Ampelmannchen Aus Aller Welt
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Northern Lights moments while standing at Koppangen Bay in Northern Norway during low tide. I forgot everything, even where I was standing. A sneaky wave could have carried me away that transfigurated did I feel from the great show in the sky.
I've posted photos of Hunter before, but this was one of those instances where you look up and think, "I really should take a picture of this." ; )
I can't imagine having to go through life with a beak like this, but somehow, it appears these birds can coexist in tight flocks within impaling each other. But this instance came pretty close...
Part of getting through life is accepting, and dealing with, our weaknesses. Which doesn't mean they aren't still a pain in the butt.
Me, I'm over-sensitive to all kinds of sensory input - and input affecting my sensors. For instance, even in August in our constant ocean breezes, I daren't go outside without my ears covered.
This is, of course, a huuuge pain. When everyone else is out in shorts and bathing suits, I'm sweating with a big fleecy band around my head. It sucks, but the alternative (excruciating ear aches) sucks a whole lot worse.
I'm also overly sensitive to noise. And bright light. Especially bright flashing light that hits my eyes unexpectedly. So... imagine how much fun I am as a companion at a rawk show. Normally I take along ear plugs. Last night I forgot.
I guess I was lulled into complacency by the fact that the show was at a theatre. A play house. A place I last attended in my teens, when I saw some Shakespearean production there. So yeah... I went in plugless. And immediately regretted it. Still... I was up for enjoying myself... until the %$(*&$%(&ing light show started.
I can't imagine whose idea it was to flash big spotlights directly into the audience's eyes repeatedly throughout the night. Probably the same wise person who decided a super-bright sign behind the band... illuminated by 10,000 1,000 watt bulbs... was also a very good thing to flash repeatedly in the audience's eyes.
What really amazed me was that no one else seemed bothered. Whereas I was in several sorts of agony all night.
The bright flashing lights. Fuck, man. I thought I was gonna have a seizure or something. I ended up spending most of the night doubled over with my head in my lap, eyes closed, hands clamped over my face. Every time I tried to enjoy actually watching the band... zappo! Unexpected blasts of super-bright white light set off pinball explosions in my brain.
So today is pretty much a write-off. Migraine city, man.
And I HATE HATE HATE that my body is so delicate.
I'm from sturdy peasant stock. Why am I so fragile? Why do things that normal people take in stride disable me?
Sorry for the whining self-pity. Kee-rist. At least I know, without a doubt, that I am now too old for rawk shows. Goodbye youth. Your time has come and gone. From now on I'll just satisfy myself by listening to records at home.
another instance of a glorious night at Lenangenstraumen in Arctic Norway witnessing the grand show of nature last December. I can't wait for this year's possibilities to enjoy this capricious natuiral spectacle.
Penrhyn is one of the most admired of the numerous mock castles built in the United Kingdom in the 19th century; Christopher Hussey called it, "the outstanding instance of Norman revival." The castle is a picturesque composition that stretches over 600 feet from a tall donjon containing family rooms, through the main block built around the earlier house, to the service wing and the stables.
Thank you for your visit, please take an extra minute and view in Large!
and another instance of those amazing Northern Lights, this one directly from behind our campervan at the shore of Ullsfjorden near Svensby ferry terminal.
Rome - the famous Vatican - meeting point for all religious people - for instance Easter.
For tourists I would recommend the Vatican Museum as a treasure of international expensive art.
- - -
Rom - der berühmte Vatikan - ein Treffpunkt aller Gläubigen - zum Beispiel zum Osterfest.
Touristen würde ich das Vatikan-Museum empfehlen als eine Ausstellung internationaler hochwertiger Kunst.
June-bugs, for instance, honeybees and big black beetles with iridescent green that occasionally walk across the porch with attitudinizing mien; dragon flies with wings flashing in the sun, the evening ghost-like moths :-)
Dorothy Scarborough, "Entomology on a Country Porch," From a Southern Porch, 1919
HGGT! HDT!! Why does this one remind me of the "Exorcist"? ;-)
great blue skimmer dragonfly, plant delights nursery, wake county, north carolina
Green Whip Snake - Couleuvre Verte Et Jaune - Zornnatter - Biacco (Hierophis Viridiflavus), 09-2021, Monteggio, Ticino, Switzerland
My best photos are here: www.lacerta-bilineata.com/ticino-best-photos-of-southern-...
Green Whip Snake - Zornnatter - Biacco - Couleuvre Verte Et Jaune - Hierophis Viridiflavus -09-2021, Monteggio, Ticino, Switzerland
More TICINO/TESSIN Wildlife Photos (all taken in my garden in Monteggio/Ti, Switzerland): it.lacerta-bilineata.com/ramarro-occidentale-lacerta-bili... (the website exists in ESPAÑOL, FRANÇAIS, ITALIANO, ENGLISH, DEUTSCH)
My latest ANIMAL VIDEO (warning, it's a bit shocking): www.youtube.com/watch?v=4T2-Xszz7FI
THE STORY BEHIND THE PHOTO:
If you think this snake looks kind of angry, I'd say you're right: it certainly wasn't happy to see me. This type of snake - a western whip snake (Hierophis viridiflavus) is normally very shy; in my experience it flees with enormous speed as soon as it senses or sees a human approaching - unless it thinks it's already too late for fleeing (like when you surprise it in your cellar and it can't get away, which happened to a neighbor once).
In those latter instances, it's very aggressive: it hisses loudly and gets into an upright position like a cobra, and if that doesn't help it will bite you and sometimes not let go (but to be clear, although a bite may be very painful and people with a phobia of snakes might die of fear, this snake is completely harmless 😉)
The German name for the snake alludes to its short-tempered character: it's called "Zorn-Natter", which means as much as "anger-snake" (although "Natter" is the German word only for non-venomous snakes in Euorpe, not snakes in general). It's one of the biggest snakes to be found in Switzerland, and can grow to a length of almost 2 meters.
Now this snake DID see me approach (probably long before I myself saw the snake) - still, it didn't flee. It was early September, and I was looking for western green lizards (Lacerta bilineata) in the fly honeysuckle shrub right outside my garden, when I suddenly realized a big branch stretching over the leaves wasn't a branch at all.
Because the snake didn't flee I believed it hadn't seen me, and I assumed its head was on the far end (both ends of the snake's body were hidden in the foliage), so I tried to find an angle where I could see the head in the hope of a usable photo.
No such luck: because it was the wrong end. Now the other end of the snake's body was pretty close to me and only maybe 1.5 meters away, but from my elevated point of view it was hidden under the leaves. When I slowly went down to my knees to take a peek, I suddenly looked right into a pair of eyes that fixated me with the not very friendly stare you see in this photo. But why didn't the snake flee? This was strange (though I was grateful since it's not easy to get such a shot of an animal that is normally so shy).
And then I saw the reason: only 40 centimeters away from the snake there was a huge male western green lizard, basking in the sun. Now it all became clear: I had obviously interrupted the "biacco" (which is the snake's local Italian name) just as it was getting ready to have a juicy lizard lunch. Much as my presence caused the snake discomfort and certainly fear, it just wasn't ready to let go of such a whopper of a meal. The lizard was blissfully unaware of either me or its impending doom, and thus I found myself faced with a terrible dilemma.
You see, western green lizards are my favorite animals, and although I adore snakes too, the tiny local western green population - already under permanent siege by the many cats in the village and always on the verge of perishing - has grown close to my heart. After observing these lizards for so long, I know most individuals by their color patterns, and the loss of any of them really gets to me. But unlike with the cats (which is a human problem that the cats - whom I love dearly as pets - aren't to blame for), this snake was a natural enemy, and it also had to eat, so I knew the right thing to do was to let nature run its course.
But knowing what the right thing to do is, and actually DOING the right thing, are two different pair of shoes. To my shame I decided to interfere (I honestly, REALLY am not proud of that, and I'm not kidding, but it is what it is). Once that decision was made, I quickly acted.
I didn't want to chase the snake away because that seemed mean (and the fella hadn't done anything wrong), so rather than that I hoped I could catch the lizard's attention. What I actually did (and I promise that is the honest-to-God truth): I made a wave-like movement with my arm and hand. This was - obvisously - the sign for "Snaaake!!!" that I was sure would transcend the human-lizard communication barrier - and I'm sure it WOULD have, had the lizard not been happily dozing with its eyes closed.
So I whispered: "Duuuude, there's a huuuuge snake right next to you!" Naturally, I said this in Italian (these lizards have never been outside our village, so I knew they didn't speak English 😉 ). No reaction. So in a final desperate attempt I shook the branch the lizard sat on, and now it dazedly openend its eyes.
It took the target of my clumsy rescue attempts maybe a second to realize a two-legged, giant monster was shaking its residence, but then it quickly dove into the foliage for cover - but not alone: the snake was right behind it! Western whip snakes are extremely agile hunters, so through my idiotic action I might have doomed my green friend (who had no idea there even was a snake lurking when I caused him to move) after all.
Truth is, I don't know what happened. Hunter and prey disappeared at the same time, and then it was all quiet; I didn't hear the slightest noise that would have hinted at a struggle. When I came back to the shrub an hour or so later I spotted a male Lacerta bilineata that I'm pretty sure was the one I had tried to save.
It didn't move when I approached and was either paralized with fear (or shock after a narrow escape), or it just thought I hadn't seen it and relied completely on its camouflage. Either way, this fella allowed me to make the best close-up and even macro shots I was ever able to make of the species (you can find those on my website via my profile in case you're interested).
Who knows, I keep telling myself the little fella decided to pose like that out of gratitude... 😉
I hope you like the photo (and sorry if I bored you with my lengthy post ) Greetings to you all and have a lovely day/evening!
The light during our birthday stroll yesterday was absolutely amazing and everything looked pretty like these little "fluff things" whose name I have forgotten again. :) P.D.: It is some kind of clematis. Thanks to Steven Hromnak for clarifying)
more instances of the various aurora borealis appearances we were so lucky to witness during our stay in the Arctic region of Norway.
… the XF 10-24mm f/4 R OIS is quite something.
Although getting the light right while moving through different wide focals is far from self evident. I lost some of the Summer clouds texture for instance.
Another issue with the XT-4, although not specific to this lens, is that I still haven’t discovered the proper hardware/software combo to get at the RAW files. Their format is different from the XT-3 and X100F. That would have helped a lot with those clouds. The loss of texture is mostly an artefact of compression.
an instance of one of our many pass road crossings during our round trip around Iceland. This pass road crosses one of the mountain ranges flanking Iceland's Westfjords and the compacted snow to the right gives an idea about the amount of snow coming down here and what struggle it must be to keep these roads usable during the long winter month!
A typical Lofoten scenario where one encounters sunshine and blizzard side by side and that makes for a wonderful photographic experience.
Another instance and yet anotehr waterfall from our tenth day of Journey between Siglufjordur and Bloenduos along Iceland's Northfjords. It is simply mind-bogging how many waterfalls there are in Iceland.
A beautiful instance of Northern Lights showing up shortly during an otherwise clouded night of February during our stay on the Lofoten islands.
Happy Gorgeous Green Thursday!
The giant green anemone is a species of intertidal sea anemone of the family Actiniidae.
Generally, it is found along the low to mid intertidal zones of the Pacific Ocean, from Alaska to southern California and sometimes downwards to Panama, where cold water swells can occur. It prefers to inhabit sandy or rocky shorelines, where water remains for most of the day. They can generally be found in tide pools up to 15 m deep. Occasionally it can also be found in deep channels of more exposed rocky shores and concrete pilings in bays and harbors.
These anemones tend to live a solitary life, but can be occasionally seen as groups with no more than 14 individuals per square meter. They can move slowly using their basal disks, but usually stay sessile.
The anemone feeds on sea urchins, small fish, and crabs, but detached mussels seem to be the main food source. There are rare instances where the giant green anemone has consumed seabirds. It is not known whether the birds were alive or dead when engulfed by the anemone. (Wikipedia)
One evening we went to the tidal pools along the coast to look for fish, anemones and sea stars. It was adventure scrambling over the huge rocks, but we were rewarded with this anemone just under the surface of the water. No evidence of it having eaten a bird recently was found :-)
Ucluelet, British Columbia, Canada. May 2022.
Eagle-Eye Tours - Ultimate British Columbia.
Katabasis is the epic convention of the hero's trip into the underworld. In Greek mythology, for example, Orpheus enters the underworld in order to bring Eurydice back to the world of the living. (Wikipedia) I thought this was a modern instance of the same!
Loch Fascally Perthshire Scotland. Without the benefit of sunshine but with the bonus of mist on the hills.
Terry Eve Photography Copyright 2016
This is a low resolution watermarked upload, for a full size copyright free image please contact Terry Eve Photography via Flickr mail in the first instance.
“There are other colors, pink for instance: pink is supposed to weaken your enemies, make them go soft on you, which must be why it’s used for baby girls. It’s a wonder the military hasn’t got onto this. Pale-pink helmets, with rosettes, a whole battalion, onto the beachhead, over the top in pink. Now is the time for me to make the switch, I could use a little pink right now”
This image is available in hi-res through the Adobe Stock photo agency stock.adobe.com/ca/images/snowy-owl-intense-focus/496181782
Snowy Owl has a Conservation Status under the IUCN of Vulnerable www.iucnredlist.org/species/22689055/205475036
Despite not being overly concerned about harassment (as mentioned in connection with another image www.flickr.com/photos/luminouscompositions/51958273022/in... ), this first year female Snowy Owl certainly kept an eye on its surroundings. This of course was for potential prey, but also — as in this instance — for other birds that might harass it. I was watching from inside my vehicle and could not tell what it was looking at initially, but it was very intent on the object in question from some distance away and tracked what turned out to be a Black-billed Magpie as it passed by. Snowy Owls, like most members of the family, are subject to swooping fly-by’s by other species, even more so in the case of these owls since they are active in daylight hours unlike most of their relatives which are more strictly nocturnal and roost in a sheltered spot while the sun shines. The visual acuity that this bird displayed emphasizes their hunting abilities.
Another instance from our second night in North Iceland during our latest excursion there. We camped wild by the fjord with views on to Akureyri. After dinner in our 4x4 campervan we stepped outside to explore and could not believe our eyes. Northern Lights in October! And what wonderfully gracious ones they were!
A memorable instance from our Iceland round trip which showed us through landscapes I will never forget
Fall Song by Mary Oliver
Another year gone, leaving everywhere
its rich spiced residues: vines, leaves,
the uneaten fruits crumbling damply
in the shadows, unmattering back
from the particular island
of this summer, this NOW, that now is nowhere
except underfoot, moldering
in that black subterranean castle
of unobservable mysteries - roots and sealed seeds
and the wanderings of water. This
I try to remember when time's measure
painfully chafes, for instance when autumn
flares out at the last, boisterous and like us longing
to stay - how everything lives, shifting
from one bright vision to another, forever
in these momentary pastures.
Two different shots from the same viewpoint with different focus point and merged together. In this instance the middle ground is indirfferent to the photo and was accidentally on purpose left out of focus. Next time I'll try blending in photoshop
Hérault France
Merci beaucoup à tous pour vos gentils commentaires et favoris!!
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Thanks to the group Administrators
Not a pretty shot!
But then again you wouldn't stare at your nearest and dearest from 2 metres away with a fish in her mouth!
Would you?
But as this Egret caught and disposed of the fish virtually right next to me., I took the shot anyway
Al least it made for something a bit different!
During the second night of our frequent Northern Lights sightings for some short moments we witnessed this strangest of all Northern Lights displays: an almost perfect horizontal layer like defined with a celestial ruler. It didn't last long, hence I am very happy that I could capture it.
Photographing a field full of blossoms, like poppies, rape ore sunflowers, actually is something very philosophical. Find, what is different, that’s the motto, for instance different in size, position, colour ore posture. But it’s not the goal to denigrate, to condemn, to ridicule ore to deny this differentness. In fact it’s the aim to emphasize the extraordinary in it, to really see it and to appreciated that. If this is so natural in our approach with the miracles of nature it must be possible to treat each other the same way.
Fotografieren von Feldern voller Blüten, wie bei Mohn, Raps oder Sonnenblumen, ist eigentlich etwas sehr philosophisches. Finde das, was anders ist, ist hier die Devise, zum Beispiel anders in der Größe, der Lage, der Farbe oder der Haltung. Doch geht es hier nicht darum das Andersartige zu verunglimpfen, zu verdammen, lächerlich zu machen oder zu leugnen. Vielmehr ist es das Ziel, darin das Besondere hervorzustellen, es wirklich zu sehen und zu würdigen. Wenn das im Umgang mit den Wundern der Natur so selbstverständlich ist, muss uns das doch auch im Umgang mit einander gelingen können.
There's an enclosure at the Amsterdam Zoo where Wallabies can roam and jump freely, and it gives entry as well to human visitors. Yesterday I was the only visitor and I came upon this Muncher under a huge Poplar Tree.
In 1798 David Collins (1756-1810), founding Lieutenant-Governor of the Colony of New South Wales, Judge Advocate and Secretary of that colony, published his An Account of the Colony of New South Wales. A highly interesting read indeed! At the end of his remarkable tome he adds a short section on 'the Aboriginal Language' to which is appended a list of many words with their English translation. About the language Collins remarks: 'Their language is extremely grateful to the ear, being in many instances expressive and sonorous.' His word list also gives the native name for Wallaby: Wal-li-bah, apparently derived from the verb 'walla', which means jumping or leaping.
Another instance of Northern Lights we had the joy toe xperience during our 10 days stay in the Arctic region of Northern Norway.
The Malagasy Scops-Owl - - during the day it uses a perch which is actually quite low to the ground - - this guy is only 4 to 5 feet off the ground in this instance.
Would have never found him on our own, but a local bird guide for this particular park knew exactly where his day time roosts were; he simply left us on the main trail and went off for a few minutes to check 2 or 3 holes and then came back & got us once he knew which roost was in use.
Malagasy Scops-Owl - - very similar to Torotoroka Scops-Owl - - difference is Toro lives in dry spiny forest areas; the Malagasy lives in the moist rain forest areas on the east and north coasts of Madagascar.
Malagasy Scops-Owl
Loch Eil, Ben Nevis and beyond. (The Nevis Range).
Terry Eve Photography Copyright 2016
This is a low resolution watermarked upload, for a full size copyright free image please contact Terry Eve Photography via Flickr mail in the first instance.
Coccinellidae is a family of beetles, known variously as ladybirds (British English, Australian English, South African English), ladybugs (North American English) or lady beetles (preferred by some scientists). Lesser-used names include ladyclock, lady cow, and lady fly.
They are small insects, ranging from 1 mm to 10 mm (0.04 to 0.4 inches), and are commonly yellow, orange, or scarlet with small black spots on their wing covers, with black legs, head and antennae. A very large number of species are mostly or entirely black, grey, or brown and may be difficult for non-entomologists to recognize as coccinellids (and, conversely, there are many small beetles that are easily mistaken as such, like tortoise beetles).
Coccinellids are found worldwide, with over 5,000 species described, more than 450 native to North America alone.
A few species are pests in North America and Europe, but they are generally considered useful insects as many species feed on aphids or scale insects, which are pests in gardens, agricultural fields, orchards, and similar places. The Mall of America, for instance, releases thousands of ladybugs into its indoor park as a natural means of pest control for its gardens.
Ballerina
Van Morrison
www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfaaaDX_Uh0
Spread your wings
Come on fly awhile
Straight to my arms
Little angel child
You know you only
Lonely twenty-two story block
And if somebody, not just anybody
Wanted to get close to you
For instance, me, baby
All you gotta do
Is ring a bell
Step right up, step right up
And step right up
Ballerina
Crowd will catch you
Fly it, sigh it, try it
Well, I may be wrong
But something deep in my heart tells me I'm right and I don't think so
You know I saw the writing on the wall
When you came up to me
Child, you were heading for a fall
But if it gets to you
And you feel like you just can't go on
All you gotta do
Is ring a bell
Step right up, and step right up
And step right up
Just like a ballerina
Stepping lightly
Alright, well it's getting late
Yes it is, yes it is
And this time I forget to slip into your slumber
The light is on the left side of your head
And I'm standing in your doorway
And I'm mumbling and I can't remember the last thing that ran through my head
Here come a man, here come a man and he say, he say the show must go on
So all you gotta do
Is ring the bell
And step right up, and step right up
And step right up
Just like a ballerina, yeah, yeah
Crowd will catch you
Fly it, sigh it, c'mon, die it, yeah
Just like a ballerina
Just like a, just like a, just like a, just like a ballerina
Get on up, get on up, keep a-moving, moving on, moving on, moving on up
Little bit higher, baby
You know, you know, you know, get on up baby
Alright, a-keep on, a-keep on, a-keep on pushing, keep on, keep on pushing
Stepping lightly
Just like a ballerina
Ooo-we baby, take off your shoes
Working on
Just like a ballerina
Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Van Morrison
Ballerina lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc
A final word on the subject - for now anyway. I felt the need to say it as I read and hear about instances of hate. I feel the need to say it as someone who experienced something similar.
War robs people of their voices, no matter which side they are on.
Always remember that people are not their governments; do not villainize or dehumanize others based on nationality. Do not treat them as personifications and manifestations of all that you stand against. Let them speak for themselves - very often, they too stand for the same causes you do, and very often they too condemn the same things.
Helplessness has different faces. You can show solidarity with the victim without demonizing others - the people are just as helpless, and they're the other side of this coin. All that does is create or exacerbate the sense of alienization and isolation from the world, for a population that's about to be ostracized and blacked out for the faults of its regime.
There are countless Russian creators on Second life. So while we're out supporting our Ukrainian friends, let's not forget to show them some kindness. They too face an uncertain, increasingly bleak future. And they too are in a position they didn't choose.
If the thought offends you or you need to have it broken down, feel free to remove me. I'm okay with that. I don't believe in shitting on people based on arbitrary labels they have no say in, or based on the actions of a government they most certainly didn't choose.
Okay. I think I'm done. I think.
Just as things were starting to look bleak for Matthew, he remembered that he had a chip inserted into his right wrist, that was for such instances. Before his body gave out from the brutal confrontation with BigFoot aka OTIS, he activated the chip and it's alert became active to those waiting for such a moment as now! So into their troop transport plane, they assembled one by one ready for the moment to put their training to the test.
Meanwhile OTIS and the GNOMES were taking Matthew and his glorious tricked out bike to their camp, when they came to an abrupt halt.
The cavalry had arrived....in the form of the 68th Division of the BEAVER AIRBORNE!!!!! Yes, you heard that right.... the 68th Division of the Beaver Airborne... a very covert group, that is only assembled for when Mr. Mason is not able to handle a given situation. So this was their first call to action and with vigor, did they umbrellachute out and into the fray. Most have landed, with just a few still coming into the hot zone.... the battle has now begun...
The most dreaded foe of a GNOME, is a BEAVER and these are NOT just any Beaver.... these are AIRBORNE BEAVERS!!!!! Their claws and incisors razor sharp to whittle down any damn Gnome that gets in their way! As for OTIS....though they were never trained to combat a Foot of the Big, they are still highly skilled killing machines and should have no problem taking him down, as well.
So thus concludes this chapter in the every expansive Gnome Wars Saga!!!!!
Oh, one more thing... LONG LIVE BEAVERS, everywhere!!!
*ADDENDUM: Note how unceremoniously I was dropped!!!! Better be some future awwww's and oh no's.... I was seriously hurt there! Knocked off my damn glasses....MY GLASSES!!!!!
I'm at it again...stumbling upon attractive avatars and reaching for the camera. In this instance, My thanks to Stella Wyx for letting me share the result here.
In some rare instances I will post a head shot. Usually because I am practicing because I don't think I do them very well whatsoever.
Small rundown on what I have on!
New Tram Hair at Uber- New Glasses from TBF will be located at the next round of Cosmo on Monday!- Shiny Stuffs Makeup, Lips and Eyes- MICHAN Lashes- Genus Babyface Bento Head.- Skin from The Skinnery- Maitreya Body- Jewelry by Yummy and e.marie.- Ears by MOMOKO and Pity Party!
Thanks for taking a look! ♥