View allAll Photos Tagged Outstretched
This poignant photograph captures a moment frozen in time, a heartfelt tribute to the serene beauty that once graced this idyllic coastal landscape. Nestled beside an ancient stone wall, a majestic old pine tree stood tall, its branches reaching out as if to touch the heavens. Taken just last year, this image now serves as a bittersweet testament to the devastating changes that have unfolded.
Tragically, the unforgiving march of progress has left its mark on this cherished sanctuary. The island, once a haven for nature's wonders, fell victim to the intrusive hands of relentless investors armed with bulldozers. Their actions have ravaged the delicate balance of this precious ecosystem, leaving in their wake a trail of destruction that has irreversibly altered the landscape.
As you gaze upon this photograph, spare a moment to mourn the loss of the ancient pine tree that once graced this spot with its grandeur. Its sturdy trunk and outstretched limbs, which had witnessed countless seasons and stood as a guardian to the surrounding wildlife, are no more. Where once there was tranquility and harmony, now lies the remnants of a desolate wasteland, a testament to the cost of neglecting our responsibility to protect and preserve.
Let this image serve as a reminder, a poignant expression of sympathy for the once-vibrant nature and wildlife that thrived in this fragile ecosystem. May it ignite a passion within each of us to stand as stewards of the Earth, valuing the beauty and majesty of our natural world, and taking action to protect it for future generations.
In memory of the old pine tree and the countless other living beings whose homes were needlessly destroyed, we vow to preserve and cherish the remaining fragments of our natural heritage, ensuring that such losses are not in vain. Let this photograph be a call to arms, a testament to the resilience of nature, and a plea for a more mindful and sustainable future.
Emigrant Lake - Jackson County - Oregon - USA
Habitat : Lakes and Ponds
Food : Fish
Nesting : Tree
Behavior : Aerial Dive
Conservation : Low Concern
"Unique among North American raptors for its diet of live fish and ability to dive into water to catch them, Ospreys are common sights soaring over shorelines, patrolling waterways, and standing on their huge stick nests, white heads gleaming. These large, rangy hawks do well around humans and have rebounded in numbers following the ban on the pesticide DDT. Hunting Ospreys are a picture of concentration, diving with feet outstretched and yellow eyes sighting straight along their talons."
- Cornell University Lab of Ornithology
8903
A Roseate Spoonbill taken yesterday on Merritt Island, Florida.
"The flamboyant Roseate Spoonbill looks like it came straight out of a Dr. Seuss book with its bright pink feathers, red eye staring out from a partly bald head, and giant spoon-shaped bill. Groups sweep their spoonbills through shallow fresh or salt waters snapping up crustaceans and fish. They fly with necks outstretched, to and from foraging and nesting areas along the coastal southeastern U.S., and south to South America. These social birds nest and roost in trees and shrubs with other large wading birds."
Large, white Wood Storks wade through southeastern swamps and wetlands. Although this stork doesn't bring babies, it is a good flier, soaring on thermals with neck and legs outstretched. This bald-headed wading bird stands just over 3 feet tall, towering above almost all other wetland birds. It slowly walks through wetlands with its long, hefty bill down in the water feeling for fish and crustaceans. This ungainly looking stork roosts and nests in colonies in trees above standing water.
Bryce Canyon, Utah. After sunrise, I climbed along the edge of the canyon, up towards the deeper snow up on the rim, looking into the coliseum below me. The hoodoos of the Claron formation, an oxidized mudstone, were lighting up in pink and orange hues, some almost translucent as the sun reflected off the snow and bounced crazily off the rock. In this anthropomorphized place, this area is part of the Silent City. Paiute history says these were "Legend People" who were turned into stone for bad deeds. I wondered if I could tiptoe down the little exposed ridge just below me, to stand at the edge with my arms outstretched, while the silence deafened me from the amphitheater. I would make no speech, no signal for the trumpets, no lighting of the torches. I'd stare awhile, then spin and walk back up. Let the games begin. They've been here long enough, awaiting the gladiators.
A wonderful sunny day, clouds disappearing, nut it was still amazing just to have the beach to myself on such a day. I loved the shape of these foreground rocks, and the bit of reflected cloud. In six hours time it would be covered in sea , so Floor of the Ocean, by the Mark Lanegan Band, is fine.
It's a photo that took me over an hour. My lens's stabilization and autofocus are broken and it's quite heavy! Not easy to take this photo, knowing that I absolutely wanted to photograph a bird with outstretched wings, exactly at this place, because there is a gap in the vegetation and I have the impression of seeing a face with the shape of the branches and leaves (a paredolia).
(Yes I should have used a tripod, it would have been easier, but mine does not allow the camera to be vertical. :-) )
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C'est une photo qui m'a pris plus d'une heure. La stabilisation et l'autofocus de mon objectif sont cassés et il est assez lourd! Pas facile de faire cette photo, sachant que je voulais absolument photographier un oiseau ailes déployées, exactement à cet endroit, car il y a une trouée dans la végétation et que j'ai l'impression de voir un visage avec la forme des branches et des feuilles (une parédolie).
(Oui j'aurais dû utiliser un trépied, ça aurait été plus facile, mais le mien ne permet pas de mettre l'appareil photo à la verticale :-) )
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Thank you for your kind support, comments and favs!
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Merci pour votre soutien, vos commentaires et favoris!
Another scene from Thorswood Nature Reserve. It's a place with a haunting history, Stone Age and Bronze age artefacts have been uncovered here by archaeologists, there are three Bowl-Barrows (burial mounds) from the Bronze age period and in the 17th-20th Centuries it was extensively mined, leaving many depressions, mounds and shafts.
In this scene I love the, somehow, humanised trees, the centre left one seeming to have outstretched arms, gesticulating, whilst the other three stand in deferential attendance. they somehow seem represent the past in an eerie sort of way.
Nutcracker 2019
I know, I chopped his head off, but when you are working with a fixed prime lens, and in this case I was and I had little choice from where I was positioned. Besides, she was the subject. But all that said, there's something about this shot that I loved, especially after seeing it in editing. I love his slightly outstretched hand, the light, the shadows and reflections, but mostly the fortuitous Rembrandt lighting on her, and her overall expression. And for me, all that outweighs his lopped off head...what say you?
Lovely birds; painstaking to get them in flight with identical outstretched wings and tail feathers flared.
But again, so worth it!
I like the lighting on this shot.
Ein Basstölpel fliegt über der Nordsee bei Helgoland. Mit ausgestreckten Flügeln lässt er sich vom Wind treiben.
High-Flyer
A gannet flies over the North Sea at Helgoland. With the wings outstretched, the bird is driven by the wind.
Misty fog rolls across the still waters of the inlet. A small spindley tree reaches for the heavens, beckoning to be lifted from the mire it is surrounded by.. There it remains, limbs outstretched, cold and alone.
Bittern - Botaurus Stellaris
Norfolk
The bittern is a thickset heron with all-over bright, pale, buffy-brown plumage covered with dark streaks and bars. It flies on broad, rounded, bowed wings. A secretive bird, very difficult to see, as it moves silently through reeds at water's edge, looking for fish. The males make a remarkable far-carrying, booming sound in spring. It's very small, reedbed-dependent population make it an Amber List species.
It is also a Schedule 1 species.
Unlike the similar storks, ibises, and spoonbills, herons, egrets, pelicans, and bitterns fly with their necks retracted, not outstretched.
Eurasian bitterns feed on fish, small mammals, amphibians and invertebrates, hunting along the reed margins in shallow water. British records include eels up to 35 cm (14 in) and other fish, mice and voles, small birds and fledglings, frogs, newts, crabs, shrimps, molluscs, spiders and insects. In continental Europe, members of over twenty families of beetle are eaten, as well as dragonflies, bees, grasshoppers and earwigs. Some vegetable matter such as aquatic plants is also consumed.
Males are polygamous, mating with up to five females. The nest is built in the previous year's standing reeds and consists of an untidy platform some 30 cm (12 in) across. It may be on a tussock surrounded by water or on matted roots close to water and is built by the female using bits of reed, sedges and grass stalks, with a lining of finer fragments. Four to six eggs are laid in late March and April and incubated by the female for about twenty-six days. After hatching, the chicks spend about two weeks in the nest before leaving to swim amongst the reeds. The female rears them without help from the male, regurgitating food into the nest from her crop, the young seizing her bill and pulling it down. They become fully fledged at about eight weeks.
The Eurasian bittern has a very wide range and a large total population, estimated to be 110,000 to 340,000 individuals. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its overall conservation status as being of "least concern because although the population trend is downward, the rate of decline is insufficient to justify rating it in a more threatened category. The chief threat the bird faces is destruction of reed beds and drainage and disturbance of its wetland habitats. It is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies. The southern race has suffered catastrophic decline during the 20th century due to wetland degradation and, unlike the northern race, is of high conservation concern.
In the United Kingdom, the main areas in which the Eurasian bittern breeds have been Lancashire and East Anglia with an estimated 44 breeding pairs in total in 2007. However, the Lancashire population at Leighton Moss RSPB reserve has declined in recent decades, while bitterns have been attracted to new reed beds in the West Country. In Ireland, it died out as a breeding species in the mid-19th century, but in 2011 a single bird was spotted in County Wexford and there have been a number of subsequent sightings. In the 21st century, bitterns are regular winter visitors to the London Wetland Centre, enabling city dwellers to view these scarce birds.
Population:
UK breeding:
80 males
UK wintering:
600 birds
Europe:
21 - 29,000 pairs
A female chaffinch descends onto the surface of a birch tree, her wings outstretched, showcasing the delicate patterns underneath. Likely drawn by the promise of food
Also known as the snake bird or water turkey, the anhinga is a year-round resident of Florida. It is also found from coastal sections of South Carolina westward to Texas and Mexico, and even south to Argentina.
Like cormorants, anhingas do not have oil glands for waterproofing their feathers and the feathers get wet when they are swimming.
You can often spot the anhinga perched on a branch with wings outstretched, drying feathers. They feed on small fish, shrimp, amphibians, crayfish and young alligators and snakes. The fact that their feathers are less water resistant than other birds helps them to swim underwater, where they often spear fish with their long neck and sharp beak. They surface in order to flip their catch into their mouth for consumption.
Mating generally occurs in February with egg-laying occurring throughout the spring and early summer. Nests are built in shoreline trees 15 to 20 feet high.
I found this one along Peavine Road in Osceola County, Florida.
On an island in Songkhla Lake lies this huge reclining Buddha at Phranon Laem Temple. It's an unassuming temple, as far as Thai temples go, but any vehicle driving over this island is going to see the back of this statue on the main road right behind it and be enticed to come and explore. I was stood up taking this photo and barely reached the statue's outstretched hand, although there is a moulded platform this statue lies upon, which reached to my waist.
Male mallard makes contact with the lake's surface. Oakland Lake, Alley Pond Park, Queens, NYC -- October 23, 2022
"The scorcerer's apprentice"
Der Zauberlehrling, auch Tanzender Strommast genannt, ist ein dauerhaft installiertes Kunstwerk in Oberhausen, das anlässlich der Ausstellung Emscherkunst 2013 entstand.
Die etwa 35 Meter hohe Skulptur besteht aus Stahlprofilen und zeigt das von Freileitungen vertraute Bild eines Gittermastes mit einer Traverse. Doch die normalerweise geraden Bauteile fügen sich in dieser Skulptur zu geschwungenen Formen zusammen, als tanze der Mast mit ausgestreckten Armen. Geschaffen wurde die Skulptur von der Berliner Künstlergruppe inges idee. Das Kunstwerk steht auf einer Grasfläche am Rhein-Herne-Kanal in der Nähe von Haus Ripshorst. Sein oberer Teil ist auch von der nördlich vorbeilaufenden A 42 aus sichtbar.
The "sorcerer's apprentice", also known as the dancing electricity pylon, is a permanently installed work of art in Oberhausen that was created on the occasion of the Emscherkunst 2013 exhibition.
The approximately 35 meter high sculpture consists of steel profiles and shows the image of a lattice mast with a crossbar, familiar from overhead lines. But the normally straight components in this sculpture come together to form curved shapes, as if the mast were dancing with outstretched arms. The sculpture was created by the Berlin artist group "inges idee". The artwork stands on a grassy area on the Rhine-Herne Canal near Haus Ripshorst. Its upper part is also visible from the A 42 running north.
This species is a mid-sized ibis. It is 48–66 cm (19–26 in) long, averaging around 59.4 cm (23.4 in) with an 80–105 cm (31–41 in) wingspan.
The culmen measures 9.7 to 14.4 cm (3.8 to 5.7 in) in length, each wing measures 24.8–30.6 cm (9.8–12.0 in), the tail is 9–11.2 cm (3.5–4.4 in) and the tarsus measures 6.8–11.3 cm (2.7–4.4 in). The body mass of this ibis can range from 485 to 970 g (1.069 to 2.138 lb).
Breeding adults have reddish-brown bodies and shiny bottle-green wings. Non-breeders and juveniles have duller bodies.
This species has a brownish bill, dark facial skin bordered above and below in blue-gray (non-breeding) to cobalt blue (breeding), and red-brown legs. Unlike herons, ibises fly with necks outstretched, their flight being graceful and often in V formation. It also has shiny feathers.
Sounds made by this rather quiet ibis include a variety of croaks and grunts, including a hoarse grrrr made when breeding.
This image was taken at Maspalomas on Gran Canaria, one of the Canary Islands, off the west coast of Africa.
Bittern - Botaurus Stellaris
Norfolk
The bittern is a thickset heron with all-over bright, pale, buffy-brown plumage covered with dark streaks and bars. It flies on broad, rounded, bowed wings. A secretive bird, very difficult to see, as it moves silently through reeds at water's edge, looking for fish. The males make a remarkable far-carrying, booming sound in spring. It's very small, reedbed-dependent population make it an Amber List species.
It is also a Schedule 1 species.
Unlike the similar storks, ibises, and spoonbills, herons, egrets, pelicans, and bitterns fly with their necks retracted, not outstretched.
Eurasian bitterns feed on fish, small mammals, amphibians and invertebrates, hunting along the reed margins in shallow water. British records include eels up to 35 cm (14 in) and other fish, mice and voles, small birds and fledglings, frogs, newts, crabs, shrimps, molluscs, spiders and insects. In continental Europe, members of over twenty families of beetle are eaten, as well as dragonflies, bees, grasshoppers and earwigs. Some vegetable matter such as aquatic plants is also consumed.
Males are polygamous, mating with up to five females. The nest is built in the previous year's standing reeds and consists of an untidy platform some 30 cm (12 in) across. It may be on a tussock surrounded by water or on matted roots close to water and is built by the female using bits of reed, sedges and grass stalks, with a lining of finer fragments. Four to six eggs are laid in late March and April and incubated by the female for about twenty-six days. After hatching, the chicks spend about two weeks in the nest before leaving to swim amongst the reeds. The female rears them without help from the male, regurgitating food into the nest from her crop, the young seizing her bill and pulling it down. They become fully fledged at about eight weeks.
The Eurasian bittern has a very wide range and a large total population, estimated to be 110,000 to 340,000 individuals. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its overall conservation status as being of "least concern because although the population trend is downward, the rate of decline is insufficient to justify rating it in a more threatened category. The chief threat the bird faces is destruction of reed beds and drainage and disturbance of its wetland habitats. It is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies. The southern race has suffered catastrophic decline during the 20th century due to wetland degradation and, unlike the northern race, is of high conservation concern.
In the United Kingdom, the main areas in which the Eurasian bittern breeds have been Lancashire and East Anglia with an estimated 44 breeding pairs in total in 2007. However, the Lancashire population at Leighton Moss RSPB reserve has declined in recent decades, while bitterns have been attracted to new reed beds in the West Country. In Ireland, it died out as a breeding species in the mid-19th century, but in 2011 a single bird was spotted in County Wexford and there have been a number of subsequent sightings. In the 21st century, bitterns are regular winter visitors to the London Wetland Centre, enabling city dwellers to view these scarce birds.
Population:
UK breeding:
80 males
UK wintering:
600 birds
Europe:
21 - 29,000 pairs
Annabel strikes an appropriate pose in front of a giant eye painted on a great expanse of wall along Little Rundle Street, in Kent Town.
THEEN UPDATE
I've spent the last month finishing up at work as resigned from my full-time job 4.5 weeks ago. I am going to learn some new skills and start a business selling apps on the App Store.
My son has Asperger's Syndrome, he is unable to work for someone else, but he is pretty bright and good at programming apps. I am hoping that the business will be there to support him after my husband and I are dead and gone.
It is a completely new direction for me, so wish me luck!
"What drifts between the mired lines of fate and dreams sets free the sorrowed wakening of the harrowed heart.
In cold rapture, time stands still with every word exposed and seen through touching, gazing eyes
Each moment gone before begets the forward, eternal march unto dawn
The good bestows lawful effortless bounty of what was always meant to be"
- Axion Prelude Jun 2014
The above seemed apt for the scene and capture with harsh heavy backlight from the African sun through the tree and the gorgeous sculpture in a series by Anton Smit called "Faith" at Delaire Graff Estate, Stellenbosch.
Yucca brevifolia, or Joshua tree, is plentiful in Joshua Tree National Park. Their common name is said to have been given to them by Mormon settlers who thought their outstretched arms reminded them of a Biblical story about Joshua.
The trees grow about 3 inches a year in the first 10 years and thereafter about 1 1/2 inches a year depending on conditions. They can live for hundreds of years topping out at around 50 feet. There is concern that climate change will impact their ability to survive in their namesake park.
Harris Brown-ALL rights reserved. This image may not be used for ANY purpose without written permission.
High Island, Galveston County Texas, USA.
Still working on images from our Texas trip last March.
Roseate Spoonbills wade through shallow water swinging their head side to side with their bill under the water feeling for prey. They tend to forage with their bodies held in a horizontal position just above the water with head hanging down. They fly with the neck outstretched, dipping slightly below the body. Spoonbills forage, roost, and nest in groups often with other ibises, herons, and egrets.
Thanks to all who take the time to view, comment on and favor my images. It is very much appreciated.
Nikon Z9 camera with Nikon 500mm f 5.6 E PF lens.
1/3200 F5.6 ISO 280
Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit... Repent and live!
Ezekiel 18:31-32
His apprentice's power grows..it is natural and raw..So a test was had.."Keep focus..the creature you face will try and harm you..channel..focus..show me what you have learned thus far" She stood firm..ready to face what comes through..large hands ..Stone..reshaping came from the wall..She felt fear..a tremble of panic..but did as he said..Focus she thought..No wands..Only her knowledge ..She felt the flow and ebb of energy surround her..then ..the sparks of the arcane from her fingers..the crackle of small bursts of lightning like energy from her hands..as the sparks grew they channeled out..reaching out..and crumbling the rock hands as they reached out ..slowly to dust..they reshaped and again she showed her power..over and over it happened..the test grew stronger as her power ebbed and faded..the fear was gaining..and over took her..with a wave of his hand..the stone hands reformed into the wall and back it formed to normal..He outstretched his hand to pick her up from the stone floor.."You exceeded what I thought you could do..There is promise in you....Rest ..for in the morrow we have much to do..this..is only the beginning"
I know they have a huge wingspan, but still tend to zoom in too close when tracking eagles. In this instance, I tracked a Golden Eagle coming off a post, and all frames where its wings were outstretched ended up clipping at least one wing. Luckily, the two or three frames in which the wings were not fully extended were sharp. I keep thinking that eventually I will learn how to do this right :-)
More luck: a Golden Eagle pair have been hanging around, not far from the village, since last winter. I don't know where they are nesting, but I do know approximately where to look for them. They are huge, amazing, and beautiful.
Photographed near Val Marie, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2020 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
Sometimes you find that you are in the right place at the right time, and yesterday morning that happened to me. I was out for my exercise walk and I spotted a Fox galloping across the field. My camera was on the right settings and it was the perfect distance with the light behind me. I managed a few shots including this where all four paws are off the ground, looking like one of the Greyhounds on the cover of Blur's Parklife album. I may well post a second photograph of the sequence where the legs were outstretched and where he turned to look at me. This photo is virtually straight off the camera with just a tiny crop to off-centre him.
I should add that I rarely see Foxes out during the day near to where I live, and they are always skittish. But I have had a run of good fortune recently with them. I suspect that those of you who are lucky enough to have tame Foxes that are not camera-shy, probably don't get many opportunities to capture them galloping at full pelt.
The title "Fantastic Mr Fox" is from a wonderful Roald Dahl book that I loved reading to my children. It's about a Fox who outwits three nasty farmers who are out to get him.
There is something healing in talking to trees and admiring the plants along the trail. I'm sure we'd all be better off if we made time each day to step away from our distractions and admire what surrounds us. In fact, as I looked up at the trees, I was certain I saw a small person balancing on a thin branch. Perhaps it was just the maple seeds I saw, but if you look carefully maybe you'll see those outstretched arms as the wood elf dances. "In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous."
Aristotle
Created for the Magnificent Manipulated Masterpieces 113th MMM WHATS IN THE SKY Challenge
Swan with thanks to PRUSSIAART
Swans with thanks to MAKY-OREL
Cloud with thanks to Alwa3d
Cloud with thanks to TheStockWarehouse
Cloud with thanks to gleeresources
Sometimes Jasper uses his front paws to funnel the OddBall into his mouth. It seems to work pretty well. But its so funny to see his front paws outstretched to catch the ball like some kind of human. I guess I don't always notice how much fur he has on his front legs, but this shot illustrates that he has copious amounts
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Peace Symbol
The symbol now known internationally as the "peace symbol" or "peace sign", was created in 1958 as a symbol for Britain's campaign for nuclear disarmament. It went on to be widely adopted in the American anti-war movement in the 1960s and was re-interpreted as generically representing world peace. It was also used by activists opposing nuclear power in the 1980s,[citation needed] although the Smiling Sun image () ["Nuclear power? No thanks!]" predominated.
Origin
The symbol was designed by Gerald Holtom (1914–1985), who presented it to Direct Action Committee on 21 February 1958. It was "immediately accepted" as a symbol for the movement and used for a march from Trafalgar Square, London, to the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment at Aldermaston in Berkshire on 4 April. Holtom's design was adapted by Eric Austen (1922–1999) to ceramic lapel badges. The original design is in the Peace Museum in Bradford, England.
The symbol is a super-imposition of the flag semaphore for the characters "N" and "D", taken to stand for "nuclear disarmament". This observation was made as early as 5 April 1958 in the Manchester Guardian. In addition to this primary genesis, Holtom additionally cited as inspiration Francisco
Goya's painting The Third of May 1808 :
I was in despair. Deep despair. I drew myself: the representative of an individual in despair, with hands palm outstretched outwards and downwards in the manner of Goya's peasant before the firing squad. I formalised the drawing into a line and put a circle round it.
Ken Kolsbun, a correspondent of Holtom's, says that the designer came to regret the symbolism of despair, as he felt that peace was something to be celebrated and wanted the symbol to be inverted. Eric Austen is said to have "discovered that the 'gesture of despair' motif had long been associated with 'the death of man', and the circle with 'the unborn child'".
The symbol became the badge of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, and wearing it became a sign of support for the campaign that argued for British unilateral nuclear disarmament. An account of CND's early history described the image as "a visual adhesive to bind the [Aldermaston] March and later the whole Campaign together ... probably the most powerful, memorable and adaptable image ever designed for a secular cause".
Source: Peace symbols | Wikipedia
Metropolitan Museum of Art
In this variation on the theme if lost love Rodin depicts the moment that the god Cupid abandons the mortal Psyche at the command of the jealous goddess Venus.Outstretched across a block of unfinished marble Psyche desperately clings to the god as he lowers his face
towards her and ascends with beating wings.The projecting marble strut supporting Cupid's arms binds him to the blocks and locks the the lovers in an eternal parting embrace.
“This my dear, is the
greatest challenge
of being alive :
To witness
the injustice
of this world,
and not
allow it
to consume
our light.” - CREDIT : @oxherdboy (Instagram)
Soundtrack : www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEoPVV__7jk
WALK BESIDE ME – Celtic Woman
It's difficult for most people to understand
what it is to be a stranger in someone elses land
where English is your second language
and you're tongue-tied trying to say the sounds
The bay in which I find myself
is made up of half stones half sand
I venture to cross an invisible border
nothing that I do is planned
A little girl who seems familiar
takes me by my outstretched hand
and smilingly she leads me
further up upon the silken sand
Above the tide line are two turtles
heading towards the sandy dunes
the wind is whispering old love songs
and some childhood nursery tunes
the tide line is a tangled mess
of shells and stones cast out like runes
I ask the child who are the turtles
carved out so carefully with spoons
she says the big one is her mama
and the smaller one is her
I ask where then is the other turtle
the one that represents her father
she points across the stretching sand
where the tide recedes so far and wide
to touch another distant land
that borders another and another beside
I squint my eyes and try to see
but like a mirage in front of me
the landscaped hills appear to be
just smoke stretched out horizontally
He had to stay behind to fight
to keep our homeland free she said
I marvelled at her understanding
her matter-of-fact account sans dread
but her eyes were sparkling with unshed tears
her comprehension beyond her years
but without the words to express her fears
I heard her tangibly and felt so clear
the turtles telling her story
- AP - Copyright © remains with and is the intellectual property of the author
Copyright © protected image please do not reproduce without permission
18th Dynasty wooden figure of an enthroned ram-headed god with arms outstretched, overlaid with plastered linen.
British Museum
As I work in the garden I always keep the camera handy, as you never know what you'll disturb and see. I was rewarded this time with this Small Magpie Moth (Anania hortulata) that flew out from some weeds and landed on our stone wall, with its wings outstretched to show their full beauty.
The red-tailed-hawk, frustrated by the chunk of wood stuck to his right talons, sees no solution (or concerns) on his right.
Thank you to Maurice Boire for correcting my identification of this bird: this is a red-tailed hawk, not a Cooper's hawk. Apologies for my error,
*See Wildlife album for other photos in this series
‘Double tap and Zoom’
‘Goldfinch in the golden hour'.
A beautiful male Goldfinch, Carduelis carduelis captured here in the 'golden hour' of an autumn day, foraging on a bed of Teasels.
A spiders web and silken threads can be seen on the Teasels in the image, glistening in the evening sunlight.
The Goldfinch, Carduelis carduelis or to give it one of its ancient names 'The ‘Thisteltuige’ has a specialised pointed beak which it has evolved as a natural work of art for getting into and feeding on teasels, thistles, and seeds.
Many thanks for visiting my Flickr pages ...Your visits, interest, comments and kindness to 'fave' my photos is very much appreciated, Steve.
Notes:
Goldfinches primarily eat seeds. In early summer Goldfinches feed on the seeds of small plants such as dandelions and groundsel, in late summer thistles and teasels become their most important source of food. Their long, slim beaks have evolved to make the Goldfinch a specialist thistle feeder.
One of its earliest recorded local names is ‘Thisteltuige’, this Anglo-Saxon name of the eighth century literally means thistle-tweaker. Even the scientific name Carduelis carduelis is derived from the Latin, Carduus, meaning Thistle. The male of the species has a slightly longer beak enabling him to reach the seed of the teasel so the female then monopolises the thistles.
If you can get close to a goldfinch feeding on a teasel you may hear the vibration as the finch shakes its beak in the seed hole presumably to widen the gap or loosen the seed. They need to be deft with their feet and wings to hold tight as the wind blows the teasels around.
Goldfinches have relatively short, stout legs to enable them to hold tight but they often need to use outstretched wings to balance counteract the buffeting of the wind, Saga notes.
This Green Heron just couldn’t decide: ‘Should I stay or should I go?’ He would stretch his neck up, begin to leave then compress that magical slinky neck down and relax for a few seconds before doing it again. Finally, he stretched his neck way out and took to the air. Green Herons are often amusing, chasing each other around, making strange sounds, fishing from low branches or from the air and working that magical neck. Lots of fun. I’ll be offline for a bit but wanted to wish everybody a wonderful New Year. See you in ’25! (Butorides virescens) (Sony a1ii, 400mm, f/2.8, 1/3200, ISO 1600)
El FACYL nos ofrece en el Patio de la Salina de Salamanca, una instalación en serigrafía sobre vidrio del artista Gonzalo Borondo, en colaboración con el estudio de serigrafía 56Fili.
Es una instalación transitable en serigrafía formada por 50 láminas de vidrio. Dos imágenes gráfico-pictóricas coexisten: de un lado, una columna y del otro una figura humana de espaldas con los brazos extendidos. La superposición determina juegos perceptivos que cambian la visión del espectador.
The FACYL offers us in the Patio de la Salina de Salamanca, an installation in serigraphy on glass by the artist Gonzalo Borondo, in collaboration with the 56Fili serigraphy studio.
It is a walkable installation in silkscreen made up of 50 sheets of glass. Two graphic-pictorial images coexist: on one side, a column and on the other a human figure from behind with outstretched arms. The superposition determines perceptual games that change the view of the viewer.
Le FACYL nous propose dans le Patio de la Salina de Salamanca, une installation en sérigraphie sur verre de l'artiste Gonzalo Borondo, en collaboration avec le studio de sérigraphie 56Fili.
Il s'agit d'une installation piétonnière en sérigraphie composée de 50 feuilles de verre. Deux images graphiques-picturales coexistent: d'un côté, une colonne et de l'autre une figure humaine de dos aux bras tendus. La superposition détermine les jeux perceptifs qui changent la vue du spectateur.