A stop on our way to the airport...

We had some airline points that were going to be expiring and free hotel stays that were burning a hole in our pocket, so we dashed off to Victoria, British Columbia for a couple of days. No big plans, just to 'wallow' in a place that, in Canadian terms, is a little tropical.

Saw this blue jay chick wandering in our side yard earlier this afternoon. At first I thought he was an adult until I spotted his grey shoulder feather. His parents were actually over watching him from the tree. No wonder my wife told me she was startled by an adult blue jay that had dashed in front of her yesterday. I continued to watch the chick trying to climb up the retaining wall. I decided to roll a bing cherry in front of him but it was immediately gobbled up by one of his parents. I brought out my camera and took this shot of the schooling. This really made me smile.

||Mission 1.2||

Protector-312

Rank: ARC Sergeant

Nickname: Shogun

253rd legion, Pride of Mandalore

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

//The gunship doors slid shut as killi hoisted himself onboard. The engine roared as the bird glided off, narrowly missing blaster shots. Shogun looked behind, mourning all that was lost. The troopers stood silently in the cabin, still in shock. Only interrupted by the voice of the pilot cackling on the com.

“New orders straight from the general, we’re heading 3 clicks north to the jedi temple.”

“Why? There’s nothing there.”

“Apparently, whatever attacked Bravo base ran in there.”

Shogun glanced at his squad. Then glanced back.

“Members of the 501st legion have already begun searching, they say the assailant has files on some ‘Ulic Qel-Droma’”

“Ulic Qel-Droma.”

After a period of silence, the gunship landed in the snow, sending a ripple of snow off of the cliff’s face. The doors of the gunship slid open, revealing shogun along with his men. Shogun stepped into the snow, sinking into the ground, and paused as his eyes dilated to the sea of white all around.

Shogun gestured with his hands. Corvus squad moved out.

Blunt walked into the temple, becoming drenched in darkness. He stepped in, eyes adjusting as he walked. He activated the floodlights on his helmet, along with the rest of his squad. He looked around, then paused and glanced into the abyss. Shogun was soon to follow, shifting to his right with visible confusion. Was that, laughter? Wind? Or silence.

A loud “CRASH!”

Shogun and his men stood still, paralised in fear. His hand shifted into a fist, signalling his men to move out. They dashed towards the origin of the sound, still echoing against the cavern walls. Shogun stopped, recognizing two members of the 501st standing straight ahead, then, he noticed something else. Directly above the troopers, a black cloaked figure, perched on the neck of a leaning statue.

“Troopers! Above you!”

The two troopers slightly arched back, not even having time to see the crimson red blade that sliced both heads clean off their bodies. The glowing blade retracted into the handle, along with the figure to the shadows. Shogun ran towards the bodies, necks still smoking from the heat of the saber, then looked towards the ground. Footsteps.//

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After leaving Algonquin, Oxtongue and Arrowhead parks behind, my goal was to reach Killarney before sunset. Never having been there before I knew things were going to be very tight time wise. I had no knowledge for good photo spots in the area so I tried to leave myself enough time to hopefully speak to some locals or rangers about where to shoot. I also had no idea how many sights would entice me to pull over along the way.

I resisted a few because the sky was starting to open up from the complete overcast that had ruined any sunrise. I wheeled into my hotel with very little time to spare and got some great advice from two ladies who worked at the hotel. It would turn out that they would look after me for the remainder of the weekend. They even packed me a lunch for the trail the next day.

At any rate, they mentioned a few good spots for sunrise and sunset and I dashed to the car as the sky was really starting to look promising. The area in this photo is actually near a suggested sunrise spot but when I saw the light show starting to unfold, I made a beeline over the granite shoreline to get to that great diagonal line of rocks being side lit by the setting sun.

I captured 2 frames before that foreground light disappeared and the main event of that gorgeous light dancing around in the clouds took center stage. I even got lucky enough to have sunlight filtering through a rain storm off to the left in the distance.

One extra frame with the Lee Big Stopper to soften out the water and I was off to try and find other spots before the show was over. Unfortunately nothing else really panned out that well but in the end, I believe this may be my favorite shot of the entire fall season, and certainly of this particular weekend.

Thanks for looking!

Carrying on the timeline from the trip, this is image 4 from Lindisfarne and probably the last for a while. This was a difficult choice as I had quite a few variations on this sunrise.

Following on from this, we dashed back to the car as it was parked on the main carpark and they do not like overnight parkers. Having escaped a ticket or telling off, we set of for the causeway and breakfast at the Lindisfarne inn cafe, highly recommended.

Lots of shorebirds searched in the shoreline for food after the rain. They all dashed by me. I was happy to capture this Willet in mid-stride.

Willet

Tringa semipalmata

Member of the Nature’s Spirit

Good Stewards of Nature

© 2014 Patricia Ware - All Rights Reserved

I am helping my brother move house so that is why I have been so busy and not a great contact. I also had to watch an important rugby game so at half time I dashed out to take my photo - this postbox is on the corner near my brother's new place. I initially did not see the smiling face but when I did i thought it was quite cute. Another photos - another day ticked off!

I will try and catch up with you all soon!

Warm Spring days meant lots of lizard sightings in the Currawinya National Park.

Clockwise, there is the Sand Monitor (or Sand Goanna) a Shingleback lizard (often known as a Blue Tongue or Sleepy Lizard) and a Bearded Dragon.

The Sand Monitors dashed across the roads, while the Bearded Dragons often stood quite still. The Shinglebacks happily lay in the sunshine.

Another old upload from last summer. I'm really excited for spring and time to go out and shoot more frequently. I feel like I'm getting a bit stressed about not having more time to shoot for fun instead of school projects.

View On Black

parked up at the Angel awaiting fellow mad people from wfc flickr to join me for sgwd einion gam trek and the skies were awesome - so we dived back in the car Keeping within the speed limit and drove up the road to Dinas rock out i Dashed to capture a fast moving sky - throwing the tripod cover on the ground in excitment.

5 shots later i was back in the car so i would not be late .

I put E to bed and dashed down to the seafront to catch the sunset. I was very glad that I did. The sky was even more dramatic after the sun went down.

(I'm still catching up from my holiday - unfortunately I don't live anywhere near the sea so when I am by the seaside I'm obsessed by shooting sunsets - should have made that clear!)

I had wasted my whole morning waiting to take a picture of the garbage truck coming down the street (work project).

When a text came in that the rebuilt SD75Is were on the way I got in my car and drove around looking for the garbage truck.

I found it and did my required photo taking. A look on ATCS revealed that the train was in Elk River.

My hopes to make it east of town were dashed so I set up on Eagle Lake Road as the headlights appeared.

The clouds gave way onto the nose as the train passed me, prime movers screaming with a long train in tow. 656 Axles.

I believe this train is the Northtown-Grand Forks, as they came east on the Grand Forks-Northtown last night.

Opulein . Eyeshadow Set #0015 . BOM (evox maps) . Fatpack

Opulein . Lipstick Set #0009 . BOM (evox maps) . Fatpack

DASHED - BLACKOUT NAILS FATPACK- BOXED (ADD ME)

ARNAUD HAUS. REYES XL Lariat Necklace GOLD - Add

Rosary. Heart Ring

WOWma! - Girl pose (pack Hands) 1038 - BOX [ADD ME]

First of all...I'm super-psyched right now, because after two trips back to Nikon for repair, I finally have my 14-24mm lens back to me in a usable condition! It was pretty much unusable for astrophotography before, and I sent it back to Nikon once for a costly repair, only to get it back and realize it was still having issues. Now it looks great!

In the late summer night sky, Mars, Saturn, and Jupiter are all visible. Even with some clouds on the horizon obscuring the view, I still had good conditions last night in the Badlands for some astrophotography. I was also hoping to shoot a moonlit landscape after the moonrise, but that plan was dashed by clouds as well.

Technical details: this is a two-image composite. The foreground was captured during blue hour and then blended into the nighttime image. Since I was testing the 14-24, I went out with two tripods, and just switched between the two while I waited for full darkness.

it's been a day of manly action, things getting done, power tools getting engaged and stuff, so after all that action I was wondering what the hell am I going to do about PaD, then certain Lynn

lynnespo181

posted another installment of her Shocktober series, which made me think "why don't I ever get visited by monsters and things" and while I was having my well deserved beer and contemplating my monsterless existence light dimmed, air started to smell funny, Charlie the cat who was peacefully sleeping on his rug jumped up and dashed out through the cat door with loudest meow he ever meowed , and then slowly in the darkness this chap materialised and said "you want another beer?"

I got this photo in a hurry. I bet I raised a few security alarms too because of my unusual behavior.

I didn't have much time, so I had my wife drive nearby and park illegally on the curb for a few minutes. She wasn't a fan of that, but let's not talk about this right now. So, I jumped out of the car, hauled my tripod out of the trunk, and dashed across the green hill towards the memorial. I grabbed photos in a rushed way and dashed back to the car and sped away.

- Trey Ratcliff

Read more here at the Stuck in Customs blog.

dashed up there to get a shot of it while the light was good (i.e. daytime light).

still a MAJOR work in progress.

not pretty but it's going to work.

still finding places for everything so everything is in it's place.

seriously needs a really good overhead pendant lamp (so i can work in the evenings)...researching what would need to be done to get an electrician in so we do it right. praying that happens soon.

after the rain storm, full of waterof the gorge dashed down the stream. The dark valley was a nice motif for the ink painting.

Just 24 hours later, one of our cats knocked them off and broke my favorite vase . . . :(

////// BEGIN LOG \\\\\\

Number: CS-4712

Alias: Havoc

Equipment: Enhanced visor, jet pack, long-range radar, internal filtering apparatus, pauldron, kama.

Weapons: DC-17x Modified sniper rifle, vibroknife, dual DC-17 pistols.

Regiment: 3rd Regiment

This Sparrowhawk briefly sat on our garden fence this morning. I dashed for my camera and only managed one shot before it flew off.

Assuming this is the same bird, it has spent several summers now on the coast of Northumberland. This year it mated with an Arctic Tern - and, at the time I took these photographs, it was sitting on eggs.

Any notion of an unlikely hybridisation however were unfortunately dashed as the eggs failed to hatch.

Hit L to view large on black.

Single exposure with no photoshop etc.

Could have been a damn expensive shot. I parked the Outlander on the otherside of a slope and started a few test shots when I noticed the headights were getting dimmer. I thought it was a bit strange as I was sure the vehicle didn't have this function so I walked back to the brow of the hill only to find the damn thing in the full grips of gravity sliding backwards down the slope ! In a panic I dashed to it, flung open the door and tried wrestle it to a standstill. Not a chance with walking boots on snow covered ice ! I had to step back and watch it slide away and eventually lose momentum as the track flattened out. Phew !

In camera CWB.

LED Eddie's photos on Flickriver

This is the kitchen in my grandmother's home. It has changed very little in my lifetime or since it was built in 1947 for that matter.

So much of my life centers around this very spot where I stood to take this picture. Early mornings when my grandmother would send me off to school with a hearty breakfast of pancakes and sausage. Evenings coming home exhausted from track practice to the welcoming smells of home cooking. Helping grandma wash dishes while we discussed the day's issues. Summers with friends tracking dripping water across the floor in our wet swimsuits as we dashed in to grab a popsicle. Preparing bedtime snacks with grandpa. He would smile and pat me on the head. Late night talks with my uncles over hamburgers. Countless family gatherings with more people crammed into this small space than you could imagine. Happy greetings. Hugs and long goodbyes (just to the left of the window is the door out to the driveway).

If these old walls,

If these old walls could speak

Of the things that they remember well,

Stories and faces dearly held

Northern Territory, Australia

We spotted this lizard while driving through the Australian outback in the Northern Territory. When he realized he had been spotted, he dashed to the nearest tree stump. He was not happy we were taking pictures and, in an effort to scare us off, he raised his frill abruptly around his neck. The neck frill is simply a thin but extensive fold of skin surrounding the throat. When fully erected, the frill measured approximately 12 inches across and was an extraordinary orange and pink. Thankfully, the lizard stayed perched long enough for me to get this shot. Soon after, he folded his crest, climbed down from the stump, and walked away through the bush.

And also Phew!

Thought I had forgotten to take a shot and then remembered I snapped this as I dashed out for a coffee!

78/100

ID

3310

britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/300003310-conwy-police-stati...

We recently went up to Lake Winnipesaukee for a couple days. We had some really nice weather. About 7 inches of powdery snow. It felt like winter up there, which was nice since down here in Massachusetts it really hasn't felt like winter much this season. While we were at Winnipesaukee I had the chance to climb Mount Roberts one morning after the fresh blanket of snow fell. I was the first person up after the storm, and made a few nice photos, some of which I will likely share here in the near future.

Despite the great winter weather and great winter trails, I made what will likely turn out to be my favorite photo of the trip before we even left the driveway. I was in the process of packing and grabbing something out of my wife's car when I noticed the ice patterns along the metal surface of her Honda Accord. They were like tiny intricate feathers or a paisley patterned tie. I ran inside, grabbed my camera and macro lens, and dashed out to make photographs for a few minutes before the sun popped out from over our neighbor's roof and the patterns evaporated.

One more note about this photo: ever since I resolved to start giving my photos proper titles at the start of 2023, I have been dying to use some legal mumbo jumbo terminology from my professional life as a title for a photograph. Finally got my chance.

I like this image. It’s a long story and too technical. Its15 minutes before sunset and I’m on a canoe, not so steady in light wind. I spotted the Heron landing from about 800 meters and dashed over there after waiting for him the whole day. He was standing on a rock just behind a small island. Facing him the sun was directly at my lens. So got a bit closer to get some of the trees to block the sun and anticipated the takeoff. Used raw to get the 2 extra stops and editing capabilities and got a few good images. As I was panning to follow the takeoff path… a bit out of focus and exposure completely off, I got this shot. Lots of work on Adobe Raw… But I like the feel and colours of it, the back light and the highlights of the flies while panning. Of course he flew to about 50 meters from where I came from.

Check the Meta.

It breaks my heart to have to tell all our Flickr friends of this sad news. Asha passed away Tuesday 5th October 2021. It was just another Tuesday morning and Asha was her usual happy self and full of beans. She did her usual early morning 2 mile walk into Millisle with my Brother before he went to work and he said she was very happy, walking along the wee wall she walked along every morning with her tongue out at the seafront. At home she was happy and doing all her usual things. Around 11.30am I noticed Asha lying down in the hall which I thought was unusual. She followed me into the living room and lay at my feet. I instantly knew there was something wrong. Not to go into all the minute details we took Asha to the vet and the vet said that that Asha was having wee seizures (she could see this from her eyes) and she would admit her and give her some diazepam and anti seizure drugs and do some blood tests to see what is going on and she would phone the next day.

When the phone rang at 8.15am the next day I knew it could only be the vet phoning this early and it wasn't going to be good news. The vet said that Asha didn't make it and passed away at 11.30pm. She said that Asha died of multiple organ failure, for some reason her immune system attacked all her major organs. The vet said that this just happens and nobody knows why it happens that the immune system suddenly attacks all the organs. She did say that maybe Asha had some undetected medical condition that could have brought this on like some kind of auto immune disease or blood disorder or even Leukemia even though she wasn't showing any symptoms. The vet said she could do a autopsy but even a autopsy might not show what caused her immune system to suddenly attack all her organs and it wouldn't change things. I didn't want a autopsy to be performed as what would be the point? It wouldn't bring Asha back!

I was working on my Halloween pictures of Asha and did a lovely shoot of her the day before she died of her with her wee Witch costume on. She was so happy doing this shoot and nothing to suggest there was something wrong with her. I decided to upload this wee montage picture of Asha from this shoot as this was the last pictures I took of Asha the day before she passed away to let our dear flickr friends know this sad news.

I can't believe I'm having to write this and it is breaking my heart to have to do so. Asha had just turned 10, border collies are one of the dogs that generally live a longer life usually between 14-17 years. I feel cheated out of a good 4 years I should have had with her. I was working on her Halloween pictures and on the day she passed a prop I had ordered on ebay had just arrived and I was expecting two further Halloween props to arrive. I was going to go full out this year on my Halloween pictures and was even thinking about the Christmas pictures with her. I had so many plans for all the future Halloween, Christmas, Easter, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Valentine's Day and just Asha being herself pictures etc. I feel so cheated out of all those photoshoots to come and all the pictures I could have created of her and shared with her lovely fans here on flickr. I had plans to do shoots of her with Bonnie the doll I had recently bought especially for Asha to create a different kind of shoot to make her pictures interesting and fun for her fans. I can't believe I will never be able to do these pictures now with Asha and Bonnie.

I don't know what will happen now with my photography and whether I will continue to take pictures or upload to flickr. I only got into photography when I noticed Asha posing for the camera when taking the usual family snaps that you do. Asha would literally stop what she was doing when she seen I was pointing the camera at her and looked straight at it and didn't move till I had taken the picture. I knew this was unique for a dog so it all just started from there my taking pictures of her. I had no interest in photography before that. Asha was my inspiration into the world of photography. I always had chronic insecurities regarding my photography and lots of times thought about stopping but my flickr friends gave me such wonderful comments on my pictures which gave me confidence and I continued on and would have continued on for at least another 4 years creating my Asha pictures for her fans but life is cruel and robbed us of these pictures to come.

The only comfort I can gain was that Asha was happy on the last day and she didn't suffer and died peacefully. I don't know why she died but if she had something wrong with her like Leukemia then maybe she might have had suffering ahead of her and I wouldn't have wanted that for her. She was happy to the very end and had a wonderful life. She was a very special dog even as a wee puppy when I took her to puppy classes they all said she was special and full of character. Asha excelled in everything she did, when I first took her to Agility classes she ran up all the ramps right away and I remember the dog trainer shouting out to everybody 'That dog should be a agility dog'. Asha even did doggie dancing with me and I took her to nose work classes and she excelled at sniffing things out like in the videos I uploaded of Asha counting, where she was able to pick out the numbered tennis balls. She excelled at Flyball too and even demonstrated this in a big dog event here in Northern Ireland. Thousands of people where there at this big event at a estate with thousands of dog's demonstrating what they can do. They did a piece about this event 'Wet Nose Day' the next week in the local paper and out of all the thousands of dog's at this event they chose one picture to go along with this piece and it was a picture of Asha demonstrating flyball (a close up of her). I couldn't believe that out of all the dogs there that they chose a picture they had taken of Asha demonstrating flyball with her group Downdog Dashers.

Circumstances changed at home and I couldn't take Asha to al these classes but I created my own agility course for her in the back garden and even had her flyball jumps and ball thrower for her. I kept up her training but I began to focus more on her pictures. For around two years Asha had her picture in our local weekly paper every week. I would submit a picture of her every week and they would print it in the 'reader's pics' section (usually a funny picture). The paper even did a special on her, a full two page spread. I eventually stopped this for various reasons and concentrated on creating my own pictures of her for flickr and this was what I was hoping to do for another 4 or 5 years. I felt my photography of her was only beginning. I even bought a umbrella light to enable me to take pictures of Asha indoors and I had Bonnie and another doll that I was going to include in her pictures. I had so many wonderful ideas all revolving around Asha, she was my inspiration and light and I'm so lost without her.

Asha was well known in our local town of Millisle as my Brother walked her to this town every morning for 10 years and walked along the seafront with her meeting all the other people with their dogs,they then went to the local Spar to get the morning papers. Asha was never on a lead and she would wait outside the door of this shop which later became a petrol station for my Brother to come out so all the customers were used to her sitting there waiting patiently for my Brother, they all petted her and said that they couldn't get their dog to do this. Even today I would get people from further afield than Millisle who would still recognize Asha from her pictures being in the local weekly paper. She was well known and loved by everybody who knew her. Asha was the only dog I knew who loved postmen. She loved bringing in the post. There is one particular postman who always rings the door when he is delivering so he can give Asha the post. Asha always ran out to him wagging her tail and licking his face when he rang and he loved that. He rapped the door yesterday with the post and my Sister answered and he said 'where's my wee pet' as Asha was always first at the door when he rapped. When my Sister told him through tears that Asha died two days ago he couldn't speak and had tears in his eyes.

Asha was more than a dog/pet to us she was a family member she understood everything we said to her. I didn't see her as a dog she was like a wee human and we all loved her. My Dad is disabled and confined to bed a lot of the time so when he wants something he would ring a bell. Asha was always the first to alert us that my Dad was ringing the bell. I remember one time she was out in the garden and she suddenly dashed into the house as fast as she could go as she heard my Dad's bell and wanted to alert us that he was ringing. She was very compassionate towards my Dad and would sleep beside his bed for part of the night. I got Asha as a wee pup of 7 weeks, I picked her from a litter of 6. As soon as I held her I knew she was the one. Circumstances drew me to her. I was inconsolable over the loss of my previous border collie Sasha. Asha helped me heal and get over my grief for it felt that I could feel Sasha's love through Asha. It felt like Sasha wasn't dead while Asha was alive as it felt like she lived through Asha. Maybe one day another wee pup will come to me and I will feel Asha's love through her and Asha will still be alive through this wee pup but at the moment I'm just empty inside and trying to come to terms with what has happened.

I could write so much more about Asha and how special she was but I'm not sure how much written words these comment boxes will hold, hopefully they will hold all that I have written. I know some will want to write a wee comment to send their condolences etc. I will read them but please forgive me if I don't reply. I just couldn't reply it is too raw for me and would be too painful. I'm crying inside now as I write this and I don't know how to ease the pain. I'm trying to block out all the memories as it is too painful to remember but I can't block out the feeling inside, the knotted stomach which is preventing me from eating and my soul knowing that something bad has happened even though I'm trying not to think about it. It is impossible to block it out completely, it just comes suddenly out of the blue and you have to re-live it all over again. Every time you wake up at night it is in your head and you relive it all over again what has happened. I can't believe I will never see my Beautiful Asha ever again or to hold her or to take a portrait of her beautiful smile. She was such a happy dog and lived life to the full.

Thank you from Asha and myself to all our lovely flickr friends for you support, likes and comments they meant so much to us and it was your support and love for Asha that kept me going with my Asha photography. I told Asha all the time that she had fans from all over the world who love her.

Lots of Love...Connie and Asha xxx (I have 4 Halloween picture created if it feels right I might upload them for Halloween)

A place of hopes and dreams. Glenfinnan, site of the 1745 Jacobite rising, started by Prince Charles Edward Stuart ('Bonnie Prince Charlie'), who planned to march to London and claim the English throne.

Just eight months later, the dream was dashed at the Battle of Culloden, a bleak moor near Inverness.

Following the bloody battle, the 'Young Pretender' made his escape and passed by this spot again as he raced ahead of the Goverment troops out to try and catch him. It must have been a bittersweet and poignant moment as he headed for nearby Loch nan Uamh, where a French frigate was waiting to take him into exile.

[A] Amalur necklace (ADD)

DASHED - BEER NAILS FATPACK - BOXED (ADD ME)

I'd dashed over from Narrowdale to try to get to Peaseland Rocks before the early mists dissipated.Got there a bit too late, however more than compensated by bumping into Paul Newcombe

Nice bit of light at sunset last night! So dashed out to cliff house!

…walking at midnight was just the same.

The temperaments had quelled, subsided under the condensation of fear. Ya sure, it could be argued that this outcome was already written in the stars, penned in a notebook by the grand sorcerer himself, Quando. Somehow though, given the nature of human spirit and the classes that were taught amongst its young, the surety waned like a paper-mâché puppet on a puppy masticated string.

Wasn’t it just twenty-fours before, maybe forty-seven and one half, that all the luster and sheen was paraded out and praised with exaltation of the highest regard, proclaiming such a dominance over everything that was good and just? Oh, tender are those moments when time passes through without even the slightest regard.

Now, when all hope had been dashed aside by an ever so faux handshake and pearly smarm that one could wretch, a call was being made to stay calm, play board games, placate the wee ones with suckers and floss and “just wait it out, will you!” There is never so fine an instance when the caution is sliced with a bloodied bayonet… never.

Musical accompaniment: ’The Foggy Dew’ – The Chieftains (with Sinead O'Connor)

View On White

Today we spent the day near the water. Early on in the afternoon we went to Capitola to show some love to Jim Patterson who was showcasing his work at the art show. Good chatting with you bud... Around sunset time we dashed over to Pigeon Point. This was only my second time there and boy was I wondering what took me so long to get back. Guess that sort of thing happens... Well, the sky was nothing to scream about but it was nice to scope out the potentials. Looking forward to getting back there with more favorable photo conditions like some bad weather... ; )

Stupid me, I forgot my filter holder so had to resort to HDR.I could have handheld them I suppose but I couldn't be bothered.

Thanks for looking!

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Είναι γνωστό ότι υπάρχουν χιλιάδες προσωνύμια της Παναγίας στην Ελλάδα.Ένα από τα πιο περίεργα,συνοδευόμενο,μάλιστα και από θαυμαστή προφορική παράδοση είναι αυτό που συνάντησα σ’έναν μικρό περιφερειακό ναό σε διπλανό μας(>10χλμ) κεφαλοχώρι,το Προάστιο Καρδίτσας,αγνοώντας παντελώς το όλο θέμα παρ’όλη την εικοσαετή περίπου γειτνίαση!!! Συνέβη,δε,όλως “τυχαίως”:

Λόγω των έργων για την περίφημη Ε65 υποχρεώθηκα να αλλάξω το καθημερινό δρομολόγιό μας από το χωριό όπου διαμένω για το χωριό όπου διδάσκω.

Σ’ένα σημείο της νέας αυτής διαδρομής,το πάντοτε…ανήσυχο φωτογραφικό μάτι διέκρινε, κάπου στο βάθος, έναν πέτρινο ναό κτισμένο πάνω σε κάποιο περίεργο,πολύ χαμηλό “ανάχωμα” να περιβάλλεται από εκτεταμένο λειμώνα.

Σκέφθηκα ότι ο συνδυασμός μπορεί κάποια στιγμή να αποφέρει κάτι ενδιαφέρον φωτογραφικά και το…παράτησα σε μιά γωνιά του μυαλού μου.

Μετά από δύο χρόνια,την περασμένη άνοιξη, το…ανέσυρα και είπα να κάνω την πρώτη αναγνωριστική επίσκεψη.Όταν έφτασα,το φώς είχε πέσει πάρα πολύ και δεν προσφερόταν για “σοβαρή” φωτογράφιση.Έμεινα έκπληκτος όμως βλέποντας στον περιβάλλοντα χώρο του Ναού να περιφέρεται αμέριμνα μια μικρή αγέλη από…ΕΛΑΦΙΑ !!!

Έκανα μερικές λήψεις έτσι για…την τιμή των όπλων και αποχώρησα.

Το ανέφερα στη σύζυγο και συμφωνήσαμε την επόμενη φορά να πάμε μαζί.Ό,περ και εγένετο ένα απογευματάκι στις αρχές Ιουνίου με κατάλληλο ουράνιο καμβά.Εκεί,λοιπόν,εκτός από το ενδιαφέρον φωτογραφικό υλικό,ανακαλύψαμε και ένα λαογραφικό διαμάντι.Μεταφέρω το κείμενο που είδαμε τοιχοκολλημένο έξω από τον Ιερό Ναό:

Iστορία του Iερού Nαού Παναγίας Eλαφιώτισσας Προαστίου Kαρδίτσας

Σύμφωνα με την εγχάρακτη επιγραφή της κυρίας εισόδου του Ι.Ν.Κοιμήσεως της Θεοτόκου Προαστίου,αυτός κτίσθηκε το 1858 στην βόρεια πλευρά του χωριού πάνω σε έναν γήλοφο ύψους 3 και περιμέτρου 300 περ.μέτρων.

Η τοπική παράδοση κληροδότησε αξιοθαύμαστα γεγονότα τόσο για την ανέγερση όσο και για την μετέπειτα ιστορία του Ναού.

Ο γήλοφος,που στέκει εκεί για αιώνες,κατά την περίοδο της τουρκοκρατίας ήταν κατάφυτος από μεγάλα δέντρα,θάμνους διαφόρων ειδών και αγκαθωτούς βάτους.Ένα βράδυ λοιπόν,ενώ οι κάτοικοι του χωριού έβοσκαν τα πρόβατά τους γύρω απ’αυτή τη μαγούλα(προεξοχή της γής σαν μάγουλο),άκουσαν να λαλεί ένας κόκορας μέσα στο πυκνό δασύλιο.Με δυσκολία και γεμάτοι απορία ανέβηκαν για να βρούν τον κόκορα.Όμως,αντί γι’αυτό,βρήκαν μπροστά τους μια εικόνα της Παναγίας και δίπλα της να καίει ένα καντήλι.

Γεμάτοι ευλάβεια μετέφεραν την εικόνα στον Ι.Ν.Αγίου Αθανασίου Κάτω Χώρας διότι,τότε,το χωριό χωριζόταν σε δύο μαχαλάδες,την Άνω και Κάτω Χώρα,λόγω του μικρού ποταμού «Φλέβα» ο οποίος διχοτομούσε την Παραπράστανη όπως ήταν η παλαιά ονομασία του χωριού.Όμως η εικόνα,με θαυματουργικό τρόπο,επέστρεψε στην αρχική της θέση δείχνοντας την σαφή προτίμηση της Παναγίας γι αυτό τον τόπο.

Έτσι,παρ’όλες τις δυσκολίες,οι κάτοικοι,οπλισμένοι με πίστη και θέληση,άρχισαν να κτίζουν τον Ι.Ναό .Και τα εμπόδια δεν ήταν λίγα.Αξίζει να αναφέρουμε την συλλογική προσπάθεια των κατοίκων όταν προσέφεραν ένα μέρος από τα μαλλιά των προβάτων τους με σκοπό να φράξουν την πηγή η οποία ανέβλυζε μέσα από τα σπλάχνα της μαγούλας καθιστώντας αδύνατο το χτίσιμο πάνω σ’αυτήν.

Όταν πλεόν ολοκληρώθηκε ο Ι.Ναός,λίγες ημέρες πρίν τον 15Αύγουστο εμφανίστηκαν στον περίβολο του Ναού τρία ελάφια.Όλοι κατάλαβαν πως αυτό το Θεόσταλτο δώρο ήταν η ανταμοιβή της Παναγίας για τα παιδιά της που τόσο μόχθησαν.

Για χρόνια λοιπόν έσφαζαν τα δύο,δίνοντας το κρέας τους ευλογία στους πιστούς που τιμούσαν το «Πάσχα του καλοκαιριού» και άφηναν το ένα το οποίο επέστρεφε την άλλη χρονιά παρέα με άλλα δύο καινούργια.

Όταν,όμως,αυτό διαδόθηκε στα γύρω βαλτοχώρια,πλήθος προσκυνητών συνέρρεε στο πανηγύρι του 15Αυγούστου.Έτσι,οι Παραπραστανίτες για να ευχαριστήσουν όλους τους πανηγυριώτες ,μια φορά έσφαξαν και τα τρία ελάφια και από τότε δεν ξαναφάνηκε κανένα.

Τα συνεχή θαύματα δεν άφησαν ασυγκίνητο ακόμη και τον αγά του χωριού του οποίου ο γιός ήταν κωφάλαλος.Έτρεξε και αυτός,αν και μουσουλμάνος φυσικά,γονάτισε μπροστά στην χάρη της Παναγίας και προσευχήθηκε για την αποκατάσταση της υγείας του παιδιού του.Πράγματι σε λίγες ημέρες ο γιός του ανέκτησε την ομιλία και την ακοή του ενώ ο Αγάς, ευγνώμων,δώρισε πολλά από τα υλικά αγαθά του στον Ι.Ναό.

Σήμερα,σε ανάμνηση όλων των προαναφερθέντων, στον περιφραγμένο περιβάλλοντα το Ναό χώρο εκτρέφονται κάποια ελάφια και ο κάθε προσκυνητής ή απλός περαστικός μπορεί να απολαύσει την συναναστροφή μαζί τους.

It is known that there are thousands of names of the Virgin Mary in Greece. One of the most odd, accompanied indeed wonderful oral tradition is what I met in a small regional temple in our neighboring (> 10km) big village, Proastio Karditsa, The whole thing over the next twenty years around! It happened totally "accidentally":

Due to the works for the famous E65 I was forced to change my daily route from the village where I live for the village I teach.

At a point on this new route, the ever-restless photographic eye could see, somewhere in the background, a stone temple built on some strange, very low "embankment" surrounded by extensive lawn.

I thought the combination could somehow produce something interesting in the photographic way and I ... I left in a corner of my mind.

After two years, last spring ... I took off and said to make the first identification visit. When I arrived, the light had fallen too much and was not offered for "serious" photography. I was surprised to see the surrounding area of the church wandering Carelessly a small herd of ... deer !!!

I made some shots so ... for the price of the weapons and I left.

I mentioned it to my husband and we agreed next time to go together. That was the first afternoon in early June with appropriate uranium canvas. So, apart from the interesting photographic material, we also discovered a folk diamond. I translate the text we saw Dashed outside the Temple:

History of the Holy Monastery of Panagia Elafiotissa, Proastio, Karditsa

According to the engraved inscription of the main entrance of the Church of the Assumption of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, it was built in 1858 on the north side of the village on a hill of height 3 and a perimeter of 300 centimeters.

The local tradition bequeathed admirable events both to the erection and to the subsequent history of the Temple.

The gulp, which has been there for centuries, during the Ottoman domination, was full of large trees, shrubs of various species and barbed walruses. One evening, while the inhabitants of the village grazed their sheep around this magoula (the outskirts of the land Like a cheek), they heard a cock in the dense wood. With difficulty and full of urge they went up to find the rooster. But instead they found a picture of the Virgin Mary in front of them and burning a candle next to it.

Full of devotion, they transferred the icon to Agios Athanasios Kato Chora, because at that time the village was divided into two mosques, Ano and Kato Chora, due to the small river "Fleva" which divided the Paraphrastani as it was the old name of the village . But the image, in a miraculous way, returned to its original position, showing the clear preference of the Virgin Mary for this place.

So, despite all the difficulties, the inhabitants, armed with faith and will, began to build the Nau. And the obstacles were few. It is worth mentioning the collective effort of the residents when they offered some of their sheep's hair In order to clog the source that flowed through the guts of the magus, making it impossible to build on it.

When the temple was completed, a few days before 15 August, three deer appeared in the temple's courtyard. Everybody understood that this Goddess was the reward of the Virgin Mary for her children who had been so abused.

For years, they both were sacking, giving their meat a blessing to the faithful who honored "Easter of the Summer" and left the one who was returning another year together with two new ones.

When, however, it spread to the surrounding marshlands, a crowd of pilgrims gathered at the feast of August 15th. So the Paraportesites to please all the fanatics, once slaughtered all three deer and no one ever came back.

The constant miracles did not leave even the agape of the village whose son was deaf. He also went, though a Muslim, of course, kneel before the grace of the Virgin and prayed for the restoration of his child's health. Indeed, in a few days His son recovered his speech and hearing, while Agas, thankful, donated many of his material goods to John Nau.

Today, in remembrance of all the aforementioned, in the enclosed surroundings the Temple area is bred some deer and every pilgrim or simple passer can enjoy the interaction with them.

There was only a one-day window of decent weather between a snow event and the arrival of arctic conditions, so we dashed to Prairie Mountain. The wind was howling at the top as usual, but didn't pose a problem. We ascended the normal route up the south flank, but took the long way back, descending the northwest flank and following Prairie Creek. We walked over 11 1/2 km's return distance, gaining around 840 m's with all the ups and downs, taking 4 1/2 hours to do so.

PLEASE View On Black

I was flickring in bed, when I caught sight of the dawn sky. I tumbled into a coat and slippers, grabbed a camera, and dashed for the hole in the hedge over the road. I think I missed the best, and it quickly faded.

I had considered earlier getting out and finding some straw bales ... if only I had.

I may try to improve this later.

DASHED - BEER NAILS FATPACK - BOXED (ADD ME) --- MIXWKND

Opulein . Eyeshadow Set #0015 . BOM (evox maps) . Fatpack

Opulein . Lipstick Set #0009 . BOM (evox maps) . Fatpack

(Yummy) Malka Curated Ear (human)

MICHAN - Nola Rings - Gold [add me]

DOUX - Unruly hairstyle [BLOGGER PACK]

WOWma! - Girl pose (pack Hands) 1038 - BOX [ADD ME]

I have always struggled here to come up with a shot that told the full story of the beauty of this place. I had a couple of days away in Beara but the weather forecast wasn't very promising although yesterday evening was suppose to brighten up. I went with a few locations in mind but I really wanted to do this place justice. and had decided on a panorama. I was down at the rocks taking a few shots when the light started to turn really good so I dashed up onto the cliffs and just managed to make this shot with only a couple of minutes to spare before this lightshow was over. This is looking back at Cods head and Allahies although the view behind me is almost as nice. What a beautiful place on earth.

Garnish point Beara peninsula co Cork.

4:51... Shawnah, almost getting late for the 5 O'clock party, needs to get there on time... So she dashed her way through the room, FR2 Leopard print pumps in hand, and realizing how the sea of people seem to pave way as they hear her crystal hemline chiming a lovely rushing tune... and leading her towards that golden door where royalties nestle...

Shawnah is wearing an OOAK Couture, fully beaded dress by Cho:lo Doll Couture.

Just around the corner from our hotel was this fairly busy cross road junction. At a relatively quiet moment ,I dashed into the road to get this image , as a bus went by......& I wasn`t run over !

Click on image to enlarge.

Black 5 45231 coasts towards its planned stop at Leigh on Sea this morning, skirting the Thames Estuary at Chalkwell. Steam Dreams tour from Southend Central to Winchester. I had planned to overtake this tour on the service train following the charter, however this was not to be. I made it to Chalkwell in time to board, but the train did not move. The driver informed us all that we were being held up by a steam train which had stopped for water and was blocking the points ahead! We were delayed and the charter allowed out first, presumably to allow the stopping service train to actually access Leigh on Sea. Don't know if the water stop was planned, the ECS from Southall ran very late and went straight into Southend instead of the planned path to go to Shoeburyness with a break there. In any case, my hopes of trying a glint shot at Benfleet with the loco working were dashed!

The squirrels in my backyard forest have been remarkably lively, captivatingly displaying nature's wonders. I've captured video footage of a vibrant red squirrel energetically stuffing fluffy material into its mouth to build its nest. Meanwhile, other squirrels are busy gathering cones, while some are playfully chasing one another. I was especially charmed when one squirrel dashed before me, stopping as if to say, "I bet you can't see me!" I seized the moment to engage with him in my best squirrel mimicry as he graciously posed for some photos before racing up the nearest spruce tree. It's a powerful reminder of the beauty and vitality of the natural world, as even the wildlife exudes joy and anticipation for the arrival of spring.

Wednesday, 4 August 2021, was yet another hot, smoky day. I have been wanting to drive SE of the city to call in at a farm to drop off a couple of photos for weeks now, but kept running out of time. This day, I was determined to reach my destination, though the smoke from the British Columbia wildfires was really unpleasant. Travelling south on the highway, it was very tempting to turn around and try on a different day. However, I suspect we might be getting this smoke for the rest of the summer, so I decided I might as well continue my drive. Much of the landscape had disappeared, shrouded in toxic smoke.

There are two barns that I love down in this area, and I took just a few photos of each one before calling in at the farm to give the photos to the lady who owns the smaller of the two barns. We had spoken whilst on the back road near her barn on maybe three of my visits to the area other years and this time, we sat and chatted outside on her porch. It was so enjoyable!

Leaving the area, my drive took me back exactly the way I had come, as there was an old homestead that I had missed on the drive to the farm. Perhaps it had been removed, but I was really hoping that was not the case. I just hadn't been looking in the right place.

This was definitely a barn day, which was my intention, but there were so few birds to be seen. anyway. My drive was quick, as I didn't want to be out for a full day in the heat and smoke, even though I was driving, not walking. I did call in at the Saskatoon Farm on the way home, though. My hopes of buying some nice, fresh fruit and vegetables were dashed, as no fruit was left, bought by earlier visitors. Enjoyed a meal there, so that I wouldn't have to make supper when I got home. I had been hoping to get to the farm for the last few days, but avoided going, as it was a long weekend here. Why would I go on a busy holiday weekend, anyway, when I can go during the week?

Can't wait to see blue sky again, and our beautiful foothills and mountains in the distance. Compared to all those people who live much closer to the wildfires, we are lucky. How I feel for them, having to breathe in all the toxic smoke particles, not to mention the losses that many people are having to deal with.