Gray langurs, sacred langurs, Indian langurs or Hanuman langurs are a group of Old World monkeys native to the Indian subcontinent constituting the entirety of the genus Semnopithecus.

These langurs are largely gray (some more yellowish), with a black face and ears. Externally, the various species mainly differ in the darkness of the hands and feet, the overall color and the presence or absence of a crest. Typically all north Indian gray langurs have their tail tips looping towards their head during a casual walk whereas all south Indian and Sri Lankan gray langurs have an inverted "U" shape or a "S" tail carriage pattern. There are also significant variations in the size depending on the sex, with the male always larger than the female. The head-and-body length is from 51 to 79 cm (20 to 31 in). Their tails, at 69 to 102 cm (27 to 40 in) are never longer than their bodies. Langurs from the southern part of their range are smaller than those from the north. At 26.5 kg (58 lb), the heaviest langur ever recorded was a male Nepal gray langur. The larger gray langurs are rivals for the largest species of monkey found in Asia. The average weight of gray langurs is 18 kg (40 lb) in the males and 11 kg (24 lb) in the females.

Langurs mostly walk quadrupedally and spend half their time on the ground and the other half in the trees. They will also make bipedal hops, climbing and descending supports with the body upright, and leaps. Langurs can leap 3.6–4.7 m (12–15 ft) horizontally and 10.7–12.2 m (35–40 ft) in descending.

The entire distribution of all gray langur species stretches from the Himalayas in the north to Sri Lanka in the south, and from Bangladesh in the east to Pakistan in the west. They possibly occur in Afghanistan. The bulk of the gray langur distribution is within India, and all seven currently recognized species have at least a part of their range in this country.

Gray langurs can adapt to a variety of habitats.They inhabit arid habitats like deserts, tropical habitats like tropical rainforests and temperate habitats like coniferous forests, deciduous habitats and mountains habitats. They are found at sea level to altitudes up to 4,000 m (13,000 ft). They can adapt well to human settlements, and are found in villages, towns and areas with housing or agriculture.They live in densely populated cities like Jodhpur, which has a population numbering up to a million.

Gray langurs are diurnal. They sleep during the night in trees but also on man-made structures like towers and electric poles when in human settlements. When resting in trees, they generally prefer the highest branches.

Ungulates like bovine and deer will eat food dropped by foraging langurs.Langurs are preyed upon by leopards, dholes and tigers.Wolves, jackals, Asian black bears and pythons may also prey on them

Gray langurs are primarily herbivores. However, unlike some other colobines they do not depend on leaves and leaf buds of herbs, but will also eat coniferous needles and cones, fruits and fruit buds, evergreen petioles, shoots and roots, seeds, grass, bamboo, fern rhizomes, mosses, and lichens. Leaves of trees and shrubs rank at the top of preferred food, followed by herbs and grasses. Non-plant material consumed include spider webs, termite mounds and insect larvae.They forage on agricultural crops and other human foods, and even accept handouts. Although they occasionally drink, langurs get most of their water from the moisture in their food.

In one-male groups, the resident male is usually the sole breeder of the females and sires all the young. In multiple-male groups, the highest-ranking male fathers most of the offspring, followed by the next-ranking males and even outside males will father young. Higher-ranking females are more reproductively successful than lower-ranking ones.

Female gray langurs do not make it obvious that they are in estrous. However, males are still somehow able to reduce the reproduction state of females.Females signal that they are ready to mate by shuddering the head, lowering the tail, and presenting their anogenital regions. Such solicitations do not always lead to copulation. When langurs mate, they are sometimes disrupted by other group members. Females have even been recorded mounting other females.

The gestation period of gray langur lasts around 200 days, at least at Jodhpur, India. In some areas, reproduction is year-around. Year-round reproduction appears to occur in populations that capitalize on human-made foods. Other populations have seasonal reproduction.

Infanticide is common among gray langurs. Most infanticidal langurs are males that have recently immigrated to a group and driven out the prior male. These males only kill infants that are not their own.Infanticide is more commonly reported in one-male groups, perhaps because one male monopolizing matings drives the evolution of this trait. In multiple-male groups, the costs for infanticidal males are likely to be high as the other males may protect the infants and they can't ensure that they'll sire young with other males around. Nevertheless, infanticide does occur in these groups, and is suggested that such practices serve to return a female to estrous and gain the opportunity to mate.

Females usually give birth to a single infant, although twins do occur. Most births occur during the night. Infants are born with thin, dark brown or black hair and pale skin. Infants spend their first week attach themselves to their mothers' chests and mostly just suckle or sleep. They do not move much in terms of locomotion for the first two weeks of their life. As they approach their sixth week of life, infants vocalize more.They use squeaks and shrieks to communicate stress. In the following months, the infants are capable of quadrupedal locomotion and can walk, run and jump by the second and third months. Alloparenting occurs among langurs, starting when the infants reach two years of age. The infant will be given to the other females of the group. However, if the mother dies, the infant usually follows.Langurs are weaned by 13 months.

Jordan Pond is largely recognized by the distinctive shape of the two mountains, known as the "Bubbles," located at the far north end of the pond. The mountain on the left is called North Bubble - on the right is South Bubble. When the pond is calm you enjoy a striking mirrored reflection... - Acadia National Park, Desert Island, NH, USA.

Back when I was younger the Conway Scenic Railroad was a strictly seasonal operetion and would largely shut down during the winter months. In recent years however it has become a year round operation running trains to Conway all winter long and for the first time this winter running trains through Crawford Notch in the snow. Not wanting to miss out on the chance for some snowy winter shots along the old Mountain Sub I made the trip up on the long President's Day weekend to try for some snowy images.

Alas the Saturday trip featured just CSRR 255 solo with five cars meaning the return trip which is the better chase photographically would be long hood forward which just didn't interest me. Regardless, I did make the trip up through the Notch for a few signature shots and then called it a day. However, I'd specifically chosen this particular weekend since the railroad had trains scheduled on back to back days so I held out hope Sunday would be better.

And indeed when I awoke in the morning the predicted snow was coming down and things were looking up when I saw that the railroad had MUed both of their GP38s for the trip to Crawford. With 252 trailing I was looking forward to the return chase east later in the day with the classic pseudo Maine Central schemed loco leading. Alas....this hoped for redemption was foiled when the railroad soon realized the snow was accumulating too fast and with no plow train running ahead of them it was too risky to head all the way to Crawfords so they decided they would travel only as far as Sawyers River and run around there...but it would get even worse later....so stay tuned.

But before I knew how the day was gonna go I wandered around the North Conway yard for some snowy winter scenes. With both of three second generation units heading on the Crawford train veteran first generation GP7 number 573 was pulled from the roundhouse to work the Conway branch snow train runs for the day.

All three units are of Maine Central heritage and regularly visited this village during their original service lives but just not right here as they would have rolled through town a few blocks away on the MEC's Mountain Sub mainline.

573 was built new for the MEC in Sep. 1950 and came to the Conway Scenic from Guilford in 1995. 252 and 255 were both built in November 1966 for the MEC as part of an order of 13 of the model which were the first batch of second generation diesel locomotives purchased by the road. 255 came to Conway Scenic in 2022 and still wears her Vermont Rail System red paint from her nearly two decade second career as Clarendon & Pittsford 203 after having being sold by MEC successor Guilford Transportation in the early 1990s. 252 meanwhile was the last one in service on successor Guilford Transportation, lasting more than three decades, and having seen her other dozen siblings retired and scrapped or sold. She came here in March 2010 along with GP35 216 in a trade with Pan Am Railways for FP9s 6505 and 6516 that would become Pan Am's OCS power.

Rising above is the splendid Victorian/Russian styled depot built in 1874 by the Portsmouth, Great Falls and Conway Railroad. under lease to the Eastern Railroad became a part of the Boston and Maine Railroad in 1890 when it purchased the Eastern. The B&M continued to run scheduled passenger service until 1961, and beginning in 1932 dedicated ski trains were run from Boston as the sport of downhill skiing gained in popularity. The very last snow train arrived from Boston in February 1972 ,and on Halloween day of that year the last local freight departed south and the B&M abandoned 22 miles of the branch south to Ossipee. Meanwhile the depot had been saved by a group of local businessmen in 1968 who later purchased the rail yard and the northernmost 7 miles of the branch to found the Conway Scenic Railroad in 1974.

Village of North Conway

Town of Conway, New Hampshire

Sunday February 16, 2025

Back when I was younger the Conway Scenic Railroad was a strictly seasonal operetion and would largely shut down during the winter months. In recent years however it has become a year round operation running trains to Conway all winter long and for the first time this winter running trains through Crawford Notch in the snow. Not wanting to miss out on the chance for some snowy winter shots along the old Mountain Sub I made the trip up on the long President's Day weekend to try for some snowy images.

Alas the Saturday trip featured just CSRR 255 solo with five cars meaning the return trip which is the better chase photographically would be long hood forward which just didn't interest me. Regardless, I did make the trip up through the Notch for a few signature shots and then called it a day. However, I'd specifically chosen this particular weekend since the railroad had trains scheduled on back to back days so I held out hope Sunday would be better.

And indeed when I awoke in the morning the predicted snow was coming down and things were looking up when I saw that the railroad had MUed both of their GP38s for the trip to Crawford. With 252 trailing I was looking forward to the return chase east later in the day with the classic pseudo Maine Central schemed loco leading. Alas....this hoped for redemption was foiled when the railroad soon realized the snow was accumulating too fast and with no plow train running ahead of them it was too risky to head all the way to Crawfords so they decided they would travel only as far as Sawyers River and run around there as featured in the previous series of photos.

So after leaving that debacle at Sawyers I drove back into town for a couple shots of the Snow Train heading down the valley line to Conway. Set up to run pull-pull style, the train had GP9 1751 on the south end and GP7 573 on the north. Dressed in the maroon and gold scheme similar to what if wore when new, this unit was built for the Maine Central in Sep. 1950 and came to the Conway Scenic from Guilford in 1995.

Rising above is the splendid Victorian/Russian styled depot built in 1874 by the Portsmouth, Great Falls and Conway Railroad. under lease to the Eastern Railroad became a part of the Boston and Maine Railroad in 1890 when it purchased the Eastern. The B&M continued to run scheduled passenger service until 1961, and beginning in 1932 dedicated ski trains were run from Boston as the sport of downhill skiing gained in popularity. The very last snow train arrived from Boston in February 1972 ,and on Halloween day of that year the last local freight departed south and the B&M abandoned 22 miles of the branch south to Ossipee. Meanwhile the depot had been saved by a group of local businessmen in 1968 who later purchased the rail yard and the northernmost 7 miles of the branch to found the Conway Scenic Railroad in 1974.

Village of North Conway

Town of Conway, New Hampshire

Sunday February 16, 2025

Europe, Greece, Ionian, Korfoe, Pantokrator mountain, Paleo Perithia.

Shot in the largely ruined and abandoned village of Paleo Perithia. It’s located on the Pantokrator. This mountain is located in the Northeast of Corfu and is 917 m. high, making it the highest of Corfu.

It is named after the “Pantokrator”, the first church built there in the 14th century. There is a monastery now.

Our island transport: for the Corfoe tour we wanted to rent two light scooters, but these weren’t available in the village where we stayed (Agios Gordis). Olga from Ttatsos motors said ‘we only have one heavier one’. It proved to be a Gilera Runner 180 cc. Its screaming high-performance two-stroke engine was a hoot. Not exactly frugal, but hey ;-) The road-holding of the scooter was fab too and there was only one problem – on the very long and steep descent of the Pantokrator hill, the front disc brake had fading problems. So we had to stop two times to let it cool off.

(from the Naxos-Korfoe diary).

This shot wasn't originally captured with the Nikon 1 J5, I just used it to capture the analog picture which was shot with the analog Sigma SA 300, loaded with Kodak Gold 200 film and printed on Fuji Crystal Archive paper.

This is number 41 of Les années argentiques and 98 of Gloriously dilapidated.

Gray langurs, sacred langurs, Indian langurs or Hanuman langurs are a group of Old World monkeys native to the Indian subcontinent constituting the entirety of the genus Semnopithecus.

These langurs are largely gray (some more yellowish), with a black face and ears. Externally, the various species mainly differ in the darkness of the hands and feet, the overall color and the presence or absence of a crest. Typically all north Indian gray langurs have their tail tips looping towards their head during a casual walk whereas all south Indian and Sri Lankan gray langurs have an inverted "U" shape or a "S" tail carriage pattern. There are also significant variations in the size depending on the sex, with the male always larger than the female. The head-and-body length is from 51 to 79 cm (20 to 31 in). Their tails, at 69 to 102 cm (27 to 40 in) are never longer than their bodies. Langurs from the southern part of their range are smaller than those from the north. At 26.5 kg (58 lb), the heaviest langur ever recorded was a male Nepal gray langur. The larger gray langurs are rivals for the largest species of monkey found in Asia. The average weight of gray langurs is 18 kg (40 lb) in the males and 11 kg (24 lb) in the females.

Langurs mostly walk quadrupedally and spend half their time on the ground and the other half in the trees. They will also make bipedal hops, climbing and descending supports with the body upright, and leaps. Langurs can leap 3.6–4.7 m (12–15 ft) horizontally and 10.7–12.2 m (35–40 ft) in descending.

The entire distribution of all gray langur species stretches from the Himalayas in the north to Sri Lanka in the south, and from Bangladesh in the east to Pakistan in the west. They possibly occur in Afghanistan. The bulk of the gray langur distribution is within India, and all seven currently recognized species have at least a part of their range in this country.

Gray langurs can adapt to a variety of habitats.They inhabit arid habitats like deserts, tropical habitats like tropical rainforests and temperate habitats like coniferous forests, deciduous habitats and mountains habitats. They are found at sea level to altitudes up to 4,000 m (13,000 ft). They can adapt well to human settlements, and are found in villages, towns and areas with housing or agriculture.They live in densely populated cities like Jodhpur, which has a population numbering up to a million.

Gray langurs are diurnal. They sleep during the night in trees but also on man-made structures like towers and electric poles when in human settlements. When resting in trees, they generally prefer the highest branches.

Ungulates like bovine and deer will eat food dropped by foraging langurs.Langurs are preyed upon by leopards, dholes and tigers.Wolves, jackals, Asian black bears and pythons may also prey on them

Gray langurs are primarily herbivores. However, unlike some other colobines they do not depend on leaves and leaf buds of herbs, but will also eat coniferous needles and cones, fruits and fruit buds, evergreen petioles, shoots and roots, seeds, grass, bamboo, fern rhizomes, mosses, and lichens. Leaves of trees and shrubs rank at the top of preferred food, followed by herbs and grasses. Non-plant material consumed include spider webs, termite mounds and insect larvae.They forage on agricultural crops and other human foods, and even accept handouts. Although they occasionally drink, langurs get most of their water from the moisture in their food.

In one-male groups, the resident male is usually the sole breeder of the females and sires all the young. In multiple-male groups, the highest-ranking male fathers most of the offspring, followed by the next-ranking males and even outside males will father young. Higher-ranking females are more reproductively successful than lower-ranking ones.

Female gray langurs do not make it obvious that they are in estrous. However, males are still somehow able to reduce the reproduction state of females.Females signal that they are ready to mate by shuddering the head, lowering the tail, and presenting their anogenital regions. Such solicitations do not always lead to copulation. When langurs mate, they are sometimes disrupted by other group members. Females have even been recorded mounting other females.

The gestation period of gray langur lasts around 200 days, at least at Jodhpur, India. In some areas, reproduction is year-around. Year-round reproduction appears to occur in populations that capitalize on human-made foods. Other populations have seasonal reproduction.

Infanticide is common among gray langurs. Most infanticidal langurs are males that have recently immigrated to a group and driven out the prior male. These males only kill infants that are not their own.Infanticide is more commonly reported in one-male groups, perhaps because one male monopolizing matings drives the evolution of this trait. In multiple-male groups, the costs for infanticidal males are likely to be high as the other males may protect the infants and they can't ensure that they'll sire young with other males around. Nevertheless, infanticide does occur in these groups, and is suggested that such practices serve to return a female to estrous and gain the opportunity to mate.

Females usually give birth to a single infant, although twins do occur. Most births occur during the night. Infants are born with thin, dark brown or black hair and pale skin. Infants spend their first week attach themselves to their mothers' chests and mostly just suckle or sleep. They do not move much in terms of locomotion for the first two weeks of their life. As they approach their sixth week of life, infants vocalize more.They use squeaks and shrieks to communicate stress. In the following months, the infants are capable of quadrupedal locomotion and can walk, run and jump by the second and third months. Alloparenting occurs among langurs, starting when the infants reach two years of age. The infant will be given to the other females of the group. However, if the mother dies, the infant usually follows.Langurs are weaned by 13 months.

The Alhambra - Granada - Andalusia - Spain.

The Alhambra (/ælˈhæmbrə/; Spanish: [aˈlambɾa]; Arabic: الْحَمْرَاء‎ [ʔælħæmˈɾˠɑːʔ], Al-Ḥamrāʾ, lit. "The Red One", the complete Arabic form of which was Qalat Al-Hamra) is a palace and fortress complex located in Granada, Andalusia, Spain. It was originally constructed as a small fortress in AD 889 on the remains of Roman fortifications, and then largely ignored until its ruins were renovated and rebuilt in the mid-13th century by the Nasrid emir Mohammed ben Al-Ahmar of the Emirate of Granada, who built its current palace and walls. It was converted into a royal palace in 1333 by Yusuf I, Sultan of Granada. After the conclusion of the Christian Reconquista in 1492, the site became the Royal Court of Ferdinand and Isabella (where Christopher Columbus received royal endorsement for his expedition), and the palaces were partially altered in the Renaissance style. In 1526 Charles I & V commissioned a new Renaissance palace better befitting the Holy Roman Emperor in the revolutionary Mannerist style influenced by humanist philosophy in direct juxtaposition with the Nasrid Andalusian architecture, but it was ultimately never completed due to Morisco rebellions in Granada.

Alhambra's last flowering of Islamic palaces were built for the last Muslim emirs in Spain during the decline of the Nasrid dynasty, who were increasingly subject to the Christian Kings of Castile. After being allowed to fall into disrepair for centuries, the buildings occupied by squatters, Alhambra was rediscovered following the defeat of Napoleon, who had conducted retaliatory destruction of the site. The rediscoverers were first British intellectuals and then other north European Romantic travelers. It is now one of Spain's major tourist attractions, exhibiting the country's most significant and well-known Islamic architecture, together with 16th-century and later Christian building and garden interventions. The Alhambra is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the inspiration for many songs and stories.

Moorish poets described it as "a pearl set in emeralds", an allusion to the colour of its buildings and the woods around them. The palace complex was designed with the mountainous site in mind and many forms of technology were considered. The park (Alameda de la Alhambra), which is overgrown with wildflowers and grass in the spring, was planted by the Moors with roses, oranges, and myrtles; its most characteristic feature, however, is the dense wood of English elms brought by the Duke of Wellington in 1812. The park has a multitude of nightingales and is usually filled with the sound of running water from several fountains and cascades. These are supplied through a conduit 8 km (5.0 mi) long, which is connected with the Darro at the monastery of Jesus del Valle above Granada.

Despite long neglect, willful vandalism, and some ill-judged restoration, the Alhambra endures as an atypical example of Muslim art in its final European stages, relatively uninfluenced by the direct Byzantine influences found in the Mezquita of Córdoba. The majority of the palace buildings are quadrangular in plan, with all the rooms opening on to a central court, and the whole reached its present size simply by the gradual addition of new quadrangles, designed on the same principle, though varying in dimensions, and connected with each other by smaller rooms and passages. Alhambra was extended by the different Muslim rulers who lived in the complex. However, each new section that was added followed the consistent theme of "paradise on earth". Column arcades, fountains with running water, and reflecting pools were used to add to the aesthetic and functional complexity. In every case, the exterior was left plain and austere. Sun and wind were freely admitted. Blue, red, and a golden yellow, all somewhat faded through lapse of time and exposure, are the colors chiefly employed.

The decoration consists for the upper part of the walls, as a rule, of Arabic inscriptions—mostly poems by Ibn Zamrak and others praising the palace—that are manipulated into geometrical patterns with vegetal background set onto an arabesque setting ("Ataurique"). Much of this ornament is carved stucco (plaster) rather than stone. Tile mosaics ("alicatado"), with complicated mathematical patterns ("tracería", most precisely "lacería"), are largely used as panelling for the lower part. Similar designs are displayed on wooden ceilings (Alfarje). Muqarnas are the main elements for vaulting with stucco, and some of the most accomplished dome examples of this kind are in the Court of the Lions halls. The palace complex is designed in the Nasrid style, the last blooming of Islamic Art in the Iberian Peninsula, that had a great influence on the Maghreb to the present day, and on contemporary Mudejar Art, which is characteristic of western elements reinterpreted into Islamic forms and widely popular during the Reconquista in Spain.

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Lynx Spider, the wait and watch player of ambush.

Most of them have large spiny bristles on their legs and in many species the bristles form almost a basket-like structure that may assist in confining the prey that they grasp, and protect the spider from its struggles. Most Oxyopes and Hamataliwa species are small to medium in size; they tend to be drab ambush hunters; depending to some extent on the season, some occupy flowers, ambushing pollinating insects. In this they resemble the crab spiders (Thomisidae) in behaviour. Others crouch in wait, camouflaged on plant stalks or bark.

Lynx spiders, in spite of being largely ambush hunters, are very speedy runners and leapers, alert and with good vision.

EM10mk3 60mm2.8f

1/200, f11, ISO200, 0ev

#macronature #bbcearth #macroinsect

#arthropod #arthropod_perfection #arthropodsofinstagram #arthropodsanonymous #insect #insects_macro #insectphotography #insectguru #insectsofinstagram #insectart #insectworld #insects_of_our_world #insectlovers #insectsworld #insectphoto #bugs #bugslife #bugsofinstagram #macroclique

Gray langurs, sacred langurs, Indian langurs or Hanuman langurs are a group of Old World monkeys native to the Indian subcontinent constituting the entirety of the genus Semnopithecus.

These langurs are largely gray (some more yellowish), with a black face and ears. Externally, the various species mainly differ in the darkness of the hands and feet, the overall color and the presence or absence of a crest. Typically all north Indian gray langurs have their tail tips looping towards their head during a casual walk whereas all south Indian and Sri Lankan gray langurs have an inverted "U" shape or a "S" tail carriage pattern. There are also significant variations in the size depending on the sex, with the male always larger than the female. The head-and-body length is from 51 to 79 cm (20 to 31 in). Their tails, at 69 to 102 cm (27 to 40 in) are never longer than their bodies. Langurs from the southern part of their range are smaller than those from the north. At 26.5 kg (58 lb), the heaviest langur ever recorded was a male Nepal gray langur. The larger gray langurs are rivals for the largest species of monkey found in Asia. The average weight of gray langurs is 18 kg (40 lb) in the males and 11 kg (24 lb) in the females.

Langurs mostly walk quadrupedally and spend half their time on the ground and the other half in the trees. They will also make bipedal hops, climbing and descending supports with the body upright, and leaps. Langurs can leap 3.6–4.7 m (12–15 ft) horizontally and 10.7–12.2 m (35–40 ft) in descending.

The entire distribution of all gray langur species stretches from the Himalayas in the north to Sri Lanka in the south, and from Bangladesh in the east to Pakistan in the west. They possibly occur in Afghanistan. The bulk of the gray langur distribution is within India, and all seven currently recognized species have at least a part of their range in this country.

Gray langurs can adapt to a variety of habitats.They inhabit arid habitats like deserts, tropical habitats like tropical rainforests and temperate habitats like coniferous forests, deciduous habitats and mountains habitats. They are found at sea level to altitudes up to 4,000 m (13,000 ft). They can adapt well to human settlements, and are found in villages, towns and areas with housing or agriculture.They live in densely populated cities like Jodhpur, which has a population numbering up to a million.

Gray langurs are diurnal. They sleep during the night in trees but also on man-made structures like towers and electric poles when in human settlements. When resting in trees, they generally prefer the highest branches.

Ungulates like bovine and deer will eat food dropped by foraging langurs.Langurs are preyed upon by leopards, dholes and tigers.Wolves, jackals, Asian black bears and pythons may also prey on them

Gray langurs are primarily herbivores. However, unlike some other colobines they do not depend on leaves and leaf buds of herbs, but will also eat coniferous needles and cones, fruits and fruit buds, evergreen petioles, shoots and roots, seeds, grass, bamboo, fern rhizomes, mosses, and lichens. Leaves of trees and shrubs rank at the top of preferred food, followed by herbs and grasses. Non-plant material consumed include spider webs, termite mounds and insect larvae.They forage on agricultural crops and other human foods, and even accept handouts. Although they occasionally drink, langurs get most of their water from the moisture in their food.

In one-male groups, the resident male is usually the sole breeder of the females and sires all the young. In multiple-male groups, the highest-ranking male fathers most of the offspring, followed by the next-ranking males and even outside males will father young. Higher-ranking females are more reproductively successful than lower-ranking ones.

Female gray langurs do not make it obvious that they are in estrous. However, males are still somehow able to reduce the reproduction state of females.Females signal that they are ready to mate by shuddering the head, lowering the tail, and presenting their anogenital regions. Such solicitations do not always lead to copulation. When langurs mate, they are sometimes disrupted by other group members. Females have even been recorded mounting other females.

The gestation period of gray langur lasts around 200 days, at least at Jodhpur, India. In some areas, reproduction is year-around. Year-round reproduction appears to occur in populations that capitalize on human-made foods. Other populations have seasonal reproduction.

Infanticide is common among gray langurs. Most infanticidal langurs are males that have recently immigrated to a group and driven out the prior male. These males only kill infants that are not their own.Infanticide is more commonly reported in one-male groups, perhaps because one male monopolizing matings drives the evolution of this trait. In multiple-male groups, the costs for infanticidal males are likely to be high as the other males may protect the infants and they can't ensure that they'll sire young with other males around. Nevertheless, infanticide does occur in these groups, and is suggested that such practices serve to return a female to estrous and gain the opportunity to mate.

Females usually give birth to a single infant, although twins do occur. Most births occur during the night. Infants are born with thin, dark brown or black hair and pale skin. Infants spend their first week attach themselves to their mothers' chests and mostly just suckle or sleep. They do not move much in terms of locomotion for the first two weeks of their life. As they approach their sixth week of life, infants vocalize more.They use squeaks and shrieks to communicate stress. In the following months, the infants are capable of quadrupedal locomotion and can walk, run and jump by the second and third months. Alloparenting occurs among langurs, starting when the infants reach two years of age. The infant will be given to the other females of the group. However, if the mother dies, the infant usually follows.Langurs are weaned by 13 months.

Commentary.

For an area supposed to be largely low-lying and flat the City of Lincoln bucks the trend.

The area around the River Witham is 20 metres O.D.

The area around the Castle and Cathedral is 75 metres O.D.

A Jurassic Limestone escarpment runs north-south through a large part of Lincolnshire.

Throughout written history this upland has been used

by many settlers as a defensive bastion.

Iron Age, Roman, Anglo-Saxon, Norman and medieval peoples

have used this “hill” for strategic, defensive purposes.

The Normans built a substantial castle following their invasion in the 11th. Century.

They also built the first Cathedral on this high point in 1092.

It had to be re-built twice, once due to fire and once due to a local Earthquake!

At one time it had a spire that reached 525 feet.

For 200 years it was the tallest human-made structure in the world, even taller than the Great Pyramid!

In medieval times the city prospered through the wool industry,

becoming famous for its Lincoln Green and Red cloths.

The city declined during the English Civil War when both Royalists

and Parliamentarians held sway at different times, its fortunes returned in the 18th Century due to the ingenious inventions

of the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions.

Simply, mechanisation and more efficient sources of power

meant most products could be made and distributed at 20, 50, 100, 250 or 1,000 times the rate of families in their home.

In recent centuries, public administration, education, health services and hospitality has grown, hugely.

I.T. and micro-electronics have employed many, too.

With its rich historical legacy and amazing architecture, tourism brings in more and more revenue.

The Cathedral Quarter has for centuries seen the wealthier residents enjoy the views from “the hill” in their Georgian mansions.

Steep Hill and The Strait link “the hill” to the High Street and modern shopping centre.

Two worlds, but one impressive city, now with a population of 125,000, and unsurprisingly, the largest settlement in the County.

The Little Blue Heron is unusual in that it has a largely white juvenal plumage, similar to several other white egrets at this stage, but as an adult it is blue-gray with a rufous-washed head. It may be the only species for which the term “white phase” is appropriate as it indeed is a temporal phase, this white plumage. In other species where there is a dark and pale, or other color types the term should be morph rather than phase. During the molt between the white juvenal and dark adult plumage birds are in a dark splotched “calico” plumage for a substantial period of time. The adult also shows a blue-gray bill with black tip, and thin blackish crest as well as blackish legs. As a juvenile the plumage is entirely white, lacking crests and the bill is dull grayish with a black tip and the legs are greenish; keen observers will note that the primary tips are dusky unlike in other all white egrets. The Little Blue Heron is widely distributed, from the United States south to northern Chile, reaching farther south west of the Andes than east of the Andes. In Chile this species is spreading south relatively quickly, it already has been found on numerous occasions south of the desert zone and it is only a matter of time before it fully colonizes the central part of the country. This is a habitat generalist, found in rocky streams, marshes and also foraging on rocky coastlines.

I found this one at Three lakes Wildlife Management Area in Osceola County, Florida.

Dungeness is a headland on the coast of Kent, England, formed largely of a shingle beach in the form of a cuspate foreland. It shelters a large area of low-lying land, Romney Marsh. Dungeness is also the name of the power station and a few other nearby buildings near the beach, and of an important ecological site at the same location.

Dungeness is one of the largest expanses of shingle in the world. It is of international conservation importance for its geomorphology, plant and invertebrate communities and birdlife. This is recognised and protected mostly through its conservation designations as a National Nature Reserve (NNR), a Special Protection Area (SPA), a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and part of the Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) of Dungeness, Romney Marsh and Rye Bay.

There is a remarkable variety of wildlife living at Dungeness, with over 600 different types of plant: a third of all those found in Britain. It is one of the best places in Britain to find insects such as moths, bees and beetles, and spiders; many of these are very rare, some found nowhere else in Britain.

The short-haired bumblebee, Bombus subterraneus, was last found in the UK in 1988, but has survived in New Zealand after being shipped there more than 100 years ago. It is to be reintroduced at Dungeness. It is planned that the first bees will be introduced in the spring of 2010.

The flooded gravel pits on Denge Beach, both brackish and fresh water, provide an important refuge for many migratory and coastal bird species. The RSPB has a bird sanctuary there and every year thousands of bird watchers descend on the peninsula to catch a glimpse of a rare bird from the bird observatory.

One of the most remarkable features of the site is an area known as 'the patch' or, by anglers, as 'the boil'. The waste hot water and sewage from the Dungeness nuclear power stations are pumped into the sea through two outfall pipes, enriching the biological productivity of the sea bed and attracting seabirds from miles around.

Beach fishing is popular at Dungeness, with the area being a nationally recognised cod fishing venue in the winter.

The name Dungeness derives from Old Norse nes: "headland", with the first part probably connected with the nearby Denge Marsh. Popular etymology ascribes a French origin to the toponym, giving an interpretation as "dangerous nose".

While countless fans flock to CN's former Missabe Road mainline to chase the ore trains behind their vintage power, their nextdoor neighbor is largely eschewed. But BNSF continues to be a major player in the ion ore business with exclusive access to two of the six currently producing taconite pellet plants in the Iron Range region. Serving the Keetac and Hibtacc plants of US Steel and Cleveland Cliffs in Keewatin and Hibbing respectively these facilities are west of the DMIR along legacy Great Northern Railway routes. While some ore moves via long all 'all rail' routings much of it flows to Superior and the massive ex GB Allouez ore yard and docks. The primary route for these trains among the heaviest in North America is via BNSF's Allouez, Lakes, and Casco Subdivisions. The latter basically parallels the former DMIR northward some places literally in sight of their competitor.

Despite this proximity you see comparatively very few photos of BNSF operations along the Casco. I suppose this makes sense given that trains are much less frequent and they run with mundane modern wide cabs and similarly modern ore hoppers. However there is an exception to that rule and we got intel that on this day the biweekly (I think) road local was to be heading south from Kelly Lake Yard with a lead unit still in Burlington Northern green.

After confirming with a friend at BNSF that a crew was indeed ordered and we took the leap of faith and drove 90 minutes north. Upon arrival we sure enough found the train built in the yard with three units and the advertised BN leader but all shut down and narry a soul around. But we gave it a bit and soon enough a taxi arrived, the units were fired up and the crew called for permission out of the yard. This is all welded rail, CTC, and 50 mph territory and with no opposition they got lights the length of the line 49 miles south to Brookston. After getting one shot of them pulling we drove 40 miles south (50 by car) for our second shot and made it with only minutes to spare.

BNSF's MKLLSUP (manifest Kelly Lake to Superior) is hammering at track speed southbound approaching the Hwy 8 at MP 63.2 on the Casco Sub. This trackage dates from 1901 when James J. Hill's Eastern Railway of Minnesota built north in pursuit of iron. In 1905 the railroad was leased to the Great Northern and two years later was outright purchased and has remained in the family ever since. Cascade Green SD40-2 BNSF 1943 (blt. Feb. 1979 as BN 7145) is trailed by rebuilt GP38-2 2240 (orginally blt. Sep. 1970 as straight GP38 ATSF 3551) and sibling SD40-2 1663 (blt. Mar. 1978 as BN 8012) with a long train of ore cars and general freight. This spot is almost exactly 2 1/2 miles due west of the famous Culver Curve on the Missabe that has probably been photographed more in day than this spot has been in a year!

The one thing I remember about this is how thrilled the crew seemed. Over on the CN it was mostly scowls and half hearted disdainfully flaccid waves but this guy had a giant smile and a huge enthusiastic wave the three times he saw us. Maybe BN guys are happier or maybe he just never sees railfans and was glad to finally get some love and recognition, but whatever the reason it sure was memorable and joyful!

Culver Township

St. Louis County, Minnesota

Thursday May 11, 2023

Dungeness is a headland on the coast of Kent, England, formed largely of a shingle beach in the form of a cuspate foreland. It shelters a large area of low-lying land, Romney Marsh. Dungeness is also the name of the power station and a few other nearby buildings near the beach, and of an important ecological site at the same location.

Dungeness is one of the largest expanses of shingle in the world[citation needed]. And is classified as Britain's only desert by the met office. It is of international conservation importance for its geomorphology, plant and invertebrate communities and birdlife. This is recognised and protected mostly through its conservation designations as a National Nature Reserve (NNR), a Special Protection Area (SPA), a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and part of the Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) of Dungeness, Romney Marsh and Rye Bay.

There is a remarkable variety of wildlife living at Dungeness, with over 600 different types of plant: a third of all those found in Britain. It is one of the best places in Britain to find insects such as moths, bees and beetles, and spiders; many of these are very rare, some found nowhere else in Britain.

The short-haired bumblebee, Bombus subterraneus, was last found in the UK in 1988, but has survived in New Zealand after being shipped there more than 100 years ago. After unsuccessful attempts to reintroduce the New Zealand bees at Dungeness in 2009-2010, the RSPB teamed up with the Swedish government in a second attempt and introduced 51 of them in 2012 and 49 in 2013 to the Dungeness Reserve. This will be continued each year, with RSPB staff conducting analysis of breeding to ensure a successful integration.[1]

The flooded gravel pits on Denge Beach, both brackish and fresh water, provide an important refuge for many migratory and coastal bird species. The RSPB has a bird sanctuary there and every year thousands of bird watchers descend on the peninsula to catch a glimpse of a rare bird from the bird observatory.

One of the most remarkable features of the site is an area known as 'the patch' or, by anglers, as 'the boil'. The waste hot water and sewage from the Dungeness nuclear power stations are pumped into the sea through two outfall pipes, enriching the biological productivity of the sea bed and attracting seabirds from miles around.

Beach fishing is popular at Dungeness, with the area being a nationally recognised cod fishing venue in the winter.

Please visit my YouTube, 500px & new Instagram channels www.youtube.com/channel/UCt5wf3DvvWAqgUd9NMUItVw

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The blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra), also known as the Indian antelope, is an antelope native to India and Nepal. It inhabits grassy plains and lightly forested areas with perennial water sources. It stands up to 74 to 84 cm (29 to 33 in) high at the shoulder. Males weigh 20–57 kg (44–126 lb), with an average of 38 kg (84 lb). Females are lighter, weighing 20–33 kg (44–73 lb) or 27 kg (60 lb) on average. Males have 35–75 cm (14–30 in) long, ringed horns, though females may develop horns as well. The white fur on the chin and around the eyes is in sharp contrast with the black stripes on the face. The coats of males show a two-tone colouration; while the upper parts and outsides of the legs are dark brown to black, the underparts and the insides of the legs are white. Females and juveniles are yellowish fawn to tan. The blackbuck is the sole living member of the genus Antilope and was scientifically described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. Two subspecies are recognized. The antelope is native to and found mainly in India, while it is locally extinct in Pakistan and Bangladesh. Formerly widespread, only small, scattered herds are seen today, largely confined to protected areas. During the 20th century, blackbuck numbers declined sharply due to excessive hunting, deforestation, and habitat degradation. The blackbuck has been introduced in Argentina and the United States. In India, hunting of blackbuck is prohibited under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972. The blackbuck has significance in Hinduism; Indian and Nepali villagers do not harm the antelope. R_21258

Gray langurs, sacred langurs, Indian langurs or Hanuman langurs are a group of Old World monkeys native to the Indian subcontinent constituting the entirety of the genus Semnopithecus.

These langurs are largely gray (some more yellowish), with a black face and ears. Externally, the various species mainly differ in the darkness of the hands and feet, the overall color and the presence or absence of a crest. Typically all north Indian gray langurs have their tail tips looping towards their head during a casual walk whereas all south Indian and Sri Lankan gray langurs have an inverted "U" shape or a "S" tail carriage pattern. There are also significant variations in the size depending on the sex, with the male always larger than the female. The head-and-body length is from 51 to 79 cm (20 to 31 in). Their tails, at 69 to 102 cm (27 to 40 in) are never longer than their bodies. Langurs from the southern part of their range are smaller than those from the north. At 26.5 kg (58 lb), the heaviest langur ever recorded was a male Nepal gray langur. The larger gray langurs are rivals for the largest species of monkey found in Asia. The average weight of gray langurs is 18 kg (40 lb) in the males and 11 kg (24 lb) in the females.

Langurs mostly walk quadrupedally and spend half their time on the ground and the other half in the trees. They will also make bipedal hops, climbing and descending supports with the body upright, and leaps. Langurs can leap 3.6–4.7 m (12–15 ft) horizontally and 10.7–12.2 m (35–40 ft) in descending.

The entire distribution of all gray langur species stretches from the Himalayas in the north to Sri Lanka in the south, and from Bangladesh in the east to Pakistan in the west. They possibly occur in Afghanistan. The bulk of the gray langur distribution is within India, and all seven currently recognized species have at least a part of their range in this country.

Gray langurs can adapt to a variety of habitats.They inhabit arid habitats like deserts, tropical habitats like tropical rainforests and temperate habitats like coniferous forests, deciduous habitats and mountains habitats. They are found at sea level to altitudes up to 4,000 m (13,000 ft). They can adapt well to human settlements, and are found in villages, towns and areas with housing or agriculture.They live in densely populated cities like Jodhpur, which has a population numbering up to a million.

Gray langurs are diurnal. They sleep during the night in trees but also on man-made structures like towers and electric poles when in human settlements. When resting in trees, they generally prefer the highest branches.

Ungulates like bovine and deer will eat food dropped by foraging langurs.Langurs are preyed upon by leopards, dholes and tigers.Wolves, jackals, Asian black bears and pythons may also prey on them

Gray langurs are primarily herbivores. However, unlike some other colobines they do not depend on leaves and leaf buds of herbs, but will also eat coniferous needles and cones, fruits and fruit buds, evergreen petioles, shoots and roots, seeds, grass, bamboo, fern rhizomes, mosses, and lichens. Leaves of trees and shrubs rank at the top of preferred food, followed by herbs and grasses. Non-plant material consumed include spider webs, termite mounds and insect larvae.They forage on agricultural crops and other human foods, and even accept handouts. Although they occasionally drink, langurs get most of their water from the moisture in their food.

In one-male groups, the resident male is usually the sole breeder of the females and sires all the young. In multiple-male groups, the highest-ranking male fathers most of the offspring, followed by the next-ranking males and even outside males will father young. Higher-ranking females are more reproductively successful than lower-ranking ones.

Female gray langurs do not make it obvious that they are in estrous. However, males are still somehow able to reduce the reproduction state of females.Females signal that they are ready to mate by shuddering the head, lowering the tail, and presenting their anogenital regions. Such solicitations do not always lead to copulation. When langurs mate, they are sometimes disrupted by other group members. Females have even been recorded mounting other females.

The gestation period of gray langur lasts around 200 days, at least at Jodhpur, India. In some areas, reproduction is year-around. Year-round reproduction appears to occur in populations that capitalize on human-made foods. Other populations have seasonal reproduction.

Infanticide is common among gray langurs. Most infanticidal langurs are males that have recently immigrated to a group and driven out the prior male. These males only kill infants that are not their own.Infanticide is more commonly reported in one-male groups, perhaps because one male monopolizing matings drives the evolution of this trait. In multiple-male groups, the costs for infanticidal males are likely to be high as the other males may protect the infants and they can't ensure that they'll sire young with other males around. Nevertheless, infanticide does occur in these groups, and is suggested that such practices serve to return a female to estrous and gain the opportunity to mate.

Females usually give birth to a single infant, although twins do occur. Most births occur during the night. Infants are born with thin, dark brown or black hair and pale skin. Infants spend their first week attach themselves to their mothers' chests and mostly just suckle or sleep. They do not move much in terms of locomotion for the first two weeks of their life. As they approach their sixth week of life, infants vocalize more.They use squeaks and shrieks to communicate stress. In the following months, the infants are capable of quadrupedal locomotion and can walk, run and jump by the second and third months. Alloparenting occurs among langurs, starting when the infants reach two years of age. The infant will be given to the other females of the group. However, if the mother dies, the infant usually follows.Langurs are weaned by 13 months.

The house dates largely from the period after 1780 when Samuel Wyatt began to rebuild the house in the neo-classical style. The work came to a halt in 1791 but between 1806 and 1813 the main block was completed, on a reduced scale, by Samuel Wyatt's nephew Lewis Wyatt. This is the approach from the extensive stable yard which now houses the café and shop.

Northern Section

Little visited and largely unknown, the Bisti Badlands is an amazingly scenic and colorful expanse of undulating mounds and unusual eroded rocks covering 4,000 acres, hidden away in the high desert of the San Juan Basin that covers the distant northwest corner of New Mexico, yet this area is just one of many similar regions in the region, the remainder even less publicized. The badlands are administered by the BLM (Bureau of Land Management), are free to enter, and are known officially, but less evocatively as the Bisti Wilderness Area. There are no signposts pointing the way to Bisti from any nearby towns, but the usual approach route is along NM 371 from Farmington, the largest town in the Four Corners region - this heads due south through wide open prairie land at the east edge of the great Navajo Indian Reservation, which extends for 200 miles across into Arizona. After 36 miles, a historical marker records the history of this area and of the nearby Bisti Trading Post, now derelict, while the main entrance to the badlands is 6.5 miles further south. Bisti is the smaller component of a 15 mile wide wilderness area that also includes much larger De-Na-Zin Wilderness which is equally colorful and even more remote, although partially covered with vegetation.

(americansouthwest.net)

Nikon Zf; Konica Hexanon 50/1.7. (Non-chipped lens, so metadata is largely incorrect)

Dungeness is a headland on the coast of Kent, England, formed largely of a shingle beach in the form of a cuspate foreland. It shelters a large area of low-lying land, Romney Marsh. Dungeness is also the name of the power station and a few other nearby buildings near the beach, and of an important ecological site at the same location.

Dungeness is one of the largest expanses of shingle in the world. It is of international conservation importance for its geomorphology, plant and invertebrate communities and birdlife. This is recognised and protected mostly through its conservation designations as a National Nature Reserve (NNR), a Special Protection Area (SPA), a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and part of the Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) of Dungeness, Romney Marsh and Rye Bay.

There is a remarkable variety of wildlife living at Dungeness, with over 600 different types of plant: a third of all those found in Britain. It is one of the best places in Britain to find insects such as moths, bees and beetles, and spiders; many of these are very rare, some found nowhere else in Britain.

The short-haired bumblebee, Bombus subterraneus, was last found in the UK in 1988, but has survived in New Zealand after being shipped there more than 100 years ago. It is to be reintroduced at Dungeness. It is planned that the first bees will be introduced in the spring of 2010.

The flooded gravel pits on Denge Beach, both brackish and fresh water, provide an important refuge for many migratory and coastal bird species. The RSPB has a bird sanctuary there and every year thousands of bird watchers descend on the peninsula to catch a glimpse of a rare bird from the bird observatory.

One of the most remarkable features of the site is an area known as 'the patch' or, by anglers, as 'the boil'. The waste hot water and sewage from the Dungeness nuclear power stations are pumped into the sea through two outfall pipes, enriching the biological productivity of the sea bed and attracting seabirds from miles around.

Beach fishing is popular at Dungeness, with the area being a nationally recognised cod fishing venue in the winter.

The name Dungeness derives from Old Norse nes: "headland", with the first part probably connected with the nearby Denge Marsh. Popular etymology ascribes a French origin to the toponym, giving an interpretation as "dangerous nose".

"What if I had never seen this before? What if I knew I would never see it again?"

Rachel Carson, "Help Your Child to Wonder," November 1956

dahlia, j c raulston arboretum, ncsu, Raleigh, north carolina

Dungeness is a headland on the coast of Kent, England, formed largely of a shingle beach in the form of a cuspate foreland. It shelters a large area of low-lying land, Romney Marsh. Dungeness is also the name of the power station and a few other nearby buildings near the beach, and of an important ecological site at the same location.

Dungeness is one of the largest expanses of shingle in the world. It is of international conservation importance for its geomorphology, plant and invertebrate communities and birdlife. This is recognised and protected mostly through its conservation designations as a National Nature Reserve (NNR), a Special Protection Area (SPA), a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and part of the Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) of Dungeness, Romney Marsh and Rye Bay.

There is a remarkable variety of wildlife living at Dungeness, with over 600 different types of plant: a third of all those found in Britain. It is one of the best places in Britain to find insects such as moths, bees and beetles, and spiders; many of these are very rare, some found nowhere else in Britain.

The short-haired bumblebee, Bombus subterraneus, was last found in the UK in 1988, but has survived in New Zealand after being shipped there more than 100 years ago. It is to be reintroduced at Dungeness. It is planned that the first bees will be introduced in the spring of 2010.

The flooded gravel pits on Denge Beach, both brackish and fresh water, provide an important refuge for many migratory and coastal bird species. The RSPB has a bird sanctuary there and every year thousands of bird watchers descend on the peninsula to catch a glimpse of a rare bird from the bird observatory.

One of the most remarkable features of the site is an area known as 'the patch' or, by anglers, as 'the boil'. The waste hot water and sewage from the Dungeness nuclear power stations are pumped into the sea through two outfall pipes, enriching the biological productivity of the sea bed and attracting seabirds from miles around.

Beach fishing is popular at Dungeness, with the area being a nationally recognised cod fishing venue in the winter.

The name Dungeness derives from Old Norse nes: "headland", with the first part probably connected with the nearby Denge Marsh. Popular etymology ascribes a French origin to the toponym, giving an interpretation as "dangerous nose".

Gray langurs, sacred langurs, Indian langurs or Hanuman langurs are a group of Old World monkeys native to the Indian subcontinent constituting the entirety of the genus Semnopithecus.

These langurs are largely gray (some more yellowish), with a black face and ears. Externally, the various species mainly differ in the darkness of the hands and feet, the overall color and the presence or absence of a crest. Typically all north Indian gray langurs have their tail tips looping towards their head during a casual walk whereas all south Indian and Sri Lankan gray langurs have an inverted "U" shape or a "S" tail carriage pattern. There are also significant variations in the size depending on the sex, with the male always larger than the female. The head-and-body length is from 51 to 79 cm (20 to 31 in). Their tails, at 69 to 102 cm (27 to 40 in) are never longer than their bodies. Langurs from the southern part of their range are smaller than those from the north. At 26.5 kg (58 lb), the heaviest langur ever recorded was a male Nepal gray langur. The larger gray langurs are rivals for the largest species of monkey found in Asia. The average weight of gray langurs is 18 kg (40 lb) in the males and 11 kg (24 lb) in the females.

Langurs mostly walk quadrupedally and spend half their time on the ground and the other half in the trees. They will also make bipedal hops, climbing and descending supports with the body upright, and leaps. Langurs can leap 3.6–4.7 m (12–15 ft) horizontally and 10.7–12.2 m (35–40 ft) in descending.

The entire distribution of all gray langur species stretches from the Himalayas in the north to Sri Lanka in the south, and from Bangladesh in the east to Pakistan in the west. They possibly occur in Afghanistan. The bulk of the gray langur distribution is within India, and all seven currently recognized species have at least a part of their range in this country.

Gray langurs can adapt to a variety of habitats.They inhabit arid habitats like deserts, tropical habitats like tropical rainforests and temperate habitats like coniferous forests, deciduous habitats and mountains habitats. They are found at sea level to altitudes up to 4,000 m (13,000 ft). They can adapt well to human settlements, and are found in villages, towns and areas with housing or agriculture.They live in densely populated cities like Jodhpur, which has a population numbering up to a million.

Gray langurs are diurnal. They sleep during the night in trees but also on man-made structures like towers and electric poles when in human settlements. When resting in trees, they generally prefer the highest branches.

Ungulates like bovine and deer will eat food dropped by foraging langurs.Langurs are preyed upon by leopards, dholes and tigers.Wolves, jackals, Asian black bears and pythons may also prey on them

Gray langurs are primarily herbivores. However, unlike some other colobines they do not depend on leaves and leaf buds of herbs, but will also eat coniferous needles and cones, fruits and fruit buds, evergreen petioles, shoots and roots, seeds, grass, bamboo, fern rhizomes, mosses, and lichens. Leaves of trees and shrubs rank at the top of preferred food, followed by herbs and grasses. Non-plant material consumed include spider webs, termite mounds and insect larvae.They forage on agricultural crops and other human foods, and even accept handouts. Although they occasionally drink, langurs get most of their water from the moisture in their food.

In one-male groups, the resident male is usually the sole breeder of the females and sires all the young. In multiple-male groups, the highest-ranking male fathers most of the offspring, followed by the next-ranking males and even outside males will father young. Higher-ranking females are more reproductively successful than lower-ranking ones.

Female gray langurs do not make it obvious that they are in estrous. However, males are still somehow able to reduce the reproduction state of females.Females signal that they are ready to mate by shuddering the head, lowering the tail, and presenting their anogenital regions. Such solicitations do not always lead to copulation. When langurs mate, they are sometimes disrupted by other group members. Females have even been recorded mounting other females.

The gestation period of gray langur lasts around 200 days, at least at Jodhpur, India. In some areas, reproduction is year-around. Year-round reproduction appears to occur in populations that capitalize on human-made foods. Other populations have seasonal reproduction.

Infanticide is common among gray langurs. Most infanticidal langurs are males that have recently immigrated to a group and driven out the prior male. These males only kill infants that are not their own.Infanticide is more commonly reported in one-male groups, perhaps because one male monopolizing matings drives the evolution of this trait. In multiple-male groups, the costs for infanticidal males are likely to be high as the other males may protect the infants and they can't ensure that they'll sire young with other males around. Nevertheless, infanticide does occur in these groups, and is suggested that such practices serve to return a female to estrous and gain the opportunity to mate.

Females usually give birth to a single infant, although twins do occur. Most births occur during the night. Infants are born with thin, dark brown or black hair and pale skin. Infants spend their first week attach themselves to their mothers' chests and mostly just suckle or sleep. They do not move much in terms of locomotion for the first two weeks of their life. As they approach their sixth week of life, infants vocalize more.They use squeaks and shrieks to communicate stress. In the following months, the infants are capable of quadrupedal locomotion and can walk, run and jump by the second and third months. Alloparenting occurs among langurs, starting when the infants reach two years of age. The infant will be given to the other females of the group. However, if the mother dies, the infant usually follows.Langurs are weaned by 13 months.

Another batch for this evening’s contribution to my 100x project, taken earlier this year and largely processed using Affinity Photo on the iPaddle.

#87 Uninverse - A simple two-image in-camera multiple exposure of a scene on one of my local walks. The first image was taken while holding the camera upside down, and then the images were aligned in the viewfinder with the camera the right way up to create a letterbox effect.

#88 Seismic Chromatography - This started out as a fairly unprepossessing image like that at www.flickr.com/gp/pixelatedsky/37q4J95i9c using an in-camera multiple exposure of several ICMs of vegetation. It was a bit bland so I souped up the colours and added a rippled effect to get something totally abstract.

#89 Hypersonic - Another idle play which started out as an “I wonder what we can do with this filter”. For what it’s worth the image is of a clearing in a pine forest in Skiathos, Greece, but with a circular halftone pattern added at about 40% opacity and a Soft Light blend.

#90 Alien Stargate - This is based on #91, an image of palm leaves from an abandoned beach hut in Skiathos, but in full colour with a mirror filter added.

#91 Palmistry - This is a monochrome and toned rendition of some abandoned palm leaves on Skiathos, processed in Silver Efex with blue/yellow toning and lots of structure to bring out the textures.

Thanks for taking the time to look. I hope you enjoy some of these. Happy New Year everyone, and thanks for the fun :)

Dungeness is a headland on the coast of Kent, England, formed largely of a shingle beach in the form of a cuspate foreland. It shelters a large area of low-lying land, Romney Marsh. Dungeness is also the name of the power station and a few other nearby buildings near the beach, and of an important ecological site at the same location.

Dungeness is one of the largest expanses of shingle in the world. It is of international conservation importance for its geomorphology, plant and invertebrate communities and birdlife. This is recognised and protected mostly through its conservation designations as a National Nature Reserve (NNR), a Special Protection Area (SPA), a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and part of the Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) of Dungeness, Romney Marsh and Rye Bay.

There is a remarkable variety of wildlife living at Dungeness, with over 600 different types of plant: a third of all those found in Britain. It is one of the best places in Britain to find insects such as moths, bees and beetles, and spiders; many of these are very rare, some found nowhere else in Britain.

The short-haired bumblebee, Bombus subterraneus, was last found in the UK in 1988, but has survived in New Zealand after being shipped there more than 100 years ago. It is to be reintroduced at Dungeness. It is planned that the first bees will be introduced in the spring of 2010.

The flooded gravel pits on Denge Beach, both brackish and fresh water, provide an important refuge for many migratory and coastal bird species. The RSPB has a bird sanctuary there and every year thousands of bird watchers descend on the peninsula to catch a glimpse of a rare bird from the bird observatory.

One of the most remarkable features of the site is an area known as 'the patch' or, by anglers, as 'the boil'. The waste hot water and sewage from the Dungeness nuclear power stations are pumped into the sea through two outfall pipes, enriching the biological productivity of the sea bed and attracting seabirds from miles around.

Beach fishing is popular at Dungeness, with the area being a nationally recognised cod fishing venue in the winter.

The name Dungeness derives from Old Norse nes: "headland", with the first part probably connected with the nearby Denge Marsh. Popular etymology ascribes a French origin to the toponym, giving an interpretation as "dangerous nose".

The number of Pointer-bodied Darts in the Stagecoach in South Wales fleet continues to diminish, largely due to frequency reductions caused by driver retention issues.

Merthyr Tydfil depot still has eight on its books, and these are usually spread across the local services, and these days less so on those covering the Taff and Rhymney Valleys.

Merthyr's 34764 is from a batch of 29 that transferred from the Merseyside fleet in Winter 2009/2010, initially for operation from Porth depot. The survivors are now concentrated at Merthyr, Blackwood and Caerphilly depots, and ironically, Porth no longer has a Dart allocation.

This shot from November 2021 shows her arriving at Pontlottyn Square when operating Service 1 (Merthyr Tydfil-Rhymney-Pontlottyn-Bargoed), having just passed beneath the viaduct that carries the Rhymney Valley line.

Dungeness is a headland on the coast of Kent, England, formed largely of a shingle beach in the form of a cuspate foreland. It shelters a large area of low-lying land, Romney Marsh. Dungeness is also the name of the power station and a few other nearby buildings near the beach, and of an important ecological site at the same location.

Dungeness is one of the largest expanses of shingle in the world. It is of international conservation importance for its geomorphology, plant and invertebrate communities and birdlife. This is recognised and protected mostly through its conservation designations as a National Nature Reserve (NNR), a Special Protection Area (SPA), a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and part of the Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) of Dungeness, Romney Marsh and Rye Bay.

There is a remarkable variety of wildlife living at Dungeness, with over 600 different types of plant: a third of all those found in Britain. It is one of the best places in Britain to find insects such as moths, bees and beetles, and spiders; many of these are very rare, some found nowhere else in Britain.

The short-haired bumblebee, Bombus subterraneus, was last found in the UK in 1988, but has survived in New Zealand after being shipped there more than 100 years ago. It is to be reintroduced at Dungeness. It is planned that the first bees will be introduced in the spring of 2010.

The flooded gravel pits on Denge Beach, both brackish and fresh water, provide an important refuge for many migratory and coastal bird species. The RSPB has a bird sanctuary there and every year thousands of bird watchers descend on the peninsula to catch a glimpse of a rare bird from the bird observatory.

One of the most remarkable features of the site is an area known as 'the patch' or, by anglers, as 'the boil'. The waste hot water and sewage from the Dungeness nuclear power stations are pumped into the sea through two outfall pipes, enriching the biological productivity of the sea bed and attracting seabirds from miles around.

Beach fishing is popular at Dungeness, with the area being a nationally recognised cod fishing venue in the winter.

The name Dungeness derives from Old Norse nes: "headland", with the first part probably connected with the nearby Denge Marsh. Popular etymology ascribes a French origin to the toponym, giving an interpretation as "dangerous nose".

St. Mogue’s Cottage in the Cathedral grounds is largely of 18th century origin with a 19th century addition. It was thatched until 1938 when the thatch was replaced by a tiled roof. Said to have been originally used as housing for clergy, it subsequently housed a sexton. It is now used for parish and community meetings and functions. It is also used by FÁS (the national training agency) as their headquarters in the community. After a major restoration project, including re-thatching, it was officially opened by President Mary McAleese in 2004.

Largely 15th century church in Nottingham's Lace Market; seen from High Pavement.

Built in the Bayon style largely in the late 12th and early 13th centuries and originally called Rajavihara (in Khmer: រាជវិហារ). Located approximately one kilometre east of Angkor Thom and on the southern edge of the East Baray, it was founded by the Khmer King Jayavarman VII as a Mahayana Buddhist monastery and university. Unlike most Angkorian temples, Ta Prohm has been left in much the same condition in which it was found: the photogenic and atmospheric combination of trees growing out of the ruins and the jungle surroundings have made it one of Angkor's most popular temples with visitors. UNESCO inscribed Ta Prohm on the World Heritage List in 1992. Today, it is one of the most visited complexes in Cambodia’s Angkor region.

After a largely overcast and rainy day, I hadn't expected this to happen!

Grabbed my camera and just managed to capture some spectacular sunset fireworks going off behind Beinn Mheadhoin, one of the higher mountains near Glenfinnan in the Scottish Highlands.

It only last for a brief couple of minutes, then it was all grey again.

The Desert Channels Region is a largely unmodified environment with robust pastoral, mining, and tourism industries. Home to 14, 500 people the region covers 510 000 square kilometres, (about one-third of the state of Queensland) and incorporates the Queensland section of the Lake Eyre Basin. This region is valued for its unique and healthy inland river systems, landscapes, cultural heritage, sustainable communities and production.

The Thomson River forms part of the Lake Eyre Basin. The river was named by the explorer, Edmund Kennedy, in the 1840s. The northernmost headwaters of the river begin at Torrens Creek, inland from Charters Towers. The watercourse becomes the Thomson just north of the town of Muttaburra, where the channels of Landsborough Creek, Towerhill Creek, and Cornish Creek meet. The river continues in the southwesterly direction, passing the towns of Longreach, Stonehenge, and Jundah, before joining with the Barcoo River north of Windorah to form Cooper Creek. This is the only place in the world where the confluence of two rivers forms a creek. As with all the rivers in the Lake Eyre Basin, the waters from the Thomson never reach the sea, and instead either evaporate or, in exceptional flooding, empty into Lake Eyre. Floods are not uncommon along the river, and, due to the flat nature of the country traversed, the river can then become many kilometres wide. The area which the river flows is semi-arid blacksoil plains.

Declared pest plants and animals have an enormous impact on the Longreach Region. Competition between these invasive pest plants and native Flora has seen the destruction of habitat. The loss of feed and breeding areas has seen rapid declines in some animal species. Longreach Regional Council is committed to the eradication of pest plants and animal species and has formulated a comprehensive Pest Management Plan.

Desert Channels Queensland (DCQ) is a community-based non-for-profit group and a government-endorsed regional body. Their board membership represents landholders, Indigenous groups, the Great Artesian Basin, conservation and local governments. DCQ works with all the sectors of the community to sustainably manage the natural resources in the region. Together with the land management community, they develop projects to address the issues identified in the community-endorsed natural resource management plan, Protecting Our Assets. Assets include land, water, biodiversity, and community. Major issues DCQ considers are weeds and feral animals, vegetation management, grazing pressure, water management, land degradation, and viability and economics. The DCQ's mission is a community group dedicated to improving the quality of the life of current and future generations through leadership, innovation, knowledge, and partnerships, in the responsible management of their unique natural recourses.

Source: Desert Channels Queensland (DCQ)

Brickell Key is largely regarded as paradise in the heart of Miami. It has come a long way from being an aggregation of discarded dredge material. Like so many islands found in Biscayne Bay, Brickell Key is a man-made creation.

When the Brickell's arrived at the south side of the Miami River in 1871, William Brickell built a home and trading post. The location of these buildings would later be referred to as Brickell Point. When the Brickell's looked east from their home, they saw nothing but bay water from Brickell Point to the peninsula that would later become Miami Beach. It wasn’t until Henry Flagler began to develop the city of Miami in 1896 that that view started to change. Flagler’s team removed a sand bar at the mouth of the Miami River. The team also used a dredge to deepen the river and bay adjacent to Flagler’s Royal Palm Hotel to create the first port of Miami.

The dredging of the Miami River was a point of contention for William Brickell. As part of the effort to deepen the Miami River, those that Flagler put in charge of dredging began to dump limestone and river silt along and just off the shore east of the Brickell property. It was the discard off the shoreline that began to create the first of two spoil islands.

During the dredging of the Miami Canal in 1912, the larger of two spoil islands ended up being expanded with additional river discard. The downstream dredge activity created a lot of free river silt that made its way to the mouth of the Miami River. This silt was then gathered and dumped in the area of the spoil islands. At this time, a smaller spoil island was forming to the southeast of the larger island. It was believed to have come from digging out a vessel that went aground on that spot.

By 1914, the widowed Mary Brickell was quite wealthy from land transactions. During the summer of that year, she had offered to remove the spoil islands at her own expense. The spoil islands were considered a nuisance and even Dr. James Jackson, the physician for the Royal Palm Hotel and later the namesake for Jackson Memorial Hospital, declared the islands to be a menace to the health and welfare of the public. The islands were considered unsightly, difficult to navigate and possessing an unpleasant odor. Mary Brickell had intended to pump the spoil material of the islands into some low lying areas on her property. However, there was enough opposition to her proposal that it was not accepted.

The fate of the islands changed in 1916. By late spring, the Florida Internal Improvement Fund (FII), placed in ad to solicit bids for the land mass. Bids ranged from $10.10 to $3000 per acre for the five acre island. Mary Brickell’s bid was $750 for the entire parcel. Her bid was not the winning bid. On June 21st, 1916, the IIF trustees accepted the highest bid and ordered a deed to be issued to Mrs. M.R. Burlingame.

Mrs. Burlingame was a business woman who moved to Miami from Michigan. She was one of the few women to own an advertising agency at the time. Mrs. Burlingame was a big proponent of promoting Miami as a year round living destination. It was her intention to annex the smaller spoil island and to ultimately build her home on the combined islands. However, prior to the end of June in 1916, Mary Brickell filed suit to challenge the deed issued to Mrs. Burlingame.

The law suit filed by Mary Brickell was finally settled in 1918. The Florida Supreme Court declared in favor of Mrs. Burlingame and a deed was finally and officially issued. By 1920, Burlingame announced her intention to build a hotel or apartment house on the island. The island was referred to as Burlingame Island. In April of 1922, the War Department (later managed by the Army Corp of Engineers), issued a permit for a bulk head and fill of the five acre island. This work was scheduled to be complete by the end of 1922.

However, by 1924, nothing was ever developed on the island. It was eventually sold to E.J. Reed of Miami, who filed for a permit to fill a much larger, triangular-shaped island. There was no evidence that this permit was ever granted, but the request provided a preview to how future plans would influence the shape of today’s Claughton Island.

Through the remainder of the 1920s, not much had changed on Burlingame Island. There was no development and it was said that trees began taking over the topology. Some would say that the island belonged to the raccoons and rats. Ownership changed again in 1932 when R.P. Clark purchased the island. His dredging company was responsible for enlarging the island to 20.7 acres. Mr. Clark owned the island until January 1937.

In the late 1970s, Swire Properties bought most of the island from Claughton. Since then, the island has been built out with some of the tallest buildings in Miami, and the Mandarin Oriental, Miami hotel, mainly during the condo "Manhattanization" wave of the 2000s.

Credit for the data above is given to the following websites:

www.miami-history.com/p/brickell-key-on-claughton-island

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brickell_Key

© All Rights Reserved - you may not use this image in any form without my prior permission.

In a landscape largely devoid of colour converting another shot to mono seemed to heighten the threat of the clouds.The Flashes is a part of Frensham Common's heathland area, which also includes the small series of hills called The Devil's Jumps. The Local Nature Reserve is part of the much larger Thursley, Hankley and Frensham Commons Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and part of the Wealden Heaths Special Protection Area (of European importance) for its bird, reptile and invertebrate populations. The Flashes LNR is largely a river valley mire dominated by purple moor-grass, cross-leaved heath, common cottongrass, ling, rushes and Sphagnum mosses. The bog on The Flashes contains an important area of peatland.

This retrospective of paintings by Alice Neel (1900–1984) – one of North America’s most important female artists, although largely unappreciated during her own lifetime – is the fruit of a collaboration between several European institutions. The exhibition at the Fondation Vincent van Gogh Arles places the US painter and her realist brush firmly in the spotlight. Imbued with a powerful psychological dimension, Neel’s portraits bear witness to almost a century of evolution in attitudes towards gender and ethnicity, and to radical changes in fashion at the heart of American society. Working in an epoch that declared abstraction the new modernism, Neel would always remain a “painter of modern life” as imagined by Charles Baudelaire, with whom she shared the same vision of modernity and the artist’s role in relation to it.

Hallmarked at once by expressionism and realism, Alice Neel’s œuvre translates the paradoxical personality of its maker, who wanted to paint individuals from all social classes and create a visual history of her time – a Comédie Humaine.

Conceived by Jeremy Lewison, the leading expert on Alice Neel, the exhibition presents more than seventy paintings, including a portrait of Andy Warhol “laid bare” under the artist’s keen gaze. After the Ateneum Art Museum in Helsinki and the Gemeentemuseum Den Haag in The Hague, the Fondation Vincent van Gogh Arles welcomes this major exhibition from 4 March to 17 September 2017, after which it will travel on to Germany and the Deichtorhallen in Hamburg.

Alice Neel is born on 28 January 1900 in Gladwyne, Pennsylvania, USA.

She studies art at the Philadelphia School of Design for Women, an institution that distances itself from the formalist approach to art taught during this epoch.

In the 1930s Alice Neel lives in Greenwich Village, a district of New York with a Bohemian reputation and popular with artists. She is entered on the payroll of the Works Progress Administration, for which she paints urban scenes. During this period she also meets and paints the portraits of fellow Communist Party sympathizers.

In 1938 she moves to Spanish Harlem (today East Harlem), where she embarks on a new series of portraits featuring Puerto Ricans, among others.

In the 1960s she settles in Upper West Side, where she reconnects with the art world and executes her famous portraits of artists, gallerists and curators. At the end of the decade she finds inspiration for her art not only among family members, but also by observing women and children, whom she thus paints at the dawn of the feminist movement. From this period onwards, too, her painting is finally recognized by the American art scene and celebrated in the form of numerous solo and collective shows.

Alice Neel dies on 13 October 1984 in New York.

Brickell Key is largely regarded as paradise in the heart of Miami. It has come a long way from being an aggregation of discarded dredge material. Like so many islands found in Biscayne Bay, Brickell Key is a man-made creation.

When the Brickell's arrived at the south side of the Miami River in 1871, William Brickell built a home and trading post. The location of these buildings would later be referred to as Brickell Point. When the Brickell's looked east from their home, they saw nothing but bay water from Brickell Point to the peninsula that would later become Miami Beach. It wasn’t until Henry Flagler began to develop the city of Miami in 1896 that that view started to change. Flagler’s team removed a sand bar at the mouth of the Miami River. The team also used a dredge to deepen the river and bay adjacent to Flagler’s Royal Palm Hotel to create the first port of Miami.

The dredging of the Miami River was a point of contention for William Brickell. As part of the effort to deepen the Miami River, those that Flagler put in charge of dredging began to dump limestone and river silt along and just off the shore east of the Brickell property. It was the discard off the shoreline that began to create the first of two spoil islands.

During the dredging of the Miami Canal in 1912, the larger of two spoil islands ended up being expanded with additional river discard. The downstream dredge activity created a lot of free river silt that made its way to the mouth of the Miami River. This silt was then gathered and dumped in the area of the spoil islands. At this time, a smaller spoil island was forming to the southeast of the larger island. It was believed to have come from digging out a vessel that went aground on that spot.

By 1914, the widowed Mary Brickell was quite wealthy from land transactions. During the summer of that year, she had offered to remove the spoil islands at her own expense. The spoil islands were considered a nuisance and even Dr. James Jackson, the physician for the Royal Palm Hotel and later the namesake for Jackson Memorial Hospital, declared the islands to be a menace to the health and welfare of the public. The islands were considered unsightly, difficult to navigate and possessing an unpleasant odor. Mary Brickell had intended to pump the spoil material of the islands into some low lying areas on her property. However, there was enough opposition to her proposal that it was not accepted.

The fate of the islands changed in 1916. By late spring, the Florida Internal Improvement Fund (FII), placed in ad to solicit bids for the land mass. Bids ranged from $10.10 to $3000 per acre for the five acre island. Mary Brickell’s bid was $750 for the entire parcel. Her bid was not the winning bid. On June 21st, 1916, the IIF trustees accepted the highest bid and ordered a deed to be issued to Mrs. M.R. Burlingame.

Mrs. Burlingame was a business woman who moved to Miami from Michigan. She was one of the few women to own an advertising agency at the time. Mrs. Burlingame was a big proponent of promoting Miami as a year round living destination. It was her intention to annex the smaller spoil island and to ultimately build her home on the combined islands. However, prior to the end of June in 1916, Mary Brickell filed suit to challenge the deed issued to Mrs. Burlingame.

The law suit filed by Mary Brickell was finally settled in 1918. The Florida Supreme Court declared in favor of Mrs. Burlingame and a deed was finally and officially issued. By 1920, Burlingame announced her intention to build a hotel or apartment house on the island. The island was referred to as Burlingame Island. In April of 1922, the War Department (later managed by the Army Corp of Engineers), issued a permit for a bulk head and fill of the five acre island. This work was scheduled to be complete by the end of 1922.

However, by 1924, nothing was ever developed on the island. It was eventually sold to E.J. Reed of Miami, who filed for a permit to fill a much larger, triangular-shaped island. There was no evidence that this permit was ever granted, but the request provided a preview to how future plans would influence the shape of today’s Claughton Island.

Through the remainder of the 1920s, not much had changed on Burlingame Island. There was no development and it was said that trees began taking over the topology. Some would say that the island belonged to the raccoons and rats. Ownership changed again in 1932 when R.P. Clark purchased the island. His dredging company was responsible for enlarging the island to 20.7 acres. Mr. Clark owned the island until January 1937.

In the late 1970s, Swire Properties bought most of the island from Claughton. Since then, the island has been built out with some of the tallest buildings in Miami, and the Mandarin Oriental, Miami hotel, mainly during the condo "Manhattanization" wave of the 2000s.

Credit for the data above is given to the following websites:

www.miami-history.com/p/brickell-key-on-claughton-island

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brickell_Key

© All Rights Reserved - you may not use this image in any form without my prior permission.

Dungeness is a headland on the coast of Kent, England, formed largely of a shingle beach in the form of a cuspate foreland. It shelters a large area of low-lying land, Romney Marsh. Dungeness is also the name of the power station and a few other nearby buildings near the beach, and of an important ecological site at the same location.

Dungeness is one of the largest expanses of shingle in the world. It is of international conservation importance for its geomorphology, plant and invertebrate communities and birdlife. This is recognised and protected mostly through its conservation designations as a National Nature Reserve (NNR), a Special Protection Area (SPA), a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and part of the Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) of Dungeness, Romney Marsh and Rye Bay.

There is a remarkable variety of wildlife living at Dungeness, with over 600 different types of plant: a third of all those found in Britain. It is one of the best places in Britain to find insects such as moths, bees and beetles, and spiders; many of these are very rare, some found nowhere else in Britain.

The short-haired bumblebee, Bombus subterraneus, was last found in the UK in 1988, but has survived in New Zealand after being shipped there more than 100 years ago. It is to be reintroduced at Dungeness. It is planned that the first bees will be introduced in the spring of 2010.

The flooded gravel pits on Denge Beach, both brackish and fresh water, provide an important refuge for many migratory and coastal bird species. The RSPB has a bird sanctuary there and every year thousands of bird watchers descend on the peninsula to catch a glimpse of a rare bird from the bird observatory.

One of the most remarkable features of the site is an area known as 'the patch' or, by anglers, as 'the boil'. The waste hot water and sewage from the Dungeness nuclear power stations are pumped into the sea through two outfall pipes, enriching the biological productivity of the sea bed and attracting seabirds from miles around.

Beach fishing is popular at Dungeness, with the area being a nationally recognised cod fishing venue in the winter.

The name Dungeness derives from Old Norse nes: "headland", with the first part probably connected with the nearby Denge Marsh. Popular etymology ascribes a French origin to the toponym, giving an interpretation as "dangerous nose".

Another year, another retrospective collage. I was highly motivated this year (largely due to my LEGO Twitch stream), and I had a lot of fun with the range of things I got to work on. With my cars, I got to greatly expand my color palette and incorporate some functional features like opening engine compartments, suspension, and adjustable rake. On the non-car front, I enjoyed branching out into some new themes and ideas.

I'm actually ending 2021 a bit disappointed. I have so many builds and designs that are basically near completion, that just need the pieces to build and complete them, but I'm having to leave so many of them unfinished due mostly to finances. A couple of my designs this year are quite large, and I just wasn't able to realize them quite yet. Hopefully my 2022 output should be pretty stacked, at least.

I didn't do any shows because of Covid, and I didn't pick up any magazine features or very many blog features. It was a very chill year compared to 2020 in that regard. Maybe 2022 will be a bit more bombastic. We'll see.

At the end of 2021, I am most happy with:

1. The Halloween builds, which were so fun and unique to design that they really stand out from the rest of what I made this year.

2. C3 Corvette, which is IMO my best 6-wide car to date.

3. The BCC back bar, a build I've wanted to do for at least a year or two, and had a couple failed attempts / false starts in the past, that just turned out right this time.

The biggest surprise so far was the 1940 GMC Pickup, which was by far my most popular model. I still don't even fully understand why (it is maybe my 5th or 6th favorite car I built this year, personally), but I'm truly appreciative that y'all liked it so much.

Have a great New Year, and I'll see you all in 2022!

Gray langurs, sacred langurs, Indian langurs or Hanuman langurs are a group of Old World monkeys native to the Indian subcontinent constituting the entirety of the genus Semnopithecus.

These langurs are largely gray (some more yellowish), with a black face and ears. Externally, the various species mainly differ in the darkness of the hands and feet, the overall color and the presence or absence of a crest. Typically all north Indian gray langurs have their tail tips looping towards their head during a casual walk whereas all south Indian and Sri Lankan gray langurs have an inverted "U" shape or a "S" tail carriage pattern. There are also significant variations in the size depending on the sex, with the male always larger than the female. The head-and-body length is from 51 to 79 cm (20 to 31 in). Their tails, at 69 to 102 cm (27 to 40 in) are never longer than their bodies. Langurs from the southern part of their range are smaller than those from the north. At 26.5 kg (58 lb), the heaviest langur ever recorded was a male Nepal gray langur. The larger gray langurs are rivals for the largest species of monkey found in Asia. The average weight of gray langurs is 18 kg (40 lb) in the males and 11 kg (24 lb) in the females.

Langurs mostly walk quadrupedally and spend half their time on the ground and the other half in the trees. They will also make bipedal hops, climbing and descending supports with the body upright, and leaps. Langurs can leap 3.6–4.7 m (12–15 ft) horizontally and 10.7–12.2 m (35–40 ft) in descending.

The entire distribution of all gray langur species stretches from the Himalayas in the north to Sri Lanka in the south, and from Bangladesh in the east to Pakistan in the west. They possibly occur in Afghanistan. The bulk of the gray langur distribution is within India, and all seven currently recognized species have at least a part of their range in this country.

Gray langurs can adapt to a variety of habitats.They inhabit arid habitats like deserts, tropical habitats like tropical rainforests and temperate habitats like coniferous forests, deciduous habitats and mountains habitats. They are found at sea level to altitudes up to 4,000 m (13,000 ft). They can adapt well to human settlements, and are found in villages, towns and areas with housing or agriculture.They live in densely populated cities like Jodhpur, which has a population numbering up to a million.

Gray langurs are diurnal. They sleep during the night in trees but also on man-made structures like towers and electric poles when in human settlements. When resting in trees, they generally prefer the highest branches.

Ungulates like bovine and deer will eat food dropped by foraging langurs.Langurs are preyed upon by leopards, dholes and tigers.Wolves, jackals, Asian black bears and pythons may also prey on them

Gray langurs are primarily herbivores. However, unlike some other colobines they do not depend on leaves and leaf buds of herbs, but will also eat coniferous needles and cones, fruits and fruit buds, evergreen petioles, shoots and roots, seeds, grass, bamboo, fern rhizomes, mosses, and lichens. Leaves of trees and shrubs rank at the top of preferred food, followed by herbs and grasses. Non-plant material consumed include spider webs, termite mounds and insect larvae.They forage on agricultural crops and other human foods, and even accept handouts. Although they occasionally drink, langurs get most of their water from the moisture in their food.

In one-male groups, the resident male is usually the sole breeder of the females and sires all the young. In multiple-male groups, the highest-ranking male fathers most of the offspring, followed by the next-ranking males and even outside males will father young. Higher-ranking females are more reproductively successful than lower-ranking ones.

Female gray langurs do not make it obvious that they are in estrous. However, males are still somehow able to reduce the reproduction state of females.Females signal that they are ready to mate by shuddering the head, lowering the tail, and presenting their anogenital regions. Such solicitations do not always lead to copulation. When langurs mate, they are sometimes disrupted by other group members. Females have even been recorded mounting other females.

The gestation period of gray langur lasts around 200 days, at least at Jodhpur, India. In some areas, reproduction is year-around. Year-round reproduction appears to occur in populations that capitalize on human-made foods. Other populations have seasonal reproduction.

Infanticide is common among gray langurs. Most infanticidal langurs are males that have recently immigrated to a group and driven out the prior male. These males only kill infants that are not their own.Infanticide is more commonly reported in one-male groups, perhaps because one male monopolizing matings drives the evolution of this trait. In multiple-male groups, the costs for infanticidal males are likely to be high as the other males may protect the infants and they can't ensure that they'll sire young with other males around. Nevertheless, infanticide does occur in these groups, and is suggested that such practices serve to return a female to estrous and gain the opportunity to mate.

Females usually give birth to a single infant, although twins do occur. Most births occur during the night. Infants are born with thin, dark brown or black hair and pale skin. Infants spend their first week attach themselves to their mothers' chests and mostly just suckle or sleep. They do not move much in terms of locomotion for the first two weeks of their life. As they approach their sixth week of life, infants vocalize more.They use squeaks and shrieks to communicate stress. In the following months, the infants are capable of quadrupedal locomotion and can walk, run and jump by the second and third months. Alloparenting occurs among langurs, starting when the infants reach two years of age. The infant will be given to the other females of the group. However, if the mother dies, the infant usually follows.Langurs are weaned by 13 months.

Brickell Key is largely regarded as paradise in the heart of Miami. It has come a long way from being an aggregation of discarded dredge material. Like so many islands found in Biscayne Bay, Brickell Key is a man-made creation.

When the Brickell's arrived at the south side of the Miami River in 1871, William Brickell built a home and trading post. The location of these buildings would later be referred to as Brickell Point. When the Brickell's looked east from their home, they saw nothing but bay water from Brickell Point to the peninsula that would later become Miami Beach. It wasn’t until Henry Flagler began to develop the city of Miami in 1896 that that view started to change. Flagler’s team removed a sand bar at the mouth of the Miami River. The team also used a dredge to deepen the river and bay adjacent to Flagler’s Royal Palm Hotel to create the first port of Miami.

The dredging of the Miami River was a point of contention for William Brickell. As part of the effort to deepen the Miami River, those that Flagler put in charge of dredging began to dump limestone and river silt along and just off the shore east of the Brickell property. It was the discard off the shoreline that began to create the first of two spoil islands.

During the dredging of the Miami Canal in 1912, the larger of two spoil islands ended up being expanded with additional river discard. The downstream dredge activity created a lot of free river silt that made its way to the mouth of the Miami River. This silt was then gathered and dumped in the area of the spoil islands. At this time, a smaller spoil island was forming to the southeast of the larger island. It was believed to have come from digging out a vessel that went aground on that spot.

By 1914, the widowed Mary Brickell was quite wealthy from land transactions. During the summer of that year, she had offered to remove the spoil islands at her own expense. The spoil islands were considered a nuisance and even Dr. James Jackson, the physician for the Royal Palm Hotel and later the namesake for Jackson Memorial Hospital, declared the islands to be a menace to the health and welfare of the public. The islands were considered unsightly, difficult to navigate and possessing an unpleasant odor. Mary Brickell had intended to pump the spoil material of the islands into some low lying areas on her property. However, there was enough opposition to her proposal that it was not accepted.

The fate of the islands changed in 1916. By late spring, the Florida Internal Improvement Fund (FII), placed in ad to solicit bids for the land mass. Bids ranged from $10.10 to $3000 per acre for the five acre island. Mary Brickell’s bid was $750 for the entire parcel. Her bid was not the winning bid. On June 21st, 1916, the IIF trustees accepted the highest bid and ordered a deed to be issued to Mrs. M.R. Burlingame.

Mrs. Burlingame was a business woman who moved to Miami from Michigan. She was one of the few women to own an advertising agency at the time. Mrs. Burlingame was a big proponent of promoting Miami as a year round living destination. It was her intention to annex the smaller spoil island and to ultimately build her home on the combined islands. However, prior to the end of June in 1916, Mary Brickell filed suit to challenge the deed issued to Mrs. Burlingame.

The law suit filed by Mary Brickell was finally settled in 1918. The Florida Supreme Court declared in favor of Mrs. Burlingame and a deed was finally and officially issued. By 1920, Burlingame announced her intention to build a hotel or apartment house on the island. The island was referred to as Burlingame Island. In April of 1922, the War Department (later managed by the Army Corp of Engineers), issued a permit for a bulk head and fill of the five acre island. This work was scheduled to be complete by the end of 1922.

However, by 1924, nothing was ever developed on the island. It was eventually sold to E.J. Reed of Miami, who filed for a permit to fill a much larger, triangular-shaped island. There was no evidence that this permit was ever granted, but the request provided a preview to how future plans would influence the shape of today’s Claughton Island.

Through the remainder of the 1920s, not much had changed on Burlingame Island. There was no development and it was said that trees began taking over the topology. Some would say that the island belonged to the raccoons and rats. Ownership changed again in 1932 when R.P. Clark purchased the island. His dredging company was responsible for enlarging the island to 20.7 acres. Mr. Clark owned the island until January 1937.

In the late 1970s, Swire Properties bought most of the island from Claughton. Since then, the island has been built out with some of the tallest buildings in Miami, and the Mandarin Oriental, Miami hotel, mainly during the condo "Manhattanization" wave of the 2000s.

Credit for the data above is given to the following websites:

www.miami-history.com/p/brickell-key-on-claughton-island

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brickell_Key

© All Rights Reserved - you may not use this image in any form without my prior permission.

Jaffa Port (Hebrew: נמל יפו‎, Nemal Yafo) is an ancient port on the Mediterranean Sea, located in the Old City of Jaffa, now Israel.

Jaffa and its port have a history spanning over three millennia.[citation needed] The port itself is mentioned in various ancient works, including the Hebrew Bible, such as the book of Jonah, and the works of Josephus describing Jewish history and the First Jewish Revolt against Rome. For over 7,000 years it has been actively used, predating Muslims, Christians, Jews, and even Egyptians.[citation needed] Still functional as a small fishing port, the port is currently a recreational zone featuring restaurants and cafés. A lighthouse, Jaffa Light, is located above the port.

In 1917, during World War I, British troops under General Allenby defeated the Ottomans and took Jaffa, which became part of the British-administered Palestine Mandate (1922–1948).[citation needed] In 1947 and 1948 there was sharp fighting between Jaffa, which was largely inhabited by Arabs, and the adjoining Jewish city of Tel Aviv. On 13 May 1948 (a day before the proclamation of the State of Israel), the Arab forces in Jaffa were defeated after long fighting with the Zionist underground Haganah and Irgun Zva'i Leumi forces. On 24 April 1950, the Jewish city of Tel Aviv and the Arab city of Jaffa were unified, and the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality was established.

Today,[when?] Arabs of various denominations constitute about 25,000 inhabitants out of a total of 35,000 people.[citation needed] Jaffa has an old fishing harbor, modern boat docks, and a tourism center.[1] Jaffa is a major tourist attraction with a combination of old, new and restored buildings.[2] Its visitor attractions include art galleries, souvenir shops, restaurants, sidewalk cafes, boardwalks, and shopping. It offers a variety of culture, entertainment and food (fish restaurants). The city is noted for its export of the Jaffa oranges.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaffa_Port

www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1Rbi5h9Osc

Brickell Key is largely regarded as paradise in the heart of Miami. It has come a long way from being an aggregation of discarded dredge material. Like so many islands found in Biscayne Bay, Brickell Key is a man-made creation.

When the Brickell's arrived at the south side of the Miami River in 1871, William Brickell built a home and trading post. The location of these buildings would later be referred to as Brickell Point. When the Brickell's looked east from their home, they saw nothing but bay water from Brickell Point to the peninsula that would later become Miami Beach. It wasn’t until Henry Flagler began to develop the city of Miami in 1896 that that view started to change. Flagler’s team removed a sand bar at the mouth of the Miami River. The team also used a dredge to deepen the river and bay adjacent to Flagler’s Royal Palm Hotel to create the first port of Miami.

The dredging of the Miami River was a point of contention for William Brickell. As part of the effort to deepen the Miami River, those that Flagler put in charge of dredging began to dump limestone and river silt along and just off the shore east of the Brickell property. It was the discard off the shoreline that began to create the first of two spoil islands.

During the dredging of the Miami Canal in 1912, the larger of two spoil islands ended up being expanded with additional river discard. The downstream dredge activity created a lot of free river silt that made its way to the mouth of the Miami River. This silt was then gathered and dumped in the area of the spoil islands. At this time, a smaller spoil island was forming to the southeast of the larger island. It was believed to have come from digging out a vessel that went aground on that spot.

By 1914, the widowed Mary Brickell was quite wealthy from land transactions. During the summer of that year, she had offered to remove the spoil islands at her own expense. The spoil islands were considered a nuisance and even Dr. James Jackson, the physician for the Royal Palm Hotel and later the namesake for Jackson Memorial Hospital, declared the islands to be a menace to the health and welfare of the public. The islands were considered unsightly, difficult to navigate and possessing an unpleasant odor. Mary Brickell had intended to pump the spoil material of the islands into some low lying areas on her property. However, there was enough opposition to her proposal that it was not accepted.

The fate of the islands changed in 1916. By late spring, the Florida Internal Improvement Fund (FII), placed in ad to solicit bids for the land mass. Bids ranged from $10.10 to $3000 per acre for the five acre island. Mary Brickell’s bid was $750 for the entire parcel. Her bid was not the winning bid. On June 21st, 1916, the IIF trustees accepted the highest bid and ordered a deed to be issued to Mrs. M.R. Burlingame.

Mrs. Burlingame was a business woman who moved to Miami from Michigan. She was one of the few women to own an advertising agency at the time. Mrs. Burlingame was a big proponent of promoting Miami as a year round living destination. It was her intention to annex the smaller spoil island and to ultimately build her home on the combined islands. However, prior to the end of June in 1916, Mary Brickell filed suit to challenge the deed issued to Mrs. Burlingame.

The law suit filed by Mary Brickell was finally settled in 1918. The Florida Supreme Court declared in favor of Mrs. Burlingame and a deed was finally and officially issued. By 1920, Burlingame announced her intention to build a hotel or apartment house on the island. The island was referred to as Burlingame Island. In April of 1922, the War Department (later managed by the Army Corp of Engineers), issued a permit for a bulk head and fill of the five acre island. This work was scheduled to be complete by the end of 1922.

However, by 1924, nothing was ever developed on the island. It was eventually sold to E.J. Reed of Miami, who filed for a permit to fill a much larger, triangular-shaped island. There was no evidence that this permit was ever granted, but the request provided a preview to how future plans would influence the shape of today’s Claughton Island.

Through the remainder of the 1920s, not much had changed on Burlingame Island. There was no development and it was said that trees began taking over the topology. Some would say that the island belonged to the raccoons and rats. Ownership changed again in 1932 when R.P. Clark purchased the island. His dredging company was responsible for enlarging the island to 20.7 acres. Mr. Clark owned the island until January 1937.

In the late 1970s, Swire Properties bought most of the island from Claughton. Since then, the island has been built out with some of the tallest buildings in Miami, and the Mandarin Oriental, Miami hotel, mainly during the condo "Manhattanization" wave of the 2000s.

Credit for the data above is given to the following websites:

www.miami-history.com/p/brickell-key-on-claughton-island

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brickell_Key

© All Rights Reserved - you may not use this image in any form without my prior permission.

Largely destroyed in the Blitz, the ruins are now a garden open to the public.

The aisled chancel was largely completed by 1180, and although Romanesque in its essentials - round arches, massive supports and thick walls, shows sign of the change to early Gothic. The original vaults were probably lost early on, in the great fire of 1190, but the present rather fussy fan vault (the arching vertical ribs and fans looking quite organic, like supporting tree ferns...or is that just me?) is much later dating to c1500.

Note: the date of c1500 has been recently revised. It is now believed it could be a century earlier with a date of around 1400, making it a precursor and inspiration for the exquisite stone vault of the Divinity School at the Bodleian and probably the earliest remaining English lierne pendant vault in the country.

Mission Space for one reason or another has been a ride I have largely ignored shooting over the years. I think the reason for that is mostly just because the pattern I've shot Epcot in has usually had this area closed off before I could get to it. Only when I started shooting in this area right before closing have I managed to get any shots. This time however, extra magic hours allowed me the opportunity to shoot the area while the park was still open. Sure there were still people walking around but there were so few I was able to get plenty of shots around this area. With the moon rising over Mission Space I ended up shooting various shots and angles around here for about 45 minutes! I shot a lot of telephoto shots which I will share later which I used to make the moon appear bigger in relation to Mission Space but going through my shots this ultra wide shot was the one that grabbed me to edit first off. At least now I will be able to fill out this hugely overlooked pavilion with various shots.

This was shot with the Nikon D810 and Nikon 14-24 2.8. It was a 5 shot bracket which I blended manually with luminosity masks using 3 exposures. I used my longest 30 second exposure as my base exposure and 2 other exposures, which I used for my sky and to fix highlights. I had some additional shots exposed just for the moon but at such an ultra wide angle the moon was too small and just looked kind of stupid. Thus I decided to edit it as a bright glowing moon burst instead and I think it goes well with the Mission Space theme of the shot.

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The Old Laclede Gas and Light Company Building built between 1911 & 1913 at 1017 Olive Street in St. Louis, Missouri was determined by the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) to be architecturally significant as a largely unaltered early 20th century skyscraper, particularly noteworthy for its commanding & graceful design achieved through subtle contrasts of colors and simply-stated classical & Renaissance forms. And, as much as the building presents thoroughgoing testimony concerning the architectural classicism of tradition-bound cities during the late 19th & early 20th centuries, the structure also yields important information concerning academicism in American architecture. The powerful treatment of the building's base & attic exterior areas with Renaissance-inspired & classicizing features concisely illustrates the academics' use of historically-derived features in an inventive, yet disciplined manner to achieve original designs that build upon, rather than replicate, historical precedent.

The building's local significance derives from its function as a crucial anchor at the western edge of the central business district and, on the strength of the colossal attic colonnade, its position as a landmark in the downtown skyline. Since the Old Laclede Gas and Light Company Building is confronted by sheathed historic structures at the other corners of North 11th & Olive Streets, it is one of the only reminders in the immediate vicinity of the time & place that was early 20th century St. Louis, a fact which greatly enhances its importance to the business district.

The Laclede Gas and Light Company, currently known as the Laclede Gas Company, received its charter as a public utility to engage in the retail distribution of natural gas and electric current from the State of Missouri on March 2, 1857. As was typical of inland utilities during the mid to late 1800's, the company was owned & controlled by eastern interests until its acquisition by local businessmen during the first decade of the 20th century. The publication before 1910 of W.C. Jenkins article, "Public Utility Methods That Win," includes plans by the new board of directors to construct a ten story office building, costing an estimated $750,000, at the northeast corner of North 11th & Olive Streets. The utility contracted architectural services for their headquarters to the St. Louis firm of Mauran, Russell and Crowell, a partnership of high repute. The Laclede Gas and Light Company commission was among the earliest secured by the firm, which succeeded Mauran, Russell and Garden (1900-09) & Mauran and Russell (1909-11).

Until 1957, office space in excess of Laclede Gas and Light Company's needs was tenanted to outside firms. The utility's continued growth resulted in the relocation of the Sales Department to a nearby office building in 1964 and the relocation of the entire company to a new, thirty story tower at North 8th & Olive Streets in 1969. Because of the long-standing association with the gas company and because the building has not taken on any new associations with recent occupants, the building retains strong ties to the St. Louis utility to this day. It was added to the NRHP on November 26, 1980. All of the information above was included in the original documents submitted for listing consideration and can be found here: catalog.archives.gov/id/63820503

Three bracketed photos were taken with a handheld Nikon D7200 and combined with Photomatix Pro to create this HDR image. Additional adjustments were made in Photoshop CS6.

"For I know the plans I have for you", declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." ~Jeremiah 29:11

The best way to view my photostream is through Flickriver with the following link: www.flickriver.com/photos/photojourney57/

Gray langurs, sacred langurs, Indian langurs or Hanuman langurs are a group of Old World monkeys native to the Indian subcontinent constituting the entirety of the genus Semnopithecus.

These langurs are largely gray (some more yellowish), with a black face and ears. Externally, the various species mainly differ in the darkness of the hands and feet, the overall color and the presence or absence of a crest. Typically all north Indian gray langurs have their tail tips looping towards their head during a casual walk whereas all south Indian and Sri Lankan gray langurs have an inverted "U" shape or a "S" tail carriage pattern. There are also significant variations in the size depending on the sex, with the male always larger than the female. The head-and-body length is from 51 to 79 cm (20 to 31 in). Their tails, at 69 to 102 cm (27 to 40 in) are never longer than their bodies. Langurs from the southern part of their range are smaller than those from the north. At 26.5 kg (58 lb), the heaviest langur ever recorded was a male Nepal gray langur. The larger gray langurs are rivals for the largest species of monkey found in Asia. The average weight of gray langurs is 18 kg (40 lb) in the males and 11 kg (24 lb) in the females.

Langurs mostly walk quadrupedally and spend half their time on the ground and the other half in the trees. They will also make bipedal hops, climbing and descending supports with the body upright, and leaps. Langurs can leap 3.6–4.7 m (12–15 ft) horizontally and 10.7–12.2 m (35–40 ft) in descending.

The entire distribution of all gray langur species stretches from the Himalayas in the north to Sri Lanka in the south, and from Bangladesh in the east to Pakistan in the west. They possibly occur in Afghanistan. The bulk of the gray langur distribution is within India, and all seven currently recognized species have at least a part of their range in this country.

Gray langurs can adapt to a variety of habitats.They inhabit arid habitats like deserts, tropical habitats like tropical rainforests and temperate habitats like coniferous forests, deciduous habitats and mountains habitats. They are found at sea level to altitudes up to 4,000 m (13,000 ft). They can adapt well to human settlements, and are found in villages, towns and areas with housing or agriculture.They live in densely populated cities like Jodhpur, which has a population numbering up to a million.

Gray langurs are diurnal. They sleep during the night in trees but also on man-made structures like towers and electric poles when in human settlements. When resting in trees, they generally prefer the highest branches.

Ungulates like bovine and deer will eat food dropped by foraging langurs.Langurs are preyed upon by leopards, dholes and tigers.Wolves, jackals, Asian black bears and pythons may also prey on them

Gray langurs are primarily herbivores. However, unlike some other colobines they do not depend on leaves and leaf buds of herbs, but will also eat coniferous needles and cones, fruits and fruit buds, evergreen petioles, shoots and roots, seeds, grass, bamboo, fern rhizomes, mosses, and lichens. Leaves of trees and shrubs rank at the top of preferred food, followed by herbs and grasses. Non-plant material consumed include spider webs, termite mounds and insect larvae.They forage on agricultural crops and other human foods, and even accept handouts. Although they occasionally drink, langurs get most of their water from the moisture in their food.

In one-male groups, the resident male is usually the sole breeder of the females and sires all the young. In multiple-male groups, the highest-ranking male fathers most of the offspring, followed by the next-ranking males and even outside males will father young. Higher-ranking females are more reproductively successful than lower-ranking ones.

Female gray langurs do not make it obvious that they are in estrous. However, males are still somehow able to reduce the reproduction state of females.Females signal that they are ready to mate by shuddering the head, lowering the tail, and presenting their anogenital regions. Such solicitations do not always lead to copulation. When langurs mate, they are sometimes disrupted by other group members. Females have even been recorded mounting other females.

The gestation period of gray langur lasts around 200 days, at least at Jodhpur, India. In some areas, reproduction is year-around. Year-round reproduction appears to occur in populations that capitalize on human-made foods. Other populations have seasonal reproduction.

Infanticide is common among gray langurs. Most infanticidal langurs are males that have recently immigrated to a group and driven out the prior male. These males only kill infants that are not their own.Infanticide is more commonly reported in one-male groups, perhaps because one male monopolizing matings drives the evolution of this trait. In multiple-male groups, the costs for infanticidal males are likely to be high as the other males may protect the infants and they can't ensure that they'll sire young with other males around. Nevertheless, infanticide does occur in these groups, and is suggested that such practices serve to return a female to estrous and gain the opportunity to mate.

Females usually give birth to a single infant, although twins do occur. Most births occur during the night. Infants are born with thin, dark brown or black hair and pale skin. Infants spend their first week attach themselves to their mothers' chests and mostly just suckle or sleep. They do not move much in terms of locomotion for the first two weeks of their life. As they approach their sixth week of life, infants vocalize more.They use squeaks and shrieks to communicate stress. In the following months, the infants are capable of quadrupedal locomotion and can walk, run and jump by the second and third months. Alloparenting occurs among langurs, starting when the infants reach two years of age. The infant will be given to the other females of the group. However, if the mother dies, the infant usually follows.Langurs are weaned by 13 months.

Viewed from Coliseum (Amphitheatrum Flavium) - UNESCO World Heritage Site

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en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_of_Venus_and_Roma

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12th-century Romanesque bell-tower attaches to Basilica di Santa Francesca Romana, largely 16thC and 17thC

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Left is Arch of Titus, c80 CE, on Via Sacra

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Foreground: Dinky Toys {°!°}

Nikon Nikkormat FT film SLR - Kodachrome slide E350 1970 - copied by Nikon D610 + Sigma 150mm 1:2.8 APO macro DG HSM 2020

DSC_1582 Anx2 slide E350 1400h Q90 Ap Q11 0.5k-3k f25