View allAll Photos Tagged Contented
Since this photo was taken the water in the pond has risen about sixteen inches and this stump is about six inches under water now.
A jetty that has been photographed a million times. Despite arriving a full 2 hours before sunset, I was still 3rd in line to get the classic shot along the jetty, but contented myself with a slightly sidewards view. At least I can say I have done it now.
Finally I could try my new (used) Nikon microscope objective. The subject is a 7 mm long prepared Chrysidid wasp. I made shots from several views, this one is the first I show you. The objective was fixed on 170mm bellows, magnification is 11:1. 101 shots were taken in 0,01mm increments. Stacked in Zerene in PMax method, the processed stack was cropped to 4200px.
I'm so contented with the result, it will be certainly a commonly used tool in the future :)
A very contented Groucho, after a long run on the beach.
Groucho is a rescue dog who was rescued from a dog pound in Ireland in 2006 thanks to the amazing work of Westie Rescue. Please support www.westierescue.ie/.
You can read more about Groucho's adventures at grouchothewonderwestie.blogspot.com/
Meredith is contented with her snack as the PA system blares music and announcements/ the rain falls ever heavier outside the pavilion following big sister's successful run in the Burlington Vermont 5K Run - The Brain Freeze - Saturday July 09, 2016
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image by Photo George
copyrighted: ©2016 GCheatle
all rights reserved
locator: GAC_3319 Meredith
--***Zorro the Coder Cat**
In the heart of Vienna, nestled in a cozy apartment overlooking the Danube, lived Zorro, an exceptionally intelligent software engineer cat. Zorro had glossy black fur, piercing green eyes, and a mind sharper than the sharpest claws. His owner, Shoshi, was a cybersecurity expert, and Zorro had spent many hours perched on her shoulder, absorbing knowledge as she worked on her laptop.
Zorro shared the apartment with his younger brother, Prinz, a cuddly ginger cat with soft fur and a knack for curling up in the coziest spots. While Prinz preferred snuggling and snoozing, Zorro had a plan—an ambitious one. He had noticed Shoshi ordering things online, and he was particularly intrigued by the large boxes of cat treats that appeared at the door. He decided he’d order a lifetime supply for himself and Prinz. The only problem? Shoshi’s laptop was protected by cutting-edge security software.
---
**The Quest for the Perfect Code**
Late one night, while Shoshi was asleep, Zorro padded over to the bookshelf where she kept her programming manuals. He flicked through them with his claws, scanning for tips on bypassing advanced firewalls. But Zorro realized he needed more than knowledge—he needed specialized software. And to create it, he’d have to hack together some powerful code himself.
Zorro slipped into Shoshi’s study and hopped onto her desk. With the glow of the laptop illuminating his whiskers, he booted up his own secret Raspberry Pi, hidden in a hollowed-out dictionary. He started coding, tail twitching rhythmically as lines of Python scrolled across the screen.
---
**Building the Hacker’s Toolkit**
Zorro built a program he called **CAT.OS**—an operating system designed for stealthy feline operations. It came equipped with tools for password cracking, packet sniffing, and even a decoy program that displayed cute cat videos if Shoshi ever got suspicious and checked his Raspberry Pi.
But to access Shoshi’s laptop, Zorro needed one more thing: her password. He observed her closely over the next few days, noting the keystrokes she used when logging in. Being an agile cat, he memorized the sequence. "M3ow&Secure," Zorro thought, rolling his eyes. It was strong for a human, but no match for him.
---
**The Great Hack**
The following Friday night, Shoshi went out to meet friends, leaving the cats alone. Zorro saw his chance. He leapt onto her chair, entered the password, and gained access to the laptop. Once inside, he used CAT.OS to spoof Shoshi’s Amazon account and placed a massive order for cat treats, premium tuna, and a luxurious heated cat bed. To cover his tracks, Zorro set the delivery to arrive while Shoshi was at work.
Prinz, who was nestled in a pile of blankets nearby, opened one eye and purred contentedly. “Are we really getting all those treats, Zorro?”
“Every single one,” Zorro replied with a smug grin.
Prinz got up, stretched, and padded over to nuzzle Zorro’s side. “You’re the best big brother ever.”
---
**The Aftermath**
On Monday afternoon, a mountain of boxes appeared at the door. Zorro and Prinz tore into them, feasting on treats and playing with the packaging. Prinz especially loved the large, crinkly paper that came with the packaging, batting at it joyfully while Zorro lounged on the new heated bed.
Shoshi returned home to the chaos and stared in disbelief at the stacks of gourmet cat food and toys.
“Zorro!” she exclaimed, her eyes narrowing as she spotted her open laptop and the faint glow of CAT.OS. But when Zorro looked up at her with his most innocent “Who, me?” expression and Prinz rolled onto his back, showing his fluffy ginger belly, she couldn’t stay mad.
From that day on, Zorro decided to retire his hacking skills—well, at least until he got another idea. After all, he’d earned a reputation as the cleverest cat in Vienna, and Prinz was more than happy to reap the rewards of having a genius brother.
And as for Shoshi? She secretly admired Zorro’s genius, though she did change her laptop password to something even he couldn’t guess: **ILoveDogs123**.
One last photo of Rufus down on the promenade. A very contented chap.
Thank you for your favourites. :O)
Contented Cows
The cows on Alderney give the best milk in the World! They certainly have a beautiful place to graze. :)
OM-D E-M5ii
Once a week, Fred and I sit down after work to a cup of Irish Breakfast tea and a few biscuits/cookies, and have a "relationship huddle".
We talk about highlights and challenges of the past week, tell each other the things we appreciated or admired during the last week, bring up any issues, set goals, and write down something we're looking forward to during the next week. Sound nerdy?
We always end with a hug & smooch, but we couldn't today, because Sasha was on my lap. And no one wants to disturb a contented kitty on International Happiness Day!
Not ours but a visitor to our holiday home in Cornwall. This cat is obviously used to pressing its face to the French windows until it is invited in.
Happiness consists not in having much, but in being content with little.”
~Marguerite Gardiner
** still catching up
Ethiopian girl attending the True cross ceremony (religious event) in the middle of a crown of christian orthodox believers on Mount Abuna Yoseph, Lalibela, Ethiopia. She is wearing the Netela, a traditional handmade scarf-like two-layered cloth made of cotton
The top of the fence posts, at the top of the Niagara Gorge overlooking the Niagara River below...
The eastern grey squirrel line up, in black, grey, and the rare white colour variation too...
Several posts occupied, squirrels physically distanced, all are contentedly eating seeds and peanuts placed on top of the fence posts, all tolerating one another...
A nice winter day in January...
bit of a stretch for my zoom lens, but I quite like the diffused feel to this. The birds were quite cooperative too.
✨ www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBgSH-CGPzg ✨My Suggestion is to Open the Link in a New Tab, Listen and Enjoy the Music, and View all the Art Flickr has to Exhibit. ✨
PADDY" "Hullo Everyone! Daddy has very kindly rewarded us generously for our patience whilst he photographed all the pretty Art Nouveau stained glass windows around "The Gables"! He treated us to a high tea of little deadly cakes and tea in the Peacock Room! Thank you very much Daddy!"
SCOUT: "Oh yes, thank you Daddy! I don't have a grumbly tummy for the time being." *Rubs his tummy contentedly.*
PADDY: "Our high tea was served on beautiful china, and the table was set with silverware and fine linen napery. We feel like very special guests!"
SCOUT: "Paddy? Paddy!"
PADDY: "Yes Scout?"
SCOUT: "Paddy, why do they call this the Peacock Room. There are no peacocks strutting about."
PADDY: "Thank goodness for that! Peacocks can be very beautiful, but are quite spiteful and are prone to snapping at little bears in brown felt hats and mackintoshes! The reason why it is called that is because of the beautiful Art Nouveau inspired wallpaper of blue peacocks on the walls."
SCOUT: "Oh goodness Paddy! I was looking so closely at all the delicious little deadly cakes on the sideboard over there that I didn't even notice the wallpaper."
PADDY: "So is your grumbly tummy suitably sated now Scout?"
SCOUT: "Oh yes it is Paddy!"
PADDY: "Excellent! Then I shall have the last bit of cake on the plate! Grumbly tummy Daddy! Grumbly tummy!" *Snuffles up the last piece of cake and smiles contentedly.*
My Paddington Bear came to live with me in London when I was two years old (many, many years ago). He was hand made by my Great Aunt and he has a chocolate coloured felt hat, the brim of which had to be pinned up by a safety pin to stop it getting in his eyes. The collar of his Macintosh is made of the same felt. He wears wellington boots made from the same red leather used to make the toggles on his mackintosh.
He has travelled with me across the world and he and I have had many adventures together over the years. He is a very precious member of my small family.
Scout is a recent addition to our little family. He was a gift to Paddy from my friend. He is a Fair Trade Bear hand knitted in Africa. His name comes from the shop my friend found him in: Scout House. He tells me that life was very different where he came from, and Paddy is helping introduce him to many new experiences. Scout catches on quickly, and has proven to be a cheeky, but very lovable member of our closely knit family.
The "The Gables" has a beautiful, light filled tea room which they call the "Peacock Room" because of the beautiful Art Nouveau inspired blue peacock wallpaper they have decorated the room with. It used to be "The Gables" best, or master bedroom and dressing room. Now turned into one room it has a high ceiling featuring Art Nouveau mouldings and several elegant stained glass windows featuring stylised Art Nouveau flowers depicted in a striking combination of blue and gold, and one window full of golden yellow pears. The window of pears has a similar window in the entrance hall.
"The Gables" is a substantial villa that sits proudly on leafy Finch Street in the exclusive inner city suburb of East Malvern.
Built in 1902 for local property developer Lawrence Alfred Birchnell and his wife Annie, "The Gables" is considered to be one of the most prominent houses in the Gascoigne Estate. The house was designed by Melbourne architect firm Ussher and Kemp in what was the prevailing style of the time, Queen Anne, which is also known as Federation style (named so after Australian Federation in 1901). Ussher and Kemp were renowned for their beautiful and complex Queen Anne houses and they designed at least six other houses in Finch Street alone. "The Gables" remained a private residence for many years. When Lawrence Birchnell sold it, the house was converted into a rooming house. It remained so throughout the tumultuous 1920s until 1930 when it was sold again. The new owners converted "The Gables" into a reception hall for hire for private functions. The first wedding reception was a breakfast held in the formal dining room in 1930, followed by dancing to Melbourne’s first jukebox in the upstairs rooms. Notorious Melbourne gangster Joseph Theodore Leslie "Squizzy" Taylor was reputed to have thrown a twenty-first birthday party for his girlfriend of the day in the main ballroom (what had originally been the house's billiards room). "The Gables" became very famous for its grand birthday parties throughout the 1930s and 1940s. With its easy proximity to the Caulfield Race Course, "The Gables" ran an underground speakeasy and gambling room upstairs and sold beer from the back door during Melbourne’s restrictive era of alcohol not sold after six o'clock at night. Throughout its history, "The Gables" has been a Melbourne icon, celebrating generation after generation of Melbourne’s wedding receptions, parties and balls. Lovingly restored, the atmosphere and charm of "The Gables" have been retained for the future generations.
Grand in its proportions, "The Gables" is a sprawling villa that is built of red brick, but its main feature, as the name suggests, is its many ornamented gables. The front façade is dominated by six different sized gables, each supported by ornamental Art Nouveau influenced timber brackets. The front and side of the house is skirted by a wide verandah decorated with wooden balustrades and rounded fretwork. "The Gables" features two grand bay windows and three other large sets of windows along the front facade, all of which feature beautiful and delicate Art Nouveau stained glass of stylised flowers or fruit. Impressive Art Nouveau stained glass windows can also be found around the entrance, which features the quote made quite popular at the time by Australian soprano Nellie Melba "east, west, home's best." Art Nouveau stained glass can be found in all of the principal rooms of the house; both upstairs and down. “The Gables” also features distinctive chimneys and the classic Queen Anne high pitched gable roofs with decorative barge-boards, terra-cotta tiles and ornate capping.
As a result of Federation in 1901, it was not unusual to find Australian flora and fauna celebrated in architecture. This is true of "The Gables", which features intricate plaster work and leadlight throughout the mansion showing off Australian gum leaves and flowers. "The Gables" has fifteen beautifully renovated rooms, many of which are traditionally decorated, including beautiful chandeliers, ornate restored wood and tile fireplaces, leadlight windows, parquetry flooring, sixteen foot ceilings and a sweeping staircase. The drawing room still also features the original leadlight conservatory "The Gables" boasted when it was first built.
"The Gables", set on an acre of land, still retains many of the original trees, including the original hedge and two enormous cypress trees in the front. The garden was designed by William Guilfoyle, the master landscape architect of the Royal Botanical Gardens, and "The Gables" still retains much of it original structure. It features a rose-covered gazebo, a pond and fountain, as well as the tallest Norfolk Island pine in the area, which can be seen from some of the tallest skyscrapers in the Melbourne CBD.
Henry Hardie Kemp was born in Lancashire in 1859 and designed many other fine homes around Melbourne, particularly in Kew, including his own home “Held Lawn” (1913). He also designed the APA Building in Elizabeth Street in 1889 (demolished in 1980) and the Melbourne Assembly Hall on Collins Street between 1914 and 1915. He died in Melbourne in 1946.
Beverley Ussher was born in Melbourne in 1868 and designed homes and commercial buildings around Melbourne, as well as homes in the country. He designed "Milliara" (John Whiting house) in Toorak, in 1895 (since demolished) and "Blackwood Homestead" in Western Australia. He died in 1908.
Beverley Ussher and Henry Kemp formed a partnership in 1899, which lasted until Beverley's death in 1908. Their last building design together was the Professional Chambers building in Collins Street in 1908. Both men had strong Arts and Crafts commitments, and both had been in partnerships before forming their own. The practice specialised in domestic work and their houses epitomize the Marseilles-tiled Queen Anne Federation style houses characteristic of Melbourne, and considered now to be a truly distinctive Australian genre. Their designs use red bricks, terracotta tiles and casement windows, avoid applied ornamentation and develop substantial timber details. The picturesque character of the houses results from a conscious attempt to express externally with gables, dormers, bays, roof axes, and chimneys, the functional variety of rooms within. The iconic Federation houses by Beverley Ussher and Henry Kemp did not appear until 1892-4. Then, several of those appeared in Malvern, Canterbury and Kew.
Queen Anne style was mostly a residential style inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement in England, but also encompassed some of the more stylised elements of Art Nouveau, which gave it an more decorative look. Queen Anne style was most popular around the time of Federation. With complex roofline structures and undulating facades, many Queen Anne houses fell out of fashion at the beginning of the modern era, and were demolished.