pop art on steroids

Taken in our garden earlier this summer...

Eryngium (Sea Holly) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Apiaceae. There are about 250 species. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution, with the center of diversity in South America. Common names include eryngo and sea holly (though the genus is not related to the true hollies, Ilex).

These are annual and perennial herbs with hairless and usually spiny leaves. The dome-shaped umbels of steely blue or white flowers have whorls of spiny basal bracts. Some species are native to rocky and coastal areas, but the majority are grassland plants.

Species are grown as ornamental plants in gardens. Numerous hybrids have been selected for garden use, of which E. × oliverianum and E. × tripartitum have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

Many species of Eryngium have been used as food and medicine. Eryngium campestre is used as a folk medicine in Turkey. Eryngium creticum is a herbal remedy for scorpion stings in Jordan. Eryngium elegans is used in Argentina and Eryngium foetidum in Latin America and South-East Asia. Native American peoples used many species for varied purposes. Cultures worldwide have used Eryngium extracts as anti-inflammatory agents. Eryngium yields an essential oil and contains many kinds of terpenoids, saponins, flavonoids, coumarins, and steroids.

The roots have been used as vegetables or sweetmeats. Young shoots and leaves are sometimes used as vegetables like asparagus. E. foetidum is used in parts of the Americas and Asia as a culinary herb. It is similar to coriander or cilantro, and is sometimes mistaken for it. It may be called spiny coriander or culantro.

For further information please visit en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eryngium

Saw this guy up in the tree. Have no idea what it is. Looks like a green anole on steroids. Probably his gotta get a female body, because he's pumped.

A rather over enthusiastic steam machine doing it's best to hide King Edward 11 inside Didcot MPD. A Timeline Events photo charter.

We've all seen the 'Grebe Dance'

For all the world this looks like one of those., but on Steroids!

In actuality these two were about to have a proper 'set-too' and there was no quarter given on either side!

HOVERFLY ON STEROIDS!!

I'd been wiped out with M.E. for 7 days, thanks to a heavy dose of steroids for another problem, so feeling better yesterday at last, decided to have a trip out with the camera in the evening. The owl only showed for a short time and was largely at the other end of the field, so opportunities were limited and rather distant.

Thanks for viewing and thank you for your faves and comments

Gigi on Steroids

The succulent plant popularly known as aranto, mother of a thousand or mother of thousands is perhaps the easiest to grow, as well as the fastest propagating plant. The Kalanchoe daigremontiana lives up to its nickname, producing thousands of seedlings at the speed of light.

The genus Kalanchoe, belonging to the Crassulaceae family, originates from tropical regions of the African continent, being quite common on the island of Madagascar.

The aranto or mother of thousands, in turn, belongs to the Kalanchoe daigremontiana species. It is a very common succulent plant in collections, due to its resistance and ease of cultivation. However, as it multiplies very quickly, it can become a problem, thanks to this invasive profile. Over time, it can be difficult to control its propagation in pots, flower beds and gardens. As its name implies, aranto has the ability to generate new shoots along all the edges of its leaves. These seedlings stand out very easily, generating new individuals when they fall to the ground.

Despite this inconvenience, the ornamental and curious effect of the leaves embroidered by countless sprouts is undeniable. Very often, they start to take root, still attached to the mother plant. In this same genus of Aranto, there is still another species, Kalanchoe delagoensis, which also has this characteristic of producing buds on the edges of the leaves. She is also known as the mother of a thousand or the mother of thousands. However, its leaves are much narrower and longer, it is a different species from the aranto in appearance. It is called on the outside the chandelier plant, or chandelier plant.

Plants grow up to 1 m (3 ft 3 in) tall and have opposite and whorled, fleshy oblong-lanceolate leaves which grow up to 20 cm (8 in) long and 32 mm (1+1⁄4 in) wide. They are green above and blotched with purple underneath. Leaf margins have spoon-shaped bulbiliferous spurs which bear plantlets which may form roots while still attached to leaves.

All parts of this species contain a very toxic steroid known as daigremontianin.

Featuring: Synnergy.Tavis Home Office Backdrop

On sale at Kinky 69 weekend sale for 69L from November 4th - 7th

✅ LM: maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Dreamer/144/122/24

Synnergy.Tavis Mainstore: maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Dreamer/125/172/28

Synnergy.Tavis MP: marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/211339

Flickr: www.flickr.com/groups/14616195@N24/

FB: www.facebook.com/Synnergy.sl/

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Pose: Writers Block - by Le Poppycock

Wearing:

Top: Power Play - Tucked in Top - by Blueberry

Pants: Dynamite - Leggings On Steroids - by Blueberry

Lip piercing: Annika - by LittleFish

Tattoo: Naret - by Vezzo Ink

Hair: Chill - by DOUX

Hoverfly on Steroids!

It was unexpected.

He’d been on steroids for a couple of weeks. The vet says that he had a brain tumour, and then a brain hemorrhage yesterday.

We’re heartbroken 💔 The price we pay for loving him so much.

Photo taken on 29th December 2021.

I'd been wiped out with M.E. for 7 days, thanks to a heavy dose of steroids for another problem, so feeling better yesterday at last, decided to have a trip out with the camera in the evening. The owl only showed for a short time and was largely at the other end of the field, so opportunities were limited and rather distant.

Thanks for the comments and faves.

Some of my birding friends who are familiar with the Canada jay say they are simply a chickadee on steroids. Sometimes they act very secretive and then you suddenly find one that flies right up in front of you. These cold-hardy Canada jays were already paired up in Sax-Zim Bog since their breeding season begins now in February!!

Harris Brown-ALL rights reserved. This image may not be used for ANY purpose without written permission.

Pennypack Trust, Huntingdon Valley, PA. USA.

The larger of two look alikes, the Hairy Woodpecker is a small but powerful bird that forages along trunks and main branches of large trees. It wields a much longer bill than the Downy Woodpecker's almost thornlike bill. (think of the Hairy Woodpecker as a Downy on steroids). Hairy Woodpeckers have a somewhat soldierly look, with their erect, straight-backed posture on tree trunks and their cleanly striped heads.

Thanks to all who take the time to view, comment on and favor my images. It is very much appreciated.

Nikon Z9 camera with Nikon 500mm f5.6 E PF lens and fill flash

1/250 F5.6 ISO 180

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Psalm 51:10

Salsify looks like a dandelion on steroids. The flower itself looks like a yellow daisy. The seed heads look like a big puffball, up to several inches in diameter.

The term “Blowball” refers to the round seed head of both species.

-Tragopogon dubius

This was my first photo taken on our first morning in Venice. It was so amazing, like Disney World on steroids!

A view of Yellowstone's impressive Grand Prismatic Spring at sunset.

"What Makes the Grand Prismatic so Grand?

Deeper than a 10-Story Building

Extremely hot water travels 121 feet from a crack in the Earth to reach the surface of the spring.

Football Field on Steroids

The third largest spring in the world, the Grand Prismatic is bigger than a football field at 370 feet in diameter. A gridiron is 360 feet long and 160 feet wide.

Rainbow of Colors

The hot spring has bright bands of orange, yellow, and green ring the deep blue waters in the spring. The multicolored layers get their hues from different species of thermophile (heat-loving) bacteria living in the progressively cooler water around the spring. And the deep blue center? That’s because water scatters the blue wavelengths of light more than others, reflecting blues back to our eyes.

A Living Thermometer

What living thing in Yellowstone has helped investigators solve crimes and NASA search for extraterrestrial life on seemingly inhospitable planets? Heat-loving microbes living in the Yellowstone’s thermal pools. In 1968, researcher Thomas Brock discovered a microbe living in one of Yellowstone’s extremely hot springs. In the years since, research on Yellowstone’s microbes has led to major medical and scientific advances, including the sequencing of the entire human genome. These microbes even led to the development of the PCR test, which has been instrumental in creating COVID-19 rapid test to slow the spread of the virus." yellowstonepark.com

Have a wonderful Sunday!

I was watching the Venezuelan troupial (Icterus icterus) when a yellow oriole (icterus nigrogularis) dive bombed it. The troupial squawked out its displeasure and retained its perch. A serendipitous moment to capture!

This is from a little glen on the windward side of the island that is packed with flowering agaves every April. It attracts a huge gathering of nectar eaters - troupials, orioles, humming birds, thrashers, etc. Dessert on steroids for them.

Helping me endure the spring season...

a square chunk of shiny sheet metal :)

One thing I really do like about Alberta is the big sky. I drove by this pond this morning and had to stop and take a photo of the big sky reflection. Have a great day.

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______________________________________

Please NOTE and RESPECT the copyright.

© Bob Cuthill Photography - All rights reserved

This image may not be copied, reproduced, published or distributed in any medium without the expressed written permission of the copyright holder.

BobCuthillPhotography@gmail.com

______________________________________

The Wallflower shows its blossoms after the first winter, nearly all parts of it are toxic, especially the seeds.

Der Goldlack erblüht nachdem er einen ersten Winter hintersich hat, fast alles an ihm ist giftig, vor allem die Samen. Sie enthalten vor allem (Steroid-) Glykoside.

Beyond Dreams

youtu.be/TDDjJrVb42Y

Everything is energy.

The collective consciousness is powerful and makes up the collective thought forms of humanity.

There has been a psychological attack upon the minds of men for as long as we have existed on this planet.

This attack has been on steroids this past few years.

Creating fear, division, suppression, anger - all the demonic energy has been in full swing.

The world is the devil's playground

Understand the symbiology that is used throughout our society.

So very sadly it is rampant in the music and entertainment industry.

I recognized when I first came to SL - this was the devil's playground. Sadly, I am seeing more and more of the demonic energy at play - willing participant's advocating all that is demonic . . . be very mindful where you choose to place your energy -

Everything you think, do, feel creates an energetic force that affects not just you, but your immediate surrounding and environment. Be careful of your thoughts, your actions and don't be a toxic waste dump on a society that is full of toxic waste.

It saddens me deeply to see so many creators and people cashing in on all that is demonic - this is just contributing to the demonic energy. Think about it please. It is like a dark vortex of alluring seductive energy that will suck you of your soul and all that is good about you!

Now is the time to dig deep, to find your courage - despite what is being played out on the world stage.

So much of what you are witnessing is optics - all illusion

We are in a war - a war of good v evil - these days were always going to come.

We are a result of our collective consciousness and what we are seeing play out globally is nothing short of demonic

Until people realize this demonic power has always been here - long before you and I existed - nothing will change.

Turn off your media - it is full of perception and lies. Be mindful of your thoughts and your feelings.

Do your own due diligence - all is not how it appears.

Hold tight, hold strong, bring moments of joy into your life no matter what - look for the beauty - it is there - . . .

A simple smile from a stranger

The sun glistening

The moon beaming at you

The simple things in life

A puppy playing

A bird singing

. . . . beauty is all around us if we open our eyes

Despite the chaos being played out - collectively we can change this

Hold tight, be courageous - let go and surrender - build your inner core

The veil has been lifting on humanity slowly but surely

Have faith we will get through this and we will create a better way of being in this world

Dismantling the evil was never going to be an easy task.

Sadly, there will always be those that sacrifice their lives - bless them - for in their sacrifice - they awaken others to the reality of this world

God Bless Humanity

Autumn foliage reflecting in lake, Groton State Forest, Vermont, New England

Ania Tuzel© All rights reserved

Thank you for stopping by, everyone!:)

Kingsburg, Ca.

It was, indeed, a quiet morning, and while many of my neighbors post U.S. flags outside of their personal fortresses, this one was new. The song by Baez is about Janis Joplin, yet it seems fitting. To me our country has been wandering in the wilderness ever since Vietnam. So like Janis, something passed way too early. That something was a belief that we could live in peace among ourselves and with other nations. Perhaps there never was any hope. A country borne in conflict that embraced slavery and genocide. Frighteningly, maybe we're just humanity on steroids and it's full steam ahead to destruction.

Me? I'm weary of all the chest pounding, displays of pro forma mindless nationalism, and the anti-intellectualism that causes people to repudiate science and serve as willing hosts for a virus that need not have prospered in this land of the rich.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xX5pKIFbUCI

“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched — they must be felt with the heart.” — Helen Keller

Living in the same neighborhood for over 30 years gives you a chance to really know your neighbors. Other people came and went through the years, but our elderly neighbor, Odea, was always there. No matter the weather, she would be outside tending to her garden plants. For many years I admired her lovely peonies (which I initially called Roses on Steroids). As she is no longer with us, I celebrate her impact on our lives with memories....and my own peonies.

No Photoshop - Just a single image.

St. John's Wort is a perennial herb native to Europe, with yellow flowers and perforated leaves due to translucent glands. It has been used for centuries in traditional medicine for wound healing, mood disorders, and nerve pain, and is now commonly available as teas, tablets, capsules, and topical preparations

Forrest's St. John's Wort is a golden jewel of the garden, originating from the high-altitude regions of Yunnan, China. Named after the legendary "Indiana Jones of plants," George Forrest, this shrub is beloved for its "buttercup-on-steroids" appearance and its ability to bridge the gap between summer and autumn with grace

Fun Fact

George Forrest, the plant’s namesake, was a true adventurer. During one of his expeditions to collect plants in China, he had to flee for his life from local conflict, spending weeks hiding in the wilderness and surviving by eating parched corn. He eventually escaped by disguising himself as a Tibetan priest!

COMMON BUT NOT COMMON, in this area, a medium-sized gull with rather a dainty bill, seen in winter markings with dark streaking on the head and neck, in summer it looses those streaks to leave a pure white head. See at Hampton near Herne Bay, Kent, UK.

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THANK YOU for your visit and kind comments, will return the visit with a comment.

Have been asked a few times how I am keeping with Polymyalgia , am free from pain, and have good joint movement, a bit weak in the big shoulder muscles and joints, the only other thing is living with Steroids and there side effects, feel spaced out, and have a slight hand tremble now, but would rather that then the pain and real stiffness in the joints. Thanking everybody for their concern and prayers!

Stay safe, God bless........Tomx.

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I imagine that this is what Pacman would look like today if he procreated in a Crayola Factory. Image was of water droplets on a CD, taken with a macro lens and illuminated with a ring light.

The history of Braniac is too short and very sad. They became active in the 1990s and were gaining momentum when their lead singer, Tim Taylor died of a combine carbon monoxide poisoning/car crash. After a very long hiatus, the band came back to tour with John Schmersal as their lead singer (who did an excellent job with these fantastic songs.)

It was kind of a strange memory trip I was on Friday night seeing Schmersal after so long. The last time I saw him was when he was in the band Enon. I went to him after the set and re-introduced myself as the girl Enon had spent an entire day around Halloween in a bowling alley with them in 2007...so, it's been almost 16 years! Oddly enough, it was a great day but a very weird mood. It was the weekend before Halloween when I spent the day with them and there was the random person passing by going to a Halloween party of some sort.

Less than a month later, I nearly died of Pertussis/Whooping Cough because doctors didn't realize back then that you needed a booster. It was a 6 week recovery and I had to go on three different inhalers, steroids, and wrap my ribs up with tape every day because I was coughing so hard I thought they would surely break. That's when I decided to read Haruki Murakami's The Wind Up Bird Chronicle, which a friend recently reminded me about.

That's a very long tangent...anyway, I showed Schmersal one of the 2007 photos on my phone after the set and sent him the link. It's funny how a human can travel back in time without a Delorean or a Tardis.

Here's a link to the Enon set from 2007:

www.flickr.com/photos/kirstiecat/albums/72157602747645266

Here's a link to hear Braniac:

brainiac.bandcamp.com/

**All photos are copyrighted**

Caught in the midsummer light along the shores of Strawberry Reservoir, this image captures the whimsical architecture of a yellow Salsify that has gone to seed. Often described as a “dandelion on steroids,” its seed balls can easily reach the size of a baseball. These delicate globes seem designed for both beauty and travel, each parachute poised to catch the slightest breeze across the meadow. What makes this moment even more intriguing is that it shows the full cycle of the plant’s seeding process—from an unopened pod waiting to release its seeds to empty stalks that have already let theirs drift away, carrying new life across eastern Utah’s open range.

Click on the image a couple of times to view the intricate detail of the seed parachutes. It's no wonder that the seeds literally float on the air!

_DSC4815

© Stephen L. Frazier - All Rights Reserved. Reproduction, printing, publication, or any other use of this image without written permission is prohibited.

Somewhere in this world. Just needed a bit of colors on steroids.

Soundtrack: Purcell The Fairy Queen -The Fairy Queen, Act 2: Prelude

youtu.be/hDFwZOT0yJU

I thought I was seeing a Purple Gallinule on steroids, but the color was slightly off and the red forehead shield was more like the less colorful Common Gallinule. A park volunteer identified it as yet another Florida invasive species, the Gray-headed Swamp Hen (from Asia).

According to the Cornell Lab ("All About Birds"), this large, aggressive rail "escaped" captivity and has expanded its range beyond the south of Florida. In 2006-2008, 3187 swamp hens were culled by various Florida agencies, but it had no apparent effect on the population.

I photographed swamp hens in two locations, this one at Celery Fields, another at Wakodahatchee Wetlands, Florida.

Life Bird Photograph #258

A subway train on steroids

Certainly not indigenous to the Sierras, these Maples are ornamentals in front of an office near our cabin. They are gorgeous.

Port Townsend, Washington on steroids

HSS

Happy Slider Sunday

Tutti gli ellebori sono velenosi perché contengono dei glicosidi, tra i quali l’elleborina, la cui azione danneggia gravemente il muscolo cardiaco (similmente alle digitali).

Nell’elleboro verde sono presenti anche degli alcaloidi.

Altra sostanza tossica presente negli ellebori è lo steroide saponigenina.

Il termine generico Helleborus deriva dal greco e significa ‘cibo mortale’, a rammentare la pericolosità di queste piante.

Tratto dal sito:

www.montagneaperte.it/ambienteebiodiversita/elleboro/

Thank You Photoshop and Deep Dream Generator

Dramatically post processed Calibrachoa that the Bee’s and Butterflies can’t stop juicing these tiny little flowers. Thank you for your visit, faves and comments! Every one is most appreciated.

Merlin (Think Kestrel on steroids)

©R.C. Clark: Dancing Snake Nature Photography

All rights reserved - Pinal County, AZ

#PeaceLoveConservation, #canonphotography

For Sliders Sunday. Daddy Longlegs on the Coleus. Slid to the MAX. HSS

So yesterday was my birthday. I'm now that old that the Beatles wrote a song about me (think about it...). Anyway, I've been a relatively good boy this year so thought I deserved a present. Now, let me see, what kind of present would make a photographer such as myself happy? That of course is a no-brainer as anyone who follows this stream will know. A new lens of course. But what lens? Well, as it was my birthday I thought I'd make it a bit special and buy something that was approximately equal in age to myself. (And yes, they did make lenses that far back in time! ) Much research followed, including looking at a lot of pictures here on Flickr. It had to be a 'creative' lens of some description. My first thought was for a Meyer Optik Gorlitz Trioplan 100mm but then after researching that lens I continually came across references to another lens produced at around the same time - another Meyer Optik Gorlitz lens - the 58mm Primoplan. One was duly sourced from a UK seller on eBay and it arrived about 10 days ago. I've taken it out a couple of times and I can confirm it does a lot of things NOT very well. Landscapes for instance are not it's best subject. Sharp it is not! But what it does do well is the thing I bought it for. It's a bit like a Helios on steroids and that is saying something as anyone familiar with the look of a Helios will know. Of course I love it. Happy birthday to me.

This was about the 3rd picture I took with it and as I'm still messing around with textures I applied one here. 'Straight out of camera, I never mess with the original' photographers had better swipe left now... 😁