As it's not looking like I'll be able to see anyone of a while for kinky sessions I'm going to again start putting up older photos from a time when I could see people. To start with before and after pics by Sven Svenson

Uinta Chipmunk Fun Facts:

 

A single chipmunk is able to collect as many as 100 acorns per day due to its cheek pouches, which are used to carry goods to later store them in their burrows.

 

The extensile pouches on their cheeks can expand as much as three times the size of their heads.

 

Uinta chipmunk is one of the 24 North American chipmunk species.

 

These rodents are excellent swimmers.

 

These animals are extremely curious by nature. If you plant bulbs or new transplants within the home range of a chipmunk, this animal will most likely dig them up, considering it an act of invasion to its territory.

 

A single burrow of a chipmunk can contain more than 30,000 nuts.

 

The incisors of this rodent never stop growing, providing the animal powerful gnawing tools, which are necessary for its seed pod and acorn diet.

 

These friendly and approachable animals make fast friends with humans. Moreover, they can even be hand-fed.

I am not able to make a conclusive final ID on this one from the Haga Ocean butterfly house in Solna, Sweden back in mid-March (of 2023).

 

It is either a blue wave (Myscelia cyaniris) but just as likely a blue wing (Myscelia ethusa).

 

Part 1 here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/53092583927/

 

The good thing about this predicament is that it gives me the opportunity to link to photos of both species where the dorsal side of the wings are showing - which do you think look the best?

 

Blue wave (Myscelia cyaniris) here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/52031508354/

 

Blue wing (Myscelia ethusa) here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/52388581695/

I didn't think I was going to be able to see any of this occultation. It had been cloudy most of the day, but the clouds started to thin in the evening. Because of the forecast, I hadn't planned to go to campus to try to photograph it from there. Instead, as I saw I might be able to get something, I got my Coulter Optical 10" Dobsonian out of the garage and held my Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra up to the eyepiece. The eyepiece was a 14 mm ultra-wide FOV from Meade. I started taking video, trying to hold my phone in place while nudging the scope along.

 

There were plenty of parts of that video that were unusable, and there were still a lot of high clouds. After chopping up the video to get segments to run through AutoStakkert, I settled on these four times. From left to right, these represent the view at 2023-01-31 043346 UT, 043505 UT, 043600 UT, and 043601 UT. The first two are stacks of about 100 frames, while the last two images are stacks of about 10 frames. That makes the longer stacks a bit over 3 times less noisy than the shorter ones. Compare the details in the craters and mountains in the first two images with the last two.

 

The two most prominent craters in the image are Copernicus in the south (toward the bottom) and Plato in the north. We also get about half of Mare Imbrium and half of Mare Serenitatis. One thing that stood out to me is the one illuminated mountain beyond the terminator. It looks like this is Promontorium Laplace, a 2.6 km high peak at the edge of Sinus Iridum.

 

After stacking, I did sharpening in PixInsight, then used Photoshop to align the images in this arrangement.

 

Lunation: 9.32 days

Illumination: 74.5%

Distance: 393300 km

Altitude: 75°

Five. Five men left. We began this assault with 15 men, and only five were left. But with all the seppies were throwing at us, we weren't going to last much longer.

What I was able to do with ease before now took everything I had to accomplish. We hadn’t moved 10 feet away from the trandosian’s corpse, and I could barely stand. I couldn’t move. With each stride, a new level of pain was reached. My knees were closing in on me. Each toe stung and each touch brought a jolt of pain, eventually immobilizing me. I collapsed on the floor. I couldn’t breathe. Pain. Scar advanced towards me, drizzling the remaining bacta on my wound, molding a glue-like layer of skin above the gash. Helping me up, and reinforcing my steps. Brothers. We were off again. For the republic.

Limping through the corridors, we eventually spotted our target, the main fuel lines powering the base. We equipped ourselves with the remaining jump-packs, and gilded towards the reactor. The mission, No, the war was almost over. I could feel it. It had to be. Suddenly, a massive, cortosis covered beast lumbered into position and opened fire. A flurry of blaster bolts sliced through the air, one landing on my jump-pack. Steam from the exhaust propelled me at minacious speeds, ramming me into a ventilation port. Pain engulfed me. A deafening ring poured into my ears. I couldn’t see. blood emanated from my shattered helmet. I was dying. And a b1 was heading straight towards me.

Two, no, fifty blaster shots. A shriek. Regret. Was I dead? No. But I was about to be. I had to move. Attempting to shift my position, I forced my rifle to the ground, struggling to hoist myself up. Then blaster fire. One shot missing me, one finding its way to my helmet. I fell to the ground. But I wasn’t dead. My pistols. My arm stretched to my hip, nearly tearing me in half. The weapon was pried from it’s holster, and I fired a single shot. That was all that I needed. The b1 fell limb to the floor, dropping it’s blaster onto a perch. Relief. Thank the cortosis plating.

I glanced at the massive b3 ultra droid, standing over the body of my brother. His death would not be in vein. But he wasn’t the only problem. An anti personnel turret, firing on my men, my brothers. And a horde of b1’s. I knew what needed to be done.

“Trooper! Get out of here!”

His head turned, midair, and was suddenly blasted by the ultra droid. He then plummeted to the ground, while I watched in shock. I knew what I had to do. A single tear slid down my face as i lifted off, I lifted off my helmet. I reached towards my belt, pain surging through my armor. I Inched over towards the hulking beast. Too many white husks lying on the floor caught my eye. My brothers were dead. Taken from me. I had lost everything. I was lost.

“GET OVER HERE YA LOUSY CLANKA!”

The b3 strided towards me, firing two shots, both burning their way through my armor onto my skin, melting my bones in my leg. I shrieked, pressing the button and priming the detonator. And I crawled closer to the fuel line. I waited for it all to end. One beep. Then, a blinding white glow. A deafening screech, and more pain than I’d ever felt.

 

The mission.

 

The nightmares.

 

My brothers.

 

Then peace.

  

For the republic.

 

Ablation hollows in a snowbank beside a stream, Southern Highlands, Iceland.

 

Ablation hollows are depressions that form on the surface of melting snowdrifts or snowfields during the summer.

I made the quilt top some 10 years or more ago but am only just now have I been able to start the final quilting. There's a story to this top - I took a class to learn how to do machine applique but it turned out my old machine couldn't do the stitch needed. At lunch I spoke with my classmates and they all recommended a local shop that would have the stitch I needed. So I packed up my old machine and drove over to the shop - traded in my machine for a newer model, went back to class and was able to do the project! My classmates were astonished that I went and did this without talking to my husband first. I told them he would be fine with it and he was. :D

188/365

This rusty-tipped page (Siproeta epaphus) was a bit injured, but still able to fly when I saw it at the Haga Ocean butterfly house in Solna, Sweden when visiting together with my wife, son and mother-in-law in-between Christmas and New Years.

 

Actually. this species belongs to the genus Siproeta, the same as the malachite butterfly (Siproeta stelenes) and when looking at them, there is an undeniable similarity even of the colours differ.

 

Part 1 (a little further away) here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/52596620163/

 

For a shot of the (pretty) dorsal side of the wings, have a look here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/52397436303/

 

For a shot of a malachite, please go here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/52442054115/

I was able to find myself really close to this Heron during feeding time.

 

I stopped and sat by a bush at a reasonable distance but, its fishing brought it closer to me a little at a time.

Since I haven't been able to go on a photo excursion for several months, I've been resigned to shoot what's handy. In this case, one of my wildflowers from the back of the house.

When I'm able to, I need to get a better photo, but here's my version of the uniform featured in the movie February (UK title)/The Blackcoat's Daughter (USA title)

Fotografada em Brasília, Brasil.

A text, in english, from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

The Burrowing Owl (Speotyto cunicularia) (ex-Athene cunicularia) is a small, long-legged owl found throughout open landscapes of North and South America. Burrowing owls can be found in grasslands, rangelands, agricultural areas, deserts, or any other dry, open area with low vegetation (Lewis 2005). They nest and roost in burrows, such as those abandoned by prairie dogs. Unlike most owls, burrowing owls are often active during the day. However, most hunting is done at dusk or at night.

Burrowing owls are able to live for at least 9 years in the wild and over 10 years in captivity.[citation needed] They are often killed by vehicles when crossing roads, and have many natural enemies, including badgers, coyotes, and snakes. They are also killed by both feral and domestic cats and dogs.

Burrowing owls have bright yellow eyes. The bill can be yellow or greenish depending on the subspecies. The legs are incompletely feathered, and the toes are grayish in color. They lack ear tufts and have a flattened facial disc. The owls have prominent white eyebrows and a white "chin" patch which they expand and display during certain behaviors.

Adult owls have brown upperparts with white spotting. The breast and belly are white with variable brown spotting or barring. Juvenile owls are similar in appearance, but they lack most of the white spotting above and brown barring below. Also, the young owls have a buff bar across the upper wing and their breast may be buffy rather than white.

Males and females are similar in size and appearance. However, adult males sometimes appear lighter in color because they spend more time outside the burrow during daylight, and their feathers become sun-bleached. The average adult is slightly larger than an American Robin, at 25 cm (10 inches) length, 53 cm (21 inches) wingspan, and 170g (6 oz) weight (Lewis 2005).

The typical "who who" call of a burrowing owl is associated with territory defense and breeding, often given by adult males to attract a female to a promising burrow. They also make other sounds, which are described as chucks, chattering, and screams. These sounds are usually accompanied by an up and down bobbing of the head. When alarmed, young birds will give a hissing call - a case of acoustic Batesian mimicry - that sounds like a rattlesnake (Haug et al. 1993).

Before European colonization, burrowing owls probably inhabited every suitable area of the New World, but they have experienced some restrictions in distribution since. They range from the southern portions of the western Canadian provinces through southern Mexico and western Central America. They are also found in Florida and many Caribbean islands. In South America, they are patchy in the northwest and through the Andes, but widely distributed from southern Brazil to Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego.

Burrowing owls are year-round residents in most of their range. Birds that breed in Canada and northern USA usually migrate south to Mexico and southern USA during winter months.

The burrowing owl is endangered in Canada[1], threatened in Mexico, and a species of special concern in Florida and most of the western USA. It is common and widespread in open regions of many Neotropical countries, where they sometimes even inhabit fields and parks in cities. In regions bordering the Amazon Rainforest they are spreading with deforestation. It is therefore listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.

The major reasons for declining populations in North America are control programs for prairie dogs and loss of habitat, although burrowing owls readily inhabit some anthropogenic landscapes, such as airport grasslands or golf courses (Korfanta et al. 2005).

Burrowing owls are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act in Canada, the United States, and Mexico. They are also included in CITES Appendix II.

Genetic analysis of the two North American subspecies indicates that inbreeding is not a problem within those populations (Korfanta et al. 2005).

The nesting season begins in late March or April in North America. Burrowing owls are usually monogamous, but occasionally a male will have two mates (Lewis 2005). Pairs of owls will sometimes nest in loose colonies. Their typical breeding habitat is open grassland or prairie, but they can occasionally adapt to other open areas like airports, golf courses, and agricultural fields. Burrowing owls are slightly tolerant of human presence, often nesting near roads, farms, homes, and regularly maintained irrigation canals.

The owls nest in an underground burrow, hence the name Burrowing Owl. They use burrows created by other burrowing animals such as prairie dogs, ground squirrels, or badgers (Holt et al. 1999). If burrows are unavailable and the soil is not hard or rocky, the owls may excavate their own. Burrowing owls will also nest in shallow, underground, man-made structures that have easy access to the surface.

The female will lay as many as 8-12 eggs over a two week period. She will then incubate the eggs for three to four weeks while the male brings her food. After the eggs hatch both parents will feed the chicks. Four weeks after hatching, the chicks are able to make short flights and begin leaving the nest burrow. The parents will still help feed the chicks for 1 to 3 months. While most of the eggs will hatch, only four to five chicks usually survive to leave the nest.

During the nesting season, burrowing owls will line the burrow with mammal dung, usually from cattle. The dung helps to control the microclimate inside the burrow and to attract insects, which the owls may eat (Levey et al. 2004).

Site fidelity rates appear to vary among populations. In some locations, owls will frequently reuse a nest several years in a row. Owls in migratory northern populations are less likely to return to the same burrow every year. Also, as with many other birds, the female owls are more likely to disperse to a different site than are male owls (Lutz & Plumpton 1999).

The highly variable diet includes small mammals, small birds, snakes, lizards, frogs, insects, and scorpions. But the owls mainly eat large insects and small rodents. Although burrowing owls often live in close proximity to ground squirrels, they rarely prey upon them. Unlike other owls, they also eat fruits and seeds, especially the fruit of tasajillo (Cylindropuntia leptocaulis) and other prickly pear and cholla cacti. When hunting they wait on a perch until they spot prey. Then they swoop down on prey or fly up to catch insects in flight. Sometimes they chase prey on foot across the ground.

The burrowing owl is sometimes separated in the monotypic genus Speotyto. This is based on an overall different morphology and karyotype. On the other hand, osteology and DNA sequence data suggests that the Burrowing Owl is just a terrestrial version of the Athene little owls, and it is today placed in that genus by most authorities.

A considerable number of subspecies have been described, but they differ little in appearance and the taxonomy of several needs to be validated (Holt et al. 1999). Most subspecies are found in the Andes and the Antilles. Only A. c. hypugaea and A. c. floridana are found in North America. Although distinct from each other, the relationship of the Floridan subspecies to (and its distinctness from) the Caribbean birds is not quite clear (Korfanta et al. 2005).

Um texto em português:

Coruja-buraqueira (Speotyto cunicularia).

Veja um vídeo clicando no endereço a seguir:

br.youtube.com/watch?v=BhCP0YqJDnY

Ficha Técnica

Nome comum: coruja-buraqueira, coruja-martelo, coruja-do-campo, caburé-de-cupim, caburé-do-campo, coruja-barata, coruja-buraqueira, coruja-do-campo, coruja-mineira, corujinha-buraqueira, corujinha-do-buraco, corujinha-do-campo, guedé, urucuera, urucuréia e urucuriá.

Nome científico: Speotyto cunicularia

Reino: Animal

Filo: Vertebrado

Classe: Aves

Ordem: Strigiformes

Família: Strigidae

Ave muito interessante e com características peculiares é tida pelo povo grego como a ave da sabedoria. Outros povos porém, acham que causa azar e arrepios seu canto quando rasga o silêncio noturno. Dizem ainda que é sinal de mal agouro e que o seu canto está pressagiando alguma tragédia, o que é pura crendice popular, pois o que se sabe é que as corujas são muito úteis ao homem predando pragas nas lavouras e controlando a população de ratos ao redor das cidades e no campo.

Pode girar seu pecoço em 270º

Características:

A coruja-buraqueira é muito comum pelos campos do Brasil.

Mede em torno de 20-30 cm com envergadura de 50-61cm e pesando em média 170g.

Com peito branco e plumagem amarelada o macho é ligeiramente maior que a fêmea, possuem cabeça arredondada e são aves muito tímidas.

Com olhos grandes e amarelos, a coruja-buraqueira tem a visão 100 vezes mais aguçada que a do homem e seus olhos estão dispostos frontalmente, como os do ser humano.

Quando necessita olhar algum objeto ao seu redor gira o pescoço em um ângulo de até 270 graus, aumentando assim o seu campo visual.

Essa disposição frontal, proporciona à coruja uma visão binocular (enxerga um objeto com ambos os olhos e ao mesmo tempo), isso significa que a coruja pode ver objetos em três dimensões, ou seja, altura, largura e profundidade.

Pode julgar distâncias similares ao ser humano e seu campo visual é de 110 graus, sendo 70 graus de visão binocular.

Os olhos da coruja-buraqueira são bem grandes, em algumas espécies de corujas até maiores que o próprio cérebro, a fim de melhorar sua eficiência em condições de baixa luminosidade, captando e processando melhor a luz disponível.

Além de sua privilegiada visão, a coruja-buraqueira é dona de uma audição potentíssima, conseguindo localizar e abater sua presa com apenas este sentido.

Abate preferencialmente pequenos roedores, insetos, anfíbios e pássaros. A coruja é uma ave de rapina, portanto mata para se alimentar. A tradução da palavra rapina é "roubo", o que caracteriza o fato de tais aves retirarem a vida de suas presas.

Rapineira e atenta à tudo

A coruja como a grande maioria dos animais possue território de caça. São ""equipadas "" com adaptações especiais que as tornam predadoras eficientes, sendo uma delas o vôo.

Sempre muito silenciosa e sorrateira, isso devido às penas especiais de sua asa, muito macias e em grande quantidade, conseguem cortar o ar e planar por muito tempo sendo muito discretas e imperceptíveis às suas presas.

A observação das presas se dá no alto de árvores ou em mourões de cercas nos pastos e até durante o vôo silencioso, quando fazem uma varredura na área de caça. Quando um alvo é avistado a coruja voa silenciosamente até ele, mantendo sua cabeça em linha reta ao alvo, quando então a joga para trás e empurra suas garras para frente a fim de prender seguramente sua presa. A força do impacto é violenta e certeira não dando chances à presa. Posteriormente a vítima é morta pela pressão do bico, num processo de abatimento de presas no solo.

O período reprodutivo da coruja-buraqueira começa nos meses de março e abril, os ninhos são feitos no solo, aproveitando antigas tocas de tatus ou simplesmente promovem a abertura de novos ninhos, num trabalho revezado entre o casal.

Os ninhos são escavados com os pés e bicos, formando uma galeria horizontal de até 3 m de profundidade por 30cm-60cm de largura.

Em média botam de 6 a 12 ovos, que são incubados por 28 dias pela fêmea; fica por conta do macho proteger o ninho e procurar alimento para toda a prole.

Com 14 dias os filhotes já ficam empoleirados na saída da cova, aos 44 dias saem do ninho e com 60 dias estão caçando pequenos insetos.

Informações do site: www.cuestajardins.com.br/?id=149&codigo=426&PHPSE...

It takes 2 days driving in an all wheel drive from Nairobi to arrive in Loiyangalani on the Turkana lake shores… you have never heard about this place? And yet it’s here that they filmed « The Constant Gardener » with Ralph Fiennes.

The Lake Turkana region presents a lunar landscape, somewhat desert, covered in black volcanic rocks. It’s an extremely inhospitable environment for humans and their livestock. There is no potable water and limited pastures. The rainfall averages is less than 6 inches a year. During the day the high temperatures (up to 45°C) are come with strong winds (up to 11 meters per second), pushing dust. But it’s just a magical place on earth !

No human should be able to live in these conditions and yet 250,000 Turkana people are living here. Their territory extends to northern Kenya around Lake Turkana, and on the boundaries with south Sudan and Ethiopia. In 1975, the lake (400 km long, 60 large) was named after them.

 

Herders Above All Else : The importance of livestock

They are a traditionally pastoralist tribe, moving their livestock (goats, sheep, camels, cattle, and donkeys) and their homes to search water for their animals. Turkana have not been affected by western civilization yet and live in a very traditional way. The number of animals and the diversity of the herd are closely linked to a family’s status in the community. The herds are their bank account.

They depend on the rain to provide grazing for their animals, and on their animals for milk and meat. Because water is so hard to find in the area, they often fight with other tribes like Dassanech. Their main concerns are land and how to win it or to keep it!

The Turkana place such a high value on cattle that they often raid other tribes to steal animals. These razzias have become more dangerous as they now use guns. As the Turkana are one of the most courageous groups of warriors in Africa, fights are serious!

After a raid, the robbers ask some friends from neighboring villages to keep some cows. Their herd is scattered between several places to reduce the risk of being stolen the whole.

 

The Turkana choose their good friends as neightbors more so than people they share kinship ties with. The clans (ekitela), 28 in number, no longer have a social function. Each clan owns water wells dug in the dried river beds. Unless an explicit request is made, the community can deny water to those passing by.

Even today, the Turkana never kill their livestock to sell their meat. They only kill for celebrations. The Turkana need their animals since they use them as currency in marriage or various social transactions. If a man loses his livestock to drought, he is not only impoverished but shamed. In these cases, NGOs often help get him back on his feet but he can’t reclaim his pride until he has reestablished his herd.

The animals are given very poetic names which the owners often take on as well. It’s common to call a good friend the name of his favorite bull. The Turkana even write songs for their favorite animals. Once a young man has selected his favorite bull, he shapes its horns into bizarre forms to make it stand out. Many tribes use to do this in the area.

 

The Fish is Taboo for the Herdsmen

 

Turkana people traditionally do not fish and do not eat fish. But during the droughts, Turkana people are encouraged to fish to get some food. Fishing has been regarded as something of a taboo, a practice reserved for the very poorest in Turkana society.

 

Social Structure

The Turkana are organized into generational classes. All males go through three life stages (child, warrior, and elder).

To become a man, the turkana teen must go through a ceremony where he will have to kill an animal with a spear, but he must kill it in one throw! Once done, the old men will open the stomach of the animal and put the content on the body of the new adult. It is the way they bless him.

For women, the process is different. They become adult when they reach puberty. Unlike many other tribes in Kenya, the Turkana do not practice FGM and circumcision.

The Turkana live in small households. Inside live of a man, his wives !as he can marry more than one), their children and sometimes some dependent old people. The house is called « awi ». It is built with wood, animal skin, and doum palm leaves. Only the women build the houses!

Herding is a family affair. The father assigns various tasks to his children depending on their age. It’s common to see kids walking long distances with the cattle. Later they will take care of sheep and goats. The girls carry water and collect wood.

Newborns receive their names in a unique way. They take the name of a parent who has huge prestige and add the name of the most beautiful animal in the herd.

Parents learn very early to the kids the taboos: you must not lie, be coward, steal, neglect elders…

Turkana have their own justice and the revenge system is working well: if a crime is committed, the family of the victim will try to kill the murderer or someone from its close family. They also can steal to the suspect a large amount of cattle. Usually, the elders try to make a reconciliation ceremony. It is an never ending story as the family will also want to make a vandetta of the vendetta !

If the homicide was an accident, it can be solved by giving a daughter in marriage.

 

Marriage

When a man wants to marry a girl, he must ask his own parents if they agree. His mother will have to check if the girl he wants is a good worker! The blood relationship between the families is forbidden, so the elders will check the family links before any agreement.

The man must pay the bride parents (30 cattle, 30 camels and 100 small stock minimum, sometimes a gun is added). It means that a man cannot marry until he has inherited livestock from his dead father. It also means that he collects livestock from relatives and friends. This strengthens social ties.

Daily life

Cattle dungs are used as fuel to cook the food, the urine is used as soap for washing when chemical soap is not available. I saw people using the urine to wash the milk containers, so I always refused to drink milk!

Camels are used for transportation of goods and are well adapted to the very arid climate of Turkana and the lack of water. They are also used in transactions for weddings, or economics deals.

Donkeys have a special status in Turkana tribe: the people do not drink its milk. They use them to carry their houses when they move or weak people with a special wood saddle. But even if donkeys are very useful, they are mocked by the turkana people. Donkey meat is eaten only in the Turkana, where it is savored as a delicacy while others tribe hate it!

They like chewing tobacco and often walk around with a chewed up ball of it on their ear. They also like snorting powdered tobacco.

Danses and songs are important in the social life. Dances allow the people to meet and to flirt. Circle dances are are performed by group of young unmarried girls. The men and young girls join hands and the circles move around. The men may then jump into the centre of the circle raising their arms to imitate the cow horns.

Spirituality, Superstitions, Beliefs

In 1960, a famine started in Turkana area, and so the « Africa Inland Mission » established a food-distribution centre in Lokori, bringing also christianity. But conversion did not meet a huge success (5 % may be converted) as Turkana are nomadics and still have strong believes in their own god. Some Turkana elders even told me :

« I wear a christian cross around my neck and go to the church to get an access to the help provided by the the missionaries for food and clothes! »

The majority of the Turkana still follow their traditional religion. There's one supreme God called Akuj, who is associated with the sky. If God is happy, he will give rain. But if he is angry with the people, he will punish them. In the old believings, giraffes were supposed to tickle the clouds with their high heads, and make the rain come !

Four million years ago, the Lake Turkana bassin may have been the cradle of mankind. You can spot some very nice engraving sites showing a mixture of giraffes and geometrics patterns made around 2000 years ago close to the lake.

Deviners, called the « emuron » are able to interpret or predict Akuj's plans through their dreams, or through sacrificed animal's intestines, tobacco, and through the tossing of …sandals ! Sandals are very important for the oracle. He blesses the sandals by spitting on them. He throws them up into the air and gives a meaning to the patterns they create when they fall on the ground.

When someone dies, the Turkana only hold funerals and burry the body. In the old times, people were were not given a burial, but were abandoned to hyenas.

 

As I was taking pictures of an old Turkana lady, after 3 pictures, she asked me to stop, and started to shout : « You’re sucking my blood, you make me feel weak » and she left. I was explained by a young boy that the old people believe that pictures are taking their blood away.

 

Medecine

Scarifications on the belly are made by traditional doctors to cure ill people: it is a way to put out the illness from the body. Scarification is practiced for aesthetic reasons too. Scars are a sign of beauty or to show how many people he has killed, if he is a man.

The skin is cut with an acacia or a sharp razor blade that may be shared by the people and bring diseases.

 

Turkana believe that a person who experienced illness and recovered from it can treat someone else who’s suffering from the same illness. This means that everybody can be a doctor ! If this does not work, they say that the animal slaughtered was the wrong one.

A good Turkana tip : if you suffer from a severe headache, you just have to take out the brain from a living animal, like a goat, and put it on your head !

Or, another solution : to lift a sheep over the patient, to cut the throat so that the blood strickles on the patient’s head.

 

The Turkana have the highest instance in the world of echinoccocus (7%) due to their proximity with dogs, who live and defecate everywhere. The dogs lick up blood and vomit and the women use the dog’s excrement as a lubricant for the necklaces that touch their neck.

This parasite has three hosts : sheep, dogs, and humans. In Turkana, these three species live very close, surrounded by little else in the vast desert, ideal conditions for the proliferation of the parasite. The diease causes huge cysts that can be removed by surgery. The locals believe that this "disease of the large belly" is due to a spell cast by the neighboring enemy tribe: the Toposa.

 

Beauty

Turkana girls and women love to adorn themselves with a lot of necklaces. Beads can be made of glass, seeds, cowry shells, or iron. They never remove them! This can only happen when they are ill or during a mourning time. It means they sleep with those huge necklaces… A married Turkana woman will also wear a plain metal ring around the neck. This is a kind of wedding ring (alagama). A Turkana man will do all he can to make sure that his women folk are dressed in beads of class. Even if some are not able to take their girls to school, they will still ensure that they have beads. By the quantity and style of jewelry a woman wears, you can guess her social status.

 

Beads colors have specific meaning. Yellow and red beads are given to girl by a man when they are fiancé. If a woman wears only white beads, it means she is a widow. Little girls wear few beads, usually given to them by their mothers, but the older ladies and women wear many, which are in sets rows.

A woman who cannot move her neck is envied! The big necklaces are heavy, like 5 kilos.

 

A woman without beads is bad, men will ignore her. « You look like an animal without beads! »

Young children only wear a simple strand of pearls. Adolescents wear small articles of clothing to cover their sex. These articles are often decorated with mulitcolored pearls or ostrich egg shells. They wear more and longer clothing as they approach puberty.

 

NakaparaparaI are the famous ear ornaments. They are made by the men of the tribe in aluminium most of the time and look like a leaf.

 

Men love to make an elaborate mudpack coiffures called emedot. It is a kind of chignon: the hairstyle takes the shape of a large bun of hair at the back of the head. They decorate it with ostrich feathers to show they are elders or warriors. 2 ostrich feathers costs 1 goat.

 

Men use a wood pillow (ekicolong) to sleep on it and protect the bun. It can last 2 months and must be rebuild after.

 

Tattooing is also common and usually has special meaning. Men are tattooed on the shoulders and upper arm each time they kill an enemy — the right shoulder for killing a man, the left for a women.

Lower incisors are removed in childhood, with a tool called « corogat », a finger hook. The origin of this practice was against tetanus, as people are lock-jawed, so they can feed them with milk through the hole. It is also a way to force the teeth at the top to stand out and not interfere with the labret many put on the lower lip. The is useful to spit through the gap of the teeth, without even opening the mouth. The Turkana enjoyed to have labrets, but nowadays, only the elders can be seen with on. They used to put an ivory lip plug, then a wood one, and for some years, they use a lip plug made of copper or even with plaited electric wires.The hole between the lower lip and chin is pierced using a thorn.

The finger hook is also used as a weapon, for gouging out an ennemy’s eye !

Hygiene

Since water is so rare, it’s used only for drinking, never for washing. The Turkana clean themselves by rubbing fat all over their skin.

Turkana women put grease paint on their bodies which is made from mixing animal fat with red ochre and the leaves of a tree to have nice perfume. They say it is good for the skin and it protects from the insects.

Women also put animal fat all around their neck and also on their huge necklaces to prevent from skin irritation.

They also use dog shit as a medicine and lubrificant for their neck.

 

Both men and women use the branch of a tree called esekon to clean their teeth. You can see them using it all day long…The Turkana people have the cleanest bill of dental health in the country.

For long, Turkana people did not use latrines because it is a taboo for men and women to share same facilities like a latrine. Campaigns have now been initiated to sensitize people on the importance of using latrines for hygiene.

 

Animal fat is considered to have medicinal qualities, and the fat-tailed sheep is often referred to as "the pharmacy for the Turkana. »... when they do not grill it to eat it!

 

Futur

Recently, oil has been found on their territory… many fear Turkanas people may loose their traditions, but the Turkana succeeded in maintaining their way of life for centuries. Against all odds they manage to raise livestock in the confines of the desert. Their knowledge allows them to live where most humans could not.

The recent discovery of massive groundwater reserves in the ground (3 billion cubic meters, nearly three times the water use in New York City) could allow them to keep their traditions for a long time.

 

© Eric Lafforgue

www.ericlafforgue.com

"Carpet bombing cities

And grinding them to dust

Able men and women

Will all be victims

 

Everyone will suffer

In the wake of their attack

Bombers show no mercy

A land in ruin

 

Homes are turned to rubble

When the airstrike has been approved

Facing their destruction

Fear the black wings of death"

 

Hansa Aeeronautics has released the newest aircraft from its subsidiary, Henschel. The He. 234.

 

Designed as a medium bomber the He. 234 has an excellent power to weight ratio provided by her four Turbofan jets. This advantage allows the He.234 to achieve a much higher flight ceiling than most other large aircraft. This is fortuitous as the 234 is not equiped with any form of stealth, instead she relies on heavy fighter escort, advanced missile jamming equipment and her high flight ceiling.

 

Of course, early on in the project it was recognised that the 234 was capable of filling many other roles than just bomber. This realisation spawned a series of modified airframes to provide for the speculated roles.

 

Versions:

 

He. 234/1 - Heavy fire support aircraft carrying multiple calibres of onboard cannon. Similar to the American AC-130 series of aircraft.

He. 234/2 - Paratrooper transport. Has had the internals stripped and the bay doors removed, these have been replaced with solid decking and a rear down ramp.

He. 234/2 A. 1 - Extended range troop transport. Has had external fuel tanks added to the wing structures. Maintains the changes made in the 234/2.

He. 234/3 Airborn command and control aircraft. Internal bays have been revamped and permanent operational harware has been installed. Advanced radar has also been installed in the form of an overhead dish. Airborn LIDAR systems are also present.

He. 234/4 Fuel supply aircraft. Internal bays have been replaced with stainless steel fuel tanks. Capable of airborn refueling.

 

Specifications:

x4 Hansa Flugmotorenwerke 503/367 Afterburning turbofan

x10 External hardpoints

x4 External fuel hardpoints

x3 Internal bays

 

*Specifications change based on model.

Able Seaman Arthur Thomas Wood was born 21 April 1921 at Berry in New South Wales, and joined the Royal Australian Navy in 1938 at the age of 17. After training at HMAS CEREBUS he joined HMAS SYDNEY in early 1939. When World War II was declared, SYDNEY was ordered to serve in the Mediterranean for escort duty. Wood was aboard SYDNEY when it sank the Italian cruisers ESPERO and BARTOLOMEO COLLEONI in July 1940.

 

These photographs and postcards depict some of the sailors, equipment and activities of HMAS SYDNEY in the months prior to the sinking of the vessel. They provide an interesting commentary of the operations and work carried out aboard HMAS SYDNEY prior to its fateful end, such as the sinking of Italian ships ESPERO and BARTOLOMEO COLLEONI in the Mediterranean.

 

The Australian National Maritime Museum undertakes research and accepts public comments that enhance the information we hold about images in our collection. If you can identify a person, vessel or landmark, write the details in the Comments box below.

 

Thank you for helping caption this important historical image.

 

Object number ANMS0845[048].

 

I’ve a lack of inspiration... I need to take a breath and try to get new ideas...

... I’m not able to write new poems since months...

therefore I’m going to repost all my 2010’s Project 52, day by day, hoping this will help me...

.

.

much better large size and on black – molto meglio in grande e su sfondo nero

View On Black

.

.

l’uomo di nessuno

  

Dissolvono

in sequenza di curve

rivoluzioni perdute

contro un filo di luce

ma vita

 

attardi a scrutare

solo

oltre quel vuoto

quanto resti dell'uomo

e del giorno

 

quando nessuno

accompagna i tuoi passi

ormai

hai riposto il dolore

dentro la tasca

 

a scaldare le sere.

.

.

nobody’s man

(my translation is only a faint attempt to render in English an Italian born text)

 

Dissolve

in sequence of curves

lost revolutions

against a crack of light

but life

 

you’re late to look

lonely

beyond that void

at what remains of man

and day

 

when no one

follows your steps

now

you hold the pain

inside your pocket

 

to warm up nights.

.

.

Guido Ranieri Da Re

febbraio 2010

[0230]

It is so nice to have friends! Its even better to be able to get together to have a great time chatting & taking pictures! Here I'm with Kimberly, Cindy, Julie, Gina & Gigi!

 

Our DC Area Trans Ladies MeetUp group had a Valentine's Holiday Party recently & those of us who are also members of the Vanity Club got together for a few pix! Here I'm with Julie, Kimberly, Cindy & Gina and we all had a fabulous time too!

 

My ensemble for the event is based on this clingy red & black lycra spandex peplum styled minidress from milanoo[dot]com, my super shiny Platino Negro Cleancut pantyhose from shapings.com worn over Hanes Alive Barely There support hose from onehanesplace.com and my black leather ankle strap peep toe platform pumps with the 5½" heels from venus.com.

 

To see more pix of me in other tight, sexy and revealing minidresses click this link:

www.flickr.com/photos/kaceycdpix/sets/72157623668202157/

 

To see more pix of me in clothes from milanoo[dot]com click this link: www.flickr.com/photos/kaceycdpix/sets/72157625910449261/

 

To see more pix of me showing off my legs click this link: www.flickr.com/photos/kaceycdpix/sets/72157623668202157/

 

To see more pix of me out & about click this link: www.flickr.com/photos/kaceycdpix/sets/72157632318953102/

 

To see more pix of me with friends and acquaintances click this link: www.flickr.com/photos/kaceycdpix/sets/72157622620508143/

 

To see more pix of me wearing red dresses & ensembles click this link: www.flickr.com/photos/kaceycdpix/sets/72157649834758794

 

_DSC1315-19

This gorgeous bird is part of an educational organiztion called "Hawks Aloft". It has an injured wing so is no longer able to survive in the wild. This beautiful creature gets two mice a day which contain everything it needs for a healthy diet. Thank you Hawks Alot for bring these guys out to be photographed by the Enchanted Lens Camera Club.

Chapter 7

The Daring Kind

 

She must have been able to read the discomfort in his eyes, assuming her actions had left her lover speechless.

She appeared happy to accept that for an answer and backed away, still smiling smugly, towards the staircase.

 

The diamond dangling from the coronet was still flashing its Morse code-like flickers, tapping the message to him that signalled, come get me!

 

Happily, she tapped his cheek, then turned and disappeared back around the corner with a swish of her gown, trilled affectionately to ‘Gaston” as she did…

 

“A most welcome home darling Gaston!”

 

He then heard her say merrily from her hiding spot...

 

“You have till the count of 25 luv , so get a move on”.

 

He stood there, jaw opened wide beneath his mask, his eyes had watched as her gown had wispily whipped around the corner behind her, whilst listening as she was giggling quite excitedly to herself at her cleverness!

 

He just didn't know what to think.

 

So of course, He obediently followed her directions.

 

“Bloody “ell” he muttered, thinking, had he just had fallen into a cat thief’s wildest dream!

 

He opened the door to the green satin wrapped damsel’s bedroom, and pulling out his torch, lit its pencil-thin beam.

 

Wishing only now that only the real Gaston didn’t decide to show his mug and spoil all the fun!

 

Once Inside, the torchlight quickly found her oak jewel case on the mantel of an old stained oaken dresser.

 

The high case matched the dresser and drawers below it perfectly, and it appeared that it was all uniquely Chippendale!

 

It sat across from a matching four-poster, with a sea blue satin coverlet and matching silken sheets.

 

“Nice of her to point out where her jewels are kept!” He thanked the clueless girl!

 

He swiftly went over and began opening the many drawers of the jewellery case, or jewellery coffin as some would churlishly call it!

 

The thin light of his torch lit up a sinfully copious display of jewels, note quite as valuable as the ones discovered in the master bedroom, but it was a damn close race all the same!

 

He happily began pulling out the drawers and sliding the prettily flickering contents into an already bulging case.

 

Rudely discarding the empty drawers unceremoniously upon the floor.

 

The lady he hoped, would appreciate the dedicated “realism “that this’ Gaston’ of her’s was going to put into her play, and he was just the person to make it realistic!

He reckoned this with a rather nefarious smile spreading upon the bearded face, covered by its thin black mask.

 

At that precise moment, he heard the door creak slowly open….

 

She was coming in quietly, and soon the lady proved her mettle to be quite the actress!

 

He heard her gasp behind him as he continued on his work!

 

“ No, not my jewels, Do anything to me but don’t take my family jewels!”

 

He turned around to face the damsel, holding the pearl filled final drawer in his thin black-gloved hand.

 

She stood there with her left hand to her mouth, while her right ringed gloved fingers played with her necklace. The diamonds flickered quite as she held it up!

 

She then teased, delighted at his captured attention! …

 

“You want these, do you not Mister Burglar, I can see it in your eyes!”

 

Looking upon her, he tipped the drawer full of pearls into the black bag, then dropping it empty onto the pile strewn about at his feet.

 

Then he eagerly, purposefully, moved towards her, lustfully eyeing the pretty victim’s savoury jewels.

 

She shivered as if she read his mind, that he would take her jewels and flee into the night with them.

 

But she was not ready to have him do that, so she commanded him in a softly brisk tone…

 

“Not yet!”

 

Putting up a nicely ringed finger to indicate he should come no further!

 

Surprisingly to himself, for he had no real reason to listen, he obediently stopped in his tracks to await her next command.

 

As it turned out, he was soon very glad he had done so!

 

Then he eagerly, purposefully, moved towards her, lustfully eyeing the pretty victim’s savoury jewels.

 

She shivered as if she read his mind, that he would take her jewels and flee into the night with them.

 

But she was not ready to have him do that, so she commanded him in a softly brisk tone…

 

“Not yet!”

 

Putting up a nicely ringed finger to indicate he should come no further!

 

Surprisingly to himself, for he had no real reason to listen, he obediently stopped in his tracks to await her next command.

 

As it turned out, he was soon very glad he had done so!

 

^^^^^^^^^^^^

Chapter 8

One must be Methodical

 

Dropping her hand, she questioned him…

“What have you forgotten to do, my dear thief?”

He stood still, hoping she would just obligingly tell him what to do next.

She happily did so...

“My closet! Gaston your always forgetting any good burglar worth his salt checks a damsel’s closet for brooches and such left on by ladies far too lazy to remove them from one's party frocks. I swear Gaston You would make a horrible burglar in real life. You would positively starve if it were not for being directed by someone like me!”

She chortled at her wit.

He just smiled, thanking her inwardly for being ever so much a big help to her poor Darling ‘Gaston’!

He turned to his right and headed straight to the closet, curious as to what he was expected to find inside?

Opening the door, a long floor length mirror was revealed, allowing one to see into the interior of the bedroom behind him.

Including the reflection of his most helpful victim as she stood there in all her jewelled and tight-fitting emerald satin attired glory!

She keenly watching his progress with an eager interest, as he stole a look at her reflection, muttering happily to himself…

“Best get this over with quickly, then attend to the lady and her finery!”

He turned to look back inside, and was met with a designer like an assortment of colourful dresses, gowns, and other fancy attire!

A quite nice, if not downright beguiling, display of soft velvets, slinky silks, sleek satins, frilled lace, and shiny leather.

He quickly began his task at hand, letting his thinly gloved fingers feel through the wonderfully sleek fabrics for anything hard and metallic.

On one velvet number he felt something like a necklace around its top, he pulled it out, but disappointedly it was a rhinestone collared frock.

He tossed it onto the bed and resumed his search as she could be heard softly giggling behind him...

“Nope, nothing on that one, but don’t quit just yet!

He stole a glance at her from the mirror, then he turned back into working the closet.

The glance revealed that his ‘mentor’ was watching him eagerly, her whole being quivering in anticipation head down to spiky heeled foot!

He fingered a satiny white ruffled blouse, he decided he had better keep tabs on this one, still not sure what exactly her game was all on about?

He muttered to himself…

“They were her jewels after all, weren’t they? Indeed, rather valuable for mere playthings!”

There had to be something inside here!

He thought as he let drop the satin blouse and plunged his gloved hands inside again and felt around.

This time he was rewarded by feeling a slight prick of something solid and sharp.

He pulled out a luxuriously long black satin number and saw it had two ruby clips attached to its bodice.

He held it up to the mirror so she could see.

she clapped gleefully, watching him pull free the ruby clips from the evening gown and casually flipped them into his bag on the floor.

“Well done Gaston!”

He looked up at her, as the slinky black gown was indifferently added to the growing pile on her bed.

He could see by her reflection that she was excitedly eating it up.

Then she suddenly resumed back into her character of being the hapless victim.

And began to miserably plead…

“Please mister burglar don't take everything of mine! I am sure there is nothing more inside!”

He smiled, wondering how she would react when she eventually found out that indeed, she was a hapless victim of her game!?

Turning his attention once again to her closet he moved aside the hangers, revealing a set of shelves set in the back that contained a nice selection of sensible shoes, wedged pumps, glossy spiked heels and designer style purses.

One purse caught his ever-appraising eyes, a small gold clutch with what looked like (and probably was) a diamonded clasp!

He pulled it out and tossed the expensive bugger into the bag.

“Oui , Good eye Gaston! It's almost like you were a real thief.”

She gurgled this, shivering in delight, as her earrings and necklace flickered along with her figure, like uncontrollable wildfires.

He watched the enticing show from her reflection in the handy door length mirror.

Then he turned back to the closet.

For, as he was moving the dresses over to look into the shelves, his eye had caught sight of a black leather jacket with a belt studded by what must have been a thousand rhinestones.

He now pulled it out and searched its pockets, mainly to tease her a bit further, for he imagined that “Gaston” would do such a thing!

So, he was utterly surprised when his gloved fingertips felt something cold and a bit weighty in a side pocket!

He slipped it out and found he was holding a solid gold cigarette case, which he added to the ever-growing collection in his bag!

His “Mentor” trilled as he did so, exclaiming with happy surprise...

“I had wondered where that had gotten off to luv! The matching lighter should be there too!”

He reached back in, and there it was, as well as a small ivory and ebony gold ringed cigarette holder.

Both of which quickly joined their companion in the now bulging bag.

He then pulled off the shimmery belt.

Even with rhinestones, it was worth a pretty penny he reasoned.

As started to pitch it into the case, he heard the Lady helpfully exclaim in the background, a good idea she said excitedly.

“Save that for when you tie me up to take my jewels!”

Shaking his head, why not? he tossed the belt to the helpful lass’s feet…

Thinking he was quite finished with the closet as he held the leather jacket, he for no rhyme or reason, took the time to hang it back up rather than adding it to the pile on the bed.

But It was as he did so that something, a most decidedly not rhinestone something, flashed in the dim lights in the gap that had been made where the leather jacket had hung!

 

He eagerly reached in and pulled out a lovely long brown, silky soft, liquidly appearing gown.

Holding it up triumphantly, he looked down at the dazzling sparkles of a magnificent gem-encrusted brooch that was suspended from the gown’s wide centre waistline.

“Good show Gaston!”

She exclaimed in the background.

His eyes left the brooch and looked into the mirror at her.

She was clapping, rings and bracelets, earrings and Coronet, the whole lot, erupting into a million pinpricks of fire as she did so!

He felt his manhood rising precariously as he looked her over, feeling the effect, even from this distance, her primitively carnal arousal!

She eagerly continued, spilling her emotions into her words!

“Mon Mari, I was going to tease you later if you were to ‘ave missed that one, and I was sure you were going to!”

“Tsk!” he said to himself. wonder what the teasing part would have entailed!

At the same time his mind was picturing this, he automatically, without taking his eyes off the mirror, pulled off the brooch and nonchalantly pocketing the breathtakingly pretty jewel before throwing the scintillatingly downy soft feeling soft gown onto the shiny pile already laying strewn about the bed.

It flashed through his mind that the fancy dresses strewn about could have been the striplings from that many jewel encrusted maidens, like this one, and what a delightful haul that would have been to carry out!

Savouring those thoughts, he turned once again to focus his attention, on the rather all too helpful Miss, his eyes traveling unabashedly up and down her figure.

Time was a-wasting!

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

Chapter 9

Wasting Time?

 

He eagerly started to move towards her...

“Almost!”

She said with a giggle, her flashily ringed finger raised again, stopping him as he had started to move towards her as she admonished him…

“Not quite yet! You forgot the most important part of burgling a lady’s chamber! “

Again, he stood staring, not quite knowing what the devil this peculiarly eager to be robbed damsel in distress was going on about now!?

But quite recent experience told him it should be to his thieving benefit to take more precious time and hear her out!

So, he stood questioningly waited to hear what the most important part was?

Which she then, quite helpfully, spelled it all out to him…

“You didn't check the lingerie drawer, Gaston! Any real burglar would have done so!”

He observed her winking at him …

“Come along Gaston l, get into your role my darling…!”

He looked at her, smirking to himself…

“Indeed, lady, I will!”

Curiously He turned and looked down upon the drawer in the stand next to her bed.

“No silly, still in the drawer beneath my now pilfered jewel case!”

She was looking down mischievously at the Drawers set in the ancient oak antique Chippendale dresser.

He turned, hesitating…

Should dear Gaston know which one it was?

He decided to just start at the top and began opening them one by one and pray he did not invoke her to start having any doubts as to his true nature!

He went over and started to pull open the top drawer.

She could be heard giggling in the background…

“Moved it on you didn’t I from the last time!? “

Her most welcomed words relived a bit of his anxiety, the gig was still not up, she still hadn’t guessed that he was the real thing, and not some love lost Beau sadly burdened with the moniker of Gaston, of all things!

“Ahh, there you go my darling!”

She said as he opened the next…

The drawer was found to contain, as promised, piles of wispy thin satin and silks, in all colours of a shimmering rainbow! Curious as to what further riches he was meant to find, he greedily swirled the expensive lingerie about, soon finding a pile of glistening silver all carefully laid out on one side.

A silver brush comb and matching mirror, all studded with jewelled handles, and a pair of silver handcuffs!

He lifted the jewelled vanity pieces...

He had once drooled over a similar set discovered in a museum's case!

“Oops, she giggled, forgot those were there, just leave ‘em luv!”

But he continued to place them into the case at his feet and was surprised when she did not protest.

Instead, she said reasonably…

“But of course, they are jewelled, just be careful with ‘em please my darling?”

Buy then he was already curiously looking inside, lifting the handcuffs…

He heard his victim give out a hoarse moan behind him!

The handcuffs and keys he lifted and threw on the satin comforter of the bed, wondering how many times she and her Gaston had put them to use?

He picked up the now quite hefty leather pouch and looked over at his smirking victim.

“Come mister thief!”

She instructed lustfully …

“Finally time to do your worst!”

“With pleasure” he murmured to himself, studying most hypnotic swaying of her long jewelled earrings…

“To all my just gratification, Madam!”

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

Chapter 10

Lusting Gratification

 

He came over from the fancy oak dresser and finally stood before her.

The lady’s head came up to his chin, her pretty face looking up with innocence, into his.

She was smiling most provocatively, one hand still holding the clasp of her cloak, the other resting upon the shimmery brooch pinned onto the cloak over her right breast.

He, for no real reason, found himself wondering if the broach’s placement meant she was left-handed.

“Okay mister burglar, take me broach, I see your eye’ in it!”

For the first time, but not the last, he almost felt sorry for the show that poor Gaston was missing out on, but glad deep down that he, on the other hand, was not!

He reached down and pried her fingers from the brooch, and as he unpinned the precious jewel, she pushed against him so his fingers brushed against a rather perked, notably heaving breast.

Obligingly he allowed his fingers free reign to fondle her tits!

With a deep sigh, she listlessly allowed both her hands to fall to her sides as she leaned into him, her eyes turned upward gazing lustfully at him with her imploring hazel green eyes.

Huskily she murmured…

“That’s it, not too quickly now…”

He unsteadily managed to unfasten the broach, his fingers a bit encumbered by the game she was playing with her body as she leaned in against him.

Pulling it off, his fingers brushing her soft figure, he let the broach plop into the pouch at his feet…

He then reached up and undid the jewelled clasp of her long green satin cape, exposing is silvery lining… and finally revealing the playful lady’s gown as it lay in full glory down along her enticingly Horney diminutive figure!

As well as revealing her remaining ornaments, in all their exquisite glimmering glory!

Tongue-tied in awe; he watched the cape slither down from her arms.

She looked up into his face, lustful eyes sparkling with delight at his unbridled rapture at seeing her...

Though not for a second realizing quite what it was about her that had captured his total drooling interest!

“Cat ‘ave your tongue there laddie?”

She purred, her hazel eyes opening doe wide, offering no quarter as to their needful meaning.

He just let his eyes travel up and down the now fully exposed figure, quickly taking it all in.

He thought with satisfaction …

“The only thing that had more shine than those doe-like eyes were the diamonds that fell ever so dripping, ever so invitingly, from alluring points along down her scintillating figure!”

Her green satin gown was fitted to show off every delightful curve of her figure.

The bodice was not decorated by rhinestones or anything else that would have taken away one’s eyes from the jewels the wearer was sporting.

Those jewels consisted of a brooch equally as magnificent as the one he had plucked from the brown satin gown found hanging in her closet.

Besides, now could be viewed her long wide necklace dripping down to just above her visibly heaving breasts. The fine piece was set with blazing diamonds, smaller round ones surrounding a steady stream of larger egg-shaped ones that matched the one that hung from her forehead.

She smiled at his amazement.

“Gaston, you almost act as you have never seen these before!”

She scolded, while playfully lifted the necklace, letting it flow charmingly through her emerald green satin gloved fingers.

“Or are you really getting into robbing me, you naughty man!”

She let her other hand playfully pat the side of his mask.

For a second, he thought she was going to pull it up to kiss him, thus spoiling the game.

So, he quickly grabbed her by the wrists under the pretense of studying her rings and bracelets, thus successfully diverting her mind away from the thought.

“Ahh mister burglar, you want my pretties, I can tell, do you desire them more them Moi? One can imagine that you do! Quickly now, put yonder chair to use and ensure sure your victim cannot slip away whilst you wrestle the jewels from her very body!”

Liking this game more and more, he quickly fetched over the chair she was indicating.

Happy to oblige, it would make things far easier at the end he thought to himself with a dash of relief!

The chair was another sturdy Chippendale, Victorian-era straight-backed. Its' position, reflection in the closet door he had left open, would allow them both to watch from all angles. Dear Romeo ‘Gaston’ could not have planned it better!

He sat it down behind her and she started to sit.

He grabbed her by the wrists, keeping her upright. He looked into her wide-open eyes, yet she was the one smirking like the cat eyeing the canary in its cage!

“Good Lord he thought wryly. What did you get yourself into mate?”

she asked him sweetly, honey dripping with each syllable.

“What do you have in mind for your victim?”

He briskly turned her around and began to unzip her gown, feeling its slick material, quite luscious even under the thin gloves he wore.

“Good show Gaston!

she chirped in approval…

“Make your victim feel vulnerable!”

She kicked off the gown and it fell in a pile on the carpet, with the brooch on top, sparkling like a lighthouse on top of an Irish island of shimmering green. She was looking up at him, clad only in a scant mint coloured silken slip that hung delightfully tight against her now quite overly perked figure.

She stooped down giving him a purposely good view of her ‘fin arrière’, tightly outlined by her silken thin slip. She reached down and retrieved her cape, covering the cold oak back of the high-backed chair with it and slipped onto it, too fast for him to react.

“Damn! He had planned to nick that pretty cape with its expensively wrought clasp as well!”

“But he reasoned, all is fair in love, games, and theft!”

He went over and undid the satin sash of her green gown, eyeing the brooch, but not taking it...

“Not yet my pretty!”

He said to himself with promise, as he slipped the sash off.

He turned back around, again she was still smirking like the cat that had now caught the canary, though this time it looked like she had bloody thing in her mouth. He looked down at her gloved hands, the bracelets were there, but judging by her now bare fingers, it was not a canary she had sucked into her mouth.

Without letting on to her mischievous game, he went behind her and she quite helpfully placed her gloved hands behind the chair, her fingers beckoning, trying to get him to notice her missing rings. But he had other ideas for that part of her game…

And it did not involve Gaston snogging ‘er to get at em!

He employed the sash by tying her waist to the chair.

He could feel her shiver deliciously from her head to toe, squirming playfully in the chair.

Then in her throes of passion, she almost slipped off the chair, made slicker by the cape upon which she perched, sitting in an equally slippery slip, and he had to catch her and pull her back, feeling her shiver pleasurably as he held her.

Her dangling earrings were flickering like mad throughout the show, beckoning quite invitingly in his face as he was kneeling, causing him to shiver in much the same manner as her.

He then rose and going to the bed picked up the set of the handcuffs. Going back, he held her eyes steady with his, as she tried to come across as if she was imploring him not to do it, the rings hidden in her mouth preventing her to speak out!

As he approached, she kicked off both of her emerald rhinestones covered spiked heels, playfully missing him.

He smiled at her mischievously, going around and handcuffing her wrists together as she squirmed!

Then he came back around, and bent down in front of her, his hand reaching back and snatching up the rhinestone belt from her leather jacket.

He reached down, and taking an ankle in turn, strapped them both securely together!

She was not going anywhere without dragging the chair with her!

He had kept the keys on the bed, she could reach there to undo herself, but he was planning to be long gone before she would manage to accomplished that feat!

She was now ready, bound up the way she was, to be mercilessly stripped of the rest of her jewels!

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

Chapter 11

The Subtle Touch

 

He went down behind her and she arched back in an attempt to watch what he was up to!

He looked over at their figures image in the mirror, her coronet, necklace, and earrings vividly sparkling in the reflection, like fire on a distant mountain he thought drooling with anticipation…….

He methodically decided to start with her Bracelets….

Holding her left wrist with his left hand, he let his right-hand travel up her squirming figure till he reaches her breast. Cupping it he began to with a slipping motion, massage it through her thin satiny slip.

She curled her figure against her bindings, closed her eyes, and began to whimper and moan lustily, opening her mouth just enough to keep her rings hidden inside!

As his right hand subtly pleaded her breasts, his left hand travelled down to a cuffed diamond bracelet. He began rubbing it up and down her gloved wrist in sync with his right hand, eventually worked it open and slipped it off from around her wrist, tossing it neatly into his pouch.

He repeated the performance on her right wrist as she continued moaning in total satisfaction.

If she noticed her twin bracelets were being removed in the process of having her breasts massaged, she did not appear to care.

Then, playing along with the lady’s game, he fruitlessly felt for her rings, hearing her muffled giggles above him as she squirmed.

“Mmmm,” she said, through gritted teeth not being able to open her mouth due to her rings.

He could see that what she was unable to voice, it was readable in her expression, reflected from the handy mirror!

Then he moved his hands, grasping her by the silken sides of her slip, and began to tickle her mercilessly, she started to uncontrollably giggle, then stated to sputter, finally letting loose with a gasping laugh!

This sent the three sparkling rings she had been holding inside her mouth, spinning out and plopping onto the green silk of her lap, where they slithered down between her knees!

“Dirty Play, Gaston!”

She admonished, snapping her legs closed to hide the rings, tears in her eyes as she laughed out her words…

“That wasn’t how… !

He hushed up her words by quickly plunging his gloved fingers down inside her slip, grasping and kneading her breasts in unison

Her whole being tingling with the exquisite pleasure, made her forget entirely how she had wanted him to play the game with her rings!

But he was now entirely in control of the situation, and she felt her whole figure limply wilt under his command!

He left his right hand inserted down her slip to carry on with the task, subtly extracting his left to then run fingers through her long blonde, luxurious feeling hair, pulling it back behind her head, where it hung down in a gold coloured silken mass!

Figuring if he did, she would lean right back to look up at him!

Which is exactly what she did, playing right into his trick!

Her eyes, though, were still tightly shut, as her focus went off to some erotic location, as she was reeling in the vivid pleasures of her game.

Her green satin gloved fingers tried to adjust her bonds so she could reach back out behind her, and he knew for what and responded appropriately by rising so she could reach her objective.

Then it became his turn to be the one moaning softly through gritted teeth…

He silently thought, while groaning inwardly…

“Easy on the family jewels there, missy!”

“Oh, My Darling Gaston!”

she responded, apparently, hopefully, waiting for a response.

He gave her one, though not verbally…

He leaned against the backside of the chair, getting as close to her as he could!

She began to grope quite furiously and he thought of a monkey he had seen once in the city zoo doing one such number on a banana.

He was also finding it increasingly difficult to keep his mind on the task at hand.

So, he pulled away from her grasp a little, allowing her fingers the barest of touch!

He then gently pulled back her blonde hair, and quickly started caressing her now sweating earlobes, taking advantage of where this lady’s reeling mind was otherwise occupied!

Slowly, carefully stroking up and off, he pulled out the gold hooks attached to her sparkling earrings from each pierced ear.

Freeing both of her lovely long earrings in turn and letting them drop, glimmering into his leather pouch!

He kept on caressing, deeply thrusting his right hand in and along her breasts for several minutes taking precious time with the task as to keep her mind away from what he was accomplishing from behind her trussed up back.

Meanwhile, his left hand moved up into a new position.

Her entire being was squirming, so enraptured and enthralled, that she never even felt him picking up the ends of the thin coronet: lifting oh so carefully, each end of shiny gold braided ends that were woven into her hair, and began gently lifting out each one free!

As he pulled it delicately away, she did not even miss the egg-shaped diamond as it stopped brushing against her sweat glistened brow!

Once he had freed the shimmering piece, he eagerly lifted to admire it!

She broke his trance by purring, opening her eyes as he quickly hid the jewelled coronet!

“Well, my Gaston! I can feel you desire me again, my darling! It has been quite a long time for you also!”

But though she may have felt that something growing between her captor’s legs, she had no inkling that he had been busy lifting her pricey jewelled headpiece!

Nor did she now hear it being dropped in the pouch at her foot!

So, oblivious that her earrings and coronet were gone, the bound, satin slip clad lady, quite seductively began murmuring these words as her fingers continued their gentle free play between his legs.

“You want me don’t you luv!”

She asked this seductively, wistfully as her eyes opened wide and looking up into his, catching him hovering over her, his eyes from the slits in his hood, looking down upon her.

He had stopped fondling her breasts with his right hand and placing that hand on her shoulder was looking down upon her with lust-filled eyes!

But she was entirely misreading the object of his also lustful gaze…

She again closed her eyes with a heavy sigh!

As his eyes went to what he now really wanted from her!

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

Chapter 12

The Fondling Theft

 

He smiled as he looked down upon her throat, watching the diamond and emerald necklace moving up and down in conjunction with her heavy breathing!

 

For the small fortune in diamonds, dribbling nicely down as her throat was arching back in her ecstasy, was sending a rippling cascading fire of colour from its’ gemstones!

 

This was, for the most part, the blame for a stiffly obvious condition of his John Thomas!

 

“Kiss me, Gaston!”

 

The enraptured miss cried out yearningly at that point.

 

In her bliss, his victim moved open her knees ever so slightly, uncovering several small glittering objects!

 

The rings! He had almost forgotten all about them!

 

Seizing the moment, his hand had delved down, then up in between her legs!

 

He pried open wider her legs, finding no resistance atoll.

 

He then obliged her sweet fantasy

 

As her thoughts of being kissed vanished into the aire in a fit of convulsive ecstasy.

 

She screeched, her whole figure thrashing against her bindings as the intensity of sparking feeling erupted from the sensitive area he had invaded!

 

He reached into her lap, his fingers plunging in against her silken slip, scooping the rings inside, inserting two fingers, pushing inside a portion of her slip with the bundle of 3 rings, deep up within her vagina!

 

Her whole being exploded into enveloping, exquisitely painful jolts of pleasure as her long waiting orgasm took full effect.

 

He had ardently moved against her and he felt her fingers curling around his manhood, he pulled away quickly before she could cause him some pain from a reflecting grasp!

 

“Gaston,!” she screamed her eyes closed shut tight in pulsating ecstasy!

 

He had begun groping about inside her vagina, searching inside the slip he had pushed up for the rings that were laying somewhere there, unseen!

 

He soon found and scooped out each glittery ring one by one, pushing them deeply up and into her pulsating “Labia Majora”, before pulling them from the now damp silk and tossing them each neatly into his bag.

 

As he pulled out the last ring, along with her now wet portion of slip, she said, her voice hoarse with expectations,

 

“Sure you found everything mister burglar Gaston?”

 

He reached down and randomly pulled up her hairpiece from the top of the glistening pile in his pouch and dropped it down between her legs.

She opened her eyes, looking down

 

“When did that fall off?”

 

Forgetting her hands were bound, she had tried to feel up for her hair…

 

Like she had done with her rings, she firmly clamped her legs tightly over the jewel, extinguishing its flicker as it laid there shimmering brightly!

 

“Not part of the game, luv… I borrowed that from Lilly, silly! “

 

She giggles at her rhyme, light-headed from the lingering effects of her prickling arousal and orgasm!

 

He smirked, thinking!

 

Hmmm, where is this Lilly, and is she another one wondering about, wearing the good ‘ice’ this evening? But, back to the job at hand!

 

He bent down and tried to open her knees…

 

She resisted, struggling against her bindings as she tried to work her hands-free to stop him!

 

He hoped she was still playing her game, and not having second thoughts about it.

 

It could make things rather unpleasant!

 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

Chapter 13

Pleasant Reflections

  

But apparently, the gig was not up yet!

For an old memory had been invoked back to her conscious mind.

With this thought, she said lustily, her dry throat cracking her words…

“Ah yes, you are right my dear Gaston! Recreating that time in the film we were watching, when a thief lifted some jewels from those ladies at a party, after promising them he was reformed!”

“Yes Gaston, you remembered that game..!”

she said with a sultry gasp, before uttering one last word.

“Except …”

He froze not sure if he should follow-through, not wishing to upset any apple carts of fantasy she was expecting.

Then she went on….

“I should have told you that the Tiara was out of bounds, of course, you wouldn’t ‘ave known it was mine, being absent for so many years…!”

He looked down at her and saw that she was again watching him with some queries.

Was she having some doubts as to what game was being played?

he was curiously wondering?

He removed his hands from her leg!

She sighed happily!

“Thank you, you are a gentleman as well as a thief! Dear sir!”

He then reached up and lifted her necklace, fingering its beckoning lure.

She said nothing...

So apparently, this beauty was still in play!

it was time for the coupe de grace!

He eagerly contemplated as he eyed the magnificent necklace, the last and best piece of his victim's worn jewels.

He again grasped her breasts, fondling them through the silken slip with his right hand.

Whilst his left travelled up her slick backside, reaching the back of her throat, and her necklaces’ jewelled clasp!

Using two gloved fingers, he neatly popped open the clasp and watched as the two ends fell open and hung down over her shoulders.

Curious as to what reaction she would give,

She did not disappoint

She quivered and moaned, then, began choking out the words in quite in a seductive, huskily hoarse-voiced manner.

“Gaston, Mon Mari!”

Her eyes were glazed over, reflected in the mirror, wide open with crazed excitement!

Suddenly an epiphany of an idea enters his head

letting one ned of the necklace noticeably drag up and over her shoulder, he released his hold, with a cascading fiery slither, it fell inside between her heaving breasts.

His right hand still fondling those breasts, he felt the necklace and worked it past so it slipped further down, landing in her lap!

Her diamonded necklace had joined its jewelled mate, the forbidden fruit, the jewelled coronet!

He then did the job properly, feeling along with the outside first, then reaching inside and giving great attention to all of her sweet spots.

Finally reaching the bottom, he again located her clit and began to manipulate it!

“Oh good, lord !”

she exclaimed, pleasurably leaning forward as much as her bindings would allow

As he fondled and groped, going all out to give her already intensely aroused figure as much over stimulation as possible!

Said figure, which had been ratcheting impulsively during the entire performance, now shot straight rigid as his fingers began once again searching the area between her legs!

She let out a piercing squeal as he hit home several times.

And as she closed her eyes tightly with each plunge of his right hands’ fingers finding their mark contorting her figure into exquisite convulsions, he took the opportunity to reach in with his free left hand and grabbed the now unprotected jewels from her lap!

As he pulled her jewels free, she slumped back into the chair, her whole being exhausted from her ecstatic struggles!

He slipped the shimmering strings of diamonds, necklace, and coronet, down on top of their pilfered, glittering mates…

Quite a haul he thought as He looked at her body, eyes clamped shut, still grasping to control her pinnacle reached desires!

She never even noticed that her borrowed headpiece had also been scooped up along with her necklace as he had quickly, unobtrusively also taken it to be deposited inside his bag

He went over to the piled green gown laying on the floor.

Lifting it he carried it over to his victim.

Holding it up he watches as the dazzling brooch was reflected in her, now open, slightly glazed over, doe wide eyes.

He slipped off the jewel, mindlessly pocketing it with the other, as he laid the gown reverently out over her lap.

Her only reaction was to close her eyes and groan happily.

“Okay Gaston you win, she murmured huskily, now untie me!”

“This Gaston did win!

He thought smirking to himself as claimed the now weighty pouch from the floor!

He began to stroll briskly towards the bedroom door exit, preparing himself for when she would realize the truth and start her desperate pleading.

It didn’t take long he heard her exclaim from behind his back before reaching the door…

“Hey, Gaston ! Where do you think you are going, lad?!”

“I said game over, no didn’t I ?!

She must have been looking down, for she began to bleat on like an annoying lost lamb…

“And you give me back that Tiara, it is not supposed to have been part of the game!”

He spoke aloud for the first time, lecturing…

“It is more of a Coronet than a Tiara my sweet!”

The burglar boldly closed the door behind him, distinguishing any further comment from the now indignantly squealing young, distressed Damsel.

He retraced his steps out to the second-floor sitting room’s balcony.

Then made his exiting the way he had come.

Climbing from the ancient wrought iron fire stairs conveniently located down off the second-floor balcony!

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

  

I was able to capture this close up of this Grey Fantail yesterday whilst at Hunter Wetlands Center (Shortland, NSW; Australia) before the rain arrived!

Hope you like it!!!

** Best viewed Large on Black!! **

Thanks for any comments, views or favorites - always very much appreciated!!!

Hope you all have a superb day and weekend!!

 

Parliament St, Whitehall, 2nd July 2014.

decluttr

 

I had a pretty intense trip to San Francisco. I was able to meet up with a bunch of 'cubes for the The Icebox Book launch party , which was awesome. I was also able to look at San Francisco and myself in a new light.

Il ritorno pomeridiano del merci di gas di Renfe Mercancías da Granollers a Tarragona è qui ripreso nei pressi di Altafulla, trainato dalla stessa macchina fotografata al mattino (la 253 093-9).

 

Renfe Mercancías 253 093-9 is seen here near Altafulla (Tarragona), hauling the afternoon Granollers to Tarragona "butanero" train.

This locomotive is the same I was able to photograph in the morning, with the train to Granollers.

 

Was really amazed to be able to switch off the lights and see the milky way.

 

I have not been able to positively identify the operator of this Foden S20 road train and have simply gone for my best guess (see comments). The triple-road train is typically of operations in the Australian Outback. Thanks again to Peter Tullock and Tony Petch for the original monochrome image, which I believed to have originated with the Rochester Studio (24-Jul-22).

 

All rights reserved. For the avoidance of doubt, this means that it would be a criminal offence to post this image on Facebook or elsewhere (please post a link instead). Please follow the link below for further information about my Flickr collection:

www.flickr.com/photos/northernblue109/6046035749/in/set-7..

Not a traditional documentary macro shot...but a bit more dramatic.

 

----------------------------------------------

 

From the twilight dimension of unanticipated consequences: It is easy to change the upload date to move a photo around in one's stream. However, I've discovered that if a photo is added, then the date is changed...and subsequently it is changed again, it causes a problem. Yes, all of the information is saved; tags, comments, faves, etc.

 

BUT...the Camera Lens Compare Award Counter can no longer find the photo. Since counting awards is pretty essential for participation in tiered groups, and sometimes those graphics can cover several pages, the automated counter is more important that being able to send the pics around the stream.

 

Lesson learned.

I wasn't able to re-spool HP5 very well onto 126 backing paper and back into the cartridge, but an old Instamatic X-30 got to shoot again. Advancing film gets crunchy, like film-tearing at the sprockets crunchy, but I do want to experiment with 35mm film in 126 cameras again.

 

Kodak Instamatic X-30, test

Ilford HP5 400, re-spooled onto 126 backing paper and inserted back into 126 cartridge

Blazinal/Rodinal 1:100, stand developed, 1 hour, 68°F/20°C

Epson V550

Extreme macro of a lovely little hoverfly. Now that my equipment has come back from repairs, I'm able to stack again which is rather pleasing =).

 

This is interesting because whilst my stuff was away, I made myself a new gadget that should let me be a bit more varied. Before, the stage that I had was a cheap eBay "lab lifter", and the mounting stage was a Watkins & Doncaster "Insect Examination Stage". Between these it was very difficult to point insects at interesting directions into the camera, so it means I was always pretty limited in terms of the views and angles I could use.

 

But, whilst my stuff was away, I made two things: a special lifter and a rotation stage thing. Between these it means that I can now make shots from more interesting angles, as it lets me do such things as 3/4 views like this (more below). This is a pleasure because whilst the headon shot is always good for impact, surely not every shot should be a headon shot =).

 

Technical: BG output onto SmallHD via HDMI matrix used as background; rear curtain sync 2s exposures; 96 photos with no sub stacks, Zerene Stacker Dmap and Pmax combined, finished off with CS4, NoiseNinja & Topaz Detail. Step size of 75µm, polystyrene chip cone diffuser. Resized 50% to reduce noise. Componon 28 f/4 reversed on slightly extended bellows so about 2:1 ish; 3 flashes @1/16 perpendicular @2 &10 o'clock, @1/32 perpendicular @6 o'clock.

 

UPDATE 2014 - I have put together an extreme macro photography learning site to explain the techniques and equipment used for all my macro photos here in Flickr which is now ready. To point to a few of the links that people who want to learn this stuff might like to have a browse of:

  

Focus Stacking, Focus Stack Preparation, Shooting A Stack, Stack Processing, Stack Post Processing, Schneider Kreuznach Componon 28 mm f/4, Schneider Kreuznach Componon 35 mm f/4, Schneider Kreuznach Componon 80 mm f/4, Nikon El-Nikkor 50 mm f/2.8N, Reject Enlarger Lenses, JML Optical 21 mm f/3.5, 20 mm Microfilm f/2.8, Anybrand MP-E 65 Macro Lens, Manual, TTL, Rear Curtain Sync, Extreme Macro Backgrounds, Single Colour Background, The Gradient Background, Adjustable Flash Shoe Mounts, Extension Tubes, Eyepiece, Field Monitor, Flash Bracket, Focusing Helicoid, Holding Tools, Lens Adapters, M42 Iris, Macro Tripod, Making A Macro Beanbag, Insect Photography

   

contact me on nick.volpe3@hotmail.com for use of this image.

 

This adorable little bandiCUTE was found rummaging through the rainforest leaf litter around Cairns at night! It is such a change from down south being able to see an abundance of Bandicoot's around North Queensland!

Able Seaman Arthur Thomas Wood was born 21 April 1921 at Berry in New South Wales, and joined the Royal Australian Navy in 1938 at the age of 17. After training at HMAS CEREBUS he joined HMAS SYDNEY in early 1939. When World War II was declared, SYDNEY was ordered to serve in the Mediterranean for escort duty. Wood was aboard SYDNEY when it sank the Italian cruisers ESPERO and BARTOLOMEO COLLEONI in July 1940.

 

These photographs and postcards depict some of the sailors, equipment and activities of HMAS SYDNEY in the months prior to the sinking of the vessel. They provide an interesting commentary of the operations and work carried out aboard HMAS SYDNEY prior to its fateful end, such as the sinking of Italian ships ESPERO and BARTOLOMEO COLLEONI in the Mediterranean.

 

The Australian National Maritime Museum undertakes research and accepts public comments that enhance the information we hold about images in our collection. If you can identify a person, vessel or landmark, write the details in the Comments box below.

 

Thank you for helping caption this important historical image.

 

Object number ANMS0845[047].

 

Ned Mansour - Beautifoto Model

  

The story below has it threads from a daydream I had on our way home to wales, two days after our family attended a formal do in Scotland.

 

My twin brother and I were just 16.

 

Mum had me dressed up in a brown satin gown that mimicked her green one.

 

I was wearing rhinestone jewellery.

 

Mum was wearing her expensive diamond earrings, which I alone felt received far too much attention from strangers. Or was I just jealous?

 

Then I had the unsettling experience of my fancy rhinestone bracelet vanishing from my wrist under, what I alone had felt, were suspicious circumstances.

 

But thoughts like that are what goes with the territory of the pickpocketing games my twin brother and I like to role-play at home.

 

Though my bracelet was found and returned the next day, the events at the posh dance in Scotland, added with the vivid circumstances of what I dreamed that evening the night I lost it, along with my speculation over what caused my bracelet’s loss, remained firmly entrenched in my imagination.

 

And yes, at the dance, there was one sly-eyed lady who attached herself to our family. A far too slick talking stranger who I felt uneasy around and did not trust from the getgo.

 

So, with all that said:

 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

Dirty Rotten Scoundrel

(I preyed till the end)

 

A female pickpockets perspective

 

I do love a good, ultra-posh gathering, especially when I’m not invited and have to crash it.

 

This evening I was able to slip in with a group of chirpy young ladies.

 

Easily entering the establishment and orchestrating an even easier bumping lift of a fat leather wallet from the dangling purse carried by one of the taffeta-gowned ladies in my surrogate group.

 

It all give me a tingly feeling of good things to come as I went to the lady’s washroom just off a hall by the main exit.

 

There, in a stall, I emptied the wallet of notes, £200, and discarded it under a linen-covered table piled high with small towels on my way out.

 

I left the powder room, now hungrily on the prowl as I explored my new patch.

 

I meandered around. Admiring, to myself, the glamorous gowns, dresses, and delicious jewels the ladies were wearing.

 

Gleamingly smooth pearls, glittery diamonds, and stunning pieces set with every colour of gemstones imaginable.

 

All are displayed in abundance along mouth-wateringly well-fitted velvet, satin, taffeta, and other sleek backdrops of an expensive ladies' attire.

 

My eyes also eagerly took in the plump bulges of pockets holding thicke wallets and shiny gold and silver watches being worn by the regulation-required tuxedo-clad males who accompanied some of the ladies.

 

Myself? I was dressed in a tight-fitted, soft velvet frock, perfect for squirming in close and also carrying a shoulder purse. Not too large, I needed to fit in with the primarily clutch purse-carrying ladies. Which, aside from wearing only 1/4 carat stud diamonds in my ears, I somewhat did.

 

It was a most titillating experience, moving in and out of the crowded main room, casually looking over the well-dressed guests. Hunting for an opportunity.

 

Which I soon found, an early twenties male, succulent in a black tux and hand-tied bow tie sporting a gold watch chain around his waist. Along with the noticeable bulge( no not that kind) of a thicke note-filled wallet in his jacket pocket.

 

I walked by, gathering his attention. His eyes followed and I stopped and pulled a cigarette and round lighter from my purse.

 

I carry two lighters a square one I use privately, and a round one that has no fuel.

 

I unsuccessfully tried to light my cigarette.

 

Soon a hand was extended with a lighter. It was my mark. He lit it, and as I bent over my hand went to his chest, reached in, and nimbly lifted out his long fat wallet, deposited it in my purse, along with my lighter.

 

Successful pickpocketing is all based on how well one pulls off distracting your mark. The move I just pulled off by drawing away attention using an empty lighter is one I use a lot in crowded pubs. Successfully I might add, on both men and women.

 

I was chatting with him a bit before making an excuse and pulling away. Far too many other opportunities around to waste time chatting with a pickpocketed mark.

 

I again went to the powder room and inside a stall, extracted £850 from the wallet.

 

I heard someone come in but did not enter a stall.

 

After a few minutes of fumbling noises, I heard the water running and splashing.

A female voice was talking.

 

On silent feet, I carefully opened the stall door and slipped out. Around the corner where the sinks were located, a voluptuous lady in lavender velvet was washing her face.

 

She was talking to herself, thinking she was alone. She appeared to be having issues with contact lenses by the way she was damning them.

 

I looked around her figure. A pricey necklace glittered reflecting in the mirror.

 

On the side of the sink, facing me, we’re long matching lavender satin gloves.

On top of which was a shiny pile of jewels, rings, gold bracelets, and a Rolex ladies watch with diamonds circling the face.

 

With her eyes closed, she had turned away towards the linen-covered table and was reaching blindly for a towel.

 

I threw the empty wallet under the table.

 

As she was distracted by the noise, I reached over with my other hand and picked up the jeweled timepiece. Then I slipped out the door before she turned back to face the mirror.

 

I headed back out the hallway, finally letting out my breath, with the intention of getting a drink and taking a well-earned break as I decided what to do next. This patch was a gold mine, but have I had my run?

 

That would be a big No, to my run of luck being over….

 

For, as I walked out the door, I fell in step behind a pair of exceptionally well-dressed middle-aged teenagers maybe 16-year-olds, brother and sister, so possibly twins?

 

Both had soft red hair and adorably large hazel eyes.

 

The sister’s soft hair flowed silkily down back in a thin downy feathery fall to just below her shoulders. And just as her hair had an almost fluid spill, so did the ultra-soft expensive gown she wore. As I walked behind them, my mark ran her hand, ring and bracelet rippling with rich sparkles, along her hair, pulling it forward over her shoulder so it was hanging down in front, exposing her neck to me.

  

She was deliciously sumptuous in a long flimsy thin silk gown of dark chocolate with rhinestone trimmings. The slinking gown was a wide shoulder halter top, with a slight flare at the bottom, sweeping over the top of silver sandals. I was admiring how the dress fell, gently affirming with tight lines, her youthfully graceful figure.

 

The tuxedo-wearing brother appears to be overly protective of his sister.

 

And of no surprises why…

 

They reached a table and he actually seated her like a real adult male.

 

I circled for a better look, my eyes not believing what they had glimpsed.

 

She was indeed wearing some pretty valuable jewellery for one of her age.

 

A silver, wide chocker-style necklace filled with precious diamonds blazingly encircled her neck. It was something one expected a royal to wear.

A pair of amazing chandelier-style earrings twinkled down from her ears.

A wide diamond bracelet lay elegantly around one of her heavy cream-coloured satin glove-clad wrists.

A mouthwatering ring with a large centre diamond graced her right pinkie.

She also had a brilliant eye-catching broach, small, but set with obscenely valuable diamonds, dangling provokingly between small firm breasts, set in the v of her sleek gown’s neckline.

 

As I had been following I was able to observe the simple clasps of both necklace and bracelet. My fingers itching the whole time.

 

I sat myself down at a nearby side bench along a side walkway leading to the hallway down which were the washrooms.

 

From my perch, I watched them, while pretending to watch the dancers on the ballroom floor across to the far side of the room. I was close enough to catch snippets of their conversation. I had a side view of the brother, a delightfully frontal view of his deliciously pretty twin sister.

 

I marveled over how I hadn’t been here 30 minutes and aside from already making several nice lifts, had stumbled across a wealthy young chick wearing real diamonds, playing peekaboo along her delightful figure. The whole display just cried out to a thief:

“Here I am,naïvely displaying jewels ripe for the plucking!”

 

I had my eye on her dazzling necklace as my preferred target. I began making a full study of it. As she was innocently sitting there chatting with her brother, I wondered if it had ever entered into her wildest dreams that the jewels she was wearing were ever at such a risk of being stolen.

 

Probably not, and all I had to do was watch and wait for opportunities, with which I had several methods to deal with.

 

One of which I made ready by reaching down and undoing my right open-toed shoe strap, then, trap set, sat back and waited, watching my chosen mark.

 

Oh, The right shoe strap because I am

left-handed. Now just needed my red-haired mark to use the lady’s loo.

 

I soon found that where I sat was indeed in a good location.

 

Lots of potential prospects were passing me by. But none yet had on targetable jewellery as the diamonds the sumptuously chocolate-gowned red head fetchingly wore, especially around her throat.

 

I kept refocussing my attention on her.

 

The brother was bored.

 

He was trying to get his sister to join in on some type of adventure. But she told him they were both too dressed up to play.

 

I thought to myself:

“Listen to your brother luv, It would be delicious to stumble across you pair outside, alone, looking for adventures.”

 

I then took my eyes off the savory diamonds around the young girl’s throat, because an older red-headed version of the girl had joined them.

 

Their mum I correctly surmised. Watching her son help seat her. Wish it was me seating her as I would use that opportunity to lift valuables from her fine figure.

 

The mother was elegantly dressed in a shiny green satin number. It had a knee-length skirt with quarter-length sleeves and a playfully low scooped neckline.

 

The dress, like her daughter’s gown, showed off every bump and curve of her still youthful figure.

 

And she, like her daughter, was also expensively wearing diamonds. But my lord, what a decadent collection of jewels.

 

A set of sparking ‘ice’ that included stunningly long diamond earrings, diamond bib style necklace, and a flashy diamond-filled bracelet. She also wore two gemmed cocktail rings on the bare fingers of her right hand. A wedding band and diamonds on her left’s ring finger. Flashing out from the V on her shiny dress was a large emerald broach, the same green color as her eyes.

And to literally top it all off, perched on her head like a crown, was set an actual dainty diamond-encrusted tiara!

 

Perhaps they were (very) minor royals after all?

 

I would have loved to see her daughter wearing a tiara also. Not sure how I would have gotten it off her head without notice. But I would have been game for a try.

 

The mother appeared to be alone. No husband for whatever reason seemed to be with them, judging by body language. A language I have become an expert in deciphering.

 

So the 16-year-old male was apparently the only security that lay between me and lifting some precious diamonds from either the females at the table with him. Though I still favored lifting jewels from the more susceptible sister sitting there dressed like a princess.

 

So this young watchman could probably easily be led astray long enough for me to plan out an approach.

 

This made things quite interesting. As I pondered over how to accomplish luring him off, I listened in some more, soon learning:

 

The father was not with them, I was right about that.

 

With the father gone their fetchingly attractive, well-dressed, very wealthy mother was open game to many interested males asking her to dance.

 

Hence her two kids were bored and tired of being alone so much, the fact of which appeared to go over their mum’s diamond shimmering head.

 

I licked my lips, it would seem that opportunity was going to be knocking at my door if only the mother would leave her children alone again so they could hopefully become open targets.

 

I was hell-bent on acquiring the daughter’s appealing necklace once the mum, then her brother, were both finally out of the picture.

 

But it was then that a lady walked by, holding her young toddler. She swished her way right past where I was sitting. Too aloof apparently to notice me. And I had to do a double take on what she wore around her throat.

 

She was expensively dressed in satin, with a double row of smooth, valuably matched, pearls around her throat. Her long hair is conveniently up. I watched with salivating interest as she made her way past me to the powder room, a child clinging to her shoulder.

 

When that Lass disappeared, my eyes went back to the table with its diamond-wearing Lass.

 

The lad was still trying to talk his balking sister into doing something, anything.

 

She was engagingly adjusting an earring, listening to him with an enchanting smile.

 

Their mum was idly smoking a cigarette, her eyes on the dance floor, her mind a million miles away.

 

Then the young mum wearing the pearls came out from the powder room hallway, and my attention was once again drawn away by an opportunity I simply could not allow myself to pass up.

 

Out of the corner of my, I saw her approach my bench, her gown flicking pleasingly along her figure.

 

I reached down and fumbled with my loose strap.

 

As I heard her approach, I look up and ask her if she could help me fasten my heel strap.

 

Her pearl necklace was magnificent.

 

She chirped politely, “Pleased to help you miss…”

Not sounding aloof in the least as she sat her toddler down. The child was adorably dressed in white satin and looked at me with wide-eyed wonder.

 

As her mum scrunched down I look around. Coast was clear for lift off…

 

Dipping my left hands' fingers in and locating her now dangling necklace of pearls’ clasp, I easily undo it, then in one motion lift them up and out from around her neck.

 

Her swinging ropes of pearls are in my purse before she finishes redoing my loose strap and stands up.

 

I hear the child giggling and I stroke her satiny attire as the mother stood straightening her dress.

 

She politely twittered “There you go, so happy I could help .”

 

I smiled back:

“So was I, beautiful child.”

 

Happily housing up her child, she left, not noticing she was a few pricy kilograms lighter around her throat.

 

I watched her move safely off, still admiring the way her gown moved. Mulling over in my mind if I could have lifted a diamond tiara that easily?

 

With those succulent imaginings I eagerly look back over at the table I had been keeping an eye on.

 

It was empty…!

 

My potential mark was gone, that quickly. Had the young twins gone out? We’re they with their mum? I was cursing myself. The pearls were a nice haul. But had I let real diamonds slip from my fingers!

 

I sighed, rising, straightening my dress, and began to move off, thinking to grab a smoke outside to settle my now overly excited nerves.

 

Then I spotted a young lady attired all in black satin, consisting of a long dress and bolero jacket.

 

She was sitting alone three tables away from the one where the twins had sat. Two empty cocktail glasses were at her elbow, a half-full one in front of her.

 

She was smoking the last vestiges of a cigarette. A thin necklace valuably set with a single row of diamonds flickered up around her throat as she blew a wispy stream of smoke. With one hand she brushed back her long wavy hair, exposing an expensive diamond tennis bracelet that blazed up from her wrist as she did.

 

“She’s trying to attract attention.” I thought, wondering if she had a clue as to whose attention she had just attracted.

 

I quickly moved in and took the seat next to her.

“Mind if I sit here a few minutes to catch my breath?”

 

She obviously did mind, but nodded politely, saying nothing, but started looking around.

 

I could tell she was on the prowl, and by noticing her ring finger was bare, she was available.

 

I began the conversation.

“Cannot believe how crowded this party is, and the number of men here.”

 

She nodded, opening her purse and pulling out another cigarette, and holding it up, like a beacon. She smiled at me weakly. Her face had the same sharp moody features of the sultry actress Jean Harlow.

 

“Yeah, it’s been alright, but a lot of ladies also. Been a struggle finding anyone to dance with. But that’s what I get for coming alone.”

 

I smiled, pulling out a cigarette myself, along with my round lighter. I reach over with it and say:

“Here allow me.”

 

I could see in her eyes, that she was disappointed that no male had spotted her and offered to light it. But as my lighter failed to light I saw relief in her eyes and she looked around for a male hero.

 

It was at this point my free hand reached down to her wrist and neatly flicked open the clasp of her diamond-studded bracelet hanging down loosely from her wrist. Slipping it off her wrist and in my purse before she could blink her long eyelashes twice at a suitable male for which she was desperately searching.

 

She gave up her vigil, and turned to me saying :

“That’s ok, You need a lighter that works.”

 

As the girl with the long eyelashes and bare wrists giggled, I replied :

“Oh, it works, sometimes.”

 

With a sigh, she finally pulled her own lighter out and lit both hers and my, cigarettes.

 

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my tux boy come back, with his sister, slinky gown swirling, in tow. Both giggling over something. It was twinging as it struck me how fetchingly pretty his sister was when she was happy.

 

And I was equally happy to see her come back.

 

Instantly my mind turned toward her brother.

If I could just lure him away for a bit. With him out of the way, I should have an open shot at lifting the bloody beautiful necklace his sister was wearing.

 

I had no real plan yet but figured once the young watchman was out of the picture, I could come up with something on the fly.

 

My table mate sighed.

“You know, I may just as well blow this joint. Waste of my time getting dressed up tonight.”

 

I looked away from the lad, back at her, puffing away on her cigarette. An epiphany popped up in my head.

 

Smashing out my half-smoked cigarette, I opened my purse and from the wad of cash I had taken from my first mark, I peeled off £100 in notes of the realm.

 

“See that lad over there? Well before you leave it would be worth this…”

 

I laid the notes on the table

 

“For you to have a couple of dances with. Him.”

 

She looked at the pile of cash, speaking.

“Why would you want to pay me this for taking him dancing?”

 

Her eyes went from the cash on the table to face me with a questioning look, I answered:

“It’s just that his sister, the redhead next to him, had a rather personal question to ask me. And is unable to do so with her brother hovering around.”

 

I could tell she knew I was lying, her eyes looked over the girl head to toe, then dropped to the designer clutch purse at her elbow.

 

“Nice purse that.”

 

She figured that it was her purse I was after. Worth about £400 at a pawn. but she didn’t seem to really care, as neither did I.

 

Scooping up the notes she put them in her purse, a knock-off designer number.

 

Smashing out her cigarette, she rose and bid me an uncaring farewell.

 

I watched as she went up to the table, placed a hand on the lad's shoulder, and said something I was too far away to catch. But he got right up as the lady nodded to his sister, I saw her eyes traveling up and down again, closely drooling over her sumptuous attire.

 

She then led the lad off.

 

As I again found myself becoming mesmerized by the shimmering necklace that lay around his sister’s throat, as she was watching her brother being led off.

 

I shake my head clear, looking away to rationally think.

 

As I did, my elbow hit something, looking down, I found myself staring at the 1/4 full cocktail glass.

 

Speaking of plans on the fly.

 

I picked up the glass and quickly circling, came up from behind to reach my red-headed mark, sitting there with all innocence.

 

As I passed I said:

“Watch it..”

Then let the drink slip from my hand and land in the silken lap of her gorgeous dark chocolate gown.

 

She jumped up immediately, and I was ready with my handkerchief.

 

As I apologized profusely. I Placed one hand on her shoulder and with the other reached down and began sopping up the wet area of her luxurious gown(making sure my fingers reached titillatingly well down along inside her pantyliner to maximize the distraction.

 

All the while the darling girl was confused, becoming aroused, and apologetic all at the same time.

“It’s ok miss, my fault I’m sure, must have startled you, didn’t I!”

 

As she spoke, she looked down watching my hand wiping her, long red hair falling into her face, my hand left her quivering shoulder, and locating the clasp of her necklace, flicked it open. Then I pulled it off from around her neck and dropped it neatly into my open purse on the floor.

 

She pulled her hair up to see, and I grasped her wrist with my now free hand, easily unsnapping her diamond bracelet, where it soon joined its purloined mate inside my purse.

 

“Do you have a handkerchief luv?”

 

She nodded her head no. Chandelier Earrings swing out, wickedly flashing their many tiers of pricy diamonds.

 

“Let’s get you to the washroom and clean you up a bit.”

 

As she lifted the hem of her wet gown I took her by the scintillating silk gowns covered waist and led her off.

 

As she was preoccupied with holding and studying her soiled gown, my fingers holding her waist worked over and unhooking her exceptionally valuable diamond brooch, easily lifting it off. Then I curled my fist around it into a ball.

 

I open the door to the washroom, then as she went in, deposited her brooch in my purse.

 

I handed her a towel, which she took and began wiping off her slippery wet gown

 

As she was bending over to clean down her front, her hair kept again falling down over her face.

 

Here luv, I said taking her soft hair and pulling it back. I laid my fingers cupping her ears. As she was busy wiping off wet spots, I was busy wiping off her ears with a stroking motion. Pulling out her handsomely jeweled earrings in the process.

 

I stood back, dropping the sparklers inside my purse as I watched her bending over to clean up, her slinky thin gown tightly outlining her figure

 

As she finished and stood up, I apologized:

 

“I am so sorry.”

 

Smiling weakly, she hugged me, saying with her head pressed to my shoulder:

 

“That’s s ok accidents happen.”

 

She twittered it pleasantly enough, and I hugged her back.

 

Pulling away I looked her over.

 

“Look you missed a spot.”

 

I lifted her hand and laid it upon the wet area just below her breasts, my fingers tickling. Giggling, she put one hand on my waist for support, and as the other began to wipe her wet spot, I myself wiped off the ring from her slick glove-clad finger.

 

She was now pretty much cleaned up, and thoroughly cleaned out.

 

If only she had been wearing that diamond tiara!

 

I walked back through the exit door as she stayed behind to take care of her business. The excitement, mixed with anguish, made her have to use a stall.

 

I head off down the hall intending on turning towards the exit once I reach it.

 

From what had become a habit, I looked towards the red-headed damsel in distress’s table. Brother is not back yet… but…

 

The wealthy mother, whose glittery diamonds would put a Tiffany’s display case to shame, is back at the table. Gullibly alone. Tiara is glittery like a bloody bright beacon. She is holding an unlit cigarette, a lighter on the table by her purse. She is watching her son on the dance floor.

 

I said thoughtfully to myself knowing the song was almost through and the lady would be dropping him like a hot potato when it was done:

“In for a penny…”

 

Licking my lips with expectations, I pull out my round lighter as I walk up to the twin’s richly attired mother…

“May I? “

 

I lean over as she turned to me, and placed the cigarette in between her red lipstick-covered mouth. Up close, her earrings and tiara flashed into such provoking life it made me blink.

 

As I clumsily knock her overly expensive purse to the floor with my elbow, I tell her:

 

“Can never get these bloody things to work.”

 

Fini

 

I’m not really wicked, just written that way

 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Postscript:

 

The dance venue in Scotland had a washroom with a linen-covered table stacked with towels.

 

It was underneath where cleanup found my rhinestone bracelet.

 

Yes, I had used the wash.

 

But what if it had gone like this:

 

An observers viewpoint:

The mum is wearing real diamonds in her earrings. Therefore reasonable to assume her daughter’s bracelet must be real diamonds also, and a young lady is usually the easier pick.

Bracelet is acquired, discovered not to be real, not wishing to be caught with a nicked bracelet of just rhinestone, the evidence is tossed.

 

I mean really, it could have happened that way?

 

“Le chat mangerait du poisson, mais ne se mouillerait pas les pieds”

 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

the cat would eat fish, but would not wet her feet

 

Le chat mangerait du poisson, mais ne se mouillerait pas les pieds

 

More luck as yesterday was able to snag a couple of sunny shots of 295 in high sun al all, at mp 99 south of Wilmore.

One of the last times I was able to shoot the P&W passenger train before the railroad was officially taken over by the G&W was on Saturday October 30, 2016. The Mass Bay RRE chartered the train as the "Three Rivers Special" running from Worcester, MA to the Valley RR in Essex, CT. The P&W power was dropped at Old Saybrook and the Valley's Chinese steamer New Haven 3025 operated the train all the way north to the end of track near Goodspeed station. P&W Observation car number 90 "The New Englander" brought up the rear of the train. The coach had just recently been repainted and received a "new" PW logo on the rear. Sadly it has now been replaced with a G&W logo. The train is shown northbound on the Valley RR's mainline skirting the Connecticut River in Haddam, CT. This is the way I would like to remember it.

Shimmer formula: Ninjago Pixal head & torso, Catwoman right arm & legs assembly, Exo-force Ryo hair

 

Shimmer inspiration:My initial inspiration for her was a living hologram or a female android similar to Vision, but I wanted her to be able to enter computers. I switched her origin up a little and took ideas from Katana Girl from Heroes Reborn. It really helped me flesh out her character. The name was something I was stuck on for a while. I almost just used Pixal and called it a day, but I knew that was too lazy. I looked up a ton of names and liked the name Shimmer because a hologram seems to do that. There was one problem though. Another LOH member had used the name. So I contacted Squeamish Gopher and asked him if I could use the name. He agreed and there you have it.

 

S1m0n formula: BrickForge Maverick hair, CMF Skater Girl legs assembly, Minifigcat Wrist Watch, CapeMadness Trench coat with chain-mail pattern, Ultra Agents Terabyte head, black arms, CMF DJ torso.

 

S1m0n inspirations: The character Terabyte was a cool concept. So cool in fact that I nearly just stole the character, name and all. I knew that was too lazy (see above entry) so I made some changes. First, I lacked the Terabyte torso. The DJ torso worked just as well and I was happy with it. I wanted a slight change of hair and jumped when I saw the BrickForge hair in that color. The same would apply when I stumbled upon the CapeMadness trench coat. I thought the added chain mail effect looked better for a computer type guy. I also used inspiration from JP on Grandma's Boy. Maybe a little bit of Tron was inspirational as well. I settled for S1m0n as a name when Andhe suggested something similar and the name worked because it has connections to a 1950 computer and a cipher that came out in 2013, one year before the Terabyte minifig.

 

Micro Man formula: Spyrius Droid torso assembly & legs assembly, BrickForge vambraces, CMF Race Car Driver head, Hank Pym helmet (knockoff)

 

Micro Man inspirations: I love that helmet, and I wanted a guy who could shrink. You could say he looks too much like Ant-man, but I'm cool with that. The color combos are great and I was happy to use an old Lego Space torso from my collection. The last name of his alter ego is from the man that is credited for inventing the microscope. His backstory was inspired by an idea I had as a kid.

 

Check out their profiles here:

www.flickr.com/photos/51975999@N05/37042730416/in/album-7...

www.flickr.com/photos/51975999@N05/37336753345/in/album-7...

www.flickr.com/photos/51975999@N05/36821842631/in/album-7...

 

Hope you enjoyed it!

 

Built for the League of Lego Heroes

www.flickr.com/groups/llh/

Hopefully we'll be able to have a look round the inside of this new house on Clarence Pier! Jane and I saw it from the beach but were a few days too early to go inside.

 

Upside Down house is excited to announce that Upside Down House Portsmouth opens its doors to the public this Saturday 4th March. The new addition to Clarence Pier has already received a high interest by Southsea residents and we expect the topsy turvy attraction to be a chosen destination for a fun day out by locals this spring. It is a pleasure for Upside Down House UK to partner with Clarence Pier and to have a third location on the south coast in a historic and popular amusement park. (Some info from the website.)

 

All that's missing from the scene is the hovercraft, so here's a photo from 2006 as we missed it while we were there!

While at Point Reyes, we were able to see some of the elk in the middle of shedding their antlers. That has to feel wierd having one antler still attached!

An essay for The Photographic Journal. Faroe Islands.

 

Instagram | Tumblr | Website

Looking NW from the Peak of Mt. Allen in Kananaskis. Canmore is view able in the center of pic. The peak is 2,819 M (9,249 ft) following a net elevation gain of 1,350 M (4,429 ft) along the Centennial Trail.

At least I was able to get a clear shot of the giraffe because his head towered way above the trees - I had seen a few way off in the distance, but was thrilled when we saw this one just meander across the road.... I think that was something I found strange.. the animals didn't seem to care about land rovers and were happy enough to make themselves visible to us :)

 

Thanks to Paul for pointing out that it looks like he's sucking a boiled sweet LOL :) :)

 

Hope you all are having a great week so far, and the weather is holding up for you :)

 

Thank you so much everyone for your lovely comments, I'm doing my best to catch up :)

The photos taken on this drive resulted in my hard drive reaching the point at which it no longer would work properly. So, today, I had to do a bit more checking and deleting old images.

 

FINALLY, I was able to take my daughter out for the day on 17 June 2021, after a year and a half of keeping separate because of COVID-19. Only once during that time, have we met up for an afternoon of being out in the country. Both of us have done all we could to avoid the risk of catching COVID and, worst of all, passing it on to others. My daughter has been fully vaccinated for a few months (Health Care worker) and I had my second shot two months ago. My opinion is simply that if one really cares about people, one doesn't take risks.

 

Anyway, we had such an amazing day! Heading south of the city and eventually turning eastwards, we covered quite a large area, some of which I had driven before, but other places were new to both of us. Twelve hours of driving and 490 km were hot and tiring, made more challenging by the fairly strong wind. Two or three minutes before I arrived home after dropping my daughter back home, the orange Low Gas light came on, on the dashboard of my car. I hadn't expected the drive to consume almost the whole of a full tank of gas, but I am just so thankful that I didn't run out when we were in the middle of nowhere.

 

My daughter deserves credit for most of the bird finds! She has 'eagle eyes' and I appreciate that so much. One of the highlights for us was a pair of Long-billed Curlews that were mainly hidden in tall grass. They were wandering about, keeping an eye on a tiny, adventurous chick.

 

Another totally unexpected thing happened when we were looking at a cluster of small trees. My daughter had noticed that there were two deer walking around the base of the trees, so we pulled over. Everything suddenly 'exploded', and a pair of Great Horned Owls and one owlet burst out of the leaves and perched on different branches. We took a few quick shots and then left them, not wanting to cause them any extra stress. I can't remember what the birds were that were harassing the owls, too.

 

We had quite a few sightings of Hawks throughout the day. Some stayed, others flew. Both species of Kingbird were seen, Eastern and Western. A Mourning Dove standing on a picnic table was good to see, plus an American Robin, a Great Blue Heron, and various 'usual' species were seen along the back roads. Two Swainson's Hawks were nesting, with one nest having three little ones that we could see from a huge distance.

 

Another special sighting was a Shrike that was originally perched high up in a distant tree. My daughter pointed out the small bird, but didn't know what it was. When I zoomed in, I was happy to see that it was a Shrike, sometimes known as the Butcher bird. A bit later, when I pulled over to wait for my daughter, the Shrike suddenly flew down and was eating some prey that it had skewered on the barbed-wire fence. Such a treat to see for the first time, and I was able to take a bit of video.

 

"The Loggerhead Shrike is a songbird with a raptor’s habits. A denizen of grasslands and other open habitats throughout much of North America, this masked black, white, and gray predator hunts from utility poles, fence posts and other conspicuous perches, preying on insects, birds, lizards, and small mammals. Lacking a raptor’s talons, Loggerhead Shrikes skewer their kills on thorns or barbed wire or wedge them into tight places for easy eating. Their numbers have dropped sharply in the last half-century.

 

A Loggerhead Shrike can kill and carry an animal as massive as itself. It transports large prey in its feet and smaller victims in its beak." From AllAboutBirds.

 

The final treat of the day was when my daughter found a Common Nighthawk. We had checked a spot where I had seen them before, but we were out of luck. So happy to see one lone bird, after thinking that we were not going to see any.

 

A ghost town and various old barns that I had seen before, but wanted to show my daughter, added to a great day. Even yellow and pink Cacti flowers, that came as a surprise. So lucky to have such a great day.

"New build" GWR 6800 class no. 6880 Betton Grange and GWR 6959 class no. 6990 Witherslack Hall (both in British Railways livery) approach Kinchley Lane, working 13.45 Loughborough - Leicester North on the third day of the Great Central Railway January 2025 Winter Steam Gala.

 

I'd just returned from my attempt to photograph GBRf's Colas-liveried 60096 on hire to DCR on the Saturday 6M89 sand from Middleton Towers to Ravenhead, but the loco failed between Manton Jn. and Oakham so I had a wasted trip (but at least I knew at about the time it should have passed me that it wasn't coming, so I knew not to wait), and was horrified by the number of people here! Surprisingly, I managed to get parked only a few car lengths from the bridge, but getting into a position where I could get pictures was much harder... I couldn't use the pole to see over people's heads as I couldn't get an image on my monitor (I'm trying to work out where the problem is).

 

So I ended up standing wider, but there were already people in that gap so I ended up squatting down slightly to be below their cameras, which meant there were some out of focus twigs sticking up in the bottom and one going across in the top right-hand corner, which spoiled the image a bit although didn't ruin it. I didn't manage to fit the whole train in the gap, so decided to use an earlier frame in the burst and crop it quite significantly - which has produced something that's different from what I usually take here, and I'm pleased with.

 

It was obviously very busy for this particular train - hardly surprising since Betton Grange had only entered service in 2024 - as more than half of the people here moved to other spots after it had passed and I was able to grab a spot where I'd usually stand, at the side of the bridge, for the rest of the afternoon (standing on stepladders).

 

Visit Brian Carter's Non-Transport Pics to see my photos of landscapes, buildings, bridges, sunsets, rainbows and more.

Zion National Park Fine Art Landscapes: Dr. Elliot McGucken Fine Art Landscape and Nature Photography!

 

Hiking the Zion Narrows and the Zion Subway! Shooting Paradise Cove and Archangel Falls! The Zion National Park autumn is most beautiful!

 

instagram.com/elliotmcgucken

 

instagram.com/goldennumberratio

 

instagram.com/45surf

 

Greetings flickr fans! Many more uploads soon! I have been busy writing, traveling, and shooting! I finished my books on the Tao of Epic Landscape Photography and the Golden Number Ratio Principle! I oft incorporate the golden ratio in my landscape compositions, and you'll also see it in the design and proportion of the 45surf clothes and surfboard and gun logos (More golden ratio information at my facebook page facebook.com/goldennumberratio). Message me on facebook for free review copies of my books here: facebook.com/mcgucken ! :)

 

I'm working on a book on photographing epic goddesses too! What should I title it? :)

 

facebook.com/mcgucken

facebook.com/goldennumberratio

 

Full titles: The Tao of Epic Landscape Photography: Exalt Fine Art with the Yin-Yang Wisdom of Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching.

 

And: The Golden Number Ratio Principle: Why the Fibonacci Numbers Exalt Beauty and How to Create PHI Compositions in Art, Design, & Photography: An Artistic and Scientific Introduction to the Golden Mean !

 

I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them! :)

 

Enjoy the epic landscape and goddess and photography and note the golden ratio overlays in some of the photos, as well as the golden ratio in the Birth of Venus painting by Botticelli!

 

I've been on the road shooting landscapes in Zion, Yosemite, the Eastern Sierras, Big Sur, and more!

 

Many of you have seen my physics formula dx4/dt=ic for Light Time Dimesnion Theory on a lot of the 45surf clothing and in the fine art landscape logos. I finally finished the first book of many on the foundations of photography's best friend--light:

Light Time Dimension Theory: The Foundational Physics Unifying Einstein's Relativity and Quantum Mechanics.

 

All the best on your epic hero's odyssey!

 

Follow me! instagram.com/mcgucken

instagram.com/45surf

 

Was so fortunate to be able to photograph the epic Zion glow this year in the Narows aod Zion National Park!

Bateleur Eagle calling with its third eyelids (Nictitating Membrane) closed. I found out these are to enable the bird to clean its eyes whilst still being able to see.

Thanks to Brick Print I was able to add these printed bricks to the Stoom Stichting Nederland LEGO 01 1075.

 

This entire model is made in scale 1:45. It's powered by 2 L-motors in the boiler which gives it a realistic and propper steam locomotive speed. The locomotive is controlled by a Pfxbrick which has a XL speaker for sounds effects. The locomotive is 67 studs long and 8 studs wide.

 

The reall one is currenly at rhe SSN in Rotterdam near my home village. It is the fastest steam locomotive in the Netherlands. It's able to reach speed up to 140 km/h.

 

The model took my around a year to built. I did have a older version which was 98% Habricks.com design. That model has now been scraped and completly rebuild into this monster.

 

The costum driving rods are from Bricks-on-Rails.com.

Able Seaman Arthur Thomas Wood was born 21 April 1921 at Berry in New South Wales, and joined the Royal Australian Navy in 1938 at the age of 17. After training at HMAS CEREBUS he joined HMAS SYDNEY in early 1939. When World War II was declared, SYDNEY was ordered to serve in the Mediterranean for escort duty. Wood was aboard SYDNEY when it sank the Italian cruisers ESPERO and BARTOLOMEO COLLEONI in July 1940.

 

These photographs and postcards depict some of the sailors, equipment and activities of HMAS SYDNEY in the months prior to the sinking of the vessel. They provide an interesting commentary of the operations and work carried out aboard HMAS SYDNEY prior to its fateful end, such as the sinking of Italian ships ESPERO and BARTOLOMEO COLLEONI in the Mediterranean.

 

The Australian National Maritime Museum undertakes research and accepts public comments that enhance the information we hold about images in our collection. If you can identify a person, vessel or landmark, write the details in the Comments box below.

 

Thank you for helping caption this important historical image.

 

Object number ANMS0845[011].

Elephant & Castle, 3rd February 2016.

HI ALL, To my AMAZEMENT!! I was able to get on the internet right now!! No clue why I haven’t been able to for more then a month. No clue how long I can stay on or if I will be able to get back on anytime soon.

 

My health is oretty lousy with allergies on top and pretty bad to. No covid I have been tested more then once. The guy in the next apartment seems likely to have covid, but refuses to be tested or mask up or isolate and the building doesn’t seem to be able to do anything. Guy next door says it isn’t his problem if anyone gets it they were ment to get it.

 

Anyway I have been stuck in my apartment due to health so I haven’t encountered him much so that is a good thing.

 

How are you all doing?? I hope well!! Enjoying life?? Doing anything fun this summer??

 

I better send this while I hopefully can.

 

Please take care and prayers for you all.

I hope you are all well. :)

 

Charles.

 

I do force this old body out for walks when i can and of course I need food so to get grocerys a very painful difficult thing to do. Ordering them to be dilivered is not affordable for me and not have internet accesse makes that not possible even if i could. But getting out some is good and thus these two pictures.

 

Hugs all. No clue when I'll be on again.

 

Charles.

 

Here one is able to see all the various attributes of the M-208 at work: The articulation between the two modules; the pontoons unfolded on the rear module; the deployment of the additional deck slats; and the liftarm up and at 'em.

 

As always, huge ups to Wayne for rendering this huge mofo!