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These lads were causing quite a dilemma for those of us on the towpath as the only way around them was a longer walk or a swim. Completely unperturbed they were quite happy and not for moving. In the end I squeezed past the back end of that one straddling the path, hoping he wouldn't choose that moment to raise his tail.
According to the news this is not a sight that will be seen again.
Apparently they cost the council about £10,000 a year in rescue fees as between 2 to 4 of them fall in the river during the grazing season and various rescue teams have to be on 24 hour alert to hoist them back onto dry land. A right palaver I should imagine.
So earlier in the week it was announced that the cattle have been fitted with electronic collars and invisible sensors placed along the river bank.
If the cattle stray too close to the path or water the collars start making an increasingly high pitched bleeping noise which if ignored then gives its owner a mild electric shock. It seems they quickly learn the drill and stay away.
I was going to save this image to use later in my shots of my walk back from Grantchester back into Cambridge (the pinnicles of King's College Chapel just visible in the distance) but as it's in the news I might as well use it now.
I feel privileged to have seen this view, it looks like they will be staying on the meadows from now on!
I said goodbye to my beautiful Ellie Belly yesterday. I was privileged to spend 18 years and 3 months of her life with her. She was 4 weeks old when we met.
I met Ella and her brothers when the ACO brought these 4 starving kittens into our vet practice. I was the tech for the appointment. The ACO explained that the kittens were emotional eaters and she was afraid they would die over the long Labor Day weekend while she was out saving other animals. George and I hadn't been married all that long and I KNEW I should ask him before bringing 4 kittens into the house for a long weekend but I also felt like this was why I was born - to save 4 starving black kittens. I spent the entire Labor Day weekend with Ella and her brothers, even sleeping on the bathroom floor with them.
I kept Ella and her brothers until they reached 2 pounds and could be spayed/neutered and adopted out. Ella was the first kitten spoken for so I never thought I'd get to keep her. When her future family decided that they wanted a "mush" of a cat rather than a female cat, it was clear they should have her brother Egon. So I got to keep Ella.
She has been such a constant source of friendship and companionship - free from worry and drama. She didn't get in cat fights like Jimmy and Mack with the neighborhood bully, she didn't urinate inappropriately around the house like her brothers, she didn't get sick or have food allergies. She was just pure love and friendship.
Ella really started to show her age about 2 months ago and by this week, I knew her time was near. I didn't let her hit rock bottom. She was still having quality time every day. The night before we said goodbye, Ella joined me in bed and pressed her head to my head. She did this every night. She'd always come and press her head to mine and purr and purr while I petted her. That last night, she didn't purr - just pressed her head to mine. I took that to mean that she was tired and it was time.
On this Thanksgiving, I'm grateful for over 18 years with Ella.💜
'The Fish Pass'
I was privileged to witness this pair of courting Kingfishers at Tophill Low NR East Yorkshire. Rather than sit next to the female on the branch, the male chose to hover for several seconds before presenting his gift to her.
I was looking for this shot not long ago, but just found an old scan on one of my external hard drives. I didn't note the date, but it was in October 1990. I was privileged to be aboard a southbound CSX inspection train pulled by F-units 116 and 117. I moved ahead to the front cab at Erwin and shot a few images in the obviously gloomy weather as we navigated the curves and grade through the Nolichucky River Gorge. I'll yield to my CSX/CRR railroader buddies for confirmation, but I think this is between the bridge at Unaka Springs and the Tennessee-North Carolina state line at Devil's Creek. It had rained quite a bit, but nothing remotely close to the deluge brought by Hurricane Helene.
I've seen some drone views of this stretch as it looks now. Everything associated with the railroad grade is literally gone. I can't image the quantity of stone that will be needed to build back this narrow shelf for laying track. The stone and riprap you see ahead and, on the left, were brought in by train during the rebuilding of the line after a huge flood in 1977. Most of that stone came from the old quarry at Marbleton.
I'll be in Erwin on the 21st to see my friends working the Santa Train and hopefully have a chat with CSX CEO Joe Hinrichs. You'll likely see what I come up with in Trains Magazine's News Wire. If anything, I want to thank him for his leadership in helping restore normalcy to a region that has literally been washed away. The human toll in death and suffering has been hard to grasp. There's a lot more to do, but progress is being made. Maybe one day in the future someone else can lean in close to the front windshield of Clinchfield No. 800 and get a shot---no doubt a better one than this old Kodachrome 200 slide image. I used a 28mm lens, in case it matters...
Trumpeter swans are so elegant - and we were privileged to watch six as they swam along the Yellowstone River. This particular one decided to break away from the rest and swim towards us - so close it framed me before swimming back. I love how you can see the little beads of water on its feathers! Best viewed large.
Thanks for viewing!
© 2016 Craig Goettsch - All rights reserved. Any unauthorized use without permission is prohibited.
Cropped in this time.
I discovered some interesting information about explore, something I'm never privileged to be part of since April 2013. If you watermark (sign) your photos or place a boarder around them your chances of explore are slim to none, if your photo gets selected on a weekend it will be plucked out by Monday if it has either one. Who knew? The group "In explore" is helping people like myself get reinstated. Here is the link if any of you are experiencing the same thing. Join the group to comment.
www.flickr.com/groups/inexplore/discuss/72157661939443923/
Do not use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without my explicit permission © 2016 M Leeson - all rights reserved.
Okavango Delta, Botswana
While on a photo safari in the Okavango Delta, I was privileged to spend about eight minutes with three members of a pack of African Painted Wolves. The wolves seemed unbothered by our presence but did move through the area quickly to rejoin the larger pack.
The African wild dog is known by many names, including Cape hunting dog or painted dog. Its scientific name, Lycaon pictus, means “painted wolf,” referring to the animal's irregular, mottled coat, which features patches of red, black, brown, white, and yellow fur. Each animal has its own unique coat pattern, and all have big, rounded ears.
Though they were once found throughout the continent—from desert to mountain habitats—African wild dogs have disappeared from most of their geographic range. These days, African wild dogs typically roam the open plains and sparse woodlands of sub-Saharan Africa. Their largest populations can be found in Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Zambia, Tanzania, and Mozambique.
African wild dogs live in packs that are usually dominated by a monogamous breeding pair. The female has a litter of two to 20 pups, which are cared for by the entire pack. These dogs are very social, and packs have been known to share food and to assist weak or ill members. Social interactions are common, and the dogs communicate by touch, actions, and vocalizations.
African wild dogs hunt in formidable, cooperative packs of six to 20 (or more) animals. Larger packs were more common before the dogs became endangered. Packs hunt antelopes and will also tackle much larger prey, such as wildebeests, particularly if their quarry is ill or injured.
Unfortunately, African wild dogs are often hunted and killed by farmers who fear for their livestock. They are also threatened by shrinking space to roam in their African home as well as their susceptibility to diseases like rabies and canine distemper. The International Union for Conservation of Nature reports that the population level of African wild dogs fluctuates but is in a likely irreversible decline, which is why it considers this species to be endangered.
(From National Geographic: www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/african-... on 07.15.2022)
This is the description that accompanied this, hope it fits:I got the inspiration for this sculpture while thinking about my own place in the world and it struck me how privileged I am to be made up really of millions of different living things that have died and somehow become part of my own body, and how someday I'll join that cycle once I die and become a part of the earth again and get spread out potentially among millions of other creatures. I chose a classic female figure with an attempt at realism but with a sense of idealism and abstraction to really represent what I thought evoked a motherly image and also a sense of wonder at the beauty of the human form. She and her metal appendages and garden can be interpreted however the viewer wishes. Some that I have seen myself in the sculpture primarily include the human body represented as dead in the dirt, but growing into and becoming new life in the beautiful flowers and now growth spewing out the top, or perhaps the human is partially morphed into a type of tree and as part of photosynthesis and part of the energy cycle of the plants. I could also see it as a more abstract representation of energy radiating out of a female form (simplified of course, sans a few limbs and a head), showing the direct invisible connection between all living and dead things all the time. But see it however you want! I think it's great that the whole thing will not last long, is really only temporary itself, but it is unfortunate that those flowers really will not survive long in those conditions. I expect the daffodils may last the longest, and I love how they provide a nice simple counterpoint to the other varieties. The title comes from a quote from the late writer/philosopher/speaker Terence McKenna that I really think sums up my own personal philosophy that partially inspired this work , which I first heard (of all places) as a sample on a song by the electronic group Shpongle, and really I am stealing from them here but it is a great quote so I still wanted to use it.:
“Nothing Lasts. Nothings Lasts. Everything is changing into something else...
William Blake said that 'nothing is lost.' Nothing is lost. And I really believe that.
And we all move on.”
Was privileged to be able to watch this beautiful bird at very close proximity for a full 35 minutes yesterday. It was in the middle of town and is obviously used to the traffic and pedestrians as it feeds on the many feral pigeons there. I watched from the moment just after she'd caught the pigeon, right through to the moment she was spooked by a passer by with 2 dogs, although she'd stripped most of the juicy bits away and there was just a carcass and a huge pile of feathers left at that point! She then flew into the tree I'd been leaning on and had a good old clean up. So glad I had my camera in the car! Don't recall ever taking so many shots of one creature... over 350! Managed to get it down to 150.. but it was an opportunity that will probably never happen again. God job I don't shoot on continuous...!
This was no place for a man to be. Alone. On Mumsy Street. A white man, entitled and privileged. He was a victim in waiting, stood in the moon shadow below the old oak tree. It was dark and quiet, the wind rustling the leaves above his head suddenly loud and alarming. Spooky. The women were out there skulking in the empty doorways. All dressed in black, their faces pale in the eerie light of the moon, dark shadows around their eyes from which they peered out of the frameless windows and from behind black treetrunks. They bobbed and weaved and flitted across the grassed street between the houses, haunted shadows like witches at Halloween.
He knew they were coming for him. He was cornered, weak and defeated. And now they would move in for the kill with curved knives and sharpened claws to gouge and hack at his body. It would be bloody and cruel. But divorce always was. Some would say he deserved it. A man, of course. His fault. He heard them snigger and titter amongst themselves in the darkness, concocting evil and poison. Revenge. Fracken feminists. Just the way it was in 18th century North Wales. Midnight horror. Now there would be murder in Dinorwic.
Oh dear. I hope the filmmakers have a better script. But perhaps a horror movie set in the 18th century will come to Dinorwic. Just wait and see!
A bit of darkening in PP and a fake moon added
For the fifth consecutive year, I'm proud and privileged to be among a group of wonderful and committed sponsors for Fantasy Faire Radio of SL Fantasy Faire, a benefit for the American Cancer Society. My FFR sponsor name over these five years has been Dawn&Moon. In my weblog (link below), I explain what Dawn&Moon means personally to me.
I'm also proud and privileged to be an official blogger of Fantasy Faire for 17 years, since the Faire's inception, and among a group of wildly talented, amazing and committed bloggers.
This year's Fairelands open April 17th, which is just a handful of days away. And is a Golden birthday - the 17th for 17 years! So ready your powerful light and, if you're not already, be sure to tune into Fantasy Faire Radio. Follow the links below!
From the Fantasy Faire website:
Listen here: live365.com/station/Fantasy-Faire-Radio-a33420
live365.com/station/Fantasy-Faire-Radio-a33420
Or here: streaming.live365.com/a33420
das-edge16-live365-dal02.cdnstream.com/a33420
Also add Fantasy Faire Radio to your Parcel Music in Second Life: das-edge16-live365-dal02.cdnstream.com/a33420
More words on this at my blog:
michelehyacinth.wordpress.com/2025/04/03/youre-listening-...
Last time I was here was over two years ago when I was privileged to document the engagement of a good friend. This time found Mike, Darvin, and I racing the setting sun under some unusual looking high fog, but alas as it so happened, the marine layer killed the colors just before we arrived to our destination. We were not dissuaded however, and decided to head for this location instead. When we arrived we saw two paramedical vehicles parked and as we listened in on the conversations as we walked past it became apparent that there had been a drowning earlier. That colored the mood as we found our places along the beach under the lead gray sky near the pounding surf
We felt very privileged to have these two woodpeckers visit our garden in North Milton Keynes this morning. The male (on the right) and female (not pictured here) look similar except the male has a red flash in his black moustache.
A shot from the most active Aurora we've been privileged to experience this season, way back in September. It was an event encompassing almost the entire sky, horizon to horizon. Taken (on full-frame camera) with a 14mm lens from an aurora viewing spot near Burma Rd. about 25 km. north of Whitehorse which is frequented by Aurora tour companies. It's technically a good spot with a wide open sky but the landscape there is so flat and monotonous that I find skyshots taken there to be uniquely unsatisfying due to the lack of any foreground or background features to give a sense of scale. The Auroral currents were almost overpoweringly bright and this was quite a short exposure, so I was surprised that the starfieldsof the northern Milky Way showed up so well between the curtains.
Hyperion Hoops. Earlier this month I was privileged to photograph Suspended Motion Aerial Arts performers--directed by my niece and her best friend--during their annual show, "Eventyr: Ivy's Magical Adventure" at the Clark Center, Arroyo Grande, CA
A view for a select few and I was privileged enough to be counted among them. My latest adventure. Now where could I be?
Testing This new but used D750 on this white rabbit with blue eyes ( i guess s/he is from western europe , he he).
Update :The previous owner had the exif info hidden in setting modes(stingy!).so it might not appear for this image.
Very privileged to be granted access to the recently this vacated church in Portsmouth, lots of images which may appear in due course, so for now, here's a couple of this beautiful & rather mournful space
“Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.” - Carl Sagan
listen: www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTpdKTuDxNg
[Our visit to Jökulsárlón, the ice lagoon on the southeast corner of Iceland, was, for me, the most riveting travel experience of my life. As we drove the camper slowly over the bridge that crests the lagoon, I stopped the vehicle and stumbled out, dazed and awe struck at the sight of it all. We watched on as two massive glacier islands crashed wildly into another, tumbling on their journey to the black-sand shores just off in the distance. Here they would settle and ultimately melt. And that would be that.
Witnessing the implicit, tragic beauty of this place sent shock waves through the innermost corners of my spirit. My understanding of climate change and our very human impact on the planet culminated in this eerily serene setting. Pristine islands of ice floated still and somber on the mirror-like water, and looking at it, I understood more deeply than I ever had before. That we had done this. We, humans, had done and continue to do it. That I was doing it. That everyone was and is.
This Icelandic glacier will be gone in fifty short years. In those fifty years, we will continue to witness undeniable change in our planet. It is terrifying, but there are steps we all can take. And each of us knows this on a deep and fundamental level. We've backed ourselves into a corner, and now we must face things as they are. Together, we can.
Start here, if you're looking at quick tips on things you can do right now: www3.epa.gov/climatechange/wycd/
And this is wonderful for keeping abreast of current planetary conditions and top-notch research under way regarding climate change: climate.nasa.gov/ ]
Very privileged to spend a few moments in the company of these amazing birds.
A massive thanks to Kirk (flic.kr/ps/3cABxw) for helping me get this shot.
Sussex/Surrey borders.
Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights). Lake Pingvallavatn, Iceland. ISO 320, f18, shutter held open for 58 seconds. I was incredibly excited and privileged to see this natural phenomenon.
I was privileged to attend a re-enactment of the battle, Basing House. The knowledge by the participants of the tactics and way of life was excellent. A great day out.
I was once privileged to see in person the great flamenco guitarist Carlos Montoya, and his fingers did indeed flicker like flames, dancing across the fretboard with incredible speed and accuracy. One of the most memorable and enjoyable musical performances I've ever attended.
August 04, 2014
"As a privileged survivor of the First World War, I hope I may be allowed to interject here a deeply felt tribute to those who were not fortunate enough to succeed, but who shared the signal honour of trying to the last to salvage peace." - Rene Cassin
-----
On this day, 100 years ago, Great Britain declared war on Germany, mobilizing the Great War, with the declaration Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India and South Africa had joined Britain in the battle against Germany.
Why we call World War I the great war is lost on me, the warfare was barbaric and downright cruel. As the war came to an end on November 11, 1918, there were thirty-seven million causalities, over sixteen million deaths and twenty million wounded.
With trench warfare and the use of chemical weapons, WWI changed the way mankind disagrees and the severity of our differences.
Canada saw as many 65,000 lives lost and 150,000 wounded in action; what the statistics don't show though, is how just many lives were altered and diminished due to the war. I can't imagine a person alive at that time who did not feel the ripples of the war.
The Great War changed humanity and so for all those who lost their lives, their limbs, their minds, their family, we stand today and remember your sacrifice.
Lest we forget.
3 billion people on Earth have problems accessing drinking water
For ODC Group 2 - Treasure
Best position in Explore: #2
Giglio, Monte Christo, Sardegna, Corsica; view from Monte Argentario
picture taken with a glass of red wine in my hand...
So privileged to be able to observe a pod of Humpback Whales practising their "bubblenet feeding" during our whale watching quest, while keeping a safe and friendly distance from a specially designed catamaran, in Juneau, Alaska
Bubblenet Feeding: A group of whales working together will dive under schools of small fish and krill, one whale will swim in a circle while blowing bubbles under the fish. When the bubbles rise they form a net and scare the fish into a tight ball in the center. The whales then come up through the middle with their mouths open, capturing large amounts of food. An adult Humpback (weighing 25 to 35 tons) may eat over a ton of food every day during the summer feeding season.
I have every reason to be happy... I am privileged to live in PEACE! How beautiful is that?
Ordinarily, flowerbaskets are round and for hanging up...
Gathered all the cyclamens in one basket, I decided to photograph the whole scene instead of an 'isolated' few ). I just love those colours...
The name Cyclamen is presumed to come from Greek 'kyclos', a circle referring to the round tubers, or leaves.
Lovely inverted flowers rise out of fantastically patterned rounded or heart-shaped leaves. Some of the patterns, particularly the silver leaved varieties are exquisite and can truly be described as a wonder of nature.
From the family Primulaceae, they come in beautiful colours from white, pink, purple, red and combinations of these.
Cyclamen like the cool; the smaller the leaves, the cooler they can stand it.
The tubers are regarded as the favourite food for pigs in the South of France, Sicily and Italy, hence a rather uncommon common name Sowbread.
Cyclamen are poisonous; they have been used medicinally as a powerful purgative, but their toxicity makes this risky.
Thanx for your visit and comments, M, (*_*)
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DSC_9336
Extremely privileged to get this shot thanks to a heads up from a fellow photographer, this is a secret location so please do not ask.
I was privileged to attend a re-enactment of the battle, Basing House. The knowledge by the participants of the tactics and way of life was excellent. A great day out.
African Lion cub photographed at Hluhluwe game reserve, Kwazulu-Natal.
I felt very humbled and privileged to spend some time with this curious cub and Lionesses
RKO_1802. How privileged are you when such a great bird (a blond Common Buzzard) is staring at you! Nature and wildlife are fantastic, but you have to see it!
Explore 8 (highest position) : 03 DEC 2018
Copyright: Robert Kok. All rights reserved!
Please do not use my photos on websites, blogs or in any other media without my explicit permission.
Thanks for visiting, commenting and faving my photos. Its very much appreciated!
The Castle
Since ancient times, man has searched for sites on mountaintops to construct fortresses from which land and territory can be controlled. In Cardona the geographic position of the castle is ideal. It defended access to the salt quarry and it provides a privileged view of the Cardener River’s valleys. Cardona Castle sits on a mountaintop and overlooks the Cardener River’s main basin. It was home to the lords of Cardona from the 11th to 15th centuries. The area is divided into two halves; the lords’ quarters and the area of the Canonical San Vicenç Church. The Minyona Tower, the Ducal Courtyard, the castle’s bastions and the great view over the salt basin are well worth a visit.
Cardona Castle is an excellent example of a military fortification as it exemplifies the evolution of military arts from the Middle Ages up to present-day. The castle was home to one of the country’s most prominent noble dynasties, and the defence of the salt quarry meant that its fortification was impregnable. During the War of Spanish Succession (1711-1714), it proved itself to be a remarkable fortification as it was the last fortress to surrender to Felip V.
As for the Canonical Sant Vicenç Church, it is a Unitarian work dating back to the 11th century. It was consecrated between the years 1029 and 1040. It is a magnificent example of Romanesque architecture. There is a basilica with three naves completed by a transept that has three adjoining semicircular apses. The central altarpiece is presided by a wide presbytery that is covered by a semicircular barrel vault. Under the presbytery there is a crypt that takes up the entire presbyterial space and the central apse. There are also some notable tombs and pantheons, in particular those belonging to Duke Ferran I and Count Joan Ramon Folc I.
Salt Mountain
Cardona’s Salt Mountain Cultural Park is located at an old mine called Mina Nieves. The park provides visitors with an opportunity to see Cardona’s saline outcrops and its outstanding natural resources and mineral heritage, which makes this area a truly unique place in the world. Geology, mineralogy, botany and history come together here in a place where man has exploited rock salt since Neolithic times until the industrial age.
Visitors are welcome at the Mina Nieves, which was one of the most important potash salt mines in Europe until 1990. Here visitors can behold a natural wonder, namely the Salt Mountain which is a diapir situated in the Vall Salina, the salt basin. During the tour, visitors can go to the museographic area and see two mining shafts (called Alberto and Maria Teresa) and have a look at machinery that was used in one of the shafts. Throughout the tour you will travel in a special vehicle that will take you down an 86-metre slope into the salt basin. Once you get to the Vall Salina, you will be able to appreciate and admire the incredible salt formation; la Muntanya de Sal, the Salt Mountain. At this point, visitors will be provided with mining helmets and begin their tour inside the mountain. You will be taken through 500m of galleries where you can view spectacular stalactites and stalagmites as well as various salt seams of sodium, potassium and magnesium.
In front The Great Doline of Red Salt has 220 meters of diameter and 200 meters of deep
In Wordpress In Blogger photo.net/photos/Reinante/ In Onexposure
I was privileged to be a guest at a friend's wedding at the end of last year. my camera was invited as well, but i was not the big chief of picturetakingness. I could just relax.
Congrats to Riek and Iza ;)
At the foot of the apse side walls are two famous mosaic panels, completed in 547. On viewer left (but privileged right side from perspective of Christ in apse) is a mosaic depicting the East Roman Emperor Justinian I, clad in Tyrian purple with a golden halo, standing next to court officials, generals Belisarius and Narses, Bishop Maximian, palatinae guards and deacons. The halo around his head gives him the same aspect as Christ in the dome of the apse, but is part of the tradition of rendering the imperial family with haloes described by Ernst Kantorowicz in The King's Two Bodies. Justinian himself stands in the middle, with soldiers on his right and clergy on his left, emphasizing that Justinian is the leader of both church and state of his empire. The later insertion of Bishop Maximian's name above his head suggests that the mosaic may have been modified in 547, replacing the representation of the prior bishop with that of Maximian's.
The gold background of the mosaic perhaps shows that Justinian and his entourage are inside the church. The figures are placed in a V shape; Justinian is placed in the front and in the middle to show his importance with Bishop Maximian on his left and lesser individuals being placed behind them. This placement can be seen through the overlapping feet of the individuals present in the mosaic.
On the opposite wall, the more elaborate panel shows Empress Theodora solemn and formal, with a golden halo, crown and jewels, and a group of court women as well as eunuchs. The Empress holds the Eucharistic vessel for the Precious Blood, and her panel differs from that of Justinian in having a more complex background, with a fountain, cupola, and lavish hangings. They are adorned with intricately patterned textiles, possibly luxurious silks imported from the Sassanian Persian Empire. One scholar has argued that Theodora was depicted after her death in 548, but that theory has not been widely accepted due to other evidence that the mosaics were completed by 547 when the church was consecrated. This is the only certain image of the Empress Theodora, and stands in contrast to her depiction in some of the political rhetoric of the era.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilica_of_San_Vitale
Al pie de los muros laterales del ábside hay dos famosos paneles de mosaico, terminados en 547. A la izquierda del espectador (pero en el lado derecho privilegiado desde la perspectiva de Cristo en el ábside) hay un mosaico que representa al emperador romano oriental Justiniano I, vestido de púrpura tiro con un halo dorado, de pie junto a los oficiales de la corte, los generales Belisario y Narsés, el obispo Maximiano, los guardias palatinos y los diáconos. El halo alrededor de su cabeza le da el mismo aspecto que Cristo en la cúpula del ábside, pero es parte de la tradición de representar a la familia imperial con halos descritos por Ernst Kantorowicz en Los dos cuerpos del rey. El propio Justiniano se encuentra en el medio, con soldados a su derecha y clérigos a su izquierda, enfatizando que Justiniano es el líder tanto de la iglesia como del estado de su imperio. La inserción posterior del nombre del obispo Maximiano sobre su cabeza sugiere que el mosaico pudo haber sido modificado en 547, reemplazando la representación del obispo prior por la de Maximiano.
El fondo dorado del mosaico quizás muestra que Justiniano y su séquito están dentro de la iglesia. Las figuras están colocadas en forma de V; Justiniano está colocado al frente y en el centro para mostrar su importancia, con el obispo Maximiano a su izquierda y personajes menores colocados detrás de ellos. Esta disposición se puede ver a través de los pies superpuestos de los individuos presentes en el mosaico.
En la pared opuesta, el panel más elaborado muestra a la emperatriz Teodora, solemne y formal, con un halo dorado, corona y joyas, y un grupo de mujeres de la corte, así como eunucos. La emperatriz sostiene el vaso eucarístico para la Preciosa Sangre, y su panel se diferencia del de Justiniano en tener un fondo más complejo, con una fuente, una cúpula y suntuosos tapices. Están adornadas con textiles con patrones intrincados, posiblemente sedas lujosas importadas del Imperio persa sasánida. Un erudito ha argumentado que Teodora fue representada después de su muerte en 548, pero esa teoría no ha sido ampliamente aceptada debido a otra evidencia de que los mosaicos se completaron en 547 cuando la iglesia fue consagrada. Esta es la única imagen segura de la emperatriz Teodora y contrasta con su representación en parte de la retórica política de la época.
KCS Westbound Holiday Express passes through Vicksburg, MS getting ready to shove their train along Levee Street for a Christmas get together that evening to collect for Toys for Tots for the less privileged children & to let the kids visit with Santa Clause
This beauty was a delightful surprise to see in the yard yesterday. As far as I know there is only one of these beauties visiting. He hung around all day yesterday eating mealworms from the various feeders and resting between meals in the oak trees. I know he is only passing through but I feel so lucky and privileged that he stopped in at all. A couple of years ago there was a female summer tanager that stayed around for a couple of weeks before moving on. That was special too.
As for this guy, Lady B. thwarted him each time she caught him in the swing feeder. Other than that he was free to eat anywhere else without much hassle at all. This was my first sighting of a male summer tanager. Another first for me was the rose-breasted grosbeak that stopped in yesterday. I was able to get an ID shot of him but am hoping that I get the opportunity to try for a better shot. The beauties that are passing through have not built any trust for me so they are more difficult to shoot. Regardless if I get a better shot or not, I got to see both of these new visitors and enjoy their company.
May your day be delightfully surprising and wonderful. Happy snapping.