The Ålesund fire happened in the Norwegian city of Ålesund on 23 January 1904. It destroyed almost the whole city centre, built mostly of wood like the majority of Norwegian towns at the time.

Decisions are made by a majority of those who make themselves heard and who vote — a very different thing. :-)

Walter H. Judd

HPPT!! Make the Powerful Uncomfortable! Resist!! Vote!!!

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

Off I-90 near Snoqualmie Pass in Washington is Keechelus Lake, a natural lake that has an earth dam on its eastern shore that was built in the early 1900's to control the flow of water going into the Yakima River, which is a tributary to the Columbia River. Most of what I could find online seems to speculate that the trees on the western (note: There's actually stumps all around the lake, but the majority are on the western side.) side of the lake were cut down, rather than have them die when the dammed lake is full of water. Apparently the cold water over so many years has preserved, or petrified the stumps. I think they're beautiful, and yet somewhat disturbing at the same time. I've been wanting to photograph them for several years, so my last time through the area I parked and took some pictures. I'll be posting a closer view of the stumps sometime soon. For now here's a shot of the western stump area, the lake isn't shown, but is out of the frame to the left.

a majority of those who make themselves heard and who vote - a very different thing :-)

Walter H. Judd

Protest Injustice! Resist!! Vote!!! Vote!!! Vote!!!

camellia, little theater garden, raleigh, north carolina

The Brant Avenue Heritage Conservation District includes buildings on Brant Avenue between St. Paul Avenue and the Lorne Bridge in the City of Brantford. Although this district includes the Armoury, Brant Ave. Church and the Brantford Collegiate Institute, the majority of the 132 properties are residential, built between 1870 and 1889.

The Beachcomber or ‘Stone Me’ and Others

I have over the years come across a few of these stone characters, and not only confined to the East Coast of England where I found the majority. They have been discovered in The States, France and Kent. A bit of a random order I know. Some have come home with me but in the main I have left them in situ. No stones were harmed in the making of these images and the ones who did come home did it willingly.

There has been a development, I have noticed faces looking at me embedded in other materials. I know, a bit left field. But I thought they needed to be identified. I haven’t yet seen any walls with ears but you never know. Is ‘Big Brother’ still watching?

I think the majority of us are guilty of taking the humble honey bee for granted. Their plant pollination is critical to the life of plant and their continual annual occurrence. In moderation honey is also a natural super food. Bees if left alone also don't bother humans. Well, unless you act like my daughter and throw your arms frantically around the moment one comes nearby.

This particular bee was photographed at the National Trust property at Acorn Bank where a series of hives are kept adjacent to the property gardens and orchard.

I'll get the first shot of the Covid-19 vaccine. As the majority of us people I remain confused and perplexed about the future...

C'est le jour...

Où on va m’injecter la première dose du vaccin Covid-19. Comme la majorité d'entre nous, je reste confus et perplexe quant à l'avenir ...

Razorbill - Alca Torda

The razorbill or lesser auk (Alca torda) is a colonial seabird in the monotypic genus Alca of the family Alcidae, the auks. It is the closest living relative of the extinct great auk (Pinguinis impennis). Wild populations live in the subarctic waters of the Atlantic Ocean.

Razorbills are primarily black with a white underside. The male and female are identical in plumage; however, males are generally larger than females. This agile bird, which is capable of both flight and diving, has a predominantly aquatic lifestyle and only comes to land in order to breed. It is monogamous, choosing one partner for life. Females lay one egg per year. Razorbills nest along coastal cliffs in enclosed or slightly exposed crevices. The parents spend equal amounts of time incubating, and once the chick has hatched, they take turns foraging for their young.

In 1918, the razorbill was protected in the United States by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Presently, the major threat for the population is the destruction of breeding sites.

Their mating system is female-enforced monogamy; the razorbill chooses one partner for life. It nests in open or hidden crevices among cliffs and boulders. It is a colonial breeder and only comes to land to breed. The annual survival rate of the razorbill is between 89-95%. Though the razorbill's average lifespan is roughly 13 years, a bird ringed in the UK in 1967 survived for at least 41 years—a record for the species.

Razorbills dive deep into the sea using their wings and their streamlined bodies to propel themselves toward their prey. While diving, they rarely stay in groups, but rather spread out to feed. The majority of their feeding occurs at a depth of 25 m (82 ft) but they have the ability to dive up to 120 m (390 ft) below the surface. During a single dive an individual can capture and swallow many schooling fish, depending on their size. Razorbills spend approximately 44% of their time foraging at sea.

When feeding their young, they generally deliver small loads. Adults will mainly feed only one fish to their chick with high feeding deliveries at dawn and decreased feeding 4 hours before dark. Females will generally feed their chicks more frequently than males. They may well fly more than 100 km (62 mi) out to sea to feed when during egg incubation, but when provisioning the young, they forage closer to the nesting grounds, some 12 km (7.5 mi) away, and often in shallower water.

Population:

UK breeding:

130,000 pairs

Commonly known as moth orchids, is a genus of about seventy species of orchids in the family orchid. Orchids in this genus are monopodial epiphytes or lithophytes with long, coarse roots, short, leafy stems and long-lasting, flat flowers arranged in a flowering stem that often branches near the end. Orchids in this genus are native to India, China, Southeast Asia, New Guinea and Australia with the majority in Indonesia and the Philippines. A few to many, small to large, long-lasting, flat, often fragrant flowers are arranged on erect to hanging racemes or panicles. The sepals and petals are free from and spread widely apart from each other. The lateral sepals are usually larger than the dorsal sepal and the petals much wider than the sepals. The labellum is joined stiffly to the column and has three lobes. The side lobes are erect and more or less parallel to each other and the middle lobe sometimes has a pair of appendages or antennae. 43714

Commonly known as moth orchids, is a genus of about seventy species of orchids in the family orchid. Orchids in this genus are monopodial epiphytes or lithophytes with long, coarse roots, short, leafy stems and long-lasting, flat flowers arranged in a flowering stem that often branches near the end. Orchids in this genus are native to India, China, Southeast Asia, New Guinea and Australia with the majority in Indonesia and the Philippines. A few to many, small to large, long-lasting, flat, often fragrant flowers are arranged on erect to hanging racemes or panicles. The sepals and petals are free from and spread widely apart from each other. The lateral sepals are usually larger than the dorsal sepal and the petals much wider than the sepals. The labellum is joined stiffly to the column and has three lobes. The side lobes are erect and more or less parallel to each other and the middle lobe sometimes has a pair of appendages or antennae. R_2578

The Brant Avenue Heritage Conservation District includes buildings on Brant Avenue between St. Paul Avenue and the Lorne Bridge in the City of Brantford. Although this district includes the Armoury, Brant Ave. Church and the Brantford Collegiate Institute, the majority of the 132 properties are residential, built between 1870 and 1889.47

It wasn’t until I started going through my ties to choose one to wear for an event a few days ago that I realised just how many feature a dot of some sort. Geometrical shapes featured heavily with parallel lines and circles in the majority! So this is just an interesting trio incorporating dots in the design.

Kata Tjuṯa (meaning "many heads") is a group of large, domed rock formations or bornhardts located about 360 km southwest of Alice Springs, in the southern part of the Northern Territory, central Australia. Uluṟu, located 25 km to the east, and Kata Tjuṯa form the two major landmarks within the Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park. The park is considered sacred to the Aboriginal people of Australia.

The 36 domes that make up Kata Tjuṯa cover an area of 21.68 km2 and are composed of conglomerate, a sedimentary rock consisting of cobbles and boulders of varying rock types including granite and basalt, cemented by a matrix of coarse sandstone. The highest dome, Mount Olga, is 1,066 m above sea level, or approximately 546 m above the surrounding plain (198 m higher than Uluṟu).

There are many Pitjantjatjara Dreamtime legends associated with this place and indeed everything in the vicinity including Uluṟu. A number of legends surround the great snake king Wanambi, who is said to live on the summit of Kata Tjuṯa and only comes down during the dry season. His breath was said to be able to transform a breeze into a hurricane in order to punish those who did evil deeds. The majority of mythology surrounding the site is not disclosed to outsiders, and in particular, women. The Anangu people believe the great rocks of Kata Tjuṯa are homes to spirit energy from the 'Dreaming', and since 1995 the site is being used once again for cultural ceremonies. (Wikipedia)

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

Another learning - there is more than one large rock in the centre of Australia. We had a very informative tour around Kata Tjuta that included a children's version of the snake king legend.

Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, Northern Territory, Australia. September 2022.

AATKings Tours.

The politics of bokeh.

There are over 7,000 wasp species living in the UK, comprising a huge variety of solitary and social species. The majority are parasitoids, which have young that eat insects or spiders alive. However, the most commonly seen wasps are the black and yellow social species.

Colonies of social wasps are considered annoying pests - they often nest in manmade structures and deal out painful stings if you get too close. Yet despite our grievances, the ecosystem actually relies on these underappreciated insects.

So what are the benefits of wasps?

Natural pest control

Wasps are probably best known for disrupting summer picnics, but they are actually very important in keeping the ecosystem balanced.

Without wasps, the world could be overrun with spiders and insects. Each summer, social wasps in the UK capture an estimated 14 million kilogrammes of insect prey, such as caterpillars and greenfly. Perhaps we should be calling them a gardener's friend.Wasps are generally apex predators - so if they're not doing well, it indicates that there is something wrong with the world.'

Wasps are hugely beneficial to their native ecosystems due to the sheer amount of insects they capture. But their voracious appetites can cause problems if a species spreads or is introduced to new areas and their numbers aren't kept under control, such as in New Zealand, where there are no native social wasps.

'Where common and German wasps have been accidentally introduced to New Zealand, they've been stripping caterpillars out of forests. This is having a huge ecosystem impact and the native birds have been declining.'

What do wasps eat?

Adult wasps don't eat the prey they kill - they feed it to their young. Social species capture insects, chop them up and carry parts back to the nest.

Some solitary species are more sinister. For example, most spider wasps paralyse arachnid prey using a venomous sting. Their larvae then eat the victim alive. There are almost 5,000 species of spider wasp worldwide, including 44 species in Britain.Wasps use their venomous sting to subdue prey and defend their nest. They also use it to defend themselves.

Wasps sometimes sting us as they see us as a probable threat, even if we don't really pose one.

Unlike honey bees, wasps don't lose out by stinging us. Honey bees sacrifice their lives as their stings have a set of tiny barbs that hook into the skin.

'Honey bees have weak attachments in their abdomen. So when it pulls away the sting remains attached to you and it basically pulls away the entire muscle system around the sting. It's a bit brutal,' explains Gavin.

Wasps have smooth stings that can easily be pulled out of the skin by the insect - with the exception of a few South American species. If they run out of venom, they simply make more.

The majority of the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds have headed South. Watching them has been a joy. I love their spotted throat. Photographing them in flight is not an easy task, as they are so quick and such erratic flyers.

"A record-setting polar vortex, which brought intense cold to a majority of the American heartland, has led to massive blackouts in Texas as significant amounts of generating capacity have been knocked offline."

It was an emotional roller-coaster for a lot of us since Monday. Instead of a planned 15-45 minutes rolling blackouts, only a fixed number of locations were picked for prolonged (days) blackouts during the coldest days throughout TX. Some homes had no power nor water, some had power but no water, but many never had an outage. Was it fair?

We don't mind helping out by enduring some inconveniences, but we don't want to be the only ones who bore the pain, for days!

On top of no power, our area also experienced a sewer plant outage and a brief period of natural gas outage.

The roads were icy in parts, numerous road closures, traffic lights out, businesses/gas stations closed, water and food shortage for many, the frigid temperature, the freezing rain, some burned furniture to stay warm, etc. etc.. The past 3 days was one big nightmare, one thing piled on top of another.

However, we were "lucky" considering our lowest temperature was only at ~18F (-7C). Dallas/Fort Worth area saw a low temperature of 1F (-17C). When we got our power back, our inside temperature registered at 49F (9C). What would theirs be?

There were many houses damaged by frozen water pipes, at least one burned down probably from using the fireplace to get warm, a family died from carbon monoxide poisoning by running the car inside their garage.

The list goes on and on...

So, what's the "beauty" of a blackout? Perhaps just a clearer view of the night sky!

A very sad experience that I wish no one on earth will ever have to go through, but I'm not holding my breath.

Happy to report that by late last night some of us here in Houston got our power restored for good, and our internet connection was restored a short while ago.

Temperature is gradually climbing back up to normal for the state of TX.

However, the Northeast is having a snow storm right now.

Thanks for reading my vent; may you have a wonderful day, stay warm and be safe!

Carolina wrens are active during the day and spend the majority of their time on or near the ground searching for food, or in tangles of vegetation and vines. They also probe bark crevices on lower tree levels or pick up leaf-litter in order to search for prey. Carolina wrens are wary and are more often heard than seen. When on the ground, they move in jerky hops pillaging through various objects, whether man-made or natural. While moving abruptly, they pause momentarily for chattering or singing. When stationary, they move in twitched motions, jerking their breast around. They also sun- or sand-bathe. Other movements involve being capable of crawling like a creeper and hanging upside-down like a nuthatch. Their flights are generally of short duration, rapid, low-leveled, and wavelike. They are also capable of flying vertically from the base of a tree to the top in a single wing assisted bound. After finding a mate, pairs maintain their territory throughout the year, moving around and foraging together. Both males and females give out alarm calls, but only males sing to advertise territory. Males alone produce the 'cheer' call, which can sound indistinct. In southern regions of their range, the sound males use in alarm disputes is a ringing 'pink' or 'p'dink' sound. Females are the only ones that can perform the paired 'dit-dit' or chatter sounds often used in territorial disputes with predators. The chatter is used exclusively with territorial encounters with male song, and the song can either follow or overlap her mate's song.

Found this one in my backyard

Polk County, Florida.

Cairo Egypt , taken on 13 March 2010 by Christos Voreakos.

The majority of starlings in the UK are resident birds, however some are migratory. They travel from northern Europe to spend the winter here, arriving during September and October. They will return home during February and March. RSPB

This bird at Minnis Bay was on its own and seemed 'lost'. It is a possibility that it had just arrived from across the sea.

With covid-19 closing down the majority of mass gatherings and events this year, we wanted to still play our part in acknowledging gay pride month, showing support to the LGBTQ+ community throughout June. With the help of an amazing array of designers offering up exclusive Pride items at their mainstores, which will be priced at 99L each! Come grab a NC with a list of all participating designers A-Z. Items will be for sale at each location until the 30th of June.

Happy shopping and thank you for supporting SL Pride @ Home!

maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Love/101/91/25

Fern curves, no edit, no crop from LD Macro lens.

He is in my garden, since last hot temperature summer, now he seemed fresh but quite slowly.

Goodnight for tonight my lovely friends, thank you to being my friend:)

Another archives from the shot: A Ruby-Throated Hummingbird warns off another as it passes by. The vast majority of photos that I take that are not tack sharp are instantly deleted. Sometimes the camera creates a brush painting effect that I cannot explain nor care to learn how to do, or make it stop. Most may not, but I like it!

Taken 09 September, 2017 with the location lost to time.

SÜDAFRIKA, unterwegs in Kapstdt , Bo Kaap, Dorp Straße mit bunten Häusern .

Bo-Kaap (Afrikaans; deutsch etwa: „Über dem Kap“), auch Malay Quarter („Malaienviertel“) oder Slamsebuurt[ („Islamviertel“), hieß bis 2017 Schotschekloof und ist ein Stadtteil von Kapstadt in der südafrikanischen Provinz Westkap. Er entstand als Siedlung von Kapmalaien, die bis heute die Mehrheit der Bewohner stellen.

Bo-Kaap wurde im 18. Jahrhundert von Kapmalaien besiedelt, nachdem sie aus der Sklaverei entlassen worden waren.

SOUTH AFRICA, on the road in Cape Town, Bo Kaap, Dorp Street with colorful houses.

Bo-Kaap (Afrikaans; German: “Over the Cape”), also Malay Quarter (“Malay Quarter”) or Slamsebuurt[ (“Islamic Quarter”), was called Schotschekloof until 2017 and is a district of Cape Town in the South African province of Western Cape. It originated as a settlement of Cape Malays, who still make up the majority of residents today.

Bo-Kaap was settled by Cape Malays in the 18th century after they were released from slavery.

Fénis, Val d'Aosta, Italia.

Fénis es un municipio italiano de 1.792 habitantes que se encuentra ubicado en el Valle de Aosta.

El pueblo de Fénis se sitúa en el principal valle de la región. Sin embargo, la mayoría de su territorio se halla en un valle lateral, cuyo nombre es val Clavalité, un valle selvaje cubierto de bosques, y en el cercano valle de Saint-Julien. El val Clavalité conserva una selva de 2.236 hectaréas, que cubre el 32,7% del territorio del municipio.

Fénis es muy famosa por su castillo, unos de los más importantes de Valle de Aosta por su extraordinaria arquitectura. El castillo es una de las principales atracciones turísticas del Valle.

Fénis is an Italian municipality of 1,792 inhabitants located in the Aosta Valley.

The town of Fénis is located in the main valley of the region. However, the majority of its territory is located in a side valley, whose name is val Clavalité, a jungle valley covered with forests, and in the nearby Saint-Julien valley. The Clavalité Valley preserves a forest of 2,236 hectares, which covers 32.7% of the municipality's territory.

Fénis is very famous for its castle, one of the most important in Valle d'Aosta for its extraordinary architecture. The castle is one of the main tourist attractions in the Valley.

The road to work. I reckon I've captured the vast majority of this road over the last 3 years. This section is particularly good in the morning, but it's a risk to stop and get something. Today I dared.

(037/365)

SÜDAFRIKA, unterwegs in Kapstdt , Bo Kaap, Dorp Straße mit bunten Häusern .

Bo-Kaap (Afrikaans; deutsch etwa: „Über dem Kap“), auch Malay Quarter („Malaienviertel“) oder Slamsebuurt[ („Islamviertel“), hieß bis 2017 Schotschekloof und ist ein Stadtteil von Kapstadt in der südafrikanischen Provinz Westkap. Er entstand als Siedlung von Kapmalaien, die bis heute die Mehrheit der Bewohner stellen.

Bo-Kaap wurde im 18. Jahrhundert von Kapmalaien besiedelt, nachdem sie aus der Sklaverei entlassen worden waren.

SOUTH AFRICA, on the road in Cape Town, Bo Kaap, Dorp Street with colorful houses.

Bo-Kaap (Afrikaans; German: “Over the Cape”), also Malay Quarter (“Malay Quarter”) or Slamsebuurt[ (“Islamic Quarter”), was called Schotschekloof until 2017 and is a district of Cape Town in the South African province of Western Cape. It originated as a settlement of Cape Malays, who still make up the majority of residents today.

Bo-Kaap was settled by Cape Malays in the 18th century after they were released from slavery.

The majority of eastern tiger swallowtail females are mostly yellow, though every once in a while one of these fantastic dark-form females flies by. The similar black swallowtail female would have more white spotting on the front of her forewings.

La Ceja, Colombia.

The majority of fuchsia species are native to Central and South America. The fuchsia received its name in honour of Leonhart Fuchs (1501-1566) who occupied the chair of Medicine at the Tübingen University from the age of 34 until his death. Besides his medical knowledge, he studied plants. This was natural, as most of the remedies of the time were herbal and the two subjects were often inseparable.

Wikipedia

I spent a majority of the holiday season in the kitchen. The family had a craving for Great Grandma's Oat Meal Cookies, which calls for 3 cups of oats, cup of raisins soaked in a cup of boiling water and general cookie ingredients.

I hope everyone is doing well and have a most excellent New Year. Take Care. B

A majority of SD45's.

It was always a great chase of Livingston Helpers a couple of decades ago.

2-26-01

Hopefully the majority of these seeds are on their way to becoming future Common Milkweed plants to give the endangered monarch a helping hand. Photographed in the Trempealeau National Wildlife Refuge in Wisconsin.

Parker River National Wildlife Refuge is a wildlife sanctuary encompassing the majority of Plum Island in northeastern Essex County, Massachusetts, 5 miles southeast of Newburyport. It was established in 1942 primarily to provide feeding, resting, and nesting habitats for migratory birds. Wikipedia

Winter migrant from high-Arctic Canada. Most occur in Ireland between October and April. The brent goose is the smallest goose which occurs regularly in north-west Europe.This population winters almost entirely in Ireland, with small numbers in parts of Britain and France.

During the winter, it feeds mostly on eel-grass, which grows on muddy estuaries, and also on grasslands, usually when coastal supplies have been depleted at estuarine sites.

The Dark bellied Brent is a rare winter visitor to Ireland from Siberia from October to March. Very similar to the much commoner Light-bellied Brent Goose and care is needed to separate the two species. Dark-bellied Brent can identified by the darker and much more extensive grey colouring on the flanks and back. The white flank patch that is very obvious in Light-bellied Brent Goose is reduced to a stripe along the flanks. The majority of Dark-bellied Brent Geese winter in the Netherlands, northern France and the United Kingdom.

The Black Brant is a rare winter visitor to Ireland usually associating with Light-bellied Brent Geese. Black Brant breeds in Arctic Canada, Alaska and east Siberia. Siberian birds are annual winter visitors to south-east England with Dark-bellied Brents, whereas Canadian birds reach Ireland with Pale-bellied Brents. Very similar to Light-bellied Brent Goose and care is needed to distinguish the two species.

Black Brants can be identified by the overall much darker appearance, with very little contrast between the colour of the neck and that of the back and belly. The white flank patch is also much more extensive in comparison to Dark-bellied Brent.

Black Brants also have a much larger white neck patch than either Light-bellied or Dark-bellied Brent forming almost a complete collar.https://www.birdguides.com/articles/identification/brent-geese-photo-id-guide/

short tailed (field voles) form the majority of these owls diet.

There was a time when we thought that the Anglican Church was as unchangeable and as permanent as the English weather, that the red telephone cubicle was part of an identifiable English character, and that the equally red letter box would be eternal.

"Oh, oh, you think you're special

Oh, oh, you think you're something else"

The Anglican Church is no longer what it used to be - and its majority is no longer "English". English weather is now a matter of unpredictable surprises, telephone cubicles have been superseded by smart phones, and the Royal Mail is neither royal nor reliable in its delivery of letters. And the English character? You tell me. We in the UK are living among fossilised objects, and if new life is springing up it will in all likelihood have little to do with the Anglican Church, the Royal Mail and Englishness. Let me put it bluntly, it is immigration that is blowing new life into a sclerotised and inelastic body. Leica M8, Voigtlaender 35/1.4.

The majority of photographs actually capture reflected light, i.e the light emitted by earthly objects, when it has practically lost most of its original intensity and might ... I myself am a huge fan of low lighted, long shutter speed images ... In any case to successfully capture light as actually emitted by the "MIGHTY" sun is always a challenge for the photographer ...

The best hours to do this still is and will always remain the "golden hours" ... The hours of the day when sunlight turns from white to gold, mainly dew to sun's position in the sky and the diffusion of its light through the thicker part of earth's atmosphere ... When this moment comes, find an interesting foreground figure and either create a back-light frame (turning the foreground figure into a recognizable shade) or simultaneously use fill in flash at its full intensity to capture foreground detail as well ...

I really adore the photos on which every visible detail tells a story ....

NIKON D90 DSLR with Nikon Nikkor 18 - 55 lens, Manual Mode, shutter speed 1/125s, ISO 125, f 9, focal length 18 mm, use of HOYA ND X 2 filter, cloudy weather white balance, center weighted average metering mode, HDR made by only one original RAW shot, flash went off, use of tripod ...

View Awards Count

Well OK, a little after sunrise but taken at about 5.30am this morning. Our kittens woke me up as usual at 3.50am demanding food and cuddles so I decided to turn that to my advantage and head to the fen.

A wonderful morning with lots going on - makes up for the majority when the opposite is true!

Taken in Norfolk.

The vast majority of my kite photos are inflight. so it is nice to occasionally break the mould.

Whilst this is not my most dramatic image there is something about the serenity of this scene.

Red Kite - Milvus Milvus

Harewood Estate - Leeds

Many thanks as always to all those kind enough to comment on and fave my photos. It is very much appreciated and welcome.

DSC_8156

Continuing with my Positive Flags of the Nations

project with a tribute democracy.

A great democracy must be progressive or it will soon cease to be a great democracy.

Theodore Roosevelt

I understand democracy as something that gives the weak the same chance as the strong.

Mohandas Gandhi

Democracy is not the law of the majority but protection of the minority.

Albert Camus

Thank you for your kind visit. Have a wonderful and beautiful day! ❤️ ❤️ ❤️

Black Swallowtail chrysalis...

the majority of my swallowtails are taking 10 days to go from a caterpillar to a beautiful Butterfly!!

They crack open the top and pull themselves out!!!

To date I have released 49 with many more to go.......

They are keeping me busy as I wait for the Monarchs to find me...

The start of my first holiday since 2019. An early arrival at Frampton Marsh RSPB in Lincolnshire not long after dawn. No-one else around and the wildlife really showy.

Couldn’t ask for better!

The Black-tailed Godwit spends the winter further south and most of the ones I’ve seen in the UK have been pale grey winter birds rather than the brick-red breeding plumage.

The vast majority of birds already on their migration south were tucked away in the middle of the reserve. This lone bird was feeding on a roadside stretch of water and was completely unconcerned as I went past on the footpath.

Continuing this short series (of birds I hope to see soon) with a male Yellow Warbler from two years ago. The vast majority of my photo ops with warblers are brief, but this little beauty gave me an extended session as it hunted for ants among the leafing-out caragana. The light was perfect. I was on foot, wandering about, saying "ssst-ssst" and "wsht-wsht", the common language of little birds everywhere.

Photographed in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2023 James R. Page - all rights reserved.

The majority of the red-winged blackbirds have headed south for the winter but a few, like this one, remain. Standish Township, Michigan

This was the view of sunset outside my west facing window last night. Years ago, there was a woods across the street from my home, then developers took down the majority of trees and built homes. I was really upset when that happened. But afterwards, I realized I could see sunsets from my front window. So overall, the view of trees lost was replaced by seeing glorious sunsets.

The Vast majority of items in this image are part of The Mens Department & Collabor88 Collections!

Mens Dept: maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/The%20Pea/120/51/22

Collabor88: maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/8%208/88/202/1088

BOTH available NOW!

<3

The majority is not always right and conventional wisdom is not always wise. Dead fish go with the flow. Live fish swim against the current. So it is with conscience and courage. So it is with the children of Abraham. They are prepared to challenge the idols of the age.

-Jordan Peterson, God, and Christianity: The Search for a Meaningful Life

By Chris Kaczor and Matthew Petrusek

CSXT 1203, an MP15T, works Reichhold Inc. in Jacksonville, Fl. I was surprised to see an endcab switcher in town as the vast majority have been sold off and left the roster of almost all Class I railroads.