Happy anniversary to one of my favorite places in the world. John Muir’s “Range of Light”, Yosemite, was set aside by the federal government, #onthisdayinhistory , 135 years ago. This action predates the founding of the National Park Service and even Yellowstone’s incorporation as the first National Park. Yosemite came before all of that, set aside under the care of California, for all to enjoy. For me, Yosemite is the place of quiet contemplation and spiritual grandeur that really threw my love of the National Parks into overdrive. It is the best example of what ‘America’s best idea’ is and an inspiration to the world. And today, in 2025, The National Park Service is woefully underfunded, understaffed, abused, and at the whims of a hostile government that is shut down. The park, however, isn’t. Yosemite will remain open, a blessing for those who visit respectfully, but at the whims of those who will abuse and misuse their public lands. Once these places are ruined, they are gone. Once they are misused, they are damaged. We must continue to honor them. We must continue to fight for them. Anything less is capitulation to a government that expects your compliance to a system that is designed to favor the few over the many and totally discount the true meaning of what Yosemite stands for and represents. Speak up. Be a light for the Range of Light.

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- In @yosemitenps, you are on Western Sierra and Miwok land. #FindYourPark

- shot on a #sonya7riv, with a 50 mm lens. Edited in #Lightroom.

📍 - #yosemite #yosemitenationalpark #yosemitenation @yosemiteconservancy

- #landscape

- #usinterior #nationalparkgeek #nationalparkwonders #flickr #flickrfeature a #national_park_photography #nationalpark #nationalparkservice #longexposure_shots #yes_busa #tlpicks #artofvisuals #agameoftones #eclectic_shot #lensbible #photooftheday #beautifuldestinations #earthfocus #shotzdelight #travelphotography #sonyalpha #bealpha : @sonyalpha @Lightroom @flickr @NationalParkService @USInterior @nationalparkgeek @bestoftheusa_nationalparks @national_park_photographer

Railfreight Red Stripe liveried 37678 & 37688 with the returning Peakstone empties from Carterhouse in Widnes pass Fiddlers Ferry power station in July 1987.

This working arrived approx 06.00 and I managed to photograph it once with the sun coming up over the canal in the reverse direction to this shot.

* Up until closure of the Latchford to Skelton Junction line in July 1985 this working went the direct route via Latchford, Skelton Jct and South Manchester as did the MGR's from Yorkshire to Fiddlers Ferry.

** The Sankey Canal in the foreground predates the Railway here, it was an extension from Fiddlers Ferry where the existing canal (1757) entered the River Mersey and went across the salt marshes here direct to Widnes close to where the St Helens & Runcorn Gap Railway terminated.

My old favourite, always such a challenge to capture, always alert and ready to scamper off to safety.

Much reduced and continues such due in part tp predation by introduced vermin, dogs, cats even Weka predate eggs & young but more recently the building of walking tracks through Rail habitat making it unsuitable for nesting birds .Unbelievable nonsense denied by authorities of course with their a agenders

Peru is actually the country with the longest tradition of textile production, going back over 10,000 years, and predating pottery. The Chavin civilisation is generally credited with inventing the backstrap loom and many of the weaving techniques that have been passed down from generation to generation. What began as a simple process of spinning fibers and moving them across nets and cords has developed into a highly technical and skilled craft.

Following the Chavin, the coastal Paracas and Nazca cultures made beautiful and intricate embroideries and tapestries. With the dry desert conditions, many of these were preserved in underground tombs, giving us many clues to understand their way of life, in the absence of any written records.

I composed this image during one of this summer's road trips through Kananaskis Country, a wilderness and recreational area west of Calgary, Canada. It is one of the last summer images of this area I'll take this year. Autumn is soon upon us.

In one of Robert Frost's poems, he states: "The woods are lovely, dark and deep..." These words suggest that, in our minds, forests live in a state of contradiction: peace and beauty on one hand, fear and trepidation on the other. This photograph allows me to share with you a few thoughts about this contradiction.

Forests have always been recognized as the earthly embodiment of life, providing sustenance, shelter, and protection for countless species. Ancient cultures understood this vital role and often believed that the health of a forest was a direct reflection of the health of their people and the planet.

In many indigenous cultures, this connection between the health of the forest and the well-being of the people was not just a metaphor; it was a practical reality. They relied on the forest for food, medicine, and materials, and understood that preserving and protecting these resources was essential for their survival.

But a forest is also a rich and venerable metaphor for the unconscious, a wild realm where the sun and moon cast shadows indiscernible from the shapes to which they belong; where sound travels strangely and without reference; where creatures can be of this world or the other. As such, forests hold a profound connection to the spiritual world, serving as a bridge between the natural and the supernatural. Related to the above, the Japanese find peace in "forest bathing," and most of us understand the positive feelings that often occur when one walks in a forest that this phrase is attempting to capture.

Others have found other - and more sinister - symbolism in their consideration of the meaning of forests. The dark forest hypothesis is the conjecture that many alien civilizations exist throughout the universe, but they are both silent and hostile, maintaining their undetectability for fear of being destroyed by another hostile and undetected civilization. It is one of many possible explanations of the Fermi paradox, which contrasts the lack of contact with alien life with the potential for such contact. The hypothesis derives its name from Liu Cixin's 2008 novel The Dark Forest, although the concept predates the novel.

A Ferris wheel or giant wheel is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating upright wheel with multiple passenger-carrying components (commonly cabins) attached to the rim in such a way that as the wheel turns, they are kept upright, usually by gravity.

The original Ferris Wheel was designed and constructed by George Washington Gale Ferris Jr. as a landmark for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago; however, wheels of this form predate Ferris's wheel by centuries.

This image shows the assembly of a giant wheel at the fair ground of Regensburg.

Text adapted from Wikipedia;

texture by Kerstin Frank.

Set of 3.

Sat in the hide for a few hours at Middlebere looking towards the RSPB reserve at Arne. Lucky to see both a Hen Harrier & a Marsh Harrier. The distance tested my 300 lens but still good to see.

Of the UK's birds of prey, this is the most intensively persecuted. Once predating free-range fowl, earning its present name, its effect on the number of grouse available to shoot is the cause of modern conflict and threatens its survival in some parts of the UK, particularly on the driven grouse moors of England and Scotland.

Length:

44-52cm

Wingspan:

100-120cm

Weight:

300-400g (male) 400-600g (female)

Population:

UK breeding:

617 pairs (and 29 on the Isle of Man) in 2010

It is on the RED list, that is, this is the highest conservation priority, with species needing urgent action.

Gooderham Building....built 1891-1892 architect David Roberts....Toronto's very own "Flatiron" building, predating its larger, more famous New York cousin by 10 years....

Views around Cardiff Bay. The waterfront onto Cardiff Bay, with the 1897 Pierhead Building (or Dock Office) being the only on land structure that predates the very late 20th century. In the foreground are two reminders of a long gone age, parts of the hoists that were used to load millions of tons of coal onto ships destined for all parts of the world.

The buildings to the left of the Pierhead Building are a mixture of retail, commercial and residential, whilst to the right is the coppery roof of the Millennium Centre and part of the Senedd, the Welsh Parliament building. The Pierhead Building is an adjunct of the Senedd.

severnestuarypartnership.org.uk/explore-the-estuary/explo...

Hunting occurs mostly at night, but this owl is known to be diurnal and crepuscular as well. Its daylight hunting seems to coincide with the high-activity periods of voles, its preferred prey. It tends to fly only feet above the ground in open fields and grasslands until swooping down upon its prey feet-first. Several owls may hunt over the same open area. Its food consists mainly of rodents, especially voles, but it will eat other small mammals such as mice, ground squirrels, shrews, rats, bats, muskrats and moles. It will also occasionally predate smaller birds, especially when near sea-coasts and adjacent wetlands at which time they attack shorebirds, terns and small gulls and seabirds with semi-regularity. Avian prey is more infrequently preyed on inland and centers on passerines such as larks, icterids, starlings, tyrant flycatchers and pipits. Insects supplement the diet and short-eared owls may prey on roaches, grasshoppers, beetles, katydids and caterpillars. Competition can be fierce in North America with the northern harrier, with which the owl shares similar habitat and prey preferences. Both species will readily harass the other when prey is caught

Built circa 1873, the Italianate-style mansion predates the massive subdivision of the Taylor estate in the 1880s. The grand home commands the corner of Washington Avenue and 4th Street.

smc Pentax-A 28mm f/2.8

Rains County Heritage Park

Emory, TX

Cotton was a major cash crop for farmers in East Texas around the 1900s. The cotton industry in Raines County reached its record high in 1931. This building, dating from the 1920s, was used by the Raines County Farmers Co-Op Gin, chartered in 1937 and closed in 1983. Several cotton gins predate Point Cotton Gin in Raines County, with one as early as 1870. These buildings remind us of their importance to the communities a century ago. Monroe and Louise Hooten and family donated this building to the park in 1999.

A few weeks ago (21 April) I posted a photograph of a female grey phase Tawny Owl presumably incubating her eggs here: www.flickr.com/photos/timmelling/51143741682/in/dateposted/ . I have visited a few times subsequently and have seen the female out hunting during the day, and bits of fluff in the unguarded nest. But yesterday there were twin owlets looking out of the nest hole. I say twins as they are siblings of the same brood but the bird on the right will be at least two days older. Unlike most birds, owls start incubating when the first egg is laid, and they lay an egg every two or so days. This means that the eggs will hatch two or so days apart, and in a large brood this can mean a big size and age difference between the oldest and youngest. Most birds only incubate once they have a completed clutch so the young hatch simultaneously. The owl system is an adaptation to an unpredictable food supply as their small mammal prey often have boom and bust population cycles. This system may seem cruel as it means that in lean years the smaller owlets will not get fed until the biggest one is replete, and so down the hierarchy so the smallest gets no food until all the larger siblings have been fed. This ensures that the maximum number of chicks are reared for the amount of prey available.

Tawny Owls typically lay two or three eggs, though up to five have been recorded. They take 30 days to hatch and the young will fledge 35-39 days after hatching, depending on their food supply. Young Tawny Owls usually leave the nest hole when they are still fluffy, an adaptation which means that if a predator finds the nest, not all chicks will be taken. This strategy probably evolved when Pine Martens were common and widespread as not much else in Britain could predate a Tawny Owl tree-hole nest. Tawny Owls typically breed in their first year and live for about four years, though the oldest known ringed bird in Britain survived for 23 years 5 months and twenty seven days between ringing and "control" (in 2016).

Hallgrímskirkja (church of Hallgrímur) is a Lutheran (Church of Iceland) parish church in Reykjavík, Iceland. At 73 metres (244 ft), it is the largest church in Iceland and among the tallest structures in Iceland. The church is named after the Icelandic poet and clergyman Hallgrímur Pétursson (1614 to 1674), author of the Passion Hymns.

The statue of explorer Leif Eriksson (c. 970 – c. 1020) by Alexander Stirling Calder in front of the church predates its construction. It was a gift from the United States in honor of the 1930 Alþingi Millennial Festival, commemorating the 1000th anniversary of Iceland's parliament at Þingvellir in 930 AD.

Anú branco (Guira guira) measures between 36 and 42 centimeters in length, including its 20 centimeters of the tail, and weighs between 113 and 168.6 grams. It is usually found in family bands.

The adult of the species presents ocher-yellow coloring with a shaggy crest, naked yellow facial skin, strong beak and curved with a beautiful yellow-orange coloring and iris varying between yellow-orange and blue-bluish.

It is a species without sexual dimorphism.

This bird always walks in groups, being extremely sociable. His vocalization is tall and strident, and when perching, throws the tail to the back.

It is essentially carnivorous, eating grasshoppers, bedbugs, spiders, etc. Eats also hairy caterpillars and urticants, lizards, mice, frogs and puppies of other birds. Fishing in shallow water; but periodically can eat fruits, berries, seeds, especially in the dry season when there is scarcity of arthropods. It has already been seen in the region of Lagos, RJ, predating small African snails.

Its eggs are relatively large, having from 17 to 25% of female weight. The color of the eggs is sea green and a high-relief limestone network spreads over the whole surface. The nests can be individual or collective,but the female who built a nest and still did not start putting her eggs throws off the eggs of other females.

Adults do not always take care with their nests with eggs, abandoning them. The puppies leave the nest before they can fly, with the short tail, and are fed even only for few weeks.

Lives in fields and more open environments. Migrates to regions where it was unknown and becomes the most common bird along the roads.

* It's not a great capture. The sun was shinning directly on the scene and I had not enough time to search a better perspective before the bird runs away.

The Lhoist road freight for Rockwood builds its train at the plant in Crab Orchard, Tennessee behind the railroad's latest acquisition, ex-Southern GP38-2 #5206. Working the plant alongside the road freight is B23-7 #4023, built for the Southern in 1981. The #5206 was delivered brand-new in 1977 thus predating the #4023 by only a few years. Both engines retain their Southern road numbers and high hood cabs.

Think this is an old quarry building, but it could just be a tyddyn predating the quarry too. The last of the sunlight just catching the high rocks, and just a hint in the snow of Yr Aran.

Storms at midnight in the boneyard of broken planes, with a broken camera taped to the tripod. This plane started its life as a surplus 1940s Lockheed Lodestar transport, but is the "Howard 350" conversion, one of only 17, converted into luxury business transports made around 1960, predating the business jets of the later '60s. Rare. Lit by 3:18 of full moon and flashlight.

Reprocessed and replaced, May 2025.

Winter Solstice – the rebirth of the sun

The winter solstice, around December 21st, was particularly important.

This was the darkest night of the year, but also the beginning of the return of light. In Norse understanding, this was a death–and–rebirth of the sun.

The sun was seen as threatened or weakened during the dark ages

When the days began to grow longer, it meant that order had once again triumphed over chaos

This is linked to ideas about the cycles of life, fate and cosmic balance

The winter solstice was closely connected to jól (Christmas) – a midwinter festival that predates Christianity. It was celebrated here to ensure:

the strength of the sun, fertility in the coming year, the survival of people and their families.

With help from ChatGPT

The 'Vallum' is a ditch and earthen rampart that parallels the the Roman Wall. Its significance militarily is not fully understood. Originally it was thought to predate the wall but evidence suggests it was constructed at the same time.

Ommatius coeraebus

Family: Asilidae

Order: Diptera

There are 17 known species of the genus Ommatius, the plume tops, in Australia. Although a couple have some similarities, only coeraebus is recorded in south NSW.

Note the "beard" of setae around the face, neck and rostrum. It is believed that these setae provide some protection from damage by their prey.

They are active predators, mainly of flying insects, and they appear to be unselective in prey species. Their prey does include members of their own species, often with a female predating a smaller male that attempted to mate. Their long legs can be used to capture other insects in flight.

The image is a focus stack of five photos taken in ambient light using a Sony 100-400 lens on a Sony A7R4.

DSC00253 focus 3_DSC00273 focus 4-3

Ommatius coeraebus

Family: Asilidae

Order: Diptera

There are 17 known species of the genus Ommatius, the plume tops, in Australia. Although a couple have some similarities, only coeraebus is recorded in south NSW.

Note the "beard" of setae around the face, neck and rostrum. It is believed that these setae provide some protection from damage by their prey.

They are active predators, mainly of flying insects, and they appear to be unselective in prey species. Their prey does include members of their own species, often with a female predating a smaller male that attempted to mate. Their long legs can be used to capture other insects in flight.

In this case, the prey is small Crane Fly. The prey has been pierced with the rostrum, allowing the Robber Fly to inject it with a cocktail of proteolytic enzymes and neurotoxins. The liquified contents of the fly will then be sucked up through the rostrum.

The cocktail of toxins include molecules that have not been found elsewhere, indicating that Asilidae toxins emerged from a unique evolutionary pathway

(Drukewitz et al, 2018).

The two insects have been recorded in separate iNaturalist observations:

inaturalist.ala.org.au/observations/263037364

inaturalist.ala.org.au/observations/263037071

I photographed the same species 20 kilometres away predating on a small Thynnid wasp:

www.flickr.com/photos/philipnsw/54406966134/in/dateposted/

References:

Drukewitz SH, Fuhrmann N, Undheim EAB, Blanke A, Giribaldi J, Mary R, Laconde G, Dutertre S, von Reumont BM. A Dipteran's Novel Sucker Punch: Evolution of Arthropod Atypical Venom with a Neurotoxic Component in Robber Flies (Asilidae, Diptera). Toxins (Basel). 2018 Jan 5;10(1):29. doi: 10.3390/toxins10010029. PMID: 29303983; PMCID: PMC5793116.

DSC08815_DSC08816_DSC08819_DSC08827 cropped-2-2

This is a piece of Baltic amber, which has been carved with such skill by a craftsman in the village of Tampak Siring on the island of Bali, Indonesia. It is carved in the image of Barong, a lion-like creature and character in the mythology of Bali. He is the king of the spirits, leader of the hosts of good and predates Hindu influences on Bali.

Tampak Siring is renowned for its skilled carvers.

Full sized object shown in comments.

Walking towards the house at Lanhydrock the first thing you see is the magnificent gatehouse. I think this building, predates the house that was almost completely destroyed in a massive fire in 1881.

'Ulele is named for the young daughter of a local Tacobaga Chief. In 1528 Princess Ulele saved the life of a Spanish deckhand, predating the similar Pocahontas and John Smith story for about 80 years.'

Artist: Vala Ola

Cave Creek Ariz.

ValaOla.com

Le Real Teatro di San Carlo , également connu sous le nom de Teatro San Carlo ou simplement San Carlo , est l' opéra de Naples .

Fondé en 1737 , il figure parmi les plus anciens opéras du monde encore en activité, le huitième de la série en Italie et donc précédé par quelques autres, et le premier théâtre italien à avoir créé une école de danse ; il précède le Teatro alla Scala de Milan de 41 ans et le Teatro La Fenice de Venise de 55 ans. À l’origine, il pouvait accueillir 3 285 spectateurs, capacité réduite ultérieurement à 1 386 pour des raisons de sécurité. Il comprend un vaste parterre, cinq rangées de loges disposées en fer à cheval, une grande loge royale , une galerie et une scène.

De par sa taille, sa structure et son ancienneté, il a servi de modèle aux théâtres européens ultérieurs .

The Real Teatro di San Carlo, also known as the Teatro San Carlo or simply San Carlo, is the opera house of Naples.

Founded in 1737, it is among the oldest opera houses in the world still in operation, the eighth in its series in Italy and thus preceded by several others, and the first Italian theater to have established a dance school; it predates Teatro alla Scala in Milan by 41 years and Teatro La Fenice in Venice by 55 years. Originally, it could accommodate 3,285 spectators, a capacity later reduced to 1,386 for safety reasons. It comprises a large pit, five tiers of boxes arranged in a horseshoe shape, a large royal box, a gallery, and a stage. Due to its size, structure, and long history, it served as a model for later European theaters.

#National theme........................sodalite. stone....

Macro Mondays

3,000 years of ancient Egyptian history predate Greek and Roman empires. Now in modern time we look back on enduring monuments as the pyramids and hieroglyphics. All are a testament to that culture Their science, math, and religion remain with iconic symbols of a time past in the current nation.

Image produced with a Sodalite rock=1.4 inch wide. and a small Holiday light 4x1 tenths inch, on a stringer, for bokeh.

since taking these photos I've had word that all but one of the young have been predated, very sad 😥

Private Garden Wirral

Glen Coe (Scottish Gaelic: Gleann Comhann pronounced [klan̪ˠˈkʰo.ən̪ˠ]) is a glen of glacial origins that cuts though volcanic rocks in the Highlands of Scotland. It lies in the north of the county of Argyll, close to the border with the historic province of Lochaber, within the modern council area of Highland. Glen Coe is regarded as the home of Scottish mountaineering and is popular with hillwalkers and climbers.

A 2010 review by Scottish Natural Heritage into the special qualities of Scotland's National scenic areas listed the "soaring, dramatic splendour of Glen Coe", and "the suddenness of the transition between high mountain pass and the lightly wooded strath" as being of note. The review also described the journey through the glen on the main A82 road as "one of the classic Highland journeys". The main settlement is the village of Glencoe located at the foot of the glen.

The Glen is named after the River Coe which runs through it. The name of the river may predate the Gaelic language, as its meaning is not known. It is possible that the name stems from an individual personal name, Comhan (genitive Comhain).

A familiar sight along NZ roads feeding on carrion caused by traffic, often succumbing themselves as they fail to let go of the meal on takeoff and are themselves hit by vehicles.

Predate young birds and eggs of other species.

Quarter the ground carefully in a shallow glide with occasional wing beats to maintain forward movement directional control and stability, scanning the ground for food as they go....

Handa Island, Scotland. Had a few days here mainly to see the Arctic Skua, this is one of the few accessible colonies. Last year there were 19 pairs, numbers deceasing partly due to burgeoning Great Skuas, which are now at about 300 pairs and which will happily predate the chicks. This a dark morph (as opposed to pale morph) arctic - though this is nothing more than the equivalent of hair colour in humans. The birds had paired off and by and large selected territories but weren't yet nest building, later they become highly aggressive towards anything approaching them including people.

I was so pleased to get a pic of this bird as the last couple of times it has visited the garden I've not been quick enough. However, I realised after taking the pic's that it had predated the juvenile blackbird (hidden under its wing) that I had watched earlier in the day being fed by the adult. The circle of life…

This tachnid fly predates shieldbugs. It has lovely red hairs on its abdomen and very attractive blue wings.

The wheel turns and the days are starting to get noticably longer and the first early signs of spring have finally begun to emerge. The 1st of February marks the beginning of spring in the Celtic calendar with the festival of Imbolc, the first of 4 major fire festivals referred to in Irish mythology. I gathered local common club-rushes to weave these equal-armed solar crosses which, in Ireland, are a symbol likely to predate Christianity and are associated with the Goddess Brigid, one of the Tuatha Dé Danann of Irish mythology

A denizen of wetlands particularly Mangrove ares, sadly becoming scarce through predation and habitat destruction.

Also a short sighted propensity to build walkways through these wetlands as if they are otherwise valueless.

Banded Rail find this difficult to accept.

Also their larger cousins the Weka are proliferating in much of the Rail habitat and hugely predate young and eggs of Banded Rail.

Authorities dont readily accept this but I spend hundreds of hours in close proximity so see the things they never see and never will sitting within a heated office with an occasional trip to a wetland perhaps on a sunny day after 10AM..

Khmuonh Pagoda

Phnom Penh

Cambodia

If these stupas look familiar, they are the same ones as in the photo immediately next to this one. Taken through a large gap in an outer wall.

I wasn't planning to post this photo due to the cloudy skies, but when I took a second look at it, I noticed that the cement wall and the stupas are perfectly aligned - parallel, in other words. Strange coincidence - or a message from the Gods? 😁

Note: The 'stupa' (Sanskrit for heap) is an important form of Buddhist architecture, though it predates Buddhism. It is generally considered to be a sepulchral monument - a place of burial or a receptacle for religious objects. (credit: Khan Academy)

I am never one to plaster "rare" on photos, but this certainly is one!! What a wonderful opportunity to see this tiny Arctic gull here in the Bay Area, the second recorded in California.

At first, it was in the airport, distant and backlit. It eventually flew across Highway 1 giving a ton of birder and bird photographer 'paparazzi' lots of views and photo ops!! Quite the show!!

UPDATE: January 14, 2017 I just got word that this beautiful gull was predated by a pair of Peregrine Falcons this afternoon. RIP. :(

I'm pretty sure that this is a Guillemot egg, but of a scarce blue variety. This egg was almost certainly predated by a Herring Gull as I took the photo on 24 May and Guillemot eggs don't hatch here until well into June. So it is too early in the season to be a discarded shell from a hatched chick. Gannets would not pilfer eggs from other seabirds, but they are inveterate collectors of interesting objects to adorn the nest, which they deliver to their partner with an elaborate ceremony. I have seen them bring flowers back to the nest, and various bits of flotsam and jetsam, but I have never seen one carrying an eggshell before.

A second shot from the Black Tern spectacle. Here you can see the construction wherein the young are growing up, while the parents doing all sort of tricks to deliver the food. This shot is very hilarious, to see how two young stretch out for the same meal, one almost falling over in his amazement(?) about that big treat he/she is about to get!

A few weeks ago I discovered this ditch with ca. 15 Black Tern nests. It is a rare species in the Netherlands and the nests are constructed by the foundation that is owning this piece of land. Many nests have a little fence for keeping the young safe from falling into the water, or being predated by nasty creatures.

I went back three times, because it is such a treat to see how they are fed. The picture more a less tells it all, the speeding parent with a giant dragonfly, the young squeeking and opening their beaks, the parent dropping the food on the fly, and then off for another meal. This goes on 16 hours a day!

It is amazing how fast they grow. These chicks four days later started practicing flying, and another 4 days later they were gone.

In the mean time in other nests you could see them almost grow every minute. For sure I will return next year to see this spectacle again!

I think I took about 1000 pictures, many off them worth while showing. Enjoy.

I was looking at a Central American whiptail (Ameiva festiva) basking in the leaf litter, when I heard this snake strike and catch this unfortunate anole, just a metre or so away from me. Despite the snake being a good length, I would never have spotted it amongst the bushes - its long thin body perfectly camouflaged as a vine.

Location: Chilamate, Sarapiqui, Costa Rica

The female half of the pair that grace our backyard. All freshly painted and ready for a nap. You can see that her rusty feathers are still damp. They're busy getting all camo'd up for the season and I can see that when they leave our yard they head straight back to the wetlands. I'm hoping they're setting up house back there. And, fingers crossed, they'll have a successful, un-predated, hatching this year.

I can hear the song in my head right now, even though it predates me by decades...This was at dusk by Lestikow Park in Grafton.

The beautiful Grade II-listed house by the side of the Bodinnick Ferry near Fowey was once the home of Daphne du Maurier and was where she found the inspiration to write her first novel. The former shipwright’s yard and workshop with accommodation above was built by John Marks in 1830-1838, and converted to a dwelling in 1927 by the du Maurier family. The adjoining slip and quay wall probably predate the building.

Perfectly Disguised! I was looking around the Wildlife Cafe for subjects to photograph when I saw this stationary honey bee on my pyracantha flowers. On closer inspection it had been predated by a perfectly camouflaged crab spider, which I didn't even spot at first. Nature can be beautiful and cruel at the same time...

Loggerhead turtles are sparsely distributed in the warmer oceans worldwide. The carapace of adults is about 90 cm long. They are long-lived; one estimate suggests they can live from 80 to 100 years, although females are no longer fertile after about age 33.

One of their most important breeding sites in the Mediterranean is Iztuzu Beach, which fronts the Dalyan river delta in southwest Turkey. Breeding females haul themselves up this and other Turkish beaches at night during the summer months. They excavate a pit in the sand, into which they deposit some 50 to 200 eggs, and then cover them with sand. The incubation period is around 60 days. The gender of the young depends on the temperature of the sand; if it is 32°C, they are female; 28° and they are male. The hatchlings are nidifugous -- they are able to survive independently from birth without any parental assistance. They instinctively dig themselves out of their pit and make for the sea.

Conservation measures are in place to protect the nests: beaches are out of bounds at night; dogs are not permitted in case they dig up the eggs or predate the young. Known nest locations are protected with a cage and a warning sign.

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Karettschildkröte

Excerpt from www.komoot.com/highlight/303530:

The Valkhof is a hill with a small park. There is the Barbarossa ruin and the St. Nicholas Chapel. The Nikolauskapelle is one of originally two chapels of the Nimweger castle Valkhof. It is one of the oldest buildings in the Netherlands.

The construction of the chapel of St. Nicholas on the Valkhof of the Nimweger Kaiserpfalz, built by Charlemagne, was probably commissioned by Emperor Konrad II in 1030. From the oldest building stock but only parts remain.

The octagonal central space, which encloses a sixteen-cornered handling, is clearly oriented towards the Palatine Chapel in Aachen. The Carolingian model has long led to the Nimweger Nikolauskapelle was predated. It is the only surviving Romanesque central building in the Netherlands.

In 1047 the Valkhof complex was completely destroyed by fire. Only under Frederick Barbarossa, the chapel was rebuilt in 1155 in the old form. After another undated massive destruction, a second reconstruction was added in the late 14th century.

On the Valkhof grounds are also the remains (choir capsis) of the former 12th-century Martinskapelle. It is popularly referred to as Barbarossa-ruïne.

Ruins of the fortress in Počitelj :)

Počitelj is a settlement and a historic village in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Municipality of Čapljina. Its walled nucleus is protected National Monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina and an open-air museum. The settlement is situated on the left bank of the river Neretva. The earliest mention of or recorded reference to Počitelj is in charters of king Alfonso V and Fridrich III from 1444 to 1448. However, the village most likely predates these documents. In the period between 1463–1471 the town housed a Hungarian garrison and was fortified into a strategic defense stronghold. In 1471, following a brief siege, the town was conquered by the Ottomans, and remained within the Ottoman Empire until 1878. After the establishment of Austro-Hungarian rule in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1878, Počitelj lost its strategic importance and started deteriorating rapidly. The population declined gradually. The loss of the town's strategic role assisted in the preservation of the original urban architectural ensemble, so that the town remained in its original form to present day. Počitelj represents one of the most important and best preserved architectural ensembles within the city walls in the region. The town can be compared with some of the noted world heritage sites as the old towns of Mostar (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Ohrid (North Macedonia), Safranbolu (Turkey), Gjirokastër (Albania).

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Ruiny twierdzy w Počitelj :)

Počitelj – wieś w południowo-zachodniej Bośni i Hercegowinie, w kantonie hercegowińsko-neretwiańskim. Leży w dolnym biegu rzeki Neretwy, około 30 kilometrów na południe od Mostaru. Znajduje się tu jeden z najlepiej zachowanych zespołów urbanistycznych z okresu dominacji tureckiej na terytorium Bośni i Hercegowiny. Nad miastem górują pozostałości średniowiecznej tureckiej twierdzy wzniesionej na gruzach starożytnego rzymskiego zamku. Pierwsza osada powstała w okresie rzymskim. W późniejszym okresie swoją kryjówkę mieli tutaj piraci. W XV wieku cały ten teren znalazł się pod władzą króla Węgier Macieja Korwina, który przy pomocy Dubrownika odbudował dawne rzymskie fortyfikacje, tym razem przeciw Turkom. Już po kilkudziesięciu latach (w 1471r.) Turcy zdobyli te tereny i do XVIII wieku Počitelj z krótką przerwą znalazł się w granicach Wysokiej Porty. W tym czasie powiększono fortyfikacje (powstała m.in. wysoka wieża, tzw. Kula Gavran-kapetanovića). Miejscowość została poważnie zniszczona w czasie wojny w Bośni, a wielu mieszkańców wymordowano. Najbardziej ucierpiał meczet Hadži-Alija – najpierw uszkodził go serbski ostrzał artyleryjski, następnie został wysadzony przez wojsko chorwackie. Zawaliła się kopuła oraz minaret. Inne obiekty także ucierpiały. Większość z nich w pierwszym dziesięcioleciu XXI wieku została zrekonstruowana.