The BMW headquarters building is locally called "Vierzylinder" (meaning "four cylinders).

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

Bouvigne Castle, locally known as Kasteel Bouvigne, lies in a forest south of the city of Breda, in the province of North Brabant in the Netherlands.

Bouvigne Castle was first mentioned in 1554 as the property of a Jan van Brecht. It was described as a stately moated house. It had been built in 1548 by Jan to replace an older house. At that time it was called "Boeverie" or "Boeverijen" and was used as a farm. In the remainder of the 16th century the castle was enlarged until it got its present appearance.

More info at: Castles.nl

Thanks for all the nice comments, it is much appreciated

Please don't use this image on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit written permission.copyright all rights reserved.

Regards, Bram van Broekhoven (BraCom)

My Website | Facebook | Instagram

Taken locally on our walks!

Chiffchaff - Phylloscopus collybita

The common chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita), or simply the chiffchaff, is a common and widespread leaf warbler which breeds in open woodlands throughout northern and temperate Europe and Asia.

It is a migratory passerine which winters in southern and western Europe, southern Asia and north Africa. Greenish-brown above and off-white below, it is named onomatopoeically for its simple chiff-chaff song. It has a number of subspecies, some of which are now treated as full species.

This warbler gets its name from its simple distinctive song, a repetitive cheerful chiff-chaff. This song is one of the first avian signs that spring has returned. Its call is a hweet, less disyllabic than the hooeet of the willow warbler or hu-it of the western Bonelli's warbler.

The common chiffchaff breeds across Europe and Asia east to eastern Siberia and north to about 70°N, with isolated populations in northwest Africa, northern and western Turkey and northwestern Iran. It is migratory, but it is one of the first passerine birds to return to its breeding areas in the spring and among the last to leave in late autumn. When breeding, it is a bird of open woodlands with some taller trees and ground cover for nesting purposes. These trees are typically at least 5 metres (16 ft) high, with undergrowth that is an open, poor to medium mix of grasses, bracken, nettles or similar plants. Its breeding habitat is quite specific, and even near relatives do not share it; for example, the willow warbler (P. trochilus) prefers younger trees, while the wood warbler (P. sibilatrix) prefers less undergrowth. In winter, the common chiffchaff uses a wider range of habitats including scrub, and is not so dependent on trees. It is often found near water, unlike the willow warbler which tolerates drier habitats. There is an increasing tendency to winter in western Europe well north of the traditional areas, especially in coastal southern England and the mild urban microclimate of London. These overwintering common chiffchaffs include some visitors of the eastern subspecies abietinus and tristis, so they are certainly not all birds which have bred locally, although some undoubtedly are.

Population:

UK breeding:

1,200,000 territories

UK wintering:

500-1,000 birds

The BMW corporate HQ building as seen from the Olympiaturm.

The BMW headquarters building is locally called "Vierzylinder" (meaning "four cylinders).

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

Easter Island, is Chilean territory, known locally in Spanish as Isla de Pascua. It's one of the remotest inhabited islands in the world and now has around 6000 residents, 60 percent are descendants of the aboriginal Rapa Nui. At the end of the 19th Century the population was just a little over 100, down from an estimated 15000 a few centuries earlier.

The nearest inhabited island is over 1200 miles away, Pitcairn, where the mutineers from HMS Bounty settled, it has only 50 residents, most of whom are descended from Fletcher Christian and his men. Anyway enough about Pitcairn, I would love to have went there, but alas we had to get back to Peru, where Machu Picchu had only just reopened to the public after extensive flooding and landslides. Anyway enough about Peru.

If you have the time or the inclination, Easter Island is a must see if you are in New Zealand or Chile, the only places from which direct flights were available at time of my limited research. Given the cost of the average package holiday, money is not a real barrier. However, the place is not exactly teaming with hotels and restaurants, but locals await every flight at arrivals, advertising their properties and live-in facilities,and this is how most travellers choose where to stay. We shared a place by the sea overlooking the South Pacific, enough said, really. Never seen anything quite like it to be honest. A real photographer would feast on a thousand and one photo opportunities here. The volcanic crater, in the south west,and the black volcanic rock coastline, are at least as spectacular, in terms of nature, as many of the 900 statues are, in terms of culture. Unfortunately, I travelled with a camera that cost £9.99 from Boots the Chemist, which was a big mistake, But the location is such that even I managed to get some good shots.

Apologies in advance for the longevity of this prose. If you persevered, I commend you, for your interest and your patience ;-)

Thanks and All the Best.

Locally Olympia-Einkaufszentrum is known as OEZ - above the Munich U-Bahn station is a shopping mall of the same name

Locally known as the Niagara of the West. The 63 meter (212 feet) drop of the Snake River is 14 m (45 feet) higher than Niagara Falls

Hernen Castle, locally known as Kasteel Hernen, lies in the village with the same name, in the Gelderland province in the Netherlands.

Hernen Castle started out as a tower house probably in the 14th century, because the Lords of Hernen were first mentioned in a document in 1247. This tower-house stood at the southeast corner of a rectangular bailey. The defence wall of the bailey was some 2,5 meters thick and had three corners towers beside the tower-house. This defence wall was equipped with crenellations, arrow loops, a wall walk on arches and a moat circling the castle.

With the passing of time the need arose for more room for servants, soldiers and new family members. Therefore several buildings were built against the inside of the defence wall of the bailey, thus reducing the size of the bailey. The arches supporting the wall walk however can still be seen in some of the rooms. Hernen Castle has a covered wall walk which makes it unique in the Netherlands.

In 1682 the castle was auctioned and became the property of a Philip Hendrik van Steenhuys. Later the castle went to the families De Béthune and D'Ennetieres. These families from the Southern Netherlands (present-day Belgium) weren't very interested in their castle in Hernen and almost never visited it so they didn't modernize the castle. This saved its medieval appearance although the moat at the eastern side of the castle was filled in.

The great tower-house however which formed the origin of Hernen Castle is now gone. It was still standing at the beginning of the 19th century, but when the first pictures of Hernen Castle were taken about 1890 it was gone. What happened to it is recorded nowhere. Probably it collapsed during a winter storm due to the fact that its late-medieval occupants had cut out the walls from the inside to gain space and so had weakened the walls of the structure.

A locally migratory Bee-Eater species and one of the bigger bee-eaters we have in the country. These are resident birds in the country, but locally migratory with movements aligned to availability of water. They usually are seen during the end of rainy season and onset of winter in our region near and around the edges of water bodies.

They are sighted on the greenery surrounding the lakes, perched on the bushes and trees nearby. This summer, we have some unusually heavy rains and due to that, we are still seeing them here and there. Though the numbers are quite less, sightings are regular - the lakes are full again and that maybe the reason.

Thanks in advance for your views and feedback.

Kaba volcano (locally known as Bukit Kaba or Gunung Kaba), a beautiful and natural panorama with moderate temperature, offers some of very inspiring mountain experiences for those who love trekking or mountain climbing to catch a view of a unique and spectacular sulfuric crater. Read more virtualadrian.blogspot.com/2013/03/bukit-kaba-beautiful-v... #gunungkaba #bukitkaba #hiking #LetsGuide

A locally migratory Bee-Eater species and one which are a tad large than many other types of Bee-Eaters. I find these quite beautiful and love to shoot them, but it was hard to find them this season due to heavy rains. These are resident birds in the country, but locally migratory with movements aligned to availability of water. They usually are seen during the end of rainy season and onset of winter in our region near and around the edges of water bodies.

When the lakes are full, they do come and perch on the tall trees nearby. This perching behaviour easily differentiates the common green bee eater vs this bird. Additionally they have beautiful blue tail from which they get their name. I sighted this on a dry tree above a lake from where they were hunting.

Thanks in advance for your views and feedback.

The curlew is a bird which is highly skilled in avoiding yours truly.

So it was a nice surprise to get a very close encounter.

Numbers of this stunning bird are sadly on the decline, so it was nice to see them doing well locally.

Curlew - Numenius

Yorkshire Dales

Many thanks as always to all those who stop by and are kind enough to comment on or fave my photos. It is sincerely appreciated and welcome.

DSC_1773

Oude Loo Castle, locally known as Kasteel het Oude Loo, lies in the gardens behind the 17th century Royal Loo Palace, in Apeldoorn, in the province of Gelderland in the Netherlands.

In the name Oude Loo Castle, Oude translates to 'old' and Loo meant 'forest on sandy soil'.

Oude Loo Castle started out as a farm in the early 15th century, probably built by an Udo Taholt. Later that century it was owned by a Gerrit van Rijswijk who probably fortified the farm.

Later it came into the possession of the Bentinck family. Johan Bentinck rebuilt the castle around 1538-40 into the moated castle we see today. It was rebuilt in an U-shape when residential wings were built against the older front with the round corner towers. In those days it was used as a hunting lodge by Karel, Duke of Gelre.

In 1684 Prince William III, Stadtholder of Holland and Zeeland acquired the castle. He also used it as a hunting lodge. But because the castle soon became too small for his hunting parties he built the Loo Palace at a short distance in 1686-88.

In 1795, when the French occupied Holland, the castle was used as a military hospital and the castle fell into neglect.

In 1806 Napoleon Bonaparte appointed his brother Louis Napoleon as King of The Netherlands. Louis resided in the castle during summers. He filled up the moat around the castle because in his youth it was predicted that he would die by drowning.

In 1904 Queen Wilhelmina of Orange ordered the restoration of the castle. This was done by the famous Dutch architect dr. PJH. Cuypers who also built the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and rebuilt De Haar Castle. Also in the 1950's and 1960's restoration works were carried out. The castle is now the private property of the Dutch Royal family who use it at a regular basis. The castle itself is not accessible but the grounds surrounding it are, during April and May.

Known locally as Darwen Tower, Darwen, Lancashire

The octagonal Jubilee Tower is situated on Darwen Hill overlooking the town of Darwen in Lancashire,

It was completed in 1898 to commemorate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee and also to celebrate the victory of the local people for the right to access the moor.

More recently ii has been fully restored and will hopefully be standing overlooking Darwen for years to come.

Rhoon Castle, locally known as Kasteel van Rhoon, lies in the village with the same name, in the province of South Holland in the Netherlands.

Little is known about the history of Rhoon Castle. The present day castle mainly dates from the 16th century.

On the site of Rhoon Castle has stood a real castle which was probably founded in the 13th century by a man called Biggo. This Biggo probably came from the province of Zeeland. He had bought the land in 1199 from Dirk VII, Count of Holland. Because Biggo had to get permission from the Count for building a castle it is concluded that he wasn't a knight or a nobleman. What his exact status was, isn't known only that he was wealthy. How his castle looked isn't known either.

Biggo's descendants owned Rhoon Castle and the surrounding lands until 1683 but had to cope with several floods during their lifetimes which drowned their lands. In 1489 the village and the castle were ransacked by the Cods. And again in 1572 the Sea Beggars set fire to the castle.

The old castle was repaired repeatedly but these repairs more and more turned into rebuilding the castle. The last and greatest rebuilding took place in 1598 and all its defensive features were replaced by more a friendly appearance.

In the following centuries Rhoon Castle had a lot of wealthy and less wealthy owners and it was used as a court. From 1683 on the castle housed no permanent residents. It's owners just used it for a few days each year. In 1913 it's last owner died and the castle became property of a trading-firm.

Since 1969 the castle is owned by the Rhoon Castle Foundation who restored the complete building. The castle and it's outbuildings now serve a variety of cultural functions such as a restaurant and as a center for exhibitions, music and poetry performances and weddings.

Little Egret - Egretta garzetta

The little egret (Egretta garzetta) is a species of small heron in the family Ardeidae. The genus name comes from the Provençal French Aigrette, egret a diminutive of Aigron, heron. The species epithet garzetta is from the Italian name for this bird, garzetta or sgarzetta.

It is a white bird with a slender black beak, long black legs and, in the western race, yellow feet. As an aquatic bird, it feeds in shallow water and on land, consuming a variety of small creatures. It breeds colonially, often with other species of water birds, making a platform nest of sticks in a tree, bush or reed bed. A clutch of bluish-green eggs is laid and incubated by both parents. The young fledge at about six weeks of age.

Its breeding distribution is in wetlands in warm temperate to tropical parts of Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia. A successful colonist, its range has gradually expanded north, with stable and self-sustaining populations now present in the United Kingdom.

It first appeared in the UK in significant numbers in 1989 and first bred in Dorset in 1996

In warmer locations, most birds are permanent residents; northern populations, including many European birds, migrate to Africa and southern Asia to over-winter there. The birds may also wander north in late summer after the breeding season, and their tendency to disperse may have assisted in the recent expansion of the bird's range. At one time common in Western Europe, it was hunted extensively in the 19th century to provide plumes for the decoration of hats and became locally extinct in northwestern Europe and scarce in the south. Around 1950, conservation laws were introduced in southern Europe to protect the species and their numbers began to increase. By the beginning of the 21st century the bird was breeding again in France, the Netherlands, Ireland and Britain. It has also begun to colonise the New World; it was first seen in Barbados in 1954 and first bred there in 1994. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed the bird's global conservation status as being of least concern..

Oude Loo Castle, locally known as Kasteel het Oude Loo, lies in the gardens behind the 17th century Royal Loo Palace, in Apeldoorn, in the province of Gelderland in the Netherlands.

In the name Oude Loo Castle, Oude translates to 'old' and Loo meant 'forest on sandy soil'.

Oude Loo Castle started out as a farm in the early 15th century, probably built by an Udo Taholt. Later that century it was owned by a Gerrit van Rijswijk who probably fortified the farm.

Later it came into the possession of the Bentinck family. Johan Bentinck rebuilt the castle around 1538-40 into the moated castle we see today. It was rebuilt in an U-shape when residential wings were built against the older front with the round corner towers. In those days it was used as a hunting lodge by Karel, Duke of Gelre.

In 1684 Prince William III, Stadtholder of Holland and Zeeland acquired the castle. He also used it as a hunting lodge. But because the castle soon became too small for his hunting parties he built the Loo Palace at a short distance in 1686-88.

In 1795, when the French occupied Holland, the castle was used as a military hospital and the castle fell into neglect.

In 1806 Napoleon Bonaparte appointed his brother Louis Napoleon as King of The Netherlands. Louis resided in the castle during summers. He filled up the moat around the castle because in his youth it was predicted that he would die by drowning.

In 1904 Queen Wilhelmina of Orange ordered the restoration of the castle. This was done by the famous Dutch architect dr. PJH. Cuypers who also built the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and rebuilt De Haar Castle. Also in the 1950's and 1960's restoration works were carried out. The castle is now the private property of the Dutch Royal family who use it at a regular basis. The castle itself is not accessible but the grounds surrounding it are, during April and May.

Known locally as "Whalley Arches", Whalley Viaduct is a 48-span railway bridge crossing the River Calder. It is a listed structure . It was built between 1846 and 1850 under the engineering supervision of Terrence Wolfe Flanagan and formed part of the Bolton, Blackburn, Clitheroe and West Yorkshire Railway.

Altiplano Leste - DF, Brazil.

Known locally as "ui-pi".

The species is an insectivore which is difficult to see as it forages deep in thickets, but may be located by its buzzy repetitive song.

It can be found in Bolivia, Brazil, and Paraguay.

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Aves

Order: Passeriformes

Suborder: Tyranni

Family: Furnariidae

Subfamily: Furnariinae

Tribe: Synallaxini

Genus: Synallaxis Vieillot, 1818

Species: S. albescens Temminck, 1823

Binomial name: Synallaxis albescens

Hernen Castle, locally known as Kasteel Hernen, lies in the village with the same name, in the Gelderland province in the Netherlands.

Hernen Castle started out as a tower house probably in the 14th century, because the Lords of Hernen were first mentioned in a document in 1247. This tower-house stood at the southeast corner of a rectangular bailey. The defence wall of the bailey was some 2,5 meters thick and had three corners towers beside the tower-house. This defence wall was equipped with crenellations, arrow loops, a wall walk on arches and a moat circling the castle.

With the passing of time the need arose for more room for servants, soldiers and new family members. Therefore several buildings were built against the inside of the defence wall of the bailey, thus reducing the size of the bailey. The arches supporting the wall walk however can still be seen in some of the rooms. Hernen Castle has a covered wall walk which makes it unique in the Netherlands.

In 1682 the castle was auctioned and became the property of a Philip Hendrik van Steenhuys. Later the castle went to the families De Béthune and D'Ennetieres. These families from the Southern Netherlands (present-day Belgium) weren't very interested in their castle in Hernen and almost never visited it so they didn't modernize the castle. This saved its medieval appearance although the moat at the eastern side of the castle was filled in.

The great tower-house however which formed the origin of Hernen Castle is now gone. It was still standing at the beginning of the 19th century, but when the first pictures of Hernen Castle were taken about 1890 it was gone. What happened to it is recorded nowhere. Probably it collapsed during a winter storm due to the fact that its late-medieval occupants had cut out the walls from the inside to gain space and so had weakened the walls of the structure.

Hernen Castle, locally known as Kasteel Hernen, lies in the village with the same name, in the Gelderland province in the Netherlands.

Hernen Castle started out as a tower house probably in the 14th century, because the Lords of Hernen were first mentioned in a document in 1247. This tower-house stood at the southeast corner of a rectangular bailey. The defence wall of the bailey was some 2,5 meters thick and had three corners towers beside the tower-house. This defence wall was equipped with crenellations, arrow loops, a wall walk on arches and a moat circling the castle.

With the passing of time the need arose for more room for servants, soldiers and new family members. Therefore several buildings were built against the inside of the defence wall of the bailey, thus reducing the size of the bailey. The arches supporting the wall walk however can still be seen in some of the rooms. Hernen Castle has a covered wall walk which makes it unique in the Netherlands.

In 1682 the castle was auctioned and became the property of a Philip Hendrik van Steenhuys. Later the castle went to the families De Béthune and D'Ennetieres. These families from the Southern Netherlands (present-day Belgium) weren't very interested in their castle in Hernen and almost never visited it so they didn't modernize the castle. This saved its medieval appearance although the moat at the eastern side of the castle was filled in.

The great tower-house however which formed the origin of Hernen Castle is now gone. It was still standing at the beginning of the 19th century, but when the first pictures of Hernen Castle were taken about 1890 it was gone. What happened to it is recorded nowhere. Probably it collapsed during a winter storm due to the fact that its late-medieval occupants had cut out the walls from the inside to gain space and so had weakened the walls of the structure.

This young fox is part of a five-pup litter born in the neighborhood this spring. Most of the foxes have moved back to stealth mode but we see a youngster once in a while when they want their photo taken. They are growing up.

McLean, Virginia

Lovely to see this Barn Owl again despite the poor light conditions, I live locally now so I will be spending a lot more time watching this beauty throughout the summer.

Found locally - I took several shot and then he flew up to this branch where I caught the light and a clearer view. For once I got luck and a well lit clear view. Still have not caught this one in flight - the tree branches usually cause me to lose it.

Locally known as Nubble Light. It is situated on Nubble Island off York, Me.

I do love that rocky coast!!

More info: www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=548

Explore #5

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

de/from Wikipedia:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torre_Eiffel

La torre Eiffel (tour Eiffel, en francés), inicialmente llamada tour de 300 mètres (torre de 300 metros), es una estructura de hierro pudelado diseñada por los ingenieros Maurice Koechlin y Émile Nouguier, dotada de su aspecto definitivo por el arquitecto Stephen Sauvestre y construida por el ingeniero francés Alexandre Gustave Eiffel y sus colaboradores para la Exposición Universal de 1889 en París.

Situada en el extremo del Campo de Marte a la orilla del río Sena, este monumento parisino, símbolo de Francia y de su capital, es la estructura más alta de la ciudad y el monumento que cobra entrada más visitado del mundo, con 7,1 millones de turistas cada año.5​ Con una altura de 300 metros, prolongada más tarde con una antena hasta los 324 metros, la torre Eiffel fue la estructura más elevada del mundo durante 41 años.

Fue construida en dos años, dos meses y cinco días, y en su momento generó cierta controversia entre los artistas de la época, que la veían como un monstruo de hierro.​ Tras finalizar su función como parte de las Exposiciones Universales de 1889 y 1900, fue utilizada en pruebas del ejército francés con antenas de comunicación,​ y hoy en día sirve, además de atractivo turístico, como emisora de programas radiofónicos y televisivos.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eiffel_Tower

The Eiffel Tower (/ˈaɪfəl/ EYE-fəl; French: tour Eiffel [tuʁ‿ɛfɛl] (About this soundlisten)) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower.

Locally nicknamed La dame de fer" (French for Iron Lady), it was constructed from 1887 to 1889 as the entrance to the 1889 World's Fair and was initially criticised by some of France's leading artists and intellectuals for its design, but it has become a global cultural icon of France and one of the most recognisable structures in the world. The Eiffel Tower is the most-visited paid monument in the world; 6.91 million people ascended it in 2015.

The tower is 324 metres (1,063 ft) tall, about the same height as an 81-storey building, and the tallest structure in Paris. Its base is square, measuring 125 metres (410 ft) on each side. During its construction, the Eiffel Tower surpassed the Washington Monument to become the tallest man-made structure in the world, a title it held for 41 years until the Chrysler Building in New York City was finished in 1930. It was the first structure in the world to surpass both the 200 meter and 300 meter mark in height. Due to the addition of a broadcasting aerial at the top of the tower in 1957, it is now taller than the Chrysler Building by 5.2 metres (17 ft). Excluding transmitters, the Eiffel Tower is the second tallest free-standing structure in France after the Millau Viaduct.

The tower has three levels for visitors, with restaurants on the first and second levels. The top level's upper platform is 276 m (906 ft) above the ground – the highest observation deck accessible to the public in the European Union. Tickets can be purchased to ascend by stairs or lift to the first and second levels. The climb from ground level to the first level is over 300 steps, as is the climb from the first level to the second. Although there is a staircase to the top level, it is usually accessible only by lift.

The San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge (known locally as the Bay Bridge) is a complex of bridges spanning San Francisco Bay of the U.S. state of California. As part of Interstate 80 and the direct road route between San Francisco and Oakland, it carries approximately 240,000 vehicles per day on its two decks. It has one of the longest spans in the world.

The toll bridge was conceived as early as the gold rush days, but construction did not begin until 1933. Designed by Charles H. Purcell, and built by American Bridge Company, it opened for traffic on November 12, 1936, six months before the Golden Gate Bridge. It originally carried automobile traffic on its upper deck, and trucks and trains on the lower, but after the closure of the Key System transit lines, the lower deck was converted to road traffic as well. In 1986, the bridge was unofficially dedicated to James B. Rolph.

The bridge consists of two sections of roughly equal length; the older western section connects downtown San Francisco to Yerba Buena Island and the newer eastern section connects the island to Oakland. The western section is a double suspension bridge. Originally, the largest span of the original eastern half was a cantilever bridge. During the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, a section of the eastern section's upper deck collapsed onto the lower deck and the bridge was closed for a month. Reconstruction of the eastern section of the bridge as a causeway connected to a self-anchored suspension bridge began in 2002; the new bridge opened September 2, 2013 at a reported cost of over $6.5 billion and is currently the world's widest bridge, according to Guinness World Records.

Perth Bridge (also known as Smeaton's Bridge, locally, the Old Bridge, and in the local dialect of Scots, the Auld Brig) is a toll-free bridge in the city of Perth, Scotland. A Category A listed structure, it spans the River Tay, connecting Perth, on the western side of the river, to Bridgend, on its eastern side, carrying both automotive and pedestrian traffic of West Bridge Street (the A85). An earlier bridge was demolished at the same location in 1621 (its location marked by a stone tablet at the bottom of the High Street), and many unsuccessful attempts were made to replace it. A subscription was started by James VI and several noblemen to help with the construction cost, but the king's death in 1625 suspended the scheme and a series of ferryboats were instead used.

The replacement bridge was completed in October 1771, which places it in the Georgian era (George Street, which leads up to the bridge from the city, was built at the same time);[6] however, its plaque states the year in which construction began, 1766, as its "built" date. The engineer of its construction was John Smeaton, after whom the bridge is colloquially named.

Funded by Thomas Hay, 9th Earl of Kinnoull, the government, and public subscription, the bridge was put to the test three years after its completion. In February 1774, during a quick thaw, broken ice became wedged under the arches and created a natural dam. Large sections of Perth, including both of its Inches, were flooded. The bridge, however, stood firm. It has survived many subsequent floods, and marks documenting these levels are visible on one of its piers.

An increase in traffic resulted in the bridge being widened in 1869 by A.D. Stewart. Its stone parapets were removed, and footpaths projected over iron brackets.

Known locally as "Whalley Arches", Whalley Viaduct is a 48 span railway bridge crossing the River Calder and a listed structure.

It was built between 1846 and 1850 under the engineering supervision of Terrence Wolfe Flanagan and formed part of the Bolton, Blackburn, Clitheroe and West Yorkshire Railway. It is a red brick arch structure and the longest and largest railway viaduct in Lancashire.[4] It carries the railway, now known as the Ribble Valley Line, 21.3m over the river for 620m.

Whalley Arches, east side, from the road

Over 7 million bricks and 12,338 cubic metres of stone were used in construction. 3,000m of timber were used for the arch centring, temporary platforms and the permanent foundation piles. During construction on 6 October 1849, two of the 41 arches then completed collapsed, with the loss of three lives.

The east side of the bridge, nearest the remains of the Abbey, has the only decorative treatment

Platalea ajaja. In the United States, the species is locally common in Texas, Florida, and southwest Louisiana. Resoft County Park, Alvin, Texas.

More Rain it has been very wet last few weeks, a tropical storm came in along the coast and has dumped a lot of water locally, archive photograph.

Southamptom, Port

Pima County, Arizona.

Seen growing locally on a Nature Reserve .

Hernen Castle, locally known as Kasteel Hernen, lies in the village with the same name, in the Gelderland province in the Netherlands.

Hernen Castle started out as a tower house probably in the 14th century, because the Lords of Hernen were first mentioned in a document in 1247. This tower-house stood at the southeast corner of a rectangular bailey. The defence wall of the bailey was some 2,5 meters thick and had three corners towers beside the tower-house. This defence wall was equipped with crenellations, arrow loops, a wall walk on arches and a moat circling the castle.

With the passing of time the need arose for more room for servants, soldiers and new family members. Therefore several buildings were built against the inside of the defence wall of the bailey, thus reducing the size of the bailey. The arches supporting the wall walk however can still be seen in some of the rooms. Hernen Castle has a covered wall walk which makes it unique in the Netherlands.

In 1682 the castle was auctioned and became the property of a Philip Hendrik van Steenhuys. Later the castle went to the families De Béthune and D'Ennetieres. These families from the Southern Netherlands (present-day Belgium) weren't very interested in their castle in Hernen and almost never visited it so they didn't modernize the castle. This saved its medieval appearance although the moat at the eastern side of the castle was filled in.

The great tower-house however which formed the origin of Hernen Castle is now gone. It was still standing at the beginning of the 19th century, but when the first pictures of Hernen Castle were taken about 1890 it was gone. What happened to it is recorded nowhere. Probably it collapsed during a winter storm due to the fact that its late-medieval occupants had cut out the walls from the inside to gain space and so had weakened the walls of the structure.

Sonoran Desert, Pima County, Arizona.

The Lahore Fort, locally referred to as Shahi Qila (Urdu: شاهی قلعہ) is citadel of the city of Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It is located in the northwestern corner of the Walled City of Lahore. The trapezoidal composition is spread over 20 hectares.

Origins of the fort go as far back as antiquity, however, the existing base structure was built during the reign of Mughal emperor Akbar (1556–1605), and was regularly upgraded by subsequent rulers, having thirteen gates in all.[1] Thus the fort manifests the rich traditions of Mughal architecture.[2] Some of the famous sites inside the fort include: Sheesh Mahal, Alamgiri Gate, Naulakha pavilion, and Moti Masjid. In 1981, the fort was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site along with the Shalimar Gardens (Lahore).

DF, Brazil.

The species is known locally as "maria-cavaleira-de-rabo-enferrujado".

The genus Myiarchus has 22 species of birds in the family Tyrannidae. Most of them are very similar looking and are dificult to identify when their ranges overlap. In this case it's much easier to separate by voice than plumage.

Birds in the genus are fairly large compared to others tyrant-flycatchers, at 16–23 cm (6.3–9 in) long. They are essentially partially crested with a brown to gray back and head, a rufous to blackish tail and yellow to pale belly.

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Aves

Order: Passeriformes

Suborder: Tyranni

Family: Tyrannidae

Subfamily: Tyranninae

Genus: Myiarchus Cabanis, 1844

Species: M. ferox (Gmelin, 1789)

Binomial name: Myiarchus ferox

Henkenshage Castle, locally known as Kasteel Henkenshage, lies in the village of Sint-Oedenrode, in the North Brabant province in the Netherlands.

Henkenshage may look like a medieval castle but it is not. Although it was built during the 14th century under the name Hanekenshage it was just a simple building. During the 15th century it was also known under the name Strijpe or Streepen.

In 1748 Henkenshage Castle was sold to Willem, Baron of Haren. In 1801 it was fitted as a convent for Augustinian nuns.

Around 1850 the castle was bought by Pieter J. de Girard de Mielet van Coehoorn. At that time the castle was still a simple manor with no stories. He had the castle rebuilt by the famous Dutch architect PJH. Cuypers, who also rebuilt De Haar Castle and built the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. Cuypers built the two towers, added a story, replaced the main entrance to the house from the south to the north side and built the gate building.

In 1940 Henkenshage came into possession of the local government. During WWII it was used as a distribution office and during the liberation in 1944 it was the headquarters of the 101st Airborne Division.

At present the castle is used by a catering company and can not be visited. So, although Henkenshage Castle is not a real medieval castle, I think it has a lot of atmosphere.

Kaba volcano (locally known as Bukit Kaba), a beautiful and natural panorama with moderate temperature, for those who love trekking or mountain climbing to catch a view of a unique and spectacular sulfuric crater. Read more at virtualadrian.blogspot.com/2013/03/bukit-kaba-beautiful-v...

Location: Rejang Lebong district, Bengkulu province, Indonesia

Borrekens Castle, locally known as Kasteel de Borrekens, lies in the forest just north-east of the town of Vorselaar, in the province of Antwerp in the Flemish region in Belgium. It's also known as Vorselaer Castle.

Borrekens Castle was built around 1270 by a member of the Van Rotselaar family who were stewards of the Dukes of Brabant. They built this square water castle in a swampy area, close to the road Antwerp-Turnhout which was probably a part of the trade route to Cologne in Germany. It is built out of white Vilvoorde sandstone.

In 1898 the De Borrekens family became owner of the castle through marriage. They gave their name to the castle and still own it. I don't know if they actually live there.

The castle farm on the bailey dates back to 1686 but was rebuilt after a fire in 1920.

Borrekens Castle is private property so it can't be visited. You can however walk through the forest following the moat.

Hernen Castle, locally known as Kasteel Hernen, lies in the village with the same name, in the Gelderland province in the Netherlands.

Hernen Castle started out as a tower house probably in the 14th century, because the Lords of Hernen were first mentioned in a document in 1247. This tower-house stood at the southeast corner of a rectangular bailey. The defence wall of the bailey was some 2,5 meters thick and had three corners towers beside the tower-house. This defence wall was equipped with crenellations, arrow loops, a wall walk on arches and a moat circling the castle.

With the passing of time the need arose for more room for servants, soldiers and new family members. Therefore several buildings were built against the inside of the defence wall of the bailey, thus reducing the size of the bailey. The arches supporting the wall walk however can still be seen in some of the rooms. Hernen Castle has a covered wall walk which makes it unique in the Netherlands.

In 1682 the castle was auctioned and became the property of a Philip Hendrik van Steenhuys. Later the castle went to the families De Béthune and D'Ennetieres. These families from the Southern Netherlands (present-day Belgium) weren't very interested in their castle in Hernen and almost never visited it so they didn't modernize the castle. This saved its medieval appearance although the moat at the eastern side of the castle was filled in.

The great tower-house however which formed the origin of Hernen Castle is now gone. It was still standing at the beginning of the 19th century, but when the first pictures of Hernen Castle were taken about 1890 it was gone. What happened to it is recorded nowhere. Probably it collapsed during a winter storm due to the fact that its late-medieval occupants had cut out the walls from the inside to gain space and so had weakened the walls of the structure.

Morfa Bychan, known locally as Black Rock Sands, is a sandy beach, with rocky areas- although the rocks aren’t actually black. The beach stretches for about 2 miles and is backed by a dune system which has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest. There are plenty of rockpools to explore here as well as some interesting caverns.

A river mouth lies at the south-eastern end of the beach, and the village of Morfa Bychan is a few hundred meters away. The beach has lovely views of the mountains and countryside of Snowdonia National Park.

A slipway provides vehicular access to the sands and most visitors park on the beach, making it a popular picnic destination and providing easy access for those with mobility problems. There are designated bathing and boat launching areas. Dogs are banned from the central section of the beach, but are allowed on the eastern and western sections.

There are a number of holiday parks in the area surrounding the beach. In the village of Morfa Bychan there are shops, places to eat and a golf club. There are more facilities in the town of Porthmadog, about 2 miles from the beach.

Locally abundant and widespread; winters uncommonly outside mapped range.

Locally, Telus is one of the largest telephone/communications companies. Their new building is the Telus Sky Tower and just opened for business. Their advertising stresses how unique they are and how very different each and every customer is treated. Somehow the side of their new building reflects a somewhat different perspective.

The San Diego–Coronado Bridge, locally referred to as the Coronado Bridge, is a prestressed concrete/steel girder bridge, crossing over San Diego Bay in the United States, linking San Diego with Coronado, California. The bridge is signed as part of State Route 75.

n 1926, John D. Spreckels recommended that a bridge be built between San Diego and Coronado, but voters dismissed the plan. The U.S. Navy initially did not support a bridge that would span San Diego Bay to connect San Diego to Coronado. They feared a bridge could be collapsed by attack or an earthquake and trap the ships stationed at Naval Base San Diego. In 1935, an officer at the naval air station at North Island argued that if a bridge was built to cross the bay then the Navy would leave San Diego.

In 1951–52, the Coronado City Council initiated plans for bridge feasibility studies. By 1964 the Navy supported a bridge if there was at least 200 feet (61 m) of clearance for ships which operate out of the nearby Naval Base San Diego to pass underneath it. To achieve this clearance with a reasonable grade, the bridge length was increased by taking a curved path, rather than a more direct path to Coronado. The clearance would allow an empty oil-fired aircraft carrier to pass beneath it – it is not sufficient for Nimitz-class nuclear aircraft carriers in light load condition.

The principal architect was Robert Mosher. Construction on the San Diego–Coronado Bay Bridge started in February 1967. The bridge required 20,000 tons of steel (13,000 tons in structural steel and 7,000 in reinforcing steel) and 94,000 cubic yards of concrete. To add the concrete girders, 900,000 cubic yards of fill was dredged and the caissons for the towers were drilled and blasted 100 feet into the bed of the bay.

The bridge opened to traffic on August 3, 1969, during the celebration of the 200th anniversary of the founding of San Diego. The 11,179-foot-long (3,407 m or 2.1 mi) bridge ascends from Coronado at a 4.67 percent grade before curving 80 degrees toward San Diego. It is supported by 27 concrete girders, the longest ever made at the time of construction.

In 1970, it won an award of merit for long span bridge from the American Institute of Steel Construction.The five-lane bridge featured the longest continuous box girder in the world until it was surpassed by the Shibanpo Yangtze River Bridge in Chongqing, China in 2008. The bridge is the third largest orthogonal box in the country – the box is the center part of the bridge, between piers 18 and 21 over the main shipping channel.

The pillars supporting the bridge on the eastern end are painted with huge murals as part of Chicano Park, the largest collection of Chicano art murals in the world. This neighborhood park and mural display were created in response to a community uprising in 1970, which protested the negative effects of the bridge and Interstate 5 on the Barrio Logan community. Local artist Salvador Torres proposed using the bridge and freeway pillars as a giant canvas for Chicano art at a time when urban wall murals were rare in the United States, and he and many other artists created the murals when permission for the park was finally granted in 1973.

Croy Castle, locally known as Kasteel Croy, lies south of the village of Aarle-Rixtel, in the province of North Brabant in the Netherlands.

Croy Castle was first mentioned in 1472 when it was owned by a Rutger van Erp. Then it probably consisted of a simple fortified house with a tower. In 1477 he sold his lands and 'castle' to Jacob de Croy, son of the Count of Chimay.

In 1494 it was again sold, this time by Jacob to a Cornelis I van Bergen. It was probably Cornelis who gave the castle its present appearance and who built the gate building. In the following centuries Croy Castle was owned by several noble families.

In 1772 Croy Castle was acquired by the Van der Brugghen family. In 1809 they recieved the King of Holland, the French Louis Bonaparte, as a guest at their castle. In 1873 the last private owner of the castle; Lady Constance van der Brugghen, died. In her will she stipulated that the castle should be used to house elderly locals. This was carried out in 1873 when a Catholic congregation opened up a residence for the elderly in the castle. The residence was in operation until 1977 when it had to close due to safety regulations.

In 1990 the castle was restored and is since then used as an office building.

At present Croy Castle houses offices of several companies. The barn in front of the castle is used as a shop and the gate building is part private residence, part bed & breakfast accomodation. The interior of the castle can not be visited. Too bad! I like its exterior very much.

Locally raised and slaughtered, melt in your mouth prime beef, incredibly good!