View allAll Photos Tagged decimate
Unfortunately they opened the other side of this place up to ATV's. It will never be the same. And... the endangered cacti, and desert flowers... are going to be decimated.
suwa.org/the-truth-about-blms-decision-to-open-factory-bu...
La première guerre mondiale au début du 20ème siècle a décimé l'Europe et sa jeunesse, avec plus de 9 millions de morts.
Rien qu'en France, il y a eu environ 1,4 millions de morts, 10% de la population active masculine de l'époque.
C'est pourquoi tout village français, même le plus petit, a son monument aux morts de la guerre de 14-18, érigé ici à proximité de la belle petite église romane du village.
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The War Memorial
The First World War in the early 20th century decimated Europe and its youth, with over 9 million people dead.
Only in France there were about 1.4 million people dead, 10% of the active male population at this time.
This is why every French village, even the smallest, has its War Memorial of First World War, erected here near the beautiful Romanesque church of the village.
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Sologny - Bourgogne / Burgundy - France
The Mullein moth (Cucullia verbasci) caterpillar on the mullein (Verbascum). Mullein moths are flying at night and during the day are well disguised as a dead wood stick when resting, so, realistically, to see the adult moth form you need a moth trap. During a day, the moth’s caterpillar puts up a show decimating mulleins as the main food plant before spinning the cocoon underground where it said can spend up to 5 years as a pupa. It apparently prefers dark coloured mulleins but can also feed on buddleia and lizard orchids. Taken in the garden. Bath, BANES, England, U.K.
Same morning as yesterday's post. The old corral is reputed to have been part of the famous 76 Ranch that thrived across a huge swath of southwestern Saskatchewan from the 1880s until the 1920s. The brutal winter of 1906-07 that decimated cattle herds, followed by the Homesteaders Act of 1908, combined to spell an end to the open range. Subsequently the enormous ranches - including the 76 and Turkey Track - were broken up into smaller holdings.
Fast forward a hundred years, and we have today's national park. Species have vanished - and in the case of the Plains Bison, been re-established - and some introduced plants such as Crested Wheat Grass have altered the habitat by squeezing out native plants. Things change. The prairie cannot be returned to a pure, natural state, but it has long been the objective of Parks Canada to return it to the healthiest possible alternative. And so, visitors today have a wide range of wildlife to photograph, sweeping landscape vistas, fabulous dark skies at night, and reminders of both the old ranching and homesteading days and the indigenous people who left tipi rings, bison drive lanes, and other traces of their presence.
It is a privilege to be able to walk these hills, coulees, and valleys.
Photographed in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2022 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
About 8mm long and decimating a Vibernum.....
They seem to have 3 pairs of legs at the front - but difficult to be sure even with a magnifying glass.
Possibly larvae of the Viburnum beetle.
No wonder this Great Blue Heron looks wide eyed. Just when he wants to enjoy his lunch, he's wondering if he's going to become lunch himself! That's a pretty big alligator in the background.
Large alligators will, from time to time, prey on Great Blue Herons. In recent years, the largest recorded alligator in Florida was 13ft 6ins and the largest ever recorded in Florida was 17ft 5ins according to the Everglades National Park.
Hunting and poaching decimated the population and the American alligator was listed as an endangered species in 1973 and delisted in 1987 following successful conservation efforts.
Taken at Myakka River State Park, Florida.
Thousands of lodgepole pines in Wyoming decimated by pine beetles.
© Web-Betty: digital heart, analog soul
Abandoned oyster packing house at George's Island Landing (near Stockton, MD) The 1933 hurricane decimated the oyster industry in this region and destroyed many of the buildings and docks. The March Storm of '62 finished the job.
2023 Jan 15
Canon R3 RF15-35mm F2.8 L IS USM @ 28mm
f11 135 seconds ISO 50 (NISI ND Stack 13 stops)
Despite being a regular summer visitor and breeding species in the south of the UK Eurasian Hobby is still an occasional visitor to the north.
They do seem to be becoming more regular though but you have always had to be right place to right time to see one. This Autumn though this juvenile took up residence for three weeks decimating the local dragonfly population giving a chance to finally see one in the county.
Strong southerly winds meant it was hunting behind the trees, despite the lighting challenges looking south into the sun I’m happy with this one.
🇫🇷 Après le repas à Korfos , nous réembarquons pour le retour..... via le long de la caldera, au pied de Oia.
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Seule île des Cyclades (avec Milos, moins spectaculaire) d’origine volcanique, elle ne ressemble à aucune autre. Sa géologie témoigne d’une des plus violentes éruptions de ces 10 000 dernières années. On a retrouvé des fragments de roche volcanique jusqu’à 900 km de là, Le raz-de-marée engendré aurait décimé les flottes marchandes et de guerre de l’Empire minoen, ainsi qu’une bonne partie des cités littorales crétoises.
Santorin connaît encore périodiquement des secousses, plus ou moins graves. Le 9 juillet 1956, un séisme a fait 48 morts et 200 blessés. L’île s’est alors dépeuplée.
🇬🇧 After lunch in Korfos, we board the boat for the return journey ..... via the caldera at the foot of Oia.
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The only island in the Cyclades (along with Milos, which is less spectacular) of volcanic origin, it is unlike any other. Its geology bears witness to one of the most violent eruptions of the last 10,000 years. Fragments of volcanic rock have been found up to 900 km away. The resulting tidal wave is said to have decimated the trading and naval fleets of the Minoan Empire, as well as many of the Cretan coastal towns.
Santorini still suffers tremors of varying severity from time to time. On 9 July 1956, an earthquake killed 48 people and injured 200. The island was subsequently depopulated.
🇬🇷 Μετά το μεσημεριανό γεύμα στον Κόρφο, επιβιβαζόμαστε ξανά για το ταξίδι της επιστροφής..... μέσω της καλντέρας στους πρόποδες της Οίας.
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Το μοναδικό νησί των Κυκλάδων (μαζί με τη Μήλο, η οποία είναι λιγότερο εντυπωσιακή) ηφαιστειακής προέλευσης, δεν μοιάζει με κανένα άλλο. Η γεωλογία του μαρτυρά μία από τις πιο βίαιες εκρήξεις των τελευταίων 10.000 ετών. Θραύσματα ηφαιστειακών πετρωμάτων έχουν βρεθεί σε απόσταση 900 χλμ. Το παλιρροϊκό κύμα που προέκυψε λέγεται ότι αποδεκάτισε τους εμπορικούς και πολεμικούς στόλους της Μινωικής Αυτοκρατορίας, καθώς και πολλές από τις παράκτιες πόλεις της Κρήτης.
Η Σαντορίνη εξακολουθεί να βιώνει σεισμούς κατά καιρούς, διαφορετικού βαθμού σοβαρότητας. Στις 9 Ιουλίου 1956, ένας σεισμός σκότωσε 48 ανθρώπους και τραυμάτισε 200. Στη συνέχεια το νησί ερημώθηκε.
🇩🇪 Nach dem Mittagessen in Korfos geht es wieder an Bord für die Rückfahrt ..... entlang der Caldera am Fuße von Oia.
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Oia ist die einzige Insel der Kykladen (neben der weniger spektakulären Insel Milos), die vulkanischen Ursprungs ist. Ihre Geologie zeugt von einer der gewaltigsten Eruptionen der letzten 10.000 Jahre. Die dadurch ausgelöste Flutwelle soll die Handels- und Kriegsflotte des minoischen Reiches sowie einen Großteil der kretischen Küstenstädte vernichtet haben.
Auch heute noch wird Santorin regelmäßig von kleineren und größeren Erdbeben erschüttert. Am 9. Juli 1956 kamen bei einem Erdbeben 48 Menschen ums Leben, 200 wurden verletzt. In der Folge wurde die Insel entvölkert.
🇪🇸 Después de almorzar en Korfos, volvemos a embarcar para hacer el viaje de regreso a través de la caldera situada al pie de Oia.
Es la única isla de las Cícladas (junto con Milos, que es menos espectacular) de origen volcánico, por lo que no se parece a ninguna otra. Su geología es testimonio de una de las erupciones más violentas de los últimos 10 000 años. Se han encontrado fragmentos de roca volcánica a 900 km de distancia. Se dice que el maremoto resultante diezmó las flotas mercantes y de guerra del Imperio minoico, así como muchas de las ciudades costeras cretenses.
Santorini sigue sufriendo temblores de vez en cuando, de mayor o menor gravedad. El 9 de julio de 1956, un terremoto causó 48 muertos y 200 heridos. La isla quedó entonces despoblada.
🇮🇹 Dopo pranzo a Korfos, si riparte per il viaggio di ritorno passando per la caldera ai piedi di Oia.
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Unica isola delle Cicladi (insieme a Milos, meno spettacolare) di origine vulcanica, è diversa da tutte le altre. La sua geologia testimonia una delle più violente eruzioni degli ultimi 10.000 anni. Frammenti di roccia vulcanica sono stati ritrovati fino a 900 km di distanza. Si dice che il maremoto che ne seguì decimò le flotte mercantili e da guerra dell'Impero minoico, oltre a molte delle città costiere della Creta.
Santorini è ancora soggetta a scosse di terremoto di diversa intensità. Il 9 luglio 1956, un terremoto causò 48 morti e 200 feriti. L'isola fu poi spopolata.
As a Protestant town, Rothenburg not only suffered from a permanent conflict of loyalties with the Catholic Lord of the town, the Habsburg Emperor, but was also condemned to economic ruin by passing armies, billeted soldiery, contributions obtained through coercion, and pillage. It was captured several times by the military (1631, 1645), and it population was decimated by plague.
Rothenburg still retained its Imperial credentials for a further one hundred and fifty years. This finally came to an end in 1802 and 1803, when the town fell to the Kingdom of Bavaria as part of Napoleon’s reallocation of lands. In addition, the western part of its former territories was ceded to Württemberg in 1810.
Est une espèce d'oiseaux échassiers de la famille des Ardeidae. La Grande Aigrette est le plus grand de tous les hérons et aigrettes présents en Europe. Elle a failli disparaître, décimée par les chasseurs ou piégeurs qui en revendaient les longues plumes nuptiales pour décorer les chapeaux des dames de la fin du xixe siècle au début du xxe siècle. Ce sont ensuite la destruction des zones humides, les pesticides et la destruction des mangroves qui ont rendu sa survie difficile. Elle est maintenant protégée et reconstitue lentement ses populations. Ainsi, elle est classée comme "Préoccupation mineure" par l'UICN. Elle est partiellement migratrice dans l'hémisphère nord.
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Is a species of wading birds of the family Ardeidae. The Great Egret is the largest of all herons and egrets present in Europe. It almost disappeared, decimated by the hunters or trappers who sold the long nuptial feathers to decorate the hats of the ladies from the late nineteenth century to the early twentieth century. It was then the destruction of wetlands, pesticides and the destruction of mangroves that made survival difficult. It is now protected and is slowly rebuilding its populations. Thus, it is classified as "Least Concern" by IUCN. It is partially migratory in the northern hemisphere.
This old Main Street store building in Bodie survived the 1932 fire which decimated over 90% of the town.But the 80+ years of snow,wind,and other harsh weather since then have taken their toll.Bodie averages at least 3 nights below freezing even in the summer months,and nearly 100 inches of snow each year...
Last spring, the boys found a Bumble Bee nest in our backyard, north side of the house, under our sage plant. We thoroughly enjoyed watching their progression as the nest grew, and shifted deeper into the earth and closer to the house. It was also fun to see the workers busy pollinating my raspberry bushes, etc..
This shot was taken around 3 weeks after the boys first found it. The raccoons discovered it a couple of weeks later, but the damage they wrought was minimal. One month later; however, they decimated it.
I can only hope the queen and enough workers survived, to start a new nest somewhere else.
Please don't use this image on websites, blogs, etc. without my permission.
The latest news celebrates the recovery of the Ochre sea stars along the Pacific coast. "The species’ decline goes back to 2013 when an illness began to decimate sea stars on the Pacific Coast, including in Oregon. It has devastated more than 20 sea star species, killing off billions of starfish over the past decade. The disease leads sea stars to develop lesions and makes their arms twist, melt and fall off. Its cause was only recently traced to a strain of bacteria".
www.oregonlive.com/environment/2025/10/oregon-sea-stars-b...
Re. Moths
This moth is on the inside of our living room picture window.
The North Shore has been hit with an outbreak of western hemlock looper moths, a species known to decimate trees.
While there is no health risk to humans, swarms have been gathering around lights at night, and outbreak levels have been detected at Metro Vancouver’s three watersheds — Capilano, Seymour and Coquitlam. Tiffany Crawford North Shore News Sep. 11, 2020
Re. smoky skies:
Amid a hot week across the province – with many cities and towns breaking temperature records – Environment Canada is still warning British Columbians to expect further days of smoky skies.
The murky forecast is mostly being caused by wildfire smoke being blown in from California and Washington State, where officials are battling [29] large and devastating blazes. Ashley Wadhwani Sep. 11, 2020 9:30 a.m. News
200 years ago there were said to be many of these birds in south jersey, & 100 years ago they were rare after the hat trade had decimated these shorebird populations. Today I saw 25 in the South Cove. These a a few birds in Stone Harbor, & maybe Holgate are all the Marbled Godwits in the state right now, or anyi winter. This small winter popultation has been stable for years now.
The Conemaugh and Black Lick rolls through the former Gautier Works of Bethlehem Steel's Johnstown mill complex to pick up mill gondolas for the wire mill up the river. The buildings on this part of the mill were built after the Flood of 1889 which killed 2,208 people and decimated the original 1878 Gautier Works. Most of these buildings are now operated by Gautier Steel.
I've been looking for Monarch butterflies all summer to visit my flowering front yard. I even planted 3 Milkweed plants to encourage them. I have noticed the milkweeds are pretty much decimated lately, but it was just today I realized there were a bunch of caterpillars in them. Can you believe it? In front of my nose. And believe me, they are HUNGRY! They never stopped munching on the milkweed while I busily photographed them. I was just not prepared - I hope they make it to the butterfly chrysalis stage before the food gives out. They need to hurry...
A garden visitor this morning. A somewhat guarded welcome as I have just encouraged small birds to newly filled feeders...but I did read this from RSPB.
Some people are worried that sparrowhawks eat too many small birds and cause their population to fall or even become extinct. Emotions can cloud the fact that the scientific research points to the contrary. Long-term scientific studies have shown that sparrowhawks generally have no or little impact on songbird populations.
A number of previous studies found that songbirds were no more common when sparrowhawks were absent than when they were present. When pesticides entering the food chain decimated the sparrowhawk population in the 1960s and 70s, songbird numbers remained unchanged.
It is also worth remembering that sparrowhawks and songbirds have existed side by side for thousands of years without any detrimental effect on songbird numbers. Food availability and the number of suitable nesting sites naturally restrict the number of sparrowhawks in an area. RSPB.
Honeybees are dying.
Decimated by Colony Collapse Disorder in the mid-2000s, bees remain under assault from pesticides, climate change, mites and habitat destruction. Between 2014 and 2017, about a quarter of bees in the nation's commercial colonies died each winter, significantly higher than the 15% previously considered normal.
If you're going to come along with me to see Mt. Diablo, then your have to see some very special bullfrogs (below) and some very large North American Bullfrogs, Rana catesbeiana, which used to be invasive?
To explain. At Bullfrog Pond, there were basically these one to two pound ! Bullfrogs as well as the Blue and Green below. When the water level dropped to its 2018 level, Great Blue Herons came in and decimated the Great Bullfrog, and they decimated them in less than a week.
But the Blue and Greens were still evidenced at one other pond. However the drought took it's toll on the tiny California Red-legged Toad.
I'll get back to you on the amphibian populations after we've had a decent rain, something that we've not had in 23 years.
Bullfrog Pond, with all its croaking and other mating squeals and noises, was just a magnet for me. California Ground Squirrels nested among the roots of the trees, and were prey to rattlesnakes and herons, but their populations remained.
It was interesting to see the uniquely patterned coat of this African Wild Dog on a recent day at Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo, but I did feel badly for the animal as I watched it circling continuously over the same path in the exhibit area.
The species is highly endangered; its wild population has been decimated by hunting, habitat loss and disease. So it made me feel somewhat better to learn that Lincoln Park Zoo participates in the African Wild Dog Species Survival Plan, a shared conservation effort by zoos throughout the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
As part of Lincoln Park Zoo’s Serengeti Health Initiative, a zoo-led team has vaccinated more than 1 million domestic dogs in the Serengeti region, stopping the flow of diseases such as rabies to people and predators, and making possible the reintroduction of African Wild Dogs to Serengeti National Park.
Eldgjá 20210717
Eldgjá is the largest volcanic canyon in the world, located in the South of Iceland.
At 270 meters at its deepest, 600 meters at its widest, and around 40 km long, Eldgjá covers a significant part of the country. It stretches from Landmannalaugar, a popular hot-spring and hiking area in the Icelandic Highlands, to Kirkjubæjarklaustur, a village with a long religious history on the South Coast.
Eldjá’s first recorded eruption in 939 was an incredibly powerful one. It produced the largest flood of basalt of all time; it is estimated that 18 kilometers cubed of lava was released, which spread over an area of around 800 square kilometers.
Of course, the eruption would have devastated growing agriculture at the time, as well as decimated the forests surrounding it. Iceland was very forested at this time, but eruptions like this one, and the mini-Ice Age that followed them, have left it one of the most barren countries on earth.
Further afield, it was even more impactful. Temperatures as far as Central Asia dropped two degrees, and the ash cloud made 940 AD the coolest summer in 1,500 years.
It is little wonder, therefore, why Eldgjá translates to ‘Fire Canyon’.
Source: Guide to Iceland.
The Indigo Macaw is a critically endangered resident of interior northeastern Brazil. These macaws are metallic blue throughout with a slight green tinge and have yellow on the bare orbital ring and in a semi-circular patch at the base of its lower mandible. These beautiful birds inhabit caatinga thorn scrub vegetation with stands of licurí palm (Syagrus coronata) and pastures near sandstone cliffs which they use for nesting and roosting. Although this species had been known to science through traded birds, a wild population wasn't discovered until 1978. Since then, several smaller populations have been discovered, with a final population estimate of 140 birds being made in 1994. The Indigo Macaw may have never been common, but wide scale clearing or licurí palm stands and hunting for meat and for the pet trade have decimated populations of this bird. Drastic measures are needed to save this bird from following the same path as the similar, and now presumed extinct, Glaucous Macaw (Anodorhynchus glaucus).
Panning shot - for a Blue Monday.
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Vik is directly south of Mýrdalsjökull glacier, which sits atop the Katla volcano. The volcano last erupted in 1918, and if an eruption were to occur, it could melt enough of the glacier to trigger a flash flood and decimate the town. Reyniskirkja Church is just high enough on its hill that it would be the only building to survive a flash flood. As such, villagers are instructed to rush to the church at the first sign of an eruption.
View from the "Facciatone"
In 1339 Siena crossed its moment of maximum splendor and the authorities decided that the already built transept, which is the Duomo that we can admire today, had to be lengthened and enlarged to excess, to give birth to a building with colossal dimensions. The work began and went on for over 18 years. In fact, the project was ambitious, but also very complex to implement. The works were interrupted and resumed several times due to collapses. But the project would have continued despite these difficulties. Then the plague stop the construction, decimated the population and sanctioned the end of the Sienese dream.
After the plague Siena was unable to recover and after a long period of political instability that failed to bring the Republic back to its former glory, blow by blow, battle after battle ended up being absorbed in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.
Today, the "Facciatone", the bare façade of the Duomo that was never built, remained of the magnificence and ambitious projects.
Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary
Southwest Florida
Southeast, USA
The American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis), sometimes referred to colloquially as a gator or common alligator, is a large crocodilian reptile endemic to the southeastern United States. It is one of two living species in the genus Alligator within the family Alligatoridae; it is larger than the other extant alligator species, the Chinese alligator.
Adult male American alligators measure 3.4 to 4.6 m (11 to 15 ft) in length, and can weigh up to 453 kg (1,000 lb). Females are smaller, measuring around 3 m (9.8 ft).
The American alligator inhabits freshwater wetlands, such as marshes and cypress swamps from Texas to North Carolina. It is distinguished from the sympatric American crocodile by its broader snout, with overlapping jaws and darker coloration, and is less tolerant of saltwater but more tolerant of cooler climates than the American crocodile, which is found only in tropical climates.
Alligators are apex predators and consume fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. Hatchlings feed mostly on invertebrates. They play an important role as ecosystem engineers in wetland ecosystems through the creation of alligator holes, which provide both wet and dry habitats for other organisms.
Throughout the year, but particularly during the breeding season, alligators bellow to declare territory and locate suitable mates. Male alligators use infrasound to attract females.
The American alligator is listed as Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Historically, hunting had decimated their population, and the American alligator was listed as an endangered species by the Endangered Species Act of 1973. Subsequent conservation efforts have allowed their numbers to increase and the species was removed from the list in 1987. - Wikipedia
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I found a place where the Irvine Police weren't guarding against photographers. The only person in uniform I saw at the sports park was a guy carrying baseball equipment.
Hope Everyone is doing well. Did a walk over in Kennsington yesterday and saw the usual wonderful birds.
Funny story about Blue Jays: When I was growing up we had a cat named Fluffy. She was a huntress or serial killer. She roamed our backyard and killed birds, chipmunks, and snakes. She did not nab any squirrels that we know of. She single handedly decimated the Blue Jay population. She tormented the local wildlife for 15 years.
I guess that is more a disturbing than funny story.
I often hear these birds, up high in the canopy, rarely to never to actually see one, and even rarer still to find one at eye level on a clear perch. Lucky for me I stumbled upon this curious bird while photographing a rambunctious Black & White warbler, and was surprised to see how patient he was as he was grabbing bugs off these lower branches of a tree that was previously decimated by catepillars. Impressive flyers these birds are!
We have something for her ;-)
Baby skunks (Kits) were the last thing I thought I'd see that morning when I went to the greenhouse. I was overjoyed to watch 8 of them frolic around. However, my Mom had the opposite reaction to the skunk convention, she went OMG get someone out to get rid of them. (I swear I could hear my dad laughing) I calmly told her they had as much right to be here on my land as us and besides, this is the country not the city you can't just hire someone to do away with varmints you have to do it yourself. I also reassured her that they'd be gone by morning. Mom asked me how I knew this and I replied, well, If I was a mother skunk that is what I would do if a human saw my babies. She did make an appearance with her tail in full alarm mode just in case I showed her babies ill will. My dog (Lexy) stayed clear without me telling her to do so; she had a run in with them a few years back. The skunks were gone the next day just as I predicted.
Hope all is well with everyone. Alberta and B.C has just went through an unprecedented heat dome event and I have no A/C but I did jump into an ice cold lake and go for a swim every day, then spent the hottest hours by a creek with my feet in the water. Also hung out at a few waterfalls. Where there's a will... there's a way! My heart goes out to all the people who lost homes and animals in the wildfire that decimated a B.C town. Be safe out there.
The Siena Cathedral was built between 1215 and 1263 and was designed by Nicola Pisano and his son, Giovanni, who continued the design when construction took place from 1285. The upper half of the façade was not added until the 14th century, a time of great wealth and prosperity for Siena. At the time, plans were considered to transform the church into a giant masterpiece that could even rival St Peter's, Rome, using the existing building to form a transept with this enormous imagined cathedral. However, this ambitious project unfortunately never came to fruition as work was interrupted by the arrival of the Black Death in the city in 1348, which decimated the city's population. The walls of the new cathedral are still only a shell of the desired final product.
I'm glad I got some shots of this earlier, as the heavy rain recently has decimated my garden.
*Since the meaning of the name 'Susan' is 'a lily', I choose a Tiger Lily which describes my personality the best! : )
The Siena Cathedral was built between 1215 and 1263 and was designed by Nicola Pisano and his son, Giovanni, who continued the design when construction took place from 1285. The upper half of the façade was not added until the 14th century, a time of great wealth and prosperity for Siena. At the time, plans were considered to transform the church into a giant masterpiece that could even rival St Peter's, Rome, using the existing building to form a transept with this enormous imagined cathedral. However, this ambitious project unfortunately never came to fruition as work was interrupted by the arrival of the Black Death in the city in 1348, which decimated the city's population. The walls of the new cathedral are still only a shell of the desired final product.
The town of Stanley in Tasmania's picturesque north west is just beginning to wake up. It has a regular population of 550, but this swells in summer holiday periods. Stanley's economy is dependent on farming (particularly cattle and sheep) and tourism.
Unfortunately the tourist sector has been decimated by border closures in the pandemic. There are no international tourists and very few coming from the Australian mainland at the moment. And that is unlikely to change even through 2022. Such a pity since this part of Tasmania (like most of regional Australia) has never had a single case.
I've told the story before, so long time 'listeners' feel free to left click on by..... :)
I'd been to Johnstons Ridge Observatory several times and always wandered along Boundary Trail #1 taking picks of our most volatile volcano, I'd never seen a spur and thought that was it due to the fact that this land is being studied to see how it reacts over time after the 1980 eruption. On a whim I stuck my head in and asked the ranger at the desk what else is out there, she said Loowit Falls. Falls?.... Where? she hands me a map and says eight miles, she looks me up and down (I kid you not!), both ways. Challenge accepted! I had NO idea that people were allowed down into the pumice fields and I was freakin' elated. I'd come without a plan, certainly hadn't packed for a 16 miler but I was going.
It was several miles before the Truman Trail and I walked it in thick fog, never saw Saint Helens until I made that right and descended into the decimated Toutle Valley and then, there it was ...... :)
Loowit Falls is actually visible from here just below the killer cloud to the right. It's a much shorter hike from Windy Ridge, but you won't get this view.
Zoom in and look at the hummocks, fancy word for large pieces of mountain strewn about. A closer look at the falls in comment section, along with a description.
The year is 1148, when Galgano Guidotti is born into a wealthy noble family living in the nearby town of Chiusdino. The boy grows up in prosperity and peace, far from the poverty and everyday problems of most of his contemporaries. As a young man, he leads a carefree life, becomes a knight and everything indicates that he will lead a life identical to his wealthy ancestors. And suddenly one night - as the legend goes - Galgano experiences an epiphany and a calling. At the age of 32, he abandons his prosperous life and settles on the Montesiepi hill as a hermit. He dies only a year later. After abandoning his prosperous life, Galgano plunges his sword into a rock on the Montesiepi hill. He is also buried there after his death, and four years later, construction of a rather original, Romanesque temple begins above the sword. It is a small rotunda topped with a dome, to which residential buildings are attached. From the church there is a beautiful view of the gentle hills of Val di Merse.
About five decades after the death of the hermit Guidotti, Cistercians from the Casamari monastery in Lazio arrived in the meadows at the foot of Montesiepi Hill and began to build a temple and adjacent monastic buildings in Galgano's honour. It was the first Gothic church in Tuscany, which later became the inspiration for the builders of the Cathedral in Siena. The monks thrived in these lands until the mid-14th century, when a famine, followed by a terrible plague epidemic, decimated the population of Tuscany.
The Cistercian order began to decline, the expansion of the abbey was halted, and the monks left Val di Merse. The final blow came on a stormy night in the late 18th century, when a lightning strike allegedly caused the vault and bell tower to collapse. Today, the ruins of the Abbey of San Galgano are a secular building.
A photo from last February. It was my dash to the hills to catch some winter weather which had been missing up until then. My attraction to this photo is the muted winter layers. Follow my eyes up the tufted and snow dusted fell side, the sleeping deciduous trees, then a line of rusted larches bringing a dash of winter colour, to the decimated confers higher up, before sunlight on St Sunday Crag and the moody sky. Now eyes front.
"Arrested 7th October 1942..."
Two of the local 'Stolpersteine', which are cobblestone-sized memorials commemorating victims of the Holocaust.
Stolpersteine / [stumbling stones], by artist Gunter Demnig, are now found in many of the countries where the Jewish population was decimated in the Holocaust, including Norway.
An overview of Stolpersteine in Norway is available here.
4th October 2016 © Lise Utne
View from the "Facciatone"
In 1339 Siena crossed its moment of maximum splendor and the authorities decided that the already built transept, which is the Duomo that we can admire today, had to be lengthened and enlarged to excess, to give birth to a building with colossal dimensions. The work began and went on for over 18 years. In fact, the project was ambitious, but also very complex to implement. The works were interrupted and resumed several times due to collapses. But the project would have continued despite these difficulties. Then the plague stop the construction, decimated the population and sanctioned the end of the Sienese dream.
After the plague Siena was unable to recover and after a long period of political instability that failed to bring the Republic back to its former glory, blow by blow, battle after battle ended up being absorbed in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.
Today, the "Facciatone", the bare façade of the Duomo that was never built, remained of the magnificence and ambitious projects.
This was changed by the Thirty Years’ War. As a Protestant town, Rothenburg not only suffered from a permanent conflict of loyalties with the Catholic Lord of the town, the Habsburg Emperor, but was also condemned to economic ruin by passing armies, billeted soldiery, contributions obtained through coercion, and pillage. It was captured several times by the military (1631, 1645), and it population was decimated by plague.
Rothenburg still retained its Imperial credentials for a further one hundred and fifty years. This finally came to an end in 1802 and 1803, when the town fell to the Kingdom of Bavaria as part of Napoleon’s reallocation of lands. In addition, the western part of its former territories was ceded to Württemberg in 1810.
These moths' caterpillars have decimated my box hedges for the past two years. I didn't know they liked lavender too! I didn't take a macro lens with me today, so I used my standard zoom, and I'm pleased with the result, (but I'll take a macro lens ext time).
When I was growing up in the 1970’s, Manhattan’s beautiful Central Park had become somewhat decimated, run down, a visual blight as the city struggled with bankruptcy, high crime rates, it was a dark time that was painfully reflected in the neglect of the park. It was in 1980 when I was in high school that the parks two most influential and powerful advocacy groups the Central Park Task Force and the Central Park Community Fund became one organization , the Central Park Conservancy. The focus would be to create a master plan to tackle the dilapidated grounds of Central Park. At first the organization labor alone, working gradually to restore the rundown landscapes demonstrating that it could be done. Their efforts were rewarded as their accountability showed the park could be restored and soon attracted financial support from private individuals, foundations and corporations who soon began to funnel finances towards 3 successive campaigns starting in 1987 which have changed the fortunes of Central Park to where today, it is one of the most visited sites in New York City. The Conservancy has been able to build an endowment to ensure that Central Park will continue to be maintained and supported.
Particularly lovely was the restoration of Civil War General William Tecumseh Sherman and the Grand Army Plaza located on the southeast corner of the park, the statue was dedicated in 1903 and was the last major work of master sculptor Augustus Staint-Gaudens. In 2013 the statue was cleaned and a fresh gilding of 23.75 karat gold leaf restoring it to its former glory. This image was captured after the so-called blizzard of this winter, snow surrounding its base, contrasting beautifully with the statues impressive gold leaf. The park has almost 30 statues within its confines.
Taken with Olympus E-5 using an Olympus Zuiko Digital ED 12-60mm F2.8-4.0 SWD lens processed in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom.
www.nycgovparks.org/parks/grand-army-plaza-m062/monuments...
Est une espèce d'oiseaux échassiers de la famille des Ardeidae. La Grande Aigrette est le plus grand de tous les hérons et aigrettes présents en Europe. Elle a failli disparaître, décimée par les chasseurs ou piégeurs qui en revendaient les longues plumes nuptiales pour décorer les chapeaux des dames de la fin du xixe siècle au début du xxe siècle. Ce sont ensuite la destruction des zones humides, les pesticides et la destruction des mangroves qui ont rendu sa survie difficile. Elle est maintenant protégée et reconstitue lentement ses populations. Ainsi, elle est classée comme "Préoccupation mineure" par l'UICN. Elle est partiellement migratrice dans l'hémisphère nord.
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Is a species of wading birds of the family Ardeidae. The Great Egret is the largest of all herons and egrets present in Europe. It almost disappeared, decimated by the hunters or trappers who sold the long nuptial feathers to decorate the hats of the ladies from the late nineteenth century to the early twentieth century. It was then the destruction of wetlands, pesticides and the destruction of mangroves that made survival difficult. It is now protected and is slowly rebuilding its populations. Thus, it is classified as "Least Concern" by IUCN. It is partially migratory in the northern hemisphere.
The aftermath of ash dieback disease on the hills above Titsey Park in Surrey..
From the Woodland Trust:
"Ash dieback will kill around 80% of ash trees across the UK. At a cost of billions, the effects will be staggering. It will change the landscape forever and threaten many species which rely on ash.
The fungus overwinters in leaf litter on the ground, particularly on ash leaf stalks. It produces small white fruiting bodies between July and October which release spores into the surrounding atmosphere.
These spores can blow tens of miles away. They land on leaves, stick to and then penetrate into the leaf and beyond. The fungus then grows inside the tree, eventually blocking its water transport systems, causing it to die.
The tree can fight back, but year-on-year infections will eventually kill it."
Anyone watching "The Last Of Us"? And wondering if we're next? Cheerful thought isn't it! :-)