DoLLs eXtravaganZa
View allAll Photos Tagged extravagant
Got an opportunity to escape the house today, and delight in a morning visit with Nature. Found this Hooded Merganser busy diving for breakfast. Brought a Smile.
“Hooded” is something of an understatement for this extravagantly crested little duck. Adult males are a sight to behold, with sharp black-and-white patterns set off by chestnut flanks. Females get their own distinctive elegance from their cinnamon crest.
Hooded Mergansers are fairly common on small ponds and rivers, where they dive for fish, crayfish, and other food, seizing it in their thin, serrated bills. They find their prey underwater by sight. They can actually change the refractive properties of their eyes to improve their underwater vision. In addition, they have an extra eyelid, called a “nictitating membrane,” which is transparent and helps protect the eye during swimming, like a pair of goggles.
Hooded Merganser ducklings leave their nest cavity within 24 hours of hatching. First, their mother checks the area around the nest and calls to the nestlings from ground level. From inside the nest, the little fluffballs scramble up to the entrance hole and then flutter to the ground, which may be 50 feet or more below them. In some cases, they have to walk half a mile or more with their mother to the nearest body of water.
The oldest recorded Hooded Merganser was a male and at least 14 years, 6 months old when he was shot in Mississippi in 2009. He had been banded in Minnesota in 1995.
This year my Oregon Grape cultivar 'Charity' gave me a wonderful surprise. It produced grapes, after several years with none. I had assumed that I would enjoy it for its awesome yellow candelabra flowers alone, which cheered me up each year in the depths of winter. Surprise! This year it produced beautiful but sour grapes in abundance. :)
"My extravagance is my garden - it's the first thing that I look at every morning when I wake up. It gives me so much pleasure."
~ Ina Garten
More light from Tuesday's evening hike--
Heather was there and Elu too;
and the geese were calling...
Wild geese in the wild sky
calling from the extravagant clouds
of winter sunset.
The Grote Markt ("Great Market Square") of Antwerp is a town square situated in the heart of the old city quarter. It is filled with an extravagant city hall, numerous elaborate 16th century guildhalls, many restaurants and cafés. Lying within walking distance of the Scheldt river, it hosts a Christmas market and ice rink in winter.
The City Hall (Dutch: Stadhuis of Antwerp), stands on the western side of Antwerp's Grote Markt ("Great Market Square").
Erected between 1561 and 1565 after designs made by Cornelis Floris de Vriendt and several other architects and artists, this Renaissance building incorporates both Flemish and Italian influences. The Stadhuis is listed as one of the Belfries of Belgium and France, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Google defines luxury as:
lux·u·ry
noun
the state of great comfort and extravagant living.
Luxor Designs is just that, luxury...classy & sexy. Plus, who can resist a tufted pattern? lol Not this girl
"Alani Luxury Designer Chair"
Release Date December 20th, 2021 @ Noon SLT Exclusively
@ M.O.M
Please check out their Flickr for all the features & extras included.
{♥‿♥} Ƭнαηк Ƴσυ Ƒσя Ƴσυя Ƒανєѕ, Ƈσммєηтѕ, & Aωαя∂ѕ! {♥‿♥}
Hello there,
I spotted this extravagant lily on one of my neighbourhood walks. Being that it's Sliders Sunday, I pulled a bunch of sliders and added texture in Topaz Studio. Happy Sliders Sunday! HSS!
Thank you so much for taking the time to look and for leaving me a comment. I do love hearing from you! Have a wonderful day!
©Copyright - Nancy Clark - All Rights Reserved
Black Eyed Susan vine (Rudbeckia hirta) is a hallmark of prairies and meadows. It is a flower that blooms and completes its life cycle in its second year with an extravagant floral display, creating thousands of dark eyes like the ones we see here.
Yesterday's flower was on the extravagant side, so today I'm posting one that is more delicate.
Edited with effects in Topaz Studio
Please note that I will be away tomorrow.
Thank you so much for stopping by and for leaving me a comment! Have a wonderful day!
©Copyright - Nancy Clark - All Rights Reserved
The Grote Markt ("Great Market Square") of Antwerp is a town square situated in the heart of the old city quarter. It is filled with an extravagant city hall, numerous elaborate 16th century guildhalls, many restaurants and cafés. Lying within walking distance of the Scheldt river, it hosts a Christmas market and ice rink in winter.
The City Hall (Dutch: Stadhuis of Antwerp), stands on the western side of Antwerp's Grote Markt ("Great Market Square").
Erected between 1561 and 1565 after designs made by Cornelis Floris de Vriendt and several other architects and artists, this Renaissance building incorporates both Flemish and Italian influences. The Stadhuis is listed as one of the Belfries of Belgium and France, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
With the two buds at the top, this fancy lily isn't finished with its show. Spotted and photographed on a recent neighbourhood walk.
Thank you for taking the time to view this image and for leaving me a comment! Have a great day and week!
“Do not be dismayed by the brokenness of the world. All things break. And all things can be mended. Not with time, as they say, but with intention. So go. Love intentionally, extravagantly, unconditionally. The broken world waits in darkness for the light that is you.”
― L.R. Knost
Happy Easter and sliderssunday!
♥
Hello There!
From my archives: There is a local park where folks toss cracked corn out for the Wood Ducks and Mallards. It was my very lucky day to see them at fairly close range.
Thanks a million for stopping by and for leaving a comment. I do appreciate hearing from you! Have a wonderful day!
©Copyright - Nancy Clark - All Rights Reserved
The Grote Markt ("Great Market Square") of Antwerp is a town square situated in the heart of the old city quarter. It is filled with an extravagant city hall, numerous elaborate 16th century guildhalls, many restaurants and cafés. Lying within walking distance of the Scheldt river, it hosts a Christmas market and ice rink in winter.
The City Hall (Dutch: Stadhuis of Antwerp), stands on the western side of Antwerp's Grote Markt ("Great Market Square").
Erected between 1561 and 1565 after designs made by Cornelis Floris de Vriendt and several other architects and artists, this Renaissance building incorporates both Flemish and Italian influences. The Stadhuis is listed as one of the Belfries of Belgium and France, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Buy this photo on Getty Images : Getty Images
Bird skillfully weaving its nest.
Male weavers build extravagant oval nests over water attached to stems of reeds or grasses. The female bird chooses who she will mate, depending on how impressed she is with a male's skill to construct a nest.
Taken in Jurong Bird park, Singapore ( so, not necessarily from Singapore)
Submitted: 03/03/2020
Accepted: 04/03/2020
Published:
- (China) 11-Feb-2021
In 1901 Merton Russell-Cotes gave his wife Annie a dream house on a cliff-top, overlooking the sea. It was an extraordinary, extravagant birthday present – lavish, splendid, and with a touch of fantasy. They filled this exotic seaside villa with beautiful objects from their travels across the world, and lined the walls with a remarkable collection of British art, creating a unique atmosphere in a most dramatic setting. [1]
In 1907, Annie Russell-Cotes donated East Cliff Hall and its contents as a museum to the town of Bournemouth and Merton donated his fine art collection. In return they were made honorary freemen of the town. [2]
Text Ref:
[1] russellcotes.com/our-story/
[2] Wikipedia
This is one of the most extravagant tulips that I've come across. I'm looking forward to spring to see if they come up again.
Edited with texture in Topaz Studio.
Thank you for stopping by and for leaving me a comment! Have a great day and weekend!
©Copyright - Nancy Clark - All Rights Reserved
Last year, at the top of the mountain that takes me to my hometown, I saw a beautiful flowerbed of dahlias and agapanthus next to the road.
Across the road there is a regional product store whose owners cultivate with care these flowers, possibly to attract buyers to the store.
Amid the flowers a very rustic wooden bench (I doubt it is comfortable), but combines with the region entirely full of pines and other native trees.
I now present a single photo of this extravagant idea of the owners, since it was difficult take the risk of being by the road to record more images.
I keep thinking who would want to sit with the feet almost touching the asphalt of a very busy estate road. Anyway, the flowers were beautiful and well cared for.
Along with the eccentric scene I upload also a close-up of one of the various species of dahlias (all red), some of which I already downloaded on another occasion.
I wish you all an excellent weekend!
Wildflowers near Tipsoo Lake, Mount Rainier National Park, Washington
Earth Day 2022
Beyond the obvious major feature of this park, which I have posted many photos of, and those of us who live here refer to simply as "The Mountain", one of the biggest draws for visitors to the park is the wildflowers. Hundreds of species of alpine and subalpine wildflowers bloom in the summer, carpeting the meadows and hillsides with extravagant displays of color. And at the height of the lupine bloom season, it sometimes seems as though the air in the entire park is perfumed with their fragrance.
Last summer however, the Pacific Northwest was hit with an unprecedented heat wave in June, with temperatures reaching previously unfathomable highs of 110-115 degrees F (43-46 C) for multiple days in a row. This caused rapid melting of the snowpack at Mount Rainier and damaged plants that were just emerging from the ground. So the wildflower display last year was much more sparse than usual, and the lupine that normally fills the hillsides and lake basins in August was especially noticeable for its absence. It was another reminder of the consequences of climate change and the impact it has on our planet and these beautiful places. I very much hope that last year was an aberration, but I also very much worry that it was not.
“Hooded” is something of an understatement for this extravagantly crested little duck. Adult males are a sight to behold, with sharp black-and-white patterns set off by chestnut flanks. Females get their own distinctive elegance from their cinnamon crest. Hooded Mergansers are fairly common on small ponds and rivers, where they dive for fish, crayfish, and other food, seizing it in their thin, serrated bills. They nest in tree cavities; the ducklings depart with a bold leap to the forest floor when only one day old.
It never fails to make me smile when I see Guru sprawled like this. He often sleeps taking up extravagant amounts of space. The best part: he accepts belly kisses.
The Grote Markt ("Great Market Square") of Antwerp is a town square situated in the heart of the old city quarter. It is filled with an extravagant city hall, numerous elaborate 16th century guildhalls, many restaurants and cafés. Lying within walking distance of the Scheldt river, it hosts a Christmas market and ice rink in winter.
The City Hall (Dutch: Stadhuis of Antwerp), stands on the western side of Antwerp's Grote Markt ("Great Market Square").
Erected between 1561 and 1565 after designs made by Cornelis Floris de Vriendt and several other architects and artists, this Renaissance building incorporates both Flemish and Italian influences. The Stadhuis is listed as one of the Belfries of Belgium and France, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
I found some beautiful Anemone's at our local fish hatchery's garden. Having fun playing with textures for an vintage abstract.
Anemone in Greek word in translation “the wind’s daughter" also known as the windflower.
Color purple usually symbolizes honor, royalty, beauty and status. The purple Anemone flower is definitely more extravagant and interesting. Some cultures even link the purple Anemone flower to feelings of excitement and anticipation as the petals open in the day and close at night.
© 2023 Flower Meanings
Thank you for your warm visits and comments, have a lovely day.
Nikon Macro Nano Lens f2.8 ~ f/.4.0, 60mm, 1/320, ISO 200
#Flickr21Challenge AND #vintage
Or whatever.
I like bokeh and was talking with a flickr friend about how to get extravagant bokeh, one way being to take the lens off your camera, turn it around and hold that end to the camera body and click.
I told him I'd tried that with my 18-55 mm lens and got only a big blur. He suggested it worked better with a prime lens.
I have one, so clicked on things inside, outside. In short, got a little manic about it and now have my apartment, garden and half a forest in radical bokeh not resembling at all what I clicked on.
So thanks Dan www.flickr.com/photos/damndan/.
This one's for you.
I also may have gotten the long elusive, documented proof of the many worlds theory of quantum science.
Thank you, Denny www.flickr.com/photos/bregalis for suggesting Sabine's book.
Maybe if I sent this to her she'll be more hopeful and not quit her job. ;-)
I'm sketchily on flickr. My son is here, lots going on and very busy. I hope every now and then to get on flickr a bit.
Hope all is well.
To end the week, I thought I'd post this splashy slipper orchid that I spotted at this year's Manitoba Orchid Show.
Texture from Topaz Studio.
Thank you for viewing this image and leaving me a comment. Have a wonderful day and weekend!
Fiscardo is a picturesque and beautiful Greek harbour village on the Northern tip of Kefalonia. Traditional Kefalonian fishing boats moor alongside the more extravagant temporary visitors during the summer..
Henley Royal Regatta was first held in 1839. It is one of those very British Summer events like Royal Ascot where it is the place to be seen and extravagant hats are everywhere.
More on the history of the event can be found here www.hrr.co.uk/history This year's Regatta is 4-8 July but I shall be watching Wimbledon - without a hat!
Thank you for taking the time to visit, comment, fave or invite. I really appreciate them all.
All photos used are my own.
All rights reserved. This photo is not authorized for use on your blogs, pin boards, websites or use in any other way.
The great egret, Ardea alba, is a tall and stately bird, graceful in flight, deliberate and stealthy when hunting. In the 1800s its brilliantly white feathers and long, extravagant plumes inspired devastating hunting, wiping out heronries in a single day and driving the species to the brink of extinction in North America. By 1886, it was estimated that 5 million great egrets had been killed for their feathers, for fashion.
While on sabbatical at the University of California at Davis, I frequented the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area to watch birds, and great egrets were always present, usually stalking prey.
Went to a local lake today to look for the Hooded Mergansers on this first real cold morning of the season. These extravagantly crested, extremely shy, smallest of the North American Mergansers were out in full force but managed to stay far away for the most part except for a few instances.
This male fairly aggressive guy towards other birds was the first one come close.
Hoping to go there again soon!
September is dressing herself in showy dahlias and splendid marigolds and starry zinnias. October, the extravagant sister, has ordered an immense amount of the most gorgeous forest tapestry for her grand reception :-)
Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809–1894), "Autumn," The Atlantic Almanac, 1868
cercis, variegated eastern redbud, "Floating Clouds', j c raulston arboretum, ncsu, raleigh, north carolina
Philharmonie Luxembourg.
Die extravagante Architektur der Philharmonie Luxembourg im Europa-Viertel von Luxembourg macht das Konzerthaus zu einem markanten Mittelpunkt im Stadtteil Kirchberg. In unmittelbarer Nähe des Konzerthauses liegt das Musée d'Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean.
I've never been one to shy away from a little harmless yet extravagant over-engineering and I was in perfect form the day before I took this photo with a completely excessive amount of work anchoring my tent into the snow with oversized snow pegs and buried blocks of ice which, had given the comedians camping with me plenty to work with.
A few hours after I'd finished work on my aptly labelled 'Fort Knox' we noticed some dark clouds beginning to appear on the horizon. I was so excited but they were quickly dismissed by the others in favour of the forecast which, was still calling for a calm night...
The next morning came and I woke to an aftermath of ripped and wrangled tents from a surprise storm that had kept everyone up frantically trying to save their gear and make it through.
As it would turn out, that was the best nights sleep I'd had in a while and now I was the only one up to enjoy the beautiful sunrise ❄️💨
IG: @j.a.y_daley
Extravagantes Café im Mix aus Jugendstil und chinesischer Architektur in ehemaligem Geschäftshaus von 1909.
Extravagantes Café im Mix aus Jugendstil und chinesischer Architektur in ehemaligem Geschäftshaus von 1909.
While visiting Newark Park, Gloucestershire, UK this Peacock jumped up onto a stone pillar and gave me ample opportunity to enjoy its extravagant beauty......(and to use my Tamron telephoto lens).....never seen one this close before.....such a striking and gloriously colourful bird.....
'Thus when Philomela drooping softly seeks her silent mate, see the bird of Juno stooping; Melody resigns to fate.' (1733)
Link to the whole poem:-
books.google.co.uk/books?id=xw9MAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA155&...
Handheld, Pentax K3 II paired with a Tamron AF 70-300mm F/4-5.6 Di LD Macro 1:2, standard run through in DxO Optics Pro on Mac, then cropped, rotated and tweaked in Snapseed and 'Photos' on iPad Pro.
For more info.on the Indian peafowl or blue peafowl (Pavo cristatus):-
Kansas City business man began construction of this extravagant summer home in the early 1900's. During construction in 1906,Synder was killed in what was believed to be the state's first automobile accident. His sons managed to finish the castle in the early 1920's but a failing business lead to selling the castle in the mid 1930's. It was used as a motel until 1942 when it was destroyed in a fire. It now serves as the centerpiece for Ha Ha Tonka State Park...
Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera Pavo and Afropavo of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female peafowl as peahens, though peafowl of either sex are often referred to colloquially as peacocks. Male peafowl are known for their piercing calls and their extravagant plumage, which is especially prominent in the Asiatic species, which have an eye-spotted tail or train of covert feathers, which they display as part of a courtship ritual.
Despite the length and size of the covert feathers, the peacock is still capable of flight. The peafowl lives mainly on the ground in open forests or on cultivable lands where it forages for berries and grains, and also preys on snakes, lizards and small rodents. It makes loud calls, which makes it easier to detect, and are often used to indicate the presence of a predator in the forest areas. It forages on the ground in small groups and usually escapes on foot through undergrowth and avoids flying, though it flies into tall trees to roost. A2K_567