Shot whilst on my way through a park in Bristol

These early camellias grow well under the tall loblolly pines in the region. Although they will get frosted at times, the trees continue to put blossoms throughout the winter. HFF

Floral Friday

Repeat flowering Agapanthus for up to 6 months of the year.

The small window of flowering for an Agapanthus plant often hinders its popularity among landscape professionals. This has changed with Ozbreed’s repeat mass flowering Agapanthus varieties.

These gorgeous plants produce masses of bright and colourful flowers in spring and summer, as well as sporadically throughout the year, including in mild winters .

Agapanthus varieties are designed to be tough enough to brave the Australian landscape, with good disease resistance, and drought and frost tolerance.

The nickname they give Mount Fuji is not an exaggeration. Throughout the 3 weeks I was here, the mountain was always shrouded in mist and/or haze, or I was just not in a good angle for a shot, (one day I had snow for crying out loud, you'll see some of those shots later).

On this particular day I was expecting more of the same. On my way from Narusawa Ice Caves I looked out the car window and saw for a brief instant, Fuji in all her glory. After so many failed attempts, I was freaking out, I simply HAD to get this.

This shot was taken from a window in the hillside recreation of the historic village Iyashi. In the early afternoon for around 4 hours Fuji looked like this. Not completely exposed, but just enough to get the good shot I've been fantasizing about.

Not shy enough in the end apparently.

Las Galinas is home to numerous species of birds including ducks, birds of prey etc. Hummingbirds are also very much at home in this habitat. We spotted this little Anna’s Hummingbird as it took a quick break on a tree limb. Named after Anna Masséna, Duchess of Rivoli. In the early 20th century, Anna's hummingbirds bred only in northern Baja California and southern California. The transplanting of exotic ornamental plants in residential areas throughout the Pacific coast and inland deserts provided expanded nectar and nesting sites, allowing the species to expand its breeding range.

The village of Trevélez - famous throughout Spain for its superb mountain hams, or jamón serrano - is, at over 4,840 feet above sea level, the highest village in Europe, overhanging a fast-flowing river and plunging mountain valley. We spent the day there yesterday and heard wonderful bird song. The river water is very cold and rapid. Also sampled the ham which was delicious with our lunch .☺

Taken recently in our garden.

The tulip is a perennial, bulbous plant with showy flowers in the genus Tulipa, of which around 75 wild species are currently accepted and which belongs to the family Liliaceae.

The genus's native range extends west to the Iberian Peninsula, through North Africa to Greece, the Balkans, Turkey, throughout the Levant (Syria, Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan) and Iran, North to Ukraine, southern Siberia and Mongolia, and east to the Northwest of China. The tulip's centre of diversity is in the Pamir, Hindu Kush, and Tien Shan mountains. It is a typical element of steppe and winter-rain Mediterranean vegetation. A number of species and many hybrid cultivars are grown in gardens, as potted plants, or as cut flowers.

Tulips are spring-blooming perennials that grow from bulbs. Depending on the species, tulip plants can be between 4 inches (10 cm) and 28 inches (71 cm) high. The tulip's large flowers usually bloom on scapes with leaves in a rosette at ground level and a single flowering stalk arising from amongst the leaves.Tulip stems have few leaves. Larger species tend to have multiple leaves. Plants typically have two to six leaves, some species up to 12. The tulip's leaf is strap-shaped, with a waxy coating, and the leaves are alternately arranged on the stem; these fleshy blades are often bluish green in color. Most tulips produce only one flower per stem, but a few species bear multiple flowers on their scapes (e.g. Tulipa turkestanica). The generally cup or star-shaped tulip flower has three petals and three sepals, which are often termed tepals because they are nearly identical. These six tepals are often marked on the interior surface near the bases with darker colorings. Tulip flowers come in a wide variety of colors, except pure blue (several tulips with "blue" in the name have a faint violet hue).

The flowers have six distinct, basifixed stamens with filaments shorter than the tepals. Each stigma has three distinct lobes, and the ovaries are superior, with three chambers. The tulip's seed is a capsule with a leathery covering and an ellipsoid to globe shape. Each capsule contains numerous flat, disc-shaped seeds in two rows per chamber. These light to dark brown seeds have very thin seed coats and endosperm that does not normally fill the entire seed.

Etymology

The word tulip, first mentioned in western Europe in or around 1554 and seemingly derived from the "Turkish Letters" of diplomat Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq, first appeared in English as tulipa or tulipant, entering the language by way of French: tulipe and its obsolete form tulipan or by way of Modern Latin tulīpa, from Ottoman Turkish tülbend ("muslin" or "gauze"), and may be ultimately derived from the Persian: دلبند‎ delband ("Turban"), this name being applied because of a perceived resemblance of the shape of a tulip flower to that of a turban. This may have been due to a translation error in early times, when it was fashionable in the Ottoman Empire to wear tulips on turbans. The translator possibly confused the flower for the turban.

Tulips are called laleh (from Persian لاله, lâleh) in Persian, Turkish, Arabic, and Bulgarian. In Arabic letters, "laleh" is written with the same letters as Allah, which is why the flower became a holy symbol. It was also associated with the House of Osman, resulting in tulips being widely used in decorative motifs on tiles, mosques, fabrics, crockery, etc. in the Ottoman Empire

Cultivation

Tulip cultivars have usually several species in their direct background, but most have been derived from Tulipa suaveolens, often erroneously listed as Tulipa schrenkii. Tulipa gesneriana is in itself an early hybrid of complex origin and is probably not the same taxon as was described by Conrad Gesner in the 16th century.

Tulips are indigenous to mountainous areas with temperate climates and need a period of cool dormancy, known as vernalization. They thrive in climates with long, cool springs and dry summers. Tulip bulbs imported to warm-winter areas of are often planted in autumn to be treated as annuals.

Tulip bulbs are typically planted around late summer and fall, in well-drained soils, normally from 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 cm) deep, depending on the type. Species tulips are normally planted deeper.

Propagation

Tulips can be propagated through bulb offsets, seeds or micropropagation. Offsets and tissue culture methods are means of asexual propagation for producing genetic clones of the parent plant, which maintains cultivar genetic integrity. Seeds are most often used to propagate species and subspecies or to create new hybrids. Many tulip species can cross-pollinate with each other, and when wild tulip populations overlap geographically with other tulip species or subspecies, they often hybridize and create mixed populations. Most commercial tulip cultivars are complex hybrids, and often sterile.

Offsets require a year or more of growth before plants are large enough to flower. Tulips grown from seeds often need five to eight years before plants are of flowering size. Commercial growers usually harvest the tulip bulbs in late summer and grade them into sizes; bulbs large enough to flower are sorted and sold, while smaller bulbs are sorted into sizes and replanted for sale in the future. The Netherlands are the world's main producer of commercial tulip plants, producing as many as 3 billion bulbs annually, the majority for export.

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

The red-necked spur fowl (red-necked francolin) is a pheasant-like bird, common throughout Africa. It is a shy, wary bird that likes to stay hidden in thickets and scrubland. Here it sits on a rust-coloured termite mound made from the iron oxide rich soils of Tarangire National Park, Tanzania.

Excerpt from gpsmycity.com:

Mauthalle (Former Customs House), Nuremberg:

This medieval building has served as a granary and customhouse throughout its centuries-old history. It was built as a granary around 1498 on the site of the former city moat. At the time, this was the largest grain house in the city and stored food for times of crisis.

The Former Customs House features a gabled roof. The eastern gable has an intricate network of blind ogee arches. The city's coat of arms, with the imperial eagle, is featured in the lancet-arched portal.

The impressive roof has five stories and rests on top of the three-story sandstone building.

The granary began serving as a customhouse in 1572. The building was heavily damaged during WWII but has been restored. The original builders used half-timbers on the facade; the remaining half-timbered facade can be seen on the building's easter wing. The rest of the building was rebuilt using brick.

The cellar features 26 pillars and now houses the Barefoot brewery and restaurant.

One of my favourite places to walk has always been the trails throughout the marsh lands just up the road from me. Most often not another person in sight, just me, the birds and the coyotes.

During the past couple of years a very talented someone has started placing some of his carving along the trails making for an even more interesting walk but unfortunately a much more popular one. I guess that is the trade off, to enjoy these beautiful carvings, I now have to share the trails.

On the 28th May 2020 Class 70/8 no.70803 passes along the seawall at Teignmouth with the 6C36 0617 Moorswater to Aberthaw cement empties.

Good to see this service running two weeks on the trot after not running throughout the lock down. Nice to have a walk on the seawall for the first time in months.

Status

Resident at wetlands throughout Ireland.

Identification

Large white swan, with an orange-red bill with prominent knob on the forehead, black nostrils and cutting edges.

Voice

Despite the name not mute! Adults give a curious snorting or rumbling sound. Juveniles beg with high-pitched whistle. Hisses when alarmed. Does not call in flight, but a loud whisteling sound is produced by the wings.

Diet

Water plants, which these large birds can reach with their long necks at depths of up to one metre. Also graze on land and occasionally feed on small amphibians, snails and insects

Breeding

Clutch: 4-7 eggs (1 brood) Incubation: 34-45 days. Fledging: 120-150 days (precocial). Age of first breeding: 3 years. Breeds on lakes, ponds & rivers, and nests are a large mound constructed from reed stem and other aquatic vegetation, with seaweed being used in coastal locations.

Wintering

Widespread on lakes, ponds and rivers.

Seemed throughout our adventure of being in the desert, the trees may have stood as tall as the clouds. Many trees we came across appeared to have been struck by lightening as you could see the burn marks i n the New Mexico desert

So when the crew arrived on the scene here in Rock Island, IL to take this newly-repainted CPKC Geep across the river to their side of the world, they quickly realized that the "BN" was in their way.

Well, after they had a crew sent down from Barstow to get their train moving, they realized that the simplest solution to clear a path for the CPKC was to pull east out of their yard, and shove back west into the clear. Unfortunately, they needed juuuuuust a bit of extra headroom to make this happen, so after the CPKC contacted the IAIS RISW behind them (IAIS 716) to verify that everything was clear in THEIR Rock Island yard, they shoved back to give the BNSF 3013 and 3100 that extra bit of space they needed.

It really was something getting to see these two trains moving this closely to each other, but everyone had clearance to do so, and was in radio contact with each other throughout to stay safe. In the end, everyone got what they needed, and you could tell that the crews were happy to help each other out.

Throughout history, parts of Bryggen were destroyed in a fire in 1955. A thirteen-year archaeological excavation followed, revealing the day-to-day runic inscriptions known as the Bryggen inscriptions. The Bryggen museum was built in 1976 on part of the site cleared by the fire. - Wikipedia -

Common and widespread large gull found throughout North America. Adults have a fairly pale gray back, pale eye, and dull pinkish legs. Takes four years for immatures to progress from mostly brown to fully white and gray adult plumage; intermediate plumages are often mottled and messy. Usually shows a dull pinkish base to the bill by the first winter, and develops a pale eye by the second winter. Some immature birds can fade to almost white, especially in their first or second summer, but they always show darker wingtips. Occurs inland and along the coast, frequenting fishing boats, beaches, lakes, and landfills. Often forms large flocks with other gulls. (eBird)

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These gulls had noticed that we had fish for the shearwaters and petrels and wanted in on the action. They effortlessly kept pace with our boat while watching all the time for some free food.

Grand Manan, New Brunswick, Canada. July 2013.

AlwaysAnAdventure.

Squirrels mate once or twice a year and have their young between three to six weeks later, the young are born naked toothless and blind, normally it is the female who looks after the young and they are weaned between six to ten weeks. Unfortunately many squirrels die in the first year of their life, but they can have a lifespan of 5 to 10 years in the wild and in captivity they can have a lifespan of 10 to 20 years. The front teeth of the squirrel grow throughout its life and the cheeck teeth are set back behind a wide gap for chewing their food. Squirrels cannot digest cellulose therefore they must rely on foods rich in protein, during the colder months of the year this can be very difficult because some of the food they have buried have started to grow making the food not edible and they now have to rely on new tree buds etc.

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This morning on Skye was one to remember. I was going to title this image 'My favorite morning', but I decided that was too specific. The changing light throughout the sunrise was special, yet as I remembered other sunrises on Skye; two gorgeous sunrises at The Old Man of Storr and several colourful sunrises in the Quiraing I could put this morning among my favorites but not THE favorite. Actually I'm hoping my favorite morning on Skye is one that has yet to happen. But here is some background on one of my favorite mornings on Skye . . .

As it was September, the alarm before sunrise was at a more sensible time than during my May visits to Skye. A glance out the window, where the skies seemed to have potential, had me in the car for a quick drive to the Quiraing. I enjoyed the drive from Kilmuir to the Quiraing parking with never seeing another car on the single lane road. Leaving the car in the empty parking area I headed along the path to begin setting up for sunrise. This was a very enjoyable morning at the Quiraing with the constantly changing views. The low clouds would move over the ridge hiding and then revealing various portions of the ridge, while simultaneously the light would shift highlighting sections of the ridge. I remained in place and enjoyed the morning from this location.

From my location at the Quiraing this was the view of the Trotternish Ridge, visible is Cnòc a Mhèrlich, Cleat while Bioda Buidhe is barely discernible in the cloud cover. In this image the shifting light is only highlighting the base of Cleat and portions of Cnòc a Mhèrlich. In the distance the sunlight can be seen highlighting the clouds that are hiding the Trotternish Ridge On the far right of the image is a curve of the Staffin-Uig road as it climbs the Trotternish Ridge.

Those interested in seeing how the shifting light changed that morning can view the Shifting Light Series album where the images are in chronologically order.

Although we had less butterflies throughout the cooler months in Florida, butterfly season never completely ended. Monarch's, gulf fritillaries and zebra longwings were flitting about in small numbers even during the winter months. Although winter is not officially over, I am pleased to say the number of butterflies in the yard has started increasing. I look forward to the return of the spicebush, giants, tigers and more. It won't be long :)

Bearded Tits are found in reed beds throughout the temperate regions of Europe, Asia and North Africa. For this reason they are also called Reed Buntings. It is not a tit as such, but belongs to a unique group of its own. The way they move about reeds beds, however, in small groups, they are more like long-tailed tits. They feed on small reed aphids and small insect, but come autumn and winter they switch to reed seeds. This one is the male of the species. It has more of a moustache than a beard, a feature lacking in females.

The grey heron (Ardea cinerea) is a long-legged predatory wading bird of the heron family, Ardeidae, native throughout temperate Europe and Asia and also parts of Africa. It is resident in much of its range, but some populations from the more northern parts migrate southwards in autumn. A bird of wetland areas, it can be seen around lakes, rivers, ponds, marshes and on the sea coast. It feeds mostly on aquatic creatures which it catches after standing stationary beside or in the water or stalking its prey through the shallows. Quoted from Wikipedia

St Andrews harbour is home to a fleet of around a dozen small fishing vessels, landing high quality shellfish from around the nearby shores, which are sold locally, nationally and exported. A small, but growing, number of pleasure craft are also based within the sheltered waters of the Inner basin. Quoted from the St Andrews Harbour Trust website.

SN/NC: Hibiscus, Malvaceae Family; Syn. Hibiscus syriacus, Hibiscus Rosa Chinensis

Hibiscus is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. The genus is quite large, comprising several hundred species that are native to warm temperate, subtropical and tropical regions throughout the world. Member species are renowned for their large, showy flowers and those species are commonly known simply as "hibiscus", or less widely known as rose mallow. Other names include hardy hibiscus, rose of sharon, and tropical hibiscus.

The genus includes both annual and perennial herbaceous plants, as well as woody shrubs and small trees. The generic name is derived from the Greek name ἰβίσκος (ibískos) which Pedanius Dioscorides gave to Althaea officinalis (c. 40–90 AD).Several species are widely cultivated as ornamental plants, notably Hibiscus syriacus and Hibiscus rosa-sinensis.

Hibiscus é um gênero de plantas com flores da família das malvas, Malvaceae. O gênero é bastante grande, compreendendo várias centenas de espécies nativas de regiões temperadas, subtropicais e tropicais quentes em todo o mundo. As espécies membros são conhecidas por suas flores grandes e vistosas e essas espécies são comumente conhecidas simplesmente como "hibisco", ou menos conhecidas como malva rosa. Outros nomes incluem hibisco resistente, rosa de sharon e hibisco tropical.

O gênero inclui plantas herbáceas anuais e perenes, bem como arbustos lenhosos e pequenas árvores. O nome genérico é derivado do nome grego ἰβίσκος (ibískos) que Pedanius Dioscorides deu a Althaea officinalis (c. 40–90 dC).

Várias espécies são amplamente cultivadas como plantas ornamentais, notadamente Hibiscus syriacus e Hibiscus rosa-sinensis.

Hibiscus es un género de plantas con flores en la familia de las malvas, Malvaceae. El género es bastante grande y comprende varios cientos de especies que son nativas de las regiones templadas cálidas, subtropicales y tropicales de todo el mundo. Las especies miembros son famosas por sus flores grandes y llamativas y esas especies se conocen comúnmente simplemente como "hibisco", o menos conocidas como malva rosa. Otros nombres incluyen hibisco resistente, rosa de sharon e hibisco tropical.

El género incluye plantas herbáceas anuales y perennes, así como arbustos leñosos y árboles pequeños. El nombre genérico se deriva del nombre griego ἰβίσκος (ibískos) que Pedanius Dioscorides le dio a Althaea officinalis (c. 40–90 d. C.).

Varias especies se cultivan ampliamente como plantas ornamentales, en particular Hibiscus syriacus e Hibiscus rosa-sinensis.

Hibiscus est un genre de plantes à fleurs de la famille des mauves, les Malvaceae. Le genre est assez vaste et comprend plusieurs centaines d'espèces originaires des régions tempérées chaudes, subtropicales et tropicales du monde entier. Les espèces membres sont réputées pour leurs grandes fleurs voyantes et ces espèces sont communément appelées simplement "hibiscus", ou moins largement connues sous le nom de mauve rose. D'autres noms incluent l'hibiscus rustique, la rose de sharon et l'hibiscus tropical.

Le genre comprend des plantes herbacées annuelles et vivaces, ainsi que des arbustes ligneux et de petits arbres. Le nom générique est dérivé du nom grec ἰβίσκος ( ibískos ) que Pedanius Dioscorides a donné à Althaea officinalis (vers 40–90 après JC).

Plusieurs espèces sont largement cultivées comme plantes ornementales, notamment Hibiscus syriacus et Hibiscus rosa-sinensis.

Hibiscus è un genere di piante da fiore della famiglia delle malva, Malvaceae. Il genere è piuttosto ampio e comprende diverse centinaia di specie originarie delle regioni temperate calde, subtropicali e tropicali di tutto il mondo. Le specie membri sono rinomate per i loro fiori grandi e vistosi e quelle specie sono comunemente conosciute semplicemente come "ibisco", o meno conosciute come malva rosa. Altri nomi includono ibisco resistente, rosa di sharon e ibisco tropicale.

Il genere comprende piante erbacee sia annuali che perenni, nonché arbusti legnosi e alberelli. Il nome generico deriva dal nome greco ἰβίσκος (ibískos) che Pedanius Dioscoride diede ad Althaea officinalis (c. 40–90 d.C.).

Diverse specie sono ampiamente coltivate come piante ornamentali, in particolare Hibiscus syriacus e Hibiscus rosa-sinensis.

Hibiscus is een geslacht van bloeiende planten in de malvefamilie, Malvaceae. Het geslacht is vrij groot en omvat enkele honderden soorten die inheems zijn in warme gematigde, subtropische en tropische gebieden over de hele wereld. Ledensoorten staan ​​​​bekend om hun grote, opzichtige bloemen en die soorten zijn algemeen bekend als "hibiscus", of minder algemeen bekend als rozenkaasjeskruid. Andere namen zijn winterhibiscus, roos van Saron en tropische hibiscus.

Het geslacht omvat zowel eenjarige als meerjarige kruidachtige planten, evenals houtachtige struiken en kleine bomen. De generieke naam is afgeleid van de Griekse naam ἰβίσκος (ibískos) die Pedanius Dioscorides aan Althaea officinalis gaf (ca. 40-90 AD).

Verschillende soorten worden op grote schaal gekweekt als sierplanten, met name Hibiscus syriacus en Hibiscus rosa-sinensis.

Hibiskus ist eine Pflanzengattung aus der Familie der Malvengewächse Malvaceae. Die Gattung ist ziemlich groß und umfasst mehrere hundert Arten, die in warmen gemäßigten, subtropischen und tropischen Regionen auf der ganzen Welt heimisch sind. Mitgliedsarten sind bekannt für ihre großen, auffälligen Blüten und diese Arten sind allgemein einfach als "Hibiskus" oder weniger bekannt als Rosenmalve bekannt. Andere Namen sind winterharter Hibiskus, Rose von Sharon und tropischer Hibiskus.

Die Gattung umfasst sowohl einjährige als auch mehrjährige krautige Pflanzen sowie verholzende Sträucher und kleine Bäume. Der Gattungsname leitet sich vom griechischen Namen ἰβίσκος (ibískos) ab, den Pedanius Dioscorides Althaea officinalis (ca. 40–90 n. Chr.) Verlieh.

Mehrere Arten werden weithin als Zierpflanzen angebaut, insbesondere Hibiscus syriacus und Hibiscus rosa-sinensis.

ハイビスカスはアオイ科アオイ属の顕花植物です。この属は非常に大きく、世界中の温暖な温帯、亜熱帯、熱帯地域に自生する数百種からなります。メンバー種は大きくて派手な花で有名であり、これらの種は一般に単に「ハイビスカス」として知られているか、あまり広くはアオイ科の植物として知られています.他の名前には、丈夫なハイビスカス、ムクゲのバラ、トロピカル ハイビスカスなどがあります。

この属には、一年生および多年生の草本植物のほか、木質の低木や小さな木が含まれます。属名は、Pedanius Dioscorides が Althaea of​​ficinalis (c. 40–90 AD) に与えたギリシャ語の名前 ἰβίσκος (ibískos) に由来します。

いくつかの種は観賞用植物として広く栽培されており、特にハイビスカス・シリアカスとハイビスカス・ローザ・シネンシスが有名です。

الكركديه هو جنس من النباتات المزهرة في عائلة الملوخية ، Malvaceae. الجنس كبير جدًا ، ويتألف من عدة مئات من الأنواع التي تنتمي إلى المناطق الدافئة المعتدلة وشبه الاستوائية والمدارية في جميع أنحاء العالم. تشتهر الأنواع الأعضاء بأزهارها الكبيرة المبهرجة وتعرف هذه الأنواع عمومًا باسم "الكركديه" أو أقل شهرة باسم الملوخية. وتشمل الأسماء الأخرى الكركديه هاردي ، وردة شارون ، والكركديه الاستوائية.

يشمل الجنس كل من النباتات العشبية السنوية والمعمرة ، وكذلك الشجيرات الخشبية والأشجار الصغيرة. الاسم العام مشتق من الاسم اليوناني ἰβίσκος (ibískos) الذي أعطاه Pedanius Dioscorides إلى Althaea officinalis (حوالي 40-90 م).

تُزرع العديد من الأنواع على نطاق واسع كنباتات للزينة ، ولا سيما الكركديه السرياني والكركديه روزا سينينسيس.

Excerpt from barnquilttrails.ca/barns/oxford-county/farmers-daughter/:

This block pays homage to the women of pioneer families who worked alongside the men to settle Oxford County. Hard work in both the field and the home created strong women whose influence can still be felt throughout the County today. This block is located on a Century Farm which was purchased by Orin Kelner in 1901 and handed down through four generations of the Kelner family.

Throughout the week I'll try to put up pics of the walk down the pier to the little house at the end of the pier.

New York City

The written history of New York City began with the first European explorer the Italian Giovanni da Verrazzano in 1524. European settlement began with the Dutch in 1609.

The "Sons of Liberty" destroyed British authority in New York City, and the Stamp Act Congress of representatives from throughout the Thirteen Colonies met in the city in 1765 to organize resistance to British policies. The city's strategic location and status as a major seaport made it the prime target for British seizure in 1776. General George Washington lost a series of battles from which he narrowly escaped (with the notable exception of the Battle of Harlem Heights, his first victory of the war), and the British Army controlled New York City and made it their base on the continent until late 1783, attracting Loyalist refugees. The city served as the national capital under the Articles of Confederation from 1785-1789, and briefly served as the new nation's capital in 1789–90 under the United States Constitution. Under the new government the city hosted the inauguration of George Washington as the first President of the United States, the drafting of the United States Bill of Rights, and the first Supreme Court of the United States. The opening of the Erie Canal gave excellent steamboat connections with upstate New York and the Great Lakes, along with coastal traffic to lower New England, making the city the preeminent port on the Atlantic Ocean. The arrival of rail connections to the north and west in the 1840s and 1850s strengthened its central role.

Beginning in the mid-18th century, waves of new immigrants arrived from Europe dramatically changing the composition of the city and serving as workers in the expanding industries. Modern New York City traces its development to the consolidation of the five boroughs in 1898 and an economic and building boom following the Great Depression and World War II. Throughout its history, New York City has served as a main port of entry for many immigrants, and its cultural and economic influence has made it one of the most important urban areas in the United States and the world.

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_New_York_City

New York City LaGuardia Airport

The site of the airport was originally used by the Gala Amusement Park, owned by the Steinway family. It was razed and transformed in 1929 into a 105-acre (42 ha) private flying field named Glenn H. Curtiss Airport after the pioneer Long Island aviator, later called North Beach Airport.[9]

The initiative to develop the airport for commercial flights began with an outburst by New York mayor Fiorello La Guardia (in office from 1934 to 1945) upon the arrival of his TWA flight at Newark Airport – the only commercial airport serving the New York City region at the time – as his ticket said "New York". He demanded to be taken to New York, and ordered the plane to be flown to Brooklyn's Floyd Bennett Field, giving an impromptu press conference to reporters along the way. He urged New Yorkers to support a new airport within their city.[9]

American Airlines accepted La Guardia's offer to start a trial program of scheduled flights to Floyd Bennett, although the program failed after several months because Newark's airport was closer to Manhattan. La Guardia went as far as to offer police escorts to airport limousines in an attempt to get American Airlines to continue operating the trial program.

During the Floyd Bennett experiment, La Guardia and American executives began an alternative plan to build a new airport in Queens, where it could take advantage of the new Queens–Midtown Tunnel to Manhattan. The existing North Beach Airport was an obvious location, but much too small for the sort of airport that was being planned. With backing and assistance from the Works Progress Administration, construction began in 1937.[12] Building on the site required moving landfill from Rikers Island, then a garbage dump, onto a metal reinforcing framework. The framework below the airport still causes magnetic interference on the compasses of outgoing aircraft: signs on the airfield warn pilots about the problem.[13]

Because of American's pivotal role in the development of the airport, LaGuardia gave the airline extra real estate during the airport's first year of operation, including four hangars, which was an unprecedented amount of space at the time.[14] American opened its first Admirals Club (and the first private airline club in the world) at the airport in 1939. The club took over a large office space that had previously been reserved for the mayor, but he offered it for lease following criticism from the press, and American vice president Red Mosier immediately accepted the offer.[15]

Opening and early years

The airport was dedicated on October 15, 1939, as the New York Municipal Airport,[16][17] and opened for business on December 2 of that year.[9] It cost New York City $23 million to turn the tiny North Beach Airport into a 550-acre (220 ha) modern facility. Not everyone was as enthusiastic as La Guardia about the project; some[who?] regarded it as a $40 million boondoggle. But the public was fascinated by the very idea of air travel, and thousands traveled to the airport, paid the dime fee, and watched the airliners take off and land. Two years later these fees and their associated parking had already provided $285,000, and other non-travel related incomes (food, etc.) were another $650,000 a year. The airport was soon a financial success. A smaller airport in nearby Jackson Heights, Holmes Airport, was unable to prevent the expansion of the larger airport and closed in 1940.

Newark Airport began renovations, but could not keep up with the new Queens airport, which TIME called "the most pretentious land and seaplane base in the world". Even before the project was completed LaGuardia had won commitments from the five largest airlines (Pan American Airways, American, United, Eastern Air Lines and Transcontinental & Western Air) to begin using the new field as soon as it opened.[18] Pan Am's transatlantic Boeing 314 flying boats moved to La Guardia from Port Washington in 1940. During World War II the airport was used to train aviation technicians and as a logistics field. Transatlantic landplane airline flights started in late 1945; some continued after Idlewild (now John F. Kennedy International) opened in July 1948, but the last ones shifted to Idlewild in April 1951.

Newspaper accounts alternately referred to the airfield as New York Municipal Airport and LaGuardia Field until the modern name was officially applied when the airport moved to Port of New York Authority control under a lease with New York City on June 1, 1947.

LaGuardia opened with four runways at 45-degree angles to each other,[19] the longest (13/31) being 6,000 ft (1,800 m). Runway 18/36 was closed soon after a United DC-4 ran off the south end in 1947; runway 9/27 (4,500 ft) was closed around 1958, allowing LaGuardia's terminal to expand northward after 1960. Circa 1961 runway 13/31 was shifted northeastward to allow construction of a parallel taxiway (such amenities being unknown when LGA was built) and in 1965–66 both remaining runways were extended to their present 7,000 ft (2,100 m).

The April 1957 Official Airline Guide shows 283 weekday fixed-wing departures from LaGuardia: 126 American, 49 Eastern, 33 Northeast, 31 TWA, 29 Capital and 15 United. American's flights included 26 nonstops to Boston and 27 to Washington National (mostly Convair 240s).[20] Jet flights (United 727s to Cleveland and Chicago) started on June 1, 1964.

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LaGuardia_Airport

Throughout December I visited the local sites that Robins and Cedar Waxwings have fed on ripe Toyon berries in previous years. No luck. Yesterday Alice and I decided to try one more time at a local park. BINGO! There we found both Robins and Cedar Waxwings assaulting Toyon berries in waves. For nearly 2 hours we each took over 950 shots. Cedar Waxwings Bombycilla cedrorum; San Luis Obispo

Happy Holidays dear All of You!

Thank you for all your support and faves and comments throughout this year.

I am thankful to you!

Tryin' to post image for you in the new year as well.

Have a great light!

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Buy my gear:

Walrus tusks keep growing throughout its life, so it is possible to guess how old an individual is by the length of its teeth. This one has moderately long tusks, and the scarring round the neck also show it has been in a few fights so also indicates age. The tusks are modified canine teeth but they also have a variable number of rudimentary teeth that aren't used much. This is because Walruses eat shellfish (bivalve molluscs like clams) by sucking out the contents, which they swallow without chewing, then discard the empty shells. Though they sometimes eat other invertebrates such as crabs, shrimps, and even octopuses, and occasionally slow-moving fish. I took this in Svalbard where they are a common and familiar sight. I quite liked the little streams of water from each tusk tip.

The title (Looking a bit long in the tooth) is an expression meaning that someone is getting a bit old for what they are doing. It comes from horses, whose gums recede as they get older, making their teeth appear longer. So before buying a horse, the purchaser would look in its mouth to check the length of its teeth, and to gauge how much working life it had left. This is also where we get the expression that you should not look a gift horse in the mouth. And one final thing, the first time I ever heard the "long in the tooth" expression was from a teacher in my first year at secondary school, more than fifty years ago. It was the day of parents' evening and he said he preferred these for the younger classes because by sixth form the mothers were getting a bit long in the tooth. I imagine that would be a sackable offence today.

These beautiful birds do not migrate south for the colder months, leaving them at the mercy of the icy British winter – and with safe, warm habitats in increasingly short supply on our shores, it's more important than ever to do what you can to protect robins..

“Perhaps the most familiar of all ducks, Mallards occur throughout North America and Eurasia in ponds and parks as well as wilder wetlands and estuaries. The male’s gleaming green head, gray flanks, and black tail-curl arguably make it the most easily identified duck. Mallards have long been hunted for the table, and almost all domestic ducks come from this species….. Mallards are large ducks with hefty bodies, rounded heads, and wide, flat bills. Like many “dabbling ducks” the body is long and the tail rides high out of the water, giving a blunt shape. In flight their wings are broad and set back toward the rear…… Mallards are “dabbling ducks”—they feed in the water by tipping forward and grazing on underwater plants. They almost never dive. They can be very tame ducks especially in city ponds, and often group together with other Mallards and other species of dabbling ducks.”

Source : Cornell University Lab of Ornithology

Emigrant Lake – Jackson County – Oregon – USA

The grey heron (Ardea cinerea) is a long-legged predatory wading bird of the heron family, Ardeidae, native throughout temperate Europe and Asia and also parts of Africa.

The largest heron in Europe is a bird of wetland areas, it can be seen around lakes, rivers, ponds, marshes and on the sea coast.

The grey heron feeds mostly on aquatic creatures which it catches after standing stationary beside or in the water or stalking its prey through the shallows.

Standing up to a metre tall, adults weigh from 1 to 2 kg. They have a white head and neck with a broad black stripe that extends from the eye to the black crest. The body and wings are grey above and the underparts are greyish-white, with some black on the flanks. The long, sharply pointed beak is pinkish-yellow and the legs are brown.

De blauwe reiger (Ardea cinerea) is een vogel uit de reigerfamilie. De blauwe reiger is tevens de bekendste vertegenwoordiger van de familie in België en Nederland. De vogel komt daarnaast voor in de gematigde streken van Europa, Azië en delen van Afrika.

De blauwe reiger is een vlees- en viseter die vissen en amfibieën eet, maar ook andere dieren als insecten en kleine zoogdieren worden wel buitgemaakt. De vogel is een veel geziene soort in ondiepe plekken van stadssingels en poldersloten en in weilanden; de reiger wordt vliegend gezien langs grachten, beken en bij meren; de broedkolonies bevinden zich midden in de stad in hoge bomen of juist in volstrekt afgelegen bospercelen.

De blauwe reiger zoekt in stedelijke gebieden regelmatig de rand van tuinvijvers op, waarin vissen rondzwemmen. Door liefhebbers van goudvissen of koi wordt de reiger dan ook beschouwd als een plaagsoort en wordt zo veel mogelijk geweerd. In strenge winters hebben de blauwe reigers het zichtbaar moeilijk. Een blauwe reiger wordt gemiddeld 5 jaar oud.

De blauwe reiger is een grote vogel met een lengte van ongeveer 90 à 98 cm en kan een lichaamsgewicht bereiken van 1 à 2 kg. Het mannetje en het vrouwtje zien er ongeveer hetzelfde uit. Beide geslachten hebben een grijze bovenzijde, vleugels en staart en de vleugeleinden zijn zwart. De kop is wit met een zwarte band door het oog, die doorloopt in een kuif. Ook de hals heeft een witte kleur maar is voorzien van lengtestrepen aan de voorzijde. De buikzijde is grotendeels lichtgrijs van kleur. De kop draagt een gele, dolkvormige snavel. De poten zijn lang en bruin van kleur en net als de snavel roodachtig.

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All rights reserved. Copyright © Martien Uiterweerd (Foto Martien). All my images are protected under international authors copyright laws and may not be downloaded, reproduced, copied, transmitted or manipulated without my written explicit permission.

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Manufacturer: Lockheed (Now Lockheed Martin)

Operator: USAF

Type: SR-71A (61-7955) Blackbird

Event/ Location: 2022 Aerospace Valley Airshow/ Edwards Air Force Base

Comments:SR-71A #61-7955 is on display at the Air Force Flight Test Center Museum at Edwards AFB, CA. Construction started on 13 May 1964 and #955 first flew on 17 August 1965 with Weaver and Andre at the controls. Throughout its career, this aircraft served as the Palmdale test aircraft until being replaced by SR-71A #61-7972 in 1985. Last flown on 24 January 1985, #955 accumulated 1993.7 hours of flight time.

Throughout my years, cat eyes have always been a special fascination in trying to capture their gaze... this local kitty was watching me through his window...

Seen in Holbrook, Arizona, USA, The Wigwam Motel was an iconic 1950's motel along old route 66. Each room was a Wigwam and old, classic cars were scattered throughout the parking lot

Took this one somewhere in Ravensthorpe, after leaving Esperance, in the direction of Albany. These are haystacks of wheat. Ravensthorpe is a wheat producing area. Windmills like this one here, are commonly used in pumping water for irrigation in farming areas throughout Australia.

This large, noisy, intelligent and inquisitive crow is widespread and familiar to many.

Carrion Crows are found throughout England and Wales, and most of Scotland apart from the far north-west, where this species is supplanted by its close relative, the Hooded Crow. On the island of Ireland, Carrion Crows occur only on the eastern fringes, while Hooded Crows are found throughout. In the areas where the two species overlap, including parts of Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man, hybrids are found. In the UK, Carrion Crow numbers steadily rose from the early-1970s to the early-2000s, and have been fairly stable since. Carrion Crow numbers are controlled in some areas. The species is on the UK Green List.

The Carrion Crow's all-black plumage and bill sets it apart from the similar sized Hooded Crow and Rook. Unlike Rooks, Carrion Crows are more likely to be solitary, and their call sounds more assertive. Carrion Crows are omnivorous, taking grains, invertebrates, eggs, chicks, carrion and whatever else they can scavenge. They frequent almost all habitats, from uplands to gardens. Birds construct large nests, usually of twigs, and maintain a large breeding territory, producing one brood a year in the spring.

Throughout millennia evil used to hide its own existence as a defense strategy. Now there is a Change:

Evil publicly manifests its scheme in broad daylight now, right in front of everyone’s face!

🇫🇷

Changement

Pendant des millénaires, le mal cachait sa propre existence comme stratégie de défense. Maintenant, il y a un changement :

Le mal manifeste publiquement son schéma en plein jour maintenant, juste devant le visage de tout le monde !

A sunny Sunday afternoon in the Kurpark.

Bad Oeynhausen is a nice little town in East Westphalia, famous as a spa centre for more than a century. My favourite place in town is the Kurpark (spa gardens) with beautiful garden architecture and historical buildings of the early days of the spa era. This Saturday we enjoyed the perfect Autumn sun in the park.

For my video; youtu.be/1TFh8IaSW7c?si=aLJSNNUqExGoQySI,

Parrawe, Tasmania, Australia

The Hellyer Gorge is a gorge in Tasmania, located between Stanley and Cradle Mountain. The Hellyer River flows through the gorge, which is named after Henry Hellyer.

Throughout the Hellyer Gorge is a rainforest with sassafras, giant myrtle, and large ferns. The gorge is the site of the Hellyer Gorge State Reserve.

The Murchison Highway passes through the gorge area with many sharp and steep bends. This highway provides the setting to a stage of Targa Tasmania. Being subject to black ice, this portion of road has now been bypassed by the newer Ridgley Highway. Some bush-walking tracks have been blazed for tourists.

158724 feeling reflective at Wick Station on Sunday 22/12/2024. Plenty of weather around through the night and continuing throughout Sunday.

Red-cheeked Salamanders can be found in abundance throughout most of their small range within Smoky Mountains National Park. However, this is changing with the death of many of the softwood trees, especially the Eastern Hemlock which are being devastated by the invasive Hemlock Woolly Adelgid. Looking up at the higher elevations within the park you will clearly see thousands of dead, brown trees within a sea of green. With the death of these trees, the forest looses large, shade-providing trees which causes a cascading effect on the ecosystem. If the shade is gone, streams and springs warm killing-off fish and insects and the soil dries out killing the salamanders and their food. Efforts by numerous agencies and universities are underway to control these 1 millimeter long insects and it has shown promising results.

Known throughout the world as Big Ben, the Elizabeth Tower clock in London looks magnificent in the bright light of a crisp January afternoon. The tower (and, of course, the whole of the Palace of Westminster complex) was designed by Augustus Pugin in the mid-1800s.

Big Ben, by the way, is the nickname of the clock’s Great Bell, which weighs nearly 14,000 kg and sounds the internationally renowned ‘bongs’.

This sculpture is one of the most historically interesting sculptures on the bridge, which gradually gained its present appearance throughout many centuries. The original wooden crucifix was installed at this place soon after 1361 and probably destroyed by the Hussites in 1419. A new crucifix with a wooden corpus was erected in 1629 but was severely damaged by the Swedes towards the end of the Thirty Years' War. The remnants of this crucifix can be found in the lapidarium of the National Museum in Prague. This was replaced by another wooden Calvary which, in turn, was replaced with a metal version in 1657. Bought in Dresden, this crucifix was originally made in 1629 by H. Hillger based upon a design by W. E. Brohn. In 1666, two lead figures were added, but these were replaced in 1861 by the present sandstone statues by Emanuel Max, portraying the Virgin Mary and John the Evangelist.

Esta escultura es una de las esculturas históricamente más interesantes del puente, que gradualmente adquirió su apariencia actual a lo largo de muchos siglos. El crucifijo de madera original fue instalado en este lugar poco después de 1361 y probablemente destruido por los husitas en 1419. Un nuevo crucifijo con un cuerpo de madera fue erigido en 1629 pero fue severamente dañado por los suecos hacia el final de la Guerra de los Treinta Años. Los restos de este crucifijo se pueden encontrar en el lapidarium del Museo Nacional de Praga. Este fue reemplazado por otro Calvario de madera que, a su vez, fue reemplazado por una versión de metal en 1657. Comprado en Dresde, este crucifijo fue originalmente hecho en 1629 por H. Hillger basado en un diseño de W. E. Brohn. En 1666, se agregaron dos figuras de plomo, pero estas fueron reemplazadas en 1861 por las actuales estatuas de piedra arenisca de Emanuel Max, que representan a la Virgen María y Juan el Evangelista.

Praha (Czech Republic).

“Throughout the span of recorded human history, Pinecones have served as a symbolic representation of Human Enlightenment, the Third Eye and the Pineal Gland.”

“The number 3 was considered as the perfect number, the number of harmony, wisdom and understanding. ... It was also the number of time – past, present, future; birth, life, death; beginning, middle, end – the number of the divine.”

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The Grade I Listed Lincoln Cathedral, in Lincoln, Lincolnshire.

Building commenced in 1088 and continued in several phases throughout the medieval period. It was reputedly the tallest building in the world for 238 years (1311–1549) before the central spire collapsed in 1549 and was not rebuilt.

It is highly regarded by architectural scholars; the eminent Victorian writer John Ruskin declared: "I have always held... that the cathedral of Lincoln is out and out the most precious piece of architecture in the British Isles and roughly speaking worth any two other cathedrals we have."

Remigius de Fécamp, the first bishop of Lincoln, moved the Episcopal seat there between 1072 and 1092. Up until then St. Mary's Church in Stow was considered to be the "mother church" of Lincolnshire (although it was not a cathedral, because the seat of the diocese was at Dorchester Abbey in Dorchester-on-Thames, Oxfordshire).

Bishop Remigius built the first Lincoln Cathedral on the present site, finishing it in 1092 and then dying on 9 May of that year, two days before it was consecrated. In 1141, the timber roofing was destroyed in a fire. Bishop Alexander rebuilt and expanded the cathedral, but it was mostly destroyed by an earthquake about forty years later, in 1185. The earthquake was one of the largest felt in the UK. The damage to the cathedral is thought to have been very extensive.

After the earthquake, a new bishop was appointed. He was Hugh de Burgundy of Avalon, France, who became known as St Hugh of Lincoln. He began a massive rebuilding and expansion programme. Rebuilding began with the choir (St. Hugh's Choir) and the eastern transepts between 1192 and 1210. The central nave was then built in the Early English Gothic style.

The cathedral is the 3rd largest in Britain after St Paul's and York Minster, being 484 feet by 271 feet. Until 1549 the spire was reputedly the tallest medieval tower in Europe, though the exact height has been a matter of debate. Accompanying the cathedral's large bell, Great Tom of Lincoln, is a quarter-hour striking clock.

The two large stained glass rose windows, the matching Dean's Eye and Bishop's Eye, were added to the cathedral during the late Middle Ages. The former, the Dean's Eye in the north transept dates from the 1192 rebuild begun by St Hugh, finally being completed in 1235.

After the additions of the Dean's eye and other major Gothic additions it is believed some mistakes in the support of the tower occurred, for in 1237 the main tower collapsed. A new tower was soon started and in 1255 the Cathedral petitioned Henry III to allow them to take down part of the town wall to enlarge and expand the Cathedral, including the rebuilding of the central tower and spire.

In 1290 Eleanor of Castile died and King Edward I of England decided to honour her, his Queen Consort, with an elegant funeral procession. After her body had been embalmed, which in the 13th century involved evisceration, Eleanor's viscera were buried in Lincoln cathedral, and Edward placed a duplicate of the Westminster tomb there.

Information Source:

wikishire.co.uk/wiki/Lincoln_Cathedral

....όλα σε retro ύφος!