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Stairwell in a outbuilding of the Beelitz Heilstätten near Berlin.
Treppenhaus in einem Versorgungsgebäude der Beelitzer Heilstätten. Ich habe mich dann für den Weg nach unten entschieden ;-)
Pretty pumped a couple of days ago when my wife and I were sauntering past a fairly large wetland pond that had about a fourth of it open water that was closest to the road. Two loons were busy diving and coming up with their breakfast. Since the rest of the pond was covered in ice, they did not have much room to swim away from our location like loons normally do which provided me an excellent opportunity to photograph them.
Later back home, after I brought the photos up on my monitor, I wondered which of the two was a male and which was the female.
Do you know how to tell the sex of a loon? I didn't and did some reading and found the easiest way is to compare sizes as the male is larger. I am hoping the loons are a little more experienced in differentiating.
(Photographed near Cambridge, MN)
ODC-Decisions, Decisions!!!
Here in Albuquerque, in the fall, the Chilies are delivered from Hatch, NM. This is where the most famous chilies are grown in the United States. Everyone asks the same question "Red Or Green?" The smell of roasting chilies waffles through the streets at this time of year and everyone is enjoying their favourites. Some people say Christmas! That means they will have both! Amazon Anne and Eve donned their Sombreros so they could help me with this challenge! I think they did a great job :)
輕 蔑 的 嘴 角 微 揚 在 妳 肆 無 忌 憚 的 雙 唇 之 上
過 季 的 情 緒 如 輕 拂 在 臉 龐 上 的 微 暈 般 微 笑
存 在 或 是 不 存 在 這 已 無 關 於 妳 的 真 實 無 否
就 以 最 神 祕 撩 動 人 心 的 古 老 印 記 不 止 息 地 纏 繞
【 Exist or Not 】
妳 笑 稱 說 已 毫 無 任 何 關 連。
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A cave or cavern is a natural underground void large enough for a human to enter.
A beautiful example, very well lit by a wise set of lamps, is again within the beautiful national park of the Colli Euganei (30 km south west from where I live, Padova, Italy).
The colors are exaggerated by the lights used to please us visitors. There is NO post production and the shot has been made hand-held (holding my breath too) with the great Ultra Wide Angle lens 10-20 EX.
Appropriate (funny) music: www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVi_J3ng2-U&feature=PlayList&...
Disco inferno, The Tramps!
L'automne
On voit tout le temps, en automne
Quelque chose qui vous étonne,
C'est une branche tout à coup,
Qui s'effeuille dans votre cou ;
C'est un petit arbre tout rouge,
Un, d'une autre couleur encor,
Et puis partout, ces feuilles d'or
Qui tombent sans que rien ne bouge.
...
Lucie Delarue-Mardrus
I know I take loads of snaps of our dog, Zak, but sometimes I just can't resist! We were sitting out on the deck and he was watching the pigeons in the garden when, suddenly, he realised that we were talking about him!
13th build in my Iron Builder round against Duncan, using the Technic Rotor Blade part in Red.
I've used the part 4 times.
Netherlands, Rotterdam, the “Markthal” or “Koopboog”, the market hall, is a 175 million € residential- & office building with a market hall underneath, located near the central station. The building opened in October 2014. The grey nature stone Market Hall building complex structure in a horseshoe-tunnel shape houses 228 apartments, 4600 m2 retail space, 1600 m2 “horeca”, an abbreviation of the words Hotel/Restaurant/Café & an underground 4-storey parking garage with a capacity for more than 1000 cars.
The building has a glass facade on both sides, these are made up of smaller glass windows. All of these are hung around a structure of steel cables, 34 metres high & 42 metres wide, it the largest glass-window cable structure in Europe. Each facade has 26 vertical & 22 horizontal cables.
The football area-sized indoor market area is an experience with100 fresh produce sellers with fresh fish, meat, vegetable stalls, delicatessens flowers & plants, 15 food shops & 8 restaurants, …a great place for foodies
The inside of the building, covering the market hall, is adorned with an 11.000 m2 artwork by Arno Coenen, named 2Hoorn des Overvloeds”, horn of plenty. The artwork shows strongly enlarged fruits, vegetables, seeds, fish, flowers & insects & selected out of 9 international candidates. The work was made using digital 3D-techniques, this gigantic file of almost 1,5 terabytes needed special servers, these are also used by Pixar Studios for making animated movies. The digital 3D-animation was separated in 4000 pieces & then printed on 4000 perforated aluminium panels.
👉 One World one Dream,
...Danke, Xièxie 谢谢, Thanks, Gracias, Merci, Grazie, Obrigado, Arigatô, Dhanyavad, Chokrane to you & over
9 million visits in my photostream with countless motivating comments
Male azure damselflies, Coenagrion puella, and variable damselflies, Coenagrion pulchellum, often occur in the same places and can be difficult to tell apart. These two shots, taken on the same day at Westhay Moor NNR, show some differences which can be used to separate them. I've added annotations to explain - just hover over the picture to see where they are, and hover over each note to read them. Oh - azure on the left, variable on the right!
The blue bar between the eyes, which is mentioned in some books as a distinguishing feature, is thought by some to be unreliable so I've not included it.
Hope that's useful!
(Unfortunately I don't think the annotations work on a tablet or phone. Sorry!)
© This Photo is Copyrighted. Not to be used without my permission.
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Love always ends in one or the other
so pick your poison.
pose & prop by NANTRA
lingerie by Plastik
accessorie & makeup by Zibska
nails & eyes by Kosmetik
... More details & links at Oh, The Vanity!
Wow, what is going on with the weather at the moment? I had to shelter for around 45 mins before the skies cleared and I could get this shot. 10 minutes later it was pouring! At least it makes for some interesting skies :-)
Have a great weekend everyone, and if you're in England, don't get too wet :-)
I'm dressed in black and white today and what do you think, should I wear the short or the long skirt?
Ribwort Plaintains (Plantago lanceolata) and a Scarlet Malachite Beetle too? in Durlston Country Park, Dorset
According to Anglo-Saxon folklore, the plantain was one of the nine sacred herbs that readily grew in a variety of locations. With its assortment of medicinal applications, however, ribwort plantain is no longer considered folklore but is counted as an effective herbal remedy. The herb contains a selection of vitamins and minerals that situate it well as a successful treatment and remedy for a wide range of conditions.
Research suggests that the leaf is an effective anti-inflammatory and antibacterial agent. It also has astringent properties. All of these properties combined make plantain one of the most effective herbal remedies for topical treatment of various skin conditions. It is also particularly effective for speeding cell growth and healing wounds, as it contains the chemical allantoin.
Its innate properties make ribwort an effective treatment for an assortment of health conditions. As an astringent, the herb is able to assist in the healing of wounded tissue, haemorrhoids, skin ulcers, and other lesions or sores.
Ribwort is also an effective treatment for a variety of other conditions. Respiratory infection, bronchitis, asthma, and emphysema respond well to treatment with plantain, as it has a demulcent effect. This property also makes it effective for treating urinary tract infections, irritable bowel syndrome, gastritis, diarrhoea, and a host of other conditions.
So; just a weed?
The koala or, inaccurately, koala bear (Phascolarctos cinereus) is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia. It is the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae and its closest living relatives are the wombats, which comprise the family Vombatidae. The koala is found in coastal areas of the mainland's eastern and southern regions, inhabiting Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia. It is easily recognisable by its stout, tailless body and large head with round, fluffy ears and large, spoon-shaped nose. The koala has a body length of 60–85 cm and weighs 4–15 kg. Fur colour ranges from silver grey to chocolate brown. Koalas from the northern populations are typically smaller and lighter in colour than their counterparts further south. These populations possibly are separate subspecies, but this is disputed. Koalas typically inhabit open eucalypt woodlands, and the leaves of these trees make up most of their diet. Because this eucalypt diet has limited nutritional and caloric content, koalas are largely sedentary and sleep up to 20 hours a day. They are asocial animals, and bonding exists only between mothers and dependent offspring. Adult males communicate with loud bellows that intimidate rivals and attract mates. Males mark their presence with secretions from scent glands located on their chests. Being marsupials, koalas give birth to underdeveloped young that crawl into their mothers' pouches, where they stay for the first six to seven months of their lives. These young koalas, known as joeys, are fully weaned around a year old. Koalas have few natural predators and parasites, but are threatened by various pathogens, such as Chlamydiaceae bacteria and the koala retrovirus. Eucalyptus is a genus of over seven hundred species of flowering trees, shrubs or mallees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including Corymbia, they are commonly known as eucalypts. Plants in the genus Eucalyptus have bark that is either smooth, fibrous, hard or stringy, leaves with oil glands, and sepals and petals that are fused to form a cap or operculum over the stamens. The fruit is a woody capsule commonly referred to as a gumnut. Most species of Eucalyptus are native to Australia, and every state and territory has representative species. About three-quarters of Australian forests are eucalypt forests. Wildfire is a feature of the Australian landscape and many eucalypt species are adapted to fire, and resprout after fire or have seeds which survive fire. A few species are native to islands north of Australia and a smaller number are only found outside the continent. Eucalypts have been grown in plantations in many other countries because they are fast growing and have valuable timber, or can be used for pulpwood, for honey production or essential oils. In some countries, however, they have been removed because they are highly flammable. 58229
Metz (Moselle) - Musée de La Cour d’Or - Grenier de Chèvremont .
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Ceiling of the Basilica
Basilica Minore dei Santi Filippo e Giacomo is a Roman Catholic basilica in Cortina d'Ampezzo. It is dedicated to the Apostles Philip and James, patron saint of Cortina d'Ampezzo.
Built between 1769 and 1775 in the Baroque style, it sits on the site where two previous churches had existed from the 13th and 16th centuries.
Bouton d’or (Ranunculus repens).
Le bouton d’or (Ranunculus repens) est bien connu des enfants qui s’amusent à le présenter sous le menton d’un camarade : comme le jaune de la fleur va se refléter sur la peau avec une couleur plus pâle se rapprochant de celle du beurre, il lui dira "T’aimes le beurre !". Qui n’a pas joué à cela ?!
The black-winged stilt (Himantopus himantopus) is a widely distributed very long-legged wader in the avocet and stilt family (Recurvirostridae).
dults are 33–36 cm (13–14 in) long. They have long pink legs, a long thin black bill and are blackish above and white below, with a white head and neck with a varying amount of black. Males have a black back, often with greenish gloss. Females' backs have a brown hue, contrasting with the black remiges. In the populations that have the top of the head normally white at least in winter, females tend to have less black on head and neck all year round, while males often have much black, particularly in summer. This difference is not clear-cut, however, and males usually get all-white heads in winter.
Immature birds are grey instead of black and have a markedly sandy hue on the wings, with light feather fringes appearing as a whitish line in flight.
The breeding habitat of all these stilts is marshes, shallow lakes and ponds. Some populations are migratory and move to the ocean coasts in winter; those in warmer regions are generally resident or short-range vagrants. In Europe, the black-winged stilt is a regular spring overshoot vagrant north of its normal range, occasionally remaining to breed in northern European countries. Pairs have successfully bred in Britain in 1987, and after a 27-year hiatus, two instances of successful breeding in Southern England in 2014. 13 young were fledged in southern England in 2017.
These birds pick up their food from sand or water. They mainly eat insects and crustaceans.
The nest site is a bare spot on the ground near water. These birds often nest in small groups, sometimes with avocets.
Egg of Himantopus himantopus, MHNT
The black-winged stilt is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds applies.
For more information, please visit en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black-winged_stilt
The sun does it's best to put in an appearance beyond Worthing pier on a chilly blustery winters day.
The common murre or common guillemot (Uria aalge) is a large auk. It is also known as the thin-billed murre in North America. It has a circumpolar distribution, occurring in low-Arctic and boreal waters in the North Atlantic and North Pacific. It spends most of its time at sea, only coming to land to breed on rocky cliff shores or islands.
Common murres have fast direct flight but are not very agile. They are more manoeuvrable underwater, typically diving to depths of 30–60 m (98–197 ft). Depths of up to 180 m (590 ft) have been recorded.
Common murres breed in colonies at high densities. Nesting pairs may be in bodily contact with their neighbours. They make no nest; their single egg is incubated on a bare rock ledge on a cliff face. Eggs hatch after ~30 days incubation. The chick is born downy and can regulate its body temperature after 10 days. Some 20 days after hatching the chick leaves its nesting ledge and heads for the sea, unable to fly, but gliding for some distance with fluttering wings, accompanied by its male parent. Chicks are capable of diving as soon as they hit the water. The female stays at the nest site for some 14 days after the chick has left.
Both male and female common murres moult after breeding and become flightless for 1–2 months. In southern populations they occasionally return to the nest site throughout the winter. Northern populations spend the winter farther from their colonies.
The common guillemot is 38–46 cm (15–18 in) in length with a 61–73 cm (24–29 in) wingspan.[6] Male and female are indistinguishable in the field and weight ranges between 945 g (2.083 lb) in the south of their range to 1,044 g (2.302 lb) in the north.
A weight range of 775–1,250 g (1.709–2.756 lb) has been reported.[8] In breeding plumage, the nominate subspecies (U. a. aalge) is black on the head, back and wings, and has white underparts. It has thin dark pointed bill and a small rounded dark tail.
After the pre-basic moult, the face is white with a dark spur behind the eye. Birds of the subspecies U. a. albionis are dark brown rather than black, most obviously so in colonies in southern Britain. Legs are grey and the bill is dark grey.
This image was taken in the Farne Islands, just off the coast of Northumberland in the North east of England.