cylindrical, brush like flowers resembling a traditional bottle brush. They are mostly found in the more temperate regions of Australia, especially along the east coast which typically favour moist conditions, so when planted in gardens thrive on regular watering.

The Latin name Callistemon comes from the combination of 2 Greek words: 'callis' meaning beauty and 'stemon' meaning stamen, referring to the flowers of the plant.

Flowering is normally in Spring and early Summer (October–December), but conditions may cause flowering at other times of the year. In my area they begin to bloom in the middle of Winter, as you may see in this photo.

The obvious parts of the flowers are stamens, with the pollen at the tip of the filament, which attracts so many bees and other pollinators. The flowers vary in colour with species; most are red, but some are yellow, green, orange or white.

It's beautiful to see the flowers swaying at breeze, even the most light and smooth, and this inspires me to take a photo of this flower again.

But I would walk five hundred miles

And I would walk five hundred more

Just to be the man who walked a thousand miles

To fall down at your door

I'm Gonna Be (500 miles) - Writen by Craig Morris Reid & Charles Stobo Reid

www.youtube.com/watch?v=tM0sTNtWDiI

Created for the Hypothetical Awards Contest "Take a walk or a ride"

Thank you for your visit, comment or fave. All are much appreciated. Thank you also to all who invite my photos to their groups.

All rights reserved. This photo is not authorized for use on your blogs, pin boards, websites or use in any other way.

Photos and textures used are my own.

Einfache Dahlie (Hybrid) Palmström

Einfachblühende Sorte von Prof. Otto 2010

Dunkel violett schwarz mit schmaler violett rosa Außenzone,

Mitte Goldgelb.

Simple Dahlia (Hybrid) Palmström

Simple-flowering variety by Prof. Otto 2010

Dark violet / black with narrow / violet pink outer zone,

Middle golden yellow.

Thanks All for your Views Faves and Comments, have a Nice Weekend. 🌞 🍂 ✌

But my favourite ones lead to the beach

youtu.be/3gK_2XdjOdY

It's Hair Fair Time!!! The Hair Fair is an annual event that benefits Wigs for Kids! Every pack of hair sold at the fair donates a minimum of 15% (if no sign is present it will be the minimum.) Wigs for Kids is near and dear to my heart and I've been an active supporter and participate of this organization for well over ten years, so I ADORE this event. I'm wearing Wasabi's release, Cole, which is actually a unisex hair, that was released for the Hair Fair 2018. Join the "Hair Fair DEMO Group" for ........

Read the rest and grab the event and designer info on Threads & Tuneage

Taken on Ippos

Love SL photography and looking for like minded artists or places to shoot? Come visit the Ippos Collective: 4 Picturesque SIMS to visit and/or settle. Come for the magic....stay for the friends. <3

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