Black Hairstreak / satyrium pruni. Glapthorn Cow Pastures, Northamptonshire. 14/06/17.

One of c8 Black Hairstreaks seen and observed closely.

(A bonus that it was in reasonably fresh condition :-0)

BEST VIEWED LARGE.

This is probably the image I am most satisfied with following a visit to Glapthorn recently. The focus across the whole of the butterfly is better, allowing greater detail to be seen.

Tuesday, May 1st of 2018 started off with a moderate risk for severe storms being issued for much of western Kansas and the National Weather Service was right to issue such a warning. Later on in the afternoon and evening discrete storms began to fire off all along the dry line and many of them produced large hail, damaging straight line winds, and even tornadoes, like this storm near Tescott, Kansas. This storm began spinning hours before but didn't produce a tornado until around 7:45 pm. it initially took the form of a cone but within minutes grew into a massive wedge tornado that raced across the landscape. Here is an image of it in its final form before becoming wrapped in rain.

ALL MY PHOTOS ARE NOW ON SALE!

I've talked about going back at old photos, re-editing them...but I swear, it's a blast. Sitting on this one for a decade, this edit is so much better than I'd left it, way back when. It was slightly blown-out, back then I didn't know how to restore a photo's highlights, or that I could play with the saturation a bit, rather than rely on color temp...the edit I had sitting on my computer, so much was lost to the shadows, put those back...I guess I understand why George Lucas went and put better special effects into the original Star Wars films, I get it, I see photos of mine come up here on Flickr, I do wish I could re-edit a bunch, but it's memory as much as a discrete piece of art, a reminder of where my skills were at the time.

If I'd already posted this, I'd have felt the urge, but would've left it.

Fortunately, I didn't, so I didn't!

The Lincoln Memorial is an American national monument built to honor the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. It is located on the western end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., across from the Washington Monument. The architect was Henry Bacon; the designer of the primary statue – Abraham Lincoln, 1920 – was Daniel Chester French; the Lincoln statue was carved by the Piccirilli Brothers;[2] and the painter of the interior murals was Jules Guerin. Dedicated in 1922, it is one of several monuments built to honor an American president. It has always been a major tourist attraction and since the 1930s has been a symbolic center focused on race relations.

The building is in the form of a Greek Doric temple and contains a large seated sculpture of Abraham Lincoln and inscriptions of two well-known speeches by Lincoln, "The Gettysburg Address" and his Second Inaugural Address. The memorial has been the site of many famous speeches, including Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech, delivered on August 28, 1963, during the rally at the end of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

Like other monuments on the National Mall – including the nearby Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Korean War Veterans Memorial, and National World War II Memorial – the memorial is administered by the National Park Service under its National Mall and Memorial Parks group. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since October 15, 1966. It is open to the public 24 hours a day. In 2007, it was ranked seventh on the List of America's Favorite Architecture by the American Institute of Architects. Since 2010, approximately 6 million people visit the memorial annually.[3]

Contents [hide]

1History

1.1Vandalism

2Exterior

3Interior

4Statue

4.1Sculptural features

5Sacred space

6Depictions on U.S. currency

7In popular culture

8See also

9References

10External links

History[edit]

The first public memorial to Abraham Lincoln in Washington, D.C., was a statue by Lot Flannery erected in front of the District of Columbia City Hall in 1868, three years after Lincoln's assassination.[4][5] Demands for a fitting national memorial had been voiced since the time of Lincoln's death. In 1867, Congress passed the first of many bills incorporating a commission to erect a monument for the sixteenth president. An American sculptor, Clark Mills, was chosen to design the monument. His plans reflected the nationalistic spirit of the time, and called for a 70-foot (21 m) structure adorned with six equestrian and 31 pedestrian statues of colossal proportions, crowned by a 12-foot (3.7 m) statue of Abraham Lincoln. Subscriptions for the project were insufficient.[6]

The matter lay dormant until the start of the 20th century, when, under the leadership of Senator Shelby M. Cullom of Illinois, six separate bills were introduced in Congress for the incorporation of a new memorial commission. The first five bills, proposed in the years 1901, 1902, and 1908, met with defeat because of opposition from Speaker Joe Cannon. The sixth bill (Senate Bill 9449), introduced on December 13, 1910, passed. The Lincoln Memorial Commission had its first meeting the following year and U.S. President William H. Taft was chosen as the commission's president. Progress continued at a steady pace and by 1913 Congress had approved of the Commission's choice of design and location.

There were questions regarding the commission's plan. Many thought that architect Henry Bacon's Greek temple design was far too ostentatious for a man of Lincoln's humble character. Instead they proposed a simple log cabin shrine. The site too did not go unopposed. The recently reclaimed land in West Potomac Park was seen by many to be either too swampy or too inaccessible. Other sites, such as Union Station, were put forth. The Commission stood firm in its recommendation, feeling that the Potomac Park location, situated on the Washington Monument-Capitol axis, overlooking the Potomac River and surrounded by open land, was ideal. Furthermore, the Potomac Park site had already been designated in the McMillan Plan of 1901 to be the location of a future monument comparable to that of the Washington Monument.[6][7]

With Congressional approval and a $300,000 allocation, the project got underway. On February 12, 1914, a dedication ceremony was conducted and the following month the actual construction began. Work progressed steadily according to schedule. Some changes were made to the plan. The statue of Lincoln, originally designed to be 10 feet (3.0 m) tall, was enlarged to 19 feet (5.8 m) to prevent it from being overwhelmed by the huge chamber. As late as 1920, the decision was made to substitute an open portal for the bronze and glass grille which was to have guarded the entrance. Despite these changes, the Memorial was finished on schedule. Commission president William H. Taft – who was then Chief Justice of the United States – dedicated the Memorial on May 30, 1922 and presented it to President Warren G. Harding, who accepted it on behalf of the American people. Lincoln's only surviving son, 78-year-old Robert Todd Lincoln, was in attendance.[8]

The Memorial was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966.[9]

Vandalism[edit]

In September 1962, vandals painted the words "nigger lover" in foot-high pink letters on the rear wall.[10]

On the morning of July 26, 2013, the memorial was shut down after the statue's base and legs were splashed with green paint.[11] It reopened later that day.[12] A 58-year-old Chinese national, Jiamei Tian, was later found responsible for the vandalism. Following her arrest at the Washington National Cathedral, she was admitted to St. Elizabeths Hospital, a psychiatric facility, and was later found to be incompetent to stand trial; she has since been released from the hospital.[13]

Exterior[edit]

The exterior of the Memorial echoes a classic Greek temple and features Yule marble from Colorado. The structure measures 189.7 by 118.5 feet (57.8 by 36.1 m) and is 99 feet (30 m) tall. It is surrounded by a peristyle of 36 fluted Doric columns, one for each of the 36 states in the Union at the time of Lincoln's death, and two columns in-antis at the entrance behind the colonnade. The columns stand 44 feet (13 m) tall with a base diameter of 7.5 feet (2.3 m). Each column is built from 12 drums including the capital. The columns, like the exterior walls and facades, are inclined slightly toward the building's interior. This is to compensate for perspective distortions which would otherwise make the memorial appear to bulge out at the top when compared with the bottom, a common feature of Ancient Greek architecture.[14]

Detail of the Memorial's friezes

Above the colonnade, inscribed on the frieze, are the names of the 36 states in the Union at the time of Lincoln's death and the dates in which they entered the Union. Their names are separated by double wreath medallions in bas-relief. The cornice is composed of a carved scroll regularly interspersed with projecting lions' heads and ornamented with palmetto cresting along the upper edge. Above this on the attic frieze are inscribed the names of the 48 states present at the time of the Memorial's dedication. A bit higher is a garland joined by ribbons and palm leaves, supported by the wings of eagles. All ornamentation on the friezes and cornices was done by Ernest C. Bairstow.[14]

The Memorial is anchored in a concrete foundation, 44 to 66 feet (13 to 20 m) in depth, constructed by M. F. Comer and Company and the National Foundation and Engineering Company, and is encompassed by a 187-by-257-foot (57 by 78 m) rectangular granite retaining wall measuring 14 feet (4.3 m) in height.[14]

Leading up to the shrine on the east side are the main steps. Beginning at the edge of the Reflecting Pool, the steps rise to the Lincoln Memorial Circle roadway surrounding the edifice, then to the main portal, intermittently spaced with a series of platforms. Flanking the steps as they approach the entrance are two buttresses each crowned with an 11-foot (3.4 m) tall tripod carved from pink Tennessee marble[14] by the Piccirilli Brothers.[15]

Interior[edit]

The area where the statue stands is 60 feet wide, 74 feet long, and 60 feet high.[16] The interior of the Memorial is divided into three chambers by two rows of Ionic columns. These columns, four in each row, are 50 feet (15 m) tall and 5.5 feet (1.7 m) in diameter at their base. The north and south side chambers contain carved inscriptions of Lincoln's second inaugural address and his Gettysburg Address.[notes 1] Bordering these inscriptions are pilasters ornamented with fasces, eagles, and wreaths. The inscriptions and adjoining ornamentation were done by Evelyn Beatrice Longman.[14]

The Memorial is filled with symbolism: the 36 columns represent the states in the union at the time of Lincoln's death, the 48 stone festoons on the attic above the columns represent the 48 states in 1922. Above each of the inscriptions is a 60-by-12-foot (18.3 by 3.7 m) mural painted by Jules Guerin graphically portraying governing principles evident in Lincoln's life. On the south wall mural, Freedom, Liberty, Immortality, Justice, and the Law are pictured, while the north wall portrays Unity, Fraternity, and Charity. Both scenes contain a background of cypress trees, the emblem of Eternity. The murals were crafted with a special mixture of paint which included elements of kerosene and wax to protect the exposed artwork from fluctuations in temperature and moisture conditions.[17]

The ceiling of the Memorial, 60 feet (18 m) above the floor, is composed of bronze girders, ornamented with laurel and oak leaves. Between the girders are panels of Alabama marble, saturated with paraffin to increase their translucency. Despite the increased light from this device, Bacon and French felt the statue required even more light. They decided upon an artificial lighting system in which a louvered lighting panel would be set in the ceiling with metal slats to conceal the great floodlights. Custodians could adjust the lights from a control room, varying them according to the outside light. Funds for this expensive system were appropriated by Congress in 1926, and in 1929, seven years after the dedication, the statue was properly lighted. Since that time, only one major alteration has taken place in the Memorial's design. This was the addition of an elevator within the structure to aid handicapped visitors, which was installed in the mid-1970s.[17]

Abraham Lincoln, by Daniel Chester French

Statue[edit]

IN THIS TEMPLE

AS IN THE HEARTS OF THE PEOPLE

FOR WHOM HE SAVED THE UNION

THE MEMORY OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN

IS ENSHRINED FOREVER

Epitaph by Royal Cortissoz above Abraham Lincoln by Daniel Chester French

Main article: Abraham Lincoln (French 1920)

Lying between the north and south chambers is the central hall containing the solitary figure of Lincoln sitting in contemplation. The statue was carved by the Piccirilli Brothers under the supervision of the sculptor, Daniel Chester French, and took four years to complete. The statue, originally intended to be only 10 feet (3.0 m) tall, was, on further consideration, enlarged so that it finally stood 19 feet (5.8 m) tall from head to foot, the scale being such that if Lincoln were standing, he would be 28 feet (8.5 m) tall. The extreme width of the statue is the same as its height. The Georgia white marble sculpture weighs 175 short tons (159 t) and had to be shipped in 28 separate pieces.[17]

The statue rests upon an oblong pedestal of Tennessee marble 10 feet (3.0 m) high, 16 feet (4.9 m) wide, and 17 feet (5.2 m) deep. Directly beneath this lies a platform of Tennessee marble about 34.5 feet (10.5 m) long, 28 feet (8.5 m) wide, and 6.5 inches (0.17 m) high. Lincoln's arms rest on representations of Roman fasces, a subtle touch that associates the statue with the Augustan (and imperial) theme (obelisk and funerary monuments) of the Washington Mall.[18] The statue is discretely bordered by two pilasters, one on each side. Between these pilasters and above Lincoln's head stands the engraved epitaph,[17] composed by Royal Cortissoz, shown in the box to the left.[19]

Sculptural features[edit]

The sculpture has been at the center of two urban legends. Some have claimed that the face of General Robert E. Lee was carved onto the back of Lincoln's head,[20] and looks back across the Potomac toward his former home, Arlington House, now within the bounds of Arlington National Cemetery. Another popular legend is that Lincoln is shown using sign language to represent his initials, with his left hand shaped to form an "A" and his right hand to form an "L", the president's initials. The National Park Service denies both legends.[20]

The March on Washington in 1963 brought 250,000 people to the National Mall and is famous for Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech.

The location on the steps where King delivered the speech is commemorated with this inscription

However, historian Gerald Prokopowicz writes that, while it is not clear that sculptor Daniel Chester French intended Lincoln's hands to be formed into sign language versions of his initials, it is possible that French did intend it, because he was familiar with American Sign Language, and he would have had a reason to do so, that is, to pay tribute to Lincoln for having signed the federal legislation giving Gallaudet University, a university for the deaf, the authority to grant college degrees.[21] The National Geographic Society's publication, "Pinpointing the Past in Washington, D.C." states that Daniel Chester French had a son who was deaf and that the sculptor was familiar with sign language.[22][23] Historian James A. Percoco has observed that, although there are no extant documents showing that French had Lincoln's hands carved to represent the letters "A" and "L" in American Sign Language, "I think you can conclude that it's reasonable to have that kind of summation about the hands."[24]

Sacred space[edit]

As Sandage (1993) demonstrates, the Memorial has become a symbolically sacred venue especially for the Civil Rights movement. In 1939, the Daughters of the American Revolution refused to allow the African-American contralto Marian Anderson to perform before an integrated audience at the organization's Constitution Hall. At the suggestion of Eleanor Roosevelt, the wife of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harold L. Ickes, the Secretary of the Interior, arranged for a performance on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on Easter Sunday of that year, to a live audience of 70,000, and a nationwide radio audience.

On August 28, 1963, the memorial grounds were the site of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, which proved to be a high point of the American Civil Rights Movement. It is estimated that approximately 250,000 people came to the event, where they heard Martin Luther King, Jr., deliver his historic speech, "I Have a Dream", before the memorial honoring the president who had issued the Emancipation Proclamation 100 years earlier. King's speech, with its language of patriotism and its evocation of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, was meant to match the symbolism of the Lincoln Memorial as a monument to national unity.[25] The D.C. police also appreciated the location because it was surrounded on three sides by water, so that any incident could be easily contained.[26] Twenty years later, on August 28, 1983, crowds gathered again to mark the 20th Anniversary Mobilization for Jobs, Peace and Freedom, to reflect on progress in gaining civil rights for African Americans and to commit to correcting continuing injustices. The "I Have a Dream" speech is such a part of the Lincoln Memorial story, that the spot on which King stood, on the landing eighteen steps below Lincoln's statue, was engraved in 2003 in recognition of the 40th anniversary of the event.

At the memorial on May 9, 1970, President Richard Nixon had a middle-of-the-night impromptu, brief meeting with protesters who, just days after the Kent State shootings, were preparing to march against the Vietnam War.

Depictions on U.S. currency[edit]

Reverse of a 2003 five-dollar note and 2006 Lincoln cent

From 1959 to 2008, the Lincoln Memorial was shown on the reverse of the United States one cent coin, which bears Lincoln's portrait bust on the front. The statue of Lincoln can be seen in the monument. This was done to mark the 150th anniversary of Lincoln's birth.

The memorial also appears on the back of the U.S. five dollar bill, the front of which bears Lincoln's portrait.

In popular culture[edit]

Literature

1978: In the Clive Cussler novel Vixen 03, the memorial is destroyed by a shell fired from the USS Iowa, however, the statue of Lincoln remains intact.

Lincoln Memorial and Reflecting Pool

at sunrise

at dusk

External video

Lincoln Memorial in June 2012.jpg

Laser Scan: Lincoln Memorial (0:33), DJS Associates[27]

Films

1939: In a key scene in the Frank Capra film Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, the statue and its inscription provide inspiration to freshman Senator Jefferson Smith, played by James Stewart.

1951: In the science fiction classic The Day the Earth Stood Still, Klaatu/Mr. Carpenter and Billy visit the Lincoln Memorial, provoking Klaatu, a visitor from the stars, to say: "Those are great words, he must have been a great man?"

1976: In the science fiction film Logan's Run, the statue of Lincoln reveals to the characters the look of old age.

1993: In more than one scene, Clint Eastwood and Rene Russo sit on the steps of the Memorial in In the Line of Fire.

1994: In a scene from the film Forrest Gump, Forrest (Tom Hanks) delivers a speech standing on a podium in front of the Memorial facing the reflecting pool.

1995: In a memorable scene in the film Nixon, President Richard Nixon (played by Anthony Hopkins) pays an impromptu, late-night visit to the Memorial, which is being occupied by Vietnam War protesters. The scene was based on a real-life incident when Nixon and his White House butler paid a visit to the Memorial in the early morning hours of May 9, 1970.

1996: In the science fiction movie Independence Day, the Lincoln Memorial can be seen as a massive alien spacecraft enters the sky around Washington, D.C.

2001: In the science fiction film Planet Of The Apes the Lincoln Memorial is shown in an alternate timeline as being a memorial for an ape named General Thade.

2004: In the Disney film National Treasure, main characters Ben Gates and Riley Poole discuss the possibility of stealing the Declaration of Independence while sitting on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

2005: In the comedy movie, Wedding Crashers, the two main characters, played by Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn, watch the sunrise on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and question whether they're getting too old to continue crashing weddings for sport.

2009: In the comedy movie Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian, the statue of Lincoln comes to life (voiced by Hank Azaria) and has a short conversation with the characters of Ben Stiller and Amy Adams and helps them defeat the Horus warriors.

2011: In the superhero movie, X-Men: First Class, Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr are seen playing chess and talking on the steps of the memorial.

2011: In the science fiction movie, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Megatron destroys the statue of Lincoln and then sits on the chair. This is a callback to "Atlantis, Arise!", a season 2 episode of the original The Transformers series where G1 Megatron did the same.

2013: In the movie White House Down, the President (played by Jamie Foxx) requests a fly-by of the Lincoln Memorial, at both the beginning and the end of the movie to pay homage to his hero.

2016: In the horror movie The Purge: Election Year, the Lincoln Memorial is shown with dead bodies and a fire with burning bodies on the steps and the columns having giant letters that spell out "PURGE" written in human blood.

Television

1991: In The Simpsons episode "Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington", Lisa Simpson goes to the Memorial hoping to be inspired by the spirit of Lincoln. She arrives to find a crush of tourists ahead of her, and detours to the Jefferson Memorial. The spirit of Thomas Jefferson speaks to her there, but is annoyed that she came to him only as a second choice.

1993: In the Ren & Stimpy Show episode "An Abe Divided", Ren and Stimpy get jobs working at the Lincoln Memorial where Ren overhears about treasure inside the memorial's head. Ren and Stimpy then saw off Lincoln's head only to find caramel corn inside, but are left with a headless-Lincoln. They spend the episode trying to fix their mess with disastrous results.

2004: In the "The Stormy Present" episode of the TV series The West Wing, President Josiah Bartlet (Martin Sheen) visits the Lincoln Memorial after being prompted by a letter to "Go see Lincoln and listen."

2015: In "Reunion", the penultimate episode of Falling Skies, it is determined that the alien queen is located at the Lincoln Memorial and this is where they must go to win the war. In the series finale "Reborn", resistance leader Tom Mason confronts the queen face to face in the ruins of the Lincoln Memorial and kills her, destroying the alien invaders. Months later, the Memorial has been rebuilt and is where a united humanity gathers to choose a new leader.

Video games

2000: In the video game Command and Conquer: Red Alert 2, the Lincoln Memorial can be seen in missions that take place in Washington, D.C. In the Allied Campaign Lincolns head was replaced by a head of Stalin before America was liberated. In the Soviet Campaign, it was destroyed for a cash bounty.

2008: In the video game Fallout 3, 200 years after a nuclear war set in 2077, the Lincoln Memorial has been badly damaged, including Lincoln's head having gone missing from the statue. The head is later found in the possession of several escaped slaves who want to return it to the memorial and restore it to its original condition.

Music videos

1985: The music video for "We Built This City (On Rock and Roll)" by Starship features a still shot of the Memorial interior. A view has the group and onlookers singing the refrain upwards to Lincoln's statue. The view then switches to the statue coming to life—literally moved by their conviction—standing up, and sings along.

Cimetière de Passy, Paris

Le Silène est un grand papillon de couleur marron rayé d'une bande blanc crème submarginale rectiligne, avec un ocelle noir discrètement pupillé de blanc à l'apex des antérieures.

Il est reconnaissable en vol à son dessus brun et à la large bande blanc crème qui traverse les deux ailes. Au sol, il se pose avec les ailes repliées (très mimétique sur écorces, feuilles mortes...).

Le revers des antérieures est marron ocre et le revers des postérieures marbré de marron et de blanc, tous deux rayés d'une bande blanche. Un ocelle noir discrètement pupillé de blanc à l'apex des antérieures est bien visible sur le dessus comme sur le revers.

Brintesia circe reaches on average 65–80 millimetres (2.6–3.1 in) of wingspan. Wings are mainly black or dark brown. They have a broad white band at the edge of the basal area of all wings and usually a second white streak on the lower wings. The black eyespots on the underside of the upper wings have a white contour. Brintesia circe is quite similar to Hipparchia fagi, but in the last one the second white streak on the lowers wings is always missing and the eyespots has a yellow contour. These butterflies usually rest on the branches of a tree, protected by their cryptic markings, but ready to take off and fly away when disturbed.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

tnm - oe

For stereoscopic vision you need a method of providing two separate images, one for each eye, since display systems discretely display red green and blue, using coloured filters and providing a signal for two sets of colour channels, two images can be transmitted and effectively filtered with little cross over.

There are newer technologies emerging, your new 3D TV for example use methods that don’t require colour filtration, but then the monochrome methods of filtration that they use would mean they would be little use for a theme of red white and blue..

View on blackmagic

MacroMonday: Theme: Red white and blue.

Explore #30! and Front page thank you very much to everyone.

A small discrete row of lanterns burning softly, swinging gently in the Tokyo breeze.

Thank you for looking! =) Connect on Facebook | Instagram | Tumblr | Pinterest

It was not particularly sunny , when I met this handsome boy, last Summer. He was standing still, all alone – his magnificent back towards me --- in the Rose Gardens of Paradisio Zoo Park . I got closer to him very discretely, stunned by his Beauty… When he perceived me, he gave me a calm, direct eye-to-eye look, and immediately started opening his Divinely painted plumage! Then, like the best trained model, he started turning very slowly all around, showing off his amazing Beauty from all possible angles. And me, so grateful and stunned by this spectacle , I was capturing non-stop these magical moments I was experiencing….

*** In LARGE!!!

Explore @#433

Copyright© GlennDulay / Glenn Wesley A. Dulay

This image is protected under the Kingdom of Bahrain and International Copyright laws and may not be downloaded, reproduced, copied, transmitted or manipulated without written permission.

• Camera: Canon EOS 40D + Canon 18-55IS

• Standard Seven [7] Bracketed Exposures [RAW] + Photomatix + CS3

• Location: Seef Area-City Centre , Kingdom of Bahrain

Not the most discrete pants/underwear/shirt arrangement.

Tidworth, Wiltshire, U.K.

Family : Lycaenidae

Sub-Family : Theclinae

Species : Thecla betulae cuneata

This is the largest of the hairstreaks found in the British Isles with a wingspan of 36-45mm, the females being the larger of the two sexes. It is not at all common and is found in discrete colonies mainly in the southern parts of the UK. It is distributed widely across the rest of Europe although it is absent in large parts of Iberia, the Mediterranean islands, and Italy. Its range continues eastward across temperate Asia as far as Korea and Japan. Nowhere is it common and small localised colonies are the norm. Even where it is found this species can be quite elusive as it spends much of its time high in the trees where it rests, basks, mates, and feeds on honeydew. However, the females come down to lay their eggs and to nectar on a variety of flowers including Rubus fruticosus (Bramble), Succisa pratensis (Devil's-bit Scabious), Umbelliferae sp. (Hogweed), and Senecio jacobaea (Ragwort). Females can be very tame when nectaring and are not easily disturbed. Males descend from the trees much less frequently and are not so tame.

Eggs are laid singly on immature growth of the larval foodplant Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa ), usually in a sheltered south-facing position, and about 1-2m above the ground. The larva does not emerge from the egg until the following Spring and goes through four instar stages before pupation which lasts 4 weeks.

All my insect pics are single shot and handheld, usually in the wild.

In Papua New Guinea, there are more than more than 850 discrete spoken languages, and until recently, none of them were written down. Even today, adult literacy sits at less than 62%. In a historically nonliterate society with more than 7000 diverse cultural groups, one of the most popular means of education has been through costume, song, and dance.

This is one reason sing sings so important.

For the story, please visit: www.ursulasweeklywanders.com/travel/feathers-fur-and-face...

I staked out my daughter's feeders and bird bath at a discrete distance to see what birds would show up. Thrilled when a kinglet arrived. Finally I might get a good shot. The bird had other ideas. Once again, this was what was presented.

Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula)

My photos can also be found at kapturedbykala.com

A few days after our discovery of the explosion at the chemical processing plant, I float some twenty feet above the hectic goings on of life in downtown Denver, invisible, watching time slowly pass. Despite all that has happened during my time on Earth, I still feel as though I am an outcast. The residents of Earth accept me in all the same ways that they accept people like Superman. But I realise, observing them as they go about their taxing, monotonous lives, that despite everything I do, and everything I will do for this planet, I will always be the true foundling, the extraterrestrial. The man from Mars.

I will arrive to prevent a crime, and the people will say "thank you." But behind me, there will always be those whispers; the discrete glances around the shoulder to keep me in check. To ensure I'm staying in line.

For a species that has enough trouble accepting itself, I don't doubt for one minute that it doesn't have second thoughts about accepting me.

Despite my best efforts, those whispers will always be heard. Even at home on Mars, the way society worked was microcosmic to what occurs here, on Earth.

It may be that I'm just being hypocritical; that I refuse to acknowledge that I too have acted just like them, and that exclusion is just a way of life.

I suppose, in a way, that makes me more human than anything else does.

To some extent the true aliens of this planet will never fit in.

I pull myself from my thoughts and open my mind to the thoughts of the pedestrians below me, a skill I have come to master in these past months. The moment I begin, my mind is flooded with the thoughts of those around me:

My eyes flip open and I steadily float over to the source of the noise, but before I can make a move the noise dies down and a voice rings out through the air.

"Martian Manhunter! I'm looking for Martian Manhunter! Hello? Does anyone know where I can find Martian Manhunter?"

Amazed, I scan the area for the source of the voice, but my eyes soon do the job for me and discover who it is that is speaking.

In the middle of the street stands a fairly tall, well-built figure whom appears to be coated in some kind of rock that covers him from head to toe. Two beady red beacons shine out in the space that should be occupied by his eyes, and streaks of a burnt orange solution line his face in place of blemishes and wrinkles. As he steps forwards, the solution that hides in the cracks of his face appears in the exposed gaps of his rocky exoskeleton, seemingly taking up the place where one would find skin. As he approaches, I turn visible again and gently glide down to the street to face him.

The thing pauses, and we look at each other for a moment.

The figure opens what I presume to be his mouth, displaying a set of yellowed teeth, and begins to speak.

"There you are. I wanna talk to you."

There is a gravelled edge to his voice that makes it sound strained and tired, but underneath the distortion, I realise that I know that voice.

The red beacons widen as I speak, and his smile grows wider as he steps forwards.

"You do know who I am!"

I remain silent.

"I didn't think you would recognise me!"

"I'm not entirely sure I do, Michael."

"Haha, all will be explained. And please, Michael Miller is no more. Call me Human Flame."

I remain where I am stood with caution. I knew something did not feel right about him.

His grin subsides as he takes a step back.

"Just watch."

He takes a breath and flexes his arms, then out of nowhere his body ignites itself in a sea of bright orange flames.

I step back as his grin re-appears, but I do not share in his enjoyment.

Of course, during our encounter in the bank, he never did find out the true power of fire against a Martian.

He pulls his eyes from examining his arms and looks up.

"What?"

"Don't do this, not here at least. You're making the people anxious."

He looks around, but ignorantly holds out his hand and ignites a flame, in some kind of attempt to put on a show for them.

"No I'm not, see?"

A group of girls move back in caution, and a father picks up his daughter and begins to move away.

He looks around, then nods.

"Alright. Let's go."

I take Michael up to the hills just outside the city, the sight where I often bring M'gann to help her with flying practice. It's calm and isolated conditions are perfect for creating a work area of absolute focus where the mind can be at rest, away from the bustling noises of the city.

I doubt I am going to be treated to such a calming discussion today, however.

Michael looks around at the mountains, then positions himself next to a rock and looks at me.

"I've never been this far out of Denver before. It's amazing."

"That's good to hear. Now, tell me, because I'm having some slight difficulties piecing this together, what exactly is going on?"

He smiles.

"Where do I start?"

"The beginning would be preferable."

He laughs excitedly, then steps forwards to face me fully.

"Alright, alright. I guess I'll start right after we met. You remember that, right? The bank? Homemade hairdryer?"

I nod.

"I do."

"Well, after that, I guess I hit rock bottom. All my life I wanted to be someone, to do something people would remember me for. Now I had no talents. I couldn't sing, or act, and I sure as hell couldn't be a hero like you."

"So you decided to hold up a bank."

"Well, yeah, I guess. I made the flamethrower and pieced together that shitty suit and just decided, screw it, I may as well do something, right? And, we all know how well that ended up. But after you talked those cops into letting me off, I realised something. I realised, you don't need special powers to be a hero, or to make a difference. You just need the right mindset. You'd inspired me to make a change."

I am silent.

"So when I was released that night, that's when I decided to start a new life. A whole new me. I found that chemical plant outside the city, and decided I'd try and fix my gear, but-"

"So that was you."

"Oh, the explosion? Well, yeah I guess. It was an accident, but, that's not the point!"

I sigh.

"Go on."

"Before that happened, I had a massive come-down. Again. I thought I was being an idiot in trying to change. I tried to destroy my gear, but it caused this explosion, and when I came round...."

I nod.

"You were like this."

"U-huh. But I thought that was it. I'd become some kinda freak, a monster. I didn't know what the hell to do, so I ran off into the forest, and there... Well, that don't matter. What does matter is what happened next."

He looks around.

"I heard these gunshots from somewhere in the forest. Now, again, not knowing what the hell to do, I followed them, and found Oaksridge,"

"Oaksridge?"

"It's this little town in Roosevelt Forest. It's where I had my...what's it called? My epiphany."

"Your epiphany?"

"U-huh. Some guy in the town was trying to kill this other guy, and I stopped him. When I did, I realised I could do this-"

He goes to ignite himself again, but I raise my hand to stop him.

"Thank you, Michael, I get the picture. You were saying?"

"Oh right, yeah. So I save this guy, and suddenly the folks there are treating me like some sorta hero. Me! It was then I realised, I could do what you do. I could be the hero. I stayed in Oaksridge a few days, then decided to come find you, to tell you what had happened. After all, if it weren't for you stopping me back at the bank, who knows where we'd be now, right?"

I don't know what to say. It is clear Michael has found great excitement in what has happened to him, but I know better than anyone else that just because you can do something, it doesn't mean you should.

"Your body has gone through a momentous change, one you were lucky to survive from how it sounds, and you need to take time to adjust to those changes. I know how you feel. You have powers beyond your imagination and a burning passion to do good, but you need to prepare, to take time to get used to yourself. Rome wasn't built in a day."

"Then train me! Help me get used to it! I wanna be like you; help you!"

I don't tell him of my weakness. Training him would be impossible. His fire power may be too much for me to handle. His heart, however, does appear to be in a good enough place, one that might allow me to help him somewhere down the line, and if I can contain him, guide him, his abilities may not be as big a threat to me as first believed.

But then I face a dilemma.

I don't want to treat him like some experiment, or to try and subside his powers and treat him like an animal. He is, at the end of the day, still human.

He looks down at his feet, then steps back and nods.

"Alright. I get it."

There's a long pause, and I am tempted to enter his mind to find out what it is he's debating. I decided against it, however. This is something he needs to decide by himself.

"I know now. I know what I could do."

He begins to head down the hills and back towards the city, but turns at the last moment to face me with a smile.

"Thank you, Manhunter. Thank you for everything."

He begins to leave, but as he does I step forwards.

He smiles.

"Okay. J'onn."

Not losing the smile from his face, he turns back and begins to descend the hill, leaving me alone, looking out over the mountainous skyline on the horizon.

A hidden gem: discretely situated off the A661 Harrogate to Wetherby Road. Plumpton Rocks is a 30 acre parkland created in the 1760s by forming a man made lake against the backdrop of Millstone Grit rock formations and outcrops.

The artist JMW Turner visited Plumbton Rocks on his first tour of Yorkshire in 1797. The Earl of Harewood, who owned the rocks. commissioned Turner to paint the landscape. This was Turner’s first commission for a landscape in oils and gamble for the Earl. It was then known as Plompton Rocks and Harewood House holds two of Turner’s original paintings.

Pre-school kids being escorted two-by-two on the streets of Evora, Portugal.

Despite being discrete sitting down looking down at my camera which was waist height. They still clocked I was taking a photo of them!

View on Instagram ift.tt/2OGkuyf

The whole set about Northern lights is on behance: www.behance.net/gallery/Northern-lights-in-Iceland/2966241

26034 runs off Lochgorm, following a discrete distance behind 40029 which has just finished refuelling after working in 1Z40 The Skirl O'The Pipes 3 with 40044.

I'll confess that one of Inverness' fine semaphores may have been harmed (removed) in the manufacture of this product....

24th September 1983

Coenagrion puella

Delft

Fairbanks, Alaska

Detail from a slab of decorative building stone in Calgary. The discrete horizontal layers (beds) are each about 1 cm thick.

This is a complex bit of rock -- only those who know a bit about carbonate sedimentology will be able to 'decode' the geological data recorded in this rock. Some of the white layers contain radiating clusters of elongate (bladed) calcite crystals and vague dendritic textures, and some of the round sand-size grains are concentrically layered (coated grains). Long flat grains are eroded, locally sourced (intraclastic) bits of microlaminated sediment. The best interpretation is that this probably a travertine; other very similar rock slabs at this site (same layering -- probably from the same block of quarried rock) contain more textural data consistent with a travertine origin (carbonate mound, hot or cold spring) and/or a microbial laminite origin (e.g., carbonate tidal flat).

C. J.R. Devaney

Visiteur du Grand Nord, le Plectrophane lapon nous honore ,discrètement , de sa présence durant l'hiver.

Visitor from the Far North, the Lapland Longspur honors us discreetly with his presence during the winter.

And of course, I shared.

Discretely.

via Instagram instagr.am/p/CUCyzz9rq9E/

de/from. Wikipedia

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EN ESTE TEMPLO

COMO EN LOS CORAZONES DE LA GENTE

POR QUIEN SALVÓ LA UNIÓN

LA MEMORIA DE ABRAHAM LINCOLN

SE CONSAGRA PARA SIEMPRE

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IN THIS TEMPLE,

AS IN THE HEARTS OF THE PEOPLE

FOR WHOM HE SAVED THE UNION,

THE MEMORY OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN

IS ENSRINED FOREVER.

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es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monumento_a_Lincoln

El Monumento a Lincoln (Lincoln Memorial en inglés), situado en uno de los extremos horizontales del National Mall de Washington D. C., Estados Unidos, es un monumento conmemorativo creado para honrar la memoria del presidente Abraham Lincoln. El edificio tiene forma de templo griego dórico, y tiene una gran escultura de Abraham Lincoln sentado e inscripciones de dos conocidos discursos de Lincoln. En este monumento han tenido lugar muchos discursos importantes, incluyendo el de Martin Luther King "Yo tengo un sueño", que fue pronunciado el 28 de agosto de 1963 durante la manifestación al final de la Marcha en Washington por el Trabajo y la Libertad.

Al igual que otros monumentos del National Mall, incluyendo el cercano Monumento a los Veteranos del Vietnam, el Monumento a los Veteranos de la Guerra de Corea y el Monumento Nacional a la Segunda Guerra Mundial, el monumento a Lincoln está administrado por el Servicio Nacional de Parques de Estados Unidos bajo el grupo Parques del National Mall y Monumentos. El Monumento a Lincoln se unió a la lista del Registro Nacional de Sitios Históricos el 15 de octubre de 1966. Está abierto al público desde las 8 de la mañana hasta medianoche todo el año, salvo el día 25 de diciembre.

Estatua

La parte principal del monumento es la escultura de Lincoln sentado hecha por Daniel Chester French. French estudió muchas de las fotos que Mathew Brady hizo a Lincoln, y mostró al presidente de forma pensativa, mirando al este hacia la Piscina Reflectante y al Monumento a Washington. Una de sus manos está cerrada, mientras que la otra está abierta. Debajo de ellas, las fasces romanas, símbolos de la autoridad de la República, están esculpidas en el relieve del asiento. La estatua se levanta a 6 metros de altura y tiene 6 metros de anchura. Fue moldeada por los hermanos Piccirilli de Nueva York en su estudio del Bronx a partir de 28 bloques de mármol. La sala principal está flanqueada por otras dos salas. En una, el Discurso de Gettysburg está grabado en la pared sur, y en la otra, el segundo discurso innaugural de Lincoln está inscrito en la pared norte. Por encima de estos discursos hay una serie de murales pintados por Jules Guérin y muestran un ángel, que representa la verdad, liberando a un esclavo (en la pared sur, encima del Discurso de Gettysburg), y la unidad del Norte y el Sur (encima del segundo discurso inaugural). En la pared detrás de la estatua, tras la cabeza, se encuentra esta dedicatoria:

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en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_Memorial

The Lincoln Memorial is an American national monument built to honor the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. It is located on the western end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., across from the Washington Monument. The architect was Henry Bacon; the designer of the primary statue – Abraham Lincoln, 1920 – was Daniel Chester French; the Lincoln statue was carved by the Piccirilli Brothers;[2] and the painter of the interior murals was Jules Guerin. Dedicated in 1922, it is one of several monuments built to honor an American president. It has always been a major tourist attraction and since the 1930s has been a symbolic center focused on race relations.

The building is in the form of a Greek Doric temple and contains a large seated sculpture of Abraham Lincoln and inscriptions of two well-known speeches by Lincoln, "The Gettysburg Address" and his Second Inaugural Address. The memorial has been the site of many famous speeches, including Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech, delivered on August 28, 1963, during the rally at the end of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

Like other monuments on the National Mall – including the nearby Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Korean War Veterans Memorial, and National World War II Memorial – the memorial is administered by the National Park Service under its National Mall and Memorial Parks group. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since October 15, 1966. It is open to the public 24 hours a day. In 2007, it was ranked seventh on the List of America's Favorite Architecture by the American Institute of Architects. Since 2010, approximately 6 million people visit the memorial annually.

Statue

Lying between the north and south chambers is the central hall containing the solitary figure of Lincoln sitting in contemplation. The statue was carved by the Piccirilli Brothers under the supervision of the sculptor, Daniel Chester French, and took four years to complete. The statue, originally intended to be only 10 feet (3.0 m) tall, was, on further consideration, enlarged so that it finally stood 19 feet (5.8 m) tall from head to foot, the scale being such that if Lincoln were standing, he would be 28 feet (8.5 m) tall. The extreme width of the statue is the same as its height. The Georgia white marble sculpture weighs 175 short tons (159 t) and had to be shipped in 28 separate pieces.[17]

The statue rests upon an oblong pedestal of Tennessee marble 10 feet (3.0 m) high, 16 feet (4.9 m) wide, and 17 feet (5.2 m) deep. Directly beneath this lies a platform of Tennessee marble about 34.5 feet (10.5 m) long, 28 feet (8.5 m) wide, and 6.5 inches (0.17 m) high. Lincoln's arms rest on representations of Roman fasces, a subtle touch that associates the statue with the Augustan (and imperial) theme (obelisk and funerary monuments) of the Washington Mall.[18] The statue is discretely bordered by two pilasters, one on each side. Between these pilasters and above Lincoln's head stands the engraved epitaph,[17] composed by Royal Cortissoz, shown in the adjacent box.[19]

Retour au sénégal !

In Papua New Guinea, there are more than more than 850 discrete spoken languages, and until recently, none of them were written down. Even today, adult literacy sits at less than 62%. In a historically nonliterate society with more than 7000 diverse cultural groups, one of the most popular means of education has been through costume, song, and dance.

This is one reason sing sings so important.

For the story, please visit: www.ursulasweeklywanders.com/travel/feathers-fur-and-face...

If you like it - shoot it - but perhaps not be so obvious ?

Edinburgh - Street Life

And there, while I was having a coffee, by the sea of Oostende, this adorable creature sits close to me !! And , after asking for a permission, I started taking portraits of him non-stop, but very discretely…. He was SO gentle, SO expressive, SO photogenic, SO WHITE!! And he was surely a sort of descendant of those adorable and happy white wolves , that my dear friend John takes pictures all the time in the Toronto Zoo!

Explored on 26th March 2013

via Instagram instagr.am/p/CDd2r5Jnb6Y/

www.benoitcourti.net

Wetenschappelijk: Boloria selene

scientific name: Boloria selene

Kenmerken

Voorvleugellengte: 18-22 mm. De bovenkant van de vleugels is overwegend oranje en heeft zwarte vlekken en stippen. De onderkant van de achtervleugel is contrastrijk getekend; alle vlekken in de middenband zijn geelachtig of zilverkleurig glanzend. Naast de gele vlek in de vleugelwortel bevindt zich een ronde zwarte vlek. Langs de achterrand bevinden zich witte vlekken die afgegrensd zijn met een zwarte lijn.

Gelijkende soorten

De paarse parelmoervlinder en de veenbesparelmoervlinder hebben een paarse band op de onderkant van de achtervleugel. Zie ook de zilvervlek.

Voorkomen

Een zeldzame standvlinder die vooral voorkomt in het veenweidegebied op de grens van Utrecht en Zuid-Holland, in de kop van Overijssel, in Friesland en op Terschelling. In 1993 is de soort uitgezet in de schraallanden van de Meije bij Nieuwkoop, waar hij zich sindsdien zelfstandig handhaaft. In 2001 is de soort ook uitgezet in het Ilperveld, maar daar is hij inmiddels weer verdwenen.

Habitat

Natte tot vochtige, schrale graslanden en bloemrijke hooi- of rietlanden.

Waardplanten

Vooral moerasviooltje; in duinen ook duin- en hondsviooltje.

Vliegtijd en gedrag

Begin mei-half juni en begin juli-half september in twee generaties. De vlinders zijn de hele dag actief en voeden zich met nectar van onder andere echte koekoeksbloem.

Levenscyclus

Rups: begin juni-half juli en half augustus-half mei. De soort overwintert als half volgroeide rups in een dor blad in de strooisellaag. De verpopping vindt plaats aan een stengel, laag in de vegetatie.

Rode lijst en beschermd

The Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary is a delightful butterfly found in discrete colonies. Patrolling males can be seen flying a couple of feet from the ground, alternating a burst of rapid wing beats with a short glide, searching out freshly-emerged females in the surrounding scrub. The wing pattern, however, makes the adult butterfly difficult to follow in flight, it being much easier to observe this species when it is basking or nectaring on flowers of Bugle and other plants.

This butterfly, like the Pearl-bordered Fritillary, gets its name from the series of "pearls" that run along the outside edge of the underside of the hindwing. The two species may be seen together at certain sites, although the Pearl-bordered Fritillary emerges a couple of weeks before the Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary and generally appears much paler as a result. This strongholds of this species are found throughout much of Scotland and Wales, and in the north-western and south-western counties of England with scattered colonies elsewhere. It is absent from the Outer Hebrides, Orkney, Shetland, Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. This butterfly is found in discrete colonies containing anything between a couple of dozen and 100 adults at peak.

Most colonies are found in open areas within deciduous woodland, such as woodland clearings. These colonies are generally small, consisting of a few dozen adults at most, and this butterfly is also relatively-sedentary with only a limited capacity for colonising new areas. Colonies in the north are also found in more exposed situations such as marshland and moorland. These are larger colonies of up to 100 individuals, typically spread across extensive areas of land and butterflies in these colonies are relatively-mobile as a result.. At all sites damp areas are preferred, where the foodplants grow particularly vigorously.

Faire Surface

Fortunately there are some quite strict laws in place concerning defacing old buildings with ugly commercial signs. This McDonalds really works quite well when one thinks of what it could have looked like!

View LARGE on Black to understand what I am talking about!

...I'd like to know completely

what others so discretely talk about.

Un oiseau très discret qu'on entend plus qu'on ne voit...

Locustelle tachetée (Locustella naevia)

France, Nord