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Red Squirrel - Sciurus Vulgaris
Highlands, Scotland.
The red squirrel is found in both coniferous forest and temperate broadleaf woodlands. The squirrel makes a drey (nest) out of twigs in a branch-fork, forming a domed structure about 25 to 30 cm in diameter. This is lined with moss, leaves, grass and bark. Tree hollows and woodpecker holes are also used. The red squirrel is a solitary animal and is shy and reluctant to share food with others. However, outside the breeding season and particularly in winter, several red squirrels may share a drey to keep warm. Social organization is based on dominance hierarchies within and between sexes; although males are not necessarily dominant to females, the dominant animals tend to be larger and older than subordinate animals, and dominant males tend to have larger home ranges than subordinate males or females.
Red squirrels that survive their first winter have a life expectancy of 3 years. Individuals may reach 7 years of age, and 10 in captivity. Survival is positively related to availability of autumn–winter tree seeds; on average, 75–85% of juveniles die during their first winter, and mortality is approximately 50% for winters following the first.
Although not thought to be under any threat worldwide, the red squirrel has nevertheless drastically reduced in number in the United Kingdom; especially after the grey squirrels were introduced from North America in the 1870s. Fewer than 140,000 individuals are thought to be left in 2013; approximately 85% of which are in Scotland, with the Isle of Wight being the largest haven in England. A local charity, the Wight Squirrel Project,[26] supports red squirrel conservation on the island, and islanders are actively recommended to report any invasive greys. The population decrease in Britain is often ascribed to the introduction of the eastern grey squirrel from North America, but the loss and fragmentation of its native woodland habitat has also played a role.
In January 1998, eradication of the non-native North American grey squirrel began on the North Wales island of Anglesey. This facilitated the natural recovery of the small remnant red squirrel population. It was followed by the successful reintroduction of the red squirrel into the pine stands of Newborough Forest. Subsequent reintroductions into broadleaved woodland followed and today the island has the single largest red squirrel population in Wales. Brownsea Island in Poole Harbour is also populated exclusively by red rather than grey squirrels (approximately 200 individuals).
Common Whitethroat - Sylvia communis
The common whitethroat (Sylvia communis) is a common and widespread typical warbler which breeds throughout Europe and across much of temperate western Asia. This small passerine bird is strongly migratory, and winters in tropical Africa, Arabia, and Pakistan.
This is one of several Sylvia species that has distinct male and female plumages. Both sexes are mainly brown above and buff below, with chestnut fringes to the secondary remiges. The adult male has a grey head and a white throat. The female lacks the grey head, and the throat is duller.
This species may appear to be closely related to the lesser whitethroat, the species having evolved only during the end of the last ice age similar to the willow warbler and chiffchaffs. However, researchers found the presence of a white throat is an unreliable morphological marker for relationships in Sylvia, and the greater and lesser whitethroats are not closely related.
This is a bird of open country and cultivation, with bushes for nesting. The nest is built in low shrub or brambles, and 3–7 eggs are laid. Like most warblers, it is insectivorous, but will also eat berries and other soft fruit.
Population:
UK breeding:
1,100,000 territories
Hommel op bezoek bij het vingerhoedskruid
A bumblebee (or bumble bee, bumble-bee, or humble-bee) is any of over 250 species in the genus Bombus, part of Apidae, one of the bee families. This genus is the only extant group in the tribe Bombini, though a few extinct related genera (e.g., Calyptapis) are known from fossils. They are found primarily in higher altitudes or latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere, although they are also found in South America, where a few lowland tropical species have been identified. European bumblebees have also been introduced to New Zealand and Tasmania. Female bumblebees can sting repeatedly, but generally ignore humans and other animals
This 'Star Cruller' is very much related to the 'Twinkle Cruller' (see first comment box), just a few creases are different.
On the left you see the 5 unit version and on the right a variation with 7 units. As mentioned before the more units assembled, the more the model looks like a star . I like a 7 pointed star ;-))
Have a nice Thursday
Paper:
Both stars are folded from a square piece of double side colored Freudenberg paper 11,5x11,5cm.
Final size:
- 5unit Star: diameter 12xm, height 2cm
- 7unit Star: diameter 14cm, height 0,5cm
Model : Origami 'Star Cruller' and variation
Design: Miyuki Kawamura
Diagrams in Tanteidan Magazine #94
"L'amore è bensì una nebbia sollevata con il fumo dei sospiri e se questa si dissipi è un fuoco che sfavilla negli occhi degli amanti e se sia contrariato non è che un mare nutrito dalle lacrime di quegli stessi amanti. E che cos'altro può mai esser l'amore se non una follia molto segreta, un'amarezza soffocante e una salutare dolcezza."
-- William Shakespeare
dal libro "Romeo e Giulietta" di William Shakespeare
P1360724 - Purple Moorhen - Size - 45 - 50 cm
# 364 - 05 Aug '2019 - 20:03 (14:33 GMT)
Purple Moorhen (Porphyrio poliocephalus) - is a species of swamphen occurring from the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent to southern China and northern Thailand.
Also Know as - Purple Swamphen, Grey-headed Swamphen, ...
WONDERFUL FACTS - The Slow Loris is one of the rarest primates.
Their closest relative is the African bush babies.
Slow Lorises may be slow, but they can travel around 8 kilometers in one night.
They are related to monkeys, apes and humans 🐾
Possible - Have A Look At -- My Creative Galleries -- Thank You Dear Friend 💞
Happy birding 🐧
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Wild horses in the morning
They do belong to somebody, but are left to roam the mountains by themselves. Taken last year, I must return to this place.
Today we had snow and I decided to go out with my camera.. I think I got complitely frozen..
And my ipod was playing this one...♫ ♪ ♫
Despite being from the cactus family, the May flower does not have any thorns. It originates in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil and is scientifically known as schlumbergera truncata.
Its preferences are similar to orchids in terms of support. In its natural environment it prefers to use tree trunks as support. Therefore, this place is one of the best to keep your flower.
The name of this plant became popular due to its flowering, which takes place in May. However, it can be known in other ways depending on the region you are in. Thus, other common names are: silk flower, easter cactus for the southern hemisphere and christmas cactus for the northern hemisphere.
This flower fell in love with gardening enthusiasts because it is medium in size, has a huge variety of colors such as pink, pale yellow, red, orange and white, in addition to being very easy to grow.
The May flower reaches 30 cm in height, and can be kept in smaller pots with a diameter of 10 cm. Another curiosity is that if this plant is pollinated, it produces pink fruits with 1 to 2 cm when ripe.
***
This plant blooms in autumn, which in Brazil takes place between March and May. This time is close to Easter, which is also related to the flower. On the other hand, it can still bloom around Christmas in the Northern Hemisphere.
In this way, the May flower is linked to festivals that symbolize rebirth and life. Because it has many cheerful colors, it brings more liveliness to any environment in which it is, valuing any garden decoration around it.
The name silk flower is related to the soft and delicate texture of this flower. Therefore, these definitions are also among its meanings, offering more softness to the place where it is grown. That's why you can even stay in the plants to improve the energy of the house.
If offered as a gift, its symbolism indicates an attitude of pure and true feeling. It can also be used for declarations of love, representing the sincerity of the relationship.
Samburu National Reserve
Kenya
East Africa
Oryx is a genus consisting of four large antelope species. Three of them are native to arid parts of Africa, and the fourth to the Arabian Peninsula. Their fur is pale with contrasting dark markings in the face and on the legs, and their long horns are almost straight.
The East African oryx (Oryx beisa) inhabits eastern Africa, and the closely related gemsbok (Oryx gazella) inhabits southern Africa. Neither is threatened, though the former is considered Near Threatened by the IUCN. The gemsbok is monotypic, and the East African oryx has two subspecies; East African oryx "proper" (O. b. beisa) and the fringe-eared oryx (O. b. callotis). In the past, both were considered subspecies of the gemsbok. – Wikipedia
Tawny Frogmouth (Podargus strigoides) female
Mama Frogmouth resting in the shade on this day in 2019. I noted on the file that the temperature on that day was 44°C (111°F) Dad was sitting on the nest. By comparison today is a glorious 25°C (77°F)
For those not familiar with the Frogmouth, they are not an Owl, being most closely related to the Nightjar Family.
Sadly they didn't return to this nest site last year or this year.
The fuchsias are most closely related to the northern hemisphere genus Circaea. Fuchsia is a genus of flowering plants that consists mostly of shrubs or small trees. Almost 110 species of Fuchsia are recognized; the vast majority are native to South America, but a few occur north through Central America to Mexico, and also several from New Zealand to Tahiti. Fuchsia leaves are opposite or in whorls of three to five, simple lanceolate, and usually have serrated margins (entire in some species), 1–25 cm long, and can be either deciduous or evergreen, depending on the species. The flowers are very decorative; they have a pendulous teardrop shape and are displayed in profusion throughout the summer and autumn, and all year in tropical species. They have four long, slender sepals and four shorter, broader petals; in many species, the sepals are bright red and the petals purple (colours that attract the hummingbirds that pollinate them), but the colours can vary from white to dark red, purple-blue, and orange. A few have yellowish tones. 12279
Related to the shelduck, this pale brown and grey goose has distinctive dark brown eye-patches and contrasting white wing patches in flight. It was introduced as an ornamental wildfowl species and has escaped into the wild, now successfully breeding in a feral state.
Many thanks for any faves and comments
Senza piacere, non vi è vita; la lotta per il piacere è la lotta per la vita.
Nietzsche, Friedrich Umano, troppo umano.
.........DONA 1€ ALLE POPOLAZIONI SICILIANE COLPITE DALLE ALLUVIONI DEL 22 NOVEMBRE 2011........ scaccia via la nebbia
The sculpture was constructed by the Chilean sculptor Mario Irarrázabal at an altitude of 1,100 meters above sea level. Its exaggerated size is said to emphasize human vulnerability and helplessness.
The sculpture also was meant to convey emotions related to injustice, loneliness, sadness and torture.
The work has a base of iron and concrete, and stands 11 metres (36 ft) tall. Funded by Corporación Pro Antofagasta, a local booster organization, the sculpture was inaugurated on 28 March 1992.
It has since become a point of interest for tourists traveling Route 5, which forms part of the Pan-American Highway.
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Auf dem Darß zur Brunft der Rothirsche (Cervus elaphus) - mit viel Brennweite, denn er war gut und gerne 250m entfernt...
Rothirsch (Cervus elaphus) - Deer
My 2019-2023 tours album is here:
www.flickr.com/gp/jenslpz/SKf0o8040w
My nature album is here:
www.flickr.com/gp/jenslpz/27PwYUERX2
My Canon EOS R / R5 / R6 album is here:
www.flickr.com/gp/jenslpz/bgkttsBw35
Rothirsch (Cervus elaphus) - Deer
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rothirsch
Der Rothirsch (Cervus elaphus), jägersprachlich Rotwild und seltener auch Edelhirsch genannt, ist eine Art der Echten Hirsche. Unter den Hirscharten zeichnet sich der Rothirsch durch ein besonders großes und weitverzweigtes Geweih aus. Dieses als Jagdtrophäe begehrte Geweih wird nur von männlichen Tieren entwickelt. Die weiblichen Tiere (Alttiere) entwickeln kein Geweih und werden daher als Kahlwild bezeichnet. Im mitteleuropäischen Raum ist der Rothirsch eines der größten freilebenden Wildtiere. Er kommt hier fast nur noch in Waldbiotopen vor. Ursprünglich handelt es sich beim Rothirsch jedoch um eine Tierart offener und halboffener Landschaften.
Rothirsche sind in mehreren Unterarten in Eurasien verbreitet. Die nordamerikanischen Wapiti wurden lange als Unterart des Rothirsches eingeordnet, werden heute aber zusammen mit ostasiatischen Rothirschen als eigenständige Art geführt.
Beschreibung
Der Rothirsch ist eine der größeren Hirscharten, wobei es zwischen den Unterarten teilweise erhebliche Unterschiede bezüglich der Körpergröße gibt. Besonders kleinwüchsige Hirsche leben auf Sardinien und Korsika. Sie erreichen dort nur ein Gewicht bis zu 80 Kilogramm.[5] Ausgewachsene Männchen sind in der Regel um 10 bis 15 Prozent größer und schwerer als ausgewachsene weibliche Rothirsche (Hirschkühe).[6]
Erhebliche Größen- und Gewichtsunterschiede gibt es bereits innerhalb der in Mitteleuropa verbreiteten Unterarten. Bei männlichen Tieren schwankt hier die Kopf-Rumpf-Länge zwischen 180 und 210 Zentimeter. Im Harz, Reinhardswald und der Region Westfalen geschossene, zehnjährige Hirsche wogen durchschnittlich zwischen 100 und 113 Kilogramm.[7] Im Wallis dagegen wogen gleichaltrige Hirsche 148 Kilogramm und im Gebiet um Hohenbucko, Brandenburg geschossene Hirsche 168 Kilogramm.[8] Rothirsche unterliegen allerdings bereits im Jahresverlauf beträchtlichen Gewichtsunterschieden: Männliche Hirsche erreichen ihr jährliches Gewichtsmaximum in der Regel kurz vor der Brunft und verlieren dann während der Brunft bis zu 25 Prozent ihres Körpergewichts.[9] Zu den Größen- und Gewichtsunterschieden zwischen einzelnen Populationen derselben Unterart tragen unterschiedliche Ernährungsbedingungen und Klimaeinflüsse bei. Grundsätzlich nehmen Körpergröße und Körpergewicht der Rothirsche von West- und Nordwesteuropa mit ozeanischem Klima in Richtung Ost- und Südosteuropa mit kontinentalem Klima zu. Diese Größenunterschiede entsprechen der Bergmannschen Regel, die besagt, dass warmblütige Tiere einer Art in kälterem Klima durchschnittlich größer sind.
Deer (Cervus elaphus)
Deer (singular and plural) are the hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the fallow deer, and the chital; and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer (caribou), the roe deer, and the moose. Female reindeer, and male deer of all species except the Chinese water deer, grow and shed new antlers each year. In this they differ from permanently horned antelope, which are part of a different family (Bovidae) within the same order of even-toed ungulates (Artiodactyla).
The musk deer (Moschidae) of Asia and chevrotains (Tragulidae) of tropical African and Asian forests are separate families within the ruminant clade (Ruminantia). They are no more closely related to deer than are other even-toed ungulates.
Deer appear in art from Paleolithic cave paintings onwards, and they have played a role in mythology, religion, and literature throughout history, as well as in heraldry. Their economic importance includes the use of their meat as venison, their skins as soft, strong buckskin, and their antlers as handles for knives. Deer hunting has been a popular activity since at least the Middle Ages and remains a resource for many families today.
"Coastal flyer" is a piece of digital art combining two original photos of mine. It is featured in the May edition of Artists Down Under magazine along with another article I wrote and a Photoshop related article.
You can read the magazine if interested here.
Cairns area of Queensland, Australia
Figbirds are related to Orioles. They forage in the canopy of fruiting trees, especially fig trees, in the edge of rainforest and in mangroves, parks and gardens. Like other orioles they will also take insects.
Sphecotheres ( vieilloti ) flaviventris
noordelijke vijgvogel
sphécothère à ventre jaune
Nördlicher Feigenpirol
Many thanks for your views, favorites and supportive comments.
All rights reserved. Alfons Buts©2018
Please do not use my photos on websites, blogs or in any other media without my explicit permission.
A Museum of Liverpool exhibit,
The boiler of LMR, ( Liverpool and Manchester Railway ) loco " Lion " is foreground.
The LOR ran between 1888 and 1956, and was demolished 1957.
This area of the Museum is very dark, possibly to put emphasis on the carriage lighting... so it isn't a massive stretch to shoot and make it night time...
"Lion" and the LOR probably never met in reality, though i am by no means certain about that, but using Lion as a foreground made sense to me, them both being Railway related, and possibly why they are positioned so in the hall.
Zion National Park
Springdale
Utah
USA
Just after coming into the park there is a visitor center. A trail leads off of the visitor center, and on the beginning of the trail there were three female mule deer browsing on trees. They were very close, but hidden off to the side. They seem to have become habituated to people visiting the park. In all my time in the parks I visited, I never saw a male mule deer.
The mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) is a deer indigenous to western North America; it is named for its ears, which are large like those of the mule. There are believed to be several subspecies including the black-tailed deer.
Unlike the related white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), mule deer are generally more associated with the land west of the Missouri River, and more specifically with the Rocky Mountain region of North America. - Wikipedia
Kestrel - Falco tinnunculus (M)
(Double click)
The common kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) is a bird of prey species belonging to the kestrel group of the falcon family Falconidae. It is also known as the European kestrel, Eurasian kestrel, or Old World kestrel. In Britain, where no other kestrel species occurs, it is generally just called "the kestrel".
This species occurs over a large range. It is widespread in Europe, Asia, and Africa, as well as occasionally reaching the east coast of North America.
Kestrels can hover in still air, even indoors in barns. Because they face towards any slight wind when hovering, the common kestrel is called a "windhover" in some areas.
Unusual for falcons, plumage often differs between male and female, although as is usual with monogamous raptors the female is slightly larger than the male. This allows a pair to fill different feeding niches over their home range. Kestrels are bold and have adapted well to human encroachment, nesting in buildings and hunting by major roads. Kestrels do not build their own nests, but use nests built by other species.
Their plumage is mainly light chestnut brown with blackish spots on the upperside and buff with narrow blackish streaks on the underside; the remiges are also blackish. Unlike most raptors, they display sexual colour dimorphism with the male having fewer black spots and streaks, as well as a blue-grey cap and tail. The tail is brown with black bars in females, and has a black tip with a narrow white rim in both sexes. All common kestrels have a prominent black malar stripe like their closest relatives.
The cere, feet, and a narrow ring around the eye are bright yellow; the toenails, bill and iris are dark. Juveniles look like adult females, but the underside streaks are wider; the yellow of their bare parts is paler. Hatchlings are covered in white down feathers, changing to a buff-grey second down coat before they grow their first true plumage.
Data from Britain shows nesting pairs bringing up about 2–3 chicks on average, though this includes a considerable rate of total brood failures; actually, few pairs that do manage to fledge offspring raise less than 3 or 4. Compared to their siblings, first-hatched chicks have greater survival and recruitment probability, thought to be due to the first-hatched chicks obtaining a higher body condition when in the nest. Population cycles of prey, particularly voles, have a considerable influence on breeding success. Most common kestrels die before they reach 2 years of age; mortality up until the first birthday may be as high as 70%. At least females generally breed at one year of age; possibly, some males take a year longer to maturity as they do in related species. The biological lifespan to death from senescence can be 16 years or more, however; one was recorded to have lived almost 24 years.
Population:
UK breeding:
46,000 pairs
Gannets are seabirds comprising the genus Morus, in the family Sulidae, closely related to boobies. "Gannet" is derived from Old English ganot, ultimately from the same Old Germanic root as "gander".[1] Morus is derived from Ancient Greek moros, "foolish", due to the lack of fear shown by breeding gannets and boobies, allowing them to be easily killed
Taken in our garden at Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex this Spring.
Crocus (plural: crocuses or croci) is a genus of flowering plants in the iris family comprising 90 species of perennials growing from corms. Many are cultivated for their flowers appearing in autumn, winter, or spring. Crocuses are native to woodland, scrub, and meadows from sea level to alpine tundra in central and southern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, on the islands of the Aegean, and across Central Asia to western China.
The name of the genus is derived from the Greek κρόκος (krokos). This, in turn, is probably a loan word from a Semitic language, related to Hebrew כרכום karkōm, Aramaic ܟܟܘܪܟܟܡܡܐ kurkama, and Arabic كركم kurkum, which mean "saffron" ( Crocus sativus), "saffron yellow" or turmeric (see Curcuma). The English name is a learned 16th-century adoption from the Latin, but Old English already had croh "saffron". The Classical Sanskrit कुङ्कुमं kunkumam "saffron" (Sushruta Samhita) is presumably also from the Semitic word.
Cultivation and harvesting of Crocus sativus for saffron was first documented in the Mediterranean, notably on the island of Crete. Frescos showing them are found at the Knossos site on Crete, as well as from the comparably aged Akrotiri site on Santorini.
The first crocus seen in the Netherlands, where crocus species are not native, were from corms brought back in the 1560s from Constantinople by the Holy Roman Emperor's ambassador to the Sublime Porte, Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq. A few corms were forwarded to Carolus Clusius at the botanical garden in Leiden. By 1620, the approximate date of Ambrosius Bosschaert's painting (illustration, below), new garden varieties had been developed, such as the cream-colored crocus feathered with bronze at the base of the bouquet, similar to varieties still on the market. Bosschaert, working from a preparatory drawing to paint his composed piece spanning the whole of spring, exaggerated the crocus so that it passes for a tulip, but its narrow, grass-like leaves give it away.
For further information please visit en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crocus
"Arbutus unedo is an evergreen shrub or small tree in the family Ericaceae, native to the Mediterranean Basin and Western Europe. The tree is well known for its fruits, the arbutus berry, which bear some resemblance to the strawberry, hence the common name strawberry tree. However, it is not closely related to true strawberries of the genus Fragaria"
A recipe:
Strawberry Tree Crumble Cake
For the Cake:
1/3 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup sour cream room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 & 1/2 cups strawberry plant berries, sliced
For the Crumble Topping:
3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup butter melted then cooled
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and liberally grease an approx. 8 x 8 sized pan.
Beat together butter and sugar on high speed for 4-5 minutes until light and fluffy.
Add in egg and mix until combined. Slowly add in flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda until just combined then add sour cream, vanilla extract and mix until combined – but don’t over-mix!
Evenly spread the cake batter in pan then top with sliced strawberry plant berries.
For the Crumble Topping:
Whisk together flour, both sugars, salt, and cinnamon until mixed. Drizzle butter over flour mixture and using a fork, stir together until crumbs form.
Sprinkle crumbs over strawberries. Bake cake for 35-40 minutes OR until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool for at least 20 minutes.
I said recently that I had in mind to start a series about the Castle of Neuchâtel. I know that these images appear appealing to me partly because I know this place. However, I always find interesting to see the same subject and the same composition on different light conditions. The Cathedral of Rouen by Monet is probably the best example of this ...
So, if you want, you can have a look on the related album ...
Moreover, it's quite rare to see this castle covered with snow ... Here again, almost no one care, but for people living there and knowing this place, it makes a difference ;) ...
As a person that is interested in everything automotive related, when I decided to visit the Finger Lakes region in New York, I found quite interesting the fact that over there, there is a small village with huge car racing history. Watkins Glen, NY is the location where the first post WW II road race took place in the US in 1948. The village's streets were used for the original course up until 1952 when during the race a driver named Fred Wacker lost control of his car, struck the spectators injuring 10 people and killing a young boy. That was the end of the original course for this historic grand prix as in the following years the race was moved to another location outside the village. As you walk around Watkins Glen, it's impossible to not notice the car racing DNA that it has as all the pedestrian croswalks are painted like checkered flags. The marks of the original start and end of the course are still there intact and some of the buildings have beautiful road-race theme murals.
Robbie Williams - Supreme
Hello my Flickr friends!
Today is a blue day at Color My World Daily Group and music is the theme at Looking close on Friday fabulous Group.
I’m super busy lately (at work and at home !!) so I had to take this emergency picture this evening… As you can imagine (and I’m pretty much sure you already figured it out) I’m rather bad at planning… and this weekend we have a swimming pool installation in my backyard so I’m beyond busy lol
As for my picture I had to improvised. We do have plenty of music related items at my house, but they are mainly very technical and electronic items which, in my eyes, don’t fit well for the theme. I don’t see “music” when looking at all my husband audio machines in his studio…. But yet, I not a musical person at all. My ear is all but musical.
Wish me luck with our swimming pool installation !! See you later my friends and have a beautiful day !!
Thank you so much for all your lovely comments / favs/ general support / happy thoughts!! Stay safe and healthy!! And see you soon on Flickr !!
rock's peony
Related Topics: Paeonia suffruticosa Brown’s peony tree peony Chinese peony European common peony
peony, (genus Paeonia), genus of about 30 species of flowering plants (family Paeoniaceae) known for their large showy blossoms. All but two species are native to Europe and Asia, and several species are cultivated as ornamentals and for the floral industry.
European common Peony
garden peony
There are three distinct groups of peonies: the herbaceous Eurasian peonies, the Asian tree, or moutan, peonies, and the North American peonies. The herbaceous peonies are perennials that grow to a height of almost 1 metre (about 3 feet). They have large, glossy, much-divided leaves borne on annual stems produced by fleshy rootstocks. In late spring and early summer they produce large single and double flowers of white, pink, rose, and deep crimson colour. The fragrant Chinese peony (P. lactiflora) and the European common peony (P. officinalis) have given rise to most of the familiar garden peonies. P. lactiflora has provided hundreds of cultivated varieties, including the Japanese types, with one or two rows of petals surrounding a cluster of partially formed petals in the centre (petaloid stamens).
The tree peonies are shrubby plants with permanent woody stems. The plants sometimes attain a height of 1.2 to 1.8 metres (about 4 to 6 feet). They begin flowering in late spring. The blossoms vary in colour from white to lilac, violet, and red. Tree peonies require a hot dry summer season for best growth, and they can be grafted in late summer or autumn on the roots of herbaceous peonies. Horticultural varieties have been developed from the Chinese species P. suffruticosa. A race of hybrids, developed by crossing P. suffruticosa with the yellow Chinese P. delayavi, has both single and double flowers, sometimes tinged with red. Many varieties have been grafted onto supportive rootstock and so cannot be readily propagated by simple division. Peonies are seldom grown from seeds except in breeding programs; the seed takes about two years to germinate.
Two peony species are native to North America. Brown’s, or western, peony (P. browni) ranges from California to Montana, and California peony (P. californica) is found only along the Pacific coastal mountains of California and Mexico.
Visit this location in Second Life
My great-grandfather in my maternal side had two-colored eyes. It was very rare that he had one bright ocean blue and the other a medium light gray one. He was of Spanish descent. Family stories were told to us grandchildren that he had a third-eye and can see things ordinary normal folks cannot see. Superstitions I supposed...
"... Superstitions regarding eye colour are related to heterochromia, a rare condition that causes eyes to be different colours.
Some Native American cultures believe that people or animals (especially dogs) with different coloured eyes have the ability to see heaven and earth at the same time. This sounds like a blessing, but in the pagan traditions of Europe, having different coloured eyes was associated with witchcraft."
gp-optom.co.nz/eye-myths-superstitions-and-cultural-beliefs/
Kestrel - Falco tinnunculus (M)
(Double click)
The common kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) is a bird of prey species belonging to the kestrel group of the falcon family Falconidae. It is also known as the European kestrel, Eurasian kestrel, or Old World kestrel. In Britain, where no other kestrel species occurs, it is generally just called "the kestrel".
This species occurs over a large range. It is widespread in Europe, Asia, and Africa, as well as occasionally reaching the east coast of North America.
Kestrels can hover in still air, even indoors in barns. Because they face towards any slight wind when hovering, the common kestrel is called a "windhover" in some areas.
Unusual for falcons, plumage often differs between male and female, although as is usual with monogamous raptors the female is slightly larger than the male. This allows a pair to fill different feeding niches over their home range. Kestrels are bold and have adapted well to human encroachment, nesting in buildings and hunting by major roads. Kestrels do not build their own nests, but use nests built by other species.
Their plumage is mainly light chestnut brown with blackish spots on the upperside and buff with narrow blackish streaks on the underside; the remiges are also blackish. Unlike most raptors, they display sexual colour dimorphism with the male having fewer black spots and streaks, as well as a blue-grey cap and tail. The tail is brown with black bars in females, and has a black tip with a narrow white rim in both sexes. All common kestrels have a prominent black malar stripe like their closest relatives.
The cere, feet, and a narrow ring around the eye are bright yellow; the toenails, bill and iris are dark. Juveniles look like adult females, but the underside streaks are wider; the yellow of their bare parts is paler. Hatchlings are covered in white down feathers, changing to a buff-grey second down coat before they grow their first true plumage.
Data from Britain shows nesting pairs bringing up about 2–3 chicks on average, though this includes a considerable rate of total brood failures; actually, few pairs that do manage to fledge offspring raise less than 3 or 4. Compared to their siblings, first-hatched chicks have greater survival and recruitment probability, thought to be due to the first-hatched chicks obtaining a higher body condition when in the nest. Population cycles of prey, particularly voles, have a considerable influence on breeding success. Most common kestrels die before they reach 2 years of age; mortality up until the first birthday may be as high as 70%. At least females generally breed at one year of age; possibly, some males take a year longer to maturity as they do in related species. The biological lifespan to death from senescence can be 16 years or more, however; one was recorded to have lived almost 24 years.
Population:
UK breeding:
46,000 pairs
Pura Besakih ist das bedeutendste auf der Insel Bali gelegene hinduistische Heiligtum in Indonesien und „Muttertempel“ aller balinesischer Tempel. Der Tempel wurde vermutlich im 8. Jahrhundert gegründet und liegt auf rund 950 Meter Höhe am Südwesthang des Gunung Agung, einem nach wie vor aktiven Vulkan. Die Gesamtanlage besteht aus über 200 Gebäuden, zu denen mehrstufige Tempeltürme (meru), Schreine (pelinggih), offene Pavillons (bale) und weitere geschlossene Gebäude gehören. Die Fürstengeschlechter haben jeweils ihren eigenen Bezirk. Alle Dorfgemeinschaften verfügen innerhalb des weitläufigen Geländes über eigene Tempelbereiche oder Schreine, die jeweils von einer Mauer umgeben sind.
Pura Besakih is a temple (pura) complex in the village of Besakih on the slopes of Mount Agung in eastern Bali, Indonesia. It is the most important, the largest and holiest temple of Hindu religion in Bali, and one of a series of Balinese temples. Perched nearly 1000 meters up the side of Gunung Agung, it is an extensive complex of 23 separate but related temples with the largest and most important being Pura Penataran Agung. The temple is built on six levels, terraced up the slope. The entrance is marked by a candi bentar (split gateway), and beyond it the Kori Agung is the gateway to the second courtyard
Working Miniature Digital 4.0 Megapixel copy of a Leica M3.
One of Leica's Classics from days gone by.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhoEUgDXr8s&feature=related
Twentse Welle - Impressie van een verdwenen Republiek - Enschede
DDR - Eindruck von einer untergegangenen Republik
DDR - Impression of a vanished Republic
~~~~ Explore ~~~~
Obviously related to the metalmark uploaded yesterday, but in a different genus, with the iridescent blue on the hindwings being replaced with yellow.
Telopea speciosissima, commonly known as the New South Wales waratah or simply waratah, is a large shrub in the plant family Proteaceae. It is endemic to New South Wales in Australia. No subspecies are recognised; the closely related Telopea aspera was classified as a separate species in 1995. T. speciosissima is a shrub to 3 or 4 m (9.8 or 13.1 ft) high and 2 m (6.6 ft) wide, with dark green leaves. Its several stems arise from a pronounced woody base known as a lignotuber. The species is well renowned for its striking large red springtime inflorescences (flowerheads), each including hundreds of individual flowers. These are visited by the eastern pygmy possum (Cercartetus nanus), birds such as honeyeaters (Meliphagidae), and various insects.