This little guy was determined to get a sugar boost....

Wicken Fen, Cambs

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicken_Fen

Thistle is a common name for a group of flowering plants that belong to the Asteraceae family. There are over 350 species of thistles, and they are found throughout the world in a variety of habitats, including fields, meadows, and along roadsides.

Thistles are known for their spiky leaves and distinctive flower heads, which are composed of many small flowers surrounded by sharp bracts. The flowers are usually purple or pink, but can also be white or yellow.

While thistles are often considered weeds, they have a number of uses and benefits. They are an important source of nectar for bees and other pollinators, and they can also be used to make herbal teas and supplements that are believed to have various health benefits.

Thistles have also been used for centuries in traditional medicine and folklore. Some species are believed to have medicinal properties and have been used to treat various ailments, such as digestive issues and liver problems.

In some cultures, thistles have also been used as symbols of strength, resilience, and protection. For example, the Scottish thistle is the national emblem of Scotland and is seen as a symbol of Scottish identity and pride.

The wind was gusting with heavy showers but Ella wasn’t for coming indoors. She goes outside when I am at home so I can keep an eye on her

A very cold dark dawn walking the dogs had me reasonably intrigued to continue my walk swopping the dogs for a camera just to see if I could drum up a photo. Frost, floods and ice surely makes it different enough to find something interesting, well not really. What a rat hole I live in, with the trees bare and the vegetation beaten back by the winter and heavy rain of late, all the litter is now in plain site. Honestly I think it is the worst I’ve ever see it, it would seem with covid forcing more people walking round locally, much more rubbish has been discarded. Rather than going to a pub many have decided to buy a carrier bag full of naff larger and drink that on their walk, discarding the empty can’s en route, not forgetting the snacks or takeaways on the way, they packets and cartons make a interesting addition to the local flora. Now I know why I walk the dogs in the dark, it’s not as depressing. Determined to get the camera out I step over the microwave, through the bushes, the bottles, cans and cartons to a flooded area frozen over, with the newly risen sun catching the ice. I blinker my vision to the restriction of the viewfinder, take a photo and head home. With this isolation give abstract beauty, without my words you need know no more. However I still see the decay beyond the frame, I think it will have to be deep snow and a heavy mist to temp me out with the camera again while lockdown continues.

Determined.

A Little Blue Heron gives his best determined stare off in into the distance.

.....to either 'get the shot'...or...get snow all over the lens. Mick in a blizzard

Determination is a human character trait whereby we become intent on achieving a goal. This form of resolve can be either positive or negative. However, what I want to write about is the positive side of determination. The side that makes us think of a firmness of purpose, and the resolve to be willing to do whatever it takes to get to where it is we want to be. The determination that sees us overcoming any obstacles. Now, what I talk about is not some revolutionary change that you want to bring about - to me, that is a different kind of determination - instead, I speak about determination on a personal level. A willpower to be a better person than the one you were yesterday. To overcome any personal falls and pull ourselves back up. To not stop doing what it is we love just because others think it worthless. To ignore the negative little voice inside our heads telling us we can't do that, don't even attempt that, you might as well quit now, don't even try, just give up. To feel fear and to see the risks and then to have the determination to close our eyes to them so that in the end we can reap the rewards. The determination that sees us never giving up on life.

"Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall." - Confucius

Copyright © 2014 Amy Morris. All Rights Reserved.

Cold and frosty sub zero temperatures have not deterred this couple from their early morning walk.

Red-billed gull (Chroicocephalus scopulinus)

RKO_5684.

Copyright: Robert Kok. All rights reserved! Watermark protected.

More of my work and activities can be seen on:

linktr.ee/robertkok

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

Thanks for visiting, commenting and faving my photos. Its very much appreciated!

Attentive and energetic little Westie.

Break through the waves

Straight to the ocean floor

And although my hands are shaking

I lie perfectly still

'Cause I'm determined to let myself sink down

And I know I'm buried too far down

To feel the warmth from the sun again

The views were stunning and I was determined to get a picture of an eagle flying in front of the beautiful background. It took a while, but finally an eagle flew across the snowy mountains.

www.instagram.com/gladysklip/

While driving home after working in Kyle of Lochalsh I was determined not to stop at Dornie to snap Eilean Donan Castle (for the umpteenth time), but the Christmas tree was unexpected and I just had to do it - sorry!

This is probably the nearest thing to a Christmas Card you will get from me; so Merry Christmas everyone. :-)

This image is available printed, framed or on a canvas here.

I bought bird feeders that favour small birds but this Jackdaw was very determined to get the treats. Very fine specimen with lovely glossy feathers.

for dinner~~~ since he was flying into the wind I had the advantage that he would come right over me....the tricky part was keeping that big yellow ball in the sky out of my picture, such a nice and unusual problem to have in our rainy west coast forests....heheh ....hope you all have a great start to 2016....

The old dormitory door, a pitiful barrier, had surrendered to her lock-pick skills with barely a whisper of protest. The intoxication of forbidden territories pulses through her veins, a siren's call she couldn't resist. The yellow caution tape - a feeble attempt at deterrence - had already been violated, its remnants littering the dimly lit stairways like discarded party streamers.

Caught in the surveillance camera's gaze, Flit pirouettes with a devil-may-care smirk, a taunting spectacle for the hapless sentinel tasked with monitoring this condemned building from the confines of a closet-sized office hidden somewhere on campus. Now, the real investigating begins: an adrenaline-fueled scavenger hunt in this derelict, abandoned labyrinth. Will it yield its secrets and spoils, or will it guard its treasures, determined to remain a mystery?

♫ ♬ ♫ ♪ ♩ Ladyhawke | Dangerous

CREDITS

*Bolson / Tattoo - Hort (Sleeves)

DURA-B132

K&S - // Class off. Backdrop

[ kunst ] - Anuket Septum

[ kunst ] - Frog necklace

[ kunst ] - Slim Cigarette

Gloom. - Famous Collection

[omnis] BlackWidow Arm

RichB. Plaster

RichB. Vega Earrings Gold

SEKA's Moto Arm

TECHNOFOLK_Agony Tank Top

TECHNOFOLK_Headshot Pants

TECHNOFOLK_Headshot Tattoo (stomach)

[Traume] Hellfire Hand Bandage

[ west end ] Bento Poses - December - Single Poses

LUMIPro - Professional Photography HUD

Astronomers have learned that the age of a star can be determined by the rate of its spin. Stars spin slower as they age.

So do people. Still, even with cataracts, fading hearing, and memories mistier by the day – the combination of experience, reduced options, and a growing sense of mortality tends to crystalize things. There is a certain increased clarity and awareness.

We’re Here! -- Old & Aged

Inspired by Shock of the New challenge, SERIOUSLY, SELFIES.

Bcn, Spain.

Back in 2007, Union Pacific had a plethora of new power roaming the rails. A new GE ES44AC pilots a Long Beach - Global 2 stack train through colorful foliage east out of Ogden, Utah on Oct. 27, 2007. I suppose we won't see big fleets of new locomotives on the UP for the time being. Management has determined that rebuilding what they already have is most cost effective.

An old one. Lockdown has given me time to look through old photos. This one was from a day at a sanctuary trying to improve my skills.

Bald Eagle in flight, Ridgefield NWR, Mar. 18, 2016.

This is a standard shot from the lookout at the 12 apostles. No matter how many times I visit them, I still love staring at the sea stacks in the middle of the ocean.

Hope to get a shot with an amazing sunrise/sunset... one day

Another shot of one of our local pair.

White-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla)

Ardmucknish Bay Argyll - Scotland

Many thanks to all those who take the time to comment on my photos. It is truly appreciated.

DSC_6636

Determined looking Great Blue Heron

My dog. It is time to go out and she isn't messing around.

“What a severe yet master artist old Winter is.... No longer the canvas and the pigments, but the marble and the chisel.”

~John Burroughs, "The Snow-Walkers," 1866

Soundtrack : www.youtube.com/watch?v=fd02pGJx0s0

SUNRISE – NORAH JONES

FOR UNNI

Watch out, watch out,

Jack Frost is about

painting like Banksy

leaving his mark

a shining example in sunlight

bold patterned sketches etched after dark

I run around; slipping

clicking and tripping

trying not to catch frost bite

my beautiful Unni

Queen of the macro

would be smiling at this “awesome” sight

and with her in my mind

I am desperate; determined to find

any kind of decaying decadence left behind

wildflower or herb that has frosted

nearby the crumbling kerb

frozen in time; laying undisturbed and rusted

stumbling over the icy stile

feels like I walk for at least a mile

until at last my elusive search

encrusted sweet jewel of the earth

an unidentified seedhead

rich and studded with diamonds

awaits me and twinkles a smile

so bright and precocious

oh, I must look atrocious

is this a good and one and only time

I can fit supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

into a poem, to make my wonderful friend Unni

laugh out loud; please don't drop a stitch

for I'm guessing you're knitting

woollen hat, scarf and pink mittens

for the most beautiful princess

don't forget to string together

the mittens so they will never

get forgotten or lost in the ether

oh, how I digress and procrastinate

where was I; right back to the cotton

I mean thread of my endeavours

out at this hour; all kinds of weathers

nothing could stop me

trying for my dearest kind Unni

to get a frost covered macro shot

one she will love and so

I will always remember this Winter

with all it's gifts from above.

- AP - Copyright remains with and is the intellectual property of the author

Copyright © protected image please do not reproduce without permission'

Dicen los libros que los machos jóvenes no están preparados para copular y el que vemos es joven, prácticamente sin pruinar.

Pudiera ser que el término "joven" es algo ambiguo y no se ajusta totalmente a la coloración. Esto o que los machos de esta especie tienen un comportamiento algo raro como pudimos ver en la imagen de ayer con la hembra de O. cancellatum.

Fotograma completo adaptado a formato 4x3

En la Fuente del Chopo. Villena (Alicante) España

The books say that young males are not ready to copulate and the one we see is young, practically unprincipled.

It could be that the term "young" is somewhat ambiguous and does not fully match the coloration. This or that the males of this species have a somewhat strange behavior as we could see in yesterday's image with the female of O. cancellatum.

Full frame adapted to 4x3 format

At the Chopo Fountain. Villena (Alicante) Spain

Some things are just determined to grow. They simply cannot be stopped. I like that! I want to be that!

n. *Hue:

the property of colors by which they can be perceived as ranging from red through yellow, green, and blue, as determined by the dominant wavelength of the light

Lac Sorcier, Mastigouche Wildlife Reserve, Québec, Canada.

Lac Sorcier's name came from an old legend about a sorcerer who haunted his island, preventing people from sleeping by causing strange noises.

Many thanks for your visits, faves and comments. Cheers. ...from a walk in Oxley Creek Common.

Monarch Butterfly

Scientific Name: Nymphalidae Danainae

Description: The monarch is one of Manitoba's largest butterflies, with a wingspan of up to 100 mm. The body of the butterfly is black with some white spots. The upper surfaces of the wings are orange with black veining. The wing margins are black with white spots. Males can be distinguished from the females by a black patch on their hind wings, called a stigmata. Underneath, the wings are a paler orange, almost beige, with the same black veining and borders. The caterpillar (larva) of monarchs is boldly patterned, too, with black, white and yellow banding.

Distribution: Monarchs occur throughout North America south of the boreal forest zone, in Central America and northern South America. (It has recently been determined that the South American monarch and those found on Jamaica and Hispaniola are separate species, D. erippus and D. cleophile, respectively. Their distributions are not shown on this map.) Monarchs have been introduced to the Hawaiian Islands and to Australia, and are thought to be spreading around to other islands in the Pacific ocean on their own. There are 3 separate populations in continental North America: one east of the Rocky Mountains, another west of the Rockies, and a third, non-migratory population in Florida and Georgia. In Manitoba, they occur in the southwestern 1/3 of the province up to the edge of the boreal forest.

Habitat: Just about anywhere you can find milkweed plants (Genus: Asclepias) and open meadows, you can find monarch butterflies. They frequent prairies, meadows and wetlands, but avoid thick forests. Food for the caterpillars, milkweed plants, and for the adults, flower nectar, are found mainly in grasslands and meadows in Manitoba, so that's where monarchs tend to be.

Food: Food for adult monarch butterflies consists mainly of flower nectar. They fuel their great travels and reproductive efforts by sipping this sugary solution from obliging plants. The plants are, of course, taking advantage of the monarchs and other insects to do the job of pollination. Most of their favourites fall within the Asteraceae family of plants, including such things as fleabanes (Erigeron spp.), asters (Aster spp.), sunflowers (Helianthus spp.) and blazingstars (Liatris spp.), but they are not really that selective when it comes to flower nectar. Any flower that has available nectar could be visited by a monarch.

(Source: www.naturenorth.com/summer/monarch/monarchF2.html)

© Chris Burns 2017

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This image may not be copied, reproduced, distributed, republished, downloaded, displayed, posted or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic, mechanical, photocopying and recording without my written consent.