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Image Details:
15x1200s Ha 1x1 (5hrs)
14x1200s OIII 1x1 (4hrs 40mins)
18x1200s SII 1x1 (6hrs)
Darks, flats and bias, all binned 1x1 @-20c.
Total Exposure 15 hours 40 mins.
Optic - SW Evostar ED80 DS-PRO with SW 0.85 reducer.
Mount - HEQ5 PRO Synscan with Rowan Belt Drive mod.
Sensor - Atik 383l+ Mono CCD + Baader 36mm 7nm Ha.
Guiding - ZWO ASI120MM + Orion 162mm/F3.2 guidescope with PHD2.
Sequence Generator Pro and PixInsight.
Thanks for looking.
Please click here to view this large!
Captured this with three RAW shots at -2..0..+2 EV. Digital blending in Photoshop CS6. Increased the overall saturation with Hue/Saturation in Photoshop. Curve adjustment to increase the overall contrast. 1 layer mask in soft light mode at 50% gray, using brush tool to lighten and darken some areas of the image, to bring out details. Topaz DeNoise to reduce noise. Topaz Clarity filter to increase contrast and color.
View of Portland Oregon downtown cityscape with Mount Hood from Pittock Mansion Viewpoint last night..
To view my other Oregon images, click here.
For print purchases and licensing information, please visit My Website or email me at davidgnphotography@gmail.com
To purchase a print of this, please visit Fine Art America
The pics clearly show his right eye was markedly sunken and could impair his site, and perhaps the ability to accommodate distance was reduced.
Green Hairstreak, Callophrys rubi.
Wing Span; 27-34mm.
Flight period; Primarily May – June, but can be seen from late March.
Habitat; Chalk grassland, woodland rides and clearings, heathland, moorland, bogs, railway cuttings, old quarries and rough, scrubby grassland. This species occurs on a wide range of soils but is strongly associated with scrub and shrubs.
Caterpillar Foodplants; Common Rock-rose (Helianthemum nummularium) and Common Bird's-foot-trefoil (Lotus corniculatus) are used on calcareous grassland, while Gorse (Ulex europeaus), Broom (Cytisus scoparius), and Dyer's Greenweed (Genista tinctoria) are used on heathland and other habitats. Bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) is used almost exclusively on moorland and throughout Scotland. Other foodplants include shrubs such as Dogwood (Cornus sanguinea), Buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica), Cross-leaved Heath (Erica tetralix) and Bramble (Rubus fruticosus). In fact, they have the widest range of food plants of all the British butterfly species.
Distribution; Widespread throughout Britain and Ireland. However, it is absent from the Isle of Man, Outer Hebrides, Orkney and Shetland. Also found in most of mainland Europe as well as many parts of Asia and northern Africa.
Distribution Trend Since 1970’s; -30%
The Green Hairstreak holds its wings closed, except in flight, showing only the green underside with its faint white streak. The extent of this white marking is variable, frequently reduced to a few white dots and may be almost absent. Males and females look similar and are most readily told apart by their behaviour. Rival males may be seen in a spiralling flight close to shrubs, while the less conspicuous females are more often encountered while laying eggs.
Although this is a widespread species, it often occurs in small colonies and has undergone local losses in several regions.
This butterfly, the only green butterfly in the UK, is the most widespread of our Hairstreaks. However, it is also a local species, forming distinct colonies which can be as small as a few dozen individuals, although other colonies can be much larger. Both sexes always settle with their wings closed, the brown upper sides only ever being seen in flight. The undersides, by contrast, provide the illusion of being green, an effect produced by the diffraction of light on a lattice-like structure found within the wing scales. This provides excellent camouflage as the butterfly rests on a favourite perch, such as a Hawthorn branch. This butterfly will also regulate its body temperature by tilting its wings appropriately to catch the sun's rays. This butterfly is found throughout the British Isles, partly due to the wide variety of food plants it uses and the wide range of habitats it frequents.
Males are territorial, and during the Spring will wait at their selected perching sites for a female to appear. This species has just a single brood and following mating, the females will lay their green coloured eggs singly. The eggs will hatch a week later and the young caterpillars, which are green with black markings along their backs, will feed immediately and develop rapidly. During the Summer, the caterpillars will travel to ground level to pupate and spend the Winter in the leaf litter. The following Spring the new butterflies will emerge.
M 106 (also known as NGC 4258) is a spiral galaxy visible in the constellation Canis Venatici; its interior appears to host a supermassive black hole.
M106 is an example of a Seyfert galaxy; the detection of unusual radio and X-ray emissions observed by the Very Large Baseline Array radio telescope indicates that it is probably part of.
12 "Truss RC telescope reduced to 1790
Moravian off-axis guider and Moravian G0300 guide camera
Celestron 80/600 guide tube with Asi Zwo 224
Moravian G2 8300 camera with internal wheel
Ioptron Cem120 mount
Moonlite focuser and 3.5 "electronic rotator
Electronic temperature control and anti-condensation bands
Cls ccd, R, G, B, Ha 6nm filters, all Astronomik
Shooting data:
61x240s Cls CCD
25x600s Ha
19x240s R
19x240s G
19x240s B
Processing: Pixinsight, Photoshop, star spikes, astronomy tools
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click to activate the icon of slideshow: the small triangle inscribed in the small rectangle, at the top right, in the photostream;
or…. Press the “L” button to zoom in the image;
clicca sulla piccola icona per attivare lo slideshow: sulla facciata principale del photostream, in alto a destra c'è un piccolo rettangolo (rappresenta il monitor) con dentro un piccolo triangolo nero;
oppure…. premi il tasto “L” per ingrandire l'immagine;
www.worldphoto.org/sony-world-photography-awards/winners-...
www.fotografidigitali.it/gallery/2726/opere-italiane-segn...
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Sun, Beaches, Sea, Summer, but also ... Friendship, Fun, Loneliness, Nostalgia and ... a great desire to live with the great desire to return to the normal life of always before the pandemic (to always keep in mind that, even if the worse than the Covid-19 pandemic, it now seems to be behind us, the crisis is certainly not to be considered over just because mortality has reduced): I present here, on Flickr, a collection of exhibitions made in this hot summer, with traceable photographs, almost entirely, in the "beach photography" genre. The photographs were all taken in July-August 2022, on the beaches of the east coast of Sicily, and of the Ionian coast of Calabria.
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Sole, Spiagge, Mare, Estate, ma anche ...Amicizia, Divertimento, Solitudine, Nostalgia e… tanta voglia di vivere col grande desiderio di ritornare alla vita normale di sempre ante-pandemia (da tenere sempre a mente che, anche se il peggio della pandemia da Covid-19, sembra ormai alle spalle, la crisi non è certo da considerarsi terminata solo perché la mortalità si è ridotta): presento qui, su Flickr, una raccolta di esposizioni realizzate in questa calda estate, con fotografie riconducibili, per la quasi totalità, al genere “beach photography”. Le fotografie sono state tutte realizzate nel mese di Luglio-Agosto 2022, sulle spiagge della costa orientale della Sicilia, e della costa ionica della Calabria.
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While at Echo Amphitheater in Abiquiú, I shot some infrared.
I've tended to process my infrareds to black and white as I never felt satisfied with my attempts at false color processing with channel swapping.
I've been learning more this past year about working with color prior to converting to black and white.
In the first comment box below is the unedited shot, pretty much all brown. Shot through the Hoya R72, 720 nm filter. The custom white balance that I had set keeps it from being totally magenta.
As has been my common result, using the Channel Mixer adjustment layer and swapping values for the red and blue channels wasn't great.
I've been learning what the Selective Color adjustment layer does, so opened that under the Channel Mixer layer.
It allowed me to play with how much red, yellow, green, blue, cyan and magenta are within colors and thereby fine tune what the Channel Mixer does.
Things were better.
Then I opened a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer above Channel Mixer and found that playing with the Master and moving the Hue slider helped too.
After working on tonal ranges, using midtone luminosity masks on curves layers and dodging and burning, I still didn't like how much purple was in the sky.
I tried the Select Color command to isolate the sky and that created a mask when I opened the Color Balance adjustment layer. Mostly working on shadows and midtones to reduce red, increase blue and increase green got the deep blue color.
I've been learning about the Hard Mix blend mode, and after using the color picker to grab the color of the trees, I opened a Color Fill adjustment layer, set it to Hard Mix and then reduced the Fill opacity to 7%. This enhanced the tree color.
Finally, I got a false color infrared that actually had definite color.
Why did I do all this?
This extreme edit became the underlying base to a black and white version of the shot. All the color stuff I've been learning was part of tutorials on processing for BW.
Barring unforeseen circumstances, I hope to post that on Thursday for Donnerstagsmonochrom.
Happy Sliders Sunday!
Cuenca, Castilla-La Mancha, España.
Cuenca es un municipio y ciudad española perteneciente a la comunidad autónoma de Castilla-La Mancha y capital de la provincia homónima. Está situada algo al norte del centro geográfico de la provincia, a una altitud media de 946 m sobre el nivel del mar y su extenso término municipal, de unos 911 km², es uno de los mayores de España. El municipio cuenta con una población empadronada de 53 389 habitantes (INE 2022).
Aunque en los alrededores de la ciudad se tiene constancia de población desde el Paleolítico Superior, no es hasta la conquista musulmana cuando se construye la fortaleza de Qūnka, que dio origen a la ciudad actual. Esta se contaba, en origen, entre las otras tantas de la cora de Santaver (Ercávica), pero fue ganando importancia paulatinamente. El rey cristiano Alfonso VIII la conquistó en 1177 y le otorgó el Fuero de Cuenca, uno de los más prestigiosos de la historia de Castilla. Su economía se centró en la industria textil, de gran renombre durante los siglos XV y XVI, lo que produjo una gran actividad constructiva. Sin embargo, la pañería se hundió en el siglo XVII, conllevando una drástica pérdida de población, que fue recuperándose a lo largo del siglo siguiente. En 1833 se convirtió en la capital de la nueva provincia de Cuenca, aunque las agitaciones del periodo hicieron que la ciudad se mantuviera en estado precario hasta bien entrado el siglo XX. En la actualidad, la economía se centra sobre todo en el turismo, potenciado desde que en 1996 su casco antiguo fuese declarado Patrimonio de la Humanidad.
Cuenca conserva un importante patrimonio histórico y arquitectónico en toda la ciudad antigua, donde destacan edificios como la catedral o las Casas Colgadas, que se han convertido en el icono de la ciudad. Se caracteriza también por poseer un buen número de museos (más de diez) en el reducido espacio del casco antiguo. Destacan el Museo de Arte Abstracto Español, el Museo de las Ciencias de Castilla-La Mancha, el Museo Paleontológico de Castilla-La Mancha y el Museo de Cuenca. Entre los principales eventos culturales se encuentran la Semana Santa y la Semana de Música Religiosa.
Cuenca is a Spanish municipality and city belonging to the autonomous community of Castilla-La Mancha and capital of the homonymous province. It is located somewhat to the north of the geographic center of the province, at an average altitude of 946 m above sea level and its extensive municipal area, of about 911 km², is one of the largest in Spain. The municipality has a population registered with 53,389 inhabitants (INE 2022).
Although there is evidence of population in the surroundings of the city since the Upper Paleolithic, it was not until the Muslim conquest when the fortress of Qūnka was built, which gave rise to the current city. This was originally among the many others from the Santaver (Ercávica) cora, but gradually gained importance. The Christian king Alfonso VIII conquered it in 1177 and granted it the Fuero de Cuenca, one of the most prestigious in the history of Castile. focused on the textile industry, of great renown during the 15th and 16th centuries, which produced a great construction activity. However, the drapery collapsed in the 17th century, leading to a drastic loss of population, which gradually recovered over the following century. In 1833 it became the capital of the new province of Cuenca, although the upheavals of the period kept the city in a precarious state until well into the 20th century. Today, the economy is mainly focused on tourism, strengthened since its old town was declared a World Heritage Site in 1996.
Cuenca preserves an important historical and architectural heritage throughout the old city, where buildings such as the cathedral or the Hanging Houses stand out, which have become the icon of the city. It is also characterized by having a good number of museums (more than ten) in the reduced space of the old town. The Museum of Spanish Abstract Art, the Science Museum of Castilla-La Mancha, the Paleontological Museum of Castilla-La Mancha and the Museum of Cuenca stand out. Among the main cultural events are Holy Week and Music Week Religious.
Information from: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Cod
Cape Cod
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
This article is about the area of Massachusetts. For other uses, see Cape Cod (disambiguation).
For other uses, see Cod (disambiguation).
Coordinates: 41°41′20″N 70°17′49″W / 41.68889°N 70.29694°W / 41.68889; -70.29694
Map of Massachusetts, with Cape Cod (Barnstable County) indicated in red
Dunes on Sandy Neck are part of the Cape's barrier beach which helps to prevent erosion
Cape Cod, often referred to locally as simply the Cape, is an island and a cape in the easternmost portion of the state of Massachusetts, in the Northeastern United States. It is coextensive with Barnstable County. Several small islands right off Cape Cod, including Monomoy Island, Monomoscoy Island, Popponesset Island, and Seconsett Island, are also in Barnstable County, being part of municipalities with land on the Cape. The Cape's small-town character and large beachfront attract heavy tourism during the summer months.
Cape Cod was formed as the terminal moraine of a glacier, resulting in a peninsula in the Atlantic Ocean. In 1914, the Cape Cod Canal was cut through the base or isthmus of the peninsula, forming an island. The Cape Cod Commission refers to the resultant landmass as an island; as does the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in regards to disaster preparedness.[1] It is still identified as a peninsula by geographers, who do not change landform designations based on man-made canal construction.[citation needed]
Unofficially, it is one of the biggest barrier islands in the world, shielding much of the Massachusetts coastline from North Atlantic storm waves. This protection helps to erode the Cape shoreline at the expense of cliffs, while protecting towns from Fairhaven to Marshfield.
Road vehicles from the mainland cross over the Cape Cod Canal via the Sagamore Bridge and the Bourne Bridge. The two bridges are parallel, with the Bourne Bridge located slightly farther southwest. In addition, the Cape Cod Canal Railroad Bridge carries railway freight as well as tourist passenger services.
Contents
[hide]
* 1 Geography and political divisions
o 1.1 "Upper" and "Lower"
* 2 Geology
* 3 Climate
* 4 Native population
* 5 History
* 6 Lighthouses of Cape Cod
* 7 Transportation
o 7.1 Bus
o 7.2 Rail
o 7.3 Taxi
* 8 Tourism
* 9 Sport fishing
* 10 Sports
* 11 Education
* 12 Islands off Cape Cod
* 13 See also
* 14 References
o 14.1 Notes
o 14.2 Sources
o 14.3 Further reading
* 15 External links
[edit] Geography and political divisions
Towns of Barnstable County
historical map of 1890
The highest elevation on Cape Cod is 306 feet (93 m), at the top of Pine Hill, in the Bourne portion of the Massachusetts Military Reservation. The lowest point is sea level.
The body of water located between Cape Cod and the mainland, bordered to the north by Massachusetts Bay, is Cape Cod Bay; west of Cape Cod is Buzzards Bay. The Cape Cod Canal, completed in 1916, connects Buzzards Bay to Cape Cod Bay; it shortened the trade route between New York and Boston by 62 miles.[2] To the south of Cape Cod lie Nantucket Sound; Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard, both large islands, and the mostly privately owned Elizabeth Islands.
Cape Cod incorporates all of Barnstable County, which comprises 15 towns: Bourne, Sandwich, Falmouth, and Mashpee, Barnstable, Yarmouth, Dennis, Harwich, Brewster, Chatham, Orleans, Eastham, Wellfleet, Truro, and Provincetown. Two of the county's fifteen towns (Bourne and Sandwich) include land on the mainland side of the Cape Cod Canal. The towns of Plymouth and Wareham, in adjacent Plymouth County, are sometimes considered to be part of Cape Cod but are not located on the island.
In the 17th century the designation Cape Cod applied only to the tip of the peninsula, essentially present-day Provincetown. Over the ensuing decades, the name came to mean all the land east of the Manomet and Scussett rivers - essentially the line of the 20th century Cape Cod Canal. Now, the complete towns of Bourne and Sandwich are widely considered to incorporate the full perimeter of Cape Cod, even though small parts of these towns are located on the west side of the canal. The canal divides the largest part of the peninsula from the mainland and the resultant landmass is sometimes referred to as an island.[3][4] Additionally some "Cape Codders" – residents of "The Cape" – refer to all land on the mainland side of the canal as "off-Cape."
For most of the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, Cape Cod was considered to consist of three sections:
* The Upper Cape is the part of Cape Cod closest to the mainland, comprising the towns of Bourne, Sandwich, Falmouth, and Mashpee. Falmouth is the home of the famous Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and several other research organizations, and is also the most-used ferry connection to Martha's Vineyard. Falmouth is composed of several separate villages, including East Falmouth, Falmouth Village, Hatchville, North Falmouth, Teaticket, Waquoit, West Falmouth, and Woods Hole, as well as several smaller hamlets that are incorporated into their larger neighbors (e.g., Davisville, Falmouth Heights, Quissett, Sippewissett, and others).[5]
* The Mid-Cape includes the towns of Barnstable, Yarmouth and Dennis. The Mid-Cape area features many beautiful beaches, including warm-water beaches along Nantucket Sound, e.g., Kalmus Beach in Hyannis, which gets its name from one of the inventors of Technicolor, Herbert Kalmus. This popular windsurfing destination was bequeathed to the town of Barnstable by Dr. Kalmus on condition that it not be developed, possibly one of the first instances of open-space preservation in the US. The Mid-Cape is also the commercial and industrial center of the region. There are seven villages in Barnstable, including Barnstable Village, Centerville, Cotuit, Hyannis, Marstons Mills, Osterville, and West Barnstable, as well as several smaller hamlets that are incorporated into their larger neighbors (e.g., Craigville, Cummaquid, Hyannisport, Santuit, Wianno, and others).[6] There are three villages in Yarmouth: South Yarmouth, West Yarmouth and Yarmouthport. There are five villages in Dennis including, Dennis Village(North Dennis), East Dennis, West Dennis, South Dennis and Dennisport.[7]
* The Lower Cape traditionally included all of the rest of the Cape,or the towns of Harwich, Brewster, Chatham, Orleans, Eastham, Wellfleet, Truro, and Provincetown. This area includes the Cape Cod National Seashore, a national park comprising much of the outer Cape, including the entire east-facing coast, and is home to some of the most popular beaches in America, such as Coast Guard Beach and Nauset Light Beach in Eastham. Stephen Leatherman, aka "Dr. Beach", named Coast Guard Beach the 5th best beach in America for 2007.[8]
[edit] "Upper" and "Lower"
The terms "Upper" and "Lower" as applied to the Cape have nothing to do with north and south. Instead, they derive from maritime convention at the time when the principal means of transportation involved watercraft, and the prevailing westerly winds meant that a boat with sails traveling northeast in Cape Cod Bay would have the wind at its back and thus be going downwind, while a craft sailing southwest would be going against the wind, or upwind.[9] Similarly, on nearby Martha's Vineyard, "Up Island" still is the western section and "Down Island" is to the east, and in Maine, "Down East" is similarly defined by the winds and currents.
Over time, the reasons for the traditional nomenclature became unfamiliar and their meaning obscure. Late in the 1900s, new arrivals began calling towns from Eastham to Provincetown the "Outer Cape", yet another geographic descriptor which is still in use, as is the "Inner Cape."
[edit] Geology
Cape Cod and Cape Cod Bay from space.[10]
East of America, there stands in the open Atlantic the last fragment of an ancient and vanished land. Worn by the breakers and the rains, and disintegrated by the wind, it still stands bold.
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Henry Beston, The Outermost House
Cape Cod forms a continuous archipelagic region with a thin line of islands stretching toward New York, historically known by naturalists as the Outer Lands. This continuity is due to the fact that the islands and Cape are all terminal glacial moraines laid down some 16,000 to 20,000 years ago.
Most of Cape Cod's geological history involves the advance and retreat of the Laurentide ice sheet in the late Pleistocene geological era and the subsequent changes in sea level. Using radiocarbon dating techniques, researchers have determined that around 23,000 years ago, the ice sheet reached its maximum southward advance over North America, and then started to retreat. Many "kettle ponds" — clear, cold lakes — were formed and remain on Cape Cod as a result of the receding glacier. By about 18,000 years ago, the ice sheet had retreated past Cape Cod. By roughly 15,000 years ago, it had retreated past southern New England. When so much of Earth's water was locked up in massive ice sheets, the sea level was lower. Truro's bayside beaches used to be a petrified forest, before it became a beach.
As the ice began to melt, the sea began to rise. Initially, sea level rose quickly, about 15 meters (50 ft) per 1,000 years, but then the rate declined. On Cape Cod, sea level rose roughly 3 meters (11 ft) per millennium between 6,000 and 2,000 years ago. After that, it continued to rise at about 1 meter (3 ft) per millennium. By 6,000 years ago, the sea level was high enough to start eroding the glacial deposits that the vanished continental ice sheet had left on Cape Cod. The water transported the eroded deposits north and south along the outer Cape's shoreline. Those reworked sediments that moved north went to the tip of Cape Cod.
Provincetown Spit, at the northern end of the Cape, consists largely of marine deposits, transported from farther up the shore. Sediments that moved south created the islands and shoals of Monomoy. So while other parts of the Cape have dwindled from the action of the waves, these parts of the Cape have grown.
Cape Cod National Seashore
This process continues today. Due to their position jutting out into the Atlantic Ocean, the Cape and islands are subject to massive coastal erosion. Geologists say that, due to erosion, the Cape will be completely submerged by the sea in thousands of years.[11] This erosion causes the washout of beaches and the destruction of the barrier islands; for example, the ocean broke through the barrier island at Chatham during Hurricane Bob in 1991, allowing waves and storm surges to hit the coast with no obstruction. Consequently, the sediment and sand from the beaches is being washed away and deposited elsewhere. While this destroys land in some places, it creates land elsewhere, most noticeably in marshes where sediment is deposited by waters running through them.
[edit] Climate
Although Cape Cod's weather[12] is typically more moderate than inland locations, there have been occasions where Cape Cod has dealt with the brunt of extreme weather situations (such as the Blizzard of 1954 and Hurricane of 1938). Because of the influence of the Atlantic Ocean, temperatures are typically a few degrees cooler in the summer and a few degrees warmer in the winter. A common misconception is that the climate is influenced largely by the warm Gulf Stream current, however that current turns eastward off the coast of Virginia and the waters off the Cape are more influenced by the cold Canadian Labrador Current. As a result, the ocean temperature rarely gets above 65 °F (18 °C), except along the shallow west coast of the Upper Cape.
The Cape's climate is also notorious for a delayed spring season, being surrounded by an ocean which is still cold from the winter; however, it is also known for an exceptionally mild fall season (Indian summer), thanks to the ocean remaining warm from the summer. The highest temperature ever recorded on Cape Cod was 104 °F (40 °C) in Provincetown[13], and the lowest temperature ever was −12 °F (−24.4 °C) in Barnstable.[14]
The water surrounding Cape Cod moderates winter temperatures enough to extend the USDA hardiness zone 7a to its northernmost limit in eastern North America.[15] Even though zone 7a (annual low = 0–5 degrees Fahrenheit) signifies no sub-zero temperatures annually, there have been several instances of temperatures reaching a few degrees below zero across the Cape (although it is rare, usually 1–5 times a year, typically depending on locale, sometimes not at all). Consequently, many plant species typically found in more southerly latitudes grow there, including Camellias, Ilex opaca, Magnolia grandiflora and Albizia julibrissin.
Precipitation on Cape Cod and the islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket is the lowest in the New England region, averaging slightly less than 40 inches (1,000 mm) a year (most parts of New England average 42–46 inches). This is due to storm systems which move across western areas, building up in mountainous regions, and dissipating before reaching the coast where the land has leveled out. The region does not experience a greater number of sunny days however, as the number of cloudy days is the same as inland locales, in addition to increased fog. Snowfall is annual, but a lot less common than the rest of Massachusetts. On average, 30 inches of snow, which is a foot less than Boston, falls in an average winter. Snow is usually light, and comes in squalls on cold days. Storms that bring blizzard conditions and snow emergencies to the mainland, bring devastating ice storms or just heavy rains more frequently than large snow storms.
[hide]Climate data for Cape Cod
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 2.06
(35.7) 2.5
(36.5) 6.22
(43.2) 11.72
(53.1) 16.94
(62.5) 23.5
(74.3) 26.39
(79.5) 26.67
(80.0) 25.06
(77.1) 18.39
(65.1) 12.56
(54.6) 5.44
(41.8) 26.67
(80.0)
Average low °C (°F) -5.33
(22.4) -5
(23.0) -1.33
(29.6) 2.72
(36.9) 8.72
(47.7) 14.61
(58.3) 19.22
(66.6) 20.28
(68.5) 15.56
(60.0) 9.94
(49.9) 3.94
(39.1) -2.22
(28.0) -5.33
(22.4)
Precipitation mm (inches) 98
(3.86) 75.4
(2.97) 95
(3.74) 92.5
(3.64) 83.6
(3.29) 76.7
(3.02) 62.2
(2.45) 65
(2.56) 74.7
(2.94) 84.8
(3.34) 90.7
(3.57) 92.7
(3.65) 990.9
(39.01)
Source: World Meteorological Organisation (United Nations) [16]
[edit] Native population
Cape Cod has been the home of the Wampanoag tribe of Native American people for many centuries. They survived off the sea and were accomplished farmers. They understood the principles of sustainable forest management, and were known to light controlled fires to keep the underbrush in check. They helped the Pilgrims, who arrived in the fall of 1620, survive at their new Plymouth Colony. At the time, the dominant group was the Kakopee, known for their abilities at fishing. They were the first Native Americans to use large casting nets. Early colonial settlers recorded that the Kakopee numbered nearly 7,000.
Shortly after the Pilgrims arrived, the chief of the Kakopee, Mogauhok, attempted to make a treaty limiting colonial settlements. The effort failed after he succumbed to smallpox in 1625. Infectious diseases such as smallpox, measles and influenza caused the deaths of many other Kakopee and Wampanoag. They had no natural immunity to Eurasian diseases by then endemic among the English and other Europeans. Today, the only reminder of the Kakopee is a small public recreation area in Barnstable named for them. A historic marker notes the burial site of Mogauhok near Truro, although the location is conjecture.
While contractors were digging test wells in the eastern Massachusetts Military Reservation area, they discovered an archeological find.[citation needed] Excavation revealed the remains of a Kakopee village in Forestdale, a location in Sandwich. Researchers found a totem with a painted image of Mogauhok, portrayed in his chief's cape and brooch. The totem was discovered on property on Grand Oak Road. It is the first evidence other than colonial accounts of his role as an important Kakopee leader.
The Indians lost their lands through continued purchase and expropriation by the English colonists. The documentary Natives of the Narrowland (1993), narrated by actress Julie Harris, shows the history of the Wampanoag people through Cape Cod archaeological sites.
In 1974, the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council was formed to articulate the concerns of those with Native American ancestry. They petitioned the federal government in 1975 and again in 1990 for official recognition of the Mashpee Wampanoag as a tribe. In May 2007, the Wampanoag tribe was finally federally recognized as a tribe.[17]
[edit] History
Cranberry picking in 1906
Cape Cod was a landmark for early explorers. It may have been the "Promontory of Vinland" mentioned by the Norse voyagers (985-1025). Giovanni da Verrazzano in 1524 approached it from the south. He named Martha's Vineyard Claudia, after the mother of the King of France.[18] The next year the explorer Esteban Gómez called it Cape St. James.
In 1602 Bartholomew Gosnold named it Cape Cod, the surviving term and the ninth oldest English place-name in the U.S.[19] Samuel de Champlain charted its sand-silted harbors in 1606 and Henry Hudson landed there in 1609. Captain John Smith noted it on his map of 1614 and at last the Pilgrims entered the "Cape Harbor" and – contrary to the popular myth of Plymouth Rock – made their first landing near present-day Provincetown on November 11, 1620. Nearby, in what is now Eastham, they had their first encounter with Native Americans.
Cape Cod was among the first places settled by the English in North America. Aside from Barnstable (1639), Sandwich (1637) and Yarmouth (1639), the Cape's fifteen towns developed slowly. The final town to be established on the Cape was Bourne in 1884.[20] Provincetown was a group of huts until the 18th century. A channel from Massachusetts Bay to Buzzards Bay is shown on Southack's map of 1717. The present Cape Cod Canal was slowly developed from 1870 to 1914. The Federal government purchased it in 1928.
Thanks to early colonial settlement and intensive land use, by the time Henry Thoreau saw Cape Cod during his four visits over 1849 to 1857[21], its vegetation was depauperate and trees were scarce. As the settlers heated by fires, and it took 10 to 20 cords (40 to 80 m³) of wood to heat a home, they cleared most of Cape Cod of timber early on. They planted familiar crops, but these were unsuited to Cape Cod's thin, glacially derived soils. For instance, much of Eastham was planted to wheat. The settlers practiced burning of woodlands to release nutrients into the soil. Improper and intensive farming led to erosion and the loss of topsoil. Farmers grazed their cattle on the grassy dunes of coastal Massachusetts, only to watch "in horror as the denuded sands `walked' over richer lands, burying cultivated fields and fences." Dunes on the outer Cape became more common and many harbors filled in with eroded soils.[22]
By 1800, most of Cape Cod's firewood had to be transported by boat from Maine. The paucity of vegetation was worsened by the raising of merino sheep that reached its peak in New England around 1840. The early industrial revolution, which occurred through much of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, mostly bypassed Cape Cod due to a lack of significant water power in the area. As a result, and also because of its geographic position, the Cape developed as a large fishing and whaling center. After 1860 and the opening of the American West, farmers abandoned agriculture on the Cape. By 1950 forests had recovered to an extent not seen since the 18th century.
Cape Cod became a summer haven for city dwellers beginning at the end of the 19th century. Improved rail transportation made the towns of the Upper Cape, such as Bourne and Falmouth, accessible to Bostonians. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the Northeastern mercantile elite built many large, shingled "cottages" along Buzzards Bay. The relaxed summer environment offered by Cape Cod was highlighted by writers including Joseph C. Lincoln, who published novels and countless short stories about Cape Cod folks in popular magazines such as the Saturday Evening Post and the Delineator.
Guglielmo Marconi made the first transatlantic wireless transmission originating in the United States from Cape Cod, at Wellfleet. The beach from which he transmitted has since been called Marconi Beach. In 1914 he opened the maritime wireless station WCC in Chatham. It supported the communications of Amelia Earhart, Howard Hughes, Admiral Byrd, and the Hindenburg. Marconi chose Chatham due to its vantage point on the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded on three sides by water. Walter Cronkite narrated a 17-minute documentary in 2005 about the history of the Chatham Station.
Much of the East-facing Atlantic seacoast of Cape Cod consists of wide, sandy beaches. In 1961, a significant portion of this coastline, already slated for housing subdivisions, was made a part of the Cape Cod National Seashore by President John F. Kennedy. It was protected from private development and preserved for public use. Large portions are open to the public, including the Marconi Site in Wellfleet. This is a park encompassing the site of the first two-way transoceanic radio transmission from the United States. (Theodore Roosevelt used Marconi's equipment for this transmission).
The Kennedy Compound in Hyannisport was President Kennedy's summer White House during his presidency. The Kennedy family continues to maintain residences on the compound. Other notable residents of Cape Cod have included actress Julie Harris, US Supreme Court justice Louis Brandeis, figure skater Todd Eldredge, and novelists Norman Mailer and Kurt Vonnegut. Influential natives included the patriot James Otis, historian and writer Mercy Otis Warren, jurist Lemuel Shaw, and naval officer John Percival.
[edit] Lighthouses of Cape Cod
Race Point Lighthouse in Provincetown (1876)
Lighthouses, from ancient times, have fascinated members of the human race. There is something about a lighted beacon that suggests hope and trust and appeals to the better instincts of mankind.
“
”
Edward Rowe Snow
Due to its dangerous constantly moving shoals, Cape Cod's shores have featured beacons which warn ships of the danger since very early in its history. There are numerous working lighthouses on Cape Cod and the Islands, including Highland Light, Nauset Light, Chatham Light, Race Point Light, and Nobska Light, mostly operated by the U.S. Coast Guard. The exception is Nauset Light, which was decommissioned in 1996 and is now maintained by the Nauset Light Preservation Society under the auspices of Cape Cod National Seashore. These lighthouses are frequently photographed symbols of Cape Cod.
Others include:
Upper Cape: Wings Neck
Mid Cape: Sandy Neck, South Hyannis, Lewis Bay, Bishop and Clerks, Bass River
Lower Cape: Wood End, Long Point, Monomoy, Stage Harbor, Pamet, Mayo Beach, Billingsgate, Three Sisters, Nauset, Highland
[edit] Transportation
Cape Cod is connected to the mainland by a pair of canal-spanning highway bridges from Bourne and Sagamore that were constructed in the 1930s, and a vertical-lift railroad bridge. The limited number of access points to the peninsula can result in large traffic backups during the tourist season.
The entire Cape is roughly bisected lengthwise by U.S. Route 6, locally known as the Mid-Cape Highway and officially as the Grand Army of the Republic Highway.
Commercial air service to Cape Cod operates out of Barnstable Municipal Airport and Provincetown Municipal Airport. Several bus lines service the Cape. There are ferry connections from Boston to Provincetown, as well as from Hyannis and Woods Hole to the islands.
Cape Cod has a public transportation network comprising buses operated by three different companies, a rail line, taxis and paratransit services.
The Bourne Bridge over the Cape Cod Canal, with the Cape Cod Canal Railroad Bridge in the background
[edit] Bus
Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority operates a year-round public bus system comprising three long distance routes and a local bus in Hyannis and Barnstable Village. From mid June until October, additional local routes are added in Falmouth and Provincetown. CCRTA also operates Barnstable County's ADA required paratransit (dial-a-ride) service, under the name "B-Bus."
Long distance bus service is available through Plymouth and Brockton Street Railway, with regular service to Boston and Logan Airport, as well as less frequent service to Provincetown. Peter Pan Bus Lines also runs long distance service to Providence T.F. Green Airport and New York City.
[edit] Rail
Regular passenger rail service through Cape Cod ended in 1959, quite possibly on June 30 of that year. In 1978, the tracks east of South Dennis were abandoned and replaced with the very popular bicycle path, known as the Cape Cod Rail Trail. Another bike path, the Shining Sea Bikeway, was built over tracks between Woods Hole and Falmouth in 1975; construction to extend this path to North Falmouth over 6.3 miles (10.1 km) of inactive rail bed began in April 2008[23] and ended in early 2009. Active freight service remains in the Upper Cape area in Sandwich and in Bourne, largely due to a trash transfer station located at Massachusetts Military Reservation along the Bourne-Falmouth rail line. In 1986, Amtrak ran a seasonal service in the summer from New York City to Hyannis called the Cape Codder. From 1988, Amtrak and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation increased service to a daily frequency.[24] Since its demise in 1996, there have been periodic discussions about reinstating passenger rail service from Boston to reduce car traffic to and from the Cape, with officials in Bourne seeking to re-extend MBTA Commuter Rail service from Middleboro to Buzzards Bay[25], despite a reluctant Beacon Hill legislature.
Cape Cod Central Railroad operates passenger train service on Cape Cod. The service is primarily tourist oriented and includes a dinner train. The scenic route between Downtown Hyannis and the Cape Cod Canal is about 2½ hours round trip. Massachusetts Coastal Railroad is also planning to return passenger railroad services eventually to the Bourne-Falmouth rail line in the future. An August 5, 2009 article on the New England Cable News channel, entitled South Coast rail project a priority for Mass. lawmakers, mentions a $1.4-billion railroad reconstruction plan by Governor Deval Patrick, and could mean rebuilding of old rail lines on the Cape. On November 21, 2009, the town of Falmouth saw its first passenger train in 12 years, a set of dinner train cars from Cape Cod Central. And a trip from the Mass Bay Railroad Enthusiasts on May 15, 2010 revealed a second trip along the Falmouth line.
[edit] Taxi
Taxicabs are plentiful, with several different companies operating out of different parts of the Cape. Except at the airport and some bus terminals with taxi stands, cabs must be booked ahead of time, with most operators preferring two to three hours notice. Cabs cannot be "hailed" anywhere in Barnstable County, this was outlawed in the early nineties after several robbery attempts on drivers.
Most companies utilize a New York City-style taximeter and charge based on distance plus an initial fee of $2 to $3. In Provincetown, cabs charge a flat fare per person anywhere in the town.
[edit] Tourism
Hyannis Harbor on Nantucket Sound
Although Cape Cod has a year-round population of about 230,000, it experiences a tourist season each summer, the beginning and end of which can be roughly approximated as Memorial Day and Labor Day, respectively. Many businesses are specifically targeted to summer visitors, and close during the eight to nine months of the "off season" (although the "on season" has been expanding somewhat in recent years due to Indian Summer, reduced lodging rates, and the number of people visiting the Cape after Labor Day who either have no school-age children, and the elderly, reducing the true "off season" to six or seven months). In the late 20th century, tourists and owners of second homes began visiting the Cape more and more in the spring and fall, softening the definition of the high season and expanding it somewhat (see above). Some particularly well-known Cape products and industries include cranberries, shellfish (particularly oysters and clams) and lobstering.
Provincetown, at the tip of Cape Cod, also berths several whale watching fleets who patrol the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. Most fleets guarantee a whale sighting (mostly humpback whale, fin whale, minke whale, sei whale, and critically endangered, the North Atlantic Right Whale), and one is the only federally certified operation qualified to rescue whales. Provincetown has also long been known as an art colony, attracting writers and artists. The town is home to the Cape's most attended art museum, the Provincetown Art Association and Museum. Many hotels and resorts are friendly to or cater to gay and lesbian tourists and it is known as a gay mecca in the summer.[26]
Cape Cod is a popular destination for beachgoers from all over. With 559.6 miles (900.6 km) of coastline, beaches, both public and private, are easily accessible. The Cape has upwards of sixty public beaches, many of which offer parking for non-residents for a daily fee (in summer). The Cape Cod National Seashore has 40 miles (64 km) of sandy beach and many walking paths.
Cape Cod is also popular for its outdoor activities like beach walking, biking, boating, fishing, go-karts, golfing, kayaking, miniature golf, and unique shopping. There are 27 public, daily-fee golf courses and 15 private courses on Cape Cod.[27] Bed and breakfasts or vacation houses are often used for lodging.
Each summer the Naukabout Music Festival is held at the Barnstable County Fair Grounds located in East Falmouth,(typically) during the first weekend of August. This Music festival features local, regional and national talent along with food, arts and family friendly activities.
[edit] Sport fishing
Cape Cod is known around the world as a spring-to-fall destination for sport anglers. Among the species most widely pursued are striped bass, bluefish, bluefin tuna, false albacore (little tunny), bonito, tautog, flounder and fluke. The Cape Cod Bay side of the Cape, from Sandwich to Provincetown, has several harbors, saltwater creeks, and shoals that hold bait fish and attract the larger game fish, such as striped bass, bluefish and bluefin tuna.
The outer edge of the Cape, from Provincetown to Falmouth, faces the open Atlantic from Provincetown to Chatham, and then the more protected water of Nantucket and Vineyard Sounds, from Chatham to Falmouth. The bays, harbors and shoals along this coastline also provide a robust habitat for game species, and during the late summer months warm-water species such as mahi-mahi and marlin will also appear on the southern edge of Cape Cod's waters. Nearly every harbor on Cape Cod hosts sport fishing charter boats, which run from May through October.[28]
[edit] Sports
The Cape has nine amateur baseball franchises playing within Barnstable County in the Cape Cod Baseball League. The Wareham Gatemen also play in the Cape Cod Baseball League in nearby Wareham, Massachusetts in Plymouth County. The league originated 1923, although intertown competition traces to 1866. Teams in the league are the Bourne Braves, Brewster Whitecaps, Chatham Anglers (formerly the Chatham Athletics), Cotuit Kettleers, Falmouth Commodores, Harwich Mariners, Hyannis Harbor Hawks (formerly the Hyannis Mets), Orleans Firebirds (formerly the Orleans Cardinals), Wareham Gatemen and the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox. Pro ball scouts frequent the games in the summer, looking for stars of the future.
Cape Cod is also a national hot bed for baseball and hockey. Along with the Cape Cod Baseball League and the new Junior Hockey League team, the Cape Cod Cubs, many high school players are being seriously recruited as well. Barnstable and Harwich have each sent multiple players to Division 1 colleges for baseball, Harwich has also won three State titles in the past 12 years (1996, 2006, 2007). Bourne and Sandwich, known rivals in hockey have won state championships recently. Bourne in 2004, and Sandwich in 2007. Nauset, Barnstable, and Martha's Vineyard are also state hockey powerhouses. Barnstable and Falmouth also hold the title of having one of the longest Thanksgiving football rivalries in the country. The teams have played each other every year on the Thanksgiving since 1895. The Bourne and Barnstable girl's volleyball teams are two of the best teams in the state and Barnstable in the country. With Bourne winning the State title in 2003 and 2007. In the past 15 years, Barnstable has won 12 Division 1 State titles and has won the state title the past two years.
The Cape also is home to the Cape Cod Frenzy, a team in the American Basketball Association.
Soccer on Cape Cod is represented by the Cape Cod Crusaders, playing in the USL Premier Development League (PDL) soccer based in Hyannis. In addition, a summer Cape Cod Adult Soccer League (CCASL) is active in several towns on the Cape.
Cape Cod is also the home of the Cape Cod Cubs, a new junior league hockey team that is based out of Hyannis at the new communtiy center being built of Bearses Way.
The end of each summer is marked with the running of the world famous Falmouth Road Race which is held on the 3rd Saturday in August. It draws about 10,000 runners to the Cape and showcases the finest runners in the world (mainly for the large purse that the race is able to offer). The race is 7.2 miles (11.6 km) long, which is a non-standard distance. The reason for the unusual distance is that the man who thought the race up (Tommy Leonard) was a bartender who wanted a race along the coast from one bar (The Cap'n Kidd in Woods Hole) to another (The Brothers Four in Falmouth Heights). While the bar in Falmouth Heights is no longer there, the race still starts at the front door of the Cap'n Kidd in Woods Hole and now finishes at the beach in Falmouth Heights. Prior to the Falmouth race is an annual 5-mile (8.0 km) race through Brewster called the Brew Run, held early in August.
[edit] Education
Each town usually consists of a few elementary schools, one or two middle schools and one large public high school that services the entire town. Exceptions to this include Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School located in Yarmouth which services both the town of Yarmouth as well as Dennis and Nauset Regional High School located in Eastham which services the town of Brewster, Orleans, Eastham, Wellfleet, Truro, and Provincetown (optional). Bourne High School is the public school for students residing in the town of Bourne, which is gathered from villages in Bourne, including Sagamore, Sagamore Beach, and Buzzards Bay. Barnstable High School is the largest high school and is known for its girls' volleyball team which have been state champions a total of 12 times. Barnstable High School also boasts one of the country's best high school drama clubs which were awarded with a contract by Warner Brothers to created a documentary in webisode format based on their production of Wizard of Oz. Sturgis Charter Public School is a public school in Hyannis which was featured in Newsweek's Magazine's "Best High Schools" ranking. It ranked 28th in the country and 1st in the state of Massachusetts in the 2009 edition and ranked 43rd and 55th in the 2008 and 2007 edition, respectively. Sturgis offers the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme in their junior and senior year and is open to students as far as Plymouth. The Cape also contains two vocational high schools. One is the Cape Cod Regional Technical High School in Harwich and the other is Upper Cape Cod Regional Technical High School located in Bourne. Lastly, Mashpee High School is home to the Mashpee Chapter of (SMPTE,) the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers. This chapter is the first and only high school chapter in the world to be a part of this organization and has received much recognition within the Los Angeles broadcasting industry as a result. The officers of this group who have made history are listed below:
* President: Ryan D. Stanley '11
* Vice-President Kenneth J. Peters '13
* Treasurer Eric N. Bergquist '11
* Secretary Andrew L. Medlar '11
In addition to public schools, Cape Cod has a wide range of private schools. The town of Barnstable has Trinity Christian Academy, Cape Cod Academy, St. Francis Xavier Preparatory School, and Pope John Paul II High School. Bourne offers the Waldorf School of Cape Cod, Orleans offers the Lighthouse Charter School for elementary and middle school students, and Falmouth offers Falmouth Academy. Riverview School is located in East Sandwich and is a special co-ed boarding school which services students as old as 22 who have learning disabilities. Another specialized school is the Penikese Island School located on Penikese Island, part of the Elizabeth Islands off southwestern Cape Cod, which services struggling and troubled teenage boys.
Cape Cod also contains two institutions of higher education. One is the Cape Cod Community College located in West Barnstable, Barnstable. The other is Massachusetts Maritime Academy in Buzzards Bay, Bourne. Massachusetts Maritime Academy is the oldest continuously operating maritime college in the United States.
[edit] Islands off Cape Cod
Like Cape Cod itself, the islands south of the Cape have evolved from whaling and trading areas to resort destinations, attracting wealthy families, celebrities, and other tourists. The islands include Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard, as well as Forbes family-owned Naushon Island, which was purchased by John Murray Forbes with profits from opium dealing in the China trade during the Opium War. Naushon is one of the Elizabeth Islands, many of which are privately owned. One of the publicly accessible Elizabeths is the southernmost island in the chain, Cuttyhunk, with a year-round population of 52 people. Several prominent families have established compounds or estates on the larger islands, making these islands some of the wealthiest resorts in the Northeast, yet they retain much of the early merchant trading and whaling culture.
Cuckoo - Cuculus Canorus
The common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, Cuculiformes, which includes the roadrunners, the anis and the coucals.
This species is a widespread summer migrant to Europe and Asia, and winters in Africa. It is a brood parasite, which means it lays eggs in the nests of other bird species, particularly of dunnocks, meadow pipits, and reed warblers. Although its eggs are larger than those of its hosts, the eggs in each type of host nest resemble the host's eggs. The adult too is a mimic, in its case of the sparrowhawk; since that species is a predator, the mimicry gives the female time to lay her eggs without being seen to do so.
The English word "cuckoo" comes from the Old French cucu and it first appears about 1240 in the poem Sumer Is Icumen In - "Summer has come in / Loudly sing, Cuckoo!" in modern English.
The scientific name is from Latin. Cuculus is "cuckoo" and canorus, "melodious ".
A study using stuffed bird models found that small birds are less likely to approach common cuckoos that have barred underparts similar to the Eurasian sparrowhawk, a predatory bird. Eurasian reed warblers were found more aggressive to cuckoos that looked less hawk-like, meaning that the resemblance to the hawk helps the cuckoo to access the nests of potential hosts. Other small birds, great tits and blue tits, showed alarm and avoided attending feeders on seeing either (mounted) sparrowhawks or cuckoos; this implies that the cuckoo's hawklike appearance functions as protective mimicry, whether to reduce attacks by hawks or to make brood parasitism easier.
The common cuckoo is an obligate brood parasite; it lays its eggs in the nests of other birds. At the appropriate moment, the hen cuckoo flies down to the host's nest, pushes one egg out of the nest, lays an egg and flies off. The whole process takes about 10 seconds. A female may visit up to 50 nests during a breeding season. Common cuckoos first breed at the age of two years.
More than 100 host species have been recorded: meadow pipit, dunnock and Eurasian reed warbler are the most common hosts in northern Europe; garden warbler, meadow pipit, pied wagtail and European robin in central Europe; brambling and common redstart in Finland; and great reed warbler in Hungary.
Studies were made of 90 great reed warbler nests in central Hungary. There was an "unusually high" frequency of common cuckoo parasitism, with 64% of the nests parasitised. Of the nests targeted by cuckoos, 64% contained one cuckoo egg, 23% had two, 10% had three and 3% had four common cuckoo eggs. In total, 58% of the common cuckoo eggs were laid in nests that were multiply parasitised. When laying eggs in nests already parasitised, the female cuckoos removed one egg at random, showing no discrimination between the great reed warbler eggs and those of other cuckoos.
It was found that nests close to cuckoo perches were most vulnerable: multiple parasitised nests were closest to the vantage points, and unparasitised nests were farthest away. Nearly all the nests "in close vicinity" to the vantage points were parasitised. More visible nests were more likely to be selected by the common cuckoos. Female cuckoos use their vantage points to watch for potential hosts and find it easier to locate the more visible nests while they are egg-laying.
The Qutb Minar is a minaret that forms a part of the Qutb complex, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Mehrauli area of Delhi, India. Qutb Minar is a 73-metre tall tapering tower of five storeys, with a 14.3 metres base diameter, reducing to 2.7 metres at the peak. It contains a spiral staircase of 379 steps.
Qutab Ud-Din-Aibak, founder of the Delhi Sultanate, started construction of the Qutub Minar's first storey around 1192. In 1220, Aibak's successor and son-in-law Iltutmish completed a further three storeys. In 1369, a lightning strike destroyed the top storey. Firoz Shah Tughlaq replaced the damaged storey, and added one more.
This will be the last Louisiana pine snake (Pituophis ruthveni) image I post for a while. Here one of the released snakes can be seen in the longleaf pine savanna that will serve as its new home. These communities are really more prairie than forest, with widely scattered overstory longleaf pines and little to no woody encroachment in the understory, save the scattered longleaf pine saplings able to withstand the flames of the frequent fires that kept the shrubs at bay.
Unfortunately over the past 150 years or so, habitat loss combined with fire suppression and other means of habitat degradation have greatly reduced the the acreage of longleaf pine savanna in the West Gulf Coastal Plain and beyond. Many of the high quality examples that remain are fragmented, and few large, contiguous tracts exist.
In the past few decades there has been a push to begin restoring longleaf pine and implementing management regimes such as prescribed burn programs to re-establish former habitat and enhance existing habitat for the Louisiana pine snake and a suite of other species that depend on these communities. It is my hope that these efforts along with those like this reintroduction will help bring this iconic snake back from the brink.
It is an image made up of 50 shots of 120 s using an ED 80 with a 0.8 reducer and a ZWO ASI 2600 camera.
Se trata de una imágen compuesta por 50 tomas de 120 s utilizando un ED 80 con reductor 0,8 y una cámara ZWO ASI 2600
Arctic terns (Sterna paradisaea) preparing for an aerial attack in Bakkadalur in Arnarfjörður in NW-Iceland.
The Arctic Tern weighs little over 100 grams, but it is a fighter, attacking humans and predatory birds and animals of all kind that disturb it in breeding season. It is also a world-class traveller, that would put Marco Polo to shame. The average tern in its life will travel a distance equal to going to the moon and back—about 500,000 miles (800,000 km). It has circumpolar distribution, breeding colonially in Arctic and sub-Arctic regions of Europe, Asia, and North America (as far south as Brittany and Massachusetts). The species is strongly migratory, seeing two summers each year as it migrates from its northern breeding grounds to the oceans around Antarctica and back (about 24,000 miles) each year. This is the longest regular migration by any known animal. It is also one of the birds that spends most time in the air.
Arctic Terns are long-lived birds, with many reaching thirty years of age. They eat mainly fish and small marine invertebrates. The species is abundant, with an estimated one million individuals. While the trend in the number of individuals in the species as a whole is not known, exploitation in the past has reduced this bird's numbers in the southern reaches of its range.
The theme for this week's Macro Mondays is "plastic". I became very aware of the issue of single-use plastic contaminating our oceans on visiting uninhabited areas of eastern Greenland last year and taking part in a beach clean-up - we collected dozens of items of throwaway plastic. It has become big news this year with the UK's proposal to ban plastic straws and cotton buds. For my macro entry I decided to take a picture of my water bottle, which I now use instead of buying bottled water - saving a lot of money as well as doing a small bit to save our oceans. So - this is "Plastic" for Macro Mondays. HMM! (field of view is under 2 inches)
And doubling up - my Day 23 entry for April 2018: A month in 30 pictures, and #23/100 for 100 x: The 2018 Edition - my x is macro with a dedicated macro lens.
(P4231460)
Thanks to fellow birder-watchers who spotted and shared this sighting or else, I will be still searching for him at the other part of the 'playground'. He stay long enough and still enough for me move a bit closer and reduce my ISO. xlolx
Getting out & hiking into a place like this is always good for the mind, heart, & soul. At least it is for me! My son & two of my nephews went with me to Turkey Foot & Mize Mill Falls Saturday. Great day to be in the woods.
..would you have a little bit of sugar to give me, please?
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Wasmannia Auropunctata
Red Ant / Electric Ant / Small Fire Ant
It's a very small social ant (about 1.5 mm long) light brown to golden in color, native to Central and South America. In homes, they usually live in plants, pots and cracks in walls and floors.
Their diet is very varied; although they have preferences for nectaries and honeydew, they also show interest in fats, so it is possible to find them in the kitchen.
"The hive invader" is considered a plague, and was included in the list of the 100 most harmful invasive species in the world.
Even with all this, their way of communicating, the intelligence,
behavior and evolution, are worthy of admiration.
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To have a clearer idea about the size of the ant; if I'll reduced the photograph to its natural scale, the frame would have dimensions
of 7.5 x 5.5mm.. Yep! I said MILLIMETERS, not centimeters: this complete photograph printed on paper on this scale, would be smaller than the nail of your index finger. Ahh.. the amazing nature!
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. #MacroMondays
. #AllNatural
HMM!
=)
I shot this from the hotel in Boerne where we took refuge after losing all delivery of power and water at the house.
Our souls as they float are the brightest clouds (translated from a well-known and beautiful argentine song).
Lens: Helios 81N 50mm f/2 (Nikon F mount, 1980s), with Viltrox EF-FX II focal reducer.
San Galgano Abbey (Si) -Tuscany
L’abbazia di San Galgano è un'abbazia cistercense, sita ad una trentina di chilometri da Siena, nel comune di Chiusdino.
Il sito è costituito dall'eremo (detto "Rotonda di Montesiepi") e dalla grande abbazia, ora completamente in rovina e ridotta alle sole mura, meta di flusso turistico. La mancanza del tetto - che evidenzia l'articolazione della struttura architettonica - accomuna in questo l'abbazia a quelle di Melrose, di Kelso e di Jedburg in Scozia, di Tintern in Galles, di Cashel in Irlanda, di Eldena in Germania, di Beauport a Paimpol (Bretagna) e del Convento do Carmo a Lisbona.
The Abbey of San Galgano is a Cistercian abbey, located at about thirty kilometers from Siena, in the municipality of Chiusdino.
The site consists of the hermitage (called "Montesiepi Rotonda") and the great abbey, now completely ruined and reduced to only walls, the tourist flow. The lack of the roof - which emphasizes the articulation of the architectural structure - common in this abbey to those of Melrose, Kelso and Jedburgh in Scotland, Tintern in Wales, of Cashel in Ireland, of Eldena in Germany, Beauport Paimpol (Brittany) and the Convento do Carmo in Lisbon.
The Bullfrog(Rana catesbeiana) is Canada's largest frog averaging 10-15 cm (4-6 in) in length. The bullfrog unfortunately is becoming increasingly rare due to environmental changes, pesticide poisoning, and habitat destruction. At one time their meaty legs were prized for food and the frog's numbers were reduced due to over harvesting. I used to see Bullfrogs a lot at my cottage in the 70's when I was growing up but now they are very hard to find. I was very suprised to come across a rainwater pond filled with quite a few of these frogs the other day and was glad to see that there are still some around.
(Information from Up North: Bennet, Tiner)
View Large
When Rio Grande and Southern Pacific united in October 1988, one of the first actions taken was to reopen the Modoc Line to through traffic. It had been closed by SP in early 1987. A new symbol was created - EUASM - reflecting service from Eugene, Oregon to East St. Louis, Illinois.
Initially, two EUASM trains a day were operated. Train size was kept relatively modest (in relation to historic SP practice) and plenty of power (five or six 3,000 hp SD's) was assigned. This was done so the trains could go over the Cascades and the Modoc single - i.e., without helpers. The 'extra' power would be dropped at Wendel, California so it could return to Eugene on a westbound.
In a subtle way of showing that there was a new sheriff in town, the first seven eastbound trains on the Modoc Line had solid sets of Rio Grande locomotives. On the morning of Saturday, October 15, 1988, the fifth new EUASM reduces power by one unit at Wendel. Back in the steam days, an engine house stood next to the water tank in the background.
Today, all of the trackage at Wendel has been pulled up. Ghosts of narrow gauge Nevada-California-Oregon steamers share the site with ghosts of Espee SD45T-2s.
Imaged the Heart Nebula located in the constellation Cassiopeia. This has been a lower priority target for me in the past but got bumped up once I went mono. I'm glad I was able to get a decent shot of it this year. My camera and scope combo give a good FOV on this faint target. Oiii was extremely faint, but luckily good narrowband processing techniques can mask that well.
Total exposure time for this image is: 29 hours.
Equipment:
- AT65EDQ Scope
- ZWO ASI1600mm-Pro Imaging Camera
- Belt Modded Orion Sirius EQ-G
- QHY miniGuideScope and QHY5L-ii mono guidecam
- Chroma Ha/Oiii/Sii filters
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Software:
- N.I.N.A. for capture
- PHD2 for guiding
- PixInsight for Processing
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Acquisition:
- 175 x 300" Ha - Chroma 5nm
- 69 x 300" Oiii - Chroma 3nm
- 104 x 300" Sii - Chroma 3nm
- 200 gain and 50 offset, -10C
- 20 flats and flat-darks per filter
- 30 darks from library
- Nights: 10/12, 10/14, 11/6, 11/7/20
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Processing:
Each Master Image:
- Calibration, Integration, DrizzleIntegration
- DynamicCrop
- DynamicBackgroundExtraction
- Deconvolution (Ha only)
- TGVDenoise + MMT noise reduction using EZDenoise Script
- Arcsinhstretch (x2) to bring to nonlinear
- HistogramTransformation for further stretch
- CurvesTransformation to bring up background level
- StarAlign Oiii and Sii to Ha
- Starnet to remove stars from each master; duplicate starless Ha and set aside to use as Luminance layer
Combine Starless Masters via PixelMath:
- Duplicate Oiii and rename to 'f'. CurvesTransformation to boost signal of f and lower background
- R: f*Sii + ~f*Ha
- G: f*(0.7*Ha + 0.3*Sii) + ~f*Oiii
- B: Oiii
- Visit thecoldestnights.com/2020/06/pixinsight-dynamic-narrowban... for more information on Dynamic Narrowband Combinations
- CurvesTransformation to slightly reduce green and boost saturation
Starless Ha Luminance Processing:
- CurvesTransformation for contrast
- RangeMask + LocalHistogramEqualization on Melotte 15 to bring back details
- DarkStructureEnhance script at 0.3
- UnsharpMask using a new RangeMask
Combine Luminance and Color:
- LRGBCombination with Luminance at 85% weight and chrominance noise reduction enabled
Add Back Color Stars and Final Processing:
- StarAlign linear Oiii and Sii masters to linear Ha master
- Arcsinhstretch just barely each linear master
- Duplicate each barely stretched master and Starnet each to remove stars
- PixelMath: Master_Stars - Master_Starless to get just the stars for each channel
- PixelMath: Combine the stars of each channel into a color star image:
- R: Ha_stars
- G: Sii_stars
- B: Oiii_stars
- PixelMath: RGB_Stars + RGB_Nebula to add stars into nebula image
- DynamicCrop to remove edges
- Save and Export
This mural was begun by Watson and completed in 2013 by others who wanted to honour him after his death in 2012, One of four photos taken in downtown London, Ontario. Best seen large by clicking on it.
Stephen Michael Watson(1958 - 2012) , born in New Brunswich, worked tirelessly to teach respect and compassion for all living beings on this planet. Through his involvement with Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, Stephen tried to teach and inspire people to reduce their carbon footprint and treat mother earth with love and respect.
Thanks for visiting, enjoy your day.
For a late Freight Car Friday offering here's a view of Berkshire and Eastern Railroad train EDMO is exiting the west portal of the 4.75 mile long Hoosac Tunnel at MP 420.4 on the B&E operated Pan Am Southern Freight Mainline, the one time Boston and Maine Fitchburg Division.
The classic Conrail can opener logo adorns an empty tri level auto rack that provides a great visual of how tight the clearances are on this legendary bore. Orignally double tracked, when the tunnel was reduced to single track in 1957 the rails were centered to allow for TOFC loads. Clearances were increased in 1997 by lowering the track and again in 2007 by notching the roof providing the current clearance of 19 ft 6 in to clear most auto racks as well as double stacked international containers.
North Adams, Massachusetts
Saturday November 23, 2024
Cavell Pond, which is directly below Angel Glacier shown here as it looked back in August 1994. The pond is formed of meltwater from Angel Glacier and from the glaciation that adjoins it. The original photo was taken on Kodak Gold 200 ASA 35mm colour negative film, using a superb Leica M2 35mm rangefinder camera with a Leica Elmar 50mm f/2.8 collapsible lens. Frames were digitised to DNG raw using a Plustek 8200Ai 35mm film scanner and then processed and stitched using Capture One Pro 23. I subsequently post-processed the image using Topaz Denoise v3.7 to reduce the film grain.
Following the re-introduction of front door boarding, the maximum capacity of buses has changed due to social distancing. Therefore, even though this bus normally has a maximum capacity of 57 and has 31 seats, it can now only carry 10 passengers. Metroline West ADL Enviro200 DEL2145 (LK65EAA) shows off the new features whilst out on the 331.
Jobst von Berg © 2024
Any duplication, processing, distribution or any form of utilisation shall require the prior written consent of Jobst von Berg in question
A string bag I use for shopping so I won't need a plastic bag; a milk bottle now enjoying a second life as a coin jar; and a birthday card (50% recycled paper) with envelope (100% recycled).
Now if I could just remember to turn the lights off when I leave a room....
Smile on Saturday: Recycled