View allAll Photos Tagged FERTILE
An ancient seat
The castle is situated on the Laich of Moray, a fertile plain that was once the swampy foreshore of Spynie Loch. This was originally a more defensive position than it appears today, long after the loch was drained.
The motte is a huge man-made mound, with steep sides and a wide ditch separating it from the bailey. The whole site is enclosed by a water-filled ditch, which is more a mark of its boundary than it is a serious defensive measure.
The ancestral seat of the earls of Moray
Duffus Castle was built by a Flemish man named Freskin, who came to Scotland in the first half of the 1100s. After an uprising by the āmen of Morayā against David I in 1130, the king sent Freskin north as a representative of royal authority.
He was given the estate of Duffus, and here he built an earthwork-and-timber castle. Freskinās son William adopted the title of āde Moraviaā ā of Moray. By 1200, the family had become the most influential noble family in northern Scotland, giving rise to the earls of Sutherland and Clan Murray.
A new stronghold
In about 1270, the castle passed to Sir Reginald Cheyne the Elder, Lord of Inverugie. He probably built the square stone keep on top of the motte, and the curtain wall encircling the bailey. In 1305, the invading King Edward I of England gave him a grant of 200 oaks from the royal forests of Darnaway and Longmorn, which were probably used for the castleās floors and roofs.
By 1350, the castle had passed to a younger son of the Earl of Sutherland through marriage. It may have been then that the keep was abandoned, possibly because it was beginning to slip down the mound, and a new residence established at the north of the bailey.
Viscount Dundee, leader of the first Jacobite Rising, dined in the castle as a guest of James, Lord Duffus in 1689, prior to his victory against King William IIās government forces at Killiecrankie. Soon after, Lord Duffus moved to the nearby Duffus House. The castle quickly fell into decay.
Always a pleasure to see this come into bloom again.
But what do you call a "fertile hybrid"?
Read the full story in the comment below.....
(be great to find someone who could do some DNA analysis)
Volcanic soils In Kisoro, hiking from Lake Kayumbu to Kisoro town, during the third day of our "Three Upland Lakes" hike.
As the Conestoga River approaches its confluence with the Grand River, its floodplain widens dramatically. In fact, the river is a classic 'underfit' stream, a result of its origins at the end of the last Ice Age. As is typical of alluvial plains, the soils deposited here are rich and productive.
A band of early morning fog traces the ever-changing course of the river in this 155 degree panorama.
Thanks to all who comment or favorite; it is always appreciated!
I captured this photo at a vineyard near Bristol, VA, showcasing the peaceful beauty of the winter landscape. The calm water perfectly reflected the sky and the rows of dormant grapevines, creating a serene scene. In the distance stands a solitary old cedar tree, likely an Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana), a species native to the area. These trees can live for several hundred years, and judging by their size and robust form, this one could be pretty old, possibly over a century.
Like many vineyards in the region, the Nicewonder vineyard benefits from fertile soil and a favorable climate, yielding high-quality grapes for local wineries. Visiting during the off-season allowed me to admire the vineyard's quiet beauty without the hustle and bustle of harvest time.
Thank you for viewing! If you enjoy this photo, please remember to favorite it and follow for more! Share your own vineyard experiences below!
Another aspect of autumn.
Normally the term āgoing to seedā has a negative connotation, meaning to decline, go downhill, age out, etc., but with peonies, I mean it in the nicest possible way.
I think peony seed pods are absolutely charming, giving the spring bloomers a whole other season of interest.
At summerās end, when they split open to reveal their shiny blue and red seeds, wow!
Very impressive!
Not all of them do tough!
I especially like the open seed pods of the woodland peony (Paeonia obovata), with shiny blue to blue-black fertile seeds and brilliant red infertile ones.
Have a wonderful day and thanks for your visit, so very much appreciated, Magda, (*_*)
For more: www.indigo2photography.com
Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit permission. Ā© All rights reserved
The castle is situated on the Laich of Moray, a fertile plain that was once the swampy foreshore of Spynie Loch. This was originally a more defensive position than it appears today, long after the loch was drained.
The motte is a huge man-made mound, with steep sides and a wide ditch separating it from the bailey. The whole site is enclosed by a water-filled ditch, which is more a mark of its boundary than it is a serious defensive measure.
Duffus Castle was built by a Flemish man named Freskin, who came to Scotland in the first half of the 1100s. After an uprising by the āmen of Morayā against David I in 1130, the king sent Freskin north as a representative of royal authority.
He was given the estate of Duffus, and here he built an earthwork-and-timber castle. Freskinās son William adopted the title of āde Moraviaā ā of Moray. By 1200, the family had become the most influential noble family in northern Scotland, giving rise to the earls of Sutherland and Clan Murray.
In about 1270, the castle passed to Sir Reginald Cheyne the Elder, Lord of Inverugie. He probably built the square stone keep on top of the motte, and the curtain wall encircling the bailey. In 1305, the invading King Edward I of England gave him a grant of 200 oaks from the royal forests of Darnaway and Longmorn, which were probably used for the castleās floors and roofs.
By 1350, the castle had passed to a younger son of the Earl of Sutherland through marriage. It may have been then that the keep was abandoned, possibly because it was beginning to slip down the mound, and a new residence established at the north of the bailey.
Viscount Dundee, leader of the first Jacobite Rising, dined in the castle as a guest of James, Lord Duffus in 1689, prior to his victory against King William IIās government forces at Killiecrankie. Soon after, Lord Duffus moved to the nearby Duffus House. The castle quickly fell into decay.
The ground was bare when the site was chosen. At first wooden markers were raised up and set in sockets within the ground and these posts were piled around with the egg like river stones that spoke of the fertile mother and of her elusive lover. The Spring Bolt God who echoed everywhere even as his signature was found as hollowed and hallowed as boundless vibrating Air so his spirit as swift as lightning so fully intense and so fully fledged and fletched as he as the Lord of Thunderbolts needs to be always vigilant and always ready yet also fulfilled as the Green Man that in one session flowers a Season strong enough to turn the Wheel of the Year was also upon the instant to retract, to reduce so much as to seemingly disappear.
The ground was bare when the site was chosen. There were signs on the land here that soil here was barely draped over, these were the signs the natural characteristics that they could follow as they built up the glories of gods and set them in āstone boneā back upon the Earth. The light and shadow marked out the plans by day and the stars confirmed the solar plots and so stone the bone of the land was raised for their ways to be praised longer than many, many lengths of timber lasting days.
The ground was bare when the site was chosen. Slowly addition after addition came to be wrought making a new transformed landscape. A way was made here that stood to honour our ancestors and to praise their contemporaries as they held the balance of year and kept the intent to give themselves as the makers of markers for the futures.
Ā© PHH Sykes 2023
phhsykes@gmail.com
Clava Cairns Near Inverness, IV2 5EU
www.historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-place/places/clava-c...
A Visitorsā Guide to Balnuaran of Clava a prehistoric cemetery
www.archhighland.org.uk/userfiles/file/Sites/Historic%20S...
Balnuaran Of Clava, South-west
canmore.org.uk/site/14279/balnuaran-of-clava-south-west
Highland Historic Environment Record
ClĆ r Ćrainneachd Eachdraidheil na GĆ idhealtachd
GyantsĆ© ą½¢ą¾ą¾±ą½£ą¼ą½¢ą¾©ą½ŗą¼ county
The fertile valley of the Nyang chu River, which is the principal tributary of the Yarlung Tsangpo ą½”ą½¢ą¼ą½ą¾³ą½“ą½ą½¦ą¼ą½ą½ą½ą¼ą½ą½¼ą¼ or Brahmaputra in Tsang, The valley is divided into upper and lower reaches; Upper Nyang, corresponding to present-day Gyantse county, and Lower Nyang to Panam county. Upper Nyang therefore extends from the watershed of the Khari La pass as far as the town of Gyantse, and includes the peripheral valleys formed by the tributaries Nyeru Tsangpo, Lu chu, and Narong Dung chu. The county capital is at Gyantse, a strategic intersection of great historic importance. Area: 3.595 sq km. www.footprinttravelguides.com/c/2848/tibet/&Action=pr...
Another view and perspective of the Oregon State Capitol building in Salem. The engraved figures on the right side of this image, represents the early pioneers that walked the Oregon trail. There final destination was the fertile Willamette Valley. Salem is located in that valley.
(Please View Large)
The castle is situated on the Laich of Moray, a fertile plain that was once the swampy foreshore of Spynie Loch. This was originally a more defensive position than it appears today, long after the loch was drained.
The motte is a huge man-made mound, with steep sides and a wide ditch separating it from the bailey. The whole site is enclosed by a water-filled ditch, which is more a mark of its boundary than it is a serious defensive measure.
Duffus Castle was built by a Flemish man named Freskin, who came to Scotland in the first half of the 1100s. After an uprising by the āmen of Morayā against David I in 1130, the king sent Freskin north as a representative of royal authority.
He was given the estate of Duffus, and here he built an earthwork-and-timber castle. Freskinās son William adopted the title of āde Moraviaā ā of Moray. By 1200, the family had become the most influential noble family in northern Scotland, giving rise to the earls of Sutherland and Clan Murray.
In about 1270, the castle passed to Sir Reginald Cheyne the Elder, Lord of Inverugie. He probably built the square stone keep on top of the motte, and the curtain wall encircling the bailey. In 1305, the invading King Edward I of England gave him a grant of 200 oaks from the royal forests of Darnaway and Longmorn, which were probably used for the castleās floors and roofs.
By 1350, the castle had passed to a younger son of the Earl of Sutherland through marriage. It may have been then that the keep was abandoned, possibly because it was beginning to slip down the mound, and a new residence established at the north of the bailey.
Viscount Dundee, leader of the first Jacobite Rising, dined in the castle as a guest of James, Lord Duffus in 1689, prior to his victory against King William IIās government forces at Killiecrankie. Soon after, Lord Duffus moved to the nearby Duffus House. The castle quickly fell into decay.
An ancient seat
The castle is situated on the Laich of Moray, a fertile plain that was once the swampy foreshore of Spynie Loch. This was originally a more defensive position than it appears today, long after the loch was drained.
The motte is a huge man-made mound, with steep sides and a wide ditch separating it from the bailey. The whole site is enclosed by a water-filled ditch, which is more a mark of its boundary than it is a serious defensive measure.
The ancestral seat of the earls of Moray
Duffus Castle was built by a Flemish man named Freskin, who came to Scotland in the first half of the 1100s. After an uprising by the āmen of Morayā against David I in 1130, the king sent Freskin north as a representative of royal authority.
He was given the estate of Duffus, and here he built an earthwork-and-timber castle. Freskinās son William adopted the title of āde Moraviaā ā of Moray. By 1200, the family had become the most influential noble family in northern Scotland, giving rise to the earls of Sutherland and Clan Murray.
A new stronghold
In about 1270, the castle passed to Sir Reginald Cheyne the Elder, Lord of Inverugie. He probably built the square stone keep on top of the motte, and the curtain wall encircling the bailey. In 1305, the invading King Edward I of England gave him a grant of 200 oaks from the royal forests of Darnaway and Longmorn, which were probably used for the castleās floors and roofs.
By 1350, the castle had passed to a younger son of the Earl of Sutherland through marriage. It may have been then that the keep was abandoned, possibly because it was beginning to slip down the mound, and a new residence established at the north of the bailey.
Viscount Dundee, leader of the first Jacobite Rising, dined in the castle as a guest of James, Lord Duffus in 1689, prior to his victory against King William IIās government forces at Killiecrankie. Soon after, Lord Duffus moved to the nearby Duffus House. The castle quickly fell into decay.
India, Kerala or KÄraįø·am, Backwaters.
ā¦āFifty Shades of Greenā,
Keralaās rich, fertile unique backwaters, South India.
A network of interconnected five large lakes linked by canals, both manmade, fed by 38 rivers & brackish lagoons extending nearly half the length of Kerala state. A labyrinthine system formed by almost 1.000 km of waterways lying parallel to the Arabian Sea coast, known as the āMalabar Coastā.
The backwaters have an exceptional ecosystem; freshwater from the rivers meets the seawater from the Arabian Sea, formed by the action of waves & shore currents creating low barrier islands across the mouths of the many rivers flowing down from the Western Ghats range.
A Thannermukkom Salt Water Barrier, preventing salt water from the sea is entering the deep inside, keeping the fresh water intact. Such fresh water is extensively used for irrigation purposes.
Numerous unique aquatic species including mudskippers, crabs, frogs, water birds such as kingfishers, darters, terns, darters & cormorants, animals like otters & turtles live in the backwaters area. Palm trees, pandanus bushes & other leafy plants grow alongside the backwaters, providing a green shade to the surrounding landscape.
šā¦.The unique backwaters are a network of interconnected five large lakes linked by canals, both manmade, fed by 38 rivers & brackish lagoons extending nearly half the length of Kerala state. A labyrinthine system formed by almost 1.000 km of waterways lying parallel to the Arabian Sea coast, known as the āMalabar Coastā.
The backwaters have an exceptional ecosystem; freshwater from the rivers meets the seawater from the Arabian Sea, formed by the action of waves & shore currents creating low barrier islands across the mouths of the many rivers flowing down from the Western Ghats range.
In the middle of this landscape there are a number of towns & cities, which serve as the starting & end points of backwater cruises. The backwaters are one of the noticeable tourist attractions in Kerala.
š One World one Dream,
š...Danke, XiĆØxie č°¢č°¢, Thanks, Gracias, Merci, Grazie, Obrigado, ArigatĆ“, Dhanyavad, Chokrane to you & over
17 million visits in my photostream with countless motivating comments
In our minds, black fertile land is the wealth of the earth, and the land after the snow is covered in white dress. Praise you, earth, your spacious mind, inclusive of war and catastrophe, nurtured humanity, and made us see holiness and beauty.
Snow refers to forms of ice crystals that precipitate from the atmosphere (usually from clouds) and undergo changes on the Earth's surface. It pertains to frozen crystalline water throughout its life cycle, starting when, under suitable conditions, the ice crystals form in the atmosphere, increase to millimeter size, precipitate and accumulate on surfaces, then metamorphose in place, and ultimately melt, slide or sublimate away. Snowstorms organize and develop by feeding on sources of atmospheric moisture and cold air. Snowflakes nucleate around particles in the atmosphere by attracting supercooled water droplets, which freeze in hexagonal-shaped crystals. Snowflakes take on a variety of shapes, basic among these are platelets, needles, columns and rime. As snow accumulates into a snowpack, it may blow into drifts. Over time, accumulated snow metamorphoses, by sintering, sublimation and freeze-thaw. Where the climate is cold enough for year-to-year accumulation, a glacier may form. Otherwise, snow typically melts seasonally, causing runoff into streams and rivers and recharging groundwater.
Major snow-prone areas include the polar regions, the upper half of the Northern Hemisphere and mountainous regions worldwide with sufficient moisture and cold temperatures. In the Southern Hemisphere, snow is confined primarily to mountainous areas, apart from Antarctica.
Snow affects such human activities as transportation: creating the need for keeping roadways, wings, and windows clear; agriculture: providing water to crops and safeguarding livestock; sports such as skiing, snowboarding, and snowmachine travel; and warfare. Snow affects ecosystems, as well, by providing an insulating layer during winter under which plants and animals are able to survive the cold.
from Wikipedia
The fertile lowlands below Fort Ticonderoga (built as Fort Carillon starting 1755 by the French) in the Lake Champlain valley supported a large garden to supplement the dried & salted rations issued to soldiers.
he castle is situated on the Laich of Moray, a fertile plain that was once the swampy foreshore of Spynie Loch. This was originally a more defensive position than it appears today, long after the loch was drained.
The motte is a huge man-made mound, with steep sides and a wide ditch separating it from the bailey. The whole site is enclosed by a water-filled ditch, which is more a mark of its boundary than it is a serious defensive measure.
Duffus Castle was built by a Flemish man named Freskin, who came to Scotland in the first half of the 1100s. After an uprising by the āmen of Morayā against David I in 1130, the king sent Freskin north as a representative of royal authority.
He was given the estate of Duffus, and here he built an earthwork-and-timber castle. Freskinās son William adopted the title of āde Moraviaā ā of Moray. By 1200, the family had become the most influential noble family in northern Scotland, giving rise to the earls of Sutherland and Clan Murray.
In about 1270, the castle passed to Sir Reginald Cheyne the Elder, Lord of Inverugie. He probably built the square stone keep on top of the motte, and the curtain wall encircling the bailey. In 1305, the invading King Edward I of England gave him a grant of 200 oaks from the royal forests of Darnaway and Longmorn, which were probably used for the castleās floors and roofs.
By 1350, the castle had passed to a younger son of the Earl of Sutherland through marriage. It may have been then that the keep was abandoned, possibly because it was beginning to slip down the mound, and a new residence established at the north of the bailey.
Viscount Dundee, leader of the first Jacobite Rising, dined in the castle as a guest of James, Lord Duffus in 1689, prior to his victory against King William IIās government forces at Killiecrankie. Soon after, Lord Duffus moved to the nearby Duffus House. The castle quickly fell into decay.
Scarlet Caterpilarclub fungus; Growing out of soil and through the mosses such a bright colour you canāt really miss these, this is the fertile head of the fungus it is parasitic on a caterpillar or moth larvae that is buried ā I didnāt dig it up to find out which!
India, Kerala or KÄraįø·am, Backwaters.
Keralaās from civilization almost untouched rich in fish, fertile unique backwaters.
Water Buffalos;
The water buffalo is a large, up to 3m long & heavy, strong cattle. The head is long, narrow, with small ears & set low on the body. The horns are horizontal & sickle-shaped backwards, these can reach a span of two meters, the horns of the female are significantly narrower & shorter than the males. The water buffalo stands on long, strong legs with wide hooves, the claws are spread wide, so the water buffalo don't sink into their swampy habitat.
šā¦ The wild water buffalo is listed as an endangered species, estimated about only 1000 water buffalos are still living in Asia.
Grasses, herbs & aquatic plants are the main part of his diet, but also leaves & small branches, he feeds exclusively vegetarian.
If the herd lives near humans, the water buffalo will also eat cultivated grain. Water buffalos are ruminants; searching for food, wild water buffalos they usually go in small groups split off from the main group, only looking for food in the evening hours.
šā¦.At 7 to 8%, buffalo milk contains almost twice as much fat as cow's milk. It is used to make the real mozzarella cheese in Italy, the "Mozzarella di Bufala campana", while the delicious āBurrataā is mainly made from cow's milk & rarely from water buffalo milk.
All European domestic water buffalos descend from the Asian wild water buffalo. Their domestication probably began 3000 years BC. in China, Pakistan & Iraq. In the 6th century they reached Europe via Bulgaria & Greece.
Today the European water buffalo is mainly found in Italy, Bulgaria, Romania & Hungary.
šā¦Keralaās unique backwaters in South India, is a network of interconnected five large lakes linked by canals, both manmade, fed by 38 rivers & brackish lagoons extending nearly half the length of Kerala state. A labyrinthine system formed by almost 1.000 km of waterways lying parallel to the Arabian Sea coast, known as the āMalabar Coastā.
The backwaters have an exceptional ecosystem; freshwater from the rivers meets the seawater from the Arabian Sea, formed by the action of waves & shore currents creating low barrier islands across the mouths of the many rivers flowing down from the Western Ghats range.
A Thannermukkom Salt Water Barrier, preventing salt water from the sea is entering the deep inside, keeping the fresh water intact. Such fresh water is extensively used for irrigation purposes.
Numerous unique aquatic species including mudskippers, crabs, frogs, water birds such as kingfishers, darters, terns, darters & cormorants, animals like otters & turtles live in the backwaters area. Palm trees, pandanus bushes & other leafy plants grow alongside the backwaters, providing a green shade to the surrounding landscape.
In the middle of this landscape there are a number of towns & cities, which serve as the starting & end points of backwater cruises. The backwaters are one of the noticeable tourist attractions in Kerala.
š One World one Dream,
š...Danke, XiĆØxie č°¢č°¢, Thanks, Gracias, Merci, Grazie, Obrigado, ArigatĆ“, Dhanyavad, Chokrane to you & over
17 million visits in my photostream with countless motivating comments
India, Kerala or KÄraįø·am, Backwaters.
Keralaās rich, fertile unique backwaters, South India, a network of interconnected five large lakes linked by canals, both manmade, fed by 38 rivers & brackish lagoons extending nearly half the length of Kerala state. A labyrinthine system formed by almost 1.000 km of waterways lying parallel to the Arabian Sea coast, known as the āMalabar Coastā.
The backwaters have an exceptional ecosystem; freshwater from the rivers meets the seawater from the Arabian Sea, formed by the action of waves & shore currents creating low barrier islands across the mouths of the many rivers flowing down from the Western Ghats range.
A Thannermukkom Salt Water Barrier, preventing salt water from the sea is entering the deep inside, keeping the fresh water intact. Such fresh water is extensively used for irrigation purposes.
Numerous unique aquatic species including mudskippers, crabs, frogs, water birds such as kingfishers, darters, terns, darters & cormorants, animals like otters & turtles live in the backwaters area. Palm trees, pandanus bushes & other leafy plants grow alongside the backwaters, providing a green shade to the surrounding landscape.
šā¦.The unique backwaters are a network of interconnected five large lakes linked by canals, both manmade, fed by 38 rivers & brackish lagoons extending nearly half the length of Kerala state. A labyrinthine system formed by almost 1.000 km of waterways lying parallel to the Arabian Sea coast, known as the āMalabar Coastā.
The backwaters have an exceptional ecosystem; freshwater from the rivers meets the seawater from the Arabian Sea, formed by the action of waves & shore currents creating low barrier islands across the mouths of the many rivers flowing down from the Western Ghats range.
In the middle of this landscape there are a number of towns & cities, which serve as the starting & end points of backwater cruises. The backwaters are one of the noticeable tourist attractions in Kerala.
š One World one Dream,
š...Danke, XiĆØxie č°¢č°¢, Thanks, Gracias, Merci, Grazie, Obrigado, ArigatĆ“, Dhanyavad, Chokrane to you & over
17 million visits in my photostream with countless motivating comments
OtoƱo en la vega del TajuƱa
Autumn in the fertile plaine of the TajuƱa.
All Rights Reserved. Please don't use my images on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit permission.
Ā© All rights reserved
Fertile stems of the Giant horsetail (Equisetum telmateia, Equisetaceae), found at Noordelijk Eiland (Wintam, Belgium, 15 March 2020).
Single shot, Venus Optics Laowa 15mm F/4 Wide Angle Macro at f8.
India, Kerala or KÄraįø·am, Backwaters.
Keralaās from civilization almost untouched rich in fish, fertile unique backwaters.
Water Buffalos;
The water buffalo is a large, up to 3m long & heavy, strong cattle. The head is long, narrow, with small ears & set low on the body. The horns are horizontal & sickle-shaped backwards, these can reach a span of two meters, the horns of the female are significantly narrower & shorter than the males. The water buffalo stands on long, strong legs with wide hooves, the claws are spread wide, so the water buffalo don't sink into their swampy habitat.
šā¦ The wild water buffalo is listed as an endangered species, estimated about only 1000 water buffalos are still living in Asia.
Grasses, herbs & aquatic plants are the main part of his diet, but also leaves & small branches, he feeds exclusively vegetarian.
If the herd lives near humans, the water buffalo will also eat cultivated grain. Water buffalos are ruminants; searching for food, wild water buffalos they usually go in small groups split off from the main group, only looking for food in the evening hours.
šā¦.At 7 to 8%, buffalo milk contains almost twice as much fat as cow's milk. It is used to make the real mozzarella cheese in Italy, the "Mozzarella di Bufala campana", while the delicious āBurrataā is mainly made from cow's milk & rarely from water buffalo milk.
All European domestic water buffalos descend from the Asian wild water buffalo. Their domestication probably began 3000 years BC. in China, Pakistan & Iraq. In the 6th century they reached Europe via Bulgaria & Greece.
Today the European water buffalo is mainly found in Italy, Bulgaria, Romania & Hungary.
šā¦Keralaās unique backwaters in South India, is a network of interconnected five large lakes linked by canals, both manmade, fed by 38 rivers & brackish lagoons extending nearly half the length of Kerala state. A labyrinthine system formed by almost 1.000 km of waterways lying parallel to the Arabian Sea coast, known as the āMalabar Coastā.
The backwaters have an exceptional ecosystem; freshwater from the rivers meets the seawater from the Arabian Sea, formed by the action of waves & shore currents creating low barrier islands across the mouths of the many rivers flowing down from the Western Ghats range.
A Thannermukkom Salt Water Barrier, preventing salt water from the sea is entering the deep inside, keeping the fresh water intact. Such fresh water is extensively used for irrigation purposes.
Numerous unique aquatic species including mudskippers, crabs, frogs, water birds such as kingfishers, darters, terns, darters & cormorants, animals like otters & turtles live in the backwaters area. Palm trees, pandanus bushes & other leafy plants grow alongside the backwaters, providing a green shade to the surrounding landscape.
In the middle of this landscape there are a number of towns & cities, which serve as the starting & end points of backwater cruises. The backwaters are one of the noticeable tourist attractions in Kerala.
š One World one Dream,
š...Danke, XiĆØxie č°¢č°¢, Thanks, Gracias, Merci, Grazie, Obrigado, ArigatĆ“, Dhanyavad, Chokrane to you & over
17 million visits in my photostream with countless motivating comments
Roman house in the fertile plain of the small river Manzanares, in Madrid, very close to the Segovia bridge, the Royal Palace and the Cathedral.
PHOTO MONTAGE. The roman house is the model of other roman villa whose ruins were discovered in the south of the city many years ago. The model is in the Museum of San Isidro, in Madrid, and I took photos for this montage. That wood you can see around the house doesn t exist. There are many treesā¦ but not so many ;)
About 1900 a few roman remains were discovered in this area. In 2007, during the construction of the tunnel for the highway M30, many other remains were found, and they were interpreted as a roman villae, a house or maybe a group of houses. The remains date from 1st and 3rd century AD.
I have tried to imagine how the present landscape would be if that build had survived.
My friend Mercedes GĆ³mez, a Madrid art and history expert, used this photo a few months ago in an article about the villa. Only in Spanish, sorry.
artedemadrid.wordpress.com/2018/05/28/un-paseo-al-siglo-i...
Here, in a previous article, you can see photos of the 2007 excavation and remains. And a photo of the Madrid-south villa model in the San Isidro museum, that I used for this montage.
artedemadrid.wordpress.com/2017/09/19/villa-romana-del-pu...
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Villa romana junto al rĆo Manzanares, en Madrid, muy cerca del Puente de Segovia, Palacio y Catedral.
FOTO MONTAJE. La casa romana que se observa es un modelo de una villa romana hallada en el sur de Madrid hace dĆ©cadas, y que se encuentra en el museo de San Isidro. TomĆ© fotos para este montaje. Como conocen bien los madrileƱos, y los visitantes de la ciudad, tampoco existe ese ābosqueā que rodea la casa.
Al inicio del siglo XX se habĆan hallado ya unos pocos restos romanos en esa Ć”rea, ribera del rĆo. En 2007, durante las obras de soterramiento de la M30, se encontraron restos que dejan claro que en ese lugar existiĆ³ al menos una villa, con un edificio principal y tal vez otros auxiliares. Hay restos de alrededor del siglo I, y otros de la Ć©poca bajoimperial (siglos III-IV), cuando probablemente se abandonĆ³.
En este montaje he tratado de mostrar cĆ³mo serĆa el panorama de la zona si esa villa hubiera sobrevivido hasta nuestros dĆas.
Mi amiga Mercedes GĆ³mez, experta en historia y arte de Madrid, usĆ³ esta foto para ilustrar uno de sus artĆculos de la villa.
artedemadrid.wordpress.com/2018/05/28/un-paseo-al-siglo-i...
En este artĆculo previo pueden verse fotos de la pequeƱa excavaciĆ³n, y una imagen del modelo de la villa del sur de Madrid, que se encuentra en el museo de San Isidro. Como indico arriba, tomĆ© fotos de este modelo para el montaje.
artedemadrid.wordpress.com/2017/09/19/villa-romana-del-pu...
The Bull has been and continues to be a strong symbol and a living icon in our lives. Those that know them revere them for their fertile nature. They will graze and ruminate and add fertility to the ground they adorn. One bull can sire a heard and not many bulls see great age as only the chosen are kept and they need to fulfil a purpose. King for the day and King for the year have not as many days and years as others and yet who would be the bull not chosen? I would if that is my choice, many though want to be Top Dog and Chief Bull.
This magnificent Bull in Boāness had me thinking of Pictish Art and their Symbol Stones. Their animal symbols survive to this day where their language is now none existent. The wonderfully evocative decorated stones are found at Pictish Sites with the striking lines flowing and curling like waves of energy form both the outlines and internal structure of the subjects. At Burghead in Moray several Bull symbols were found leading some to believe that the Bull was a symbol venerated here, maybe a marker not unlike those later used in Heraldry to tell a story of identity that is linked to landscape and to those who control it. The notion of totems as good luck and potent identifying markers of person and of people, of individual and of tribe to set a motif of identity within this material world and an icon within all spiritual realms too.
This particular carved stone is displayed in London in The British Museum and thought so highly of that a replica cast is held in Edinburgh at The National Museums Scotland. This Bull is also incorporated into the current Logo for The Moray Society Elgin Museum. There is a cast in The Elgin Museum amongst other Pictish Symbol Stones. The symbol stones from Burghead are numbered 1-6 and this one is catalogued as,
Burghead 5, Moray, Pictish symbol stone
Measurements: 0.53m, W 0.53m, D 0.08m
Stone type: sandstone
Place of discovery: NJ c 109 691
Present location: British Museum, London (1861.10-24.1) (cast in Elgin Museum)
Evidence for discovery: one of many bull carvings said to have been found during quarrying of the wall of the upper citadel to find building stones from around 1800 onwards, of which six have survived (Macdonald 1862). This stone was found sometime before 1809, when it was exhibited at a meeting of the Society of Antiquaries of London, and it was in private hands in London for many years before being presented to the British Museum.
Present condition: good.
Description
The triangular shape of this slab may indicate the preferred form for these bull stones from Burghead. One broad face is incised with the most ferocious image of a bull to have survived, pacing angrily towards the right with his head lowered far down and his tail swishing across his rump.
Date: seventh century.
This is a cast of a stone found at Burghead in Moray. It is one of a number of stones carved with bull symbols, found in and around the site of the Pictish fortress at Burghead. They date from between 500 and 800.
Like the other stones, the bull is naturalistically depicted, with scrolls defining the joints where the limbs meet the body.
The large fort at Burghead was a major Pictish settlement. A number of carvings have been found there, many depicting bulls. Various theories have been put forward to explain their significance, including religious, territorial emblems or clan totems.
āInterpretation of the stones' original role has varied. Some scholars have suggested they were displayed on the fort's ramparts as symbols of power; others have seen them as having a votive role in a frieze as part of a pagan fertility cult; while others argue they were standing stones lining a processional route through the ramparts, a role suggested by their likely original kite-shaped form.ā
Noble, Gordon (2019). āFortified settlement in northern Pictland,ā Noble, Gordon; Evans, Nicholas, The King in the North: The Pictish Realms of Fortriu and Ce, Birlinn, Edinburgh. Quote p.54, ISBN 178027551X. 1788851935, 9781788851930
The British Museum, reference below, records,
Exhibition history
Exhibited:
2001-2002 12 Dec-28 Feb, Leeds, Henry Moore Institute, The Unidentified Museum Object
1998 18 Apr-12 Jul, Japan, Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Art, Celtic Art
Camore, reference below, records.
Exhibited at the Society of Antiquaries in London in 1809.
[Completely required note to the film.
At the moment of poo you are able to see the lifted tail in shadow and hear the cycle of living and giving without poo visuals.]
Ā© PHH Sykes 2024
phhsykes@gmail.com
Elgin Museum Carved Stone Collection
Burghead 5, cast of syMbol stone with bull (ELGNM 1892.1)
youtu.be/liuNaY-glfI?si=JLiGMcyf6O-yZ8Uo
Burghead Bulls
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burghead_Bulls
Burghead Bull (cast)
nms.scran.ac.uk/database/record.php?usi=000-100-104-159-C
The Burghead Bull
On display (G41) (G41)
www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/H_1861-1024-1
The Burghead Bull Canmore
canmore.org.uk/site/319205/burghead
Noble, Gordon and Evans, Nicholas, The King in the North, The Pictish Realms of Fortriu and Ce, Birlinn, Edinburgh, 2019.
Get that shot - whatever!
Part of my 'Duffus Castle through the seasons' project.
The castle is situated on the Laich of Moray, a fertile plain that was once the swampy foreshore of Spynie Loch. This was originally a more defensive position than it appears today, long after the loch was drained.
The motte is a huge man-made mound, with steep sides and a wide ditch separating it from the bailey. The whole site is enclosed by a water-filled ditch, which is more a mark of its boundary than it is a serious defensive measure.
Duffus Castle was built by a Flemish man named Freskin, who came to Scotland in the first half of the 1100s. After an uprising by the āmen of Morayā against David I in 1130, the king sent Freskin north as a representative of royal authority.
He was given the estate of Duffus, and here he built an earthwork-and-timber castle. Freskinās son William adopted the title of āde Moraviaā ā of Moray. By 1200, the family had become the most influential noble family in northern Scotland, giving rise to the earls of Sutherland and Clan Murray.
In about 1270, the castle passed to Sir Reginald Cheyne the Elder, Lord of Inverugie. He probably built the square stone keep on top of the motte, and the curtain wall encircling the bailey. In 1305, the invading King Edward I of England gave him a grant of 200 oaks from the royal forests of Darnaway and Longmorn, which were probably used for the castleās floors and roofs.
By 1350, the castle had passed to a younger son of the Earl of Sutherland through marriage. It may have been then that the keep was abandoned, possibly because it was beginning to slip down the mound, and a new residence established at the north of the bailey.
Viscount Dundee, leader of the first Jacobite Rising, dined in the castle as a guest of James, Lord Duffus in 1689, prior to his victory against King William IIās government forces at Killiecrankie. Soon after, Lord Duffus moved to the nearby Duffus House. The castle quickly fell into decay.
India, Kerala or KÄraįø·am, Backwaters.
Keralaās from civilization almost untouched rich in fish, fertile unique backwaters.
Water Buffalos;
The water buffalo is a large, up to 3m long & heavy, strong cattle. The head is long, narrow, with small ears & set low on the body. The horns are horizontal & sickle-shaped backwards, these can reach a span of two meters, the horns of the female are significantly narrower & shorter than the males. The water buffalo stands on long, strong legs with wide hooves, the claws are spread wide, so the water buffalo don't sink into their swampy habitat.
šā¦ The wild water buffalo is listed as an endangered species, estimated about only 1000 water buffalos are still living in Asia.
Grasses, herbs & aquatic plants are the main part of his diet, but also leaves & small branches, he feeds exclusively vegetarian.
If the herd lives near humans, the water buffalo will also eat cultivated grain. Water buffalos are ruminants; searching for food, wild water buffalos they usually go in small groups split off from the main group, only looking for food in the evening hours.
šā¦.At 7 to 8%, buffalo milk contains almost twice as much fat as cow's milk. It is used to make the real mozzarella cheese in Italy, the "Mozzarella di Bufala campana", while the delicious āBurrataā is mainly made from cow's milk & rarely from water buffalo milk.
All European domestic water buffalos descend from the Asian wild water buffalo. Their domestication probably began 3000 years BC. in China, Pakistan & Iraq. In the 6th century they reached Europe via Bulgaria & Greece.
Today the European water buffalo is mainly found in Italy, Bulgaria, Romania & Hungary.
šā¦Keralaās unique backwaters in South India, is a network of interconnected five large lakes linked by canals, both manmade, fed by 38 rivers & brackish lagoons extending nearly half the length of Kerala state. A labyrinthine system formed by almost 1.000 km of waterways lying parallel to the Arabian Sea coast, known as the āMalabar Coastā.
The backwaters have an exceptional ecosystem; freshwater from the rivers meets the seawater from the Arabian Sea, formed by the action of waves & shore currents creating low barrier islands across the mouths of the many rivers flowing down from the Western Ghats range.
A Thannermukkom Salt Water Barrier, preventing salt water from the sea is entering the deep inside, keeping the fresh water intact. Such fresh water is extensively used for irrigation purposes.
Numerous unique aquatic species including mudskippers, crabs, frogs, water birds such as kingfishers, darters, terns, darters & cormorants, animals like otters & turtles live in the backwaters area. Palm trees, pandanus bushes & other leafy plants grow alongside the backwaters, providing a green shade to the surrounding landscape.
In the middle of this landscape there are a number of towns & cities, which serve as the starting & end points of backwater cruises. The backwaters are one of the noticeable tourist attractions in Kerala.
š One World one Dream,
š...Danke, XiĆØxie č°¢č°¢, Thanks, Gracias, Merci, Grazie, Obrigado, ArigatĆ“, Dhanyavad, Chokrane to you & over
17 million visits in my photostream with countless motivating comments
The castle is situated on the Laich of Moray, a fertile plain that was once the swampy foreshore of Spynie Loch. This was originally a more defensive position than it appears today, long after the loch was drained.
The motte is a huge man-made mound, with steep sides and a wide ditch separating it from the bailey. The whole site is enclosed by a water-filled ditch, which is more a mark of its boundary than it is a serious defensive measure.
Duffus Castle was built by a Flemish man named Freskin, who came to Scotland in the first half of the 1100s. After an uprising by the āmen of Morayā against David I in 1130, the king sent Freskin north as a representative of royal authority.
He was given the estate of Duffus, and here he built an earthwork-and-timber castle. Freskinās son William adopted the title of āde Moraviaā ā of Moray. By 1200, the family had become the most influential noble family in northern Scotland, giving rise to the earls of Sutherland and Clan Murray.
In about 1270, the castle passed to Sir Reginald Cheyne the Elder, Lord of Inverugie. He probably built the square stone keep on top of the motte, and the curtain wall encircling the bailey. In 1305, the invading King Edward I of England gave him a grant of 200 oaks from the royal forests of Darnaway and Longmorn, which were probably used for the castleās floors and roofs.
By 1350, the castle had passed to a younger son of the Earl of Sutherland through marriage. It may have been then that the keep was abandoned, possibly because it was beginning to slip down the mound, and a new residence established at the north of the bailey.
Viscount Dundee, leader of the first Jacobite Rising, dined in the castle as a guest of James, Lord Duffus in 1689, prior to his victory against King William IIās government forces at Killiecrankie. Soon after, Lord Duffus moved to the nearby Duffus House. The castle quickly fell into decay.
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The Drina is a river in the Balkan Peninsula. It is a 346 kilometer (215 mi)-long tributary of the Sava River, and it forms most of the border between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. Its name is derived from the Latin name of the river, Drinus.
The Drina is a very fast river with cold and greenish water, which is from the limestone which constitutes a major part of the area in which the river carved its bed.
The largest impact the river has had in culture probably is the novel "Na Drini Äuprija" (The Bridge on the Drina) by the Yugoslav Nobel Prize for literature laureate, Ivo AndriÄ; the book is about the building of a bridge near ViÅ”egrad by the Ottomans in the 16th century.
The Balkans is the historical name of a geographic region of southeastern Europe. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains, which run through the centre of Bulgaria into eastern Serbia. The region has a combined area of 550,000 km2 (212,000 sq mi) and a population of about 55 million people.
The ancient Greek name for the Balkan Peninsula was āthe Peninsula of Haemusā (Ī§ĪµĻĻĻĪ½Ī·ĻĪæĻ ĻĪæĻ ĪĪÆĪ¼ĪæĻ , ChersĆ³nisos tou AĆmou).
The Balkans are adjoined by water on three sides: the Black Sea to the east and branches of the Mediterranean Sea to the south and west (including the Adriatic, Ionian, Aegean and Marmara seas).
The identity of the Balkans is dominated by its geographical position; historically the area was known as a crossroads of various cultures. It has been a juncture between the Latin and Greek bodies of the Roman Empire, the destination of a massive influx of pagan Slavs, an area where Orthodox and Catholic Christianity met, as well as the meeting point between Islam and Christianity.
The Balkans today is a very diverse ethno-linguistic region, being home to multiple Slavic, Romance, and Turkic languages, as well as Greek, Albanian, and others. Through its history many other ethnic groups with their own languages lived in the area, among them Thracians, Illyrians, Romans, Uzes, Pechenegs, Cumans, Avars, Celts, Germans, and various Germanic tribes.
The Balkan region was the first area of Europe to experience the arrival of farming cultures in the Neolithic era. The practices of growing grain and raising livestock arrived in the Balkans from the Fertile Crescent by way of Anatolia, and spread west and north into Pannonia and Central Europe.
In pre-classical and classical antiquity, this region was home to Greek city-states, Illyrians, Paeonians, Thracians, Epirotes, Mollosians, Thessalians, Dacians and other ancient groups. Later the Roman Empire conquered most of the region and spread Roman culture and the Latin language but significant parts still remained under classical Greek influence. During the Middle Ages, the Balkans became the stage for a series of wars between the Byzantine, Bulgarian and Serbian Empires.
Seagulls, sunset, fertileness, history and magicā¦ Thatās what Istanbul whispered to me at that momentā¦ BeNowMeHere, Istanbul, Turkey, 2016 via 500px bit.ly/1Rqsf58
Inspiration Point is a spot fertile with photographic potential. There are gorgeous views of Tahoma aka Mt. Rainier, the western peaks of the Tatoosh Range, the Nisqually Valley, and the night sky. And, hanging around to do a timelapse of a lenticular cloud circling Mt. Rainier can be very awe-inspiring. One evening I came to Inspiration Point in hopes of catching some pretty sunset colors but the sky got thicker and thicker with clouds. Meanwhile, a lennie just happened to be dancing atop the mountain, so I went over to set up a timelapse. Some blue sky was still visible but by the time I was all set to start the TL, any hint of blue sky had been snuffed out by the drama of incoming clouds. After the TL I did manage to get a subdued sunset shot with a sliver of pink peeking through the clouds on the horizon. Inspiration Point did not disappoint on this evening nor on return visits ā it lives up to its name, whether it be pre-dawn alpenglow, blue hour or just any olā delightful conditions of atmospherics and light! August/September 2019
The fertile farmland of the Annapolis Valley as viewed from the Look Off, Nova Scotia, Canada. Photo # 1.
PS: I used a slight dreamland effect.
Poem.
A gentler, more colourful Highlands is Perthshire.
Glistening "ribbon" lochs run west to east,
some large, some small.
Verdant pastures for sheep and cattle, and golden arable fields
make a striking patchwork, between the peaks.
High Munros of beige and purple with the subtle tones and textures
of lower slopes, resplendent with mostly
mature Deciduous woodland.
Meandering, surging and vibrant rivers
flow from the famous lochs of Rannoch, Tummel, Tay and Earn, in Straths, as opposed to glens,
being wider, sometimes less steep,
but all farmed on the rich, water-deposited alluvium.
Rapids, cataracts and waterfalls are common,
as Salmon leap back to their spawning grounds.
Rural villages, like Aberfeldy, cradled in these valleys,
have dwellings and bridges made of Granite,
seemingly everlasting.
Legends, poetry and song have immortalised
these timeless hills and valleys.
It is their glorious diversity of colour
that lingers long in our memory.
The castle is situated on the Laich of Moray, a fertile plain that was once the swampy foreshore of Spynie Loch. This was originally a more defensive position than it appears today, long after the loch was drained.
The motte is a huge man-made mound, with steep sides and a wide ditch separating it from the bailey. The whole site is enclosed by a water-filled ditch, which is more a mark of its boundary than it is a serious defensive measure.
Duffus Castle was built by a Flemish man named Freskin, who came to Scotland in the first half of the 1100s. After an uprising by the āmen of Morayā against David I in 1130, the king sent Freskin north as a representative of royal authority.
He was given the estate of Duffus, and here he built an earthwork-and-timber castle. Freskinās son William adopted the title of āde Moraviaā ā of Moray. By 1200, the family had become the most influential noble family in northern Scotland, giving rise to the earls of Sutherland and Clan Murray.
In about 1270, the castle passed to Sir Reginald Cheyne the Elder, Lord of Inverugie. He probably built the square stone keep on top of the motte, and the curtain wall encircling the bailey. In 1305, the invading King Edward I of England gave him a grant of 200 oaks from the royal forests of Darnaway and Longmorn, which were probably used for the castleās floors and roofs.
By 1350, the castle had passed to a younger son of the Earl of Sutherland through marriage. It may have been then that the keep was abandoned, possibly because it was beginning to slip down the mound, and a new residence established at the north of the bailey.
Viscount Dundee, leader of the first Jacobite Rising, dined in the castle as a guest of James, Lord Duffus in 1689, prior to his victory against King William IIās government forces at Killiecrankie. Soon after, Lord Duffus moved to the nearby Duffus House. The castle quickly fell into decay.