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What do you expect a photographer to do once she finishes the marathon and gets all these shiny new props?!?!
I didn't expect this to happen. Three women were normally coming my way and I decided to take a picture of them with a telephoto lens, but once I put the viewfinder over my eyes and snapped this photo the scene, as you can see, changed in one second. I'm SOOO MAD at them for changing their poses. Instead of remaining boring and typical they made my photo more interesting. Grrrrr.
Took tons of pictures of my friend Allison and her husband Jeff this weekend. She is expecting twins in about 6 weeks! Lots of processing to do. This is the first one I think I have fairly close to "done".
Strobist: borrowed studio strobe with shoot-through umbrella camera right, angled about 45 degrees down and in front of them. Reflector just out of frame camera left by their heads to fill in shadows around the necks.
We were expecting some cloud on Sunday night but it remained clear, with a big moon and the temperature fell into single figures, so it's no surprise that our catch was poor compared with those of recent weeks:
List for 13th July 2014:
Map-winged Swift 1
Bird-cherry Ermine 2
Flax Tortrix 1 NFG
Marbled Orchard Tortrix 1
Agriphila straminella 2
Dipleurina lacustrata 6
Garden Pebble 1 NFY
Large Emerald 2
Small Fan-footed Wave 1
Riband Wave 2
Grey Pine Carpet 1
July Highflyer 2
Foxglove Pug 1
Brimstone Moth 1
Light Emerald 1
Barred Red 1
Elephant Hawkmoth 1
Lesser Swallow Prominent 1
Coxcomb Prominent 1
Flame 1
Large Yellow Underwing 1
Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing 1 NFY
Purple Clay 8
Double Square-spot 3
Dotted Clay 5
Bright-line Brown-eye 2
Antler Moth 2
Clay 12
Smoky Wainscot 3
Dark Arches 7
Clouded-bordered Brindle 1
Dusky Brocade 1
Burnished Brass 1
Expect a live opening set rooted in reggae, samba, bossa, funk and more feat. Rommel on guitar and cavaquinho and Philippe on drums, guitar and percussion.
“Desde el pueblo nassa tenemos expectativas grandes de esperanza, de esperanza por la vida, por la paz, por el territorio y, sobre todo, por la defensa de nuestra madre tierra, porque para nosotros la madre tierra es a la que tenemos que defender mucho más. Por eso, debemos protegerla y proteger mucho a los defensores de esta vida”. Esas fueron las palabras de Alcides Muse, indígena de la comunidad nassa del Cauca, quien participó en el primer Puesto de Mando Unificado (PMU) por la Vida del Gobierno del presidente Gustavo Petro.
En este PMU, que contó con la participación y el compromiso de la ministra de Ambiente y Desarrollo Sostenible, Susana Muhamad, el Gobierno Nacional escuchó a diferentes comunidades indígenas, afrodescendientes y campesinas del Cauca, escenario en el que le presentó al país el plan de emergencia para la protección de los líderes y defensores ambientales.
“Veinte líderes sociales ambientales del Magdalena Medio fueron amenazados por oponerse al fracking, 17 funcionarios de Parques Nacionales Naturales fueron asesinados durante la última década. Por eso, como ministra de Ambiente hago presencia en este PMU. Vamos a aportar de formas concretas: mapeando los conflictos socioambientales en todo el país, trabajando para ampliar la democracia ambiental, como también alertando situaciones especiales de colectivos que defienden el ambiente”, afirmó la jefe de la cartera ambiental.
Asimismo, la ministra Muhamad resaltó el compromiso del Gobierno para la pronta ratificación del Acuerdo de Escazú: “Queremos que los actores ambientales tengan un canal para ejercer la democracia ambiental que, además, se debe profundizar con la ratificación del Acuerdo de Escazú en el Congreso. Lo que estamos haciendo hoy aquí, aporta a ese avance del acuerdo, aunque no haya sido aprobado”.
El plan de emergencia cuenta con siete ejes y priorizará sus acciones en 65 municipios y seis capitales: Barranquilla, Bucaramanga, Cali, Medellín, Popayán y Santa Marta.
La estrategia, que se ajustará a las distintas realidades territoriales, dinámicas de la violencia, fuentes de riesgo, conflictos socioambientales, entre otros factores, trabajará en la presencia territorial del Estado y el acompañamiento de la comunidad internacional, en la acción preventiva y estratégica de la fuerza pública en terreno y en medidas de justicia y contra la impunidad.
El Puesto de Mando Unificado por la Vida también contó con la participación del ministro del Interior, Alfonso Prada; el alto comisionado para la Paz, Danilo Rueda; el presidente del Congreso de la República, Roy Barreras, y el defensor del Pueblo, Carlos Camargo, entre otros funcionarios del Gobierno Nacional, líderes de las comunidades, alcaldes y miembros de las fuerzas de seguridad del Estado. / Ago. 20, 2022. (Fotografía Oficial Ministerio de Ambiente y Desarrollo Sostenible / Juan Fernando Betancourt).
Esta fotografía oficial del Ministerio de Ambiente y Desarrollo Sostenible está disponible sólo para ser publicada por las organizaciones de noticias, medios nacionales e internacionales y/o para uso personal de impresión por el sujeto de la fotografía. La fotografía no puede ser alterada digitalmente o manipularse de ninguna manera, y tampoco puede usarse en materiales comerciales o políticos, anuncios, correos electrónicos, productos o promociones que de cualquier manera sugieran aprobación por parte del Ministerio de Ambiente y Desarrollo Sostenible.
Ministerio de Ambiente y Desarrollo Sostenible Página Web / Twitter Facebook / Youtube / Instagram
A woman eagerly expects her date/friend/boss? inside a busy street-side restaurant, Paris, France.
Nikon D300 with 80-200mm f/2.8
Sagrada Família Barcelona, Spain - situation 2017
Construction of the Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família began in 1882. The temple is still under construction, with completion expected in 2026. It is perhaps the best known structure of Catalan Modernism, drawing over three million visitors annually. Architect Antoni Gaudi worked on the project until his death in 1926, in full anticipation he would not live to see it finished.
Gaudi was appointed architect in 1883 at 31 years of age, following disagreements between the temple’s promoters and the original architect, Francisco de Paula del Villar y Lozano. He maintained del Villar’s Latin cross plan, typical of Gothic cathedrals, but departed from the Gothic in several significant ways. Most notably, Gaudi developed a system of angled columns and hyperbolical vaults to eliminate the need for flying buttresses. Rather than relying on exterior elements, horizontal loads are transferred through columns on the interior. La Sagrada Familia utilizes three-dimensional forms comprised of ruled surfaces, including hyperboloids, parabolas, helicoids, and conoids. These complex shapes allow for a thinner, finer structure, and are intended to enhance the temple’s acoustics and quality of light. Gaudi used plaster models to develop the design, including a 1:10 scale model of the main nave measuring five meters in height and width by two meters in depth. He also devised a system of strings and weights suspended from a plan of the temple on the ceiling. From this inverted model he derived the necessary angles of the columns, vaults, and arches. This is evident in the slanted columns of the Passion facade, which recall tensile structures but act in compression.
Gaudi embedded religious symbolism in each aspect of La Sagrada Familia, creating a visual representation of Christian beliefs. He designed three iconic facades for the basilica, the Glory, Nativity, and Passion facades, facing south, east, and west, respectively. The sculpting of the Nativity facade recalls smooth, intricate corbelling and was overseen by Gaudi. The Passion Facade is characterized by the work of Josep Maria Subirachs, whose angular sculptures extend the modernist character of the temple. The sculptor Etsuro Sotoo is responsible for the window ornaments and finials, which symbolize the Eucharist. The central nave soars to a height of 45 meters, and is designed to resemble a forest of multi-hued piers in Montjuïc and granite. The piers change in cross section from base to terminus, increasing in number of vertices from polygonal to circular. The slender, bifurcating columns draw the eye upward, where light filters through circular apertures in the vaults. These are finished in Venetian glass tiles of green and gold, articulating the lines of the hyperboloids.
Once completed, La Sagrada Familia will feature eighteen towers. Four bell towers representing the Apostles crown each facade, reaching approximately 100 meters in height. At the north end, a tower representing the Virgin Mary will stand over the apse. The central tower will reach 72 meters in height and symbolize Christ, surrounded by four towers representing the Evangelists. Even as construction continues, older portions are undergoing cleaning and restoration. The temple has relied entirely on private donations since its inception, and has seen many delays due to lack of funding. A particularly significant setback occurred during the Spanish Civil War, when Gaudi’s workshop was destroyed, including much of the documentation he left behind. Subsequent generations of craftsman and architects have relied on the remaining drawings and plaster models to advance the project, adhering to Gaudi’s vision as closely as possible. As a result, the design of the temple is a collaboration spanning centuries. Gaudi himself viewed the project as the collective work of generations. "I will grow old but others will come after me. What must always be conserved is the spirit of the work, but its life has to depend on the generations it is handed down to and with whom it lives and is incarnated."
In recent decades, La Sagrada Familia has adopted contemporary digital design and construction technologies. Architects and craftsmen use Rhinoceros, Cadds5, Catia, and CAM to understand the complex geometries and visualize the building as a whole. Plaster models are still used as a design tool, now generated by a 3-D printer to accelerate the process.
Architect: Antoni Gaudi
Present Chief Architect: Jordi Fauli
Former Chief Architects: Jordi Bonet, Francesc de Paula Quintana i Vidal, Isidre Puig i Boada, Lluís Bonet i Garí, , Francesc de Paula del Villar y Lozano
Deputy Chief Architects: Carles Buxadé, Joan Margarit, Josep Gómez Serrano
Technical Consultants: Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology
Project Department: Jordi Coll, Andrés de Mesa
Sculptors: Etsuro Sotoo, Josep Maria Subirachs
Stained Glass: Joan Vila-Grau
Area: 4.500 m2
I kinda expect some country memorabilias on the wall or some of his music, but all I got was a good meal, great chicken, great side dishes, but the best part was the gravy.
The exterior of the new station building at Oxford Parkway. This station is expected to become an important railhead for towns and villages to the north and west of Oxford, and even from parts of Oxford itself - there was evidence on the first day that people were using the frequent no. 2 buses from Kidlington and Summertown, which pass by on the adjacent Banbury Road, to access the station instead of struggling into central Oxford.
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Chiltern Railways commenced its much-anticipated new service between London Marylebone and Oxford Parkway on Monday 26th October, a few weeks later than originally planned.
The route makes use of a new curve at Bicester, rebuilt stations at Bicester Town (now renamed Bicester Village) and Islip, and a completely new station at Oxford Parkway, adjacent to the former Water eaton Park-and-Ride site in North Oxford (which has been renamed). Trains will run into Oxford itself sometime in Spring 2016, completing what is being heralded as the first new rail link between London and another major UK city for over 100 years.
I never expected to meet the Gruffalo today, but there he was, in the flesh, at Thorndon Country Park, much to the delight of the children...and me!!!!!
Just for a laugh!
(Not As You Would Expect) Fairy Tales on the Fourth Plinth (One and Other) performance art in Trafalgar Square, London.
Once upon a time, there was a little princess, who sat upon a big stone plinth in the square and told deliciously dark fairy tales, just because everybody likes storytime
in the afternoon. She took her dearest companion, Mr Teddy, with his very best black satin bow, and wore her favourite green taffeta party dress, and had a nice cup
of tea and some ginger beer.
Miss Leanna (From The One and Other site - edited)
These are my personal notes taken during a geology presentation. I give them here because they may be of some interest. Do not expect the notes to always be in complete sentences, etc.
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Mammals and the Cretaceous-Tertiary Mass Extinction
Presented by: John Hunter (Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, Ohio State University at Newark, Newark, Ohio, USA) (newark.osu.edu/directory/hunter-john.html)
22 May 2012
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There are 3 groups of mammals today: monotremes, marsupials, and placentals.
The monotremes are the duck-billed platypus and the echidna. They were widespread across Gondwana in the past. They are now restricted to Australasia.
Marsupials are in Australasia and in North America today.
There are 20 or so orders of placental mammals, living and extinct.
Placentals include primates, which turn out to be related to bats and flying lemurs. Placentals also include the ungulates - the hoofed mammals. The ungulates are an artificial group - they consist of 3 separate groups, actually.
Whales turn out to be in the Artiodactyla.
Mammals have been around since the Late Triassic. A Middle Triassic busted-up mammal braincase has been found in southwestern USA. Well-preserved mammal fossils start in the Late Triassic. Mammals diversify after the Cretaceous. Modern placental orders go to near the base of the Paleocene. Marsupials and monotremes do go into the Cretaceous.
Early mammals include:
Morganucodonts (Late Triassic to Early Jurassic) - they are stem mammals. They have teeth with cusps that slide past each other. These mammals were likely insectivores (insect eaters).
Docodonts (Late Triassic-Late Jurassic) - they have broad, crushing teeth and were likely frugivores (fruit eaters). Their bodies ranged from small & shrew-like to beaver-sized.
Australosphenids (stem monotremes) - they are known from across Gondwana - Australia, Madagascar, South America.
Eutriconodonts (Jurassic-Cretaceous) - bigger & badder mammals, up to ~possum-sized.
Multituberculates (Jurassic-Eocene) - “rodents” of the Mesozoic, although they wouldn’t be mistaken for living rodents. These mammals had cheek teeth with cusps in multiple rows, like a modern rodent molar. Multituberculate mammals had splayed-out-to-the-side limbs. They could reverse their hind feet to hang from tress, like squirrels today.
Stem eutherians (Jurassic-Cretaceous)
Mammals in the Mesozoic were not ecologically dominant - they were small-bodied, nocturnal, and had a small biomass compared with the archosaurs/dinosaurs.
After the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction, there was a survivorship period in the mammals.
Survivors of the extinction included marsupials (they were in & are still in North America) and multituberculates. The multituberculate mammals persisted until the Eocene, when rodents migrated into North America from Asia. The rodents probably outcompeted the multituberculates.
Mammals diversified in the Paleogene-Neogene.
The Cretaceous-Tertiary transition (K-T) had the greatest number of originations per unit species and the greatest number of extinctions per unit species - lots of turnover.
Mammal body sizes increased through time. The largest single increase occurred at the Cretaceous-Tertiary. After that, there was continued increase in mammal body sizes through the Cenozoic.
See Schulte et al. (2010) - Science 327(1214).
There was a large impact in the Gulf of Mexico, at the Yucatan Peninsula, at 65.5 million years ago - now the Chicxulub Impact Crater. The timing of the impact corresponds with extinction of Cretaceous-only species of plants and animals, and corresponds with a sudden spike in iridium (Ir) in Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary sediments, and also corresponds with a δ13C excursion.
The iridium spike and extinction event also correspond with periods of volcanism in India - the Deccan Traps. Imagine an area the size of Texas suddenly being filled with lava, with lots of poison gases being released. There were multiple episodes of Deccan Traps volcanism - not all of them correspond with the extinction horizon.
Deccan Traps volcanism could have caused the Cretaceous-Tertiay mass extinction, some say.
Others say Deccan Traps volcanism did not cause the mass extinction.
Close to Chicxulub, boundary sections have dozens of meters thick tsunami deposits - very coarse grained sediments - formed quickly and dewatered quickly.
Far away from Chicxulub, for example at Agost, Spain, the boundary section is quite thin.
See Archibald et al. (2010) - Science 328 (21 May 2010). This paper says that the Cretaceous-Tertiary mass extinction had multiple causes - impact + volcanism + marine regression + climate change.
Early Paleocene first appearances of mammals include Purgatorius (Plesiadapiformes) - a primate that possibly goes into the Cretaceous (based on one tooth in a probably-contaminated fossil washing screen) - and Protungulatum (Condylarthra) - now known in the Cretaceous.
John Hunter does mammal fossil field work in southwestern North Dakota, in the Williston Basin. The area has Paleocene- and Cretaceous-aged sedimentary rocks. The contact in the area potentially has Cretaceous-Tertiary fossil records. The area is mostly rangelands/grasslands. It’s usually only the river valleys that have adequate rock exposures, such as along the Yellowstone River and the Little Missouri River, etc. Going north in this field area, one encounters younger sites. Going south in this field area, one encounters older sites.
The area has outcrops of Hell Creek Formation (upper Upper Cretaceous) - it contains dinosaurs + lots of mammal sites. Above that is the Fort Union Group (Paleocene) - its has lots of mammal sites.
Marine rocks occur below the Hell Creek Fm. Marine rocks also come in from the east during the Paleocene - there’s a regression to Hudson Bay in the Middle Paleocene.
In the field, the Hell Creek Fm. outcrops have drab gray colors. Above that, the Fort Union Group outcrops are colored tan + gray.
The Pioneer Trails Region Museum in Bowman, North Dakota has a paleontology curator, Dean Pearson. John Hunter works with him, plus Joe Hartman (works on invertebrate fossils), Dan Peppe (works on fossil plants & paleomagnetic analysis), Antoine Bercovici (works on fossil pollen), and others.
The asteroid layer is a tonstein at the Cretaceous-Tertiary (K-T) boundary in some sections - iridium has been identified in these sections. A good K-T section occurs at Mud Buttes, North Dakota - it has shocked quartz + a pollen change + an iridium spike + spherules.
Sandstone channels can cut out parts of these sections, including the K-T transition. So, the K-T asteroid layer is not found everywhere.
Mammal fossils: mostly isolated teeth + jaw fragments.
See Hunter (1999) - North Dakota Academy of Science.
See Pearson et al. (2002) - Geological Society of America Special Paper 361.
There is very little ecological change in Hell Creek Formation fossils through time. There is no evidence of dinosaurs (or other groups) declining.
At one locality, <1 meter above the K-T boundary, lenses of sediments have the earliest mammals and plants recovered from the post-Cretaceous - these are “day after” biotas. They are the closest-to-the-Cretaceous biotas of Paleocene age identified so far.
The Hell Creek Fm.-Fort Union Group contact is arbitrary - it’s placed at a mappable coal bed. This is somewhat correlative with the Z Coal. “Z Coal” is a term used in eastern Montana - the coal bed splits and joins. The formation contact (= coal bed) is within 1 to 0.5 meters of the iridium spike. So, the “Z Coal” and the iridium spike are pretty close.
Bercovici et al. (2009) - Cretaceous Research.
Floras have been also recovered in these close-to-the-Cretaceous sands.
The fossil record looked at just above the K-T is environmentally sensitive.
Wilkening locality - 5341 fossil vertebrate specimens were recovered (mostly fish, but some mammals, too). The fossils were retrieved by screening/sieving. A freshwater ponding event occurred after K-T at this locality. Found a new species of Mesodma, a multituberculate mammal. Got archaic placental mammals and archaic ungulates. The site is dominated by one species of multituberculate - Mesodma. This animal was 80% of the mammal fauna at the Wilkening locality.
Seeing a surge in multituberculate mammals in the transitional period between the Late Cretaceous and the Early Paleocene. The multituberculates were an opportunistic group following the K-T extinction event. Also seeing a fern spore spike just above K-T. This is the first time a spike in mammals has been found after the K-T.
At other sites, reports of increased numbers of mammals after K-T were dubious - there was often evidence of reworking - hundreds or thousands of years of time may have been compressed, including through the boundary. This will disproportionately represent forms that go extinct.
The Wilkening locality is the first confident occurrence of a multituberculate mammal site after the K-T boundary.
Also looked at Merle’s Mecca locality - dates to ~100,000 years after the K-T (= Eary Paleocene). It is more diverse that the Wilkening locality, in terms of mammal fossils. The mammals at Merle’s Mecca are also more derived.
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With the new year of course comes a new line of Transformers. For 2020, these come in the forms of Earthrise and Bumblebee: Cyberverse Adventures. As I get older and hoard more stuff, I find my interest in the main line stuff is starting to wane, mostly because I expect more from my toys, even if I have to pay more. But, there's always a few figures here and there that tickle my fancy, and that is the subject of todays write up, the Transformers Earthrise: Cliffjumper figure, a Deluxe class release with an MSRP of $29.99 CAD.
Earthrise is a continuation of the "storyline" set out in Siege: War for Cybertron. The battle between the Autobots and Decepticons has reached Earth, and the various characters have adopted Earth based alt modes.. which is a nice of way of saying instead of loving homages to G1 modes, they're probably going to use the actual G1 modes. Now, normally this would be something that tickles my interest, but with the existence of the MP line, I feel that getting to attached to this line could cause trouble down the line should they release a character in that form. The good news, however, is that if I do decided to buy something, the ones I get at my local Walmart are the same as what would be sold in Japan, and probably cost much less too so... #winning.
Cliffjumper was one of the original G1 minibots, and was one I commonly referred to as "Red Bumblebee" as in both toy and show, the two shared many characteristics, and there may even have been some red Beetle toys to further confuse the issue. OG Cliffjumper makes his return to the Transformers lineup in the Earthrise lineup, complete with his alt mode of a red sports car. As stated, he is in fact a Deluxe sized toy, even if he is one tiny mother of a toy.. I mean, look at him next to Nat. Remember that Nat is only about 5.5 inches tall, which places Cliffjumper somewhere around 4 inches in robot mode.
As far as I can tell, there's no gimmick with this line like there was with Siege, though I suspect there will be a theme from a transformation perspective.
Cliffjumper comes with the figure and his weapon, a bazooka that can separate into multiple smaller weapons/parts for the vehicle mode. That was expected from the previews. What I DIDN'T expect was that Cliffjumper has a removable backpack that doubles as an "accessory", but look so stupid I didn't even bother to photograph it. Other than serving as a dumb looking weapons/armour, it also allows the design team to cheat in the design of these toys. I'm kind of mixed when it comes to how I feel about this. On the one hand, the final figure looks pretty good, so what do I care about how they achieve it, but on the other hand, it feels almost like a step backwards with regards to design ingenuity. Now, I don't know if the backpack thing is a feature across all the figures - I do think I read something about it in the the upcoming Arcee figure, and thus I suspect it may be a feature across the entire Deluxe size class, if not the sizes above.
The Deluxe class has always been a great combination of size (usually) and articulation, no matter what line you're looking at. Earthrise is no different, with Cliffjumper possessing ankles, knees, hips, waist, shoulders, bicep swivel, elbows, wrist swivel, and head on a ball joint. With all that at your disposal, you're gonna be able to get Cliffjumper into at least one or two decent poses, though posing with the combined bazooka may be a bit challenging due to the size of the weapon.
From a paint perspective, it's now the second year we've had these elevated prices, but at least it can be said that paint application quality is generally not bad. though the actual amount of paint on the figure is relatively limited. I think the only red parts that are painted are the canopy, and the only black parts painted are the stripes along the front and the rear of the vehicle mode. All the silver is painted, including the bazooka. Overall, there are some minor hiccups here and there, but the resulting product itself isn't bad at all. There are none of those "battle damage" paint apps on the figures that most people hated on Siege figures, which results in cleaner figures and less cost for Hasbro/Takaratomy. There's only one decal, the Autobot sigil on the vehicle hood, and the quality and application of this was acceptable.
Build quality is another area that the increased price point seems to have helped overall. The joints are nice and tight, holding poses as intended. The plastic itself.. again I don't have the technical terms for it.. feels like whatever they use for 3D printing, which is rigid enough to support finer detailing, but does not feel brittle at all. Along with a more ambitious transformation scheme, I've also found that the tolerances are better, with parts fitting together nicely with fewer gaps, as well as more actual tabs themselves for mounting parts and guiding transformations. Backpack cheat aside, the transformation itself is a decent challenge and does allow Cliffjumper to remain a tiny little thing even in vehicle mode without having bot mode part sticking out like a sore thumb.
In conclusion, it can be stated that as a Transformer collector, I've come to grasp with the reality of the new pricing scheme and it's nice to see at least that Hasbro/Takaratomy is making some effort to improve the product. Everything looking great, is very crisp and clean, and I can't even complain about the size because, well, Cliffjumper is tiny. While I guess they could have made a Legends scale figure out of him, from an articulation perspective I'm glad they didn't. I feel whether or not you feel this is a good Transformer or a letdown will all depend on how you feel about the backpack.
I don't have any plans to get anything between now and Arcee, but with random 20% off sales that show up from Toys R Us, there's a good chance I'd pick up something else from this Wave One as to verify my backpack theory.
Back to the grind!
Breanna wanted Amanda to pretend she was pregnant and made her stick a teddy bear under her shirt.
Hopefully when Amanda's pregnant she won't have such a lumpy baby.
(It was a Panda. Hopefully she won't give birth to one of those either!)
The last thing we expected to see at Gunnedah, a small country town 1 hr west of Tamworth, is a TV celebrity. Tom Williams in Gunnedah to do a story for "The Great Outdoors" because Gunnedah is known as the "koala capital". Frankly I believe that koalas are not really common and I've yet to see more than 6 different koalas in my 3yrs of going on the summer mission there.
The Postcard
A postally unused postcard that was published by C. Richter (Publishers) ltd. of London NW6. The artwork was by Trow, and the card has a divided back.
Trow
"Trow" has been claimed as the pseudonym of Frank Eric Smith, who was born in Salisbury on the 2nd. March 1908, and who lived most of his life in Dorset and Wiltshire. He died on the 5th. October 1985.
According to Smith's family, he drew many seaside postcards in the late 40's and early 50's, and derived his pseudonym from 'Trowbridge', the county town of Wiltshire.
However, Smith claimed to have stopped drawing in 1952, whilst new cards signed "Trow" continued to appear in large numbers until the late 1960's.
It seems that the cards prosecuted by the DPP for indecency in the 1950's were in fact drawn by Thomas Trow (1909-1971) of Stoke on Trent, whose address appears on the reverse of surviving artwork, as the Greyfriars Art Studio.
The Scarborough Spa Express was a little down this afternoon, presumably because it was hauled by Derby 8 48151, who's little wheels restricted it to 45mph.
As such it clashed with a TPE Cl185 on the down heading towards Scarborough.
(Not As You Would Expect) Fairy Tales on the Fourth Plinth (One and Other) performance art in Trafalgar Square, London.
Once upon a time, there was a little princess, who sat upon a big stone plinth in the square and told deliciously dark fairy tales, just because everybody likes storytime
in the afternoon. She took her dearest companion, Mr Teddy, with his very best black satin bow, and wore her favourite green taffeta party dress, and had a nice cup
of tea and some ginger beer.
Miss Leanna (From The One and Other site - edited)
Okay, I'll admit, I'm not trying to be something I'm clearly not, and that is a portrait photographer.
I have a very hard time shooting people. I'm great at meeting people, talking to people and mingling, but I'm not good at working with people who want their photos taken.
Luckily, this is my wife and the pressure was off....somewhat!
I was hoping to marry my passion for landscape photography, something I know, with taking a photo of a person, something I don't know and get a respectable outcome.
I have to admit I'm pretty happy with these for my experience. I left the pose up to her as she knew what she wanted.
Expecting mother with the Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) - a type of community health worker in India - who accompanied her to the facility for an antenatal care visit. Urban Primary Health Center (UPHC), Ambapua, Berhampur.
Photo Credit: Mubeen Siddiqui/MCSP
Sunday.
Last day of 12 days off, and a day in which we were expected to have heavy thundery showers all afternoon, so had better do something in the morning.
And after breakfast that something was to go to Sandwich Bay, because of Lizard Orchids and check on the Marsh helleborines.
Jools wanted to go swimming, so I said I'd drop her off at the pool on the way, as Sandwich is a 15 minute blast away, so the plan was set.
It was a cloudy start, so there'd be no butterflies or dragonflies, and Jools had found my pass for the estate which I had to exchange for a sticker, meaning free entry all year as long as I park at the observatory.
There was the Women's Open Gold tournament on, so for a while I thought I might not be able to get across the course, but turned out that was at the other links course.
Yay.
I walked over the meadow and past the ringing area, and into the area of dune slacks at the Helleborines grow in. And at first I saw none, then once I got my orchid eye in, I saw hundreds of rosettes all around, some putting up a spike in the usual helleborine way.
There were dozens of Southern Marsh around to, which I learned this week, along with the Northern Marsh, have had their species status downgraded to sub-species, that of Broad Leaved Marsh Orchid (Dactylorhiza majalis).
Confusing.
Anyway, from there I took the path across the three fairways of the golf course, dodging flying balls and dressed in ridiculous clothes of pastel shades, heading for the safety of the gate onto the Strand.
On the way there were several Lizard spikes, and so more on the dunes beside the road. I snap many, but after a while was happy, so turned back for the car.
On the way back I saw another plant I had been looking for, Grass vetchling, a tall, willowy plant with a single pink pea-shaped flower, and being a windless day, was able to get a good shot of the flower.
Back then to the observatory, and as the sun had come out, a few butterflies were seen: Large Skipper, Small Skipper, Small tortoiseshell, and a single Dainty damsel having ventured far from her pond.
I went inside to get a drink, and met with John who helped arrange our trip to Svalbard, and we swapped news of things I saw on the trip after the one he did. We were very lucky, as we saw seven bears, his cruise saw just the one, and no Beluga.
Time was slipping, so I bid him farewell, and drove back to Whitfield where Jools was having a coffee in Subway.
I found three orchids she said, so we went to look, and three tall CSO spikes were growing in the formal border in front of the self-storage place.
We had to rush home, as Jen was back home, and back with Sylv, and we had been invited for Sunday dinner at one. So, we had to dash home so Jools could change, then drive to Whitfield to be on time.
Once there we admired the new skylight Mike had installed because the old one leaked, and we swapped news of things we have done. We regaled them with tales of the frozen north, of course.
Dinner was roast lamb, which was welcome, even if it was very hot in the house with both ovens going. We ate well, drank wine and made merry.
After eating, we could hear the rain falling, and we had left washing out on the line, so we made our excuses and went home.
The storm radar showed storms over Normandy, slowly drifting north and east, but slowly due to the light winds. We heard rumbles, but no storm arrived, though the rain did fall for hours.
We had butter fried asparagus for supper, before I watched yet more football: Spain v Croatia. Which isn't the last game of last season, as England play on Monday. And for those asking when the new season starts, I believe that to be Saturday when the preliminary rounds of the Champion's League start.
sigh.
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'Once seen never forgotten' is the response of most people to finding their first Lizard Orchid. Its impressive size (up to a metre tall) and the unique structure of the lizard-like flowers, which vary in colour from greyish-green to purple, make it impossible to confuse with any of the other orchid species that occur in Britain. Classified as Near Threatened in Britain, the fluctuations in the Lizard Orchid's range and numbers make it difficult to assess accurately whether this is actually a success story or a potential failure. Although it has disappeared from its few former sites in the north of England, populations in Kent (Sandwich Golf Course is its most famous location) remain strong, and Himantoglossum hircinum plants pop up frequently, but sporadically, on new sites in other counties. Several of the recent 'new' sites have been on golf courses, leading to the suggestion that seed may have been inadvertently carried from one course to another by golfers. Other favoured habitats include field margins, sand dunes, scrub, woodland edges, and roadside verges where it easily competes with tall rank grasses. Sometimes growing on neutral soils, this orchid is more common on calcium-rich substrates. Lizard Orchid flowers from mid-May to the end of July, peaking in mid-June. On mainland Europe Himantoglossum hircinum grows from Holland and Germany in the north to as far south as Spain. In some parts of France this species can only be described as a 'roadside weed' - albeit a most welcome one. The flowers are said to smell strongly of billy goat.
Plant: size variable, usually around 30cm in height but occasionally up to 100cm; stem pale green marked with purple, ridged towards the tip; 2 or 3 scale leaves situated at the base.
Leaves: numerous grey-green (sometimes blotched purple) and with 4 to 10 large oval and rather floppy leaves forming a basal rosette. 3 to 5 narrower pointed leaves clasp the stem up to the base of the inflorescence.
Bracts: pale green-to-white sometimes washed red, narrow and pointed.
Flowers: up to 80 held in a densely-packed cylindrical inflorescence which takes up half the length of the stem; greyish-green but washed purple, especially the lip (the 'tail' of the lizard). The sepals are veined with numerous purple lines and blotches which show through to the outer sides. Petals are narrow and strap-shaped, while the lip is divided into 3 lobes with the centre lobe being much longer once it has uncurled from a tight coil as flowering progresses.
The specific name hircinum means 'of goat' and refers to the smell of the flowers.
There are no known subspecies, hybrids or varieties in Britain.
www.hardyorchidsociety.org.uk/hos%201012/orchidphotos/him...