Going like the clappers… A secretive Clapper Rail runs across an open area before disappearing in dense mangrove at Cabo Rojo National Wildlife Refuge in Puerto Rico, West Indies.

 

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.

An encouraging fellow photographer in Quebec said the berries on my Japanese yew will look very nice in snow. Pessimistically I said they won't last through the strong winds and rain. But the temperature dropped precipitously last night and the rain turned to snow. I took this photo before the snow all melted away. These berries are on a different branch from the ones previously posted before the snowfall.

  

Taken @ Elvion

  

Compassionate humans are everywhere if we are willing to open our eyes and see the kindness of those around us. Compassion is human nature.

 

So why dont we as humans show more compassion and kindness towards our planet, to Mother Nature, the environment and nature surrounding us. It makes me wonder. Why are we destroying the beauty of nature?

Why dont we acknowledging the need of animals, and nature in general, and the importance of their survival, as well as showing interest in their well-being, after all we need nature to be able to live here on earth.

 

I want to yet again praise and thank Una and Bo for putting the environment on the agenda, by making this sim.

 

I hope many will visit, but I also hope and wish people will take the time to sit down and reflect about what they see on the sim, this could very well be a real life scenario if we dont stop and think. By doing so hopefully we can make some changes in the way we treat our planet and the environment, we can all do something, even if little. It is a fact that global warming and climate change is effecting all of us. Some of the things we all can notice are: pollution, global warming, overpopulation, waste disposal, ocean acidification, loss of biodiversity, deforestation, ozone layer depletion, and the list goes on....

  

🎧 PLEASE LISTEN 🎧

 

&

 

🎧 PLEASE LISTEN 🎧

  

💖 In advance I want to thank each one of you for your always kindness, support, beautiful awards, favs, and messages. Please know that I see and read them all, even if I do not reply back to them, I appreciate them all so much as well as each on of you for taking the time.

 

💖 You all mean a lot to me, Flickr would not be the same without you, I can not thank each one of you enough for your constant encouraging and uplifting support that you all give me. I am grateful.

  

💖 Huge, huge hugs, Light, peace and love to you all. Have a wonderful rest of the week and weekend ahead.

 

Best wishes and regards to each one of you, Take good care of your self as well as one another, be kind as well as thoughtful towards others.

 

Lori 💖

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

A Rufous Motmot, often difficult to photograph in the dense jungle, comes to a feeder in Panama.

 

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.

Berlin, Germany, 2019.

 

So far, abstract photos have (with the notable exception of my Wax series) been a by-product of my photography, something that happened while I was shooting architecture or landscapes.

However, I have been encouraged by several photography friends (here on FlickR, most notably by Walerija Weiser) to focus more on my abstract photography and not let its lesser popularity on social media keep me from producing and sharing it in public. So, one of my resolutions for 2020 is to follow this advice and not only post more abstract work but also to go out and intentionally shoot it on purpose. To set the mood for this new goal and the work that will hopefully come of it, I'd like to share a couple of abstract architectural shots, which quite nicely fit into my Deliberately Confusing series.

 

As always, there's more on www.chm-photography.com.

 

Enjoy!

 

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

A Tiessa Satyr butterfly in Panama.

 

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.

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

"Inhale..."

 

she whispered, standing few feet away from her friend.

 

"Focus..."

 

She encouraged.

 

Everything went silent in that moment. The world was ready to swallow them whole. The black beauties looked out in anticipation. Paws barely making any sound while they circled closer. They both knew it was a good idea bringing the two women together. Perhaps that story would be for another day.

 

Two different worlds, two different cultures and two different paths in life. Yet, they have one common bond:- Friendship.

 

Forbidden to unite and yet united due to a common enemy:- Hatred.

 

It was only during their hunts, adventures and silly moments away from their worlds that they could feel the true meaning of life. A true world with no rules, equality and abundant of knowledge exchange.

 

Confidently, her friend released the arrow far off into the distance. The wise ones both roared and soared across the field.

 

"Exhale..."

 

She said with a grin, reaching her arm to gently pat the tensed shoulders. Her friend turned to her with a knowing smirk. The two walked along following the wise ones.

 

Such a shame that before the sun sets, they would return back to where they 'belong'.

 

She would go back to the Emerald Village deep into the woods, its location hard to encounter due to the rogue nature of the elves that resides there. Her friend would return to the Opal Castle, resume her duties as the princess of the high king and queen of the royal elves.

 

But once a week or twice if they are lucky, they manage to regroup and discover more together of what else is out there...

 

P.S. Thank you Alexa for the inspiration and for being so patient! This was so much fun!

 

If you have not come across Alexa's page yet (Impossibru!) check it out at Bits & Pieces of SL / Spunknbrains, her version to be shared soon!

The Giant or Big Poplar Sphinx is a moth of the Sphingidae family. It lives throughout Canada and the United States. The habitat consists of riparian areas and suburbs. The wingspan is 130–150 mm.

 

This 16mm caterpillar is captive bred on Lombardy Poplar, and hatched 01.07.2015.

 

Thanks for your visit and any comment you make on my photographs – it is greatly appreciated and encouraging!

 

© Roger Wasley 2015 all rights reserved. Unauthorized use or reproduction for any reason is prohibited.

I am always encouraging my grandchildren's art. My grandmother encouraged my sister Peggy and our cousin Charles and as a result Peggy came to Canada on an art scholarship! We never know the ripple effects of our actions.

 

Artwork by my 3 1/2 year old grandson. Apparently he was pleased with his handiwork.

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

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

Selma, AL | March 04, 2007

 

"Here today, I must begin because at the Unity breakfast this morning I was saving for last and the list was so long I left him out after that introduction. So I'm going to start by saying how much I appreciate the friendship and the support and the outstanding work that he does each and every day, not just in Capitol Hill but also back here in the district. Please give a warm round of applause for your Congressman Artur Davis.

 

It is a great honor to be here. Reverend Jackson, thank you so much. To the family of Brown A.M.E, to the good Bishop Kirkland, thank you for your wonderful message and your leadership.

 

I want to acknowledge one of the great heroes of American history and American life, somebody who captures the essence of decency and courage, somebody who I have admired all my life and were it not for him, I'm not sure I'd be here today, Congressman John Lewis.

 

I'm thankful to him. To all the distinguished guests and clergy, I'm not sure I'm going to thank Reverend Lowery because he stole the show. I was mentioning earlier, I know we've got C.T. Vivian in the audience, and when you have to speak in front of somebody who Martin Luther King said was the greatest preacher he ever heard, then you've got some problems.

 

And I'm a little nervous about following so many great preachers. But I'm hoping that the spirit moves me and to all my colleagues who have given me such a warm welcome, thank you very much for allowing me to speak to you here today.

 

You know, several weeks ago, after I had announced that I was running for the Presidency of the United States, I stood in front of the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Illinois; where Abraham Lincoln delivered his speech declaring, drawing in scripture, that a house divided against itself could not stand.

 

And I stood and I announced that I was running for the presidency. And there were a lot of commentators, as they are prone to do, who questioned the audacity of a young man like myself, haven't been in Washington too long.

 

And I acknowledge that there is a certain presumptuousness about this.

 

But I got a letter from a friend of some of yours named Reverend Otis Moss Jr. in Cleveland, and his son, Otis Moss III is the Pastor at my church and I must send greetings from Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. but I got a letter giving me encouragement and saying how proud he was that I had announced and encouraging me to stay true to my ideals and my values and not to be fearful.

 

And he said, if there's some folks out there who are questioning whether or not you should run, just tell them to look at the story of Joshua because you're part of the Joshua generation.

 

So I just want to talk a little about Moses and Aaron and Joshua, because we are in the presence today of a lot of Moseses. We're in the presence today of giants whose shoulders we stand on, people who battled, not just on behalf of African Americans but on behalf of all of America; that battled for America's soul, that shed blood , that endured taunts and formant and in some cases gave -- torment and in some cases gave the full measure of their devotion.

 

Like Moses, they challenged Pharaoh, the princes, powers who said that some are atop and others are at the bottom, and that's how it's always going to be.

 

There were people like Anna Cooper and Marie Foster and Jimmy Lee Jackson and Maurice Olette, C.T. Vivian, Reverend Lowery, John Lewis, who said we can imagine something different and we know there is something out there for us, too.

 

Thank God, He's made us in His image and we reject the notion that we will for the rest of our lives be confined to a station of inferiority, that we can't aspire to the highest of heights, that our talents can't be expressed to their fullest. And so because of what they endured, because of what they marched; they led a people out of bondage.

 

They took them across the sea that folks thought could not be parted. They wandered through a desert but always knowing that God was with them and that, if they maintained that trust in God, that they would be all right. And it's because they marched that the next generation hasn't been bloodied so much.

 

It's because they marched that we elected councilmen, congressmen. It is because they marched that we have Artur Davis and Keith Ellison. It is because they marched that I got the kind of education I got, a law degree, a seat in the Illinois senate and ultimately in the United States senate.

 

It is because they marched that I stand before you here today. I was mentioning at the Unity Breakfast this morning, my -- at the Unity Breakfast this morning that my debt is even greater than that because not only is my career the result of the work of the men and women who we honor here today. My very existence might not have been possible had it not been for some of the folks here today. I mentioned at the Unity Breakfast that a lot of people been asking, well, you know, your father was from Africa, your mother, she's a white woman from Kansas. I'm not sure that you have the same experience.

 

And I tried to explain, you don't understand. You see, my Grandfather was a cook to the British in Kenya. Grew up in a small village and all his life, that's all he was -- a cook and a house boy. And that's what they called him, even when he was 60 years old. They called him a house boy. They wouldn't call him by his last name.

 

Sound familiar?

 

He had to carry a passbook around because Africans in their own land, in their own country, at that time, because it was a British colony, could not move about freely. They could only go where they were told to go. They could only work where they were told to work.

 

Yet something happened back here in Selma, Alabama. Something happened in Birmingham that sent out what Bobby Kennedy called, 'Ripples of hope all around the world.' Something happened when a bunch of women decided they were going to walk instead of ride the bus after a long day of doing somebody else's laundry, looking after somebody else's children. When men who had PhD's decided that's enough and we're going to stand up for our dignity.

 

That sent a shout across oceans so that my grandfather began to imagine something different for his son. His son, who grew up herding goats in a small village in Africa could suddenly set his sights a little higher and believe that maybe a black man in this world had a chance.

 

What happened in Selma, Alabama and Birmingham also stirred the conscience of the nation. It worried folks in the White House who said, “You know, we're battling Communism. How are we going to win hearts and minds all across the world? If right here in our own country, John, we're not observing the ideals set fort in our Constitution, we might be accused of being hypocrites. So the Kennedy's decided we're going to do an air lift. We're going to go to Africa and start bringing young Africans over to this country and give them scholarships to study so they can learn what a wonderful country America is.

 

This young man named Barack Obama got one of those tickets and came over to this country. He met this woman whose great great-great-great-grandfather had owned slaves; but she had a good idea there was some craziness going on because they looked at each other and they decided that we know that the world as it has been it might not be possible for us to get together and have a child. There was something stirring across the country because of what happened in Selma, Alabama, because some folks are willing to march across a bridge. So they got together and Barack Obama Jr. was born. So don't tell me I don't have a claim on Selma, Alabama. Don't tell me I'm not coming home to Selma, Alabama.

 

I'm here because somebody marched. I'm here because you all sacrificed for me. I stand on the shoulders of giants. I thank the Moses generation; but we've got to remember, now, that Joshua still had a job to do. As great as Moses was, despite all that he did, leading a people out of bondage, he didn't cross over the river to see the Promised Land. God told him your job is done. You'll see it. You'll be at the mountain top and you can see what I've promised. What I've promised to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. You will see that I've fulfilled that promise but you won't go there.

 

We're going to leave it to the Joshua generation to make sure it happens. There are still battles that need to be fought; some rivers that need to be crossed. Like Moses, the task was passed on to those who might not have been as deserving, might not have been as courageous, find themselves in front of the risks that their parents and grandparents and great grandparents had taken. That doesn't mean that they don't still have a burden to shoulder, that they don't have some responsibilities. The previous generation, the Moses generation, pointed the way. They took us 90% of the way there. We still got that 10% in order to cross over to the other side. So the question, I guess, that I have today is what's called of us in this Joshua generation? What do we do in order to fulfill that legacy; to fulfill the obligations and the debt that we owe to those who allowed us to be here today?

 

Now, I don't think we could ever fully repay that debt. I think that we're always going to be looking back; but, there are at least a few suggestions that I would have in terms of how we might fulfill that enormous legacy. The first is to recognize our history. John Lewis talked about why we're here today. But I worry sometimes -- we've got black history month, we come down and march every year, once a year, we occasionally celebrate the various events of the civil rights movement, we celebrate Dr. Kings birthday but it strikes me that understanding our history and knowing what it means is an everyday activity.

 

Now, I don't think we could ever fully repay that debt. I think that we're always going to be looking back, but there are at least a few suggestions that I would have in terms of how we might fulfill that enormous legacy. The first is to recognize our history. John Lewis talked about why we're here today. But I worry sometimes -- we've got black history month, we come down and march every year, once a year. We occasionally celebrate the various events of the Civil Rights Movement, we celebrate Dr. King's birthday, but it strikes me that understanding our history and knowing what it means, is an everyday activity.

 

Moses told the Joshua generation; don't forget where you came from. I worry sometimes, that the Joshua generation in its success forgets where it came from. Thinks it doesn't have to make as many sacrifices. Thinks that the very height of ambition is to make as much money as you can, to drive the biggest car and have the biggest house and wear a Rolex watch and get your own private jet, get some of that Oprah money. And I think that's a good thing. There's nothing wrong with making money, but if you know your history, then you know that there is a certain poverty of ambition involved in simply striving just for money. Materialism alone will not fulfill the possibilities of your existence. You have to fill that with something else. You have to fill it with the golden rule. You've got to fill it with thinking about others. And if we know our history, then we will understand that that is the highest mark of service.

 

Second thing that the Joshua generation needs to understand is that the principles of equality that were set fort and were battled for have to be fought each and every day. It is not a one-time thing. I was remarking at the unity breakfast on the fact that the single most significant concern that this justice department under this administration has had with respect to discrimination has to do with affirmative action. That they have basically spent all their time worrying about colleges and universities around the country that are given a little break to young African Americans and Hispanics to make sure that they can go to college, too.

 

I had a school in southern Illinois that set up a program for PhD's in math and science for African Americans. And the reason they had set it up is because we only had less than 1% of the PhD's in science and math go to African Americans. At a time when we are competing in a global economy, when we're not competing just against folks in North Carolina or Florida or California, we're competing against folks in China and India and we need math and science majors, this university thought this might be a nice thing to do. And the justice department wrote them a letter saying we are going to threaten to sue you for reverse discrimination unless you cease this program.

 

And it reminds us that we still got a lot of work to do, and that the basic enforcement of anti-discrimination laws, the injustice that still exists within our criminal justice system, the disparity in terms of how people are treated in this country continues. It has gotten better. And we should never deny that it's gotten better. But we shouldn't forget that better is not good enough. That until we have absolute equality in this country in terms of people being treated on the basis of their color or their gender, that that is something that we've got to continue to work on and the Joshua generation has a significant task in making that happen.

 

Third thing -- we've got to recognize that we fought for civil rights, but we've still got a lot of economic rights that have to be dealt with. We've got 46 million people uninsured in this country despite spending more money on health care than any nation on earth. It makes no sense. As a consequence, we've got what's known as a health care disparity in this nation because many of the uninsured are African American or Latino. Life expectancy is lower. Almost every disease is higher within minority communities. The health care gap.

 

Blacks are less likely in their schools to have adequate funding. We have less-qualified teachers in those schools. We have fewer textbooks in those schools. We got in some schools rats outnumbering computers. That's called the achievement gap. You've got a health care gap and you've got an achievement gap. You've got Katrina still undone. I went down to New Orleans three weeks ago. It still looks bombed out. Still not rebuilt. When 9/11 happened, the federal government had a special program of grants to help rebuild. They waived any requirement that Manhattan would have to pay 10% of the cost of rebuilding. When Hurricane Andrew happened in Florida, 10% requirement, they waived it because they understood that some disasters are so devastating that we can't expect a community to rebuild. New Orleans -- the largest national catastrophe in our history, the federal government says where's your 10%?

 

There is an empathy gap. There is a gap in terms of sympathizing for the folks in New Orleans. It's not a gap that the American people felt because we saw how they responded. But somehow our government didn't respond with that same sense of compassion, with that same sense of kindness. And here is the worst part, the tragedy in New Orleans happened well before the hurricane struck because many of those communities, there were so many young men in prison, so many kids dropping out, so little hope.

  

A hope gap. A hope gap that still pervades too many communities all across the country and right here in Alabama. So the question is, then, what are we, the Joshua generation, doing to close those gaps? Are we doing every single thing that we can do in Congress in order to make sure that early education is adequately funded and making sure that we are raising the minimum wage so people can have dignity and respect?

 

Are we ensuring that, if somebody loses a job, that they're getting retrained? And that, if they've lost their health care and pension, somebody is there to help them get back on their feet? Are we making sure we're giving a second chance to those who have strayed and gone to prison but want to start a new life? Government alone can't solve all those problems, but government can help. It's the responsibility of the Joshua generation to make sure that we have a government that is as responsive as the need that exists all across America. That brings me to one other point, about the Joshua generation, and that is this -- that it's not enough just to ask what the government can do for us-- it's important for us to ask what we can do for ourselves.

 

One of the signature aspects of the civil rights movement was the degree of discipline and fortitude that was instilled in all the people who participated. Imagine young people, 16, 17, 20, 21, backs straight, eyes clear, suit and tie, sitting down at a lunch counter knowing somebody is going to spill milk on you but you have the discipline to understand that you are not going to retaliate because in showing the world how disciplined we were as a people, we were able to win over the conscience of the nation. I can't say for certain that we have instilled that same sense of moral clarity and purpose in this generation. Bishop, sometimes I feel like we've lost it a little bit.

 

I'm fighting to make sure that our schools are adequately funded all across the country. With the inequities of relying on property taxes and people who are born in wealthy districts getting better schools than folks born in poor districts and that's now how it's supposed to be. That's not the American way. but I'll tell you what -- even as I fight on behalf of more education funding, more equity, I have to also say that , if parents don't turn off the television set when the child comes home from school and make sure they sit down and do their homework and go talk to the teachers and find out how they're doing, and if we don't start instilling a sense in our young children that there is nothing to be ashamed about in educational achievement, I don't know who taught them that reading and writing and conjugating your verbs was something white.

 

We've got to get over that mentality. That is part of what the Moses generation teaches us, not saying to ourselves we can't do something, but telling ourselves that we can achieve. We can do that. We got power in our hands. Folks are complaining about the quality of our government, I understand there's something to be complaining about. I'm in Washington. I see what's going on. I see those powers and principalities have snuck back in there, that they're writing the energy bills and the drug laws.

 

We understand that, but I'll tell you what. I also know that, if cousin Pookie would vote, get off the couch and register some folks and go to the polls, we might have a different kind of politics. That's what the Moses generation teaches us. Take off your bedroom slippers. Put on your marching shoes. Go do some politics. Change this country! That's what we need. We have too many children in poverty in this country and everybody should be ashamed, but don't tell me it doesn't have a little to do with the fact that we got too many daddies not acting like daddies. Don't think that fatherhood ends at conception. I know something about that because my father wasn't around when I was young and I struggled.

 

Those of you who read my book know. I went through some difficult times. I know what it means when you don't have a strong male figure in the house, which is why the hardest thing about me being in politics sometimes is not being home as much as I'd like and I'm just blessed that I've got such a wonderful wife at home to hold things together. Don't tell me that we can't do better by our children, that we can't take more responsibility for making sure we're instilling in them the values and the ideals that the Moses generation taught us about sacrifice and dignity and honesty and hard work and discipline and self-sacrifice. That comes from us. We've got to transmit that to the next generation and I guess the point that I'm making is that the civil rights movement wasn't just a fight against the oppressor; it was also a fight against the oppressor in each of us.

 

Sometimes it's easy to just point at somebody else and say it's their fault, but oppression has a way of creeping into it. Reverend, it has a way of stunting yourself. You start telling yourself, Bishop, I can't do something. I can't read. I can't go to college. I can't start a business. I can't run for Congress. I can't run for the presidency. People start telling you-- you can't do something, after a while, you start believing it and part of what the civil rights movement was about was recognizing that we have to transform ourselves in order to transform the world. Mahatma Gandhi, great hero of Dr. King and the person who helped create the nonviolent movement around the world; he once said that you can't change the world if you haven't changed.

 

If you want to change the world, the change has to happen with you first and that is something that the greatest and most honorable of generations has taught us, but the final thing that I think the Moses generation teaches us is to remind ourselves that we do what we do because God is with us. You know, when Moses was first called to lead people out of the Promised Land, he said I don't think I can do it, Lord. I don't speak like Reverend Lowery. I don't feel brave and courageous and the Lord said I will be with you. Throw down that rod. Pick it back up. I'll show you what to do. The same thing happened with the Joshua generation.

 

Joshua said, you know, I'm scared. I'm not sure that I am up to the challenge, the Lord said to him, every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon, I have given you. Be strong and have courage, for I am with you wherever you go. Be strong and have courage. It's a prayer for a journey. A prayer that kept a woman in her seat when the bus driver told her to get up, a prayer that led nine children through the doors of the little rock school, a prayer that carried our brothers and sisters over a bridge right here in Selma, Alabama. Be strong and have courage.

 

When you see row and row of state trooper facing you, the horses and the tear gas, how else can you walk? Towards them, unarmed, unafraid. When they come start beating your friends and neighbors, how else can you simply kneel down, bow your head and ask the Lord for salvation? When you see heads gashed open and eyes burning and children lying hurt on the side of the road, when you are John Lewis and you've been beaten within an inch of your life on Sunday, how do you wake up Monday and keep on marching?

 

Be strong and have courage, for I am with you wherever you go. We've come a long way in this journey, but we still have a long way to travel. We traveled because God was with us. It's not how far we've come. That bridge outside was crossed by blacks and whites, northerners and southerners, teenagers and children, the beloved community of God's children, they wanted to take those steps together, but it was left to the Joshua's to finish the journey Moses had begun and today we're called to be the Joshua's of our time, to be the generation that finds our way across this river.

 

There will be days when the water seems wide and the journey too far, but in those moments, we must remember that throughout our history, there has been a running thread of ideals that have guided our travels and pushed us forward, even when they're just beyond our reach, liberty in the face of tyranny, opportunity where there was none and hope over the most crushing despair. Those ideals and values beckon us still and when we have our doubts and our fears, just like Joshua did, when the road looks too long and it seems like we may lose our way, remember what these people did on that bridge.

 

Keep in your heart the prayer of that journey, the prayer that God gave to Joshua. Be strong and have courage in the face of injustice. Be strong and have courage in the face of prejudice and hatred, in the face of joblessness and helplessness and hopelessness. Be strong and have courage, brothers and sisters, those who are gathered here today, in the face of our doubts and fears, in the face of skepticism, in the face of cynicism, in the face of a mighty river.

 

Be strong and have courage and let us cross over that Promised Land together. Thank you so much everybody.

  

God bless you."

 

Three grown-up Mallard ducklings resting and quacking on a submerged tree trunk, just above the water.

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

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

Our cottage garden was loving encouraged by my wife.

At Old Miakka Preserve in Sarasota, FL.

 

Happy Fence Friday and have a super Weekend!

 

Thank you for your views faves and encouraging comments!

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

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

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

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

A big thank you to all Flickr friends for your visits.

Thank you again for popping by and appreciate all your kind encouraging feedback & favourites.

Have a wonderful day and keeping Smiling be Happy!

 

Take good care & stay safe my friends 🙏

 

Thank you

💓💓💓💓💓

 

EXPLORE!

Thank you for your support Flickr friends

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

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

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

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

TMI Art & Nature Group - In the Style of ... High Key

 

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

This picture was encouraged by this part of our conversation and something I feel should be shared for anyone who may need to hear it themselves.

 

Me): you have been there to point out my mistakes or what I should have said or done

Me:( what you have never done to me is make me feel less of a woman for doing it, saying or acting out as I have through the use of my profile. (past tense) just pure acceptance with no judgments or mocking

 

Him): that is easy...your an amazing woman Dess and you deserve to know the truth of that...no one, least of all myself is perfect...but acceptance. not only of others but of ones own faults makes all the difference in being able to identify and perhaps most importantly, empathize

 

Thank you for seeing past my flaws and insecurities and noticing the woman I am. Thank you for being the friend I have always needed in a man. Thank you for the perfectly imperfect friendship.

Some kind soul had posted signs like this one all along the trail :-)

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

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

It’s been too long since I went out with a camera. A rather better day, yesterday, encouraged a visit to the RHS site at Bridgewater.

 

A Red Twig Dogwood (cornus sericea) was of particular note with its striking red stems. This deciduous shrub is known for its bright and vibrant stem colours, which intensify after the leaves fall in autumn, making it a fantastic addition to landscapes for winter interest.

 

Winter dogwood shrubs can grow up to 6-9 feet tall and wide, forming a dense, bushy structure. They’re often used for hedging or as a focal point in winter gardens as here. They prefer moist, well-drained soil and can tolerate a variety of conditions, from full sun to partial shade. However, pruning it in early spring can help rejuvenate the plant and encourage the brightest stem colours.

  

"A place where you be anything, do anything. Doesn't that sound fun?" Little did I know I'd enjoy playing with expensive legos and dress up for the next four years to come. This exhibit is just a small taste of the genre that I normally build in, but also to show that you do not need to be a mesh designer to make stuff. This being the first Birthday event I have built for, looking forward to building them in the future with others. Happy Twenty SL!

 

A special thank you to the people who helped encourage me along the way. My exhibit will be open to visit after June 14th, 2023. Please bring your friends, turn on that advanced lighting to make everything really shine!

 

LM: A Runaway Future (Parcel 299), SLB Blissful (237, 219, 31) - General

 

( I was required to provide an undedited picture for my Submission, so figured I'd share with the rest of you. )

Encouraged by some great work by the Peak District TOGs (you know who you are), I ventured south the other week to scout around Ringing Roger. As it happens, it was not a great night for photography, clear skies etc, but the very last light did a great job of illuminating these fine rocks, so some unfinished business down there for another day.

 

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Copyright: © 2025 john bleakley photography. All rights reserved. All images protected by Pixy. No unauthorised use.

A subspecies of Eurasian Nuthatch collects mud for its nest in the Sierra Morena mountains in Spain. Females build the nest on their own, lining the nest cavity with fur, bark, and lumps of dirt. She then builds a nest cup of fine grass, shredded bark, feathers, and other soft material.

 

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.

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

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

I would like to dedicate this sunflower photo to my Flickr friend Karsten, who encouraged me to take a look at the archive with his beautiful sunflower photo ;.)

 

Dieses Sonnenblumenfoto möchte ich meinem flickr-Freund Karsten widmen, der mich mit seinem schönen Sonnenblumenfoto dazu animiert hat, mal ins Archive zu schauen ;.)

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

Along the Cleveland way coast path at Bayness Noth Yorkshire .

The smoke you can see in the distance I`m not really sure about I believe it`s burning off something to encourage new growth but I stand to be corrected on that ,,,

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

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

 

Trying to remove the velvet from it's antlers

Could not resist posting just one more of these little blue beauties. I pray they will find our backyard.

Thanks for all the encouraging comments and likes. Always appreciated !! Have a blessed day !!

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

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

Excerpt from www.norfolkandtillsonburgnews.com/news/local-news/bia-ben...:

 

Eight benches in total were painted by two visual and media artists selected in a June/July contest open to Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit and Métis) or BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour).

 

“They look amazing,” said Slattery. “It’s really great because they pull in the BIA colours and it’s all about the theme ‘eat, shop, live, explore’ downtown.”

 

The themes Live, Shop, Eat and Explore were represented on four sidewalk decals with the added challenge of each decal containing just one corporate colour. The decals needed to capture the unique, retail, food, and lifestyle opportunities in the charming town of Tillsonburg. Digitally drawn doodles for each theme were arranged to surround stylized type highlighting heritage stops, shopping, and activities such as Turtlefest as well as the rural nature of the area.’

 

Each of the artists were able to visit Tillsonburg, explore the downtown and ‘live the life,’ said Slattery, and from there they went to work.

 

The benches will be located in the downtown along Broadway, or side streets like Ridout or Bridge streets, creating an ‘art path from one end of the core to the other.’

 

“We want to make sure people know that Downtown Tillsonburg isn’t just Broadway but also the side streets,” said Slattery. “And there’s lots of shops and patios and things to explore along the side streets too.”