The foothills of the mountains in the Southern Lakes are covered in trees. The acid soils and humid conditions encourage ferns and moss, sessile oaks and the most wonderful beech trees, many of which are copper beech. Holly, rowan and hazel grow here too - the perfect environment for wildlife. Bird song everywhere - just magic. Red squirrels also abide here, unseen (by me, quiet as I was), as they are small and quick.

We even had a pair of nuthatches visit our bird feeder. They became used to me, coming out for the special food I put out for them. They were raising families of course, and so their food was rich in protein. Not cheap, but worth it !

Taken from the top of our 'holiday retreat' path one morning. The light was so lovely.

Thank you as always for your kind comments, faves and invites - hope you feel inspired to visit this wonderful place.

My own texture used - processed in PicMonkey with a touch of Topaz Glow.

SMALL and compact bird with a relatively short. dark tail. This male was seen at Sandwich Bay Kent and was the only bird of note seen today, and a bit distant, hope you enjoy it!

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Trust you are staying safe and well, thanks for your visit, please leave a comment, it is always appreciated, and find it encouraging . God bless.........................Tomx

BRIEF ENCOUNTER, with this beauty , before it took of and lost track of it at Sandwich Bay, Kent UK. A plump-bodied bunting, and its attractive appearance and typically confiding nature, except in my case lol. ensure that it is a favorite among birdwatchers.

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THANK YOU for your visit and friendship, love reading your comments, which I am very thankful for, and find encouraging.

Keep safe and well my friends, enjoy the weekend God bless you.................................Tomx

At the rear of the services on the M6 Toll road. There is a path which climbs a knoll overlooking the service area and where people are encouraged to walk their dogs. As we passed through yesterday there was a digger on the mound putting in the foundation of a new monument to the air ambulance crews. Despite all the noise I took the path and was astonished to see these deer to the rear of the site where the new housing has been built. Although it was wonderful to see it is perhaps another indication of just how far we have encroached on wildlife habitat.

Brown Hare - Lepus europaeus

Norfolk

The brown hare is known for its long, black-tipped ears and fast running - it can reach speeds of 45mph when evading predators. It prefers a mosaic of farmland and woodland habitats and can often be spotted in fields.

Thought to have been introduced into the UK in Roman Times (or even earlier), the brown hare is now considered naturalised. It is most common in grassland habitats and at woodland edges, favouring a mosaic of arable fields, grasses and hedgerows. It grazes on vegetation and the bark of young trees and bushes. Brown hares do not dig burrows, but shelter in 'forms', which are shallow depressions in the ground or grass; when disturbed, they can be seen bounding across the fields, using their powerful hind legs to propel them forwards, often in a zigzag pattern. Brown hares are at their most visible in early spring when the breeding season encourages fighting or 'boxing'. Females can produce three to four litters of two to four young (known as leverets) a year.

Widespread, but absent from northern Scotland and the Scottish islands, except Islay, I'm reliably informed.

www.facebook.com/jefflack.2/photos

THEY may be widespread and rather nondescript, streaked brown bird, but I have a real affection for them, as a ground-dwelling species, it is quite approachable with care. Feeds on invertebrates as seen, a bit harder in the capture in the winter when they often form loose flocks.

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THANK YOU FOR YOUR FRIENDSHIP, please leave a comment, they are always very appreciated and find encouraging, and will look forward to seeing your latest images......In the UK we are in lockdown again from Thurs, not sure if this means not visiting nature reserves?

Please take great care folks, put your trust in our Lord, and we will get through this................God bless you...............Tomx

Close view of a Woodchat Shrike in Spain's Sierra Morena mountains.

Thanks for your visit… Any comment you make on my photograph is greatly appreciated and encouraging! But please do not use this image without permission.

♫

Dialogue on weather, breeding in the pound

Fateful first-time meeting, life is in the ground

Icarus they caught you where you tumbled on

Encourage you to dive now the sun is gone

I just don't know

I just don't know

aah...

moon is torn asunder over faulty two

guillotines in shackles, heads roll for a few

I just don't know

I just don't know

I just don't know

aah...

Visit this location at {Lazy Sundays} in Second Life

... my 14th Flickrversary with all of you!

14 years ago today I joined Flickrworld and I couldn't imagine the great impact of this at all.

And I'm still here ;-))

Looking at all your fantastic pictures from all over the world,

meeting wonderful friends and excellent photographers,

being encouraged by all your faves, comments and awards

still means an enormous boost for my photographic skills and ambitions

and a wonderful enrichment for my life.

Thanks for all that and the 35 mio views of my photostream .....

expecting another great Flickr year together with you !!!

Cheers, Achim

Japanese Anemones / Herbstanemonen (Anemone × hybrida 'Whirlwind')

Main cemetery / Hauptfriedhof, Frankfurt-Nordend, Germany

More anemones in my personal "from-spring-to-autumn" Anemone Collection.

A male Tawny Frogmouth called Kermit at the Secret Owl Garden.

Thanks for your visit… Any comment you make on my photograph is greatly appreciated and encouraging! But please do not use this image without permission.

Love the trees until their leafs fall off- then encourage them to try again next year.

Chad Sugg

Brown Hare - Lepus europaeus

Norfolk

Double click to view

The brown hare is known for its long, black-tipped ears and fast running - it can reach speeds of 45mph when evading predators. It prefers a mosaic of farmland and woodland habitats and can often be spotted in fields.

Thought to have been introduced into the UK in Roman Times (or even earlier), the brown hare is now considered naturalised. It is most common in grassland habitats and at woodland edges, favouring a mosaic of arable fields, grasses and hedgerows. It grazes on vegetation and the bark of young trees and bushes. Brown hares do not dig burrows, but shelter in 'forms', which are shallow depressions in the ground or grass; when disturbed, they can be seen bounding across the fields, using their powerful hind legs to propel them forwards, often in a zigzag pattern. Brown hares are at their most visible in early spring when the breeding season encourages fighting or 'boxing'. Females can produce three to four litters of two to four young (known as leverets) a year.

Widespread, but absent from northern Scotland and the Scottish islands, except Islay, I'm reliably informed.

Thankfully, this year I was given permission to photograph in the snowdrop meadow near me.

Strundetal, Bergisch Gladbach, Germany

Thank you for your views, encouraging comments and awards.

This is the final image from this series, a shortcut to my home along a beautiful country road. As I said in my original post, many people drive by these various spots every day blind to the beauty around them. There are so many “pictures” I have taken that reside only in my mind. I am so glad I took the time to retrace my drive to work and back with a camera in hand. I hope these pictures have encouraged you to look for the beauty that lives just beyond those guard rails.

The lovely textures used in this series are thanks to the beautiful works of Anna Lenabem, Tito and Jai Johnson.

Thank you so much for all your visits, kind comments, invitations and favorites. This image may not be copied or distributed without my written consent. © All rights reserved.

Amsterdam - Termini

Copyright - All images are copyright © protected. All Rights Reserved. Copying, altering, displaying or redistribution of any of these images without written permission from the artist is strictly prohibited.

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.

– Margaret Mead –

Do your little bit of good where you are; it's those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.

– Desmond Tutu –

Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.

– Dale Carnegie –

♫ TUNE ♫

This song was made to celebrate the power of speaking out in order to promote a more just world.

Wild South Africa

Kruger National Park

A female elephant encouraging her two offspring to cross the waterway.

Photographed late one afternoon at Sable Dam, Kruger National Park.

Lincoln Square

Thank you all for your very encouraging comments, views and faves. Your continuous support means a lot!

♫ Feel Us ♫

Step into my world

Shook me to the core

Voice like an angel, I've never heard before

Here in front of me

Shining so much brighter than I have ever seen

Life can be so mean

But when he goes I know he doesn't leave

The truth is finally breaking through

Two worlds collide when I'm with you

Our voices rise and soar so high

We come to life when we're

In perfect harmony

Woah, woah

Perfect harmony

Woah, woah

Perfect harmony

You set me free

You and me together is more than chemistry

Love me as I am

I'll hold your music here inside my hands

You're more to me, we're everything

Our voices rise and soar so high

We come to life when we're

In perfect harmony

Woah, woah

Perfect harmony

Woah, woah

Perfect harmony

I feel your rhythm in my heart, yeah

You are my brightest, burning star, woah-woah

I never knew a love so real (So real)

We're heaven on earth, melody and words

And when we are together we're

In perfect harmony

Woah, woah

Perfect harmony

Woah, woah

You're more to me

We create a perfect harmony

Lyrics written by Madison Reyes and Charlie Gillespie, for Julie and the Phantoms

💖💖 In advance I want to thank you all for your always kindness, support, beautiful awards, favs, and messages. Please Know that I see all of your comments and awards and I appreciate them so much as well as each on of you for taking the time.

Lori 💖

For SoS the last Christmas image of this season. A glass angel from the window sill.

Hope everyone who is still on Flickr is enjoying this day, have good food and good company and whatever else takes your fancy!

Special greetings to Maria Godfrida who curates this group with kindness and encouraging comments, thank you very much!

Join us starting today @Frogmore for a 1 week photo challenge. This challenge will be located in our Shire area which includes a new garden splash pool for fun avatar photos. We have amazing views from every angle and lots of wildlife including Ducks, Egrets, Frogs, Doves, Seagulls, as well as Capybaras, Butterflies, and a Kitty or two. This is designed to be a fun challenge, and we will have prizes to go around. **Frogmore Inworld Group Membership Required** Avatars photos encouraged. Frogmore Main Landing - Join our group here ---> maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Frogmore/180/98/28 Shire location for photo challenge ---> maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Frogmore/19/73/21 Group discussion and photo challenge details ---> www.flickr.com/groups/frogmore/discuss/72157721918776317/ *Have fun and enjoy !!*

Hello dear friends.

I´m on my feet again , slowly , slowly, I'll be back.

A lot of training right now, and it's hard to sit at the computer.

But I'm glad that finally I'll soon have two healthy knees to go with it.

Thanks for all the encouraging greetings.

Created for - ~ October Days ~ The Award Tree ~

Thanks indeed everyone for your personal comments and also your support from selected groups.

Awards are encouraging and especially from those who add my work to their 'faves'.

Cheerz G

The Imperial Moth is a member of the Saturniidae family and is found from Mexico to Canada and from the Rocky Mountains to the Atlantic Coast. This captive bred female has a wingspan of 11cm and emerged on 05.07.2016.

Thanks for your visit… Any comment you make on my photographs is greatly appreciated and encouraging! But please do not use this image without permission.

thx 4 faves comments invites always encouraging bigger is good!

Thanx for being there for me, standing behind me, supporting and encouraging me in everything :-)

Thanks indeed everyone for your personal comments and also your support from selected groups.

Awards are encouraging and especially from those who add my work to their 'faves'.

Cheerz G

NO FAVE WITHOUT COMMENT PLEASE! // DISTINCTIVE FINCH, and a familiar garden resident in many parts of the U.K. The greenfinch has a relatively large, pinkish and conical bill. In all plumages, the yellowish patch on the wings- seen as a yellow bar on the closed wing. Greenfinches are associated with parks, gardens and hedgerows, resident all year round, A beautiful bird that is in charge, when it gets to the feeder, excluding smaller species.

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THANK YOU for your visit and comment, it is always appreciated and find encouraging, Am praying we get some sunshine soon, its so dull and wet. please keep well and warm friends, God bless........ ......Tomx.

Yesterday, Yashka never let the groomer cut his muzzle properly. The paws were also only half cut. He bit her and the groomer failed to finish the job. Nevertheless, we paid her the full cost, and now we are trimming Yashka at home - little by little, each time encouraging him with all sorts of treats.

Thank you all for visits, favs and comments, it's greatly appreciated!

The little man paints his summer…

Skippy was inspired to create his universe with the help of the astounding new collection by 8f8. It's entitled "Paint Me Summer", and you can find the amazing assortment at the beautiful Black Kite!

I always feel right at home in 8f8's world. Each piece is filled with stories waiting to be told. Each design is filled with heart that you can see and feel. Each piece lights a fire in the imagination and encourages us to dream. I'm always so awestruck and think you will be too!

And and and... Skippy does a happy dance and laughs and shouts so very loud, "SHIPS!!!"

Stop by the 8f8 Store and be inspired!

On a personal note, I want to thank you, my Uncle iBi, for all that you do. You make our world a kinder, more compassionate, and brighter place. You continue to inspire me everyday, and I am indeed grateful for that.

Keep creating and shining so bright, my friends!

Magnolia is a large genus of about 210 flowering plant species in the subfamily Magnolioideae of the family Magnoliaceae. Magnolia is an ancient genus. Appearing before bees did, the flowers are theorized to have evolved to encourage pollination by beetles. To avoid damage from pollinating beetles, the carpels of Magnolia flowers are extremely tough. The flowers are bisexual with numerous adnate carpels and stamens are arranged in a spiral fashion on the elongated receptacle. The natural range of Magnolia species is a disjunct distribution, with a main center in east and southeast Asia and a secondary center in eastern North America, Central America, the West Indies, and some species in South America. 37830

Rolleiflex sl 66, Hp5, D76 1+1

Thank you all for your comments and nice words. They encourage further work.

thx 4 faves comments invites so encouraging ...press L

Happy Chinese/Lunar New Year and Happy Blue Monday everyone!

This is another shot from my walk in the park last week. As you probably know by now I like combinations of blue sky, branching trees, and sun :-)

Have a great Monday and thanks for your visits, faves, comments and friendship! And thanks for the kind and encouraging words about Junior!

I would like to thank everyone who take the time to view and comment on my photographs it is greatly appreciated and encouraging

SL LEA8 - ASTRAL DREAMS PROJECT ✈

Thank You Very Much all for your encouraging ♡♡♡

*~~* SL and dreams pics *~~* (Opted Out)

Thank You Very Much all for your encouraging ♡♡♡

We are encouraged to go out for a walk and keep a distance of

6 feet I did not have to think about it not a soul around.

Ukivok ✈

Thank You Very Much all for your encouraging ♡♡♡

Watching the sun set on the other side of Ploumanac'h Lighthouse on the Pink Granite Coast

Cotes d'Armor, Brittany

Thank you for your views, encouraging comments and faves!

~ Autumn Artistry! ~ The Award Tree ~

"AUTUMN REDS" - TMI October 2018 Contest

Thanks indeed everyone for your personal comments and also your support from selected groups.

Awards are encouraging and always appreciated especially from those who add my work to their collection of 'faves'.

Cheerz G

Impressionist Gardens Challenge - September 2018

Sponsoring Groups of this Challenge :The Golden Horse Impressionists

BiG THANKS to EVERYONE for your personal comments and also your support from selected groups.

Awards are always encouraging and especially appreciated from those add my work to their collection of 'faves'.

Cheerz G

Not one I encourage normally, but when they stare at you with such intelligence & confidence and display plumage of such perfect beauty, it's impossible not to offer something. Our house already bears too many cockatoo scars so I need to resist their charming ways.

I love the endless possibilities of SL. We can create a piece of a perfect world here.

This backdrop you see behind me was created by my dear friend Arielle ♥ She's a beautiful soul!

Let's this be a world where we encourage each other to grow, learn, create, and share!

And... don't let anyone steal your sparkle! ;)♥

This image is sponsored by Shanti, :: ANTAYA ::, and |T|L|C| (Thank you 🙏♥)

Shanti - "Don't let anyone steal your sparkle" Backdrop It's only 49L and you can find it at Shanti

:: ANTAYA :: Dress "Lada" - I just love this retro dress. If you get the fatpack you'll get BOM tights as bonus in 6 colours

Find it @ Antaya Mainstore

│T│L│C│Cockatoo Collection - These adorable cockatoos come as animesh wearable companion & mesh perched and flying variants. Available in 6 texture versions, with sound, including perch.

Find them @ Cosmopolitan Event

Seetra. Hello Baby Pose - includes mesh retro telephone handle with cord 100% original mesh. Coming soon to the Mainstore ♥

"love the trees

until their leaves

fall off, then

encourage them to

try again next year."

I just love this quote and it reminds me that I think we could all use a little encouragement in times such as these. So I encourage you, wherever you are today, to take a quiet moment all to you and remind yourself that you are doing a great job! Life may not be perfect, but it is always worth it, be positive, find joy in the little things that make you happy. Life is Good! and it gets better. Always be thankful.

I wish you a beautiful week my friends. Thank you so much for your love, encouragement and support.

hugs,

Nadia♥

✈ La Vie

As mentioned a few days ago, we celebrated our 45th Wedding Anniversary at the Fisherman's Table restaurant on the 31st January.

After an enjoyable meal, it became obvious that the sun was setting quickly; there was just time to capture the last rays of 2022...

A similar photo was published around 2 months ago, but like then, the setting sun on New Year's Eve was just magical...!

And then the proverbial icing on the cake occurred: a Gull came swooping quickly in from the ocean, and began to bank sharply in preparation for a touchdown on the restaurant's lawn...

Focus, focus, steady, track the bird but keep the sunset in mid-frame, watch out for the shadows cast by the nearby hills, don't wait too long...

NOW!!!

That's a take...!

Thank you for your very kind and encouraging comments beneath my photos...! Your support is very greatly appreciated...

Do they Know it's Christmas ~ Band Aid 1984

~ Seasonal Holiday Cards! ~ The Award Tree ~

The original 2 photos can be viewed in th first comment box below.

BiG THANKS to EVERYONE for your personal comments and also your support from selected groups.

Awards are always encouraging and especially appreciated from those add my work to their collection of 'faves'.

Encouraged by the sun and blue sky, we braved the 3°C for a ride through the countryside. Passed this little cabin that looks like an ideal spot to spend some time - on a warmer day.

This male Olive Bush Anolewas seen at TJ Ranch in Puerto Rico, West Indies. Anolis krugi looks very similar to A. pulchellus, though these species differ in their dewlap color, mottling, and habitat selection.

Thanks for your visit… Any comment you make on my photograph is greatly appreciated and encouraging! But please do not use this image without permission.

thx 4 faves comments invites so encouraging...press L