I don't know if this means I'm a full fledged landscape photographer yet, but I can honestly say I have gotten my "feet wet".

A couple of weeks ago a Flickr friend and fellow photographer David Frey, contacted me to let me know that he would be visiting the San Diego area around the holidays and ask if I would like to spend the day shooting Hospital Reef. Of course I jumped at the opportunity to spent some time with a higher caliber photographer than myself which always leads to more learning.

At 3:00am I packed up my gear and headed off down the freeway giving us plenty of time to scout the reef and set up. We checked the tide time and height using a fisherman's site and found that the tide level would be very high, but I wasn't sure how high up on the reef the best formations are situated. It was going to be a total crap shoot as far as tide levels go but I was confident that the weather was going to be perfect. It had rained the day before and the NWS radar that I had been watching in anticipation all week promised a great sunrise and possibly sunset. After chatting with David for a while we soon located the potholes and several other popular formations and then waited for the light as it was still totally dark.

I knew the sun would be behind us in the morning but I was hoping that we would get some good cross lighting which usually happens if it's cloudy in the west and clear in the east, which was case this morning, and it didn't disappoint.

This is a shot taken later in the day. When David and I returned for sunset. He went directly to the composition that he had found earlier in the day and planted himself there for three hours. "I'm gonna wait for the light to come to me" he said. I'm not that confident when it comes to staying put during "panic time" thats what i call the 30 minutes during sunset. I ran around to 7 or 8 different compositions during the sunset and grabbed some really cool shots. I am still learning how to manipulate time through my lens and I think I went a little to long on this shot, but considering I was using no filters I think it turned out fairly good. I hope you like it too. :)

Thank you for taking the time to visit and as always, your views, comments, faves, and support are greatly appreciated!! :) Have a great week ahead everybody. :)

If you have any questions about this photo or about photography in general, I will do my best to help, just post a comment or send me a Flickr mail and I will respond as quickly as possible.

Please do me a favor and follow me on my other social sites found below:

500px | Facebook | Flickr | Google+ | Instagram | Youtube

Yesterday Marybeth told me that the swallows were making nests in the barn and kept landing on the fence right outside the door. It seemed like a good time to configure the long lens and see what I could catch. The whole time I was moving about, Snoopy, Marybeth and Brianne's horse, was very interested in what I was doing. He's never really been too interested in me (unless I have a peppermint candy for him) and it seemed odd. Poor guy, it's sad to see him bored, he misses his little pony girlfriend.

Well unlike all the master bird photographers that I follow here on flickr, I generally don't have much patience when it comes to waiting around for a bird to do something interesting. A lot of nothing and I was ready to go back in the house, I looked over at Snoopy and it seemed like he was posing for me so I caught this shot of him. In reality, he was probably hoping I would give him a peppermint candy. When I took a look on the computer I was a bit surprised but 500mm did him pretty good with the soft light of the slightly hazy, smoke filled air.

A week or so ago, I wrote about my favourite (endangered) Garry oak meadow. I wasn't very clear. As often happens, I was arguing from more than one place at once. A couple of commenters misunderstood me completely... and I don't blame them. I was pretty muddled. Here's what I was trying to say (and I'll try to be clearer).

Our world has reached a stage where hardly anything is "natural." Think about it. Try to name just one thing. It's nearly impossible, given how much we humans have altered the planet. Even the weather... which would seem the most natural thing of all... is so mucked up because of what we've done to the environment.

Last year, some scientists reported the results of their study of highrise window grime around Toronto. They found significant amounts of chemicals banned in North America for decades... presumably carrried here by atmospheric systems from less developed countries with fewer regulations.

More recently, I listened to a radio doc. in which a young Canadian recounted her experience living in China for a year. She tried to ride a bicycle and couldn't; couldn't breathe. Even walking, she said she sometimes vomited from the sheer thickness of the air pollution.

Tempting, when you hear that, to look around smugly at your own apparently wide-open spaces, and clean air, and pristine wilderness... but, no. It's not pristine. Nothing is any more. Because the whole broader global ecosystem has been altered in presumably irreversable ways.

And here's another anecdote to illustrate the point.

Some years ago, there was a massive fire in Yellowstone Park; it burned for weeks. It stymied all firefighting efforts and, at one point, someone said "Why not let it burn?" That's what would happen in nature, after all. Forest fires were part of the natural order of things... clearing out brush and dead wood and whatnot and making space for rejuvenated habitat.

But that only works within a natural system. And we ain't got one. Not any more. And no... I'm not despairing... just trying (not too successfully I fear) to make my argument that almost NOTHING is natural.

Living in houses? Driving cars? Using computers? Flying in planes? It's all way-out shit when you really stop and think about it.

Which makes rubber masks seem... well... if not natural, then certainly within the range of "normal" in today's world.

But... wait. There IS something natural left.

Love. Long may it reign. And may we some day reach a place where no one is judged or punished or ostracized for who they love. Because that's the most unnatural phenomenon of all.

(Added to the Cream of the Crop pool as most interesting, as judged by Flickr.)

He could see it all in his mind - his escape.

He'd pack a few things. Commune with the cat. Sit waiting in the dark till the wife got home... and then just tell her, flat out.

There would be no drama. No conflict. No fighting. He would just tell her, flat out, "I'm leaving." And that would be the end of that.

She would be stunned. Would stand in the light from the hall in her pink waitress uniform... apron greasy... hair damp, frizzing out around the edges... staring at him... uncomprehending. Maybe she would shake her head. Or raise one hand to the fake gold locket at her throat. Or, with both hands, clutch at her apron.

He could see her hands... red, raw, big boned... calloused from all her long years of drudgery. Remembered those hands on his fevered forehead... on his arm... on his chest... clawing at his back. Remembered all the times she had cared for him... nursed him... seeing him through his illness. And supporting him. Working evenings at the diner, and extra shifts, and cleaning houses on the side... while he stayed home, finding himself, surfing the Internet, playing with his camera.

"Why don't you ever take pictures of me?" she asked him once, shyly.

He was kind enough to not say "Because you're unattractive." But she knew from the way he looked at her.

She had seen whom and what he did choose to photograph. Models. Long lean sexy women. On billboards, on bus shelter ads, in magazines.

He didn't care that someone else had done the real work - acquiring the models, setting up the shots... getting the look and the lighting and the tones and everything else just right.

He didn't care. When he shot them himself, they became his property. And there on his computer screen, when he downloaded the images, they were undeniably and absolutely "his" girls... His because he'd taken them - stolen them, captured them for his own private use, his own enjoyment.

The wife, by comparison, was old, soft, lumpy... sinewy in all the wrong places. He pictured her standing there, her face in shadow, speechless... stunned... as he pushed past her, out the door with his little overnight bag.

He wouldn't ask for anything. She could keep the rented apartment, the black and white TV, the second-hand furniture... even the computer. He had his discs, his photographs, his girls... right there in the hard-sided cloth overnight bag.

He had cash, too. He'd been socking away his "allowance" for months... and had enough, he thought, to buy his own computer.

He really hadn't thought about how he would support himself, or even where he'd go, although... in his mind... he saw himself living in a penthouse apartment with big shiny skylights and see-through curtains and a panoramic view of the river. He pictured the girls from his computer discs with him... lounging on leather couches... bubbling in the bath.

He sat in the dark, clutched the overnight bag, stroked it gently, smiling to himself, waiting for the sound of her feet on the stairs, her key in the door... fantasizing. Pictured the wife from the back... her broad hips... her blue-veined legs... her nurse shoes. Pictured her doubled with grief, receding from him as he made his escape.

And then she was home.

He sat up, alert.

He could hear her fumbling in her purse for her keys.

He held the overnight bag and lined up the words inside his mouth: "I'm leaving."

The door opened and the wife walked in. Weary. Preoccupied. She walked right past him in the darkened living room, didn't even see him sitting there.

He heard her in the bathroom, running water. Brushing her teeth. Flushing the toilet.

Then he heard the squeak of springs as she lowered herself into bed.

"Honey?" she called from the bedroom. "Are you coming to bed? It's late."

In the livingroom he closed his eyes, breathed deeply, hugged the overnight bag to his chest.

"Yes," he called back to the wife. "I'm coming. Just a minute." And he rose from the couch.

And before he went to bed, he slid the overnight bag back into its secret place at the very back of the closet. With his discs. With his girls. With his freedom; his escape.

🎶🎶🎶

One day it's here and then it's gone

How are you still holding on?

How are you still holding on?

You've felt this way for far too long

Waiting for a change to come

You know you're not the only one

And life passes you by

Don't be wasting your time

On your own

You always try to see yourself

Through the eyes of someone else

Through the eyes of someone else

Too shy to say that you need help

You and everybody else

You and everybody else

Oh, life passes you by

Don't waste your time

On your own

Yeah life passes you by

Don't be wasting your time

All alone

As your heart gets bigger

And you try to figure out

What's it all about

And your skin gets thicker

As you try to figure out

What's it all about

Yeah life passes you by

Don't waste your time

On your own

One day it's here and then it's gone

How are you still holding on?

How are you still holding on?

*many thanks to my dear friend Tre Meldazis, that allowed me to work in this peaceful and gorgeous SIM to take the pic :)

**using pose made by me... :))

at La Vie in Second Life

Lézard Vert

My best photos are here: www.lacerta-bilineata.com/ticino-best-photos-of-southern-...

Western green lizard | Lacerta bilineata | adult male | Ticino (Switzerland) | 05-2022

More TICINO/TESSIN Wildlife Photos (all taken in my garden in Monteggio/Ti, Switzerland): it.lacerta-bilineata.com/ramarro-occidentale-lacerta-bili... (the website exists in ESPAÑOL, FRANÇAIS, ITALIANO, ENGLISH, DEUTSCH)

My latest ANIMAL VIDEO (warning, it's a bit shocking): www.youtube.com/watch?v=4T2-Xszz7FI

In case you're interested, you'll find a less cropped version of the photo above: www.lacerta-bilineata.com/western-green-lizard-lacerta-bi...

The story behind the photo:

For the most part, I try to show photos here that come with an entertaining anecdote that my fellow Flickerites can identify with and enjoy; the world offers enough misery as it is, so my goal is to cheer you up, not to drag you down. But here for once I feel I have a responsibility to share with you what I see as a cautionary tale - and I don't blame you if you turn away now, because what follows is not a pleasant read.

But before I get into that I want to say that the year 2022 was - at least as far as my photographic endeavors were concerned - an amazing one, and I'm very grateful. It was a year of many firsts for me; I managed to produce my first acceptable bird photo; I was for the first time able to capture a roe deer as well as a swallowtail, a mantis and even a fox (which I can't wait to show you): all from within my tiny garden in Ticino.

But while there were many wonderful encounters with the fascinating creatures that share "my" vacation home and its adjacent garden with me that I was only too happy to show here, you might have noticed that the lizard species whose Latin name is my alias on Flickr and that - still - "kinda" serves as the main focus of my gallery, has been absent for a long while.

One of the reasons for holding back on new Lacerta bilineata photos is obviously that I decided to widen my focus a bit and that I now concentrate on all the species I manage to capture in my garden and its immediate surroundings.

But there is another reason I haven't uploaded any western greens this summer. Even though I shot dozens of photos of some of the most gorgeous individuals of the species I've ever seen (many of which you can also find here: www.lacerta-bilineata.com/western-green-lizard-lacerta-bi... ), those were all taken on the other side of the village, and not in my garden.

The beautiful male above was in fact one of only 3 western greens I found (alive) in the vicinity of my garden between May and October in 2022 - and out of those he's the only one I was able to photograph.

So what happened? Well, a year ago the neighbor to my immediate left got a young cat, and at the same time, the neighbor to my right also adopted two kittens. Before I continue, it is important to me that you know that I myself am very much a cat person: I adore felines of any kind, and in our own household (though not at our vacation home) we've always had generations of cats, and they were and are as dear to us as our human family members.

So I have no interest in pushing any sort of "anti-cat agenda"; I'm just telling you what happened. By the time spring 2022 came around, my neighbors' cats were almost fully grown and had developed their hunting skills. Between the three of them, they killed up to a dozen western green lizards every day once the reptiles started re-emerging from their winter hiding places which is when they generally are at their most slow and vulnerable.

It was easy to count the dead lizards, because the cats didn't eat them, and whenever I was outside rarely an hour passed without one of the cats showing up with a lizard or some other animal in its mouth. They also killed most of the snakes, even the slightly longer ones at 50-70cm.

Within only a few weeks, the entire Lacerta bilineata population in and around my garden was gone, and the same was true for the population of green whip snakes, while even the number of common wall lizards, which were extremely abundant before, markedly went down during that same time period.

There had always been cats in our village, and I was aware or at least suspected that the ebb and flow of the bilineata population in the past was somewhat tied to how many cats were permanently present at any given time, but my immediate neighbors had never had cats before (which is probably why a tiny population of this protected reptile species had managed to survive around my house).

Now experiencing up close what an impact only 3 cats can have on an isolated, small reptile population was absolutely shocking. What I witnessed made me sad, but I'm not angry at the cats - nor do I hold a grudge towards my neighbors, who are kind, generous and all around lovely people.

And while I don't want to lecture anybody, what I would like to do is offer a few ideas how we as cat-lovers can help mitigate the averse effects our beloved pets' predatory nature (which is nobody's fault: least of all the cats') has on the ecosystems around our homes.

If we live in areas where there's threatened/protected species close to our homes that our cats will prey upon, the time when we let our pets out of the house can already make a huge difference. For example, western green lizards are at their most active between 8am and 11am, and not letting our cats out during that period can already increase the lizards' chance of survival.

If you're a cat lover like me but you also want to protect your local fauna, knowing when during the day birds and reptiles are the most active as well as knowing their breeding/nesting cycles is crucial, and by adjusting the times or time periods when you let your cat out of the house (or not) accordingly will make a vital difference.

But there are also simpler approaches: most reptiles and birds (which are by far the most vulnerable to hunting cats) are not active during the night. Rodents like rats and mice on the other hand very much are, so if you mostly let your cat out after sunset, it will predominantly hunt mice and rats, which are usually abundant enough that their populations aren't threatened (this at least is true for western Europe - other regions might have threatened wildlife that is active during the night, so if you do care, try to educate yourself about the creatures that will fall prey to your pet).

Cats are perfectly adapted to night activity, but they switch to more daytime activity in order to better fit the routine of "their" humans. So while our cats probably won't like it at first to have to stay indoors during the day, they will quickly adapt and accept it, as long as they know they will be able to leave the house once the sun has gone down.

Naturally, there might be practical issues involved that make it impossible to try some of the above (like the presence of coyotes who will eat your cats if they are out at night), but who knows, maybe one person or other will find some of these suggestions useful. And while it may be too late for "my" lizards, I just feel an obligation to at least try to help raise awareness on the issue (although I realize this is a touchy subject and people have strong opinions about it).

In any case, thank you so much for taking the time to read this not very pleasant text. And as always, let me know what you think of the photo in the comments below - but please refrain from making any "heated" statements regarding the issue at hand out of respect for other commenters whose feelings you might hurt (if you feel very strongly about this subject and want to "vent", you may always reach me via my Flickr Mail).

Many greetings from Switzerland and a belated HAPPY NEW YEAR to all of you!!! 🎉 😊 ❤!

youtu.be/D4cuND89Uug

♫ Tesla - Paradise ♫

Hold me close now, hold me tight

Don't let go of me tonight

You're all I want, you're all I need

Hold me close now, hold me tight

And don't let go of me tonight

Sweet paradise, yeah

How I love all of those crazy little things

You've said and done for me

You're the one for me

Darling, dry your eyes

I can't stand to see you cry

Now just turn and walk away

Don't look back when I say

Goodbye paradise

Days go by and life goes on

I feel I've been away too long

What I would give to be with you

Days go by and life drags on

Feel I've been away too long

For much too long, yeah

And all the while that I'm away

Don't let our love fade away

Don't you fade away

Now as sure as sun is gonna shine the day will come

Now I'm waiting for the day

There'll be no more saying

Goodbye paradise

My sweet paradise

You are the reason why it tears me up inside

And I break down and cry

Didn't wanna say

Goodbye paradise

I'm coming home to you tonight

Coming home to you tonight

So hold on tight

Tonight I'm on my way

Back home to paradise

I'm so lost without you

I can't live without you

I've been away too long

Now tonight I'm on my way back home to you

My, my paradise

My, my paradise

To hold you in my arms

You're all that I adore

To see your smiling face

As I walk through the door, yeah

I'll never say goodbye again, no

This Picture is part of my contribution for Relay For Life of Second Life Attention Magazine's June 22 Issue. The entire Magazine is coming up in purple, it is an issue dedicated to cancer awareness, and staying hopeful that even in the darkest of times, there is hope and better days ahead.

Relay For Life of Second Life Attention Magazine's June 22 Issue

Taken @ Tranquility Dreams

I know may of you have in some way or the other felt Cancer close up, either had Cancer your self or know of somebody who is or has been fighting the battle of cancer. Even though some dont make it trough the battle, we must always remain hopeful that there is hope. That is why we have to keep up the work in finding ways to fight this disease, by awareness and research that can help fight the disease.

My best photos are here: www.lacerta-bilineata.com/ticino-best-photos-of-southern-...

Western Green Lizard (Lacerta Bilineata) | Male In "Wedding Suit" During Mating Season In Spring | Monteggio (CH) | May 2021

More TICINO/TESSIN Wildlife Photos (all taken in my garden in Monteggio/Ti, Switzerland): it.lacerta-bilineata.com/ramarro-occidentale-lacerta-bili... (the website exists in ESPAÑOL, FRANÇAIS, ITALIANO, ENGLISH, DEUTSCH)

My latest ANIMAL VIDEO (warning, it's a bit shocking): www.youtube.com/watch?v=4T2-Xszz7FI

ABOUT THIS PHOTO:

When male western green lizards are in love, their face turns blue. This doesen't happen instantly (they can't change color at will like chameleons); the lizards need to shed their old, slightly less colorful (but also very pretty) skin first, and once that is accomplished, they appear in the beautiful "wedding suit" you can see in this photo.

With this look they try to impress the lady lizards during mating season, which lasts approximately from April to June, but the colors are the most striking in the immediate aftermath of the lizards losing their "old coat". I was very lucky to capture this gorgeous male at this very moment; in fact, you can still see parts of the old, dark skin covering the top of its head and other parts of the body where it hadn't quite come off yet.

But I was lucky in more than one sense with this photo. Let me explain (I have an idea some photographer or other here on Flickr will be able to sympathize with the anecdote that follows ;-). This year in May when I hoped to photograph the green lizards around my vacation home with my newly purchased camera, I soon realized something was different from the years before, because I couldn't find a single one of my green friends in their usual spots in my garden.

As I would learn over the next few days, the entire western green lizard population had relocated from my garden into a huge fly honeysuckle shrub just outside my garden next to an empty horse pasture where they were relatively safe from the growing number of cats in our village that had specialized in lizard hunting. Up in that shrub, not only was it hard for ground predators to get at them, but the lizards also had an excellent 360° view of their surroundings.

Western green lizards are naturally very shy, but this apparently traumatized group now had become hyper-alert to anything approaching them, and they immediately fled into the thickest of the leaves whenever I tried to get near enough for a usable photo. Now, I'm not one to give up easily (and I really, REALLY wanted to get those photos), so I tried every sneaky-stealth-approach technique I could think of (even crawling on all fours - which in hindsight was a terrible idea since all it did was making me look like the world's biggest and ugliest cat to the lizards) - but to no avail.

Completely exasperated, I came up with a new strategy. I would keep that fly honeysuckle shrub under constant observation; like an FBI agent preparing for a crackdown on a suspected Mafia hideout, I was there, watching and waiting, hour after hour, all day long. It took me another several days until I had finally figured out at what times of the day the males usually left the fly honeysuckle shrub; I wanted to know their "schedule" so I could be there before them and blend in with the environment, ready to photograph them as soon as they would show up on the ground.

And all my meticulous, hard work seemed to pay off: the first day I took this appraoch a gorgeous male showed up just where I expected it to (although Mr Lizard had me waiting for alomst two hours!). Alas, I hadn't considered where the sun would be and had installed myself in such a stupid angle that the lizard was backlit; in all the photos the little devil appeared only as a mostly black silhouette against the bright morning sun. I cursed my stupidity, tore out my hair and was close to throwing my expensive new camera against a wall in anger and frustration. Then I remembered the cold beer in the fridge and realized that life was still worth living, and I promised myself to do better next time.

The next day I was smart enough to make camp in a spot form where the object of my photographic desire would be perfectly lit (from the lizard's perspective, now I would be the black silhouette against the sun ;-). I waited. And I waited some more. And it was hot and getting hotter by the minute. After nearly 3 hours during which my neighbors started to give me very funny looks (in fact, they had already decided the day before that I must be crazy, what with standing motionless in front of a bush for several hours in the burning sun), around noon, I'd had enough. And that's when I heard something moving in the grass.

And there he was: barely visible through the thick green carpet, but definitely coming towards me. A few seconds later a virtual lizard king appeared, in all his gorgeous green and blue glory, and perfectly lit - and that's when I heard loud, happy voices approaching. Two young boys came running - and the lizard stopped dead in its tracks (unfortunately, it was still a bit too far away for a good photo). I'm not religious, but I started a quick prayer then and there (please God, please: let these kids not be running towards me - PLEASE!!!).

But nope, God apparently remembered that I usually refer to myself as agnostic, and surely enough the two boys ran right to where I was - and where Mr Lizard now wasn't. All that yelling and running was too much for my lizard king: goodbye and "auf Wiedersehen"; see ya next year - and off he went. And that was that. I couldn't believe it; I felt a frustration so intense wash over me I regretted ever having picked up a camera.

As for the kids, don't worry: both boys are alive and well ;-) It was the first day of their Pentecost holiday, and they had just arrived in the village. I was standing next to the empty horse pasture, and the two little boys now innocently asked me where the horsies went (they had obviously been looking forward to seeing them and now were very disappointed). I took a deep breath and muttered that I had no idea.

I don't know how other photographers would have felt in that situation, but I only wanted to be left alone (and possibly tear out what was left of my hair and reconsider that wall and what nice noise it would make upon collision with my camera ;-). Needless to say, the kids had other plans. Now that it was clear that there were no horsies, I had become the main attraction, and they weren't going anywhere. So I swallowed my anger, accepted that - obviously - the kids didn't do anything wrong (and also that I would probably never ever be able to get that desired shot with my new camera).

The boys were eager to know what I was photographing, and so I told them everything about western green lizards, about their amazing colors and how rare and shy they were, and that they were among the largest lizards in Europe and a protected species - and my two new friends became instantly fascinated. Now they wanted to wait and see this magical creature with their own eyes. I assured them there was no chance the lizard would come back after all the noise "we" had made, and just as I said this, one of the boys yelled "I see it!"

And sure enough, he was right. Apparently my lizard king had decided that a little yelling and running wasn't gonna get between him and his favorite sun-basking spot, a little heap of cut, dry grass underneath the fence of the horse pasture. I told the kids to be very still - which they were - and then we all got to see how this beautiful creature emerged from the grass, very, very slowly and carefully, and positioned itself on the heap of dry grass in such a way that it got the perfect amount of sunlight.

So in the end I got my portrait shot - and quite a few more in the weeks that followed (which you can find on my website www.lacerta-bilineata.com ). During the remainder of their holiday the two kids would run into me every now and then, and every time they excitedly talked about this fantastic, blue-headed reptile they had seen with me that day. I guess only time will tell, but I hope this encounter has sparked an interest in nature in them (I have a feeling the next time they spend their holiday in our little village, the horsies will have some reptilian competition ;-)

Osprey are one of several migratory raptors from Central Asia / Europe that dot the lakes during winters. They are often found near shallow lakes here with high perches - either trees or large high tension power line towers. The birds hunt once-twice and then rest most of the day maddeningly for us. Often it is a long wait to see it in action. Interestingly, some don't go back and we speculate that they maybe too old to make that journey.

This shot was taken at a large lake that hosts several migratory waterbirds we hoped to see them in action. But instead the weather become very windy and the boat rocked dangerously forcing our boatman to head back to shore in less than an hour. And this Osprey, we got maybe 15 mins with it. Shortly the bird pooped indicating that it had a nice decent meal. It was mostly perched and then flew away from the lake to some tree tops I suppose to roost for the night.

Thanks in advance for your views and kind feedback. Very much appreciated.

Under a lover's sky

Gonna be with you

And no one's gonna be around

If you think that you won't fall

Well just wait until

'Til the sun goes down

Underneath the starlight, starlight

There's a magical feeling so right

It will steal your heart tonight

You can try to resist

Try to hide from my kiss

But you know, but you know that you

Can't fight the moonlight

Deep in the dark, you'll surrender your heart

But you know, but you know that you

Can't fight the moonlight, no

You can't fight it

It's gonna get to your heart

There's no escaping love

Once the gentle breeze

Weaves its spell upon your heart

No matter what you think

It won't be too long (not too long)

'Til you're in my arms

Underneath the starlight, starlight

We'll be lost in the rhythm, so right

Feel it steal your heart tonight

You can try to resist

Try to hide from my kiss

But you know, but you know that you

Can't fight the moonlight

Deep in the dark, you'll surrender your heart

But you know, but you know that you

Can't fight the moonlight, no

You can't fight it

No matter what you do

The night is gonna get to you

Don't try, you're never gonna win, oh

Underneath the starlight, starlight

There's a magical feeling, so right

It will steal your heart tonight

You can try to resist, try to hide from my kiss

But you know, but you know that you

Can't fight the moonlight

Deep in the dark, you'll surrender your heart

But you know, but you know that you

Can't fight the moonlight

No, you can't fight it

You can try to resist, try to hide from my kiss

But you know, don't you know that you can't

Can't fight the moonlight

Deep in the dark, you'll surrender your heart

But you know, but you know that you

Can't fight the moonlight

No, you can't fight it

It's gonna get to your heart

www.youtube.com/watch?v=bx3s99FNXzI

♫ Babyface + Kenny G - Everytime I Close My Eyes ♫

Girl, it's been a long, long time comin', yes it has

But I, I know that it's been worth the wait, yeah

Yeah

It feels like springtime in winter

It feels like Christmas in June

It feels like heaven has opened up its gates for me and you, yeah

And every time I close my eyes

I thank the Lord that I've got you, yeah (That I've got you)

And you've got me too (You've got me too)

And every time I think of it, I pinch myself 'cause

I don't believe it's true, yeah

That someone like you loves me too, yeah

Ay, yeah, yeah baby, yeah

Green story

TP: maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Green%20story/191/189/62

Chancellor - Walking In The Rain

www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyX5XodD0rg

I hope these tears will stop someday

Someday I will collect this fisherman

The warm sunlight will dry these tears, my tired face

Feeling tired little by little

I want to throw it all away, I'm tired of my old dreams

than have

I have too many things that I lack

every time you feel

My legs are losing strength, so they won't give me

I hope these tears will stop someday

Someday I will clear this darkness

I hope the sad sunshine will dry these tears

My friend comforting me saying that it will be okay

Every day makes me a little afraid

I say believe in me, but I can't believe it

Now I don't know how long I can last

If you wait, it will come someday

As the sun rises even when the night passes

Even my aching heart will be healed someday

help me now

Heaven help me please

overcome by myself

Zashimi is disappearing more and more

Someday (someday) I hope these tears will stop

Someday, this darkness will be lifted

I hope the warm (warm) sunshine will dry these tears

(Please dry these tears)

If you wait, it will come someday (Someday, someday..)

Even when the night goes down, just like the sun rises (as the sun rises)

Even my aching heart will get better someday

(Everything will get better someday)

someday...

someday...

As Long As I Have Your Love - Chris Rea

youtu.be/ej9e8p3jBNw

The word you send today

From somewhere far away

Cut in deep to the bone

Though I am not with you now

I feel you close somehow

Too many days, so far from home

And I send my dream to you

And I will go on

As long as I have your love

I see your candle burn,

You wait for my return

I feel your shadow in the night

The question still remains, oh love its still the same

Oh I'll get by,

Don't you know I'll be alright

As long as I have your love

You turn over the hour glass

The sand is falling down

Oh, it's too fast for you

For you

Don't waste your love, just let it last

'Cause once it's gone it's never coming back

It's true

Could you love me the same?

Tell me what makes you stay

There's a hundred ways to leave a lover

Leave a lover, leave a lover

Hundred ways to leave a lover

Leave a lover, leave a

There's a hundred ways to leave a lover

I won't wait a minute longer

Hundred ways to leave

But I'm the only one that you need

It's the final curtain call

But if you're ready I will give my all

For you, for you

Let them say it how they want

If I can love you good, it's no one's fault

Ooh

Could you love me the same?

Tell me what makes you stay

((Jackson Wang - 100 Ways))

The Three Billy Goats Gruff

maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Farron/84/99/23

Once upon a time there were three billy goats, who were to go up to the hillside to make themselves fat, and the name of all three was "Gruff."

On the way up was a bridge over a cascading stream they had to cross; and under the bridge lived a great ugly troll , with eyes as big as saucers, and a nose as long as a poker.

So first of all came the youngest Billy Goat Gruff to cross the bridge.

"Trip, trap, trip, trap! " went the bridge.

"Who's that tripping over my bridge?" roared the troll .

"Oh, it is only I, the tiniest Billy Goat Gruff , and I'm going up to the hillside to make myself fat," said the billy goat, with such a small voice.

"Now, I'm coming to gobble you up," said the troll.

"Oh, no! pray don't take me. I'm too little, that I am," said the billy goat. "Wait a bit till the second Billy Goat Gruff comes. He's much bigger."

"Well, be off with you," said the troll.

A little while after came the second Billy Goat Gruff to cross the bridge.

Trip, trap, trip, trap, trip, trap, went the bridge.

"Who's that tripping over my bridge?" roared the troll.

"Oh, it's the second Billy Goat Gruff , and I'm going up to the hillside to make myself fat," said the billy goat, who hadn't such a small voice.

"Now I'm coming to gobble you up," said the troll.

"Oh, no! Don't take me. Wait a little till the big Billy Goat Gruff comes. He's much bigger."

"Very well! Be off with you," said the troll.

But just then up came the big Billy Goat Gruff .

Trip, trap, trip, trap, trip, trap! went the bridge, for the billy goat was so heavy that the bridge creaked and groaned under him.

"Who's that tramping over my bridge?" roared the troll.

"It's I! The big Billy Goat Gruff ," said the billy goat, who had an ugly hoarse voice of his own.

"Now I 'm coming to gobble you up," roared the troll.

Well, come along! I've got two spears,

And I'll poke your eyeballs out at your ears;

I've got besides two curling-stones,

And I'll crush you to bits, body and bones.

That was what the big billy goat said. And then he flew at the troll, and poked his eyes out with his horns, and crushed him to bits, body and bones, and tossed him out into the cascade, and after that he went up to the hillside. There the billy goats got so fat they were scarcely able to walk home again. And if the fat hasn't fallen off them, why, they're still fat; and so,

Snip, snap, snout.

This tale's told out.

Dąbrówka

It's evening, the sun has already hidden behind the horizon. My wife and I drive slowly along our country roads, and at the end of our first journey during the ending epidemic and the necessary isolation we want to look at the Drzewicki reservoir from the Dąbrówka side. Suddenly we noticed a stork walking majestically through the field. I am slowly driving along a dirt road without stopping the engine - he does not run away, looks and continues to search for his delicacies. I have to hurry, but in order not to scare him away, he is close and there is a great atmosphere, you need to capture her. It is already quite dark and in these conditions I try to get the most out of the equipment. I take the first photos with high ISO sensitivity, burned, I automatically change to the native ISO sensitivity - photo - and I see that a dark photo, I do not have time to think about it, I raise it to ISO 800, then 1250, 1600. I don't know if I have anything, but this moment was extraordinary. Finally, the stork estimates that there is too much traffic around and breaks away, it flies further to the center of the field and we can not see it anymore. I had to wait until the next day to assess what pictures we have - unfortunately, practically all the pictures were out of focus (too long exposure time in difficult conditions despite raising the ISO, with the aperture open to the maximum), I almost gave up, but I remembered that I still have dark photo - this is the photo.

Now I am thinking about how to optimize the technique of taking pictures with this relatively dark lens in order to maximize the quality of the received pictures. I chose it because of the focal lengths, and because it is over 6 times (x 6.44) cheaper than the bright M.Zuiko 300mm f / 4.0, in the hope that in good light I will take great photos with it, and in low light - well well what can be squeezed. But by accident it may turn out that relatively low ISO - maybe not native but something between ISO 400 - 800, combined with the short times required to freeze fast moving objects - will give dark photos that can be easily processed in post-production. I can't wait for the next locations

Maybe this picture is not yet perfectly sharp and technically exemplary, but the pictures are not taken literally, the most important are emotions, mood and narration.

in a pine needle stack!

This guy has been in my yard three times now in the last week. I'm wondering if he sees my little Goldie duck as a possible meal.

She's pretty smart though. She has seen him fly over a couple times and she usually goes inside her pen and gets in her swimming pool where she knows he can't get her.

Yesterday, he was almost all the way up in the top of one of the pine trees in the back of my house. He stayed in this spot for 30-45 minutes. I had my camera and was hoping he'd fly off but when he did, he went in the direction down and away from me so no chance for a good take off shot darn it.

And I waited so long for it, too. Awww, sometimes you win, sometimes you don't. Still a real thrill to see a bald eagle in my yard. It's not an everyday occurrence.

This was hand held and cropped a lot. I thought it came out pretty good considering.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7UlbMu4eew

Having just returned from my holiday,I may be late in catching up,my friends..I have so much to do ! Yet I don't want to wait too long to post my shots ..No need for comments.. You're more than welcome to enjoy the view or not :)

Tatilden henüz döndüğüm için sizlere yetişmekte biraz gecikebilirim...Yapacak o kadar çok şeyim var ki ..Ancak fotoğrafları yüklemek için çok beklemek istemiyorum..Yorum yazmanıza gerek yok ..tadını çıkarmanız beni mutlu etmeye yeter ..Her türlü başımın üstünde yeriniz var :)

Oct.5,2008 # 222

PETER:

Oleg????

OLEG:

What is it Peter?

PETER: (shivers)

I suddenly get so cold.

How long do we have to wait here for Mummy Marian?

OLEG:

You're right. I'm so cold too.

And look... what a thick fog!

Mummy Marian will be back soon...I hope.

PETER:

I have a feeling that someone is around.

OLEG:

I don't see anyone except you shivering from the cold.

PETER (waves his paw)

I see Mummy Marian...and look the fog is gone!

MUMMY:

You both look cold.

While it's Summer

We are going to walk towards the castle.

By moving you get warm again

PETER:

Yeeeeh! Here we come Sleeping Beauty!

Happy Teddy Bear Tuesday!!!!!!

This time, this place

Misused mistakes

Too long, too late

Who was I to make you wait

Just one chance

Just one breath

Just in case there's just one left

'Cause you know, you know, you know

I love you

I've loved you all along

And I miss you

Been far away for far too long

I keep dreaming

You'll be with me

And you'll never go

Stop breathing

If I don't see you anymore

On my knees I'll ask

Last chance for one last dance

'Cause with you I'd withstand

All of hell to hold your hand

I'd give it all

I'd give for us

Give anything but I won't give up

'Cause you know, you know, you know

♫LISTEN♫

Peter and Oleg are at Anholt Castle waiting for Mommy Marian. She is looking at the castle garden.

It takes a long time......

PETER:

I don't like it here much anymore Oleg. It's starting to get foggy and I'm getting cold.

Moreover, I feel a cold wind on my neck and I have the feeling that someone is standing behind me.

OLEG:

You read too many fantasy stories Peter. There is absolutely nothing and nobody.

PETER:

Do you dare to see if there is someone behind us.

OLEG:

I dare, but don't.

PETER:

Why not?

OLEG:

I always look forward and never look back.

Just wait a while

Mommy Marian is coming soon.

PETER:

Scout...mijn beste vriend. Can you see if there's anything behind us?

I don't feel so good you know

It's been a while, I'm not who I was before

You look surprised, your words don't burn me anymore

Been meaning to tell you, but I guess it's clear to see

Don't be mad, it's just the brand new kind of me

Can't be bad, I found a brand new kind of free

Careful with your ego, he's the one that we should blame

Had to grab my heart back

God know something had to change

I thought that you'd be happy

I found the one thing I need, why you mad

It's just the brand new kind of me

It took a long long time to get here

It took a brave, brave girl to try

It took one too many excuses, one too many lies

Don't be surprised, don't be surprised

if i talk a little louder

If I speak up when you're wrong

If I walk a little taller

I'd be known to you too long

If you noticed that I'm different

Don't take it personally

Don't be mad, it's just the brand new kind of me

And it ain't bad, I found a brand new kind of free

Oh, it took a long long road to get here

It took a brave brave girl to try

I've taken one too many excuses, one too many lies

Don't be surprised, oh see you look surprised

Hey, if you were a friend, you want to get know me again

If you were worth a while

You'd be happy to see me smile

I'm not expecting sorry

I'm too busy finding myself

I got this

I found me, I found me, yeah

I don't need your opinion

I'm not waiting for your okay

I'll never be perfect, but at least now I'm brave

Now, my heart is open

And I can finally breathe

Don't be mad, it's just the brand new kind of free

That ain't bad, I found a brand new kind of me

Don't be mad, it's just a brand new time for me.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOSv1TIa58M

As mentioned a few days ago, we celebrated our 45th Wedding Anniversary at the Fisherman's Table restaurant on the 31st January.

After an enjoyable meal, it became obvious that the sun was setting quickly; there was just time to capture the last rays of 2022...

A similar photo was published around 2 months ago, but like then, the setting sun on New Year's Eve was just magical...!

And then the proverbial icing on the cake occurred: a Gull came swooping quickly in from the ocean, and began to bank sharply in preparation for a touchdown on the restaurant's lawn...

Focus, focus, steady, track the bird but keep the sunset in mid-frame, watch out for the shadows cast by the nearby hills, don't wait too long...

NOW!!!

That's a take...!

Thank you for your very kind and encouraging comments beneath my photos...! Your support is very greatly appreciated...

While driving along the Kings Canyon we realized it was only a couple hours to sunset. Importantly we had not decided any place where we wanted to get the sunset. For a change it was drizzling all afternoon and I was thinking of getting some nice post-rain clouds for the sunset. We finally decided to drive back to Sequoia and get the sunset at the Moro Rock. It was about an hour away from the Kings Canyon National Park.

As we arrived at the spot after climbing like 500 stairs, we were greeted with this awesome view. This is the west side where all the magic was happening.

The stairs go right to the top, an exasperating climb but completely worth the effort. At times a bit unsafe as the railings are absent, but no biggy! Excellent place to watch stars if you stay late on the top. This was taken from about half climb where there is a small balcony put out to watch the wavy valley.

The windy roads down the valley looked tempting. I instantly wanted to get the light trails of the cars driving back from the NP. I stayed up late and tried many exposures before I was sure about the settings. About 20min after the sunset I started to see the trials in 3-4min exposures but still the top of the photograph was too exposed. Had to wait a bit more for the light on the top to get less intense. The worry was the valley can get too dark! This was my third and final shot with a 6min exposure after the sun was completely down. Eventually, I realized its only a 15min window when the light is right to expose the shot right and get the trails distinct enough to stand out of the scene. The lights in the back is Visalia and Tulare.

Will post a few more shots from a day before.

----------

Please don't post any graphics or awards. I just want to know what you think and highly appreciate any inputs to improve my photographs. Thank you for your favorites and comments!

Mood ♪♫ John Mayer - Waiting On the World to Change

‘If’

by Rudyard Kipling

And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

_______

AI generated image - Midjourney & Photoshop & ON1 Effects

website: www.lucasharmsen.nl

We waited a while for the tide to recede before attempting to get onto Meols Beach on the Wirral. It can be rather a dangerous place, if you don't know the tides. You also have to be careful of certain areas of the sands too.

One of the local boat owners directed us across an area of water to the right.

Meols has some wonderful boats, with great opportunities for Photographers.

This one is called Proper Job.

I luv the chain, which gives a nice lead in.

This capture was taken mid-day so I used an ND Grad filter to balance the sky, along with the Lee Big Stopper. This was to try and add a little movement to the sky.

A golden hour capture with a little sun might have given a nicer image but Im quite pleased with this one.

"Alone, immersed in the chilling embrace of a scary movie, we find solace in the thrill of fear and the comfort of our own company."

Sponsored Items:

VALLEMONT - Freya Platform Sandals available @ VALLEMONT maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Hyades/86/67/27

-Extra- Footsie FATPACK maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Crocus%20Island/209/219/1266

Blog: www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/8785995806268834252/123796...

Attention, everyone! Feast your eyes on the sensational Vallemont Freya sandals! Prepare to be blown away by the incredible features they offer. These sandals are a dream come true for fashionistas seeking perfection. Crafted to fit flawlessly on Kupra, Maitreya, and Reborn bodies, these sandals are the epitome of versatility.

But wait, there's more! When you snag a pair of Vallemont Freya sandals, you'll receive a remarkable HUD that will leave you speechless. Gone are the days of settling for a limited color palette. With not one, not two, but a mind-boggling selection of twelve vibrant hues, you'll be spoiled for choice. Not to mention, the HUD also lets you experiment with six dazzling metal variations, allowing you to customize your look like never before. And yes, you guessed it right—patterns can be easily modified too!

Picture yourself strolling along sandy shores, or perhaps enjoying a night out on the town with your fabulous friends. The Vallemont Freya sandals are the ultimate accessory to elevate your summer escapades. They effortlessly combine comfort, style, and sophistication, making them an absolute must-have in your collection.

Don't miss out on this sensational offer! Treat yourself to the Vallemont Freya sandals today and experience fashion perfection with every step you take. Hurry, these coveted sandals won't last long!

Visit Vallemont

Inworld Store maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Hyades/75/48/26

Marketplace marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/238045

Follow Vallemont

www.flickr.com/photos/150396780@N04

www.flickr.com/groups/14763651@N20

www.facebook.com/natalievallemont

-Extra- Footsie FATPACK

Introducing the extraordinary Footsie FATPACK, a treasure trove of perfect poses for you, your friends, family, and even frenemies! Immerse yourself in a world of endless possibilities with the wide range of unique and diverse poses available at the -Extra- Store. Each pose is meticulously crafted and comes with its own animation and pose ball. And that's not all! You'll also receive the mirrored version of each pose, ensuring you can capture the exact frame you desire. Don't wait a moment longer—make your way to -Extra- today and be sure to mention that I sent you. Your pose-perfect moments await!

Store: maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Crocus%20Island/209/220/1267

Marketplace: marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/208454

Follow Extra

www.flickr.com/groups/3936891@N25/

www.facebook.com/Extra-SL-231980467356148/

Additional Items

Get ready to revamp your hairstyle with the stunning Stealthic - Cinema, the latest release at @ ACCESS! This hair exudes a remarkable blend of style and sophistication that is bound to leave you in awe. Don't waste any time, head over to Access right away and seize the opportunity to make Stealthic Cinema yours. Trust me, this is a choice you won't regret!

Get ready to be thrilled because Candy Kitten has done it again! Prepare to be charmed by the adorable top and jeans set making their debut at the exciting new round of Tres Chic! These outfits are expertly crafted to perfectly fit Maitreya, Petite, Legacy, Ebody, and Reborn bodies. The best part? You'll be spoiled for choice with an array of breathtaking colors available! Can't settle on just one? No worries! Opt for the versatile Fatpack or go all out with the Megapack to ensure you never run out of stylish options. Don't miss out on this fashion extravaganza!

Your butt is mine

Gonna tell you right

Just show your face

In broad daylight

I'm telling you

On how I feel

Gonna hurt your mind

Don't shoot to kill

Shamone, shamone

Lay it on me

All right

I'm giving you

On count of three

To show your stuff

Or let it be

I'm telling you

Just watch your mouth

I know your game

What you're about

Well they say the sky's the limit

And to me that's really true

But my friend you have seen nothing

Just wait 'til I get through

Because I'm bad, I'm bad, shamone

(Bad, bad, really, really bad)

You know I'm bad, I'm bad, you know it

(Bad, bad, really, really bad)

You know I'm bad, I'm bad, shamone, you know

(Bad, bad, really, really bad)

And the whole world has to answer right now

Just to tell you once again who's bad

The word is out

You're doin' wrong

Gonna lock you up

Before too long

Your lyin' eyes

Gonna tell you right

So listen up

Don't make a fight

Your talk is cheap

You're not a man

You're throwin' stones

To hide your hands

But they say the sky's the limit

And to me that's really true

But my friend you have seen nothing

Just wait 'til I get through

Because I'm bad, I'm bad, shamone

(Bad, bad, really, really bad)

You know I'm bad, I'm bad, you know it

(Bad, bad, really, really bad)

You know I'm bad, I'm bad, you know it, you know

(Bad, bad, really, really bad)

And the whole world has to answer right now

Just to tell you once again who's bad

We can change the world tomorrow

This could be a better place

If you don't like what I'm sayin'

Then won't you slap my face

Because I'm bad, I'm bad, shamone

(Bad, bad, really, really bad)

You know I'm bad, I'm bad, you know it

(Bad, bad, really, really bad)

You know I'm bad, I'm bad, you know it, you know

(Bad, bad, really, really bad)

(And the whole world has to answer right now

Just to tell you once again...)

You know I'm bad, I'm bad, shamone

(Bad, bad, really, really bad)

You know I'm bad, I'm bad, you know it, you know it

(Bad, bad, really, really bad)

You know, you know, you know, come on

(Bad, bad, really, really bad)

And the whole world has to answer right now

(And the whole world has to answer right now)

Just to tell you

(Just to tell you once again)

You know I'm smooth, I'm bad, you know it

(Bad, bad, really, really bad)

You know I'm bad, I'm bad, baby

(Bad, bad, really, really bad)

You know, you know, you know it, come on

(Bad, bad, really, really bad)

And the whole world has to answer right now

(And the whole world has to answer right now

Just to tell you once again)

You know I'm bad, I'm bad, you know it

(Bad, bad, really, really bad)

You know I'm bad, you know

(Bad, bad, really, really bad)

You know I'm bad, I'm bad, you know it, you know

(Bad, bad, really, really bad)

And the whole world has to answer right now

(And the whole world has to answer right now)

Just to tell you once again who's bad?

(Just to tell you once again)

youtu.be/o-Ncnh5dcJU

www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUDjU4ygVew

I don't know what you mean

I don't know what you mean

I don't

Sometimes I just wanna run away

Run away

Run away

I only wanna disappear

Far from here

Away from everyone

Before I come undone

The time has come

The time has come

So here I go

Left right left

Right left wrong

I don't know where I'm going

But I just keep moving on

Moving on

Moving on

I've been thinking about it

Too much doubt in

All of these feelings

Too many reasons to run

The time has come

The time has come

So here I go

Left right left

Right left wrong

I don't know where I'm going

But I just keep moving on

Left right left

Right left wrong

I don't know where I'm going

But I just keep moving on

I put my head down keep running away from it

Anywhere I'm going can't be worse than this

I need to get away before it pulls me in

And I'm never ever getting close to anyone again

I put my head down keep running away from it

Anywhere I'm going can't be worse than this

I need to get away before it pulls me in

I'm never ever getting close to anyone again

And I don't even know where I'm going to

But I don't want any motherfuckin' part of you

I've been waiting for this moment for way too long

I don't know where I'm going but I just keep moving on

Left right left

Right left wrong

I don't know where I'm going

But I just keep moving on

Left right left

Right left wrong

I don't know where I'm going

But I just keep moving on

Finally had some uninterrupted time to spend on Flickr. Besides being busy, who isn't, often I'll have 30 minutes or an hour of free time, but feel overwhelmed at the prospect of jumping in, knowing I won't get many visits in. I know, many of you have said don't worry, pickup with latest posts. I hate missing what you've shared. So here's what I'm going to do; hop on the live feed whenever I have just a little time. I think that will help me from falling too far behind.

Also, need to probably unfollow a few folks that have apparently given up on Flickr, haven't posted for more than 6 months and are no longer visiting. Then add some of the folks that have been following my work pretty regularly. If I had time I'd follow a couple of hundred, but I don't. Keeping until retirement to 100 or less is hard enough as is.

Note to people I don't follow, those that visit and just fav, I'll do my best to visit and return the favor, it's only fair. If I'm not currently following you and you'd like me to, please fav and comment on pictures you like, I'll notice that more than favs alone. If you've read this far, you're probably somebody that should be added.

About this picture; took it just over two years ago near the top of Donner Pass. Decided with so many pictures ready to post I'm going to alternate between newer pictures and older pictures. Some of my personal favorites are languishing in digital purgatory waiting to be seen. Gotta help em out.

Finally, thank you to my best Flickr friends. You've encouraged and taught me much. Know I try to return that friendship with every visit.

"Sometimes you just get lucky" could not have been more true yesterday (10/12/22) when a friend and I visited Dry Falls outside Highlands, NC. All the way there from Brevard on US 64 the colors were absolutely stunning. Like many have said this year, it just seems like colors are better this year. But the timing of colors seems early and not like previous years. Many places getting colors all at the same time. Hard to get everywhere.

We got a late start and got to Dry Falls around 3pm. Conditions were really perfect - little to no wind, heavy overcast with some fog, had rained earlier in the day so colors were really saturated - really amazing. The crowd wasn't too bad either. While we were there for nearly two hours, probably half of it was spent waiting for people to move out of my shots. I didn't want to risk missing these conditions by relying on Photoshop to erase people. I took many different compositions to try to capture this beauty from all angles. I'll be posting them later.

Don't wait long to go. Leaves were really dropping and they won't last long.

Thanks for viewing my photos. Comments are always welcome.

====================================

Copyright Reid Northrup, 2022. All Rights Reserved, Worldwide. Please don't use my photos in any way without my written permission.

This song has had many meanings for me since the first time I've heard it. Sad, scared, depressed and finally a sense of freedom. We find what we want in the lyrics. Changing yourself is hard, give people time to see the changes and they will come around.

Outfit:

Hair: Doux - Kelsy

Jeans: Riot - Cate

Shirt: Gaia Elicia knit sweater

Boots: Semller - Folded Canvas Leather

Drink - Hive - Pink Drink

www.youtube.com/watch?v=fz1N8W8phec

I've dealt with my ghosts and I've faced all my demons

Finally content with a past I regret

I've found you find strength in your moments of weakness

For once I'm at peace with myself

I've been burdened with blame, trapped in the past for too long

I'm movin' on

I've lived in this place and I know all the faces

Each one is different but they're always the same

They mean me no harm but it's time that I face it

They'll never allow me to change

But I never dreamed home would end up where I don't belong

I'm movin' on

I'm movin' on

At last I can see life has been patiently waiting for me

And I know there's no guarantees, but I'm not alone

There comes a time in everyone's life

When all you can see are the years passing by

And I have made up my mind that those days are gone

I sold what I could and packed what I couldn't

Stopped to fill up on my way out of town

I've loved like I should but lived like I shouldn't

I had to lose everything to find out

Maybe forgiveness will find me somewhere down this road

I'm movin' on

The dogs, naturally enough, love walking with me in the woods. But there's a problem. They don't like to stop. Forget what all those lying Youtubers would have you believe. Dogs aren't good at waiting patiently by the tripod. Take too long and you'll look up from the camera to hear them barking on the far side of the valley!

Original photograph copyright © Simon Miles. Not to be used without permission. Thanks for looking.

“You didn’t need faith to fly, you needed to understand flying.” Richard Bach

♫ Alex Christensen & The Berlin Orchestra - L'amour Toujours feat. Nicole Cross ♫

Credits: Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Lis.Blog

I still believe in your eyes;

I just don't care what you have done in your life.

Baby, I'll always be here by your side;

Don't leave me waiting too long, please come by!

I, I, I, I still believe in your eyes;

There is no choice, I belong to your life.

Because I will live to love you someday;

You'll be my baby and we'll fly away

And I'll fly with you,

I'll fly with you

Every day and every night,

I always dream that you are by my side.

Oh, baby, every day and every night,

Well I said everything's gonna be alright.

And I'll fly with you,

I'll fly with you

(Warning... long read but interesting for anyone who's had a similar experience.)

So.... I had the POLICE called on me today! 😳

Can you imaging this. There I am taking pictures of nature (frozen branches actually) in our local "Parc de Cite". And a very "disturbed" woman starts mildly yelling at me not to take her picture. Clearly I said I hadn't taken anything of her, I take only nature. (As you all know me to do, take photos of nature and animals)

And then all "craziness" breaks out.. She starts to relentlessly continue to harrass me by accusing me of being a stalker?? She just wouldn't leave me alone, so naturally I start to verbably defend myslef. I mentioned how she thought of herself as a princess or her highness. Thinking that the world must bow to her ..ect! That is what she must think if she thinks everyone is taking photos of her. Also letting her know that she may forgot to take her pills this morning!!

Meanwhile I'm trying to get away from her and continue taking pictures of the branches that had a small frozen nest in it. And the whole time she was verbally harrassing me and calling me "B" things, ect.

So I look at her and notice she recording me on her cell. So now I tell her I don't give her permission to do this! She claimed she wasn't filming me. More argueing on both parts and next thing you know she's following me to my car (at a distance at first) then runs toward the back to (AS SHE SAYS) take a picture of my license because shes going to POST it in her twitter-instagram. to let everybody know I'm a stacker!

ALL THIS.. because I'm taking pictures of frozen branches?? W.T.Heck!! I then proceed to cover my license plate to stop her from posting my MOM'S car online! And she comes in closer (here I start to use my cell to record her incase she physically attacks me. She started to give me that feeling she would. She then hits my phone to push it down) At this point she went nuts. Me hiding my plate was proof enough to her that I'm a predator, she said??! So she threatnens to call the cops... SO of course I begged her too!! I wanted them to see her act crazy like this!

Meanwhile I said... why not call Mom and get her over here to be a witness to the craziness. And sure enough.. the moment mom gets there it didn't long for mom to see how mentally unstable his woman was. She started mouthing off to mom too!

So COPS arrive.. one goes to her one comes to me. And what do I notice... She pulls out her cell and shows the cop the recording of me verbally deffending myslef. You know.. the one she said she DIDn't take of me!!

And what worse.. she was all of the sudden acting calm and composed to the Policemen. WOW... she knew exactly what she was doing!! A real manipulator! Two young handsome policemen... yah.. she knew what she was doing!

I tried to get the cop to look at my camera to show all the photos I took, and to show that SHE wasn't in anyone of them. Seing as though it was all trees-snow covered benches and frozen branches. But he wasn't interested in looking.

What a waste of the policemens time... such a drama from a uneducated woman who in my oppinion was looking for a altercation (maybe to have something to post online to get attention)

You want to know the funny part of this.... this Woman has done this to me before!! Yup.. I had the horror of meeting her last summer already. She singled me out like this and accused me of taking photos of her. And wouldn't you know it.... I was taking a picture of a tree and had my back to her that time too! (Yes.. I mentioned this to the police as well) Like a said ... she's looking for attention and creating DRAMA where ever she can!

She told the police she wouldn't post anything on social media, yet I thought I saw her doing that at the beggining of her tantrum with me. The police said we could go after her in court if he bullie's and trashes me online!

I'm so embarrased that the police had to come for this lunacy. And are you really telling me I can't mind my own buisiness and take photos of nature in my own local parc. Without having to go through this nonsense.

The Policemen told me the next time I see her to stay out of her way and point the camera opposite of her.?? I laughed and said... Thats EXACTLY what I was doing in the the first place!!! As I said.. she went looking for me! But nice to know I have to walk around her. I guess she is royalty afterall!!

So be warned my fellow nature photographers... You could get into trouble for taking a picture of a frozen branch with leaves on them!!! :-O

(Thank-you to anyone who took the time to read this.. I think I just needed to vent a little about this odd happening)

Now I'm just waiting to see myslef online via social media, yelling back at a crazy woman who wouldn't leave me alone. And most probably getting 100 of thousands haters threatening me online now. Only because a woman who started this atercation just so she can be the center of attention!!? That seems to be the norm these days, to be popular online!!

Through the rain the sunlight warms my heart

Fragrance sweet, a memory it calls from afar

Tears of joy flowing deep from my soul

All around, I can feel new life unfold

Up ahead, can't you see, fills the sky up above

Breathe the air, oh so sweet, all that I've waited for

Celebrate the new life that we see

I close my eyes and I feel you near to me

On this day a brand new song to sing

Thankful for all the gifts that spring will bring

Oh so dear, you hold a place in my heart

I feel you near, we've been too long apart

Through the years seasons promise anew

Loyal friend, 'til the end, I'll be waiting for you

Up ahead, can't you see, how the future unfolds

Breathe the air, oh so sweet, all that I've waited for

Celebrate the joyous days to come

On the green grasses we are free to run

I feel your touch and I can hear you sing

Thankful for all the gifts that spring will bring

Celebrate this young and fragile dream

Don't you know this is where I'll always be

As I walk along this lonely road

Your spirit it dances around me

Like a river that flows on endlessly

Like a flower the love you give to me

Celebrate the new life that we see

Close my eyes, I can feel you near to me

On this day a brand new song to sing

Thankful for all the gifts that spring will bring

Celebrate the joyous days to come

On the green grasses we are free to run

I feel your touch and I can hear you sing

Thankful for all the gifts that spring will bring

Celebrate the new life that we see

Close my eyes, I can feel you near to me

I feel your touch and I can hear you sing

Thankful for all the gifts that spring will bring

Hayley Westenra - Haru Yo Koi

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lykhh52NEXk

Luca

::K:: Cotton Cardigan Homme(SLINK) Pastel Blue

[Deadwool] Kojima jeans - Geralt - (rolled up) - river

*Dura-B&G*77-Strawberry

[ hoorenbeek ] Bruin Sneakers - Men - SLINK

JCNY - FLORENTINE Collection, Mens Wedding Ring 2.0

Tabatha

❀ Jacket [Sweet Temptation]: Molly

❀ Dress [Blueberry]: 7th Birthday - V2 *Even colors Sundress

❀ Shoes [BM]: Lowenna Linen Flats

❀ Hair [Entwined]: Ivy

❀ Necklace [Smooth Design]: Solitaire Set

POSE

Amitie Couple On the Roof 01 (Balls)

item

(Milk Motion) cloudy dream scene

![YN] Tram, city rail trolley train carriage 13 prim B PHANTOM

{anc} NO LIMITS // flock of flying doves. [choco-brown] 4Li

The advantage of this time of year is that you don't have to wait too long for that lovely low angle sunset light, or to get up too early for sunrise shots!

I always go into a state of mild panic when it happens. "Is it too dark?" I ask myself. "Have I missed any sensor dust blemishes or hot spots among the highlights?" Or, "What about the noise?" It doesn't happen that often of course - after all I do this for myself as a hobby - but just now and again somebody will ask me the terrifying words "Can I buy this please?"

This suddenly happened three times in the space of about nine days recently. Up until then, I hadn't sold so much as a pixel in over twelve months - not that it was particularly troubling me. After all, even though I do have a Picfair page, for which I pay a modest sum each year, I also have a Facebook page with a small number of followers, mostly personal friends, and I'm really not very good at promoting myself. It was those friends who said I should sell my photos - most of whom then never actually made any purchases of course. But for a while I had been thinking that I should refresh my Picfair page and add some new content to the thirty or so images that I'd uploaded in a burst of initial enthusiasm when I'd decided to try and earn a bit of pocket money from my hobby. My other hobby is playing football - imagine the money I could have made if I'd been any good at it! My Instagram page would have a lot more followers too.

And then, in the middle of the week before last, a local company sent me a private message via Instagram. They'd love to have my picture of Goonhilly "Thursday Night at the Listening Station" for their 2024 calendar. I asked them to email me some more details, and then checked them out to make sure I wasn't about to inadvertently hand over my life savings to an international drugs syndicate. They seemed to be legitimate, and when the email came through I was pleasantly surprised to learn that they intended to pay me for my work. And then I looked at the image, taken nearly eighteen months earlier, remembered that it was a long lens photo stack, and that I'd only taken two images to blend at a focal length of 118mm no less. If it was going to be printed and sent to a large number of expectant customers, I was going to need to revisit that blend in fine detail. The image included a long barbed wire fence, receding into the distance against long soft glowing September grasses. This was going to be fun. But a day later, my customer said they were very happy indeed with the result, and asked me for an invoice. Good job I used to be an accountant. Within a few hours, a sum of money had arrived in my bank account. I'm not booking a tour with Mads Peter Iversen to Greenland just yet, but I can take Ali out for a reasonably priced meal on the proceeds. Twice if we don't have a second course.

A couple of days later, an ex colleague, who'd reluctantly relocated away from Cornwall wanted a memento for the walls of her new home and had decided upon a copy of "Bedruthan in the Pink," from an evening in June 2018 when the sky had unexpectedly glowed pink and orange in the blue hour when at sunset it seemed we'd wasted our time even going there. When I reviewed the image on my Picfair page, I was unimpressed. I guess I have more time to work on my processing these days - sometimes I think too much time might in fact be a bad thing. Among the shadows were stray rocks and bits of debris that needed cleaning up, and when I zoomed in further, I noticed that one of those rocks was in fact a tog, hunched down low over his tripod. How had I not seen him before? He had to go too. Another sale - I hope she likes it when she receives the printed product.

And then finally, and most bizarrely, a lady from America complimented me on my Instagram feed. "Do you sell your pictures?" she asked. I'd just posted this one, and assumed it was the image that had caught her eye, but no. In truth, I wasn't convinced that three of the four she'd chosen represented anywhere near my best work, but I thanked her for her kind words and told her I'd have them all on my Picfair page that evening for her to buy downloads or printed products. In fact one of them was that Vestrahorn reflection shot that I was muttering about unfavourably in my previous post. Later the reply came. "I don't actually want to print them. Can you sell them to me in NFT format? Would that work for you? I have a budget of four thousand dollars per picture." By now I was feeling mildly perturbed. What on earth is NFT format? Did this lady think I was Banksy's brother? I consulted with members of my family. My sister and her three adult children, all of them from art backgrounds went into immediate rant mode about digital art and something called a blockchain that apparently requires the contents of at least three of the Great Lakes and the output of five nuclear power stations to maintain. Lloyd's response was rather more balanced. He'd had a similar approach and after some research on the subject had decided not to. Apart from anything else there appears to be a substantial setup cost, and we agreed that this is supposed to be a hobby. If we sell a few along the way for a bit of pocket money that's great, but we don't want the pressures of trying to earn from our images. It seems that the world of NFTs involves creating a digital signature and giving up ownership of the image completely - and I didn't want to do that. Not even if the offer was genuine - and of course there was strong chance that it was that international drugs syndicate knocking on the Instagram door again. Politely I declined the offer of enough money to keep me in annual trips to Iceland for the next six years. She's still waiting for me to explain why I don't do NFTs. I'm pretending I've forgotten to reply.

All of which brings me here, seventy-two pounds richer and with my pension fund intact. Here is the image that the American NFT art collector didn't want to buy. Last Monday, Ali and I were taking a stroll around our local woodland, pausing here and there as we do to enjoy a view before moving on around the circuit. As we came to a clearing I looked at the sky. Mackerel clouds were forming, and with an hour until sunset the outcome seemed far more easy to predict than the one at Bedruthan Steps nearly five years earlier. We increased our pace and power walked backed to the house, where I grabbed the camera bag before we raced to the coast. And you can see for yourself what happened. Almost nine years into this photography lark and I'm starting to spot the tell-tale signs of an epic sunset. Mind you, Towanroath is a tricky one to compose from here, but there was no choice if I wanted to include that sky. It's on the Picfair page and I really ought to push it and see if anyone bites. But I'm not really that bothered - it's just a hobby after all.

I know I can't take one more step towards you

‘Cause all that's waiting is regret

Don't you know I'm not your ghost anymore

You lost the love I loved the most

I've learned to live, half alive

And now you want me one more time

Who do you think you are?

Runnin' 'round leaving scars

Collecting your jar of hearts

And tearing love apart

You're gonna catch a cold

From the ice inside your soul

So don't come back for me

Who do you think you are?

I hear you're asking all around

If I am anywhere to be found

But I have grown too strong

To ever fall back in your arms

I've learned to live, half alive

And now you want me one more time

Who do you think you are?

Runnin' 'round leaving scars

Collecting your jar of hearts

And tearing love apart

You're gonna catch a cold

From the ice inside your soul

So don't come back for me

Who do you think you are?

Dear, it took so long just to feel alright

Remember how to put back the light in my eyes

I wish I had missed the first time that we kissed

‘Cause you broke all your promises

And now you're back

You don't get to get me back

Who do you think you are?

Runnin' 'round leaving scars

Collecting your jar of hearts

And tearing love apart

You're gonna catch a cold

From the ice inside your soul

Don't come back for me

Don't come back at all

~Christina Perri

Song: Jar of Hearts

www.youtube.com/watch?v=8v_4O44sfjM

Pink Floyd - Wearing the Inside Out

www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8cV1ua0wYA

From morning to night, I stayed out of sight

Didn't recognize I'd become

No more than alive, I'd barely survive

In a word... overrun

Won't hear a sound (he's curled into the corner)

From my mouth (but still the screen is flickering)

I've spent too long (with an endless stream of garbage)

On the inside out (curse the place)

My skin is cold (in a sea of random images)

To the human touch (the self-destructing animal)

This bleeding heart's (waiting for the waves)

Not beating much (to break)

I murmured a vow of silence and now

I don't even hear when I think aloud

Extinguished by light, I turn on the night

Wear its darkness with an empty smile

I'm creeping back to life

My nervous system all awry

I'm wearing the inside out

Look at him now

He's paler somehow

But he's coming round

He's starting to choke

It's been so long since he spoke

Well, he can have the words right from my mouth

Things I Like About Winter, Part V: Weather Phenomena.

We stopped to photograph this sun pillar on a very cold morning south of Drumheller. This winter phenomenon occurs when the sun is low on the horizon and countless billions of ice crystals are falling through the air. I would have preferred to find a spot that didn't include railroad tracks in the foreground, but we thought that we might miss it if we waited too long.

It was a moment and we seized it.

Photographed near East Coulee, Alberta (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2017 James R. Page - all rights reserved.

I have visited a grouse lek several times this spring to photograph their displays, challenges, and battles. The photos make it look like non-stop action, but in reality they spend much of the time staring each other down and waiting for some unknown signal to begin their distinctive drumming and dancing.

I've remained in my car for most of this time. It's quite rare to find a lek located right beside the road. This creates a slightly downward shooting angle, not too noticeable when using a long lens, and in fact useful because it allows a view over the tall, bunched grass. One morning, though, I decided to try slipping out of my vehicle - in full view - for some eye level shots. I did so very slowly, until I was lying flat on the ground beside my car. No grouse flew off the lek. Some, including the grouse seen here, even approached me. When it ruffled those feathers and head comb, while facing into the light, I managed this intimate, eye level portrait.

Photographed in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2021 James R. Page - all rights reserved.

If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,

Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,

And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;

If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

And treat those two impostors just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,

And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

To serve your turn long after they are gone,

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,

Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,

If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,

Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,

And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son.

-Rudyard Kipling

Taken at Goatswood

This is the week of medium-size ungulates with antlers. I've seen and photographed larger Moose in Grasslands... but not this close.

I spotted him while driving, at a location that has produced a wide variety of wildlife for me in the past. Caught a white flash of antlers through the forest of twigs. Drove on by, parked on the roadside, and hiked back, crawling the last 150 feet or so, using available cover. Found a position mostly behind some twiggy shrubs with a clean line of sight down to the dried up wetland, and sure enough, after a short wait, I watched not one but two of these big critters emerge from the thicket: a cow. followed by this bull.

They could hear my shutter, but couldn't see me clearly, if at all (the Moose here won't tolerate the sight of a human). The wind was favourable, so they could not get my scent. I had half an hour with them - more results to come before too long - and there was a bonus, which will be tomorrow's upload.

For those who wonder whether there is suitable habit for Moose on the prairie, take a good look at his surroundings. Willows galore! Those nutritious and evidently delicious willows grow extensively along the Frenchman River and in adjacent areas such as this. Food, shelter, and absence of predators (including humans who hunt) combine to create a haven for these huge deer.

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.

musica

Please open the door

Nothing is different, we've been here before

Pacing these halls

Trying to talk over the silence

And pride sticks out its tongue

Laughs at the portrait that we've become

Stuck in a frame, unable to change

I was wrong

I'm late, but I'm here right now

Though I used to be romantic

I forgot somehow

Time can make you blind

But I see you now

As we're laying in the darkness

Did I wait too long

To turn the lights back on?

Here, stuck on a hill

Outsiders inside the home that we built

The cold settles in

It's been a long winter of indifference

And maybe you love me, maybe you don't

Maybe you'll learn to, and maybe you won't

You've had enough, but I won't give up

On you

I'm late, but I'm here right now

And I'm tryin' to find the magic

That we lost somehow

Maybe I was blind

But I see you now

As we're laying in the darkness

Did I wait too long

To turn the lights back on?

I'm late, but I'm here right now

Is there still time for forgiveness?

Won't you tell me how?

I can't read your mind

But I see you now

As we're layin' in the darkness

Did I wait too long

To turn the lights back on?

I'm here right now

Yes, I'm here right now

Looking for forgiveness

I can see as we're laying in the darkness

Yeah, as we're laying in the darkness

Did I wait too long

To turn the lights back on?