View allAll Photos Tagged Features,
Features:
Opening hatches on both sides with firefighting tools.
Foam cannons behind the flip-down front grill.
Telescoping, rotating Dual foam cannon turret.
Flying drone
Four firefighter droids docked in side hatches
Fire chief droid pilot
Rescue drone in rear hatch
Operating 1990's lights and sound elements
(Space Fire Team logo borrowed from David Roberts)
This scene is centered on southern Mare Tranquillitatis and northern Mare Serenetatis. The Taurus-Littrow Valley, the Apollo 17 landing site, is seen at left of center. Crater Plinius is the prominent crater situated just below center. Just above it are two thin horizontal features known as Rimae Plinius. And just above that the the lighter Mare Tranquillitatus meets the darker surface of Mare Serenetatis. Several other rimae and dorsa can bee seen in this image.
ZWO ASI290MM
Meade LX850 (12" f/8)
Losmandy G11
Features of Cuba: Che Guevara, Fidel Castro, cigars, American vintage cars, beautiful beaches, bars and clubs, salsa music, ...
Coco Cubano, Central Park, Chippendale, Sydney, Australia (Tuesday 25 April 2017)
Marina Bay Sands features three 55-story hotel towers which were topped out in July 2009. The three towers are connected by a 1 hectare sky terrace on the roof, named Sands SkyPark.
In front of the three towers include a Theatre Block, a Convention and Exhibition Facilities Block, as well as the Casino Block, which have up to 1000 gaming tables and 1400 slot machines.
The SkyPark is home to the world's longest elevated swimming pool, with a 146-metre (478 ft) vanishing edge, perched 191 metres above the ground. The pools are made up of 422,000 pounds of stainless steel and can hold 376,500 gallons (1424 cubic metres) of water. The SkyPark also boasts rooftop restaurants The Club facilities, lush gardens, hundreds of trees and plants, and a public observatory deck on the cantilever with 360-degree views of the Singapore skyline.
There are four movement joints beneath the main pools, designed to help them withstand the natural motion of the towers, and each joint has a unique range of motion. The total range of motion is 500 millimetres (19.68 inches). In addition to wind, the hotel towers are also subject to settlement in the earth over time, so engineers built and installed custom jack legs to allow for future adjustment at more than 500 points beneath the pool system. This jacking system is important primarily to ensure the infinity edge of the pool continues to function properly.
The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands also boasts close to 1,000,000 square feet (93,000 m2) of retail space with over 300 stores and F&B outlets, including numerous luxury duplexes for boutiques such as Ralph Lauren, Chanel, Cartier and Prada. Other luxury stores include Gucci, Hermès, Emporio Armani, Chopard, REDValentino, Dior, Dunhill, Vertu, Miu Miu, Saint Laurent Paris, Salvatore Ferragamo, Montblanc, Blancpain, an Hermès Watch Boutique, and Herve Leger.
A canal runs through the length of the Shoppes, in the same style as the Venetian in Las Vegas. Sampan rides on the canal are available for guests and shoppers at the shopping mall, similar to the gondola rides available in the Venetian. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marina_Bay_Sands
Sct. Hans Have 2024-08-25
Roskilde Fjord is one of Denmark's most beautiful and exciting fjord landscapes. Roskilde Fjord forms a large part of Skjoldungernes Land National Park and is one of Denmark's most important breeding grounds for water birds. The narrow fjord extends 40 kilometres into the Sealand countryside.
About Sct. Hans Have:
In the heart of National Park Skjoldungernes Land, you’ll find Sct. Hans Have. The garden features a café, a garden shop, and a nursery.
Vegetables and fruit have been cultivated here for as long as there has been a psychiatric hospital at Sankt Hans—that is, for over 200 years. Sct. Hans Have is a social enterprise that, rooted in the site’s unique history, aims to promote mental well-being.
Sct. Hans Have’s garden kitchen has a deep love for our lush surroundings. Sct. Hans Garden grow their own organic berries, fruit, herbs, and edible flowers and collaborate closely with skilled local organic producers.
Identifying Features
The saguaro cactus (Carnegiea gigantea) is one of the defining plants of the Sonoran Desert. These plants are large, tree-like columnar cacti that develop branches (or arms) as they age, although some never grow arms. These arms generally bend upward and can number over 25. Saguaros are covered with protective spines, white flowers in the late spring, and red fruit in summer.
Habitat
Saguaros are found exclusively in the Sonoran Desert. The most important factors for growth are water and temperature. If the elevation is too high, the cold weather and frost can kill the saguaro. Although the the Sonoran Desert experiences both winter and summer rains, it is thought that the Saguaro obtains most of its moisture during the summer rainy season.
Range
You find this cactus in southern Arizona and western Sonora, Mexico. At the northern portion of their range they are more plentiful on the warmer south facing slopes. A few stray plants can also be found in southeast California.
Wild Status
The saguaro is not currently listed as threatened or endangered. Arizona has strict regulations about the harvesting, collection or destruction of this species.
Life Span
With the right growing conditions, it is estimated that saguaros can live to be as much as 150-200 years old.
Size
Saguaro are very slow growing cactus. A 10 year old plant might only be 1.5 inches tall. Saguaro can grow to be between 40-60 feet tall (12-18m). When rain is plentiful and the saguaro is fully hydrated it can weigh between 3200-4800 pounds.
This image features the majestic Kings Creek Falls in Lassen Volcanic National Park on a late summer afternoon. This wonderful cascade requires a hike of a little over 3 miles round trip to view it. At a height of approximately 40 feet it isn’t a mammoth falls by any means but it is gorgeous to look upon due to the silky streaks created as the water flows over the rocks to continue on down Kings Creek.
The trail to and from the falls is of easy to moderate difficulty and has historically been an absolutely gorgeous hike to take. In 2021 the Dixie Fire burned through much of the park including this area and I’ve yet to visit the park to see how this lovely area fared, although I understand much of the railings, etc at the edge of the trail were destroyed. Hopefully, the damage wasn’t too severe as it is one of my favorite areas within my “home” national park.
This series features homegrown heirloom tomatoes*. As everyone with a garden knows, when tomatoes turn ripe, they all seem to ripen at the same time. So we had a whole bunch of different types of tomatoes waiting to be bagged & frozen for the winter. I was just going to take a shot or two.. and then got a bit carried away. I tried a few different things with composition, lighting & post production, I think some things worked better than others so, please let me know what you think.
*more about heirloom plants click here.
If you like my work click the "Follow" button on Flickr.
Check out my Blog rumimume.blogspot.ca/
I'm also on Google+ plus.google.com/106313488075670991016/posts
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Features and Functions:
- Engines Rotate for Vertical Landing
- Turret can Rotate 180 Degrees
- Turret is Accessible from the Command Deck
- Finished Interiors
- Rotating Side Mounted Guns
- Foldable Landing Gear
- Loading Ramp
- Jump Seats for Four Man SWAT Team
- Easy Access to Lower Level (Command Deck Floor Folds and Lifts Out)
- Two Prisoner Cells
- Pilot and Navigator Chairs
Credits:
Side-Mounted Turrets: Legohaulic
Command Chairs: Legodrome
Rear Exhaust Grilles: Larry Lars
Sergeant Hound features: Custom ARF Helmet and waterslide decals and Kama and custom leash.
Grizzer the massiff was made for fun for my collection.
Brockholes is a new kind of nature reserve, an unreserved reserve owned and managed by The Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside.
There's lots to see and do at Brockholes, you can hunt out our floating Visitor Village with a restaurant, shops and Welcome Centre or explore our family-friendly hides, walking trails and play area.
At Brockholes you can explore our beautiful reserve, see the wildlife that call it ‘home’ or hunt out our Visitor Village with restaurant and shops, all of which float (yes really!) on one of our lakes.
Our floating Visitor Village features a gift shop and a restaurant providing stunning views across the lake. You can also discover our interactive Welcome Centre and learn all about the wildlife that you could see on-site. Be sure to call in to pick up a welcome leaflet that will help you plan your day. You can view the reserve map in our Welcome Leaflet here to help you plan your first visit.
2013/14 Opening Times:
4th November 2013 to 31 March 2014 10am-4pm
1st April 2014 to 31st October 2014 10am-5pm
Closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day only
Car Park Charges
We don't charge for entry and any profits made here go back into looking after the reserve. So every time you pay for parking, treat yourself in the shop or enjoy some lunch, you are helping look after the reserve and the wildlife that visits us!
Sorry no dogs allowed!
There is a good reason! Dogs can disturb wildlife, especially nesting birds. If your dog was to get too close to a nesting bird it would cause the mother to leave the nest. So to avoid any accidents we ask that you don’t bring your dog. (Assistance dogs are welcome.)
Explore the reserve
Brockholes is one of the best sites in the UK for many species of bird and has one of the largest strips of ancient woodland in the county. You can take a stroll by the River Ribble, explore our woods or enjoy the lakes on site, which have all been specially designed to attract all kinds of wildlife for you to see!
Walks around Brockholes
What can I see at Brockholes?
Read about the happy habitats we've been working hard to create at Brockholes.
Watch out!
The Visitor Village floats on water and there are lots of areas of open water on the reserve. Take care in these areas and keep an eye on any children with you. The following activities are not allowed on the reserve:
Barbecues and fires
Fishing
Swimming
Please do not feed the birds
Big gulls know it’s much easier to find food when we leave it lying around rather than finding their own lunch. Here at Brockholes we have lots of species breeding with us, little ringed and ringed plover, lapwing, oystercatcher and redshank. Unfortunately the big gulls will eat the chicks of these special birds so if we feed the gulls and encourage them to stay there is a big chance that they will eat our important chicks, so please do not feed the birds and take your leftover picnic away with you.
www.brockholes.org/our-journey
The Lancashire Wildlife Trust has been working on developing Brockholes for nearly 20 years, here is an overview of our journey.
1992 Lancashire Wildlife Trust first contests the quarrying of Brockholes.
27 November 2006 The Lancashire Wildlife Trust has four weeks to raise £50,000 to buy the Brockholes site, near Preston, and protect it from development. Brockholes sits next to J31 of the M6 and is the size of 120 football pitches.
15 January 2007 The Lancashire Wildlife Trust makes the biggest land purchase in its history - thanks to donations from Wildlife Trust members, and an investment of £800,000 from the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) under the Newlands scheme. The project to buy and develop Brockholes is also supported by The Tubney Charitable Trust.
3 May 2007 Ian Selby is appointed as Brockholes project manager. Ian has 20 years' experience of managing the North West's canal network for British Waterways, followed by environmental regeneration work. Sophie Leadsom, Brockholes' new reserve manager, has worked in conservation for 14 years.
July 2007 The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) announced the launch of a new open competition to design new visitor facilities.
5 October 2007 The Lancashire Wildlife Trust announced the shortlist for the new multi-million pound visitor centre. 61 architects from all over Europe submitted designs. The five were Adam Khan Architects, Arca, Architecture 2B, AY Architects, McDowell + Benedetti.
25 February 2008 The Lancashire Wildlife Trust (LWT) and partners announce the winner of its competition to design a visitor facility. Adam Khan Architects was selected for its inspirational design concept: "A Floating World". Designed as a cluster of buildings constructed largely of wood and other sustainable materials, it resembles an ancient marshland village.
April 2008 The Lancashire Wildlife Trust announced the completion of its first phase of preparatory work, including the restoration of the wetlands, creation of ponds, seeding of meadows, planting new hedgerows and trees, making access paths and building proper bird watching hides.
March 2009 The Lancashire Wildlife Trust secured £8million of funding from the North West Regional Development Agency (NWDA). The investment was made under ‘Newlands’, a NWDA and Forestry Commission programme that is regenerating brownfield land across the Northwest into economically viable community woodland.
Summer 2009 Volunteers gave us 134 hours of their time to help propagate our own reed seedlings on-site. We ended up with 20,000 new redd seedlings ready to plant out around our new visitor centre, creating two hecatres of brand new reedbed.
August 2009 The Lancashire Wildlife Trust were granted detailed planning permission for the site.
December 2009 Contractors first day of work as they begin to construct the iconic floating visitors centre. Press conference being held with a ‘cutting of the first sod’
November 2010 A herd of longhorn cattle move into Brockholes to graze the reserve.
December 2010 BBC Countryfile fronted by Julia Bradbury visit Brockholes to film a feature that airs in January 2011.
March 2011 Brockholes makes history as the Visitor Village is floated for the first time.
Easter Sunday 2011 Brockholes opens its doors to the public for the first time!
www.brockholes.org/happy-habitats-brockholes
Happy habitats at Brockholes
The Lancashire Wildlife Trust are using their expertise to create habitats that will encourage lots of different species to visit the site, read more about the work we are doing on the reserve...
Number 1 Pit
Uniform and steep, the edges around the original gravel pit used to look very different. The island looked different too – an egg-shaped piece of land sticking out of the water by three metres. These land profiles weren’t great for the bird species and aquatic invertebrates we wanted to attract. So, with bulldozer and digger we pushed earth into the lake to create shallow, underwater ledges and peninsulas where birds can roost and feed, safe from predators. Diving ducks, such as Great Crested Grebe, now hunt for fish in the deep water.
Nook Pool
The edge of this pool has been planted with reed to create places for small fish and aquatic invertebrates like dragonfly larvae to hide and grow, away from predator fish. The shelter provided by the vegetation provides an ideal hunting ground for lots of species of dragonfly including the impressive Brown Hawker and Emperor Dragonfly.
Meadow Lake
This shallow lake is great for bird watching: when the water level is down, wading birds feed on small invertebrates in the exposed mud. This lake has some of the richest water plant life in and around it, including White Water Lily and Cuckooflower. The reed fringes are becoming well established and hold some of the largest populations of birds on site. The islands provide safe roosting and breeding areas, we keep the vegetation short so the birds can watch out for predators.
Boilton Marsh
This area is part of our newly created wet grassland habitat. We remodelled 17,000 cubic metres of quarry spoil to create 10 hectares of wet grassland with nearly 2km of channels and five pools. This is the ideal habitat for breeding wading birds such as Lapwing, Redshank and Snipe. We now graze traditional breeds of cattle and sheep that thrive on the coarse grasses and rushes and provide the low grassland sward that encourages wading birds to nest.
The channels and pools are kept topped up by using a high-level reservoir, filled from Number One Pit by way of a solar pump.
Woodland
Brockholes is fringed by the ancient woodland of Boilton, Red Scar and Tunbrook Woods. Woodland has grown here for thousands of years and developed a very rich variety of wildlife. Looking after our trees and paths will help the woodland to thrive and enable you to see the wildlife safely.
Reedbeds
Reedbeds are home to Sedge Warblers, Reed Warblers, Reed Buntings and Water Rail. We protect the new reed from grazing birds like Coot, Mute Swan and Canada Goose, by erecting chicken wire fences and baling string barriers. It will take several years before our lak fringes start to look like reedbeds. You might notice that the Visitor Village has been nestled in reedbed. This helps it to blend into the reserve and allows you to hear the song and chatter of the birds that nest there.
www.brockholes.org/brockholes-partners-and-funders
Brockholes partners and funders
For the past ten years, The Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside have been working to secure this site of national environmental importance, and restore habitats to their full potential.
The £8.6 million of regeneration funding was provided for the Brockholes Wetland and Woodland Reserve project has been granted under 'Newlands' - a £59 million, Northwest Regional Development Agency and Forestry Commission programme to transform brownfield land into durable community woodland, which act as catalysts for economic, social and environmental gain.
The Lancashire Environmental Fund awarded £446,000 for the development of the education facilities, hides and infrastructure on the site. Tubney Charitable Trust granted £350,000 for Biodiversity and Natural England DEFRA's Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund awarded circa. £300,000. The Environment Agency granted £50,000 for the continued development of Brockholes.
The support of these funders helped make Brockholes a reality, as did the amazing support from our public appeal, which raised an amazing £63,000 - the most successful public appeal the Lancashire Wildlife Trust has ever run!
Volunteering at Brockholes
Around 200 volunteers have now been recruited, inducted and trained to begin volunteering at Brockholes, so we offer an enormous thank you to all who are helping it make such a big impact on our visitors... Volunteers truly are the face of Brockholes.
There are currently some exciting opportunities to be had volunteering here at Brockholes. Please have a look below at roles (you can click on the titles to download a full role description) which might suit you and click here to register, mentioning Brockholes and the role on the form.
Seasonal Activities Volunteer
Our seasonal activities program is the ideal opportunity for young people aged 16-23 to get involved here at Brockholes.
Running throughout all school holiday periods, you are expected to volunteer for 7 hours per week (normally one full day).
The Seasonal Activities Volunteer role is ideal for friendly, outgoing people who want to utilise their creative skills and help visitors – in particular children – enjoy the reserve. You will work alongside other volunteers to plan and deliver a variety of activities including pond dipping, guided walks, bird watching. The role will also include assisting with larger events such as our Extreme Adventure Weekend and Craft Fayres. Support will be given to you by the Events & Communications Manager.
This placement is perfect for those undertaking various award schemes, such as the Duke of Edinburgh award, as over the course of the summer you have the opportunity to gain upto 50 volunteering hours.
For full details on the role and what it entails, click here.
Seasonal Retail & Visitor Services
Our seasonal activities program is the ideal opportunity for young people aged 16-23 to get involved here at Brockholes.
As a volunteer for Retail & Visitor Services you will provide a warm welcome for visitors, helping to ensure that their Brockholes experience is a positive one. You will help visitors by providing them with information about products on sale in our gift stores and help them plan their visit by telling them about the various events and activities we have on offer.
The role suits a friendly, outgoing person who has an interest in wildlife and conservation.
Running throughout the school holiday periods, you are expected to volunteer for 7 hours per week (normally one full day).
This placement is perfect for those undertaking various award schemes, such as the Duke of Edinburgh award, as over the course of the summer you have the opportunity to gain upto 50 volunteering hours.
Each volunteer will be required to undergo a minimum of 1 and a half days training before they start. If you’d like to find out more or ask questions about any of these roles do not hesitate to get in touch with Catherine Haddon, Volunteering Support Officer on 01772 324 129 or email volunteer@lancswt.org.uk
Awards
Brockholes has scooped many high profile awards since opening in April 2011:
2013 Lancashire Tourism Award for Best Conference/Meeting venue
VisitEngland's Visitor Attraction Quality Assurance Scheme (VAQAS) 'Excellent'
Green Tourism Gold Award
Customer at the Heart Award
Lancashire and Blackpool Tourism Awards 'Marketing Campaign of the Year'
National Wood Award
BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ for the interim design stage
Chartered Institute of Building Services – Building of the Year 2011
Civic Trust Award
Civic Trust Special Award for Sustainability
Highly Commended in portfolio of Newlands sites in Landscape Awards
CIWEM Living Wetlands award
Greenbuilds award
Green Apple Awards for the Visitor Centre
Sustainable Project of the year – 2012 Building Awards
RICS North West – Overall award
RICS North West – Tourism and Leisure
RICS NW – Design & Innovation
RIBA North West Building of the Year
RIBA North West Sustainability Award
RIBA Award for top 50 new buildings in the UK
Brockholes is an award winning-venue, which floats on one of our lakes - the only one of its kind in the UK.
Combine this unique design with access straight off the M6, a beautiful nature reserve, ample parking and on site catering, and you have found yourself the perfect venue for your next event. View our Conference Brochure here.
We think Brockholes is the natural place to do business, our dedicated centre can cater for 50 to 130 delegates.
We have a choice of two conference rooms and a reception/break-out area.
www.brockholes.org/conference-packages
At Brockholes we want you to be in control of your event as much as possible. This is why we have created these basic packages, enabling you to tweak each element to build an individual event.
Alternatively, we can cater to your specific requests if you require half day, early morning or evening hire.
Here is an overview of our conference packages, please contact us for a quote.
Our Conference brochure can be viewed in digi-book format here.
Day Delegate Package
Private room hire from 9am - 5pm
Tea and coffee served on arrival with bacon rolls
Mineral water for each guest
Tea and coffee served mid-morning
Buffet lunch served with tea, coffee and fresh fruit platter
Tea, coffee and biscuits served mid-afternoon
Use of a flip chart, screen and projector
Recycled pen and notepad for each delegate
Dedicated co-ordinator to assist you throughout the planning to delivery of your meeting
24 Hour Delegate Package
All of the above plus;
Three course dinner
Full breakfast
Accommodation in a standard bedroom at our recommended accommodation supplier
Accommodation
Preferential rates are available on request from a local hotel when booking through the Brockholes Sales Team.
We can tailor our packages to suit your needs. Make the UK's first floating venue your next choice
Please contact us for more information or to arrange a meeting or showround with our Conference Sales Co-ordinator
Call us on 01772 872005 or enter your details below and we will contact you to discuss your requirements.
www.brockholes.org/sponsorship-opportunities
Sponsorship Opportunities
Brockholes is an award winning nature reserve owned and manages by the Lancashire Wildlife Trust, which was opened in 2011. The 250 acre reserve is already attracting record numbers of breeding birds and around 170,000 visitors each year. Brockholes runs a wide range of events throughout the year and has a particularly strong offer for families. Events include wild families, school holiday clubs, school and community group visits, self led trails and larger festivals during the summer holidays.
The key marketing campaigns run targeting families include Christmas, Summer and Easter. Each campaign targets a series of family focused publications across the North West, with a monthly average reach online of over 40,000 people through the website and social media. Advertising and direct marketing campaigns have an average reach of 70% of the total North West population.
Sponsorship and Partnership Opportunities
Summer at Brockholes sees a host of family events each year, from school holiday clubs to open air theatre, guided walks to family fun. Over the Summer period, Brockholes expects to welcome over 60,000 visitors. The marketing campaign is multi channel and will reach a wide audience of families across the North West. Brockholes has also been featured in the National Press for some of the unique events run. We have some new opportunities for sponsorship and partnership, which will allow your business to raise brand awareness and fulfill part of your Corporate Social Responsibility by supporting Brockholes and The Lancashire Wildlife Trust.
Summer at Brockholes Headline Sponsorship £4500
Expose your brand to thousands of families across the North West.
- Logo on all Summer promotional material
- Inclusion in all four of the Summer e-news and Lancashire Wildlife Trust e-news
- Sponsor Feature on Brockholes.org
- On site promotion
- Promotion through social media channels
- Inclusion in all PR activity
- Temporary use of Brockholes logo on promotional material directly related to the partnership
Wild Families Sponsorship £4000 per year
Our Wild Families events are always fully booked. With themes ranging from scarecrow hunts to nature detectives, each event provides quality family time for family members of all ages. Events are run throughout school holidays.
-Logo on marketing materials for Wild Families
-Inclusion in PR for trail launch
-Inclusion in social media activity
-Inclusion in Brockholes e-news
Seasonal Trail Sponsorship £500 per trail
Each visitor to Brockholes can collect their free seasonal trail on arrival. The trail helps visitors to explore the reserve, learn more about what to see and how the reserve changes with the season and challenges them to spot things.
-Logo on sponsorship trail
-Inclusion in PR for trail launch
-Inclusion in social media activity around the trail
Half term at Brockholes £1500
-Logo on all marketing materials
-Inclusion in launch PR
-Social media promotion
Annual Headline Sponsorship £10,000
- Logo inclusion on all Promotional Material
- Dedicated web page on Brockholes.org
- On site promotion
- Dedicated stand area on key event days
- Promotion through Brockholes and LWT e-news, member magazine
- Promotion through social media channels
- Inclusion in all PR activity
-Discounted delegate rate on our conference facilities
Children's Corner £500
Would you like to help brighten up the children's corner in our restuarant for our younger visitors?
-Inclusion in PR activity
-Recognition in the children's area
-Inclusion in activity to our database promoting the new area
To talk to us more about sponsorship opportunities, contact Ruth Gaskell rgaskell@lancswt.org.uk or call 01772 324129.
www.brockholes.org/commercial-opportunities
Commercial Opportunities
Make Brockholes your business
Businesses are being offered an opportunity to become partners in a North West tourism and wildlife success story.
Brockholes nature reserve is entering the second phase of development which will provide commercial opportunities for other businesses and boost local employment.
The Lancashire Wildlife Trust attraction attracted 185,000 people to its nature reserve and the first ever floating visitor village in the UK, last year. It is looking to top that visitor figure this year.
Just off the M6 at Preston and easily accessible from anywhere in the UK, Brockholes has received more than 30 regional and national awards despite only opening in 2011. Visitors continue to pour in despite the reserve being surrounded by the attractions of Manchester, Blackpool and Liverpool.
The business has shown year-on-year growth and, as a result, is seeking commercial partners for the next phase of development.
Anne Selby, Chief Executive of the Wildlife Trust said “Brockholes has performed incredibly well despite being launched in a recession. We have steered the business through the stormy weather and achieved fantastic results.
“We are now looking to move into the next phase of development. As a conservation charity, we want to ensure our focus remains on the nature conservation of the reserve, whilst ensuring the commercial income supports this work. We are looking for expressions of interest at this stage and asking businesses to be creative with their proposals.”
The Visitor Village has a restaurant, shops, conference centre, welcome centre and education centre. Major companies have made use of the conference centre including RBS and Aldi. The surrounding nature reserve is continuing to grow, with an increasing population of resident creatures and rare visitors like red kite, bittern and otter.
Anne continued: “Brockholes received funding for the initial start up and development phases but it was always designed to be a self-sustaining model. By making the most of the commercial opportunities and keeping these balanced carefully with the needs of nature, we believe we can continue to success of Brockholes into the future and achieve even more fantastic results for wildlife, our wide range of visitors and the tourism economy”.
Opportunities include retail, water sports (non-motorised), indoor play provision, events partners and mobile food concessions. However, the Trust is open to hear if any investors would wish to develop sympathetic commercial facilities on the site.
An opportunity information pack is available by request from:
Karen Williams Karen.Williams@brockholes.org
Expressions of interest should initially be made to
Lindsey Poole, Commercial Development Manager lpoole@lancswt.org.uk
Group Visits
Whether it’s a full day out or just a quick stop off on the way to your destination, Brockholes is the ideal place for groups to visit.
There's so much for all ages to see and learn about at Brockholes. Everyone from toddlers to seniors will find something to fascinate them, whether through our exciting range of organised events, or by just wandering around the site.
We are passionately committed to lifelong learning for all – our belief is that everyone should leave knowing something they didn't when they arrived! The Lancashire Wildlife Trust has over a decade of experience in delivering environmental education, so you can relax, enjoy the surroundings and be sure to come away both enchanted and enlightened...
We have several options for various groups, each with a variety of benefits. For more information click on the relevant link below…
Coach Groups
School Groups
Community Groups
To enquire about group visits please call 01772 872000 or email info@brockholes.org. Or leave your details on the form below and a member of our team will get back to you as soon as possible.
Coach Groups
Situated next to Junction 31 on the M6, we are the ideal stop for coach trips, whether it is for a short stop, as a green motorway services, or as part of a full day visit.
Free entry for coaches and convenient coach drop-off point
We have a variety of walking trails for your group to explore, ranging from half an hour to 2 hours in length.
We have our floating visitor village that features a stunning waterside restaurant, 2 unique gift shops and a welcome centre with exhibits, which are ideal should your guests decide for something less active (or if the weather lets you down)!
All our buildings are fully accessible, while the vast majority of our paths are well surfaced, level and suitable for wheelchairs.
We now have a more convenient drop-off point exclusively for coaches and in addition have a number of benefits for coach groups:
• Free entry to the reserve and visitor centre
• Free coach parking
• Refreshment voucher for the coach driver
• Free familiarisation visit for group organisers
• Free meet and greet at the coach (on request)
• Free Brockholes welcome leaflet and trail guide
• Free events and activities throughout the year (visit our events calendar for details)
• Free play area
• Pre-booked guided tours (available at an extra charge)
• Adapted toilets available at the visitor centre
Please note that there is a 4 metre high bridge on the entrance to Brockholes. We also advise all coaches to let us know of their visit in advance by calling us on 01772 872000.
For any further information please just call 01772 872000, email info@brockholes.org
School Groups
Our 250 acre nature reserve and Visitor Village is a great place for school groups to visit. Children can learn about the geological history and how the quarrying has shaped the land today. And because we are a new nature reserve, you can watch it grow! It is also home to the UK's first floating Visitor Village.
Most importantly of all, the children will be able to see that Brockholes is home to a host of wildlife, with many different species of bird popping by throughout the year, along with brown hare, dragonfly and deer to name a few!
Facilities
Your school will have use of the education centre on our floating visitor village and you will have at least one Education Officer dedicated to your group throughout the day.
Plus... NEW FOR 2014!
Next year your school will be able to get even closer to nature at Brockholes by booking an education session in our new purpose-built bird hide classroom, right on the edge of the lake!
The hide will overlook No 1 Pit Lake which is home to many different species of birds and you'll also be able to look across to the new sand martin wall, which will provide valuable breeding habitat when they arrive in spring.
Why not your details below if you'd like us to keep to informed of these exciting new developments!
Programmes
We offer a wide range of programmes including:
Big Adventure in a Miniature World
Life Cycles
Migration and Hibernation
Environmental Art
Geography and Geology
Forest School
You can read more about the education programmes available at Brockholes here.
Education Team
Our Education Team are based at Brockholes and have a huge amount of experience in inspiring young people about the natural world. They are a lively bunch and pride themselves on creating an exciting and memorable experience for your school. You can read about how great our team is here: Meet the Education Team.
Outreach
Can't get to us? Then we can come to you! Our outreach education programme is very popular and offers a wide range of programmes for those who are unable to reach Brockholes.You can view our Outreach Programmes here.
For any information just call us on 01772 872000 for more information, email eduadmin@lancswt.org.uk
Community Groups
Brockholes is a great place to bring your community group, whether it's the Scouts, Guides, Cubs, Brownies or Beavers or a rambling or photography group, there is something for everyone!
As well as exploring our stunning nature reserve you can enjoy an activity such as a guided walk, a mini-beast hunt or an environmental art session.
You can visit Brockholes during the day or we have special community group evenings when the reserve is open beyond our usual opening hours. Group activities usually take place between 5.30pm and 7.30pm.
Forest Schools
Forest Schools is a unique outdoor learning experience that improves children's self-esteem, confidence and abilities.
Brockholes provides an inspirational setting for Forest Schools sessions and training, and is conveniently located just off junction 31 of the M6 at Preston.
Our Forest School sessions are designed and delivered by our experienced and fully qualified Education Team including our Level 3 Trained Forest Schools Practioner.
Our next Forest Schools adult training session will be running in October. To find out more about Forest School sessions at Brockholes please call 01772 872017 or email kphillips@lancswt.org.uk
Shop til you flock
Why not drop into our two on-site shops, The Nest and Village Store, which are packed with all sorts of goodies. We've a variety of products from local beverages and food, to cards and books and crafts and jewellery. They are the perfect place to pick up a unique gift... and there's plenty of treats for the little ones too!
The Nest
The Nest is home to an inspiring collection of gifts, jewellery, books, toys, arts & crafts. Discover what's inside The Nest here.
The Village Store
The Village Store stocks a wide range of products, from locally sourced food and drink treats to bird food, garden accessories and wildlife books. Come and look inside here.
Membership of the Wildlife Trust
Brockholes is a Lancashire Wildlife Trust Nature Reserve. You can become a member today or talk to our friendly staff members and volunteers on your next visit to Brockholes. Gift membership is available in The Nest or you can buy it online here.
Our restaurant is the perfect place to stop and watch the world go by with panoramic views of our lake. Scrumptious homemade dishes and a taste bud tingling selection of Lancashire's finest local produce are all here to tempt you, along with fair trade tea and coffee.
Our restaurant is open from 10am to 5pm.
www.brockholes.org/very-special-occasions
Brockholes is a fantastic place for your very special occasions.
Our floating venue is one of the newest and most unique in Lancashire and promises you and your guests an unforgetable event whatever the occasion.
We have a dedicated function centre that can accomodate weddings, christenings and all sort of functions.
The clean, contemporary finish of our venue means that you have the perfect opportunity to put your own stamp on your event, with a flexible range of catering available from our on-site restaurant.
We have a dedicated Conference and Events Co-ordinator that will be available to help you plan your special occasion.
Very Special Weddings
We had our first wedding celebration September 2011 and since then it's been all go with Wedding Fayres and lots more bookings for this year and next. Find out more about weddings at Brockholes here.
Very Special Christenings
Brockholes is a real family friendly venue for a Christening celebration that you will remember for years to come. Find out more here.
For general enquiries about holding a function at Brockholes please call 01772 872005 or email philip.dunn@brockholes.org.
Features: Bronzer, Freckles, Mole, Blush, Evox and Swallow Ears Compatible
AIMI SKINS EXCLUSIVE @ SWANK Event
Event Period: OCT 7th to 31ST
Event Location: maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Swank%20Events/156/218/37
@ Main Store after event:
maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/September/81/215/22
Social Media : i.mtrbio.com/aimiskins
I enjoy the emergent features in my body breeding, the way my hands close on you, the way my eyes are capable of describing the colourful and seedy scenery that surrounds me. Inside and outside of the light-filled bubble I inhabit your blood keeps me warm, your crushed watering voice lives in my womb and I save the foggy memories for the day next.
Out in the streets the eyes my teeth rip apart, the casual shoulders my fingernails slash, the shining invisible my chest touches, out of the blue the time lapses and the washed out colours induced by the smoke are gone. Holding a pencil with two fingers a view from the dwarf-magnolia tree to the entry curtains, I can feel both the life and waves between my fingers bordering to abyss and the dying quakes of cars going by.
The back of my spine tingles when I think of you, framed in the morning when all residents walking their dogs and homeless still hang out at Logan and cars and I feel like a fool with the sun trying to keep me from going to bed, twirling and jumping. There must be stages between love and monstrosity that I do not know. When this will be over and there will be no more work to do you will tell me what they are.
I go to the front garden, feeling too heavy to take myself out, yet unable to stay indoors. I like the view through the main gate, a framed and layered low angle view of the ground at the bottom. I hear you screaming in the late hours when all returners have returned, forth and around through these alleys and corridors where clients have established themselves with their habits and friends.
The sunset lasts forever with one german family in towels winding up carelessly on the benches. On the open-ended scale of fun the neighbours are curious to draw. Sidewalks are turning grey, heavy and wet. Eyes are sticking onto the poles and staying there. I stare at you and poles start swinging. Walking right into the water, focusing my fangs on your neck.
A girl busy with her juice while ownership and waitresses and options are discussed, the trends, the future plans. In time and days the crowd changes. Age, hair and colours change, music fades into music as the disco at the other end preps for another round. I pull the door open. Tilting my head towards the stars I raise my arms up to my head closing them together until my hands meet. Everything turns into nothing.
NOTE: text is mine
Street photography, also sometimes called candid photography, is photography conducted for art or enquiry that features unmediated chance encounters and random incidents [1]. The main goal is to capture the relationship between the environment and people, their behavior, their everyday social interaction as well as the unexpected situations, but more especially spontaneous newsworthy events.
The Street photographer aim is to capture the decisive moment without interfering. He works showing respect, attention, and dignity towards people. He considers that people are characters by chance and their own life and decisions have taken them to that place and through that moment. The essential ingredient is to make from that decisive moment a historical document of the humanity.
Therefore, any discomfort you might feel at recognizing yourself in a picture shared on this account, you're free to ask to remove it. By the same token, if you want a copy of the picture, let me know and I will be please to summit it to you.
[1] Warner Marien, Mary (2012). 100 ideas that changed photography. London: Laurence King Publishing. p. 169. ISBN 978-1-85669-793-4.
PeloZano
This series features homegrown heirloom tomatoes*. As everyone with a garden knows, when tomatoes turn ripe, they all seem to ripen at the same time. So we had a whole bunch of different types of tomatoes waiting to be bagged & frozen for the winter. I was just going to take a shot or two.. and then got a bit carried away. I tried a few different things with composition, lighting & post production, I think some things worked better than others so, please let me know what you think.
*more about heirloom plants click here.
If you like my work click the "Follow" button on Flickr.
Check out my Blog rumimume.blogspot.ca/
I'm also on Google+ plus.google.com/106313488075670991016/posts
You can get my "Pic-of-The-day" in your twitter feed by following @rumimumesf on twitter
The Tadich Grill is an American seafood restaurant located in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1849, it is the oldest running restaurant in California. Based in the Financial District, the restaurant sits on 240 California Street. The dining experience features Croatian-style cooking techniques that include grilling seafood over mesquite- and charcoal-broilers for varying flavor profiles and uniform broiling.
The original restaurant opened in 1849 as a coffee stand on Clay Street in San Francisco, California. It was founded by Nikola Budrovich, Frano Kosta, and Antonio Gasparich, three immigrants from Croatia, who launched their restaurant as "Coffee Stand". The establishment was renamed "New World Coffee Stand", following a move to the New World Market, a local market place in San Francisco.
In 1887, their restaurant was purchased by and renamed after John Tadich, a Croatian hailing from Stari Grad on the Island of Hvar. In 1928, Tadich sold the restaurant to another Croatian family, the Buichs. In 1967, the restaurant moved to its present location at 240 California Street; this was after Wells Fargo bought the Clay Street location for redevelopment. The current space is one-third larger than the original, and the Buiches worked with contractors to recreate the Art Deco interior design that the Clay Street space had. All of the moldings and woodwork were copied, and the original Clay Street bar was moved to the present location. The restaurant reopened within one month of moving.
In 1925, Louis Buich implemented Croatian-style cooking at the Tadich grill, requiring chefs to use a mesquite broiler for cooking seafood. The restaurant's use of the grilling technique became popular, and in a single day the restaurant can go through four 40-pound bags of mesquite charcoal. Little has changed in regards to the restaurant's cooking methods, and the restaurant has had only seven chefs since 1925 (as of 2011). After operating at several locations in the previous century, the restaurant's last move in 1967 was to a location on the California Street cable car line.
In 1999, R.W. Apple called the restaurant, "old-fashioned, a nostalgic shrine to local piscine tradition." According to Apple, the restaurant's best known dish is cioppino, a seafood soup created in San Francisco, and other California seafood specialities like Petrale sole and sand dabs. Herb Caen, longtime columnist of the San Francisco Chronicle, was a fan of Tadich's version of the Hangtown Fry, a Gold Rush era combination of scrambled eggs, bacon and oysters. In The New York Times, Sadie Stein wrote in 2013 that the restaurant is "Festive without being stuffy, it offers a taste of the San Francisco of yore while embracing the present day." The restaurant operated a branch in Washington, D.C. from 2015 to 2018
TRIVIUM DAY DREAMER SET
The Tank Top & Sweatpants are sold together in this set and are available in both Fatpack and Classic Pack options. The Fatpack features an exclusive hide/show function for the Jockstrap!
The Day Dreamer Set is materials enabled and features 3 Drawstring Metal color options.
LM TO STORE
www.maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/TRIVIUM/136/103/2302
CHECK ALL HOT STUFF
SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium (formerly Sydney Aquarium) is a public aquarium that features a large variety of Australian aquatic life, displaying more than 700 species comprising more than 13,000 individual fish and other sea and water creatures from most of Australia's water habitats. Opened in 1988, it is regarded as one of Sydney's premier tourist attractions with over 55% of its visitors each year coming from overseas.
The aquarium features 14 themed zones including Jurassic Seas, Discovery Rockpool, Shark Walk, and the world’s largest Great Barrier Reef display. Along the way, visitors encounter animals unique to each habitat, including one of only four dugongs on display in the world, sharks, stingrays, penguins and tropical fish, among others.
It is a public aquarium located in the city of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the eastern (city) side of Darling Harbour to the north of the Pyrmont Bridge. It is a full institutional member of the Zoo and Aquarium Association (ZAA) and the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA).
And as promised yesterday here are a picture of the back side and the AT-RT in full crouching position.
DIPLOMAT BUILDING FEATURES
Elegant two-story lobby
Upscale arrival piazza for convenient resident drop-off
Lushly landscaped exterior plaza at the amenity level
Twenty-four-hour access control security desk
Closed circuit Television surveillance system and keyless
entry
Elevated pool deck overlooking the ocean
Professionally equipped fitness center
Covered controlled access parking
State-of-the-art surround sound theater/media room
Resident clubroom with a full-service kitchen
Business center & conference room
Billiard Lounge & Card Room
Poolside Cabanas
Bicycle storage
DIPLOMAT RESIDENCE FEATURES & AMENITIES
Private elevator lobbies
Elegant double-door entry
Magnificent views from expansive windows and terraces
Exceptional quality materials and finishes
Designer lighting package
Large his and her’s walk-in wardrobe closets
Large capacity front-loading washer and dryer
Two-panel interior doors with brushed chrome hardware
Impact-resistant windows and doors
Pre-wired for high-speed internet access
Spacious balconies and terraces
Fully sprinkled fire and alarm systems
Recessed lighting in halls, kitchens, and baths
Granite countertops & backsplash in Kitchen
Premium Kitchen appliance packages including:
42" Subzero refrigerator with ice maker
Electric Range (Gas Optional)
Built-in wall oven with microwave
Multi-cycle "quiet-power" dishwasher with pot scrubber
Undermount Sink with European-style faucet
9' Ceilings
Solar tinted and laminated glass on all windows & sliding
glass panels
Energy efficient heating, ventilation & cooling systems
Air-conditioned storage
Credit for the data above is given to the following website:
www.diplomathollywoodcondos.com/Building/Index/building/9...
© All Rights Reserved - you may not use this image in any form without my prior permission.
Here’s a very “volumetric” split crystal design – beginning to show some of the features associated with skeletal form crystals? Can you spot where? Let’s take a look at the details!
Before I do, however, I just want to make a quick note that the whole family is under the weather at the moment – and has been for roughly a week; that would be about the duration of this series. We’re doing okay, it’s not COVID, but likely RSV. Being sick sucks, it completely drains me of all energy and sleep is never enough nor is it rejuvenating. I think we’re past the worst of it now, but these posts have been about all I can motivate myself to accomplish. Your positive comments have been a huge boost, so this paragraph is simply to say thanks. I’m glad these images are appreciated.
This snowflake is definitely growing in layers. You can see a lot of lines running (vaguely and varying) 60-degrees from the main spine of each branch, and they can be quite thick! This snowflake answers another mystery with how these spines interact with the main snowflake as it builds thickness. For example, look at the bottom branch, right near the tip. See how tall the spine is above the rest? You can use the shadows/reflections to the right of it to get some visual comparison. However, take a look to the bottom right branch, in the middle. Where did the spine go?
We see a hint of the answer to the right of it, still in the middle. There are some dark spots! Those are little canyons in the surface, which are getting “ceilinged” over. The snowflake is filling in to become the same thickness overall. But then there was “eureka” moment for me. There’s a feature in SO MANY snowflakes that I never understood before. Why are there (so incredibly frequently) two parallel lines of bubbles running down the length of the snowflake? In this specimen, we can see them forming. Look to the lower-left branch!
See two parallel DARK lines, opposing the brighter lines on the lower-right branch? Bingo. They are in the process of being filled in. My theory is this: the spine forms as thicker than the rest of the snowflake, much more rapidly. However, the rest of the branch eventually thickens up to the same topographical height… but the walls of the spine are steep like a cliff, and water vapour cannot get inside to completely back-fill these areas. They in turn get a ceiling over top, forming bubbles. Woo! I think I’m correct on the “how” for this one, but the “why” is still outstanding to some degree. Why do snowflakes grow out thinly, then thicken up over time?
I believe this might be partially answered by the “knife-edge instability”. If you have two bricklayers each building a wall from available materials, and one is building a wall three bricks deep, he’d be a lot slower than someone building a wall only one brick thick. So then, utilizing this “thin wall” approach, a snowflake shoots out as a thinner piece of ice faster, but continues to thicken over time as the interior area still has access to some “bricks” (water vapour).
But don’t forget the skeletal form traits! You can also see it on the bottom branches, where there is evidence that the spines have grown so thick that they have “anviled”-out and are growing further along the top, with a gap underneath. Because this outward-growing ceiling is also quite thin, it can grow faster than some of the other surrounding features. You can see this easily on all four bottom branches, but such details are obscured on the top two, belonging to the other half of the “split” crystal with their surface features facing away from the camera.
eBook: Macro Photography – The Universe at Our Feet: skycrystals.ca/product/pre-order-ebook-edition-macro-phot... (fully instructive on all things macro, including how to photograph snowflakes)
Buy Me a Coffee: www.buymeacoffee.com/donkomphoto
Platypod Exclusive DonKom Macro Studio Bundle: www.platypod.com/products/don-kom-macro-bundle
Description of Buildings:
Gesu Church is a rectangular structure of structural steel, reinforced-concrete construction and features exterior walls covered with stucco.
An arcaded portico projects from the west façade of the church and is divided by four massive piers into three bays.
The piers and pilasters on the opposite wall rest
on cubical pedestals approximately nine feet high. A chamfered molding serves as a capital for each pier and is repeated, at the same level as a belt course
running completely around the building.
The central bay of the portico projects slightly, and its arch springs from two semi-engaged Doric columns, thus framing
the main entrance of the church.
Articulation of the west wall echoes the tripartite divisions of the portico with semicircular arched portals at each bay. Double doors of wood and glass are recessed within the portal and have dentilled transoms and cartouches above.
The north façade of the church features an elevated basement from which piers rise to the architrave above. Indented panels between the piers contain tall, semi-circular arched stained glass windows.
A tripartite tower complex embellishes the roof. The central tower which is square in plan, rises in a series of steps and contains a belfry with arched windows. Two hipped roof towers flank the central tower.
Gesu Rectory is located directly east of the church and is connected to it. This four story rectangular structure is of structural steel, reinforced concrete construction, and its exterior walls are covered with stucco. Its pedimented gable
roof is covered with Spanish tile.
The main entrance is located in the center bay of the north façade and features a double door with large lights. The majority of windows are three over one double
hung sash. Round arch windows grace the fourth floor.
Gesu School is located east of the rectory. The building is a five story rectangular structure of reinforced concrete construction covered with stucco. A flat roof with parapet tops the building and features a pediment above the main entrance.
The focal point of the building is a grand, three story portico on the north façade. Ionic columns support the portico and are repeated in pilasters separating each bay. The main entrance features a colossal semi-circular arch with double doors.
The Fathers of the Society of Jesus have been instrumental in the establishment of Gesù Catholic Church from its inception. Gesù Parish was established as a result of the large Catholic community present in Miami. The original wooden church was built on land donated by Henry Flagler, and as Miami began to grow the need for a larger Church became a necessity. In 1921, the first cornerstone of this concrete and steel structure was laid to suit the needs of the growing Catholic community in Miami
Through the years, Gesù has been a spiritual ambassador to Catholics living in South Florida. It has taken on many roles aside from being a Church. For more than 75 years, Gesù Church started Gesù School which provided elementary and high school education. The school was run by the Sisters of St. Joseph
In addition, the Centro Hispano Católico at Gesù assisted Cuban refugees and refugees from other Central American countries with basic needs and helped with assimilation into a foreign country. From 1959-1982, the Centro Hispano Católico provided refugees with food, clothes, medical care, jobs, housing, daycare, school tuition, English classes, and immigration assistance. In 1962, Gesù served as headquarters to the Pedro Pan operation which bought more than 14,000 unaccompanied children from Communist Cuba
In September 1961, Gesù housed Belén Jesuit Preparatory School for a year and a half. After being exiled from Cuba, Jesuit Priests opened a school for refugee students who were living in Miami. This was the beginning of Belén Jesuit in South Florida.
Today, Gesù Catholic Church remains the spiritual center of downtown Miami. As the oldest church in South Florida, Gesù invites all to visit this historic landmark that has been serving South Florida’s Catholic community for nearly 120 years.
Credit for the data above is given to the following websites:
www.halsema.org/places/miami/GesuChurchandRectory.pdf
© All Rights Reserved - you may not use this image in any form without my prior permission.
Miss Roxy having a chill Saturday afternoon watching a light rain falling while sitting out on the porch. Today is a good day to practice using my wireless connection between my camera and my iPhone. Tomorrow we will be going to see how the construction is going at the new house. We hit a snag on the original house. Seems there was an adverse encroachment on our property by a fence from the farmers land behind us. The builder said he was not going to resolve the situation. After some back and forth and our attorney’s involvement, they cancelled our contract with a full refund of all monies invested. It took a couple of weeks but we found what we think is an even better location, a larger lot that is better and a floor plan with a lot more features we like. The delay is a hassle but it will be worth it. If the weather and supply chain hold up we hope to close and move in in about another 8 to 10 weeks. Hope to get some decent photos to post tomorrow. We have also found a great Aussie breeder here in Georgia and look forward to the possibility of a little brother (or sister maybe) for Roxy after we get in the new place.
Musée Marmottan Monet features over three hundred Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings by Claude Monet, including his 1872 Impression, Sunrise.
Marmottan Museum's fame is the result of a donation in 1966 by Michel Monet, Claude's second son and only heir.
A quite stunning sky above the Old Man of Coniston appeared as I came over the brow of Bigland Hill on my cycle to work earlier in the winter. With my onward journey just visible in the bottom left corner.
This series features homegrown heirloom tomatoes*. As everyone with a garden knows, when tomatoes turn ripe, they all seem to ripen at the same time. So we had a whole bunch of different types of tomatoes waiting to be bagged & frozen for the winter. I was just going to take a shot or two.. and then got a bit carried away. I tried a few different things with composition, lighting & post production, I think some things worked better than others so, please let me know what you think.
*more about heirloom plants click here.
If you like my work click the "Follow" button on Flickr.
Check out my Blog rumimume.blogspot.ca/
I'm also on Google+ plus.google.com/106313488075670991016/posts
You can get my "Pic-of-The-day" in your twitter feed by following @rumimumesf on twitter
This panorama features two striking arches: Namibia’s iconic Spitzkoppe Arch in the foreground and the luminous arch of the Milky Way spanning the sky above it.
But how many galaxies can you spot here? Four are prominently visible. The most recognizable, of course, is the Milky Way, our home galaxy.
On the far left of the image are the Magellanic Clouds, two dwarf galaxies currently passing close to the Milky Way and interacting with its gravitational pull. The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) hugs the horizon, while the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) sits higher in the sky. The bright "star" near the SMC is 47 Tucanae, the second-brightest globular cluster in the Milky Way. Containing millions of stars, it coincidentally aligns almost perfectly with the more distant SMC.
The fourth galaxy appears as a small smudge on the far right of the image. Despite its modest appearance, this is the Andromeda Galaxy, the largest member of our local group of galaxies, boasting an impressive diameter of 150,000 light-years.
EXIF
Canon EOS-R, astro-modified by EOS 4Astro
Sigma 28mm f/1.4 ART
iOptron SkyTracker Pro
IDAS NBZ filter
Sky:
Panorama of 10 panels, each a stack of 7x45s @ ISO1600, unfiltered & 3x 105s @ ISO6400, filtered, f/2
Foreground:
Panorama of 10x 150s @ ISO3200, f/2.8
The contour lighting emphasizes the many features and textures of the starfish. It's five legs, which can regenerate, form the star shaped pattern from which this creature derives its name. At the end of each leg, the starfish has an eye. Yes, five eyes! The bumps all over its back are spines, which serve as armor and protection. Interestingly, there is a spot that is almost dead center of this picture, which is called a madreporite. This is a light colored calcareous opening used to filter water into the water vascular system of echinoderms. It acts like a pressure-equalizing valve.
Schoenthal Monastery, first mentioned in 1145, includes one of the oldest churches in Switzerland. It is considered a showpiece of Romanesque architecture. Its western façade features ashlar masonry, a portal with a depiction of a lamb carrying a cross, and an arch supported by a lion baring its teeth on one side, and by a man on the other. The inscription on the arch reads: HIC EST RODO.
Of the murals on the inside of the church, a depiction of St. Christopher has been preserved above the gateway to the cloister dating from about 1310/20. Behind the eastern façade, fragments can be seen of an angel swinging a censer; these date from around 1430. The bell in the steeple was cast in Aarau in the 15th century. The deconsecrated monastery was used for various commercial purposes over a period of 500 years. As of 1986, the new owner had extensive renovations carried out in collaboration with the canton’s departments of archaeology and the preservation of historical monuments. The latter recommended using the traditional plaster made of slaked lime.
Play features: hidden Sekrit® missiles, removable engine shroud, cockpit with unique "hinge" feature.
This was heavily inspired by Cagerrin's recent Bramble-A. That guy is a shaping wizard; while I don't wanna and can't copy that style, I can extract some of it's delicious sauce and flavour my own much simplified ship with it's juices.
White Beach features powdery white sand that stretches on for 5 kilometers, is by far the longest and most popular beach in Boracay. Because of its length, the beach is divided into three parts for easier navigation. The sections are called Boat Station 1, 2 and 3. Complementing its powdery white sand, is its crystal clear water. Unfortunately, during certain times of the year (around January to March), green seaweed can drift in to the shore. Due to White Beach facing West, sunset viewing is fantastic. The immense popularity of White Beach has caused it to be the busiest beach in terms of bars, cafes, restaurants, shops and accommodation.
Our vacation at: Boracay, Philippines
You can't take these bricks from me! This model is Shiny! At just over 2000 pieces, this is our largest model ever! The goal with this model was to have it be as accurate as possible while also making it very playable. It makes for a great display model but also has many fun play features. The model has many opening hatches and panels to give you access to the full interior.
Interior includes:
-Cockpit
-Hallway
-Dining room
-Engine room
-Infirmary
-Cargo bay
-2 Shuttles
-Rotating Engines
Instructions available here: buildbetterbricks.com/collections/our-newest-products/pro...
This set features something remarkable! A Chieftain Mk11 Tank, built in 1968 and now owned by Joe Hewes (@mrhewess). It’s been brilliantly adapted to plough using a Dowdeswell DP7E plough, transforming a piece of military engineering into a working agricultural machine. Captured at the British Ploughing Championships 2025, it’s an unforgettable sight. The power of a tank turning the soil where tractors and horses usually tread, a perfect mix of innovation, heritage, and British humour.
Musée Marmottan Monet features over three hundred Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings by Claude Monet, including his 1872 Impression, Sunrise.
Marmottan Museum's fame is the result of a donation in 1966 by Michel Monet, Claude's second son and only heir.
Sunset at Secret Beach in Samuel H Boardman State Scenic Corridor in Oregon, USA. The beach features a waterfall from Miller Creek that pours directly out onto the sand and into the ocean. In the right light, you can see stark contrasts and gradations in the water as they range from deep green tones to blue hues. Secret Beach also has a unique set of sea stacks (rock formations) between 50-200 yards from the sand. It gives the beach an enclosed feeling of privacy despite the large panoramic views it offers. Samuel J Boardman State Park on the southern Oregon coast is but a part of several geological wonders on the Oregon coast. The length of the park is 20 miles along the coast and that means 20 miles of spectacular beauty, coastal headlands, hiking trails and more. Seaside prairies, spectacular vistas, secluded cove beaches, rugged cliffs and forested sea stacks come one after the other at this park.