View allAll Photos Tagged Wealth
If you've been wondering where I've been for the last two weeks, I've been building.
The whole thing fits on a 32x32 baseplate with a few tiny things that hang over.
Check out the set to see closer view of each level, and note the placement of the apples.
Credits:
Poses:
Of Breed x STADIUM Event {August Round} ~ Sindel Pose Pack
Taxi: maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/STADIUM%20EVENT/112/112/44
Of Breed x The Grand Event {August Round} ~ Eric Pose Pack
Taxi: maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/The%20Grand%20Event/134/17...
Backdrop:
MINIMAL - Obscure Scene
Taxi: maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/MINIMAL%20Gallery/81/130/27
The village of Porthgain has a wealth of historical relics from its time as a prosperous industrial harbour in the early 1900s.
At one time, the harbour exported slate from quarries a few miles south at Abereiddi, Trwynllwyd and Porthgain itself. Abereiddi and the quarries to the South were linked by a tramway. Water-powered mills at Porthgain sawed the quarried slate slabs before shipment.
In later years the slate trade was abandoned, although Porthgain survived by turning to brickmaking, and later to crushed roadstone. Large brick hoppers dominate the harbour. These hoppers were used to store crushed dolerite before shipment and are now a Scheduled Ancient Monument. In 1987 Porthgain was designated as a conservation area. Slate, from a local quarry, was handled through the harbour from 1850 to 1910. Bricks were made in the harbour area from 1889 to 1912 using waste from the slate operation. The crushed dolerite (1889–1931) was used as a road stone.
The harbour, still home to local fishermen, can get very busy in the summer with recreational boaters. Other attractions and conveniences include the Pembrokeshire Coast Path rambling up both sides of the harbour, the “Strumble Shuttle” bus, and the Sloop, which used to be called the “Step In” when boats were able to dock beside the pub and the crews could step in. Porthgain also has the Shed, a small bistro situated by the Quay and the Harbour Lights Gallery, which is located in the manager’s office of the old works.
I am finishing this series by adding to my wealth of autumn in the valley. I made several dashes into the hills for the aspen but had to drop down to the flats for more. I already gave up on aspen in the highlands and the Golden Ponds autumn. I decided to put in a walk at McIntosh Lake to find any autumn remaining there. This shot doesn't encompass a lot, just the tree, its color and stages of our autumn down-fall. The air was sprinkled with distinct clouds, creating a good backdrop for the remaining colorful leaves. I call this cottonwood shot the 3Gs - Green to Gold to Gone. MacLake always makes for a good walk with the camera. Autumn stretched out a while because of the several record high months served up by the fossil fueler Kochstaff and all their Bozostan followers. The record hot months will surely extend into yet another record hot year.
Brown is on its way and nearing control now, soon brown followed by white (with the Koch's nod), on any remaining foliage as the ski path down Meeker fills with snow. Meeker was a scurrilous Longmonter thumper (nee preacher) who tried to force the western Colorado Utes into farming but fortunately the Utes knew exactly how to deal with him thus slicing and dicing him. I bet the Utes didn't particularly want subjugation. I wonder if the staff of gawd has ever done other damage in the past? This was an autumn transition shot and a warning for non-Coloradans to bail and dodge the possible onset of winter. At least there will be plenty of weather panics on TV to scare the feeble. Their job is to spread panic and up viewership but that doesn't seem to be sending the tokers a-scattering. Would that folks afraid of snow leave. Autumn colors generally punch the saturations way up and that shows even without HDR. I usually bracket the exposure speeds and select the definitive exposure in Lightroom depending upon the highlight and shadow gamuts.
When one see's and understands that beauty can be realized no matter where or when... that everything is poetry...that anything can contribute to composition, then one is truly humble, rich, and free.
*Created for the Our Daily Challenge topic:
BEAUTIFUL THINGS IN HUMBLE PLACES
"Blessed are they who see beautiful things in humble places where other people see nothing" - Camille Pissarro
Edinburgh Castle Museum of Military History. So much nicer than the accoutrements I have been able to acquire for my kilt ensemble!
Padmanabhapuram Palace, Trivandrum, Kerala, India. Technically, it falls within Tamil Nadu now, but Padmanabhapuram was the capitol of the erstwhile kingdom of Travancore that spanned parts of the modern states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The palace was built around 1600 CE.
This palace looks like anything but a palace – it is probably the most spartan palace in the world. It is just a large and rather sloppily architected building with many extensions and rooms within rooms that were likely added on over a few generations. It is basically a brick and mortar building with a simple wood roof. The internals are look no different from an average middle class house of that era, except for extensive wood carvings used as decorative accents.
The Travancore kings were known for their extreme simplicity, generosity and support of the arts, especially music. They were very wealthy, but saved their wealth in the form of gold, rather than squandering their resources on ostentatious living.
One of my bird feeders is right outside my window. This cardinal is on the ground directly below the feeder. Eating the seed that squirrels knock off the feeder above. At night, possums like to feed here on seed, fruit bits and digging under for hidden larva & grubs.
Male Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)
Garland, Texas
My photos can also be found at kapturedbykala.com
Taken for the SaturdaySelf Challenge 'Technology"
Naim is a British company producing high end music streaming systems and the quite minimalist exterior hides a wealth of modern technology
Prior to the dissolution of the monastories, Bridlington Priory was one of the great monastic houses of England. Its wealth and possessions made it one of the largest and richest of the Augustinian order. The church in those times was more than twice as large as the one that remains today, rivalling in size other great Yorkshire churches such as Beverley Minster or Selby Abbey. The transcepts, crossing tower and choir were all pulled down, and what remains today is the original nave. The upper parts of the hitherto incomplete west towers were added in the 19th Century.
The Fountain of Wealth is listed by the Guinness Book of Records as the largest fountain in the world. It is located in one of Singapore's largest shopping malls, Suntec City.
The City of Washington should recognize this outstanding Queen Anne style Victorian for the landmark home that it is. It would make this one of the most photographed homes in town if the tangled mess of wires-which make it impossible to avoid them with any regular camera-were buried underground. The choice of colors here nicely complement the fine architecture. This house is located in a neighborhood having several outstanding Victorian era homes. Local coal and oil discoveries late in the 19th century brought considerable wealth to the town. Some faded homes from my last visit in 2009 were sadly gone in 2021 but overall, a fair number remain standing. Please pretend the wires aren't there...
The greatest wealth of Burma is the children. Their happiness is infectious.
The image was captured by a Nikon D-610 iso 2000 with a 70-200 mm f4.5 Nano coated VR II lens using the Nikon electronic file format (.Nef) Shot on Lexar 128 gigabyte 1000 speed UDMA Flash media. This file was post processed using capture NX 2.0 software, Photoshop CC Nik Color Efex 4.0.
Vézelay has a long history of settlement going back over 4000 years to the Bronze Age. The Romans occupied the area long before it rose to prominence as a major Christian site with a series of early churches and a Benedictine abbey. In 1037 it was claimed that the abbey contained the remains of Mary Magdalene which attracted huge numbers of pilgrims and wealth. Construction of the present abbey started in 1096 and was completed around 1215 amidst much infighting and power struggles, including the killing of the abbot in 1104 by peasants protesting at high taxes. Notably, Bernard of Clairvaux preached the Second Crusade there in 1146, Thomas Becket visited in 1166 (four years before his murder and martyrdom at Canterbury) and Philippe II of France and Richard the Lionheart of England stayed there at the beginning of the Third Crusade in 1190.
Pilgrimage declined in the 13th century, at least in part due to ongoing conflict between the abbey and local nobility, the final nail in the coffin being in 1279 when the Pope proclaimed that a body at Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume (in the south east corner of France) was actually the relic of Mary Magdalene rather than the one in Vézelay. It became a Protestant stronghold during the Wars of Religion, the abbey being sacked by the Huguenots in 1569, with the town surviving an eight month siege in 1570. The discredited relics of Mary Magdalene were burnt by the Protestants during this period. The abbey was finally dissolved during the Revolution.
Eugène Viollet-le-Duc led the restoration of the abbey church in the mid-19th century. In 1876 the present small relics of Mary Magdalene were given to the abbey by the Archbishop of Sens, having been given to the Diocese of Sens in 1281 by Pope Martin IV. This led to the resurrection of Vézelay as a pilgrimage site and now it is once again one of the main starting points for the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostella. It is also one of Les Plus Beaux Villages de France and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See (Spanish: Catedral de Santa María de la Sede), better known as Seville Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Seville (Andalusia, Spain). It is the largest Gothic cathedral and the third-largest church in the world. The total area covers 11,520 square meters.
After its completion in the early 16th century, Seville Cathedral supplanted Hagia Sophia,Istanbl as the largest cathedral in the world, a title the Byzantine church had held for nearly a thousand years. The cathedral also serves as the burial site of Christopher Columbus. The cathedral was built to demonstrate Seville's wealth, as it had become a major trading center in the years after the Reconquista in 1248. In July 1401 it was decided to build a new temple, as the ancient Muslim mosque was in bad shape after a 1356 earthquake. According to the oral tradition of Seville, the decision of members of the chapter was: "Let a church so beautiful and so great that those who see it built will think we were mad". According to the minutes of that day, the new church should be: "a work such as good, which like no other." Construction began in 1402; it continued until 1506.
Seville Cathedral was built on the same large, rectangular base-plan of the grand Almohad Mosque it replaced, but the Christian architects added the extra dimension of height. The result is an astonishingly large building that breaks several size records. Measured by area, Seville Cathedral is the third largest in Europe after after St. Paul's Cathedral in London and St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, but measured by volume, it surpasses them both. The builders used some columns and elements from the mosque, and most famously the Giralda, a minaret converted into a bell tower( bell tower or giralda not in the picture as it is on the other side). : Two parts of the mosque were thankfully preserved in the cathedral: the Moorish entrance court (Patio de los Naranjos); and the Giralda, originally a minaret, converted into a bell tower.The Giralda is the city's most famous symbol. Its square base is 13.61 metres and a height of 105 metres. It was built as a minaret of the old mosque, although the bell tower and spire top, is Renaissance.
The huge interior of the cathedral, with a central nave and four side aisles, is lavishly decorated. Gold is everywhere. But at the same time, there is a sense of overall simplicity and restraint in decoration, for the grand monuments are confined to the side aisles and the huge nave is left mostly empty. The supreme masterpiece of the cathedral was the life's work of a single craftsman, Fleming Pieter Dancart. Composed of 45 carved scenes from the life of Christ, it is carved in wood and covered with staggering amounts of gold. It is the largest and richest altarpiece in the world.
Other notable works of art in the cathedral include 15th-century stained-glass windows and the iron screens (rejas) closing off the chapels. During Corpus Christi and Immaculate Conception observances, altar boys with castanets dance in front of the high altar.
In baroque style and nicknamed the "Norman Versailles" en.normandie-tourisme.fr/normandy-tourism-109-2.html , Beaumesnil features among the most beautiful châteaux built under the reign of Louis XIII in France.
The magnificent façade of bricks and stones, the wealth of the decoration, multiple carved heads above the windows give this castle built between 1633 an 1640 a splendid appearance just before the age of the sun king Louis XVI. It replaced a medieval castle whose “donjon” (keep) has been retained as a folly in the moat. Elegantly furnished, the residence houses a very beautiful library and a remarkable museum of old book binders. No less superb, the park extending over more than 60 hectares which surrounds the castle was designed by La Quintinie, a student of Le Nôtre in Versailles. en.normandie-tourisme.fr/pcu/beaumesnil,-le-chateau-des-g... more in French here www.chateaubeaumesnil.com.
God of wealth
it's chinese new year in Feb 14. I build a creation about the chinese wealth god. he can bless everyone earning a lot of money.
“Fictitious capital” is a term for the kind of wealth that exists on paper but which is susceptible to simply disappearing when there is a market failure. If you sell it or invest it in something actually productive, well, you’re doing well. But if you hold it until the market fails – and markets always fail, eventually – all that “wealth” you had simply goes away. It had no real productive value when left unused.
So too with a pumpkin, taken in from the doorstep after Hallowe’en, and planned by its owners to be put in a soup. A soup that was never produced. Finally, the owner (that was me, by the way) discovered a soft spot and realised the pumpkin wasn’t fit to eat anymore. So he (I) put it on the back doorstep until, uhh, I can get it into the compost pile.
And it has collapsed, like so much fictitious capital.
Mind you, I *will* get it into the compost, and it will be productive. But that’s sort of like saying that you can turn your bankruptcy to some good by writing a memoir of your losses.
Cai Bo Xing Jun, the Chinese god of prosperity, is worshipped in the Chinese folk religion and Taoism.
Tin Hau Temple, Stanley, Hong Kong (Monday 16 October 2017)
A wee walk brought me here.
Adam Smith entered the University at age 14.
Adam Smith (1723-1790) was a Scottish philosopher and economist who is best known as the author of An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth Of Nations (1776), one of the most influential books ever written.
In Smith’s day, people saw national wealth in terms of a country’s stock of gold and silver. Importing goods from abroad was seen as damaging because it meant that this wealth must be given up to pay for them; exporting goods was seen as good because these precious metals came back.
So countries maintained a vast network of controls to prevent this metal wealth draining out – taxes on imports, subsidies to exporters, and protection for domestic industries. The same protectionism ruled at home too. Cities prevented artisans from other towns moving in to ply their trade; manufacturers and merchants petitioned the king for protective monopolies; labour-saving devices were banned as a threat to existing producers.
The Fountain of Wealth is listed by the Guinness Book of Records in 1998 as the largest fountain in the world. It is located in one of Singapore's largest shopping malls, Suntec City.
Shot was taken using a Canon 15mm fisheye lens.
“More wine son! Don’t be shy, we are celebrating after all!”
It seemed Baron Locklear possessed not the capability for an ‘inside voice’. He was already on his second glass and feeling its effects, although the former northerner showed no outward signs. “The new lands will be ours for the taking soon enough!” Locklear turned to face the visiting councilman Captain Ramsey, who currently held the Baron’s ear in all things New Roawia. “Oh cheer up Ramsey, the our new ally Ivanovich and his pet are just what we needed to turn the tides in our favor.” He guffawed at his obvious pun, and Captain Ramsey humored him a strained smile.
“While I agree with my lord Baron, I feel I must remind you that Lenfald is still colonizing the isles unopposed. As we capture ships, they capture the unknown wealth of the islands,” He sipped from his wine to allow the point to take hold. “I wish to submit my proposal to you once again, we must al---”
“Enough!” Locklear interrupted. His face suddenly cold and commanding. “I am mulling over your plan. Your ability to make the most out of any situation is why you are here enjoying my best vintage and the luxury of my summer home. But do not overstep yourself.” It was the Barons turn to pause for effect. Locklear’s face turned once again to a grin and he barked a hearty--if not heartful--laugh. “Come! Join my family in the garden.”
He led him to the garden with a hand around his shoulders like old friends. Out of the side of his mouth he spoke in a hushed tone to the veteran pirate, “Ill tell you what Ramsey, convince my wife of this plan and we shall talk...”
Read more: merlins-beard.com/thread/1430/global-challenge-xii-enterp...
By Jo Williams
The Parque Nacional de Doñana is one of Europe's most important wetland reserves and a major site for migrating birds. It is an immense area; the parque itself and surrounding parque natural or Entorno de Doñana (a protected buffer zone) amount to over 1,300 sq km in the provinces of Huelva, Sevilla and Cádiz. It is internationally for recognised for its great ecological wealth. Doñana has become a key centre in the world of conservationism.
Doñana is well known for its enormous variety of bird species, either permanent residents, winter visitors from north and central Europe or summer visitors from Africa, like its numerous types of geese and colourful colonies of flamingo. It has one of the world's largest colonies of Spanish imperial eagles. The park as a whole comprises three distinct kinds of ecosystem: the marismas, the Mediterranean scrublands and the coastal mobile dunes with their beaches.
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The configuration of the Parque Nacional de Doñana is a result of its past as the delta of the Guadalquivir river, the 'big river', or Wada-I-Kebir, of the Moors. But it is a delta with a difference. Unlike most, the river has only one outlet to the sea, just below Sanlúcar de Barrameda. The rest of what used to be its delta has gradually been blocked off by a huge sandbar that stretches from the mouth of the Río Tinto, near Palos de la Frontera, to the riverbank opposite Sanlúcar, and which the sea winds have gradually formed into high dunes. Behind this natural barrier stretches the marshlands (marismas).
The effect of this extraordinary mélange of land and water was to create an environment shunned by people but ideal for wildlife. As early as the thirteenth century, the kings of Castille set aside a portion of the Doñana as a royal hunting estate; later the dukes of Medina Sidonia made it their private coto too. One of the duchesses of Medina Sidonia, Doná Ana de Silva y Mendoza, indulged her antisocial instincts by building a residence there that was more hermitage than palace. As a result, the entire region came to be known as the 'forest of Doná Ana', or Doñana. In the eighteenth century, Goya is known to have visited the Duchess of Alba at the Palacio de Doñana when she was its proprietress. Subsequently, the land passed through many hands before the official creation of the parque nacional in 1969.
Meanwhile, adjoining areas of wetland were being dramatically reduced. Across the Guadalquivir vast marshes were drained and converted to farmland, until only the protected lands of the Doñana remained intact. For centuries there had been only a vacant spot on the map between Lebrija in the east and Almonte in the north west, but in recent years whole towns and villages have sprung up west of the Guadalquivir, and the resort town of Matalascañas has brought urban sprawl to the south-western edge of the Doñana, a place once occupied by reed-thatched fishermen's huts. The proximity of these settlements has further complicated the work of the park's wildlife guardians. Two of the Doñana's precious lynxes, for example, have been run over by cars on the highway to Matalascañas; cats and dogs straying out of the nearest towns have killed animals in the park, and birds that have overflown the fences have been gunned down by trigger-happy hunters despite stringent conservation laws.
A more permanent threat to the Doñana's ecosystem are the new ricefields and other agricultural projects north of El Rocío, whose run-off waters sluice pesticides into the marismas and the sulphur mines upstream at Aznalcóliar which was effluvium into the river.
Access
Marismas de Odiel, Huelva
Marismas de Odiel, Huelva
Entrance to the park is strictly controlled. You can take half-day trips with official guides or explore the environs of the visitors' centres on foot.
To visit the principal visitors' centre at El Acebuche, take the A483 south of Almonte and about 12km from El Rocío is the signposted turn at Km29 for Centro de Recepción El Acebuche (959 44 87 11), 1½km from the main road. Alternatively, you can drive 3km north of Matalascañas to the turn-off at Km29. The centre has an exhibition about the park, a café and a shop selling maps and books. From the centre is a signposted 5km trail through scrubland and pine trees. Next to the centre is the El Acebuche lagoon, with bird hides, where you can see purple gallinules, among other birds.
From El Acebuche there are four-hour trips into the park run by the Cooperativa Marsimas del Rocío (959 43 04 32), which must be booked in advance. The four-wheel drive vehicle can seat 21 people and guides speak some English. There are two trips a day (excluding Mondays), at 0830 and 1500 (1700 in summer). Full day trips can also be organised for groups, with lunch in Sanlúcar de Barrameda. A typical trip will take in all three ecosystems in the park - dunes, matorral and marshland - but the amount of exposure to each environment varies with the seasons. One thing is guaranteed - no two visits will be alike.
The nearest visitors' centre to El Rocío is La Rocina (959 44 23 40), 500m from the village and just off the Matalascañas road. It has information on the park and a 3km-long nature trail along the freshwater lake and marshland Charco de la Boca, which feeds into the Madres de la Marismas at El Rocío. The trail has five bird hides and it's possible to see purple gallinules, hoopoes, herons and Savi's warblers, among other birds.
Seven kilometres on from La Rocina is the Palacio del Acebrón, an old hunting lodge containing exhibitions on the park. In the grounds is a pleasant 1½-km nature trail through woodland and around a small lake, the Charco del Acebrón.
The Centro de Visitantes José Antonio Valverde on the northern edge of the park has some excellent birdwatching opportunities. It is 30km south of the town of Villamanrique de la Condesa, from where it is signposted.
The Playa de Castilla beach, reached on foot east of Matalascañas, runs alongside the park boundary and although you can't enter Doñana here, it is a beautiful, unspoilt stretch of coastline with good birdwatching possibilities.
The park can also be reached (but not entered) by taking the ferry boat across the Guadalquivir river from Sanlúcar de Barrameda where there is a visitors' centre, the Centro de Visitantes Fábrica de Hielo (956 38 16 35), with exhibitions on the Doñana. You can take the Real Fernando boat daily (except in January) from Sanlúcar for 13km up the Guadalquivir river, stopping in a few places for guided walks into the park. It's advisable to book in advance, especially during the summer and holidays.
Accommodation
The closest accommodation to the entry point of El Acebuche in the park is in Matalascañas, about 3km from El Acebuche. Ten kilometres north of El Acebuche is the village of El Rocío, with various hotels. Alternatively, between Matalascañas and Huelva there is Mazagón or Villamanrique de la Condesa to the north of the park. Accommodation will be very hard to find (or extremely expensive) around the time of the El Rocío pilgrimage at Pentecost. During the summer months Matalascañas and Mazagón are also very busy, so book ahead at this time.
• El Cortijo de los Mimbrales (959 44 22 37) Conveniently located for the park on the A483 El Rocío-Matalascañas road, 3km south of El Rocío. A former farm in an orange grove with delightful rooms set in beautiful gardens. Excellent bar and restaurant.
• Hotel Toruño (959 44 23 23) This is the best hotel in El Rocío. It is in a great location overlooking the marismas, so you can even birdwatch from your bedroom, if you choose your room carefully (ask for rooms 219, 221, 223 or 223).
Camping
There are many campsites close to the Playa de Castilla beach along the A494 between Mazagón and Matalascañas, which runs alongside the park boundary. In the summer it's well worth booking in advance when the campsites could be full, particularly in August.
• Camping Doñana (959 53 62 81) At the Mazagón end of the A494 at Km34.6, this shady campsite has wooden cabins and tents for rent and a swimming pool.
• Camping La Aldea Located inland on the edge of El Rocío village near the marismas, this campsite has bungalows for hire, a bar and a shop.
• Camping Rocío Playa (959 43 02 38) On the A494 Mazagón-Matalascañas road at Km 45.2, 1½km west of Matalascañas, is this large campsite. Facilities include a restaurant, tennis court, football pitch and a bar with wonderful views. There are wooden bungalows and tents for hire.
Flora
The park supports an incredible array of vegetation in a variety of virgin habitats. Inland are large expanses of stone pines, as well as Mediterranean scrublands, with narrow leaved cistus heather, mastic tree, rosemary, cistus scrub, glasswort, red lavender, rosemary and thyme. There are also junipers and forests of cork oaks, known as "las pajareras" for the enormous quantity of birds that nest in them. Among the flowering plants are lavender, tree heaths, gladioli, irises and rock roses. In the spring the marshlands are covered with flowers.
Fauna
This is a vast wilderness that supports an unrivalled wealth of fauna; 125 species of birds are known to be resident here, as well as 125 migratory bird species, 17 reptiles, nine amphibians and eight species of fish. There is a rich variety of mammals, 28 species in total, with some in danger of extinction, such as the lynx and the Egyptian mongoose. Also here are badgers, rabbits and otters. Game is also plentiful, with red deer, fallow deer and wild boar.
Birds
Doñana comprises delta waters which flood in winter and then drop in the spring leaving rich deposits of silt and raised sandbanks and islands. These conditions are perfect in winter for geese and ducks but most exciting in spring when they draw hundreds of flocks of breeding birds. If you're lucky you may also catch a glimpse of the rare Spanish Imperial Eagle, now down to 15 breeding pairs. In the marshes and amid the cork oak forests behind you've a good chance of seeing grey herons, lanner falcons, ring and turtle doves, partridges, oxpeckers, cattle egret, storks and vultures.
What you see at Doñana depends on the time of year and the luck of the draw - November, December and January constitute the off-season for visitors but is an ideal time for waterfowl, since the autumn rains have brought life back to the marismas and filled the lagunas. Gradually, the water attains a uniform depth of 30-60 centimetres (12-24 inches) over vast areas and the resulting marches attract huge flocks of wildfowl, ducks, geese and other water birds of the most varied kind. These are freshwater marshes, incidentally, although there are traces of sea salt in the underlying silt. Here and there small islands (vetas) rise above the water. These remain dry throughout the year, creating an ideal breeding ground for waders and terns.
Towards the end of February the geese that have migrated here from northern Europe commence their return journey, but at the same time the spoonbills arrive from North Africa to nest in the cork oaks. In March the waters begin to recede and spring begins in earnest. This is also the time when the imperial eagle hatches its eggs: 15 breeding pairs of these formidable hunters were counted recently in the park - above a third of all the imperial eagles known to survive in Spain. Each pair requires nearly 2,600 hectares of land to hunt over in summer, and even more in winter. This is a far from perfect environment for these great birds and Doñana pairs seldom raise as many young as those elsewhere in Spain.
In spring the marismas are alive with birds - some settling down to breed, others en route for more northern climes. Huge numbers of kites hang in the air, harriers send the duck scurrying skywards in fear of their lives. There are black-tailed godwit and ruff on their way to Holland and beyond, greenhank and wood sandpiper bound for Scandinavia, little stint and curlew sandpiper heading for northern Siberia and usually a marsh sandpiper that should be a thousand kilometres or more further east.
Overhead, vast flocks of whiskered terns wheel and circle along with a few gullbilled terns and racy pratincoles. There are swallows galore, some of them red-rumped, and bee-eaters and rollers perch on post and wire. All of these and more can be seen from the bridge at El Rocío - perhaps the best free birdwatching in Europe.
From bird hides at the reserve centre, just south of the bridge, you will hear Cetti's and Savi's warblers and watch egrets, herons and little bitterns come and go. Marsh harriers and kites are continually on view and sometimes a majestic imperial eagle will soar from the woods of Doñana over El Rocío to the Coto del Rey.
In mid-summer the temperature in the parched marismas easily exceeds 40°C. Aquatic birds that remain in the stagnant pools die of botulism, and each year thousands more die during the advancing drought in the Doñana. In August, there is almost nothing left of the marsh's aquatic fauna, but it is a good time for observing dozens of summer residents, which include griffon vulture, booted eagle, red and black kites, short toed eagle, Baillon's crake, purple gallinule, great spotted cuckoo, Scops owl, red necked nightjar, bee eater, hoopoe, calandra, short toed and thekla larks, golden oriole, azure winged magpie. Cetti's and Savi's warblers, tawny pipit, great grey shrike, woodchat shrike and serin.
Rivers
As part of the Guadalquivir delta, the park is riddled with creeks and streams, the main ones being the Brazo de la Torre, the Caño de Guadiamar and Caño Real. The park is dotted with ponds (lucios) that, like the marshlands themselves, can dry up almost completely in summer.
Walks
The core of the park is off-limits to independent walkers. There are footpaths, often with bird hides, leading from the following visitors' centres: El Acebuche, La Rocina and El Palacio del Acebrón. You can also walk alonside the park boundary on the Playa de Castilla, near Matalascañas. A signposted walk, the Sendero Laguna del Jaral Medano del Asperillo, is off the A494 at Km 47. Coming from Matalascañas, there is a car park on the left with an information board and map. It is a challenging circular 5.6km trail that crosses sand dunes and pine woods and will take around 3½ hours. It has superb views of the sea. Make sure you take plenty of water and go when it is not too hot.
Also signposted is the Sendero Cuesta del Maneli. This is a circular trail through the dunes and pine woodland between the road and the beach. It is 2.3km long and takes around 1½ hours and is easier than the Sendero Laguna del Jaral Medano del Asperillo. To get there, take the off the A494 Matalascañas-Mazagón road and at Km 38 there is a car park and information board.
Villages
El Rocío
Matalascañas
Mazagón
Sanlúcar de Barrameda
Villamanrique de la Condesa
The Fountain of Wealth (Chinese: 财富之泉) is listed by the Guinness Book of Records in 1998 as the largest fountain in the world.[1] It is located in one of Singapore's largest shopping malls, Suntec City. Wikipedia
Non HDR
I spotted this recycling bin in a restaurant kitchen in downtown Toronto, Ontario. The two aluminium cans on top of the pile reminded me of the competition some people are involved in on a daily basis. This may indeed be necessary and to some people it may provide fun; however, it seems to me that this always leads to the same ultimate conclusion: waste (and perhaps recycling). Such competition seems to quickly dispose of wealth such as natural resources, health, and money. I wonder what a box filled through co-operation instead of competition would look like. Probably very similar. I am not sure what the alternatives are. The image is direct from the camera. I hope you like the shot.
Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.
[1 Timothy 6:17-19 NIV]
5 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW:
1. Like it or not, we are ALL sinners: As the Scriptures say, “No one is righteous—not even one. No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God. All have turned away; all have become useless. No one does good, not a single one.” (Romans 3:10-12 NLT)
2. The punishment for sin is death: When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. (Romans 5:12 NLT)
3. Jesus is our only hope: But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. (Romans 5:8 NLT) For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23 NLT)
4. SALVATION is by GRACE through FAITH in JESUS: God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. (Ephesians 2:8-10 NLT)
5. Accept Jesus and receive eternal life: If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9 NLT) But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. (John 1:12 NLT) And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life. (1 John 5:11-12 NLT)
Read the Bible for yourself. Allow the Lord to speak to you through his Word. YOUR ETERNITY IS AT STAKE!