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My florist provides me with some beautiful blooms to fill my house with. Much was my delight to discover these white and mauve chrysanthemums in his shop. The humidity that we are currently experiencing this summer won't make these blooms droop, as they are very hardy and long lasting.
Chrysanthemums, what I still call "mums", are also known as "chrysanths" by my mother and many other people. They are flowering plants of the genus Chrysanthemum in the family Asteraceae. They are native to Asia and northeastern Europe. Most species originate from East Asia and the center of diversity is in China. Countless horticultural varieties and cultivars exist.
The grey squirrel was introduced into the UK in the 1800's. It provides an easy encounter with wildlife for many people, but can be damaging to woodlands and has contributed to the decline of the red squirrel.
One of our most familiar mammals, the grey squirrel can be found in woods, gardens and parks across town and country, and often proves to be very tame. It is a frequent visitor to gardens with bird tables and feeders, becoming a pest for many bird-lovers. Grey squirrels feast on hazelnuts by cracking the shell in half. You may also find pine cones that have been nibbled, leaving what looks like an apple core behind. They will cache their food in autumn if it is abundant. Grey squirrels make a rough nest, called a 'drey' out of twigs, leaves and strips of bark in the fork of a branch, high up in the tree canopy. Females may have two litters of three to four young a year. The average lifespan of a grey squirrel 2 to 5 years
Grey squirrel's have a silver-grey coat, with a brownish face and feet, and pale underside. It has a characteristically bushy tail. It is easily distinguished from the red squirrel by its larger size, grey fur, and smaller ears without tufts.
The conservation status of the grey squirrel is classified as an invasive non-native species.
Length: 9.5 to 11.25 in. (24 to 28.5 cm)
Tail: 7.7 to 9.5 in. (19.5 to 24 cm)
Weight: 14 to 22.9 oz. (400 to 650 g)
I've posted this photo as it provides a comparison between juvenile Iceland Gull, on the left and juvenile Herring Gull on the right.
The main identification features for the Iceland Gull are the pale plumage, smaller size, sloping forehead, pink on bill (though bill can be all black) completely pale projecting wingtips. Whereas the Herring Gull is a bigger, bulkier bird, has black bill often with green/yellow, a "less pronounced sloping forehead" darker plumage and black/ dark brown wing tips.
The beautifully winding Icelandic Ring Road also provides great opportunities for photography especially with the often stark surrounding landscape.
The cliff walk bridge over the valley provides amazing views of the river and valley below at the Capilano Suspension Bridge Park in Vancouver, Canada.
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Rivers provide an important freshwater habitat. We enjoy how they look, play in them, drink from them and use them for transport.
pondinformer.com/importance-of-river-ecosystems.
Ethereal City Legacy 2025
maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Ethereal%20City%20Legacy/1...
This set provides an exploration of a specific bay's daily transformation. A location that came into existence around three million years ago, the bay has seen numerous changes in vegetation, fauna, and human interaction. Despite our perceptions, this place is in a state of constant flux. Each day, it presents a new tableau, with variations in wave patterns, cloud formations, light reflections, and the ebb and flow of terrestrial and marine life. From the water in the sky as clouds to the water on the earth as a sea, every element forms a dynamic and harmonious landscape. Each photograph in this set captures a unique moment, illustrating the bay's ever-changing character and highlighting our natural world's profound yet often overlooked daily transformations.
Enjoying the leftovers....
Grey squirrel
Scientific name: Sciurus carolinensis
The grey squirrel was introduced into the UK in the 1800s. It provides an easy encounter with wildlife for many people, but can be damaging to woodlands and has contributed to the decline of the red squirrel.
A really nice sunset provides a backdrop for P97 as they leave New Bern for Chocowinity, crossing over the Neuse. NS has been obsessed with sending ET44s here lately. First we had 3653 on P97 (which I recently got the Scaletrains HO model of), then was followed up by 3652 here a few weeks later after a C6M took the reins for a bit. On top of that, New Bern's local power, another C6M, derailed on the Weyerhaeuser spur near Vanceboro on E32. This caused NS to replace it with 3654, which had just led an inbound potash train to Morehead City a few days prior and was plucked from that power set as an emergency replacement for the derailed C6M. A few more have made the rounds on P98 as well. With there only being 81 NS ET44s, it's kinda weird that so many have been going here as of recent.
The second container of dirt I received in my Christmas gift got to go outside today. I tried to get a photo of the tiny white flowers in a previous shot but with more of the leaves and structure of the flowers and leaves. Hopefully, someone will be able to provide identification of the white blooms. Dwarf Paperwhites?
Provide your troops better camouflage so they can stop Allied assault! Now available!
Only $3,5 each!
Mauna Loa provides a quite good view north toward Mauna Kea. The laser of Keck 2 is visible in the higher-resolution versions of this image. The scene is lit by a 48% moon, and a lightning storm is visible behind the left flank of the mountain. Pohakuloa Training Area, an Army training base, is the lights below the left side of the mountain. Saddle Road crosses the valley between Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa.
Shot on a 7D2 + Rokinon 24mm f/1.4 at f/4. 19 2-minute exposures were stacked.
Credits:
Hat: [R8TERZ] Ace Hat
Hair: [GK] REASE LONG LOCS PONY 2.0 (SCALPZ)
Necklace: FaeTal – Crybaby – @ manhood
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Body Credits:
Outfit: L’Emporio&PL ::Blow::Complete set @ manhood
Shoes: [Deadwool] 17. Chelsea boots – taupe
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Manhood event info:
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The Canadian Coast Guard provides icebreaking services for commercial ships, ferries and fishing vessels in ice-covered Canadian waters, including vessel escorts, harbour breakouts, maintaining shipping routes and providing ice information services.
These services:
- ensure safe navigation,
- prevent the formation of ice jams and flooding
- maintain open routes for maritime commerce
Thanks Government of Canada website!
This little beauty (and it's took-longer-than-you'd-think ice and water) was built to celebrate Canada's 150th birthday! Check out this and other celebratory creations on the Canada Build 150 website curated by Brickman Graeme!
My photographic travel often provide me with chance encounters with people, especially women.
(Perhaps someone will remember the cinematic shot of a Lady on horseback in a beautiful autumn avenue 2020)
On October 30 I descend from Rhemes Valley with destination Valpelline for repeat the high tour of Place Moulin Lake, where I took the photo posted yesterday.
Around 11.30 a.m. I'm already hungry and descend on a grassy trail, together with a couple of Dutch hikers, also heading to the Prarayer Refuge for lunch.
We exchange a some words in English and a friendly Italian of their own.
They linger in the coolness of the Larch forest and in a few minutes I am back on the dirt trail that circles along the lake. After a few minutes of walking here comes toward me a blond girl concentrated on a mtb bike.
I feel like I know her and it's indeed Maura, finally on vacation herself after a busy season at her hotel, where she hosted my wife and me in late August.
I chide her sympathetically for not keeping the hotel open for the Fall Foliage days, but her answer is here in this photo and the beauty around of her mountains.
We said goodbye and then she authorized me by email to publish the photo.
I miei viaggi fotografici mi regalano spesso incontri casuali con persone, soprattutto donne.
(Forse qualcuno ricorderà lo scatto cinematografico di una signora a cavallo in un scenografico viale autunnale nel 2020).
Il 30 ottobre scendo dalla Valle di Rhemes con destinazione Valpelline per ripetere il giro alto del Lago di Place Moulin, dove ho scattato la foto postata ieri.
Verso le 11.30 sono già affamato e scendo lungo un tratturo erboso, ad uso animali in alpeggio, insieme a una coppia di escursionisti olandesi, anche loro diretti al Rifugio Prarayer per il pranzo.
Scambiamo qualche parola in inglese e un loro amichevole italiano.
Loro si attardano nel fresco del bosco di larici e io in pochi minuti eccomi sullo sterrato che costeggia il lago. Dopo qualche minuto di cammino ecco che mi viene incontro una ragazza bionda concentrata su una mtb.
Mi sembra di conoscerla ed è proprio Maura, finalmente in vacanza anche lei dopo una stagione intensa nel suo albergo di Bionaz, dove ha ospitato me e mia moglie a fine agosto.
La rimprovero simpaticamente per non aver tenuto aperto l'hotel per i giorni del Foliage, ma la sua risposta è in questa foto e nella bellezza delle sue montagne.
Ci siamo salutati e poi mi ha autorizzato via e-mail a pubblicare la foto. Arrivederci !
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The river cruise provides between the Asia and Europe sides of Turkey provide an amazing view of Istanbul, Turkey.
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Alstrom Point provides one of the most memorable, scenic, and widely photographed views of Lake Powell. While the actual hiking at the point is limited, half of the enjoyment of this location is the trip to get there.
Alstrom Point is very remote. Although you can see the city of Page, it will take you between 1.5 to 3 hours to get there. There is no gas along the way. The road is primarily on the Tropic Shale, which can turn to a mud bog after rain or snow. The last mile or two into Alstrom Point is over rough slickrock and not well marked in places.
This eye catching grand view from Alstrom Point looks out over Gunsight Butte, Padre Bay and the immense Lake Powell. You may need a high clearance four wheel drive here. Reaching this viewpoint may also prove a challenge for those without directions. One possible route from Big Water, Utah, begins on Warm Creek Road to Smoky Mountain Road (Rec Road 230). South on Rec Road 264, known to some as Alstrom Point Road; but to the Google folks, its labeled as Romana Mesard Road. A good sense of direction or a bit luck maybe needed on this adventure.
This image is taken at sunset and when leaving the place it went dark very fast and a GPS was needed to find our way back to US89.
I had to de-saturate the reds, because it was all too much.
Image is part of the south-west tour.
Enjoy...
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Technical Details;
Camera; Canon EOS 1Ds mkIII
Lens; Canon 24-70mm 2.8L USM
Exposure; 1/15 sec
Aperture; f16
Filter; polariser + Lee Hard Edge 0.6 Grad
ISO; 50 RAW
Tripod; Gitzo 3541L
Ballhead; RRS BH-55 with B2 AS II clamp
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Image is under Copyright by Henk Meijer.
Contact me by email if you want to buy or use my photographs.
raindrops provide some bokeh background to the flatleaf parsley sitting on the kitchen windowsill, it looks like a warm summers sunset...but its not, just some processing in lightroom
Along for the ride, and to provide motivation. (There were several other dogs in boats out on the water during the hour I was there.)
There is a "rule" (a.k.a. guideline) of composition that you should leave space in the frame ahead of a moving person or object, or in the direction a person is looking, so they have somewhere to go before hitting the edge of the image. But the man here is facing backward as he rows. Oh, what to do?!
I had cropped out a lot of empty water to enlarge my subject and didn't want to undo that, but I did not want to lose that sparkling wake, either. I decided, as you can see, that this position felt right, with not only his unseen face but also his arms and oars pointing to his beloved dog and further astern. If there is slight tension from the bow almost hitting the frame, echoed and propelled by the angled ripples in the foreground, it seems to work. And, finally, the tension of opposing diagonals seems, to me, to drive this image.
(By the way. Google Maps is weird. There is a Ten Pound Island in Gloucester Harbor--the reputed origin of the name has several competing versions---but what was historically Five Pound Island was long ago built over by the Jodrey State Fishing Pier and its adjacent marina, which is filled with mostly commercial vessels. So, if you visit Gloucester, you can see where I shot this photo, but you will search in vain for Five Pound Island.)
New findings from NASA’s Juno probe orbiting Jupiter provide a fuller picture of how the planet’s distinctive and colorful atmospheric features offer clues about the unseen processes below its clouds. The results highlight the inner workings of the belts and zones of clouds encircling Jupiter, as well as its polar cyclones and even the Great Red Spot.
Jupiter's banded appearance is created by the cloud-forming weather layer. This composite image shows views of Jupiter in infrared and visible light taken by the Gemini North telescope and NASA's Hubble Space Telescope.
Credits: International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/NASA/ESA, M.H. Wong and I. de Pater (UC Berkeley) et al.
#NASA #MarshallSpaceFlightCenter #MSFC #Marshall #jpl #jetpropulsionlaboratory #nasamarshall #MSFC #solarsystem #juno #jupiter #space #astronomy #nasajuno #nasamarshallspaceflightcenter #HubbleSpaceTelescope #HST #ESA #EuropeanSpaceAgency
I spent some time scanning some of my father's old slides. Most are from the mid seventies, however I can't provide the specific dates. As I remember it from trips with my dad, a colorful and busy East Deerfield yard is bustling with action, including a pair of B&M geeps and Alco S4 1268 getting ready to make it's next move. Fred McGinnis, March 1977.
Aii provides the basis for my tribute to Grendel's Mother. BlackMage Outfit currently @ Midnight Order with additional accessories in the Aii Store.
Info and links on my Dark Blog ~ aznanasaccouterments.blogspot.com/2025/02/0201525aii.html
“Art provides us with clues about how to live our lives more fully...about how creating, collecting, and even just appreciating art can make daily living a masterpiece.”
― Michael Kimmelman, The Accidental Masterpiece: On the Art of Life and Vice Versa
Buddha inside the Tha Gyar Hit Phaya Temple. It is one of the smaller pagodas but it is possible to climb to higher levels through small tunnel stairways and able to walk around the outside of pagoda through narrow walkways. This temple provides wide views of the surrounding temples. Parts of the pagoda and it’s walkways is falling apart. It is located on Bagan-Nyaung-U Rd north of Old Bagan Myanmar. There are several neighboring temples named Lawka Chanthar Phaya and Tha Gyar Pone Phaya.
Red Foxes provide such a pleasurable splash of color amid the otherwise relatively monochromatic landscape of winter. I've been watching the fox population up here for decades and it's interesting the way that every five years or so, the fox community undergoes a shift in color .... For a few years, they will all be Red, as now. In some years, you begin to see numerous foxes with coats of many colors, a sort of calico of black, red and white .... Then for a number of years you see only black foxes.
This, at first look, seems like maybe it would be simple genetic drift within the population, but it appears to be cyclical and therefore one might suspect some variable influence within the environment.
This year, fox and lynx populations are low, an effect of an extremely low ebb in the amount of snowshoe hares available for dinner.
Interestingly, and this is an established fact, albeit one which has never been adequately explained ..... The abundance of rabbits in the northland follows a regular rise and fall, more of a boom and crash, which is closely correlated with the 11 year cycle of sunspot activity. This year, along with a nearly total lack of magnetic storms on the 90 million mile distant sun, we have almost no snowshoe hares ... they are rare.
At other times, during solar maximum, they are virtually everywhere .... At those times, in the course of a drive along the Alaska Highway, you will see literally hundreds of rabbits. Now, virtually none.
Nature provides some wonderful examples of camouflage. Here is an amazing cicada from the Genus Platypleura. I found several of this species in tall montane forest above 1500m on Mt. Kitanglad, Mindanao, Philippines
Gallant Magazine is excited to share its first Fall issue! Designed to provide a stunning virtual masterpiece for Second Life, this issue features Stealthic creator Hunter Robins, Dust Bunny owner Noel, and many Fall moments, to include Halloween and Thanksgiving! The new Dufaux Akina briefs, selected by Gac Akina and created by Luca Dufaux, are also now available with the release of the latest issue!
Gallant is also excited to announce the opening of Gallant Estates, a sim that captures many of the beautiful scenes you see shown in this latest issue. The sim will be open to the public for visitors until November 6th. And if that was not enough, the new website, GallantMagazineSL.com, is now up and running to share the latest updates in Men's Fashion and Home & Garden!
Lastly, for those of you who are members of the Gallant Magazine Readers group inworld, Apple Fall SL has released the Pumpkin Harvest Wreath! Simply stop by the Gallant Estates sim to join the group and grab your copy.
Thank you to all of the amazing and talented people who made this issue possible! We hope this issue delights and inspires! Happy Reading!
Gallant Estates: maps.secondlife.com/second…/Gallant%20Estates/…/128/2
Gallant Magazine Fall Issue: issuu.com/gallantmagazinesl/docs/gallant_magazine_sl_-_fa...
Crow Creek Mine provides a unique opportunity to relive the Historic Gold Rush of Alaska. Established in 1896, Crow Creek Mine is one of Alaska's most renowned hydraulic gold mining operations. The Toohey family took over ownership and management of the property in 1969 from the last true mine manager Arne Erickson. Since then, the family has worked hard to preserve the rich history and create an authentic experience
Hotlanta in August back in 1976 provides this view of a Southern hump set moving a cut of auto racks over the hill at Inman yard. The yard slug in the middle is a little unique for a couple of reasons. I can't make out the trucks on it, but they don't appear to be either Alco or EMD types, maybe FM's? And if you can make it out, check out the big spot light set up on the left end of the 925, a neat little idea. I was going to use the poles in this scene to straighten the photo, but I don't think there's a straight one in the bunch. So, then I thought about using the autos, but wait, those are cars from the 1970's....
Intelligent people provide ideas from their cloisters and barely put them into practice. Powerful people write the pages of history, shaping and re-shaping it through coarse-grain, monochromatic brushes. The latter use the former, depend on them. The former can't help being used, being depended on. And that, or a variation of it, is the news, anytime, anyplace, anywhere.
Someone has to provide the entertainment don’t they? It was all going on at Portreath as Kathleen thrashed the cliffs, the beach and the Monkey Hut at high tide on an exhilarating Saturday afternoon. By now we’d stood on the cliffs beside the pepperpot, and we’d watched the action from Dead Man’s Hut, where we had to queue patiently for a front row view. Finally, we headed down to the beach. Not on the beach - that wasn’t happening unless you were wearing a wetsuit, preferably with a long leash tied around an ankle with the other end tethered to a bollard in the car park. But on the small esplanade between the car park and the beach, reduced to shingle after a particularly vigorous winter season.
I don’t come to Portreath that often. It’s not even five miles away from our front door, but I have a habit of overlooking it, despite the obvious attractions. In warmer months I’ve often coasted down the cycle trail for an ice cream on the front before puffing my way back up the slope in a very low gear, sometimes stopping for coffee at the farm campsite and cafe that friends of mine run. Occasionally there will be some form of family gathering there, usually for a child’s birthday party in summer. But apart from that, I just pass on through, usually heading for Godrevy, and then only if in an idle moment I’ve decided to take the coast road. But when there’s a storm, this is the first place I always think of. Porthleven on the south coast often has the biggest waves, but I rarely drag myself over that way.
I should really come to Portreath more often. The crumbling coastal path in both directions remains largely unexplored on my part, and I suspect there are some rather good views along those cliffs that change with every passing winter as another few hundred tons of loose rock slide into the ocean. From here it’s a short but strenuous hike east to Porthtowan, or a slightly longer one to Godrevy, via North Cliffs and Hell’s Mouth. Another famous landmark where I’ve never taken a photo. What on earth have I been doing, you might ask?
As storms go, Kathleen was a tame puppy in comparison to some of the hoolies we’ve witnessed here. There’s no way some of the monstrous assaults on our coastline would have seen surfers taking to the water, but nine or ten of them were already bobbing about on the waves when we arrived, and another was about to join the party. Or was he? For fifteen or twenty minutes he edged back and forth - never coming inside or anywhere near the third in my frame I might add - watched by a crowd of day trippers who’d come to enjoy the elements in the couple of hours during which it had somehow remained dry. I’d already changed from the long lens, set up the tripod and popped a filter on, hoping to catch the sea dragging back around his ankles, and now I was just willing him to stand still, at least a teensy bit in from the edge of the frame as I clunked away at the shutter with each receding carpet of white foam. Finally he saw something that the rest of us couldn’t, and plodded off into the water. With a winter wetsuit and a pair of fins on his feet, I could only imagine how exciting it would be to nail those waves today. Not long afterwards it began to rain hard, and we raced back to the car and headed home to put the kettle on.
I love how this one turned out, with the bodyboarder gazing enigmatically out to sea, calculating the conditions as he waits. The first thing that I liked was the wake created in the surf as the water flowed back around our hero’s legs. That alone made this my instant choice from the group of shots I took here. But when I looked closer on the big screen, everything about the day was here. Another roller about to explode extravagantly over the poor maligned Monkey Hut on the end of the breakwater. A wall of white spray groping for holds on the side of the porous cliffs, on top of which sits the lonely Pepperpot. A car driving up Lighthouse Hill, seemingly oblivious to events going on around it. And if you look in, you’ll see the huddle at the Dead Man’s Hut, some of them armed with expensive camera gear, while others are just enjoying the experience. And just below them, the young man leaning over the railings with a woman near him thinking she’s safe. Just a few exposures later, the space is swamped by a wave - I’ve seen plenty of people take a soaking there on days like this. I’m sure some of them do it for kicks.
If ever you asked me to show you a picture that described the place, I’d look no further. Visceral, effervescent, bristling with white water, and always some crazy soul armed with a board, prepared to take it all on for that unforgettable ride. This is Portreath and it’s never dull.
The houses were built to provide housing for the workers of the McBryde Sugar Company. These were a cluster of homes built around the 1930s to house workers, and they are notable for being a part of Hawaii's plantation history. Today, many of these structures are facing demolition or are being preserved.
All Rights Reserved. None of these photos may be reproduced and/or used in any form of publication, print or the Internet without my written permission.
Lions, warriors, cherubs, and mythical beasts provide the ornamentation above the doorway of a building near the Jan Van Eyck Square, an important commercial district dating back to the 13th century. This building is relatively new, dating to the mid-1700's and restored in the late 19th century. Apparently Sint Jacob (Saint James) also keeps an eye out for vagabonds who might try to enter the premises.
Buildings in Bruges and other towns of the "Low Countries" (Belgium and the Netherlands) were characterized by brickwork rather than the larger stones found to the south in France. Large rocks had to be imported from elsewhere, so the local builders relied on bricks for construction. The Bell Tower in Bruges was one of the tallest structures constructed of brick at the time of its construction.
Kirriemuir Camera Obscura provides a fascinating glimpse of historic technology and striking views of the surrounding countryside.
On the roof of the building there is a device which with the clever use of mirrors shows an image in real time on this white dish.
I was last here in 1980 with my Grandfather and was happy to revisit this wonder.
In fact, camera obscuras date back to as far as 400BC, possibly even before records existed. The earliest known written account of a camera obscura was provided by a Chinese philosopher called Mo-tzu (or Mozi) in 400BC.
Kirriemuir Camera Obscura – one of only three in Scotland – is housed in a purpose-designed turret room in the Barrie Pavilion on Kirrie Hill. It was gifted to the town by Sir J M Barrie, the creator of Peter Pan, along with the cricket pavilion in which it is situated and was opened by the author on 7th June 1930.
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They provide important wildlife habitat, shelter for birds, food and cover for fish and for the insects they eat. Cattails help protect the banks of a pond from erosion. They intercept and reduce the force of small waves and wind on the shore. The stems catch and slow water and help trap sediment and silt.
Churches certainly provide an awesome focal point in the landscape, and this one is no exception. Following on from shooting the church at Compton Abbas (previous post), I was able to walk a little further and from my lofty vantage point pick out St Andrew’s Church in Fontmell Magna, bathed in misty, golden early evening light. A perfect end to a magical day.
Located in the Capitol building, the law library provides Iowa lawmakers, government employees, the Iowa legal community and the general public with a highly specialized legal collection of treatises and both state and federal statutory, regulatory and case law. The collection also contains the abstracts and arguments of the Iowa Supreme Court and Court of Appeals, legal periodicals, and materials produced by the Iowa legislature.
Equipment=Nikon D5000
Lens Used=Tamron SP AF 10-24mm F/3.5-4.5 Lens
Exposures=5
Location=Des Moines Iowa
Workflow= PhotoMatix 4.2 Adobe PhotoShop Cs6
Adobe Light room 3
Software, Nik Color Efex=tonal Contrast and Glamor Glow
Topaz Adjust= Mild Details
Topaz Details
A Caritas Ukraine distribution point for food, water, medicines and other essential goods in the city centre of Ivano-Frankyvsk. Staff and volunteers provide 1200 meals a day for displaced people.
Romana Zarovetska (61):
"For almost 29 years I have been cooking for poor people in the city. I am a professional cook and I used to work in restaurants. Now I only work for Caritas.
Right now, I'm making rice porridge with sausages and carrot salad.
I get lots of compliments on my cooking from the people who come here to get food. My approach is this: if my husband and children like it, then I will cook it for other people as well.
My favourite dish to make is borsch, the traditional Ukrainian beetroot soup."
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Large parts of Ukraine have been in a state of war since 2014. But since February 2022, the lives of all Ukrainians have been severely affected by violence, shortages of goods and food and a major displacement crisis.
In Ukraine, Cordaid funds partner organisations through Caritas Internationalis, a global network of Catholic aid organisations.
Caritas staff and volunteers have geared up and they are working day and night (not an exaggeration) to support people who have fled their homes with sometimes nothing more than the clothes they had on or those who, for whatever reason, cannot flee and are stuck in a warzone.
The western part of the country, and especially the city of Lviv, has become a humanitarian hub after the situation in the east deteriorated.
Trucks full of goods from neighbouring countries, often purchased with money from private donors from all over Europe, arrive there to be unloaded in storage spaces.
With great efficiency, aid workers load up their own trucks and start driving to the cities in the east, that have been suffering continuous air raids and bombings, and where, in some cases, people are still living in between the rubble.
Caritas does not only distribute food, water, clothes and medicines, they also provide a home for hundreds of displaced people or guide them to the border in case they are looking for safety outside of the country.
There is extra care for children in special centres or in family run orphanages, where they can learn, play and live at a safe distance from the ongoing violence.
In cities throughout the country, Caritas has set up tents where the most essential goods are being distributed and food kitchens where displaced people and others struggling with the hardship can get a daily warm meal. To give just an example: in the city of Ivano-Frankyvsk volunteers provide meals for 1200 people each day.
Many of those who are working in this immense humanitarian operation have suffered the consequences of the conflict themselves. It's a cliché, but it's true: war often brings out both the worst and the best in us.
This year the Providence and Worcester Railroad continued to provide their passenger train and crew for the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council's extremely popular Polar Express trains with trains running and 3:30 and 6:30 PM Fri-Sun for a total of 42 sold out trips in 2024.
The train consist is deadheading south from Worcester to begin the final weekend of performances with B39-8E 3910 (GE blt. Dec. 1987 as LMX 8534) amidst a winter wonderland scene of the first significant snow of the year. They crossing in Blackstone River near MP 17.9 on the historic original Providence and Worcester mainline just north of the Rhode Island state line. This is the 10th of 14 crossings of the Blackstone along the 43 mile line when traveling south from Worcester to Providence.
As I've told you before in previous posts the P&W is my hometown road and it is inextricably linked to the river it follows both historically and physically. The Blackstone River courses 48 miles from its headwaters near Worcester (at the confluence of the Middle River and Mill Brook) to where it flows into the Seekonk River at the headwaters of Narragansett Bay. The river drains a watershed of 640 square miles and more importantly drops 450 feet in the 48 miles. It is that drop, that made this river a pivotal point in American History.
From ririvers.org: A series of steep drops along the length of the Blackstone River provided ideal conditions for the development of water powered industry. Samuel Slater arrived in America in 1790, with managerial experience and technical knowledge of textile manufacturing in England. With the assistance of local merchants and artisans, he helped establish the first successful water-powered textile mill in America. Slater Mill was established on the Blackstone River, in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. This achievement is credited with spawning the birth of America's industrial revolution. Development of the Slater textile mill catalyzed the development of water-driven technology throughout the length of the Blackstone River. By 1914 water-powered mills occupied all of the readily available dam sites in the Valley.
As the birthplace of industrial America, the need for transportation quickly arose in the valley, and between 1825 and 1828 the Blackstone Canal was constructed. The canal lasted only 20 years having been rendered obsolete by the opening of the Providence and Worcester Railroad in 1847. The railroad has proven to be a more durable method of transportation and 175 years after its opening here it is still serving the purpose for which it was built.
Blackstone, Massachusetts
Friday December 20, 2024
March Point. Padilla Bay/Fidalgo Bay.
"Hosting one of the largest Great Blue Heron colonies in Western North America, this island of forest sits between Padilla and Fidalgo Bays. Vera and Bud Kinney donated this property to Skagit Land Trust in 1994 to protect the nesting herons. With the cooperation of neighboring landowners, each year, Skagit Land Trust conducts a nest count in the heronry. 680 heron nests were counted in 2019 in this relatively small area, which provides easy access to feeding grounds for the herons. Unfortunately, the Trust does not have access to all neighboring property, and therefore some heron nests are uncounted. The overall trend, however, shows increasing number of heron nests in the colony on SLT property and the property to which we have access -- and there are likely to be hundreds more nests on the adjacent property to which we do not have access." March Point Heronry
Dandelions provide pollen and nectar for more than 70 wild bee species. More than half of Germany's 600 wild bee species are rare, threatened or already extinct.
In Germany, three quarters of flying insects have vanished in 25 years ( www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/oct/18/warning-of-ec... ).
One third of all invertebrate species are endangered or have already gone extinct in Germany.
The loss of biodiversity on land worldwide amounts to 20 % ( IPBES (2019): Global assessment report on biodiversity and ecosystem services of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (Version 1). Zenodo. doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5657041, page 31 ).
The Iceland Meteorological Office provides incredible resources to assist with viewing of the northern lights: en.vedur.is/weather/forecasts/aurora/
Our drive to Egilsstaðir was notable for clear skies in the afternoon and evening. After checking into our hotel and eating dinner, we turned around and headed into the hills above Egilsstaðir. We caught our first glimpse of the Northern Lights (a dim green band across the entire northern sky), but were worried about light pollution from the city below. Thus we headed further into the mountains on an icy, winding and windy road.
We soon spotted an orange glow. As we drove on, we realized that a ski resort, with its runs being groomed at 2230, was creating even more light than the city had. So we kept going.
Finally, we saw the full glory of the Northern Lights dancing to our left. We found a suitable place to pull over (before reaching the town of Seyðisfjörður, which is the source of the glow on the right side of this photo).
The Northern Lights shone brightly for about 20 minutes before dimming to pale green again - long enough for us to take many images, including this one. There was a lovely twin waterfall (Gufufoss) behind us (which provided the soundtrack for our photo shoot), but the lights did not extend far enough west to include them in any images. This was our one and only sighting of the Northern Lights on this trip.
The Badlands provide unlimited compositions. Here's a shot while just wandering around. I just happened to stumble among these towers and there was some nice soft diffused golden light.
This isn't a long exposure shot, but I softened the clouds within Photoshop to aid the softer golden light in the final image.
Bisti Badlands, New Mexico