Český Krumlov is a beautiful Czech town dating back to the 13th Century and located around a horseshoe bend in the Vltava River. In 1302 the house and castle were owned by the House of Rosenberg. Most of the architecture of the old town and castle dates back to between the 14th and 17th centuries. It was originally part of Czechoslovakia and between 1938 and 1945 it was annexed by Nazi Germany as part of the Sudetenland. The town’s German speaking population was expelled after WWII. During the Soviet occupation (after WWII) much of this beautiful town fell into disrepair, but since the Velvet Revolution in 1989 much of the town had been restored to its former glory. This photo was taken from the square across the river and opposite the former Jesuit Seminary (now a museum).

Still trying to work through the long hot summer. I haven't ventured to the local tide pools in ages, so I gave it a shot. This guy looks to me a lot like a defensive football linesman. "Go ahead, try and get past me." There were a lot of them scurrying about at low tide on this day, lots of sizes from maybe an inch to several inches or more. Meanwhile, it might have been my first tide pool outing where I used the squat technique while balanced precariously on the sharp seashore rocks... I only lost it once while trying to back up when one kept coming closer and closer, challenging my lens's close focus limit. They do use those humongous pincers to gather algae and stuff off the rocks, munching with both fists so to speak, and blowing bubbles. Allegedly (from the web) crabs blow bubbles because that’s how their gills expel carbon dioxide.

Lo que vemos en la imagen es a una hembra adulta de Orthetrum trinacria que ha capturado a una hembra de Diplacodes lefebvrii y se la está zampando.

¿El título? Es más una suposición que una certeza. Si nos fijamos, la hembra atacada está soltando huevos y puede ser debido a las contracciones que sufre su cuerpo o a una herramienta de supervivencia de sus huevos al expulsarlos antes de ser consumidos por el atacante.

Fue una escena muy curiosa que contemplé junto a Teo.

Fotograma completo.

En el Parque Natural del Clot de Galvany. Elx (Alicante) España

What we see in the image is an adult female Orthetrum trinacria that has captured a female Diplacodes lefebvrii and is eating it.

Title? It is more of an assumption than a certainty. If we look closely, the attacked female is releasing eggs and it may be due to the contractions that her body suffers or to a survival tool of her eggs by expelling them before being consumed by the attacker.

It was a very curious scene that I saw with Teo.

Full frame.

In the Clot de Galvany Natural Park. Elx (Alicante) Spain

Bismarckviertel (Alpenstraße)

Bismarckviertel ("Bismarck Quarter") is part of the 3rd city district "Bahnhofs- und Bismarckviertel", which consists of the three parts Bahnhofsviertel ("Railway Station Quarter"), Beethovenviertel and Bismarckviertel.

"Augsburg's Bismarckviertel [similar to the Beethovenviertel] was developed in the last decade of the 19th century as a middle-class residential area close to the city centre outside the old town. It is part of the first major urban expansion after the abolition of Augsburg's fortress status in 1860 and the subsequent demolition of the western city fortifications in 1867.[...]

For decades, the Bismarckviertel [...] was a preferred residential area for Jewish citizens. During the Third Reich, however, most families of Jewish faith fled abroad to escape the Nazis' racial mania or were expelled from their homes."

de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augsburg-Bismarckviertel

The Bismarckviertel is not only very popular with middle-class families, but for decades has also been popular with students or other people who like to live in shared flats, so-called "Wohngemeinschaften" or "WGs", as they greatly appreciate the spacious and bright flats in the stately Gründerzeit buildings. In the 1970s, I lived in a parallel street in my first WG.

Rhododendron occidentale, the western azalea or California azalea, is one of two deciduous Rhododendron species native to western North America (the other is Rhododendron albiflorum). Family Ericaceae.

43 years ago this day, the military "Junta" took power in Argentina, starting the worst period of our short history as a Nation. The "Proceso de Reorganización Nacional" killed thousands and expelled many more, in an effort to stop the rise in socialism. It was part of a regional “Plan Cóndor”, together with military de facto governments in Brasil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile and Bolivia.

This photo was taken some time ago at the “Parque de la Memoria” (Remembrance park) in Buenos Aires. I had already emigrated by the time this park opened, and this was the first time I visited it.

Let’s all remember the atrocities. Nunca más.

This is one of those very special moments that is rare. Almost every wave as it collides with this raised coral reef pushes water up the myriad of tunnels in the reef expelling a blast of spray through the blowhole. This moment was between the waves and so the blowhole was empty and the pools of water contained by the travertine rims were placid.

The blowhole in the centre of the terraces is known as "The Chief's Whistle". - on this occasion it was silent.

[Chief's Whistle in Tongan is Pupu'a Puhi.]

Tétouan is famed for its fine craftsmanship and musical delicacy and has been part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network in the area of Crafts and Folk Art since 2017. Its cultural heritage is the product of the interaction between different cultural influences throughout centuries. It is mainly characterized by its Andalusian style and way of living but both Berber, Jewish and Colonial Spanish influences are present too.

The streets are fairly wide and straight, and many of the houses belonging to aristocratic families, descendants of those expelled from Al-Andalus by the Spanish Reconquista, possess marble fountains and have groves planted with orange trees. Within the houses and riads the ceilings are often exquisitely carved and painted in Hispano-Moresque designs, such as are found in the Alhambra of Granada, and the tile-work for which Tetuan is known may be seen on floors, pillars and dados. The city has seven gates which were closed at night up until early 20th century. Many Sufi Zawiyas are scattered inside the walled old city.

Kingfishers feed their young for some four days before they expel them from their territory. After that they will have to take the plunge themselves, or starve. The mortality rate among young kingfishers is about 50 %.

© 2020 Marc Haegeman. All Rights Reserved

Die Berührung einer anderen Hand kann Teufel aus unserem Herzen vertreiben.

(die Hände meines Sohnes)

The touch of another hand can expel devils from our heart.

(the hands of my son)

So many churches have closed doors so it was nice to find this one was open. It is an important site historically as there was a church founded here circa 447AD by St Maughold who was expelled from Ireland by St Patrick. Many Celtic pilgrims visited and there are many relics and stone crosses in the area. More info www.visitisleofman.com/experience/kirk-maughold-church-p1...

"Heh... Is that how you expel the unworthy. I'm no longer entitled to enter the palace. See if I care. The Silver Millennium always treated me as a nuisance. I'll leave on my own."

See credits here: www.gimmegacha.com/wp/queen-of-darkness-black-lady/

abbaye de Sénanque

Sénanque Abbey (Occitan: abadiá de Senhanca, French: Abbaye Notre-Dame de Sénanque) is a Cistercian abbey near the village of Gordes in the département of the Vaucluse in Provence, France.

It was founded in 1148 under the patronage of Alfant, bishop of Cavaillon, and Ramon Berenguer II, Count of Barcelona, Count of Provence, by Cistercian monks who came from Mazan Abbey in the Ardèche. Temporary huts housed the first community of impoverished monks. By 1152 the community already had so many members that Sénanque was able to found Chambons Abbey, in the diocese of Viviers.

Apse of the abbey church

The young community found patrons in the seigneurs of Simiane, whose support enabled them to build the abbey church, consecrated in 1178. Other structures at Sénanque followed, laid out according to the rule of Cîteaux Abbey, mother house of the Cistercians. Among its existing structures, famed examples of Romanesque architecture, are the abbey church, cloister, dormitory, chapter house and the small calefactory, the one heated space in the austere surroundings, so that the monks could write, for this was their scriptorium. A refectory was added in the 17th century, when some minimal rebuilding of existing walls was undertaken, but the abbey is a remarkably untouched survival, of rare beauty and severity: the capitals of the paired columns in the cloister arcades are reduced to the simplest leaf forms, not to offer sensual distraction.

The abbey church is in the form of a tau cross with an apse projecting beyond the abbey's outer walls. Somewhat unusually, its liturgical east end faces north, as the narrow and secluded valley offered no space for the conventional arrangement.

In the 13th and 14th centuries, Sénanque reached its apogee, operating four mills, seven granges and possessing large estates in Provence. In 1509, when the first abbot in commendam was named, a sure sign of the decline of vocation, the community at Sénanque had shrunk to about a dozen. During the Wars of Religion the quarters for the lay brothers were destroyed and the abbey was ransacked by Huguenots. At the French Revolution the abbey's lands were nationalized, the one remaining monk was expelled and Sénanque itself was sold to a private individual.

ノートルダム・ド・セナンク修道院 （Notre-Dame de Sénanque）は、フランス、ヴォクリューズ県・ゴルドにあるカトリックのシトー会派修道院。セナンコル川の流れる渓谷内にある。

1148年に創設され、1150年より修道院となった。シルヴァカンヌ修道院、ル・トロネ修道院とともにシトー会の「プロヴァンスの三姉妹」修道院と呼ばれ、プロヴァンスにおいて多大な影響力を発揮した。現在はレラン修道院付属の小修道院となり、シトー会派修道士たちのコミュニティーが存続している。

1148年6月23日、バルセロナ伯ラモン・バランゲー2世と、カヴァイヨン司教アルファン庇護下のもと、現在のアルデシュ県のマザン修道院からやってきたシトー会派修道士たちによってセナンク修道院は創設された。彼らは、ゴルド領主に属するセナンコルの狭い谷底に居を定めた。1150年10月、ゴルド領主ギラン・ド・シミアーヌは初代院長ピエールにこの谷を与えた。

セナンクは1152年を転換点として栄え始めた。セナンクのシトー会コミュニティーは、ヴィヴァレー地方に第2の修道院を創設できるほどの大きさになっていた。修道院は、特にシミアーヌ家やヴナスク領主からの寄進で潤っていた。

修道院は、清貧の誓いと相容れない財産を蓄積することになる。14世紀に修道院は衰退していた。新入り修道士の募集が減り、修道士そのものが減少し、そして規律が緩んでいた。しかし修道院は、創立者の精神を尊重しようと努力する間にその尊厳を回復したのである。source wikipédia

This is a panorama of several photographs (14 photos) to show the narrow fjord which is located approximately 50 miles southeast of Juneau and is part of the Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness area. Breathtaking Endicott Arm extends over 30 miles long, with nearly one-fifth of its area covered in ice. At the head of the fjord, tidewater glaciers, such as the Dawes Glacier, regularly expel enormous chunks of ice into the waters below in a magnificent process known as calving.

Photo 6 of the Nashville Series

From the Nashville Zoo

Flamingos spend about 15% to 30% of their time during the day preening. This is a large percentage compared to waterfowl, which preen only about 10% of the time. Flamingos preen with their bills. An oil gland near the base of the tail secretes oil that the flamingo distributes throughout its feathers.

Flamingos are filter feeders, and in that respect resemble whales and oysters more than they do most birds. Many complex rows of horny plates line their beaks, plates that, like those of baleen whales, are used to strain food items from the water. The filter of the Greater Flamingo traps crustaceans, mollusks, and insects an inch or so long. The Lesser Flamingo has such a dense filter that it can sift out single-celled plants less than two hundredths of an inch in diameter.

Flamingos feed with their heads down, and their bills are adapted accordingly. In most birds a smaller lower beak works against a larger upper one. In flamingos this is reversed; the lower bill is much larger and stronger, and the fat tongue runs within the bill's deep central groove. To complete the jaw reversal, unlike other birds (and mammals) the upper jaw is not rigidly fixed to the skull. Consequently, with the bird's head upside down during feeding the upper bill moves up and down, permitting the flamingo's jaws to work "normally."

Part of the flamingo's filter feeding is accomplished simply by swinging the head back and forth and letting the water flow through the bill. The tongue also can be used as a pump to pass water through the bill's strainer more efficiently. It moves quickly fore and aft in its groove, sucking water in through the filter as it pulls backward, and expelling it from the beak as it pushes forward. The tongue may repeat its cycle up to four times a second.

Flamingos are not the only avian filter feeders, however. Some penguins and auks have simple structures to help them strain small organisms from water, and one Southern Hemisphere genus of petrels (Pachyptila, prions or whalebirds) and some ducks have filtering devices. The Northern Shoveler, the most highly developed filter feeder among the ducks, has specialized plates lining its long, broad bill. The Mallard also has a broad bill, horny plates, and an enlarged tongue. But the pumping action of the ducks is different, and their tongues are housed in the upper mandible, rather than in the lower as in the flamingos.

The flamingo's marvelously adapted tongue almost became its downfall. Roman emperors considered it a delicacy and were served flamingo tongues in a dish that also included pheasant brains, parrotfish livers, and lamprey guts. Roman poets decried the slaughter of the magnificent birds for their tongues (much as early American conservationists lamented the slaughter of bison for theirs). One poet, Martial, wrote (as Stephen Jay Gould recently translated):

My red wing gives me my name, but epicures regard my tongue as tasty.

But what if my tongue could sing?

A fortress at the site possibly already existed during the time of the Great Moravian Empire in the 9th century. From about 1055, Znojmo Castle served as the residence of a Přemyslid principality within the Bohemian March of Moravia and a strategic important outpost near the border with the Bavarian March of Austria in the south. Few years later (1101), Luitpold of Znojmo, Duke of Moravia, established the Ducal Rotunda of the Virgin Mary and St Catherine in this castle, later depicted by unique scene of genealogy Bohemian and Moravian Dukes of the Přemyslid dynasty and the castle was conquered and devastated by Duke Vladislaus II of Bohemia in 1145.

In 1190, Duke Conrad II of Bohemia founded the Premonstratensian Louka Abbey at Znojmo, which became the settlement area of German-speaking immigrants in the course of the medieval Ostsiedlung movement. The royal city of Znojmo was founded shortly before 1226 by King Ottokar I of Bohemia on the plains in front of the reconstructed castle. The town privileges were confirmed by King Rudolf I of Germany in 1278. On 9 December 1437 the Luxembourg emperor Sigismund died at Znojmo and lay in state for three days at the St. Nicholas Church, before his mortal remains were transferred to Nagyvárad (Oradea) in Hungary.

From the 19th Century, Znojmo is best known as the site for the Armistice of Znaim concluded there on 12 July 1809 during the Battle of Znaim, after the decisive 7 days earlier Battle of Wagram, between Emperor Napoleon and the archduke Charles.

From the 20th Century, it is also the (alleged) birthplace of Leopold Loyka, the driver of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand's car when Ferdinand was assassinated in Sarajevo during 1914, an event which triggered the First World War. After the war, it was part of Czechoslovakia, except during the Nazi German occupation between 1938 and 1945 when it was part of Reichsgau Niederdonau. The German Citizens were expelled in 1945 according to the Beneš decrees.

The birthplace of the sculptor Hugo Lederer and writer Charles Sealsfield, it also has a special co-operation relation with Harderwijk, Netherlands.

With a crack of the throttle from the direction of the engineer, a rich gulping of diesel fuel is ingested as many as 15 times per second into a total of 44 251-series cylinders, turbos lagging in response to force their needed proportion of air into the mix, the temporary imbalance of the concoction evidenced in the trademark cloud of sooty black exhaust expelled from the stacks. So marks the commencement of the climb over the Poconos, a task bestowed on the three Delaware-Lackawanna Alco/MLW products peering out of the darkness of Nay-Aug Tunnel fresh out of Scranton, PA, with a measly eight cars on the drawbar--train PO74 27. The combined 8,600 horses-worth of Alco power will encounter little resistance with such minimal drag, the display of smoke a false indicator of the relative ease of their climb over well-engineered route towards Pocono Summit on the former DL&W rails upon which these antique workhorses have taken residency.

La presenza umana nella zona dove sorge Cividale risale a epoche piuttosto antiche, come attestato dalle stazioni preistoriche del Paleolitico e del Neolitico trovate appena fuori della città; ad esse si aggiungono abbondanti testimonianze dell'Età del Ferro e della presenza veneta e celtica risalenti sino al IV secolo a.C.

Epoca romana

La strategica posizione di questo primitivo insediamento indusse i Romani a stabilirvisi, fondando forse già nel II secolo a.C. un castrum, di ovvia natura militare, il quale fu in seguito elevato da Giulio Cesare a forum (mercato) e per tale motivo la località assunse il nome di "Forum Iulii" poi divenuto identificativo di tutta la regione. Successivamente la località fu elevata a municipium, venendo ascritta alla tribù romana Scaptia e assurse infine al rango di capitale della Regio X Venetia et Histria allorché Attila rase al suolo Aquileia nel V secolo.

Epoca longobarda

Nel 568 giunsero dalla Pannonia i Longobardi, di origine scandinava, il cui re Alboino elesse subito la romana Forum Iulii a capitale del primo ducato longobardo in Italia e ponendovi duca il proprio nipote Gisulfo. Ribattezzata la propria capitale Civitas Fori Iulii, i longobardi vi eressero edifici imponenti e prestigiosi; nel 610 Cividale venne saccheggiata e incendiata dagli Avari, chiamati dal re longobardo Agilulfo (allora con sede a Milano) per punire la riottosità del duca "friulano" Gisulfo II. Nel 737, durante il regno di Liutprando e per sfuggire alle incursioni bizantine, il patriarca di Aquileia Callisto decise di trasferire qui la propria sede, così come già fece il vescovo di Zuglio che venne scacciato dallo stesso Callisto. La città ebbe così aumentato il suo ruolo anche grazie a quest'importante presenza ecclesiastica; già pochi decenni più tardi, nel 796, qui si tenne il concilio che riconfermò l'indissolubilità del matrimonio.

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Human presence in the area where Cividale stands dates back to quite ancient times, as attested by the prehistoric sites of the Paleolithic and Neolithic found just outside the city; to these are added abundant evidence of the Iron Age and of the Venetian and Celtic presence dating back to the 4th century BC.

Roman era

The strategic position of this primitive settlement induced the Romans to settle there, founding perhaps as early as the 2nd century BC a castrum, of an obviously military nature, which was later elevated by Julius Caesar to a forum (market) and for this reason the place took the name of "Forum Iulii" which later became identifiable for the entire region. Subsequently the place was elevated to a municipium, being ascribed to the Roman tribe Scaptia and finally rose to the rank of capital of the Regio X Venetia et Histria when Attila razed Aquileia to the ground in the 5th century.

Lombard era

In 568 the Lombards, of Scandinavian origin, arrived from Pannonia, whose king Alboin immediately elected the Roman Forum Iulii as the capital of the first Lombard duchy in Italy and placed his nephew Gisulf as duke. Renaming their capital Civitas Fori Iulii, the Lombards erected imposing and prestigious buildings there; in 610 Cividale was sacked and burned by the Avars, called by the Lombard king Agilulf (then based in Milan) to punish the rebelliousness of the "Friulian" duke Gisulf II. In 737, during the reign of Liutprand and to escape the Byzantine incursions, the patriarch of Aquileia Callisto decided to move his seat here, as had already been done by the bishop of Zuglio who was expelled by Callisto himself. The city thus increased its role also thanks to this important ecclesiastical presence; just a few decades later, in 796, the council that reconfirmed the indissolubility of marriage was held here.

Der Kapellenbau ist der Familienhistorie geschuldet: Ulrich Rauch, ein Vorfahr Leopoldsbergers, war 1752 wegen eines Steuerstreits mit dem Grafen von Ortenburg vom Hof vertrieben worden. Daraufhin hatte er eine Fußwallfahrt nach Rom unternommen und mit Hilfe von Papst Clemens VIII. das Gut im Jahr 1764 wieder zurück erhalten. Zur Erinnerung und aus Dankbarkeit ließ Georg Leopoldsberger 100 Jahre später eine Hofkapelle am leicht ansteigenden Westhang des Gutes errichten. Anmutig erhebt sie sich über dem Hofweg neben alten Pappeln.

The construction of the chapel is a tribute to the family's history: Ulrich Rauch, an ancestor of Leopoldsberger, was expelled from the estate in 1752 due to a tax dispute with the Count of Ortenburg. He subsequently undertook a pilgrimage to Rome on foot and, with the help of Pope Clement VIII, regained the estate in 1764. In remembrance and as a token of gratitude, Georg Leopoldsberger had a court chapel built 100 years later on the gently sloping western slope of the estate. It rises gracefully above the farm path next to old poplars.

This mature Red-necked Grebe vigorously shakes it's head to expel water from it as evidenced by streams of water coming off.

Taken 18 May 2023 in Anchorage, Alaska.

Wild South Africa

Kruger National Park

This unassuming ground cricket, with half a leg missing, has the following interesting characteristics

1 firstly it defends itself against

attacks by predators with an armored exoskeleton

containing 5 rows of spine that shield the back of its abdomen, as well as spikes on the front of its pronotum

2 when attacked they expel toxic blood from the gabs in their bodies to avoid from being eaten

3 it may also bite its attacker

4 it also regurgitates recently eaten food to drive back a predator

5 they are cannibals and eat their own when wounded and bleeding

6 the males are chauvinistic when it comes to choosing a mate and are only interested in virgins

7 they also plague pearl millet and sorghum crops

These armored ground crickets are clearly not what the eye meets.

( A summary of several internet articles I read )

Full frame

About half an hour later after taking this photograph, I was photographing a wild lion.

Excerpt from www.todocanada.ca/walk-2200-foot-long-tunnel-to-an-amazin...:

Niagara Power Station which was completed in 1905, was the first major power plant on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. It was in operation until 2006.

Last year, Niagara Parks transformed the decommissioned Power Station into an extraordinary multi-faceted experience for visitors showcasing the might of the Falls through immersive sound and light experience.

To augment the experience, you can now take a glass-enclosed elevator to the thrust deck level which is a level below the main floor. You will be able to walk .7 kilometres through a tunnel and see an amazing view of the Niagara River and Niagara Falls.

During your visit, you can discover more about the incredible feat of engineering. You will be walking through the tunnel that once expelled waters into the lower Niagara River, right at the base of the Horseshoe Falls.

Niagara Parks has constructed a viewing platform at the end of the tunnel from where you can enjoy a new perspective of the lower Niagara River with unparalleled views of both the Horseshoe and American Falls.

Descend 180 feet beneath the historic Niagara Parks Power Station to discover the 2,200-foot-long tunnel that lies under Niagara’s cathedral of power.

This all-new attraction uncovers a never-before-seen underground world and reveals more fascinating details about Niagara’s incredible story of power. Make your way down into the tunnel in a glass-enclosed elevator and prepare to witness a breathtaking panoramic view of the falls from the viewing platform at the edge of the Niagara River. Experience the Tunnel with regular admission to the Niagara Parks Power Station.

"I may be over the hill now that I have retired

Fading away but I'm not yet expired

Clapped out, rundown, too old to save

One foot in the grave."

Would you like to die laughing? With all your mental faculties intact whilst your organs stop working, one after the other? Or would it be better to have your body in good working order whilst your mind is shutting down? What, you don't want to know and, as a matter of fact, you don't want a miserable end? Have you forgotten what God said when he expelled Adam and Eve from Paradise? He did not say 'Have a nice day!'

Tamar the Great (Georgian: თამარ მეფე) (c. 1160 – 18 January 1213) reigned as the Queen of Georgia from 1184 to 1213, presiding over the apex of the Georgian Golden Age. A member of the Bagrationi dynasty, her position as the first woman to rule Georgia in her own right was emphasized by the title mepe ("king"), afforded to Tamar in the medieval Georgian sources.

Tamar was proclaimed heir and co-ruler by her reigning father George III in 1178, but she faced significant opposition from the aristocracy upon her ascension to full ruling powers after George's death. Tamar was successful in neutralizing this opposition and embarked on an energetic foreign policy aided by the decline of the hostile Seljuq Turks. Relying on a powerful military élite, Tamar was able to build on the successes of her predecessors to consolidate an empire which dominated the Caucasus until its collapse under the Mongol attacks within two decades after Tamar's death.

Tamar was married twice, her first union being, from 1185 to 1187, to the Rus' prince Yuri, whom she divorced and expelled from the country, defeating his subsequent coup attempts. For her second husband Tamar chose, in 1191, the Alan prince David Soslan, by whom she had two children, George and Rusudan, the two successive monarchs on the throne of Georgia.

Tamar's association with the period of political and military successes and cultural achievements, combined with her role as a female ruler, has led to her idealization and romanticization in Georgian arts and historical memory. She remains an important symbol in Georgian popular culture.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

A scene from a theatrical performance at the holiday of Tbilisi (city day - Tbilisoba, თბილისობა) in the capital of Georgia. The actress of theatre of the pantomime depicts Queen Tamar.

©dragonflydreams88

You can listen here www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Barred_Owl/sounds

Explore, 7/20/09

Katydids are usually nocturnal, spending their evenings buzzing and chirping in the tree tops, but for some reason this one appeared in my backyard in the middle of the day. As you can see, she was blowing water droplets out of her mouth. Not sure why they do this -- perhaps just their way of expelling water from their bodies. In any event, you can see it all more clearly if you view large.

UPDATE: Additional research suggests at least some katydids exude a liquid that makes them distasteful to prey -- perhaps he thought I was eyeing him for lunch!

Europe, Spain, Andalucia, Sevilla, Museo de Bellas Artes, Former Chapel, Cupola, Ceiling art (uncut)

The Museo de Bellas Artes de Sevilla is the Museum of Fine Arts of Seville and Andalusia. Together with Madrid Prado Museum it is one of the main art museums in Spain. The museum houses artworks from the Middle Ages, Renaissance, and Baroque periods up to the 20th century, predominantly by Spanish artists such as Francisco de Herrera, Murillo, El Greco, Velázquez, but also by foreign painters like Jan Brueghel the Elder and Sebastiaen Vrancx.

The museum, located at Plaza del Museo, is housed in a former convent building that was renovated in Mudejar style in 1662. Through the expropriation of Roman Catholic Church properties, the convent order involved ('La Merced') was expelled from this property in 1835 and the edifice was converted into a museum with the aim of housing the expropriated Spanish artworks from monasteries and temples. It was at the beginning of the 20th century that the museum began to house private collections and in the 70s it became the museum that it is now.

Shown here is the cupola of the former chapel of the convent.

This is number 22 of the Sevilla album and 37 of Churches.

A nice spring day and I biked north of Amsterdam. Between Den Ilp and Ilpendam in a very wet landscape with many ditches and ponds, I saw this Beautiful Frog just on the edge of the cycling path. I stopped to shoo her into a ditch, afraid she'd be run down. Marvellously pregnant creature. Amazing that she can expel several thousand eggs when she and an obliging mate are ready for their little amorous game. Perhaps tonight under a waning bright Moon...

Costa Rica

For 121 Pictures in 2021 #38 "Flora indigenous to your region", this is Black Mangrove on a mud flat in the Laguna Madre in Corpus Christi, TX. Black Mangrove is common in subtropical and tropical shorelines where the water is usually calm and the tidal range doesn't get extreme.

Unlike other mangrove species, it does not grow on prop roots, but possesses pneumatophores that allow its roots to breathe even when submerged. It is a hardy species and expels absorbed salt mainly from its leathery leaves.

The name "black mangrove" refers to the color of the trunk and heartwood. The leaves often appear whitish from the salt excreted at night and on cloudy days.

紫禁城，北京。- Forbidden City, Beijing.

Rain - Ryuichi Sakamoto

The Last Emperor - Ryuichi Sakamoto

Even a luxurious cage with golden bars is still a prison without freedom.

The Emperor's Cricket scene. "The Last Emperor" directed by Bernardo Bertolucci

Final scene "The Last Emperor" directed by Bernardo Bertolucci

.....

Filmworks XII: 2002 Volume Two. Three Documentaries - John Zorn

Shaolin Ulysses

Shaolin Family

Shaolin Mambo

Shaolin Spirit

Shaolin Bossa

Shaolin Dream

Shaolin Ulysses (end titles)

Shaolin Spirit (duo) / Min Xiao-Fen, pipa. Marc Ribot, classic guitar

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音楽は魂との直接的なコミュニケーションである。世界は音で溢れている。ただ、私たちは普段、それらを音楽として聴くことはない。

坂本 龍 (Ryuichi Sakamoto)

Bolerish - Ryuichi Sakamoto

Amore - Ryuichi Sakamoto

Blu - Ryuichi Sakamoto

Forbidden Colors - Ryuichi Sakamoto and David Sylvian (direct sound Madia Bamn, Tokyo)

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La muerte siempre está en camino, pero el hecho de que no sepamos cuándo llegará parece restarle finitud a la vida. Lo que odiamos tanto es esa terrible precisión. Pero como no sabemos, nos toca creer que la vida es un pozo sin fondo. Sin embargo, las cosas ocurren solo un determinado número de veces, en realidad, muy pocas. ¿Cuántas veces más recordarás cierta tarde de tu infancia, una tarde que forma una parte tan entrañable de tu ser que ni siquiera puedes imaginar la vida sin ella? Quizá cuatro o cinco veces más. Quizás ni eso. ¿Cuántas veces más verás salir la luna llena? Quizás veinte y sin embargo éstas parecen infinitas.

'The sheltering sky' (El cielo protector) de Paul Bowles, 1949

The Sheltering Sky Theme - Ryuichi Sakamoto, original soundtrack. Directed by Bernardo Bertolucci

My small and humble tribute to a musical genius who passed away a little over a year ago, in March 2023. My favorite musician and for me the best music composer of the last decades... Ryuichi Sakamoto.

坂本 龍 (Ryuichi Sakamoto, Tokio, 17 de enero de 1952 - Tokio, 28 de marzo de 2023)

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The time you have left in life decreases every day, so don't lie to yourself, be true music, live truly... and don't forget to look at the moon every day.

そして毎日月を見ることを忘れないでね… 坂本さん。

.....

PS: Puyi, Prince Chun's son was born on 7 February 1906. On 13 November 1908 he was summoned to the Forbidden City and an edict was issued proclaiming Puyi as Guangxu's successor. Puyi received the title of Emperor Xuantong, when he was less than three years old. Emperor Puyi's reign lasted only three years as the Xinhai Revolution, also known as the Chinese Revolution, began in 1911, overthrowing the last imperial dynasty (the Qing Dynasty) and establishing the Republic of China. The "Articles of Favourable Treatment for the Emperor of the great Qing after his Abdication" was the document that formalised the end of imperial rule and the establishment of the republic on 12 February 1912, when Puyi was only six years old. The ‘Articles of Favourable Treatment’ allowed Puyi to retain many privileges, including his title as Emperor. However, under the agreement signed between the Qing imperial house and the new government of the Republic of China, Puyi was required and forced to live within the walls of the Forbidden City, transforming it into a strange, luxurious, gilded prison, cut off from the world. For some time Puyi did not know that his reign had been abolished. He became aware of this over time as he grew up. Puyi was a resident of the Forbidden City until 1924, when he was expelled from it, abandoning his particular and luxurious prison. Puyi was... the Last Emperor.

Y no olvides mirar la luna todos los días...

The "Paul-Löbe-Haus" is a building near the "Reichstag" (houses of Parliament) in Berlin.

Löbe was born in Liegnitz. Finishing school he was trained as a typesetter at a printing shop in Breslau (Wrocław) and after his journeyman years worked in Dessau, Anhalt and Thuringian Ilmenau.

During the Nazi years, Löbe worked at the Walter de Gruyter academic publishing house. In the end of World War II Löbe found himself in Glatz (Kłodzko), from where he was expelled according to the resolutions of the Potsdam Agreement. He joined the staff of the daily newspaper Das Volk, and later became co-publisher of the Telegraf in Berlin. (Wikipedia)

These pretty flowers are not native to The Netherlands. But they now grow wild in the Gaasperplaspark, perhaps a holdover of the Floriade, the world horticultural fair held here in 1982.

[First I thought this was a Striped Quill hailing from the Caucasus. Between 1800 and 1802 Apollos Apollosovich Musin Puschkin (1760-1805) led an expedition of exploration here on the behalf of the Imperial Court of Russia. One of his botanists was intrepid Johan Friedrich Adam (or Adams) (1780-1838). Adam later (1805) joined another expedition led by Yury Alexandrovich Golovkin (1762-1846), purportedly to set up diplomatic relations with China.

Anyway, in the rugged mountains of the Caucasus west northwest above Lake Sevan between the Debed and Aghstev Rivers - both ultimately running into the majestic Kura which expels its waters into the Caspian Sea - Adam collected this Squil. When he described it (1802) for the scientists of St Petersburg he named it for the leader of the expedition, Count Puschkin.

The flower is difficult to photograph well, so I've added insets to show you back and front. This way you'll be able to see those delicate blue stripes.]

Now, however, I've been corrected: see the last comment below under Сергей Чёрный. This is actually Scilla mischtschenkoana. In fact though these Scillas are very similar, but judging by a comparison of the stamens this is Scilla mischtschenkoana. Many thanks.

Buckpool and Fens Pool Local Nature Reserve

What3Words

///thin.spill.bravo

The great crested grebe (Podiceps cristatus) is an elegant, large, diving waterbird found across Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia, famous for its elaborate courtship dance and the ornate head plumes it displays during the breeding season.

Appearance: Adults in breeding plumage are unmistakable, featuring a dark cap, white cheeks, a long white neck, and a striking chestnut-coloured ruff with black tips around the neck, topped by a black double crest. In winter, the ruffs are absent, and their plumage is duller, more grey-brown and white. Juveniles are distinctive, with black and white "zebra-like" stripes on their heads and necks.

Size: They are the largest grebe species in the Old World, measuring 46–51 cm (18–20 in) in length with a wingspan of 85–90 cm (33–35 in).

Behavior: Great crested grebes are highly adapted to aquatic life; their legs are placed far back on their bodies, making them excellent swimmers and divers but clumsy on land. They can stay submerged for a significant time and often dive to hunt for food or escape predators.

Habitat: They primarily inhabit shallow, open freshwater bodies such as large lakes, reservoirs, rivers, and canals, especially those with ample bank vegetation for nesting. During winter, some populations migrate to estuaries and coastal areas.

Diet: Their diet mainly consists of small fish, which they catch by diving underwater. They also consume aquatic invertebrates, crustaceans, frogs, and newts. A unique behavior involves eating their own feathers, which is thought to aid digestion and help form pellets to expel parasites.

Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve

Umaria district of Madhya Pradesh

India

The Indian jackal (Canis aureus indicus), also known as the Himalayan jackal is a subspecies of golden jackal native to Pakistan, India, Bhutan, Burma and Nepal. Its karyotype is quite different from that of its Eurasian and African counterparts.

It typically inhabits lowlands on the outskirts of towns, villages and farms, where they shelter in holes among ruins or dense brush. Except during hot periods, the Indian jackal usually only leaves its den at dusk and retires at dawn.

Though primarily a scavenger which subsists on garbage and offal, it will supplement its diet with rodents, reptiles, fruit and insects. It will form small packs when hunting small deer and antelopes.

Lone jackals expelled from their pack have been known to form commensal relationships with tigers. They will attach themselves to a particular tiger, trailing it at a safe distance in order to feed on the big cat's kills. Tigers have been known to tolerate these jackals: one report describes how a jackal confidently walked in and out between three tigers walking together a few feet away from each other. – Wikipedia

Buckpool and Fens Pool Local Nature Reserve

What3Words

///thin.spill.bravo

The great crested grebe (Podiceps cristatus) is an elegant, large, diving waterbird found across Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia, famous for its elaborate courtship dance and the ornate head plumes it displays during the breeding season.

Appearance: Adults in breeding plumage are unmistakable, featuring a dark cap, white cheeks, a long white neck, and a striking chestnut-coloured ruff with black tips around the neck, topped by a black double crest. In winter, the ruffs are absent, and their plumage is duller, more grey-brown and white. Juveniles are distinctive, with black and white "zebra-like" stripes on their heads and necks.

Size: They are the largest grebe species in the Old World, measuring 46–51 cm (18–20 in) in length with a wingspan of 85–90 cm (33–35 in).

Behavior: Great crested grebes are highly adapted to aquatic life; their legs are placed far back on their bodies, making them excellent swimmers and divers but clumsy on land. They can stay submerged for a significant time and often dive to hunt for food or escape predators.

Habitat: They primarily inhabit shallow, open freshwater bodies such as large lakes, reservoirs, rivers, and canals, especially those with ample bank vegetation for nesting. During winter, some populations migrate to estuaries and coastal areas.

Diet: Their diet mainly consists of small fish, which they catch by diving underwater. They also consume aquatic invertebrates, crustaceans, frogs, and newts. A unique behavior involves eating their own feathers, which is thought to aid digestion and help form pellets to expel parasites.

Five LED spotlights, edited in Fujifilm's raw converter and refined in Luminar. Cardboard and lead. Remember: you would want to beat and expel him from the community! Please photoshop your own enemy into the circle. Here are some ideas: Europe, the Establishment, the Intellectuals, the Experts, Guardian Readers etc., the Socialists, the Jews, the Muslims, your Dad, your Mum. There is, of course, also the option of putting your trusted self in the circle.

On February 25th, 2021 a class 118 (no. 118 757) heads a train consisting of tank cars from Tröglitz to Altenburg. Expelling two small diesel plumes the train passes the semaphores at Tröglitz.

Am 25.02.21 übernahm 118 757 den Transport eines Zuges mit Kesselwagen von Tröglitz nach Altenburg. Mit kleiner Dieselfahne passiert der Zug mit seinen 21 Wagen die Ausfahrtsignale in Tröglitz.

25 февраля 2021 года класс 118 (№ 118 757) возглавляет поезд, состоящий из цистерн от Трёглица до Альтенбурга. Изгоняя два небольших дизельных шлейфа, поезд проходит через семафоры в Трёглице.

The mirage of the feather merchant... follow the sun

Plage Blanche. Guelmim-Oued Noun, near from Tan-Tan Plage. Southern Morocco. December 3, 2023.

Happy mirage weekend:

Saturday: Dreaming in the depths of the sea

Sunday: Dreaming in the depths of a kimono

Monday: End of the mirage and end of the rainbow

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Kinobe's mirages

Running Free

Falling Star

A Small Island

Full Circle

Heartstring

Slip Into Something More Comfortable (Psychmagik latenite Remix)

Slip Into Something More Comfortable (Psychemagik Remix)

Kinobe is a musical project created by composers Mark Blackburn and Julius Waters in 1998 in London. Their music is characterised by the fusion of different musical genres: trip hop, downtempo, nu jazz, ambient, intermingled with electronic music, creating relaxing atmospheres through sophisticated compositional arrangements. They are considered an important reference in ambient and electronic music of the first decade of this century. Their videos are made from cinematographic scenes created in the Cinerama projection and filming system that emerged in the 60s and 70s, system that consisted of filming scene using three synchronized and independent cameras and projected on a large screen deeply curved and concave in the center, with an arc of 146 degrees and more than twenty meters high, using three independent and synchronized 35mm projectors. Some of these scenes belong mainly to the films or documentaries: South Seas Adventure, Windjammer, Seven Wonders of the World, Search for Paradise, etc.

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John Zorn feather mirages: The Book of Angels

Gediel

Sariel

Zechriel

Abdiel

Sother

Quelamia

Phanuel ...Classical guitar: Pat Metheny

Masada is a musical project created by John Zorn. In 2004, Zorn began to compose the second Masada ‘book’. There are 32 albums of music, under the title ‘The Book of Angels’ and consists of 316 musical compositions, where the ‘fallen angels’ are also included. A fallen angel is an angel who has been expelled from heaven for disobeying or rebelling against God's commandments. As punishment he is expelled from heaven and his wings are torn off.

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Angel Footsteps

When The Angels Fall

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The feathers torn from the wings of fallen angels wander, float and travel between the sea mirages of Plage Blanche and the mirages of the interior of the deserts. Finally when they fall to the ground, a mirage is waiting to pick them up... the mirage of the feather merchant.

My first outing with my New Camera. I have switched to a mirrorless camera.

After a dispute and riot in 1132 at the Benedictine house of St Mary's Abbey, York, 13 monks were expelled, among them Saint Robert of Newminster. They were taken under the protection of Thurstan, Archbishop of York, who provided them with land in the valley of the River Skell, a tributary of the Ure. The enclosed valley had all the natural features needed for the creation of a monastery, providing shelter from the weather, stone and timber for building, and a supply of running water. The six springs that watered the site inspired the monks to give it the name of Fountains.

She landed on the favorite Merlin perch to expel a pellet and proceeded to expel large juicy pellets and of course, those images were out of focus. Well, maybe fortunately since it was kind of drooly and gross. It was overcast and she was in the shade making it really weird lighting. BUT I was very happy to see her yesterday!

Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve

Umaria district of Madhya Pradesh

India

The Indian jackal (Canis aureus indicus), also known as the Himalayan jackal is a subspecies of golden jackal native to Pakistan, India, Bhutan, Burma and Nepal. Its karyotype is quite different from that of its Eurasian and African counterparts.

It typically inhabits lowlands on the outskirts of towns, villages and farms, where they shelter in holes among ruins or dense brush. Except during hot periods, the Indian jackal usually only leaves its den at dusk and retires at dawn.

Though primarily a scavenger which subsists on garbage and offal, it will supplement its diet with rodents, reptiles, fruit and insects. It will form small packs when hunting small deer and antelopes.

Lone jackals expelled from their pack have been known to form commensal relationships with tigers. They will attach themselves to a particular tiger, trailing it at a safe distance in order to feed on the big cat's kills. Tigers have been known to tolerate these jackals: one report describes how a jackal confidently walked in and out between three tigers walking together a few feet away from each other. - Wikipedia

Wild South Africa

Kruger National Park

This unassuming ground cricket has the following interesting characteristics

1 firstly it defends itself against

attacks by predators with an armored exoskeleton

containing 5 rows of spine that shield the back of its abdomen, as well as spikes on the front of its pronotum

2 when attacked they expel toxic blood from the gabs in their bodies to avoid from being eaten

3 it may also bite its attacker

4 it also regurgitates recently eaten food to drive back a predator

5 they are cannibals and eat their own when wounded and bleeding

6 the males are chauvinistic when it comes to choosing a mate and are only interested in virgins

7 they also plague pearl millet and sorghum crops

These armored ground crickets are clearly not what the eye meets.

( A summary of several internet articles )

About half an hour later after taking this photograph, I photographed a wild lion.

Slightly copped

There’s always a moment for you... take a break along the way... burst the bubble and expel the negativity that surrounds you and tell yourself: "This is my moment."

Find your moment!

A great idea from Miranda Siabonne ❤️

Se nourrir de guêpes et autres insectes reste un peu indigeste.

Après digestion , le guêpier expusle une boulette contenant les squelettes des insectes avalés.

Bonne journée.

Merci pour vos visites et commentaires

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

Feeding on wasps and other insects remains a bit indigestible.

After digestion, the bee-eater expels a pellet containing the skeletons of swallowed insects.

Have a nice day

Thanks for your visits and comments.

Street of the Jewish Quarter (Call) of Girona.

ENGLISH

The old Jewish quarter which is part of the old town. It was inhabited by the Jewish community of the city of Girona from the 12th to the 15th century. In one of the synagogues it is possible to visit a museum dedicated to the history of the Jewish people.

The Jewish quarter, known as “El Call”, is one of the most interesting, emblematic areas in the city of Girona, both in terms of architecture and history. It is part of the old town next to the banks of the Onyar river. It dates back to the 12th century and is one of the most well-preserved Jewish quarters in Europe. It was inhabited by the city’s Jewish community until 1492, the year in which the Jews were expelled from the country.

It is made up of a labyrinth of narrow streets, robust houses, staircases, arches and patios. One of the main buildings is the Centre Bonastruc ça Porta, which is located in what was the last synagogue in the city and is now home to the Museu d'Història dels Jueus i l'Institut d'Estudis Nahmànides (Jewish History Museum and Institute of Nahmanides Studies).

If you’re looking for a good perspective of the Jewish quarter from the outside, we recommend looking at it from the La Devesa park.

ESPAÑOL

es.wikipedia.org/wiki/

Museo_de_Historia_de_los_Jud%C3%ADos

Normally, Brown Thrashers have extremely long tailfeathers...

but this 'bob tailed' Thrasher has been telling no tales as it spends the days around Janice's yard...It's not uncommon for birds to lose their tail feathers in confrontations with predators, and a bodily reaction known as 'fright molt' will expel the feathers all at once, aiding their escape!

Imagine the chagrin of the predator (likely a cat) that pounced on this plump looking prey and wound up with only tail feathers in its claws! Hopefully this guy will grow his tail feathers back in four to six weeks!

Have a great, safe weekend, everyone...and shake a tailfeather if you feel inclined to...LOL