Eurasian coot (Fulica atra)

  

The juvenile is paler than the adult, has a whitish breast, and lacks the facial shield; the adult black plumage develops when about 3–4 months old, but the white shield is only fully developed at about one year old.

 

This is a noisy bird with a wide repertoire of crackling, explosive, or trumpeting calls, often given at night.

Any given Sunday in Mexico City

En la playa de Zipolite, Oaxaca, en México lindo y querido.

Given an old look using Luminar

66020 has just been given the go ahead at Banbury by one of the soon to be redundant semaphores , the working was the 0915 4O21 Trafford Park - Southampton Docks.

 

30 6 16

On 14 February 2003 Maybe was official given to me as my seizure respons dog. I never had a better Valentines ! She is my little Valentine :-)

 

© All rights reserved

 

if you want to see MAybe in a little Valentine video, look at this :

sendables.jibjab.com/sendables/202879/romeo_and_juliet_lo...

 

Date posted: 12/22/22

 

- - - Please note that ALL of my images are "All Rights Reserved" and are posted for educational purposes only. Please do the right thing and contact me in advance if you wish to discuss the use or reuse of my images and provide a link to my originals. I would also ask that I be given a "first look" at any 7Up UnCola billboards or posters before you market them to the general public in return for my extensive investment in time, money and research, including interviewing some of the surviving artists. Thanks, and enjoy. - - -

 

Search "7Up UnCola Billboards" on eBay www.ebay.com/usr/finishstrong312 or peruse my albums on Flickr.com www.flickr.com/photos/30559980@N07/albums if you'd like to learn more about this stunning body of work or acquire originals that might be duplicates to me. I keep the best and sell the rest.

 

Read about the illustrator’s career on Wikipedia here:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skip_Williamson

 

Before he died in 2017, Skip did confirm to me in an email that this was his image. It's a bit more family friendly relative to the rest of his more provocative work. Search for Sammy Smoot who was perhaps his most well known character and then compare the styles, eyeballs and tongue.

 

You can learn more about my one-of-a-kind 7Up UnCola billboard & poster collection by reading this in-depth 2016 article in Collectors Weekly (dot com) or the other links that follow:

 

www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/collecting-7ups-most-be...

 

flashbak.com/when-7up-was-cool-the-uncola-ad-campaign-196...

 

www.djfood.org/7up-the-uncola-posters/

 

dangerousminds.net/comments/the_uncola_7up_and_the_most_p...

 

This image:

This is Design xxxx per the rainlap diagram on the rear of top left Panel A1. Note: this billboard did not have a Rainlap Diagram design number included.

I've dated it to 1971 based upon its inclusion in the small American Contemporary Graphics booklet from that same year. It could also be from earlier.

 

21'x10' vintage billboard acquired in Very Good condition.

To save on printing costs, this image was printed with a larger number of smaller panels so they could ship the all white panels that didn't have to be run through the offset lithograph printing machines. Normally they have 12 panels at 43" wide x 59" tall. I was able to reinforce the panels with minimal clear, acid-free scrapbooking tape on the back (only).

Unfortunately, the very bottom right panel G2 is missing. It's all white with the exception of about an inch of the last "s" in "cents" which I Photoshopped in to this collage.

 

This is truly ONE-OF-A-KIND. I know of no other copies in any size at this time.

 

The illustrator and their image was featured on pages #17 & 18 in a small American Contemporary Graphics booklet from about 1971-72:

www.flickr.com/photos/30559980@N07/albums/72157636886600686

 

This image was NOT featured in issue #47 of the "Dimensions" quarterly booklet published in the Fall of 1973 by the Simpson Lee Paper Company - this time focused entirely on 7Up billboards:

www.flickr.com/photos/30559980@N07/albums/72157649999521398

 

This was NOT offered in the purplish billboard and poster offer that expired on 12/31/70:

www.flickr.com/photos/30559980@N07/21744527254/in/album-7...

 

This was NOT offered in the square foldout billboard and poster offer that expired on 5/31/72 (4 photos):

www.flickr.com/photos/30559980@N07/8203486520/in/album-72...

www.flickr.com/photos/30559980@N07/8202391927/in/album-72...

 

This was NOT offered in the yellow billboard and poster offer that expired on 9/1/72:

www.flickr.com/photos/30559980@N07/5809333595/in/album-72...

 

This was NOT offered in the “New For 1973” billboard and poster offer that expired on 6/30/74:

www.flickr.com/photos/30559980@N07/15729486025/in/album-7...

©All photographs on this site are copyright: ©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams) 2011 – 2021 & GETTY IMAGES ®

  

No license is given nor granted in respect of the use of any copyrighted material on this site other than with the express written agreement of ©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams). No image may be used as source material for paintings, drawings, sculptures, or any other art form without permission and/or compensation to ©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams)

 

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I would like to say a huge and heartfelt 'THANK YOU' to GETTY IMAGES, and the 44.119+ Million visitors to my FLICKR site.

  

***** Selected for sale in the GETTY IMAGES COLLECTION on Wednesday 23rd November 2022

  

CREATIVE RF gty.im/1443826072 MOMENT ROYALTY FREE COLLECTION**

  

This photograph became my 5,741st frame to be selected for sale in the Getty Images collection and I am very grateful to them for this wonderful opportunity.

  

©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams)

  

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Photograph taken at an altitude of Fifty four metres at 12:41pm on a Springtime afternoon on Wednesday 15th June 2022, off Hythe Avenue and Chessington Avenue in Bexleyheath, Kent.

  

Here we see an adult female Carrion crow (Corvus corone) standing in a passing rain shower in a garden off Hythe Avenue and Chessington Avenue in Bexleyheath, Kent.

AN IN DEPTH LOOK AT CORVUS CORONE

  

LEGEND AND MYTHOLOGY

By Paul Williams

  

Crows appear in the Bible where Noah uses one to search for dry land and to check on the recession of the flood. Crows supposedly saved the prophet, Elijah, from famine and are an Inuit deity. Legend has it that England and its monarchy will end when there are no more crows in the Tower of London. And some believe that the crows went to the Tower attracted by the regular corpses following executions with written accounts of their presence at the executions of Anne Boleyn and Jane Gray.

  

In Welsh mythology, unfortunately Crows are seen as symbolic of evilness and black magic thanks to many references to witches transforming into crows or ravens and escaping. Indian legend tells of Kakabhusandi, a crow who sits on the branches of a wish-fulfilling tree called Kalpataru and a crow in Ramayana where Lord Rama blessed the crow with the power to foresee future events and communicate with the souls.

  

In Native American first nation legend the crow is sometimes considered to be something of a trickster, though they are also viewed positively by some tribes as messengers between this world and the next where they carry messages from the living to those deceased, and even carry healing medicines between both worlds.

  

There is a belief that crows can foresee the future. The Klamath tribe in Oregon believe that when we die, we fly up to heaven as a crow. The Crow can also signify wisdom to some tribes who believe crows had the power to talk and were therefore considered to be one of the wisest of birds. Tribes with Crow Clans include the Chippewa (whose Crow Clan and its totem are called Aandeg), the Hopi (whose Crow Clan is called Angwusngyam or Ungwish-wungwa), the Menominee, the Caddo, the Tlingit, and the Pueblo tribes of New Mexico.

  

The crow features in the Nanissáanah (Ghost dance), popularized by Jerome Crow Dog, a Brulé Lakota sub-chief and warrior born at Horse Stealing Creek in Montana Territory in 1833, the crow symbolizing wisdom and the past, when the crow had become a guide and acted as a pathfinder during hunting. The Ghost dance movement was originally created in 1870 by Wodziwob, or Gray Hair, a prophet and medicine man of the Paiute tribe in an area that became known as Nevada.

  

Ghost dancers wore crow and eagle feathers in their clothes and hair, and the fact that the Crow could talk placed it as one of the sages of the animal kingdom. The five-day dances seeking trance, prophecy and exhortations would eventually play a major part in the pathway towards the white man's broken treaties, the infamous battle at Wounded knee and the surrender of Matȟó Wanáȟtaka (Kicking Bear), after officials began to fear the ghost dancers and rituals which seemed to occur prior to battle.

  

Historically the Vikings are the group who made so many references to the crow, and Ragnarr Loðbrók and his sons used this species in his banner as well as appearances in many flags and coats of arms. Also, it had some kind of association with Odin, one of their main deities. Norse legend tells us that Odin is accompanied by two crows.

  

Hugin, who symbolizes thought, and Munin, who represents a memory. These two crows were sent out each dawn to fly the entire world, returning at breakfast where they informed the Lord of the Nordic gods of everything that went on in their kingdoms. Odin was also referred to as Rafnagud (raven-god).

  

The raven appears in almost every skaldic poem describing warfare. Coins dating back to 940's minted by Olaf Cuaran depict the Viking war standard, the Raven and Viking war banners (Gonfalon) depicted the bird also.

  

In Scandinavian legends, crows are a representative of the Goddess of Death, known as Valkyrie (from old Norse 'Valkyrja'), one of the group of maidens who served the Norse deity Odin, visiting battlefields and sending him the souls of the slain worthy of a place in Valhalla. Odin ( also called Wodan, Woden, or Wotan), preferred that heroes be killed in battle and that the most valiant of souls be taken to Valhöll, the hall of slain warriors.

  

It is the crow that provides the Valkyries with important information on who should go. In Hindu ceremonies that are associated to ancestors, the crow has an important place in Vedic rituals. They are seen as messengers of death in Indian culture too.

  

In Germanic legend, Crows are seen as psychonomes, meaning the act of guiding spirits to their final destination, and that the feathers of a crow could cure a victim who had been cursed. And yet, a lone black crow could symbolize impending death, whilst a group symbolizes a lucky omen! Vikings also saw good omens in the crow and would leave offerings of meat as a token.

  

The crow also has sacred and prophetic meaning within the Celtic civilization, where it stood for flesh ripped off due to combat and Morrighan, the warrior goddess, often appears in Celtic mythology as a raven or crow, or else is found to be in the company of the birds. Crow is sacred to Lugdnum, the Celtic god of creation who gave his name to the city of Lug

  

In Greek mythology according to Appolodorus, Apollo is supposedly responsible for the black feathers of the crow, turning them forever black from their pristine white original plumage as a punishment after they brought news that Κορωνις (Coronis) a princess of the Thessalian kingdom of Phlegyantis, Apollo's pregnant lover had left him to marry a mortal, Ischys.

  

In one legend, Apollo burned the crows feathers and then burned Coronis to death, in another Coronis herself was turned into a black crow, and another that she was slain by the arrows of Αρτεμις (Artemis - twin to Apollo). Koronis was later set amongst the stars as the constellation Corvus ("the Crow").

  

Her name means "Curved One" from the Greek word korônis or "Crow" from the word korônê.A similar Muslim legend allegedly tells of Muhammad, founder of Islam and the last prophet sent by God to Earth, who's secret location was given away by a white crow to his seekers, as he hid in caves. The crow shouted 'Ghar Ghar' (Cave, cave) and thus as punishment, Muhammad turned the crow black and cursed it for eternity to utter only one phrase, 'Ghar, ghar). Native Indian legend where the once rainbow-coloured crows became forever black after shedding their colourful plumage over the other animals of the world.

  

In China the Crow is represented in art as a three legged bird on a solar disk, being a creature that helps the sun in its journey. In Japan there are myths of Crow Tengu who were priests who became vain, and turned into this spirit to serve as messengers until they learn the lesson of humility as well as a great Crow who takes part in Shinto creation stories.

  

In animal spirit guides there are general perceptions of what sightings of numbers of crows actually mean:

  

1 Crow Meaning: To carry a message from your near one who died recently.

 

2 Crows Meaning: Two crows sitting near your home signifies some good news is on your way.

 

3 Crows Meaning: An upcoming wedding in your family.

 

4 Crows Meaning: Symbolizes wealth and prosperity.

 

5 Crows Meaning: Diseases or pain.

 

6 Crows Meaning: A theft in your house!

 

7 Crows Meaning: Denotes travel or moving from your house.

 

8 Crows Meaning: Sorrowful events

  

Crows are generally seen as the symbolism when alive for doom bringing, misfortune and bad omens, and yet a dead crow symbolises potentially bringing good news and positive change to those who see it.

 

This wonderful bird certainly gets a mixed bag of contradictory mythology and legend over the centuries and in modern days is often seen as a bit of a nuisance, attacking and killing the babies of other birds such as Starlings, Pigeons and House Sparrows as well as plucking the eyes out of lambs in the field, being loud and noisy and violently attacking poor victims in a 'crow court'....

  

There is even a classic horror film called 'THE CROW' released in 1994 by Miramax Films, directed by Alex Proyas and starring Brandon Lee in his final film appearance as Eric Draven, who is revived by a Crow tapping on his gravestone a year after he and his fiancée are murdered in Detroit by a street gang. The crow becomes his guide as he sets out to avenge the murders.

  

The only son of martial arts expert Bruce Lee, Brandon lee suffered fatal injuries on the set of the film when the crew failed to remove the primer from a cartridge that hit Lee in the abdomen with the same force as a normal bullet. Lee died that day, March 31st 1993 aged 28.

  

The symbolism of the Crow resurrecting the dead star and accompanying him on his quest for revenge was powerful, and in some part based on the history of the carrion crow itself and the original film grossed more than $94 Million dollars with three subsequent sequels following.

  

TAKING A CLOSER LOOK

  

So, let's move away from legend, mythology and stories passed down from our parents and grandparents and look at these amazing birds in isolation.

  

Carrion crow are passerines in the family Corvidae a group of Oscine passerine birds including Crows, Ravens, Rooks, Jackdaws, Jays, Magpies, Treepies, Choughs and Nutcrackers. Technically they are classed as Corvids, and the largest of passerine birds. Carrion crows are medium to large in size with rictal bristles and a single moult per year (most passerines moult twice).

  

Carrion crow was one of the many species originally described by Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (Carl Von Linne after his ennoblement) in his 1758 and 1759 editions of 'SYSTEMA NATURAE', and it still bears its original name of Corvus corone, derived from the Latin of Corvus, meaning Raven and the Greek κορώνη (korōnē), meaning crow.

  

Carrion crow are of the Animalia kingdom Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Passeriformes Family: Corvidae Genus: Corvus and Species: Corvus corone

  

Corvus corone can reach 45-47cm in length with a 93-104cm wingspan and weigh between 370-650g. They are protected under The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 in the United Kingdom with a Green UK conservation status which means they are of least concern with more than 1,000,000 territories.

 

Breeding occurs in April with fledging of the chicks taking around twenty nine days following an incubation period of around twenty days with 3 to 4 eggs being the average norm. They are abundant in the UK apart from Northwest Scotland and Ireland where the Hooded crow (Corvus cornix) was considered the same species until 2002. They have a lifespan of around four years, whilst Crow species can live to the age of Twenty years old, and the oldest known American crow in the wild was almost Thirty years old.

  

The oldest documented captive crow died at age Fifty nine. They are smaller and have a shorter lifespan than the Raven, which again is used as a symbol in history to live life to the full and not waste a moment!

  

They are often mistaken for the Rook (Corvus frugilegus), a similar bird, though in the UK, the Rook is actually technically smaller than the Carrion crow averaging 44-46cm in length, 81-99cm wingspan and weighing up to 340g. Rooks have white beaks compared to the black beaks of Carrion crow, a more steeply raked ratio from head to beak, and longer straighter beaks as well as a different plumage pattern.

  

There are documented cases in the UK of singular and grouped Rooks attacking and killing Carrion crows in their territory. Rooks nest in colonies unlike Carrion crows. Carrion crows have only a few natural enemies including powerful raptors such as the northern goshawk, the peregrine falcon, the Eurasian eagle-owl and the golden eagle which will all readily hunt them.

  

Regarded as one of the most intelligent birds, indeed creatures on the planet, studies suggest that Corvids cognitive abilities can rival that of primates such as chimpanzees and gorillas and even provide clues to understanding human intelligence.

  

Crows have relatively large brains for their body size, compared to other animals. Their encephalization quotient (EQ) a ratio of brain to body size, adjusted for size because there isn’t a linear relationship is 4.1.

  

That is remarkably close to chimps at 4.2 whilst humans are 8.1. Corvids also have a very high neuronal density, the number of neurons per gram of brain, factoring in the number of cortical neurons, neuron packing density, intraneuronal distance and axonal conduction velocity shows that Corvids score high on this measure as well, with humans scoring the highest.

  

A corvid's pallium is packed with more neurons than a great ape's. Corvids have demonstrated the ability to use a combination of mental tools such as imagination, and anticipation of future events.

  

They can craft tools from twigs and branches to hook grubs from deep recesses, they can solve puzzles and intricate methods of gaining access to food set by humans,and have even bent pieces of wire into hooks to obtain food. They have been proven to have a higher cognitive ability level than seven year old humans.

  

Communications wise, their repertoire of wraw-wraw's is not fully understood, but the intensity, rhythm, and duration of caws seems to form the basis of a possible language. They also remember the faces of humans who have hindered or hurt them and pass that information on to their offspring.

  

Aesop's fable of 'The Crow and the Pitcher, tells of a thirsty crow which drops stones into a water pitcher to raise the water level and enable it to take a drink. Scientists have conducted tests to see whether crows really are this intelligent. They placed floating treats in a deep tube and observed the crows indeed dropping dense objects carefully selected into the water until the treat floated within reach. They had the intelligence to pick up, weigh and discount objects that would float in the water, they also did not select ones that were too large for the container.

  

Pet crows develop a unique call for their owners, in effect actually naming them. They also know to sunbathe for a dose of vitamin D, regularly settling on wooden garden fences, opening their mouths and wings and raising their heads to the sun. In groups they warn of danger and communicate vocally.

  

They store a cache of food for later if in abundance and are clever enough to move it if they feel it has been discovered. They leave markers for their cache. They have even learned to place walnuts and similar hard food items under car tyres at traffic lights as a means of cracking them!

  

Crows regularly gather around a dead fellow corvid, almost like a funeral, and it is thought they somehow learn from each death. They can even remember human faces for decades. Crows group together to attack larger predators and even steal their food, and they have different dialects in different areas, with the ability to mimic the dialect of the alpha males when they enter their territory!

  

They have a twenty year life span, the oldest on record reaching the age of Fifty nine. Crows can leave gifts for those who feed them such as buttons or bright shiny objects as a thank you, and they even kiss and make up after an argument, having mated for life.

  

In mythology they are associated with good and bad luck, being the bringers of omens and even witchcraft and are generally reviled for their attacks on baby birds and small mammals. They have an attack method of stunning smaller birds before consuming them, tearing violently at smaller, less aggressive birds, which is simply down to the fact that they are so highly intelligent, and also the top of the food chain.

  

Their diet includes over a thousand different items: Dead animals (as their name suggests), invertebrates, grain, as well as stealing eggs and chicks from other birds' nests, worms, insects, fruit, seeds, kitchen scraps. They are highly adaptable when food sources grow scarce. I absolutely love them, they are magnificent, bold, beautiful and incredibly interesting to watch and though at times it is hard to witness attacks made by them, I cannot help but adore them for so many other and more important reasons.

  

OBSERVATIONS ON THE PAIR IN MY GARDEN

 

Known mostly for my landscape work, Covid-19 changed everything for me photographically speaking thanks to a series of lock downs which naturally impeded my ability to travel. I began to spend more time on my own land, photographing the wildlife, and suddenly those wildlife photographs began to sell worldwide in magazines and books.

 

Crows have been in the area for a while, but rarely had strayed into my garden, leaving the Magpies to own the territory. Things changed around mid May 2021 when a beautiful female Carrion crow appeared and began to take some of the food that I put down for the other birds. Within a few days she began to appear regularly, on occasions stocking up on food, whilst other times placing pieces in the birdbath to soften them. She would stand on the birdbath and eat and drink and come back over the course of the day to eat the softened food. Naturally I named her Sheryl (Crow).

  

Shortly afterwards she brought along her mate, a tall and handsome fella, much larger than her who was also very vocal if he felt she was getting a little too close to me. I named him Russell (Crow). By now I had moved from a seated position from the patio as an observer, to laying on a mat just five feet from the birdbath with my Nikon so that I could photograph the pair as they landed, scavenged and fed.

  

Sheryl was now confident enough to let me be very close, and she even tolerated and recognized the clicking of the camera. At first, I used silent mode to reduce the noise, but this only allowed two shooting frame rates of single frame or continuous low frame which meant I was missing shots. I reverted back to normal continuous high frames, and she soon got used to the whirring of the mechanisms as the mirror slapped back and forth.

  

Russell would bark orders at her from the safety of the fence or the rear of the garden, whilst she rarely made a sound. That was until one day when in the sweltering heat she kept opening her beak and sunning on the grass, panting slightly in the heat.

  

I placed the circular water sprayer nearby and had it rotating so that the birdbath and grass was bathed in gentle water droplets and she soon came back, landed and seemed to really like the cooling effect on offer. She then climbed onto the birdbath and opened her wings slightly and made some gentle purring, cooing noises....

  

I swear she was expressing happiness, joy even....

  

On another blisteringly hot day when the sprayer was on, she came down, walked towards it and opened her wings up running into the water spray. Not once, but many times.

  

A further revelation into the unseen sides to these beautiful birds came with the male and female on the rear garden fence. They sat together, locked beaks like a kiss and then the male took his time gently preening her head feathers and the back of her neck as she made tiny happy sounds.

  

They stayed together like that for several minutes, showing a gentle, softer side to their nature and demonstrating the deep bond between them. Into July and the pair started to bring their three youngsters to my garden, the nippers learning to use the birdbath for bathing and dipping food, the parents attentive as ever. Two of the youngsters headed off once large enough and strong enough.

  

I was privileged to be in close attendance as the last juvenile was brought down by the pair, taught to take food and then on a night in July, to soar and fly with its mother in the evening sky as the light faded. She would swoop and twirl, and at regular intervals just touch the juvenile in flight with her wing tip feathers, as if to reassure it that she was close in attendance.

  

What an amazing experience to view. A few days later, the juvenile, though now gaining independence and more than capable of tackling food scraps in the garden, was still on occasions demand feeding from its mother who was now teaching him to take chicken breast, hotdogs or digestive biscuits and bury them in the garden beds for later delectation.

  

The juvenile also liked to gather up peanuts (monkey nuts) and bury them in the grass. On one occasion I witnessed a pair of rumbunctious Pica Pica (Magpies), chasing the young crow on rooftops, leaping at him no matter how hard he tried to get away. He defended himself well and survived the attacks, much to my relief.

  

Into August and the last youngster remained with the adults, though now was very independent even though he still spent time with his parents on rooftops, and shared food gathering duties with his mum. Hotdog sausages were their favourite choice, followed by fish fingers and digestive biscuits which the adult male would gather up three at a time.

  

In October 2021, the three Crows were still kings of the area, but my time observing them was pretty much over as I will only put food out now for the birds in the winter months. The two adults are still here in December and now taking the food that I put out to help all birds survive in the winter months. They also have a pair of Magpies to compete with now.

  

Late February 2022 and Cheryl and Russell and their youngster are still with me, still dominant in the area and still taking raw chicken, hotdogs, biscuits and fat balls that I put out for them. Today I saw them mating for the first time this year in the tree and the cycle continues.

  

By October late 2022 the pair had successfully reared a new baby who we nicknamed Baboo, and the other youngster flew the coup. The three now recognised our car returning from weekends away, and were enjoying sausages, hotdogs, raw chicken, fish and especially cheese, but life was hard as they aged with daily morning and evening tussles in the air with invaders and intruders hoping to take their land.

  

Russell picked up an injury during one fight and hobbled about for a few weeks before fully recovering, though a slight limp remained longterm, but Sheryl was visibly ageing and struggled at times to gain height from a vertical ground take off. I placed a garden chair near the house and she would often jump onto the top and then onto the fence and then the roof in stages.

 

Baboo became the dominant garden watcher, swooping in to take advantage of the food I put out, though he now faced competition from a gaggle of five or so resident Magpies, Black headed gulls and Herring Gulls which seemed to have adopted the area, and brave enough to snatch food from under his nose and eat on the grass in his presence. The three crows still held on to our garden and the territory and were dominant still into December 2022. They loved cheese, hotdogs, raw chicken, fish fingers and digestive biscuits and also mixed nuts, crusty bread and cakes and fat from steak or gammon plus fish skin from salmon or haddock.

  

Corvus Corone.... magnificently misunderstood by some!

  

Paul Williams June 4th 2021 (Updated on December 2nd 2022)

  

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Nikon D850 Focal length 280mm Shutter speed: 1/200s Aperture f/6.3 iso160 Hand held with Tamron VC Vibration control set to ON in position 1 14 Bit uncompressed RAW NEF file size L (8256 x 5504 pixels) FX (36 x 24) Focus mode: AF-C AF-Area mode: 3D-tracking AF-C Priority Selection: Release. Nikon Back button focusing enabled 3D Tracking watch area: Normal 55 Tracking points Exposure mode: Manual exposure mode Metering mode: Matrix metering White balance on: Auto1, 0, 0 (5190k) Colour space: RGB Picture control: (SD) Standard (Sharpening +3 & Clarity +1.00) Active D-Lighting: Auto Vignette Control: Normal High ISO NR: ON (Low)

  

Tamron SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2. Nikon GP-1 GPS module. Lee SW150 MKII filter holder. Lee SW150 95mm screw in adapter ring. Lee SW150 circular polariser glass filter.Lee SW150 Filters field pouch. Hoodman HEYENRG round eyepiece oversized eyecup.Mcoplus professional MB-D850 multi function battery grip 6960.Two Nikon EN-EL15a batteries (Priority to battery in Battery grip). Black Rapid Curve Breathe strap. My Memory 128GB Class 10 SDXC 80MB/s card. Lowepro Flipside 400 AW camera bag.

     

LATITUDE: N 51d 28m 28.20s

LONGITUDE: E 0d 8m 10.50s

ALTITUDE: 54.0m

  

RAW (TIFF) FILE: 130.00MB NEF FILE: 91.00MB

PROCESSED (JPeg) FILE: 25.60MB

     

PROCESSING POWER:

  

Nikon D850 Firmware versions C 1.10 (9/05/2019) LD Distortion Data 2.018 (18/02/20) LF 1.00

  

HP 110-352na Desktop PC with AMD Quad-Core A6-5200 APU 64Bit processor. Radeon HD8400 graphics. 8 GB DDR3 Memory with 1TB Data storage. 64-bit Windows 10. Verbatim USB 2.0 1TB desktop hard drive. WD My Passport Ultra 1tb USB3 Portable hard drive. Nikon ViewNX-1 64bit Version 1.4.1 (18/02/2020). Nikon Capture NX-D 64bit Version 1.6.2 (18/02/2020). Nikon Picture Control Utility 2 (Version 2.4.5 (18/02/2020). Nikon Transfer 2 Version 2.13.5. Adobe photoshop Elements 8 Version 8.0 64bit.

  

Another shot of the French Quarter from my sojourn a few weeks ago. I do love that city...

City Volunteer

Any given Sunday

Plaza de La Replica, Monumento a la Revolucion

Ciudad de México

 

If you Like this photo please visit my album "Any Given Sunday in Mexico City"

 

www.flickr.com/photos/luajr/albums/72157638501177336/

 

Or: Portraits

 

www.flickr.com/photos/luajr/albums/72157645745858259/

 

Or: Street Shots

 

www.flickr.com/photos/luajr/albums/72177720295921392/

 

People working in the street

 

www.flickr.com/photos/luajr/albums/72157637957262456/

... given an arty effect in Topaz Studio 2 (Desert Light).

 

Click on the image to see a larger view.

This valise was given to me by a friend as she didn't like it. It looks good and is made of leather. That's the trouble, it's heavy even when empty – I've never used it.

 

The hereios of the We're Here! group have paid a visit to the

Luggage group today at the suggestion of evaxebra.

 

Things beginning with V has been chosen as today's topic for the Our Daily Challenge group.

 

Given how behind I am on uploads, this information is hardly news since this change took place ages ago, but the 141 became a Nottinghamshire County Council tendered route after TrentBarton withdrew it commercially. Initially running for one year, it's being operated by Stagecoach from their Mansfield depot.

 

With the TrentBarton Amberline and Connect routes also facing an imminent demise, thanks to their upcoming Ilkeston area network recast, I visited Hucknall on 14.9.22, during the relatively short window in which the 141 had changed, but the other routes hadn't. I only spent the late afternoon there, and the results I ended up with were, let's say, mixed. Most of the shots I wanted were thwarted by uncooperative weather and sun position, Hucknall's infuriating car drivers and the fact that there'd be massive gaps of inactivity followed by two things happening at once (making me have to choose which bus to see and missing the other one). The Bustimes tracker didn't help much by lagging several minutes behind reality in some cases.

 

Pretty much the only photo that went completely to plan was this one, featuring Stagecoach Enviro 200 37002 working a Nottingham-bound 141 up Ashgate Road in the afternoon sunlight. It's a contender for the best photo of the day, hence it fronting up this week's upload. E200s appear to be a staple of the 141 under Stagecoach operation (or at least were when I was actively checking allocations last month), with little else besides maybe a Pointer Dart having been tracking whenever I checked. Clearly Mansfield regulate allocations more closely than the Lincolnshire depots do; I was hoping for something fun to appear like a President, but it doesn't look like its going to happen. As a side note, this is a fresh E200 I can cross off my SC East Mids fleet list.

 

I do like the destination blind Stagecoach have put together for the 141. It looks smart.

After all the publicity given to the Futurist, it's worth mentioning that the interior of the Scala is probably more-or-less intact.

www.flickr.com/photos/44435674@N00/2169762948/in/photolis...

Both cinemas suffered blast damage in the War,

www.flickr.com/photos/44435674@N00/28841513815/in/photost...

which resulted in the facade of the Scala being "shaved" clean.

 

The Scala was a purpose-built cinema designed by Essex & Goodman of Birmingham (the house-architects for Sol Levy, the owner), and W Aubrey Thomas of Liverpool (the architect of the Royal Liver Building). It was built by B Cromwell Ltd. The "date of notice" to build was 6 April 1915. It was recorded that "work started" on 29 November 1915 (but it must have been earlier), and was "signed-off" on 2 February 1916. The estimated cost of the building was £14,000. There were 628 seats, which included the balcony.

The Scala opened on 31 January 1916. The first films were "John Glayde's Honour" starring Aubrey Smith, plus "A Chip Off the Old Block". The latter film starred the 10 year old son of Maurice Costello, hence the brother of Dolores & Helene Costello who both found fame in Hollywood.

The Scala (Liverpool) Ltd was formed to operate the cinema. Two of the directors were Sol Levy and E Haigh. Vivian Van Damm was the Licensee and general manager of the cinema from its opening. (Mr Van Damm became the manager of the famous Windmill Theatre in London's Soho when it opened in June 1931 until his death in December 1960).

In 1920 there were plans to build a much larger cinema on the site of the Scala and the property next door. The new cinema would extend up to the Vines public house. The plans were drawn up by Essex & Goodman of Birmingham, and Fraser & Dalton of Liverpool. The new cinema was to have a total of 1562 seats, 807 in the Pit, 362 in the Dress Circle and 330 in the Upper Circle. A new company was formed, the Greater Scala (Liverpool) Ltd. The new cinema was never built, but the controlling company of the Scala ever after was called the Greater Scala (Liverpool) Ltd, despite the fact that the cinema was the same size it had always been.

The Lime Street Picture House was taken over by the Levy Circuit in 1920, and was renamed the Futurist.

The Scala was the first cinema in Liverpool to show Talking Pictures. These were De Forrest Phonofilms (short films), and were first seen on 26 August 1927.

RCA Photophone sound equipment was installed.

There was an official count of the seating capacity in 1931 which revealed that there was a total of 664 seats, 462 in the stalls, and 202 in the circle. The Licensee at that date was Leonard Norman Rowley. He became the manager (by the mid 1930s. By 1931?), and was to stay at the Scala for at least 20 years. He was the manager of the King's Hall in Anfield from 1914. It was the first cinema he managed. Later he was the manager at the Plaza, Allerton when it opened in 1928.

Councillor Alfred Levy acquired sole control of the Scala on 20 February 1936. He had previously been a co-director of the cinema, along with Alderman E Haigh, Mr A Williams, Mr H M Romain, & Mr T Griffiths.

Damaged by enemy action. Reopened 1941.

A new canopy was put up in 1950, and in 1950/51 the front elevation was modernised.

8 June 1962 redecorated throughout.

The Levy circuit was taken over by ABC.

Renamed ABC Scala on 5 January 1968. There were then 550 seats.

Following the tripling of the ABC (ex Forum) over the road, in 1982, the Scala and the Futurist (next door) were closed. The Scala closed on 24 August 1982 with Clint Eastwood in "Firefox". The seating capacity was then 550, but only 49 people turned up to see the last film (at £2 per head).

In February 1987 the first floor and the roof were wrecked by fire in a suspected arson attack. At the time the building was undergoing conversion and was due to reopen as a fun pub called "Cheers".

In March 1987 a new "Sold" sign was on the building, and a note pinned to the door said that a Music, Singing & Dancing licence had been applied for for "The Hippodrome".

The front of the building was painted in July 1987 in connection with the work going on to convert it into the Hippodrome night club (opened August 1987). At the same time steel shutters were put up on the front entrance of the Futurist.

The Hippodrome reopened as Baraka (Bar a/k/a).

Later it was called “X in the City”, described as a “Gentleman’s Club” (in reality a Lap-Dancing establishment). This was closed in October 2015 (and moved to Wood Street) following the proposal to demolish most of that side of Lime Street.

 

Original research by Philip G Mayer.

 

Update:

The Scala was demolished towards the end of January 2017.

Given that this time last year i'd never photographed a barn owl I guess I wasn't expecting to now be saying the sod was just too close! Still, a beautiful bird and a privilage to be so close

Most trains stop at the signal (just visible through the branches) as it is only lifted when the level crossing at Glyndyfrdwy is opened. The downside is that most steam locomotives shut off as they approach the signal but the upside is a fine display of steam as they start up again. Quite breezy in the Dee valley in the morning as GWR 5199 moved off!

"The Book of Genesis" redirects here. For the comics, see The Book of Genesis (comics).

 

The Creation of Man by Ephraim Moses Lilien, 1903.

 

Jacob flees Laban by Charles Foster, 1897.

Joshua 1:1 as recorded in the Aleppo Codex

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The Book of Genesis,[a] the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Old Testament,[1] is Judaism's account of the creation of the world and the origins of the Jewish people.[2]

 

It is divisible into two parts, the primeval history (chapters 1–11) and the ancestral history (chapters 12–50).[3] The primeval history sets out the author's (or authors') concepts of the nature of the deity and of humankind's relationship with its maker: God creates a world which is good and fit for mankind, but when man corrupts it with sin God decides to destroy his creation, saving only the righteous Noah to reestablish the relationship between man and God.[4] The ancestral history (chapters 12–50) tells of the prehistory of Israel, God's chosen people.[5] At God's command Noah's descendant Abraham journeys from his home into the God-given land of Canaan, where he dwells as a sojourner, as does his son Isaac and his grandson Jacob. Jacob's name is changed to Israel, and through the agency of his son Joseph, the children of Israel descend into Egypt, 70 people in all with their households, and God promises them a future of greatness. Genesis ends with Israel in Egypt, ready for the coming of Moses and the Exodus. The narrative is punctuated by a series of covenants with God, successively narrowing in scope from all mankind (the covenant with Noah) to a special relationship with one people alone (Abraham and his descendants through Isaac and Jacob).[6]

 

In Judaism, the theological importance of Genesis centers on the covenants linking God to his chosen people and the people to the Promised Land. Christianity has interpreted Genesis as the prefiguration of certain cardinal Christian beliefs, primarily the need for salvation (the hope or assurance of all Christians) and the redemptive act of Christ on the Cross as the fulfillment of covenant promises as the Son of God.

 

Tradition credits Moses as the author of Genesis, as well as the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and most of Deuteronomy, but modern scholars increasingly see them as a product of the 6th and 5th centuries BC.[7][8]

  

Contents

1Structure

2Summary

3Composition

3.1Title and textual witnesses

3.2Origins

3.3Genre

4Themes

4.1Promises to the ancestors

4.2God's chosen people

5Judaism's weekly Torah portions

6See also

7Notes

8References

9Bibliography

9.1Commentaries on Genesis

9.2General

10External links

Structure[edit]

Genesis appears to be structured around the recurring phrase elleh toledot, meaning "these are the generations," with the first use of the phrase referring to the "generations of heaven and earth" and the remainder marking individuals—Noah, the "sons of Noah", Shem, etc., down to Jacob.[9] It is not clear, however, what this meant to the original authors, and most modern commentators divide it into two parts based on subject matter, a "primeval history" (chapters 1–11) and a "patriarchal history" (chapters 12–50).[10][b] While the first is far shorter than the second, it sets out the basic themes and provides an interpretive key for understanding the entire book.[11] The "primeval history" has a symmetrical structure hinging on chapters 6–9, the flood story, with the events before the flood mirrored by the events after;[12] the "ancestral history" is structured around the three patriarchs Abraham, Jacob and Joseph.[13] (The stories of Isaac do not make up a coherent cycle of stories and function as a bridge between the cycles of Abraham and Jacob.)[14]

 

Summary[edit]

See also: Primeval history and Patriarchal age

 

The Creation of Adam by Michelangelo, 1512.

God creates the world in six days and consecrates the seventh as a day of rest. God creates the first humans Adam and Eve and all the animals in the Garden of Eden but instructs them not to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. A talking serpent portrayed as a deceptive creature or trickster, entices Eve into eating it against God's wishes, and she entices Adam, whereupon God throws them out and curses them—Adam to getting what he needs only by sweat and work, and Eve to giving birth in pain. This is interpreted by Christians as the fall of humanity. Eve bears two sons, Cain and Abel. Cain kills Abel after God accepts Abel's offering but not Cain's. God then curses Cain. Eve bears another son, Seth, to take Abel's place.

 

After many generations of Adam have passed from the lines of Cain and Seth, the world becomes corrupted by human sin and Nephilim, and God determines to wipe out humanity. First, he instructs the righteous Noah and his family to build an ark and put examples of all the animals on it, seven pairs of every clean animal and one pair of every unclean. Then God sends a great flood to wipe out the rest of the world. When the waters recede, God promises he will never destroy the world with water again, using the rainbow as a symbol of his promise. God sees mankind cooperating to build a great tower city, the Tower of Babel, and divides humanity with many languages and sets them apart with confusion.

 

God instructs Abram to travel from his home in Mesopotamia to the land of Canaan. There, God makes a covenant with Abram, promising that his descendants shall be as numerous as the stars, but that people will suffer oppression in a foreign land for four hundred years, after which they will inherit the land "from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates". Abram's name is changed to Abraham and that of his wife Sarai to Sarah, and circumcision of all males is instituted as the sign of the covenant. Due to her old age, Sarah tells Abraham to take her Egyptian handmaiden, Hagar, as a second wife. Through Hagar, Abraham fathers Ishmael.

 

God resolves to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah for the sins of their people. Abraham protests and gets God to agree not to destroy the cities for the sake of ten righteous men. Angels save Abraham's nephew Lot and his family, but his wife looks back on the destruction against their command and turns into a pillar of salt. Lot's daughters, concerned that they are fugitives who will never find husbands, get him drunk to become pregnant by him, and give birth to the ancestors of the Moabites and Ammonites.

 

Abraham and Sarah go to the Philistine town of Gerar, pretending to be brother and sister (they are half-siblings). The King of Gerar takes Sarah for his wife, but God warns him to return her, and he obeys. God sends Sarah a son whom she will name Isaac; through him will be the establishment of the covenant. Sarah drives Ishmael and his mother Hagar out into the wilderness, but God saves them and promises to make Ishmael a great nation.

  

The Angel Hinders the Offering of Isaac (Rembrandt, 1635)

God tests Abraham by demanding that he sacrifice Isaac. As Abraham is about to lay the knife upon his son, God restrains him, promising him numberless descendants. On the death of Sarah, Abraham purchases Machpelah (believed to be modern Hebron) for a family tomb and sends his servant to Mesopotamia to find among his relations a wife for Isaac; after proving herself, Rebekah becomes Isaac's betrothed. Keturah, Abraham's other wife, births more children, among whose descendants are the Midianites. Abraham dies at a prosperous old age and his family lays him to rest in Hebron.

 

Isaac's wife Rebecca gives birth to the twins Esau, father of the Edomites, and Jacob. Through deception, Jacob becomes the heir instead of Esau and gains his father's blessing. He flees to his uncle where he prospers and earns his two wives, Rachel and Leah. Jacob's name is changed to Israel, and by his wives and their handmaidens he has twelve sons, the ancestors of the twelve tribes of the Children of Israel, and a daughter, Dinah.

 

Joseph, Jacob's favorite son, makes his brothers jealous and they sell him into slavery in Egypt. Joseph prospers, after hardship, with God's guidance of interpreting Pharaoh's dream of upcoming famine. He is then reunited with his father and brothers, who fail to recognize him, and plead for food. After much manipulation, he reveals himself and lets them and their households into Egypt, where Pharaoh assigns to them the land of Goshen. Jacob calls his sons to his bedside and reveals their future before he dies. Joseph lives to an old age and exhorts his brethren, if God should lead them out of the country, to take his bones with them.

 

Composition[edit]

 

Abram's Journey from Ur to Canaan (József Molnár, 1850)

Title and textual witnesses[edit]

Genesis takes its Hebrew title from the first word of the first sentence, Bereshit, meaning "In [the] beginning [of]"; in the Greek Septuagint it was called Genesis, from the phrase "the generations of heaven and earth".[15] There are four major textual witnesses to the book: the Masoretic Text, the Samaritan Pentateuch, the Septuagint, and fragments of Genesis found at Qumran. The Qumran group provides the oldest manuscripts but covers only a small proportion of the book; in general, the Masoretic Text is well preserved and reliable, but there are many individual instances where the other versions preserve a superior reading.[16]

 

Origins[edit]

Main article: Composition of the Torah

For much of the 20th century most scholars agreed that the five books of the Pentateuch—Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy—came from four sources, the Yahwist, the Elohist, the Deuteronomist and the Priestly source, each telling the same basic story, and joined together by various editors.[17] Since the 1970s there has been a revolution leading scholars to view the Elohist source as no more than a variation on the Yahwist, and the Priestly source as a body of revisions and expansions to the Yahwist (or "non-Priestly") material. (The Deuteronomistic source does not appear in Genesis.)[18]

 

Scholars use examples of repeated and duplicate stories to identify the separate sources. In Genesis these include three different accounts of a Patriarch claiming that his wife was his sister, the two creation stories, and the two versions of Abraham sending Hagar and Ishmael into the desert.[19]

 

This leaves the question of when these works were created. Scholars in the first half of the 20th century came to the conclusion that the Yahwist is a product of the monarchic period, specifically at the court of Solomon, 10th century BC, and the Priestly work in the middle of the 5th century BC (with claims that the author is Ezra), but more recent thinking is that the Yahwist is from either just before or during the Babylonian exile of the 6th century BC, and the Priestly final edition was made late in the Exilic period or soon after.[8]

 

As for why the book was created, a theory which has gained considerable interest, although still controversial is "Persian imperial authorisation". This proposes that the Persians of the Achaemenid Empire, after their conquest of Babylon in 539 BC, agreed to grant Jerusalem a large measure of local autonomy within the empire, but required the local authorities to produce a single law code accepted by the entire community. The two powerful groups making up the community—the priestly families who controlled the Temple and who traced their origin to Moses and the wilderness wanderings, and the major landowning families who made up the "elders" and who traced their own origins to Abraham, who had "given" them the land—were in conflict over many issues, and each had its own "history of origins", but the Persian promise of greatly increased local autonomy for all provided a powerful incentive to cooperate in producing a single text.[20]

 

Genre[edit]

Genesis is perhaps best seen as an example of a creation myth, a type of literature telling of the first appearance of humans, the stories of ancestors and heroes, and the origins of culture, cities and so forth.[21] The most notable examples are found in the work of Greek historians of the 6th century BC: their intention was to connect notable families of their own day to a distant and heroic past, and in doing so they did not distinguish between myth, legend, and facts.[22] Professor Jean-Louis Ska of the Pontifical Biblical Institute calls the basic rule of the antiquarian historian the "law of conservation": everything old is valuable, nothing is eliminated.[23] Ska also points out the purpose behind such antiquarian histories: antiquity is needed to prove the worth of Israel's traditions to the nations (the neighbours of the Jews in early Persian Palestine), and to reconcile and unite the various factions within Israel itself.[23]

 

Themes[edit]

 

Joseph Recognized by His Brothers (Léon Pierre Urban Bourgeois, 1863)

Promises to the ancestors[edit]

In 1978 David Clines published his influential The Theme of the Pentateuch – influential because he was one of the first to take up the question of the theme of the entire five books. Clines' conclusion was that the overall theme is "the partial fulfillment – which implies also the partial nonfulfillment – of the promise to or blessing of the Patriarchs". (By calling the fulfillment "partial" Clines was drawing attention to the fact that at the end of Deuteronomy the people are still outside Canaan).[24]

 

The patriarchs, or ancestors, are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, with their wives (Joseph is normally excluded).[25] Since the name YHWH had not been revealed to them, they worshipped El in his various manifestations.[26] (It is, however, worth noting that in the Jahwist source the patriarchs refer to deity by the name YHWH, for example in Genesis 15.) Through the patriarchs God announces the election of Israel, meaning that he has chosen Israel to be his special people and committed himself to their future.[27] God tells the patriarchs that he will be faithful to their descendants (i.e. to Israel), and Israel is expected to have faith in God and his promise. ("Faith" in the context of Genesis and the Hebrew Bible means agreement to the promissory relationship, not a body of belief).[28]

 

The promise itself has three parts: offspring, blessings, and land.[29] The fulfilment of the promise to each patriarch depends on having a male heir, and the story is constantly complicated by the fact that each prospective mother – Sarah, Rebekah and Rachel – is barren. The ancestors, however, retain their faith in God and God in each case gives a son – in Jacob's case, twelve sons, the foundation of the chosen Israelites. Each succeeding generation of the three promises attains a more rich fulfillment, until through Joseph "all the world" attains salvation from famine,[30] and by bringing the children of Israel down to Egypt he becomes the means through which the promise can be fulfilled.[25]

 

God's chosen people[edit]

Scholars generally agree that the theme of divine promise unites the patriarchal cycles, but many would dispute the efficacy of trying to examine Genesis' theology by pursuing a single overarching theme, instead citing as more productive the analysis of the Abraham cycle, the Jacob cycle, and the Joseph cycle, and the Yahwist and Priestly sources.[31] The problem lies in finding a way to unite the patriarchal theme of divine promise to the stories of Genesis 1–11 (the primeval history) with their theme of God's forgiveness in the face of man's evil nature.[32][33] One solution is to see the patriarchal stories as resulting from God's decision not to remain alienated from mankind:[33] God creates the world and mankind, mankind rebels, and God "elects" (chooses) Abraham.[6]

 

To this basic plot (which comes from the Yahwist) the Priestly source has added a series of covenants dividing history into stages, each with its own distinctive "sign". The first covenant is between God and all living creatures, and is marked by the sign of the rainbow; the second is with the descendants of Abraham (Ishmaelites and others as well as Israelites), and its sign is circumcision; and the last, which does not appear until the book of Exodus, is with Israel alone, and its sign is Sabbath. A great leader mediates each covenant (Noah, Abraham, Moses), and at each stage God progressively reveals himself by his name (Elohim with Noah, El Shaddai with Abraham, Yahweh with Moses).[6]

 

Judaism's weekly Torah portions[edit]

Main article: Weekly Torah portion

 

First Day of Creation (from the 1493 Nuremberg Chronicle)

Bereshit, on Genesis 1–6: Creation, Eden, Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Lamech, wickedness

Noach, on Genesis 6–11: Noah's Ark, the Flood, Noah's drunkenness, the Tower of Babel

Lech-Lecha, on Genesis 12–17: Abraham, Sarah, Lot, covenant, Hagar and Ishmael, circumcision

Vayeira, on Genesis 18–22: Abraham's visitors, Sodomites, Lot's visitors and flight, Hagar expelled, binding of Isaac

Chayei Sarah, on Genesis 23–25: Sarah buried, Rebekah for Isaac

Toledot, on Genesis 25–28: Esau and Jacob, Esau's birthright, Isaac's blessing

Vayetze, on Genesis 28–32: Jacob flees, Rachel, Leah, Laban, Jacob's children and departure

Vayishlach, on Genesis 32–36: Jacob's reunion with Esau, the rape of Dinah

Vayeshev, on Genesis 37–40: Joseph's dreams, coat, and slavery, Judah with Tamar, Joseph and Potiphar

Miketz, on Genesis 41–44: Pharaoh's dream, Joseph in government, Joseph's brothers visit Egypt

Vayigash, on Genesis 44–47: Joseph reveals himself, Jacob moves to Egypt

Vaychi, on Genesis 47–50: Jacob's blessings, death of Jacob and of Joseph

See also[edit]

Bible portal

Dating the Bible

Enûma Eliš

Genesis creation narrative

Genesis 1:1

Historicity of the Bible

Mosaic authorship

Paradise Lost

Protevangelium

Wife–sister narratives in the Book of Genesis

Notes[edit]

^ The name "Genesis" is from the Latin Vulgate, in turn borrowed or transliterated from Greek "γένεσις", meaning "Origin"; Hebrew: בְּרֵאשִׁית, "Bərēšīṯ", "In [the] beginning"

^ The Weekly Torah portions, Parashot, divide the book into 12 readings.

References[edit]

^ Hamilton 1990, p. 1.

^ Sweeney 2012, p. 657.

^ Bergant 2013, p. xii.

^ Bandstra 2008, p. 35.

^ Bandstra 2008, p. 78.

^ Jump up to: a b c Bandstra (2004), pp. 28–29

^ Van Seters (1998), p. 5

^ Jump up to: a b Davies (1998), p. 37

^ Hamilton (1990), p. 2

^ Whybray (1997), p. 41

^ McKeown (2008), p. 2

^ Walsh (2001), p. 112

^ Bergant 2013, p. 45.

^ Bergant 2013, p. 103.

^ Carr 2000, p. 491.

^ Hendel, R. S. (1992). "Genesis, Book of". In D. N. Freedman (Ed.), The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary (Vol. 2, p. 933). New York: Doubleday

^ Gooder (2000), pp. 12–14

^ Van Seters (2004), pp. 30–86

^ Lawrence Boadt; Richard J. Clifford; Daniel J. Harrington (2012). Reading the Old Testament: An Introduction. Paulist Press.

^ Ska (2006), pp. 169, 217–18

^ Van Seters (2004) pp. 113–14

^ Whybray (2001), p. 39

^ Jump up to: a b Ska (2006), p. 169

^ Clines (1997), p. 30

^ Jump up to: a b Hamilton (1990), p. 50

^ John J Collins (2007), A Short Introduction to the Hebrew Bible, Fortress Press, p. 47

^ Brueggemann (2002), p. 61

^ Brueggemann (2002), p. 78

^ McKeown (2008), p. 4

^ Wenham (2003), p. 34

^ Hamilton (1990), pp. 38–39

^ Hendel, R. S. (1992). "Genesis, Book of". In D. N. Freedman (Ed.), The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary (Vol. 2, p. 935). New York: Doubleday

^ Jump up to: a b Kugler, Hartin (2009), p.9

Bibliography[edit]

Commentaries on Genesis[edit]

Sweeney, Marvin (2012). "Genesis in the Context of Jewish Thought". In Evans, Craig A.; Lohr, Joel N. (eds.). The Book of Genesis: Composition, Reception, and Interpretation. BRILL. ISBN 978-9004226531.

Bandstra, Barry L. (2008). Reading the Old Testament. Cengage Learning. ISBN 978-0495391050.

Bergant, Dianne (2013). Genesis: In the Beginning. Liturgical Press. ISBN 9780814682753.

Blenkinsopp, Joseph (2011). Creation, Un-creation, Re-creation: A Discursive Commentary on Genesis 1–11. Continuum International Publishing Group. ISBN 9780567372871.

Brueggemann, Walter (1986). Genesis. Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching. Atlanta: John Knox Press. ISBN 0-8042-3101-X.

Carr, David M. (2000). "Genesis, Book of". In Freedman, David Noel; Myers, Allen C. (eds.). Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible. Amsterdam University Press. ISBN 9780567372871.

Cotter, David W (2003). Genesis. Liturgical Press. ISBN 9780814650400.

De La Torre, Miguel (2011). Genesis. Belief: A Theological Commentary on the Bible. Westminster John Knox Press.

Fretheim, Terence E. "The Book of Genesis." In The New Interpreter's Bible. Edited by Leander E. Keck, vol. 1, pp. 319–674. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1994. ISBN 0-687-27814-7.

Hamilton, Victor P (1990). The Book of Genesis: chapters 1–17. Eerdmans. ISBN 9780802825216.

Hamilton, Victor P (1995). The Book of Genesis: chapters 18–50. Eerdmans. ISBN 9780802823090.

Hirsch, Samson Raphael. The Pentateuch: Genesis. Translated by Isaac Levy. Judaica Press, 2nd edition 1999. ISBN 0-910818-12-6. Originally published as Der Pentateuch uebersetzt und erklaert Frankfurt, 1867–1878.

Kass, Leon R. The Beginning of Wisdom: Reading Genesis. New York: Free Press, 2003. ISBN 0-7432-4299-8.

Kessler, Martin; Deurloo, Karel Adriaan (2004). A Commentary on Genesis: The Book of Beginnings. Paulist Press. ISBN 9780809142057.

McKeown, James (2008). Genesis. Eerdmans. ISBN 9780802827050.

Plaut, Gunther. The Torah: A Modern Commentary (1981), ISBN 0-8074-0055-6

Rogerson, John William (1991). Genesis 1–11. T&T Clark. ISBN 9780567083388.

Sacks, Robert D (1990). A Commentary on the Book of Genesis. Edwin Mellen.

Sarna, Nahum M. The JPS Torah Commentary: Genesis: The Traditional Hebrew Text with the New JPS Translation. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1989. ISBN 0-8276-0326-6.

Speiser, E.A. Genesis: Introduction, Translation, and Notes. New York: Anchor Bible, 1964. ISBN 0-385-00854-6.

Towner, Wayne Sibley (2001). Genesis. Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 9780664252564.

Turner, Laurence (2009). Genesis, Second Edition. Sheffield Phoenix Press. ISBN 9781906055653.

Von Rad, Gerhard (1972). Genesis: A Commentary. Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 9780664227456.

Wenham, Gordon (2003). "Genesis". In James D. G. Dunn, John William Rogerson (ed.). Eerdmans Bible Commentary. Eerdmans. ISBN 9780802837110.

Whybray, R.N (2001). "Genesis". In John Barton (ed.). Oxford Bible Commentary. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780198755005.

General[edit]

Bandstra, Barry L (2004). Reading the Old Testament: An Introduction to the Hebrew Bible. Wadsworth. ISBN 9780495391050.

Blenkinsopp, Joseph (2004). Treasures old and new: Essays in the Theology of the Pentateuch. Eerdmans. ISBN 9780802826794.

Brueggemann, Walter (2002). Reverberations of faith: A Theological Handbook of Old Testament themes. Westminster John Knox. ISBN 9780664222314.

Campbell, Antony F; O'Brien, Mark A (1993). Sources of the Pentateuch: Texts, Introductions, Annotations. Fortress Press. ISBN 9781451413670.

Carr, David M (1996). Reading the Fractures of Genesis. Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 9780664220716.

Clines, David A (1997). The Theme of the Pentateuch. Sheffield Academic Press. ISBN 9780567431967.

Davies, G.I (1998). "Introduction to the Pentateuch". In John Barton (ed.). Oxford Bible Commentary. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780198755005.

Gooder, Paula (2000). The Pentateuch: A Story of Beginnings. T&T Clark. ISBN 9780567084187.

Hendel, Ronald (2012). The Book of "Genesis": A Biography (Lives of Great Religious Books). Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691140124.

Kugler, Robert; Hartin, Patrick (2009). The Old Testament between Theology and History: A Critical Survey. Eerdmans. ISBN 9780802846365.

Levin, Christoph L (2005). The Old Testament: A Brief Introduction. Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691113944.

Longman, Tremper (2005). How to read Genesis. InterVarsity Press. ISBN 9780830875603.

McEntire, Mark (2008). Struggling with God: An Introduction to the Pentateuch. Mercer University Press. ISBN 9780881461015.

Newman, Murray L. (1999). Genesis (PDF). Forward Movement Publications, Cincinnati, OH.

Ska, Jean-Louis (2006). Introduction to Reading the Pentateuch. Eisenbrauns. ISBN 9781575061221.

Van Seters, John (1992). Prologue to History: The Yahwist as Historian in Genesis. Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 9780664221799.

Van Seters, John (1998). "The Pentateuch". In Steven L. McKenzie, Matt Patrick Graham (ed.). The Hebrew Bible Today: An Introduction to Critical Issues. Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 9780664256524.

Van Seters, John (2004). The Pentateuch: A Social-science Commentary. Continuum International Publishing Group. ISBN 9780567080882.

Walsh, Jerome T (2001). Style and Structure in Biblical Hebrew Narrative. Liturgical Press. ISBN 9780814658970.

External links[edit]

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Genesis

Book of Genesis Hebrew Transliteration

Book of Genesis illustrated

Genesis Reading Room (Tyndale Seminary): online commentaries and monographs on Genesis.

Bereshit with commentary in Hebrew

בראשית Bereishit – Genesis (Hebrew – English at Mechon-Mamre.org)

Genesis at Mechon-Mamre (Jewish Publication Society translation)

01 Genesis public domain audiobook at LibriVox Various versions

Genesis (The Living Torah) Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan's translation and commentary at Ort.org

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Book of Genesis in Bible Book

Genesis in Hebrew, Aramaic, Syriac, Greek, Latin, and English – The critical text of the Book of Genesis in Hebrew with ancient versions (Masoretic, Samaritan Pentateuch, Samaritan Targum, Targum Onkelos, Peshitta, Septuagint, Vetus Latina, Vulgate, Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion) and English translation for each version in parallel.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Genesis

  

"The Fall of Man" by Lucas Cranach the Elder. The Tree of Knowledge is on the right.

The tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Biblical Hebrew: עֵ֕ץ הַדַּ֖עַת ט֥וֹב וָרָֽע‎ [ʕesˤ hadaʕaθ tˤov waraʕ]) is one of two specific trees in the story of the Garden of Eden in Genesis 2–3, along with the tree of life.

  

Contents

1In Genesis

1.1Narrative

1.2Meaning of good and evil

2Religious views

2.1Judaism

2.2Christianity

2.3Islam

2.4Other cultures

3See also

4References

4.1Bibliography

In Genesis[edit]

Narrative[edit]

Genesis 2 narrates that Yahweh places the first man and woman in a garden with trees of whose fruits they may eat, but forbids them to eat from "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil." When, in Genesis 3, a serpent persuades the woman to eat from its forbidden fruit and she also lets the man taste it, God expels them from the garden and thereby from eternal life.

 

Meaning of good and evil[edit]

The phrase in Hebrew: טוֹב וָרָע, tov wa-raʿ, literally translates as good and evil. This may be an example of the type of figure of speech known as merism, a literary device that pairs opposite terms together in order to create a general meaning, so that the phrase "good and evil" would simply imply "everything." This is seen in the Egyptian expression evil-good, which is normally employed to mean "everything."[1] In Greek literature, Homer also uses the device when he lets Telemachus say, "I [wish to] know everything, the good and the evil." (Odyssey 20:309–310)

 

However, if tree of the knowledge of good and evil is to be understood to mean a tree whose fruit imparts knowledge of everything, this phrase does not necessarily denote a moral concept. This view is held by several scholars.[1][2][3]

 

Given the context of disobedience to God, other interpretations of the implications of this phrase also demand consideration. Robert Alter emphasizes the point that when God forbids the man to eat from that particular tree, he says that if he does so, he is "doomed to die." The Hebrew behind this is in a form regularly used in the Hebrew Bible for issuing death sentences.[4]

 

Religious views[edit]

Judaism[edit]

In Jewish tradition, the Tree of Knowledge and the eating of its fruit represents the beginning of the mixture of good and evil together. Before that time, the two were separate, and evil had only a nebulous existence in potential. While free choice did exist before eating the fruit, evil existed as an entity separate from the human psyche, and it was not in human nature to desire it. Eating and internalizing the forbidden fruit changed this and thus was born the yetzer hara, the evil inclination.[5][6] In Rashi's notes on Genesis 3:3, the first sin came about because Eve added an additional clause to the Divine command: Neither shall you touch it. By saying this, Eve added to YHWH's command and thereby came to detract from it, as it is written: Do not add to His Words (Proverbs 30:6). However, In Legends of the Jews, it was Adam who had devoutly forbidden Eve to touch the tree even though God had only mentioned the eating of the fruit.[7]

 

When Adam ate from the Tree of Knowledge, all the animals ate from it, too [8]

 

In Kabbalah, the sin of the Tree of Knowledge (called Cheit Eitz HaDa'at) brought about the great task of beirurim, sifting through the mixture of good and evil in the world to extract and liberate the sparks of holiness trapped therein.[9] Since evil has no independent existence, it depends on holiness to draw down the Divine life-force, on whose "leftovers" it then feeds and derives existence.[10] Once evil is separated from holiness through beirurim, its source of life is cut off, causing the evil to disappear. This is accomplished through observance of the 613 commandments in the Torah, which deal primarily with physical objects wherein good and evil are mixed together.[11][12][13] Thus, the task of beirurim rectifies the sin of the Tree and draws the Shechinah back down to earth, where the sin of the Tree had caused Her to depart.[14][15]

 

Christianity[edit]

 

A marble bas relief by Lorenzo Maitani on the Orvieto Cathedral, Italy depicts Eve and the tree

In Christian tradition, consuming the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil was the sin committed by Adam and Eve that led to the fall of man in Genesis 3.

 

In Catholicism, Augustine of Hippo taught that the tree should be understood both symbolically and as a real tree - similarly to Jerusalem being both a real city and a figure of Heavenly Jerusalem.[16] Augustine underlined that the fruits of that tree were not evil by themselves, because everything that God created was good (Gen 1:12). It was disobedience of Adam and Eve, who had been told by God not to eat of the tree (Gen 2:17), that caused disorder in the creation,[17] thus humanity inherited sin and guilt from Adam and Eve's sin.[18]

 

In Western Christian art, the fruit of the tree is commonly depicted as the apple, which originated in central Asia. This depiction may have originated as a Latin pun: by eating the mālum (apple), Eve contracted malum (evil).[19]

 

Islam[edit]

See also: Tree of life (Quran)

 

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The Quran never refers to the tree as the "Tree of the knowledge of good and evil" but rather typically refers to it as "the tree" or (in the words of Iblis) as the "tree of immortality."[20] The tree in Quran is used as an example for a concept, idea, way of life or code of life. A good concept/idea is represented as a good tree and a bad idea/concept is represented as a bad tree[21] Muslims believe that when God created Adam and Eve, he told them that they could enjoy everything in the Garden except this tree (idea, concept, way of life), and so, Satan appeared to them and told them that the only reason God forbade them to eat from that tree is that they would become Angels or they start using the idea/concept of Ownership in conjunction with inheritance generations after generations which Iblis convinced Adam to accept[22]

 

When they ate from this tree their nakedness appeared to them and they began to sew together, for their covering, leaves from the Garden. The Arabic word used is ورق which also means currency / notes.[23] Which means they started to use currency due to ownership. As Allah already mentioned that everything in Heaven is free(so eat from where you desire) [24] so using currency to uphold the idea of ownership became the reason for the slip. The Quran mentions the sin as being a 'slip', and after this 'slip' they were sent to the destination they were intended to be on: Earth. Consequently, they repented to God and asked for his forgiveness[25] and were forgiven.[26] It was decided that those who obey God and follow his path shall be rewarded with everlasting life in Jannah, and those who disobey God and stray away from his path shall be punished in Jahannam.

 

God in Quran (Al-A'raf 27) states:

 

"[O] Children of Adam! Let not Satan tempt you as he brought your parents out of the Garden, stripping them of their garments to show them their shameful parts. Surely he [Satan] sees you, he and his tribe, from where you see them not. We have made the Satans the friends of those who do not believe."

Other cultures[edit]

A cylinder seal, known as the Adam and Eve cylinder seal, from post-Akkadian periods in Mesopotamia (c. 23rd-22nd century BCE), has been linked to the Adam and Eve story. Assyriologist George Smith (1840-1876) describes the seal as having two facing figures (male and female) seated on each side of a tree, holding out their hands to the fruit, while between their backs is a serpent, giving evidence that the fall of man account was known in early times of Babylonia.[27] The British Museum disputes this interpretation and holds that it is a common image from the period depicting a male deity being worshipped by a woman, with no reason to connect the scene with the Book of Genesis.[28]

 

See also[edit]

Adam and Eve (Latter Day Saint movement)

Dream of the Rood

Enlightenment (spiritual)

Original sin

References[edit]

^ Jump up to: a b Gordon, Cyrus H.; Rendsburg, Gary A. (1997). The Bible and the ancient Near East (4th ed.). New York: W.W. Norton & Co. p. 36. ISBN 978-0-393-31689-6.

^ Harry Orlinsky's notes to the NJPS Torah.

^ Wyatt, Nicolas (2001). Space and Time in the Religious Life of the Near East. A&C Black. p. 244. ISBN 978-0-567-04942-1.

^ Alter 2004, p. 21.

^ Rashi to Genesis 2:25

^ Ramban to Genesis 3:6

^ Ginzberg, Louis, The Legends of the Jews, Vol. I: The Fall of Man, (Translated by Henrietta Szold), Johns Hopkins University Press: 1998, ISBN 0-8018-5890-9

^ Bereishit Rabbah 19: 5

^ Epistle 26, Lessons in Tanya, Igeret HaKodesh

^ ch. 22, Tanya, Likutei Amarim

^ ch. 37, Lessons in Tanya, Likutei Amarim

^ Torah Ohr 3c

^ Torat Chaim Bereishit 30a

^ Bereishit Rabbah 19:7

^ Ramban to Genesis 3:8

^ Augustine, On the Literal Meaning of Genesis (De Genesi ad litteram), VIII, 4.8; Bibliothèque Augustinniene 49, 20

^ Augustine of Hippo, On the Literal Meaning of Genesis (De Genesi ad litteram), VIII, 6.12 and 13.28, Bibliothèque Augustinniene 49,28 and 50-52; PL 34, 377; cf. idem, De Trinitate, XII, 12.17; CCL 50, 371-372 [v. 26-31;1-36]; De natura boni 34-35; CSEL 25, 872; PL 42, 551-572

^ "The City of God (Book XIII), Chapter 14". Newadvent.org. Retrieved 2014-02-07.

^ Adams, Cecil (2006-11-24). "The Straight Dope: Was the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden an apple?". The Straight Dope. Creative Loafing Media, Inc. Retrieved 2008-10-06.

^ Qur'an 20:120

^ Qur'an 14:24

^ Qur'an 20:120

^ "ورق".

^ Qur'an 7:19

^ Qur'an 7:23

^ Qur'an 2:37

^ Mitchell, T.C. (2004). The Bible in the British Museum : interpreting the evidence (New ed.). New York: Paulist Press. p. 24. ISBN 9780809142927.

^ The British Museum. "'Adam and Eve' cylinder seal". Google Cultural Institute. Retrieved 2017-04-06.

Bibliography[edit]

Alter, Robert. A translation with commentary (2004). The five books of Moses. New York: W.W. Norton. ISBN 0-393-33393-0.

Knight, Douglas (1990). Watson E. Mills (ed.). Mercer dictionary of the Bible (2d corr. print. ed.). Macon, GA: Mercer University Press. ISBN 0-86554-402-6.

Media related to Tree of the knowledge of good and evil at Wikimedia Commons

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree_of_the_knowledge_of_good_and_evil

Parachutes at Paysandú's skies

Got given from local garage. They are In mint condition and I have full set now so I will try to sell them. My 4th one is from another local garage and the owner is huge fan of Vauxhalls

I Can Only Imagine - MercyMe

  

Unleashing God's Truth One Verse at a Time

     

The Last Passover/The First Communion

John Mac Arthur

   

As we prepare our hearts for the table of the Lord, I was thinking in the last couple of days about the very last night that Jesus was with His disciples and reconstructing in my mind in moments of meditation how that scene must have been. And I thought as a preparation for our coming to the table, I might take you back there for that scene.

 

Open your Bible to Matthew chapter 26...Matthew chapter 26. And beginning at verse 20, let me read down through verse 30. "Now when evening had come He was reclining at the table with the twelve disciples. And as they were eating He said, 'Truly I say to you that one of you will betray Me.' Being deeply grieved they each one began to say to Him, 'Surely not I, Lord.' He answered and said, 'He who dipped his hand with Me in the bowl is the one who will betray Me. The Son of Man is to go, just as it is written of Him that woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed, it would have been good for that man if he had not been born.' And Judas who was betraying Him answered and said, 'Surely it is not I, rabbi.' He said to him, 'You have said it yourself.' And while they were eating Jesus took some bread and after a blessing He broke it and gave it to the disciples and said, 'Take, eat, this is My body.' And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, 'Drink from it all of you, for this is My blood of the covenant which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins. But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until the day when I drink it new with you in My Father's Kingdom.' And after singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives."

 

Just to look at this text, I trust, can set ourselves back into this scene in such a way as to heighten our senses about the Last Supper and the meaning of this supper tonight which we share in. In verse 20 Matthew doesn't say much, he just says to give us the scene, "When evening had come He was reclining at the table with the twelve disciples." It was after six o'clock on Thursday night. Later that night, over in the Mount of Olives Christ would be captured, brought through a mock trial in the early hours of Friday morning, crucified later that morning to die by three o'clock in the afternoon. He had to eat the Passover meal Thursday night before midnight. Nothing of that meal could be left for morning. So He gathered in the appointed place, some upper room in some home, and there He gathered with His twelve and all it says in the Greek text was He sat down. He reclined.

 

If you remember back in Exodus chapter 12 when God instituted the Passover, He said you eat it standing up because it will remind you of haste, the haste with which you left Egypt. And through the years and the centuries of celebration of the Passover, it had come to be a somewhat leisurely experience since there was no haste in leaving, they had learned to sit and recline in somewhat prolonged fashion to articulate very clearly the event that they were celebrating. Frankly that event is known well to all of us. The celebration of the Passover was a celebration of the time when God passed over the houses of the Jews in Egypt where the blood was sprinkled and did not take the life of the firstborn, and then followed up by delivering His people from the land of Egypt. The greatest act of God's redemptive power then was deliverance out of Egypt. The blood on the doorpost and the lintel, the angel of death passed by, they were spared and they were redeemed out of Egypt, taken to the promised land. And so that Passover was the symbol of God's redemptive power. When they sat to eat it they remembered God's great redemption in that He had redeemed them from Egypt.

 

Matthew doesn't tell us much about the meal. In fact, he really doesn't tell us anything about it. Verse 21 says, "And as they were eating," and that's all he says. And maybe just briefly I could remind you of what the process was like. There were four cups of red wine to be shared. This is the first of those cups. A cup of blessing and that's how the meal was initiated. That cup of red wine was mixed with water. In fact, not only mixed with water but mixed with a double amount of water so that there would be no intoxication, no drunkenness. And if they were to imbibe four such cups, it was important that it be strongly diluted. So it would begin with the first cup of red wine, the cup symbolizing the blessing of God upon them.

 

Following that first cup of red wine there would be a time to wash their hands, not for the sake of physical cleanliness but as a ceremonial cleansing which was designed to symbolize that each participant in this time of remembrance needed personal cleansing. You could not come before God to celebrate His redemption, His deliverance in an impure fashion, and so there was a ceremonial cleansing before they could eat which was to be symbolic of the cleansing of their hearts. And no doubt it was a time for introspection, a time for personal confession of sin as they were celebrating the salvation of God. They wanted to be sure their hearts were clean.

 

Following that brief time of cleansing of the hands they would indulge themselves in what could be called, in a sense, the first of a couple of appetizers, bitter herbs. The bitter herbs were symbolic of the bondage in Egypt and the bitterness of that bondage when they were enslaved and when life was so terribly difficult. Those herbs would be dipped in salt and vinegar to make them especially bitter and they would be eaten as a reminder of the bitterness of life before the redemption of God.

 

Following the bitter herbs would come the second cup of wine. At this point, the father if it was in the family, or the head of the table in the case here, the Lord Himself, He would hold up the second cup and with that the more formal part of the Passover feast was initiated. And he would, holding that second cup, begin to describe the significance of this feast. And he would take the people back to the time of Egyptian captivity and he would talk about the deliverance of almighty God through the plagues, and ultimately drowning Pharaoh's army in the sea and delivering His people in freedom, ultimately into the promised land. And then they would sing the Hallel, and the Hallel is basically Psalm 113 through 118. They would sing perhaps the first few of those psalms together, psalms which exalt and extol God. And then they would drink that second cup of wine.

 

That was then followed by unleavened bread. After taking a large flat piece of unleavened bread, the host, the father, the head of the table would then break it and distribute it. That unleavened bread was then dipped into a sauce, a sauce usually made out of sweet apples and nuts called keroseth. And that's the sauce into which they dipped that unleavened bread. Unleavened bread, as you well know, symbolized the fact that they were moving out of Egypt through the redemption of God and there was no leaven in the bread which means there was no influence remaining from the past. In other words, leaven symbolizes influence all through Scripture. Leavened bread means you take something from a past loaf that is fermented, you put it in another loaf but there was nothing from the past to be brought into their new life after redemption and so their bread was unleavened, no yeast in it.

 

After that, which was in a sense the last of the appetizers, they would engage themselves in eating the lamb. And you remember they were to have a spotless lamb without blemish. That lamb had a very clear prescription as to its character and its slaying. And then they would pursue that eating of the lamb as the high point of the Passover. And, of course, that was symbolic of the lamb that had to be slain and whose blood had to be put on the doorpost and the lintel which was a picture of Jesus Christ Himself, the Lamb of God, who would be slain for the sins of the world. And by the way, at the Passover table there is usually a bowl of water there, a bowl of salt water. That bowl of salt water sits there on the table to remind them of the tears they shed in slavery and also of the parting of the Red Sea.

 

And so, when we look at the words and as they were eating, we can fill it with a lot of very interesting symbolism. But in the midst of this, a very sad, sad statement by our Lord. He said, "Truly I say to you that one of you will betray Me." And in the midst of what would be a joyous celebration of the redemptive power of God and His great mercy, the Lord Jesus focuses on the tragedy and the reality of what was going on. "Truly I say to you that one of you will betray Me." And verse 22, being deeply grieved, "They each one began to say to Him, 'Surely not I, Lord.'"

 

I guess they knew the weakness of the flesh. I guess they were honest enough to know their own doubts, their own failures, their own weaknesses. And so, there was a sense of distrust about their own integrity that caused them to say, "Surely not I, Lord." They were grieved, sad, broken-hearted that someone would betray their Lord.

  

And He answered and said, verse 23, "He who dipped his hand with me in the bowl," he who took the unleavened bread and dipped it into the keroseth, "He who did that with Me is the one who will betray Me." Undoubtedly what happened was, the unleavened bread was passed around the twelve plus the Lord, thirteen in all. And the bowl containing the sauce was also passed. And it would be passed so that when one passed it to another and put it between them the two could dip into the same bowl, which very likely indicates that Judas had arranged himself right next to Jesus and so together they would have dipped. Or perhaps there were a few bowls on the table and Jesus and Judas dipped into the same bowl which again says the same thing, that he had seated himself in proximity to Christ. This satanically inspired man who will betray the Son of God has immense amount of nerve and gaul to do what he is doing here.

 

And so, Jesus says it's the one who put his hand in the sop with Me. Verse 24, "The Son of Man is to go," He says, "just as it is written of Him." It has to happen. It has to be. "But woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed, it would have been good for that man if he had not been born."

 

Although it is appointed by God and it must happen and I must die and I've been born to die and I am the Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world, as it says in Revelation 13, although that is all true, woe to the man who does this. Better if he had never been born. Better never to have existed than to exist forever in hell. And the hottest hell would be reserved for Judas because he trampled underfoot the Son of God. He had the greatest exposure of any person who ever lived and didn't believe. So, the condemnation of Judas ranks at the peak. However hot hell can be, it will be for him, better he'd never been born.

 

There is Jesus then in the midst of this time wanting to instruct His disciples and turn the old feast into a new feast. And it's interrupted by the heinousness of this crime. Verse 25 shows the brash boldness of Judas, "And Judas who was betraying Him," it was already in motion, it was already planned and set up, "answered and said, 'Surely it is not I, Rabbi.' He said to him, 'You've said it yourself.'" It was him. What a masquerade. And all this, says verse 26, while they were eating.

 

This is the last Passover by God's reckoning. There are Jews today that still hold a Passover but it is not authorized, ordained by God. This is the last Passover that God ever authorized, that God ever approved of because immediately in verse 26 the Lord Jesus introduces a new celebration. No more Passovers because the redemptive power of God will no longer be celebrated in remembering Egypt, the redemptive power of God will be celebrated in remembering the cross which provided a far greater redemption. The redemption in Egypt was a redemption physically out of slavery into freedom. The redemption Christ accomplished on the cross was a redemption out of sin into righteousness.

 

And so, while they were eating verse 26 says, Jesus began to turn the Passover into a new celebration. "Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing He broke it and gave it to the disciples and said, 'Take, eat, this is My body.' And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them saying, 'Saying drink from it all of you for this is My blood of the covenant which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.'"

 

Here Jesus takes the bread, the unleavened bread which symbolized the fact that God's people having been redeemed would bring across none of the influences of their former life and He says, "No longer is this bread to remind you of Egypt, it is to remind you of My body...My body which is given for you." Herein is the great redemption accomplished, through the sacrifice of the Son of God as He gives His body in death on the cross. And so He says, as Luke 22:19 records it, "This is My body which is given for you, do this in remembrance of Me." And so, the unleavened bread then is turned from its past meaning to a brand new meaning.

 

And then it says, "He took the cup, verse 27, what cup is this? The third cup now, this would be the third cup in the Passover, it is called the cup of blessing. But if you read 1 Corinthians 10:16 and 21, in 16 it's the cup of blessing, in 21 it's the cup of the Lord. And He transformed the cup of blessing out of the Passover into the cup of the Lord, the cup which remembers the Lord. "And given thanks, He gave it to them saying, 'Drink from it, all of you, for this is My blood of the covenant which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.'" And He says, "No longer will this cup of red wine remind you of the blood of a lamb spread on the doorpost and the lentil, no longer will it remind you of some animal sacrifice that could not take away sins, from now on it will remind you of the sacrifice of My blood." You can go way back in to the Old Testament, or you can go way deep in to the New Testament to Hebrews 9:22 and you will find that all covenants are marked by blood-shedding. And here the New Covenant is marked by anticipation that Christ will shed His blood. And as Hebrews says, "For without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins." And so says our Lord, "From now on this cup will remind you of My blood which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins."

 

So He transformed the Old into the New. And then He says in verse 29, here is the permanent institution of what I have just done, Passover is finished, this new feast will go on, "I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until the day when I drink it new with you in My Father's Kingdom." He also said, as the gospels record, "Do this until I do it with you again," and here He says it will be in the Kingdom when we do it again, but from now till the Kingdom, you keep doing it...you keep doing it.

 

And no doubt, after that third cup came the singing of two more Psalms, likely Psalm 115 and 116 out of the Hillel, and that would be followed by the fourth cup in the Passover which was followed by the final two Psalms, Psalm 117 and Psalm 118 and that's exactly what verse 30 says. "After singing a hymn they went out to the Mount of Olives," where He would be betrayed, captured, from where He would be taken for His mock trial and crucified.

 

This service which we engage into tonight is as simply held, as simply designed as was that original service of which we have just read. Simply do we receive the bread and the cup. The bread is the reminder of Christ's body. The cup is the reminder of His blood. Both of which were given for us to accomplish the forgiveness of sins. We are to do it from now on until the day we do it with Him.

 

You say, "Will we do it with Him in His Kingdom?" Yes. "Why?" Because even in the Kingdom we'll want to remember and celebrate His redemption...maybe there more than even here because we will be enjoying the fullness of the blessing of His Kingdom. And its riches and its wonders will be at hand and fully sensitized and realized, we will engage ourselves in a celebration that knows no equal in this time and in this world. But until that time we keep this feast. It is our Passover. It is the one that Christ gave us. It is the one that we are to be faithful to.

 

And so do we come to this table in order that we might celebrate the death of the One who gave Himself for us. Let's bow together in prayer.

 

Lord, it was such a simple night in some ways, and yet so profound, the simple bread, the simple cup and yet they speak of the redemption of many and the forgiveness of sins and the hope of heaven and the promise of eternal life. Lord, we have gathered here in this place, half a world away from where You met and two millennia later and it hasn't changed. We thank You that through all of these centuries the church has passed down the simplicity of this, that we who take the bread and the cup do so as if we were there with You that night, remembering Your body and Your blood given for us to pay the penalty for our sin as the sacrifice required. Father, we love You, we thank You for giving Your Son, Christ. We thank You for giving Yourself in obedience to the Father and love to us to redeem us. Holy Spirit, we thank You for granting us new birth and applying forgiveness to us. And we ask that in this time You might prepare our hearts that even as in the taking of the Passover there was a cleansing of the hands to symbolize the need to cleanse the heart. May we at this moment now cleanse our own hearts, lest...as Paul said...we take in an unworthy manner and bring judgment on ourselves, for You do not look lightly on one who defiles this table by coming here with sin harbored, loved. So, Lord, help us to yield up all the sin that so easily captures heart and mind, hand and feet and the tongue as well, all those sins of thought and word and action and cleanse us, wash us clean. We thank You for the love that seeks to do that, cleanse us that we might partake in a worthy manner, in Jesus' name. Amen.

  

COPYRIGHT ©2012 Grace to You

 

I used French Kiss textures.

Hero City: Voronezh.

From 10 to 17 September 2011, Voronezh celebrated its 425th anniversary. The anniversary of the city was given the status of a federal scale celebration that helped attract large investments from the federal and regional budgets for development. On December 17, 2012, Voronezh became the fifteenth city in Russia with a population of over one million people. Today Voronezh is the economic, industrial, cultural, and scientific center of the Central Black Earth Region. As part of the annual tradition in the Russian city of Voronezh, every winter the main city square is thematically drawn around a classic literature. In 2020, the city was decorated using the motifs from Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker. In the year of 2021, the architects drew inspiration from Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale The Snow Queen as well as the animation classic The Snow Queen from the Soviet Union.

Given the limited movements it looks we're all going to be making in the near future I'm glad I have a big stash of these old cards to plough through, it'll be an excuse for a bit of virtual travelling.....

 

I already had a later card showing this view as well as a photo from my stepdad, and I've slowly accumulated a few others.

 

A bright and busy 1960s scene here, with a pair each of Minis and FB Victors. The Renault 4 is the only immediately obvious import, but those with sharper eyes than me might spot something else?

 

Card sent to an address in Warwickshire at the surprisngly late date of 1980 at a cost of 12p. Published by N.P.O. Belfast Ltd, ref. S1291 - 6929C.

Photo captured via Minolta MD Macro Rokkor-X 100mm F/4 lens. From Turtle Lake. Spokane Indian Reservation. Selkirk Mountains Range. Okanogan-Colville Xeric Valleys and Foothills section within the Northern Rockies Region. Inland Northwest. Stevens County, Washington. Late September 2019.

 

Exposure Time: 0.6 sec. * ISO Speed: ISO-320 * Aperture: F/11 * Bracketing: None * Color Temperature: 4650 K * Film Plug-In: Fuji Provia 100F * Adaptor: 1:1 Extension Tube

They had been given some hay which was quickly eaten

Enjoying being retired has given me the discretionary idleness of going downtown and meeting an old friend to have lunch and discuss how our lives have gone by which use to be one of things I use to do a lot more often before marriage and children degenerated my social life to being with other parents with screaming brats at playground dates and the like. But I digress from the subject of this image which was the New York City High Line Park. The history goes back to 19th century when ground level rail lines were laid out. However in the early 20th century the current elevated rail structure was built to accommodate the flow of car and truck traffic. However by 1980 was the last time the structure was used for rail traffic and the southern end of the structure was demolished a few years later. The remaining structure was left abandoned and overgrown with weeds and became a spot used BY early URBEX enthusiasts and drug users. For the next several years in the nineties the fate of the structure was debated by civic groups, community boards and politicians. In the early twenty first century the area saw an explosion of gentrification and modern luxury housing development which generated enthusiasm to convert the old rail line into a park which opened in 2009.

Given the late hour - and that it was night two - the girls look amazing here. It was also lovely of Debbie to lend the lady in the background her hat... Debbie's so good like that.

Given that some co-worker friends got married over the weekend within Bond Chapel, I thought I'd look back at some of the shots I had taken from inside here a little while back.

I've been pretty busy lately and probably won't have a lot of time to process any shots, or comment and view many of your shots, so I'm sorry in advance. Work always seems to get in the way of my hobby.

Happy Monday!

Barry Allen - Known his entire life as the man who was always late, Barry Allen was given quite the shake up one fateful night as a freak thunderstorm roared through Central City. That night Barry was frantically working on a case for the CCPD as every bolt of lightning lit up the sky outside his window. With a bright bolt of lightning and a loud crack of thunder, all the lights in Allen’s lab shut off, causing him to search the room for a light that he could turn on to continue his work. As he was searching, Barry noticed that all the liquid in the room was mysteriously floating up and out of their containers. A bewildered Barry looked out the window as a bright bolt of lightning careened towards him and crashed through his window. The bolt struck Barry directly and sent him flying back into the center of his office. The immense force of the lightning strike caused all of the cabinets around him to topple and spill their contents. As everything crashing down on an unconscious Allen, one would assume the worst of the situation. However, Barry somehow survived the jolt to his system and the subsequent dousing of every chemical Barry had in his lab.

 

Not only did Barry survive the blast, but thanks to this phenomenon, Allen was gifted abilities he had only dreamt of obtaining. Super speed, super strength, and accelerated regeneration, just to name a few of the extraordinary powers he was given. Barry took a few months to really get a handle on these abilities before he realized that he could make a difference with these powers much like his childhood hero, Jay Garrick aka the Flash!

 

With some more training and a bright red super suit, Barry became the Flash, like Jay, and began fighting crime and injustice that reared its head in Central City. Eventually he took on a protégée in Wally West, the nephew of Barry’s longtime girlfriend and soon to be wife. With Wally, or as he was called Kid Flash, by his side, Barry became a mentor to those who found themselves with super speed and other metahuman abilities.

 

Years later, one of Barry’s most famous adversaries, the Mirror Master, broke out of Iron Heights and began causing chaos among the citizens of Central City. Mirror Master made it known that he wanted to face Barry one on one after he kidnapped Iris West, Barry’s now wife. After much deliberation and arguing, Wally reluctantly let Barry go after Scudder by himself even though he wanted a hand in bringing down the man who kidnapped his aunt. Barry found Scudder exactly where he said he would be, in an abandoned toy store, surrounded by mirror images of Iris.

 

The fight that ensued was one of Barry’s greatest as he left nothing to chance, however, Scudder seemed to have always been one step ahead of the fastest man alive. Barry got clumsy and against his better judgement lunged directly into one of Scudder’s many mirror projections. Much to his dismay Allen found himself inside the mirror dimension with no bearing on where he actually was. Suddenly, an image of Iris appeared before him and in an instant the image shifted to a cackling silhouette of Mirror Master. With the snap of Scudder’s fingers the image vanished and Barry became trapped in the Mirror Dimension.

 

Full of hope of returning to Iris’s side, Barry now spends every waking second searching for a way out of his reflective prison!

Given as a gift for Christmas...

Wish I knew the name of this formation or that it was given one…

Given the lack of space in Japan (and especially Tokyo) it is fairly common for large department stores to landscape the entire roof as an outdoor park/garden for adults and children to relax/play in.

 

Catch is you have to go through the store first to get to it ;-)

 

5xp freehand HDR shot taken on the roof (9F) of the Takashimaya department store in Nihonbashi during Golden Week here in Tokyo, Japan.

Given the extraordinarily cold weather we're having in Southern California, I thought a wintery look would be appropriate. Here I'm sporting my distressed skinny jeans and a cute hot pink blouse with patent stiletto pumps. Have a wonderful Hump Day!!!

Give me back my innocence cos I wish to dream again

Like I never outgrew my old playground...

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So, let's get one thing straight from the outset.

  

I LOVE CARRION CROW.

  

There, I've said it. Words I use to describe these amazing birds would include stunning, beautiful, bold, magnificent, intelligent and fantastic, loving, tender, victimized.

  

Right now I have a resident pair of Carrion crows who have decided that my garden is theirs, and are playing a game of cat and mouse with a pair of cheeky Magpies (Pica pica) for dominance and food rights. The male crow actually flies in and 'wings' the magpies to make them leave, an incredible sight to witness. It's an honour and a privilege to be able to win their trust and they have given me so much pleasure this year being able to get within a few feet of them, to photograph and feed them, and they have reinforced my already deep admiration for a bird that is brimming with beauty, intelligence, confidence and also surrounded by myths, legend and prejudice.

  

So let's begin with a look back over history.

  

LEGEND AND MYTHOLOGY

  

Crows appear in the Bible where Noah uses one to search for dry land and to check on the recession of the flood. Crows supposedly saved the prophet, Elijah, from famine and are an Inuit deity. Legend has it that England and its monarchy will end when there are no more crows in the Tower of London. And some believe that the crows went to the Tower attracted by the regular corpses following executions with written accounts of their presence at the executions of Anne Boleyn and Jane Gray.

  

In Welsh mythology, unfortunately Crows are seen as symbolic of evilness and black magic thanks to many references to witches transforming into crows or ravens and escaping. Indian legend tells of Kakabhusandi, a crow who sits on the branches of a wish-fulfilling tree called Kalpataru and a crow in Ramayana where Lord Rama blessed the crow with the power to foresee future events and communicate with the souls.

  

In Native American first nation legend the crow is sometimes considered to be something of a trickster, though they are also viewed positively by some tribes as messengers between this world and the next where they carry messages from the living to those deceased, and even carry healing medicines between both worlds. There is a belief that crows can foresee the future. The Klamath tribe in Oregon believe that when we die, we fly up to heaven as a crow. The Crow can also signify wisdom to some tribes who believe crows had the power to talk and were therefore considered to be one of the wisest of birds. Tribes with Crow Clans include the Chippewa (whose Crow Clan and its totem are called Aandeg), the Hopi (whose Crow Clan is called Angwusngyam or Ungwish-wungwa), the Menominee, the Caddo, the Tlingit, and the Pueblo tribes of New Mexico.

  

The crow features in the Nanissáanah (Ghost dance), popularized by Jerome Crow Dog, a Brulé Lakota sub-chief and warrior born at Horse Stealing Creek in Montana Territory in 1833, the crow symbolizing wisdom and the past, when the crow had became a guide and acted as a pathfinder during hunting. The Ghost dance movement was originally created in 1870 by Wodziwob, or Gray Hair, a prophet and medicine man of the Paiute tribe in an area that became known as Nevada. Ghost dancers wore crow and eagle feathers in their clothes and hair, and the fact that the Crow could talk placed it as one of the sages of the animal kingdom. The five day dances seeking trance,prophecy and exhortations would eventually play a major part in the pathway towards the white man's broken treaties, the infamous battle at Wounded knee and the surrender of Matȟó Wanáȟtaka (Kicking Bear), after officials began to fear the ghost dancers and rituals which seemed to occur prior to battle.

  

Historically the Vikings are the group who made so many references to the crow, and Ragnarr Loðbrók and his sons used this species in his banner as well as appearances in many flags and coats of arms. Also, it had some kind of association with Odin, one of their main deities. Norse legend tells us that Odin is accompanied by two crows. Hugin, who symbolizes thought, and Munin, who represents a memory. These two crows were sent out each dawn to fly the entire world, returning at breakfast where they informed the Lord of the Nordic gods of everything that went on in their kingdoms. Odin was also referred to as Rafnagud (raven-god). The raven appears in almost every skaldic poem describing warfare.Coins dating back to 940's minted by Olaf Cuaran depict the Viking war standard, the Raven and Viking war banners (Gonfalon) depicted the bird also.

  

In Scandinavian legends, crows are a representative of the Goddess of Death, known as Valkyrie (from old Norse 'Valkyrja'), one of the group of maidens who served the Norse deity Odin, visiting battlefields and sending him the souls of the slain worthy of a place in Valhalla. Odin ( also called Wodan, Woden, or Wotan), preferred that heroes be killed in battle and that the most valiant of souls be taken to Valhöll, the hall of slain warriors. It is the crow that provides the Valkyries with important information on who should go. In Hindu ceremonies that are associated to ancestors, the crow has an important place in Vedic rituals. They are seen as messengers of death in Indian culture too.

  

In Germanic legend, Crows are seen as psychonomes, meaning the act of guiding spirits to their final destination, and that the feathers of a crow could cure a victim who had been cursed. And yet, a lone black crow could symbolize impending death, whilst a group symbolizes a lucky omen! Vikings also saw good omens in the crow and would leave offerings of meat as a token.

  

The crow also has sacred and prophetic meaning within the Celtic civilization, where it stood for flesh ripped off due to combat and Morrighan, the warrior goddess, often appears in Celtic mythology as a raven or crow, or else is found to be in the company of the birds. Crow is sacred to Lugdnum, the Celtic god of creation who gave his name to the city of Lug

  

In Greek mythology according to Appolodorus, Apollo is supposedly responsible for the black feathers of the crow, turning them forever black from their pristine white original plumage as a punishment after they brought news that Κορωνις (Coronis) a princess of the Thessalian kingdom of Phlegyantis, Apollo's pregnant lover had left him to marry a mortal, Ischys. In one legend, Apollo burned the crows feathers and then burned Coronis to death, in another Coronis herself was turned into a black crow, and another that she was slain by the arrows of Αρτεμις (Artemis - twin to Apollo). Koronis was later set amongst the stars as the constellation Corvus ("the Crow"). Her name means "Curved One" from the Greek word korônis or "Crow" from the word korônê.A similar Muslim legend allegedly tells of Muhammad, founder of Islam and the last prophet sent by God to Earth, who's secret location was given away by a white crow to his seekers, as he hid in caves. The crow shouted 'Ghar Ghar' (Cave, cave) and thus as punishment, Muhammad turned the crow black and cursed it for eternity to utter only one phrase, 'Ghar, ghar). Native Indian legend where the once rainbow coloured crows became forever black after shedding their colourful plumage over the other animals of the world.

  

In China the Crow is represented in art as a three legged bird on a solar disk, being a creature that helps the sun in its journey. In Japan there are myths of Crow Tengu who were priests who became vain, and turned into this spirit to serve as messengers until they learn the lesson of humility as well as a great Crow who takes part in Shinto creation stories.

  

In animal spirit guides there are general perceptions of what sightings of numbers of crows actually mean:

  

1 Crow Meaning: To carry a message from your near one who died recently.

 

2 Crows Meaning: Two crows sitting near your home signifies some good news is on your way.

 

3 Crows Meaning: An upcoming wedding in your family.

 

4 Crows Meaning: Symbolizes wealth and prosperity.

 

5 Crows Meaning: Diseases or pain.

 

6 Crows Meaning: A theft in your house!

 

7 Crows Meaning: Denotes travel or moving from your house.

 

8 Crows Meaning: Sorrowful events

  

Crows are generally seen as the symbolism when alive for doom bringing, misfortune and bad omens, and yet a dead crow symbolises potentially bringing good news and positive change to those who see it. This wonderful bird certainly gets a mixed bag of contradictory mythology and legend over the centuries and in modern days is often seen as a bit of a nuisance, attacking and killing the babies of other birds such as Starlings, Pigeons and House Sparrows as well as plucking the eyes out of lambs in the field, being loud and noisy and violently attacking poor victims in a 'crow court'....

  

There is even a classic horror film called 'THE CROW' released in 1994 by Miramax Films, directed by Alex Proyas and starring Brandon Lee in his final film appearance as Eric Draven, who is revived by a Crow tapping on his gravestone a year after he and his fiancée are murdered in Detroit by a street gang. The crow becomes his guide as he sets out to avenge the murders. The only son of martial arts expert Bruce Lee, Brandon lee suffered fatal injuries on the set of the film when the crew failed to remove the primer from a cartridge that hit Lee in the abdomen with the same force as a normal bullet. Lee died that day, March 31st 1993 aged 28.

  

The symbolism of the Crow resurrecting the dead star and accompanying him on his quest for revenge was powerful, and in some part based on the history of the carrion crow itself and the original film grossed more than $94 Million dollars with three subsequent sequels following.

  

TAKING A CLOSER LOOK

  

So let's move away from legend, mythology and stories passed down from our parents and grandparents and look at these amazing birds in isolation.

  

Carrion crow are passerines in the family Corvidae a group of Oscine passerine birds including Crows, Ravens, Rooks, Jackdaws, Jays, Magpies, Treepies, Choughs and Nutcrackers. Technically they are classed as Corvids, and the largest of passerine birds. Carrion crows are medium to large in size with rictal bristles and a single moult per year (most passerines moult twice). Carrion crow was one of the many species originally described by Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (Carl Von Linne after his ennoblement) in his 1758 and 1759 editions of 'SYSTEMA NATURAE', and it still bears its original name of Corvus corone, derived from the Latin of Corvus, meaning Raven and the Greek κορώνη (korōnē), meaning crow.

  

Carrion crow are of the Animalia kingdom Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Passeriformes Family: Corvidae Genus: Corvus and Species: Corvus corone

  

Corvus corone can reach 45-47cm in length with a 93-104cm wingspan and weigh between 370-650g. They are protected under The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 in the United Kingdom with a Green UK conservation status which means they are of least concern with more than 1,000,000 territories. Breeding occurs in April with fledging of the chicks taking around twenty nine days following an incubation period of around twenty days with 3 to 4 eggs being the average norm. They are abundant in the UK apart from Northwest Scotland and Ireland where the Hooded crow (Corvus cornix) was considered the same species until 2002. They have a lifespan of around four years, whilst Crow species can live to the age of Twenty years old, and the oldest known American crow in the wild was almost Thirty years old. The oldest documented captive crow died at age Fifty nine. They are smaller and have a shorter lifespan than the Raven, which again is used as a symbol in history to live life to the full and not waste a moment!

  

They are often mistaken for the Rook (Corvus frugilegus), a similar bird, though in the UK, the Rook is actually technically smaller than the Carrion crow averaging 44-46cm in length, 81-99cm wingspan and weighing up to 340g. Rooks have white beaks compared to the black beaks of Carrion crow. There are documented cases in the UK of singular and grouped Rooks attacking and killing Carrion crows in their territory. Rooks nest in colonies unlike Carrion crows. Carrion crows have only a few natural enemies including powerful raptors such as the northern goshawk, the peregrine falcon, the Eurasian eagle-owl and the golden eagle which will all readily hunt them.

  

Regarded as one of the most intelligent birds, indeed creatures on the planet, studies suggest that Corvids cognitive abilities can rival that of primates such as chimpanzees and gorillas and even provide clues to understanding human intelligence. Crows have relatively large brains for their body size, compared to other animals. Their encephalization quotient (EQ) a ratio of brain to body size, adjusted for size because there isn’t a linear relationship is 4.1. That is remarkably close to chimps at 4.2 whilst humans are 8.1. Corvids also have a very high neuronal density, the number of neurons per gram of brain, factoring in the number of cortical neurons, neuron packing density, interneuronal distance and axonal conduction velocity shows that Corvids score high on this measure as well, with humans scoring the highest.

  

A corvid's pallium is packed with more neurons than a great ape's. Corvids have demonstrated the ability to use a combination of mental tools such as imagination, and anticipation of future events. They can craft tools from twigs and branches to hook grubs from deep recesses, they can solve puzzles and intricate methods of gaining access to food set by humans., and have even bent pieces of wire into hooks to obtain food. They have been proven to have a higher cognitive ability level than seven year old humans. Communications wise, their repertoire of wraw-wraw's is not fully understood, but the intensity, rhythm, and duration of caws seems to form the basis of a possible language. They also remember the faces of humans who have hindered or hurt them and pass that information on to their offspring.

  

Aesop's fable of 'The Crow and the Pitcher, tells of a thirsty crow which drops stones into a water pitcher to raise the water level and enable it to take a drink. Scientists have conducted tests to see whether crows really are this intelligent. They placed floating treats in a deep tube and observed the crows indeed dropping dense objects carefully selected into the water until the treat floated within reach. They had the intelligence to pick up, weigh and discount objects that would float in the water, they also did not select ones that were too large for the container.

  

Pet crows develop a unique call for their owners, in effect actually naming them. They also know to sunbathe for a dose of vitamin D, regularly settling on wooden garden fences, opening their mouths and wings and raising their heads to the sun. In groups they warn of danger and communicate vocally. They store a cache of food for later if in abundance and are clever enough to move it if they feel it has been discovered. They leave markers for their cache. They have even learned to place walnuts and similar hard food items under car tyres at traffic lights as a means of cracking them!

  

Crows regularly gather around a dead fellow corvid, almost like a funeral, and it is thought they somehow learn from each death. They can even remember human faces for decades. Crows group together to attack larger predators and even steal their food, and they have different dialects in different areas, with the ability to mimic the dialect of the alpha males when they enter their territory!

  

They have a twenty year life span, the oldest on record reaching the age of Fifty nine. Crows can leave gifts for those who feed them such as buttons or bright shiny objects as a thank you, and they even kiss and make up after an argument, having mated for life.

  

In mythology they are associated with good and bad luck, being the bringers of omens and even witchcraft and are generally reviled for their attacks on baby birds and small mammals. They have an attack method of to stunning smaller birds before consuming them, tearing violently at smaller, less aggressive birds, which is simply down to the fact that they are so highly intelligent, and also the top of the food chain. Their diet includes over a thousand different items: Dead animals (as their name suggests), invertebrates, grain, as well as stealing eggs and chicks from other birds' nests, worms, insects, fruit, seeds, kitchen scraps. They are highly adaptable when food sources grow scarce. I absolutely love them, they are magnificent, bold, beautiful and incredibly interesting to watch and though at times it is hard to witness attacks made by them, I cannot help but adore them for so many other and more important reasons.

  

OBSERVATIONS ON THE PAIR IN MY GARDEN

  

Crows have been in the area for a while, but rarely had strayed into my garden, leaving the Magpies to own the territory. Things changed towards the end of May when a beautiful female Carrion crow appeared and began to take some of the food that I put down for the other birds. Within a few days she began to appear regularly, on occasions stocking up on food, whilst other times placing pieces in the birdbath to soften them. She would stand on the birdbath and eat and drink and come back over the course of the day to eat the softened food.

Shortly afterwardsds she brought along her mate, a tall and handsome fella, much larger than her who was also very vocal if he felt she was getting a little too close to me.

  

By now I had moved from a seated position from the patio as an observer, to laying on a mat just five feet from the birdbath with my Nikon so that I could photograph the pair as they landed, scavenged and fed. She was now confident enough to let me be very close, and she even tolerated and recognized the clicking of the camera. At first I used silent mode to reduce the noise but this only allowed two shooting frame rates of single frame or continuous low frame which meant I was missing shots. I reverted back to normal continuous high frames and she soon got used to the whirring of the frames as the mirror slapped back and forth.

  

The big fella would bark orders at her from the safety of the fence or the rear of the garden, whilst she rarely made a sound. That was until one day when in the sweltering heat she kept opening her beak and sunning on the grass, panting slightly in the heat. I placed the circular water sprayer nearby and had it rotating so that the birdbath and grass was bathed in gentle water droplets and she soon came back, landed and seemed to really like the cooling effect on offer. She then climbed onto the birdbath and opened her wings slightly and made some gentle purring, cooing noises....

  

I swear she was expressing happiness, joy....

  

On another blisteringly hot day when the sprayer was on, she came down, walked towards it and opened her wings up running into the water spray. Not once, but many times.

A final observation came with the male and female on the rear garden fence. They sat together, locked beaks like a kiss and then the male took his time gently preening her head feathers and the back of her neck as she made tiny happy sounds. They stayed together like that for several minutes, showing a gentle, softer side to their nature and demonstrating the deep bond between them.

  

Corvus Corone.... magnificently misunderstood by some!

  

Paul Williams June 4th 2021

  

©All photographs on this site are copyright: ©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams) 2011 – 2021 & GETTY IMAGES ®

  

No license is given nor granted in respect of the use of any copyrighted material on this site other than with the express written agreement of ©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams). No image may be used as source material for paintings, drawings, sculptures, or any other art form without permission and/or compensation to ©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams)

  

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Photograph taken at an altitude of Fifty nine metres at 13:45pm on a summer afternoon of sunshine and rain showers on Thursday 3rd June 2021, off Hythe Avenue and Chessington Avenue in Bexleyheath, Kent.

  

Here we see a large adult female Carrion crow (Corvus corone) patrolling a garden and gathering up some bread, a passerine bird of the family Corvidae and the genus Raven (Higher classification: Corvus), which is native to western Europe and eastern Asia.

  

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Nikon D850 Focal length 450mm Shutter speed: 1/500s Aperture f/7.1 iso400 Hand held with Tamron VC Vibration control enabled on setting 1 Image area FX (36 x 24) NEF RAW Size L (8256 x 5504 Pixels) (14 bit uncompressed) AF-C Priority Selection: Release. Nikon Back button focusing enabled. AF-S Priority selection: Focus. 3D Tracking watch area: Normal 55 Tracking points Exposure mode: Manual exposure mode Metering mode: Matrix metering White balance on: Auto1 (4780K) Colour space: RGB Picture control: Neutral (Sharpening +2)

  

Sigma 60-600mm f/4.5-6.3DG OS HSM SPORTS. Lee SW150 MKI filter holder with MK2 light shield and custom made velcro fitting for the Sigma lens. Lee SW150 circular polariser glass filter.Lee SW150 Filters field pouch.Hoodman HEYENRG round eyepiece oversized eyecup. Mcoplus professional MB-D850 multi function battery grip 6960.Two Nikon EN-EL15a batteries (Priority to battery in Battery grip). Black Rapid Curve Breathe strap. My Memory 128GB Class 10 SDXC 80MB/s card. Lowepro Flipside 400 AW camera bag.

    

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LATITUDE: N 51d 28m 28.35s

LONGITUDE: E 0d 8m 10.43s

ALTITUDE: 59.0m

  

RAW (TIFF) FILE: 130.00MB NEF FILE: 90.8MB

PROCESSED (JPeg) FILE: 37.40MB

    

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PROCESSING POWER:

  

Nikon D850 Firmware versions C 1.10 (9/05/2019) LD Distortion Data 2.018 (18/02/20) LF 1.00

  

HP 110-352na Desktop PC with AMD Quad-Core A6-5200 APU 64Bit processor. Radeon HD8400 graphics. 8 GB DDR3 Memory with 1TB Data storage. 64-bit Windows 10. Verbatim USB 2.0 1TB desktop hard drive. WD My Passport Ultra 1tb USB3 Portable hard drive. Nikon ViewNX-1 64bit Version 1.4.1 (18/02/2020). Nikon Capture NX-D 64bit Version 1.6.2 (18/02/2020). Nikon Picture Control Utility 2 (Version 2.4.5 (18/02/2020). Nikon Transfer 2 Version 2.13.5. Adobe photoshop Elements 8 Version 8.0 64bit.

  

Nikron valley is the name given to Neelum Valley at Nikron.It is the place one worth visiting and is far away from the commercial tourism destinations and relatively save from deforestation thats make it so special for a nature lover.In the far Sub mountains of Nanga Parbat Massif are dominating seen and are definitely inviting the tourist for Visiting the Shonter Valley located between them and Nanga Parbat.Notice the small truck far in the picture.

©All photographs on this site are copyright: ©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams) 2011 – 2021 & GETTY IMAGES ®

  

No license is given nor granted in respect of the use of any copyrighted material on this site other than with the express written agreement of ©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams). No image may be used as source material for paintings, drawings, sculptures, or any other art form without permission and/or compensation to ©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams)

  

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I would like to say a huge and heartfelt 'THANK YOU' to GETTY IMAGES, and the 41.973+ Million visitors to my FLICKR site.

  

***** Selected for sale in the GETTY IMAGES COLLECTION on Thursday October 21st 2021

  

CREATIVE RF gty.im/1347380800 MOMENT ROYALTY FREE COLLECTION**

  

This photograph became my 5,547th frame to be selected for sale in the Getty Images collection and I am very grateful to them for this wonderful opportunity.

  

©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams)

  

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Photograph taken at an altitude of Forty eight metres at 13:22pm on a beautiful summer afternoon on Tuesday 20th July 2021, off Chessington Avenue in Bexleyheath, Kent.

  

Here we see a large adult Female Carrion crow (Corvus corone), a passerine bird of the family Corvidae and the genus Raven (Higher classification: Corvus), which is native to western Europe and eastern Asia.

 

AN IN DEPTH LOOK AT CORVUS CORONE

  

LEGEND AND MYTHOLOGY

By Paul Williams

  

Crows appear in the Bible where Noah uses one to search for dry land and to check on the recession of the flood. Crows supposedly saved the prophet, Elijah, from famine and are an Inuit deity. Legend has it that England and its monarchy will end when there are no more crows in the Tower of London. And some believe that the crows went to the Tower attracted by the regular corpses following executions with written accounts of their presence at the executions of Anne Boleyn and Jane Gray.

  

In Welsh mythology, unfortunately Crows are seen as symbolic of evilness and black magic thanks to many references to witches transforming into crows or ravens and escaping. Indian legend tells of Kakabhusandi, a crow who sits on the branches of a wish-fulfilling tree called Kalpataru and a crow in Ramayana where Lord Rama blessed the crow with the power to foresee future events and communicate with the souls.

  

In Native American first nation legend the crow is sometimes considered to be something of a trickster, though they are also viewed positively by some tribes as messengers between this world and the next where they carry messages from the living to those deceased, and even carry healing medicines between both worlds. There is a belief that crows can foresee the future. The Klamath tribe in Oregon believe that when we die, we fly up to heaven as a crow. The Crow can also signify wisdom to some tribes who believe crows had the power to talk and were therefore considered to be one of the wisest of birds. Tribes with Crow Clans include the Chippewa (whose Crow Clan and its totem are called Aandeg), the Hopi (whose Crow Clan is called Angwusngyam or Ungwish-wungwa), the Menominee, the Caddo, the Tlingit, and the Pueblo tribes of New Mexico.

  

The crow features in the Nanissáanah (Ghost dance), popularized by Jerome Crow Dog, a Brulé Lakota sub-chief and warrior born at Horse Stealing Creek in Montana Territory in 1833, the crow symbolizing wisdom and the past, when the crow had became a guide and acted as a pathfinder during hunting. The Ghost dance movement was originally created in 1870 by Wodziwob, or Gray Hair, a prophet and medicine man of the Paiute tribe in an area that became known as Nevada. Ghost dancers wore crow and eagle feathers in their clothes and hair, and the fact that the Crow could talk placed it as one of the sages of the animal kingdom. The five day dances seeking trance,prophecy and exhortations would eventually play a major part in the pathway towards the white man's broken treaties, the infamous battle at Wounded knee and the surrender of Matȟó Wanáȟtaka (Kicking Bear), after officials began to fear the ghost dancers and rituals which seemed to occur prior to battle.

  

Historically the Vikings are the group who made so many references to the crow, and Ragnarr Loðbrók and his sons used this species in his banner as well as appearances in many flags and coats of arms. Also, it had some kind of association with Odin, one of their main deities. Norse legend tells us that Odin is accompanied by two crows. Hugin, who symbolizes thought, and Munin, who represents a memory. These two crows were sent out each dawn to fly the entire world, returning at breakfast where they informed the Lord of the Nordic gods of everything that went on in their kingdoms. Odin was also referred to as Rafnagud (raven-god). The raven appears in almost every skaldic poem describing warfare.Coins dating back to 940's minted by Olaf Cuaran depict the Viking war standard, the Raven and Viking war banners (Gonfalon) depicted the bird also.

  

In Scandinavian legends, crows are a representative of the Goddess of Death, known as Valkyrie (from old Norse 'Valkyrja'), one of the group of maidens who served the Norse deity Odin, visiting battlefields and sending him the souls of the slain worthy of a place in Valhalla. Odin ( also called Wodan, Woden, or Wotan), preferred that heroes be killed in battle and that the most valiant of souls be taken to Valhöll, the hall of slain warriors. It is the crow that provides the Valkyries with important information on who should go. In Hindu ceremonies that are associated to ancestors, the crow has an important place in Vedic rituals. They are seen as messengers of death in Indian culture too.

  

In Germanic legend, Crows are seen as psychonomes, meaning the act of guiding spirits to their final destination, and that the feathers of a crow could cure a victim who had been cursed. And yet, a lone black crow could symbolize impending death, whilst a group symbolizes a lucky omen! Vikings also saw good omens in the crow and would leave offerings of meat as a token.

  

The crow also has sacred and prophetic meaning within the Celtic civilization, where it stood for flesh ripped off due to combat and Morrighan, the warrior goddess, often appears in Celtic mythology as a raven or crow, or else is found to be in the company of the birds. Crow is sacred to Lugdnum, the Celtic god of creation who gave his name to the city of Lug

  

In Greek mythology according to Appolodorus, Apollo is supposedly responsible for the black feathers of the crow, turning them forever black from their pristine white original plumage as a punishment after they brought news that Κορωνις (Coronis) a princess of the Thessalian kingdom of Phlegyantis, Apollo's pregnant lover had left him to marry a mortal, Ischys. In one legend, Apollo burned the crows feathers and then burned Coronis to death, in another Coronis herself was turned into a black crow, and another that she was slain by the arrows of Αρτεμις (Artemis - twin to Apollo). Koronis was later set amongst the stars as the constellation Corvus ("the Crow"). Her name means "Curved One" from the Greek word korônis or "Crow" from the word korônê.A similar Muslim legend allegedly tells of Muhammad, founder of Islam and the last prophet sent by God to Earth, who's secret location was given away by a white crow to his seekers, as he hid in caves. The crow shouted 'Ghar Ghar' (Cave, cave) and thus as punishment, Muhammad turned the crow black and cursed it for eternity to utter only one phrase, 'Ghar, ghar). Native Indian legend where the once rainbow coloured crows became forever black after shedding their colourful plumage over the other animals of the world.

  

In China the Crow is represented in art as a three legged bird on a solar disk, being a creature that helps the sun in its journey. In Japan there are myths of Crow Tengu who were priests who became vain, and turned into this spirit to serve as messengers until they learn the lesson of humility as well as a great Crow who takes part in Shinto creation stories.

  

In animal spirit guides there are general perceptions of what sightings of numbers of crows actually mean:

  

1 Crow Meaning: To carry a message from your near one who died recently.

 

2 Crows Meaning: Two crows sitting near your home signifies some good news is on your way.

 

3 Crows Meaning: An upcoming wedding in your family.

 

4 Crows Meaning: Symbolizes wealth and prosperity.

 

5 Crows Meaning: Diseases or pain.

 

6 Crows Meaning: A theft in your house!

 

7 Crows Meaning: Denotes travel or moving from your house.

 

8 Crows Meaning: Sorrowful events

  

Crows are generally seen as the symbolism when alive for doom bringing, misfortune and bad omens, and yet a dead crow symbolises potentially bringing good news and positive change to those who see it. This wonderful bird certainly gets a mixed bag of contradictory mythology and legend over the centuries and in modern days is often seen as a bit of a nuisance, attacking and killing the babies of other birds such as Starlings, Pigeons and House Sparrows as well as plucking the eyes out of lambs in the field, being loud and noisy and violently attacking poor victims in a 'crow court'....

  

There is even a classic horror film called 'THE CROW' released in 1994 by Miramax Films, directed by Alex Proyas and starring Brandon Lee in his final film appearance as Eric Draven, who is revived by a Crow tapping on his gravestone a year after he and his fiancée are murdered in Detroit by a street gang. The crow becomes his guide as he sets out to avenge the murders. The only son of martial arts expert Bruce Lee, Brandon lee suffered fatal injuries on the set of the film when the crew failed to remove the primer from a cartridge that hit Lee in the abdomen with the same force as a normal bullet. Lee died that day, March 31st 1993 aged 28.

  

The symbolism of the Crow resurrecting the dead star and accompanying him on his quest for revenge was powerful, and in some part based on the history of the carrion crow itself and the original film grossed more than $94 Million dollars with three subsequent sequels following.

  

TAKING A CLOSER LOOK

  

So let's move away from legend, mythology and stories passed down from our parents and grandparents and look at these amazing birds in isolation.

  

Carrion crow are passerines in the family Corvidae a group of Oscine passerine birds including Crows, Ravens, Rooks, Jackdaws, Jays, Magpies, Treepies, Choughs and Nutcrackers. Technically they are classed as Corvids, and the largest of passerine birds. Carrion crows are medium to large in size with rictal bristles and a single moult per year (most passerines moult twice). Carrion crow was one of the many species originally described by Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (Carl Von Linne after his ennoblement) in his 1758 and 1759 editions of 'SYSTEMA NATURAE', and it still bears its original name of Corvus corone, derived from the Latin of Corvus, meaning Raven and the Greek κορώνη (korōnē), meaning crow.

  

Carrion crow are of the Animalia kingdom Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Passeriformes Family: Corvidae Genus: Corvus and Species: Corvus corone

  

Corvus corone can reach 45-47cm in length with a 93-104cm wingspan and weigh between 370-650g. They are protected under The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 in the United Kingdom with a Green UK conservation status which means they are of least concern with more than 1,000,000 territories. Breeding occurs in April with fledging of the chicks taking around twenty nine days following an incubation period of around twenty days with 3 to 4 eggs being the average norm. They are abundant in the UK apart from Northwest Scotland and Ireland where the Hooded crow (Corvus cornix) was considered the same species until 2002. They have a lifespan of around four years, whilst Crow species can live to the age of Twenty years old, and the oldest known American crow in the wild was almost Thirty years old. The oldest documented captive crow died at age Fifty nine. They are smaller and have a shorter lifespan than the Raven, which again is used as a symbol in history to live life to the full and not waste a moment!

  

They are often mistaken for the Rook (Corvus frugilegus), a similar bird, though in the UK, the Rook is actually technically smaller than the Carrion crow averaging 44-46cm in length, 81-99cm wingspan and weighing up to 340g. Rooks have white beaks compared to the black beaks of Carrion crow, a more steeply raked ratio from head to beak, and longer straighter beaks as well as a different plumage pattern. There are documented cases in the UK of singular and grouped Rooks attacking and killing Carrion crows in their territory. Rooks nest in colonies unlike Carrion crows. Carrion crows have only a few natural enemies including powerful raptors such as the northern goshawk, the peregrine falcon, the Eurasian eagle-owl and the golden eagle which will all readily hunt them.

  

Regarded as one of the most intelligent birds, indeed creatures on the planet, studies suggest that Corvids cognitive abilities can rival that of primates such as chimpanzees and gorillas and even provide clues to understanding human intelligence. Crows have relatively large brains for their body size, compared to other animals. Their encephalization quotient (EQ) a ratio of brain to body size, adjusted for size because there isn’t a linear relationship is 4.1. That is remarkably close to chimps at 4.2 whilst humans are 8.1. Corvids also have a very high neuronal density, the number of neurons per gram of brain, factoring in the number of cortical neurons, neuron packing density, interneuronal distance and axonal conduction velocity shows that Corvids score high on this measure as well, with humans scoring the highest.

  

A corvid's pallium is packed with more neurons than a great ape's. Corvids have demonstrated the ability to use a combination of mental tools such as imagination, and anticipation of future events. They can craft tools from twigs and branches to hook grubs from deep recesses, they can solve puzzles and intricate methods of gaining access to food set by humans., and have even bent pieces of wire into hooks to obtain food. They have been proven to have a higher cognitive ability level than seven year old humans. Communications wise, their repertoire of wraw-wraw's is not fully understood, but the intensity, rhythm, and duration of caws seems to form the basis of a possible language. They also remember the faces of humans who have hindered or hurt them and pass that information on to their offspring.

  

Aesop's fable of 'The Crow and the Pitcher, tells of a thirsty crow which drops stones into a water pitcher to raise the water level and enable it to take a drink. Scientists have conducted tests to see whether crows really are this intelligent. They placed floating treats in a deep tube and observed the crows indeed dropping dense objects carefully selected into the water until the treat floated within reach. They had the intelligence to pick up, weigh and discount objects that would float in the water, they also did not select ones that were too large for the container.

  

Pet crows develop a unique call for their owners, in effect actually naming them. They also know to sunbathe for a dose of vitamin D, regularly settling on wooden garden fences, opening their mouths and wings and raising their heads to the sun. In groups they warn of danger and communicate vocally. They store a cache of food for later if in abundance and are clever enough to move it if they feel it has been discovered. They leave markers for their cache. They have even learned to place walnuts and similar hard food items under car tyres at traffic lights as a means of cracking them!

  

Crows regularly gather around a dead fellow corvid, almost like a funeral, and it is thought they somehow learn from each death. They can even remember human faces for decades.Crows group together to attack larger predators and even steal their food, and they have different dialects in different areas, with the ability to mimic the dialect of the alpha males when they enter their territory!

  

They have a twenty year life span, the oldest on record reaching the age of Fifty nine. Crows can leave gifts for those who feed them such as buttons or bright shiny objects as a thank you, and they even kiss and make up after an argument, having mated for life.

  

In mythology they are associated with good and bad luck, being the bringers of omens and even witchcraft and are generally reviled for their attacks on baby birds and small mammals. They have an attack method of to stunning smaller birds before consuming them, tearing violently at smaller, less aggressive birds, which is simply down to the fact that they are so highly intelligent, and also the top of the food chain. Their diet includes over a thousand different items: Dead animals (as their name suggests), invertebrates, grain, as well as stealing eggs and chicks from other birds' nests, worms, insects, fruit, seeds, kitchen scraps. They are highly adaptable when food sources grow scarce. I absolutely love them, they are magnificent, bold, beautiful and incredibly interesting to watch and though at times it is hard to witness attacks made by them, I cannot help but adore them for so many other and more important reasons.

  

OBSERVATIONS ON THE PAIR IN MY GARDEN

  

Crows have been in the area for a while, but rarely had strayed into my garden, leaving the Magpies to own the territory. Things changed towards the end of May when a beautiful female Carrion crow appeared and began to take some of the food that I put down for the other birds. Within a few days she began to appear regularly, on occasions stocking up on food, whilst other times placing pieces in the birdbath to soften them. She would stand on the birdbath and eat and drink and come back over the course of the day to eat the softened food.

  

Shortly afterwards she brought along her mate, a tall and handsome fella, much larger than her who was also very vocal if he felt she was getting a little too close to me. By now I had moved from a seated position from the patio as an observer, to laying on a mat just five feet from the birdbath with my Nikon so that I could photograph the pair as they landed, scavenged and fed. She was now confident enough to let me be very close, and she even tolerated and recognized the clicking of the camera. At first I used silent mode to reduce the noise but this only allowed two shooting frame rates of single frame or continuous low frame which meant I was missing shots. I reverted back to normal continuous high frames and she soon got used to the whirring of the mechanisms as the mirror slapped back and forth.

  

The big fella would bark orders at her from the safety of the fence or the rear of the garden, whilst she rarely made a sound. That was until one day when in the sweltering heat she kept opening her beak and sunning on the grass, panting slightly in the heat. I placed the circular water sprayer nearby and had it rotating so that the birdbath and grass was bathed in gentle water droplets and she soon came back, landed and seemed to really like the cooling effect on offer. She then climbed onto the birdbath and opened her wings slightly and made some gentle purring, cooing noises....

  

I swear she was expressing happiness, joy....

  

On another blisteringly hot day when the sprayer was on, she came down, walked towards it and opened her wings up running into the water spray. Not once, but many times.

  

A further revelation into the unseen sides to these beautiful birds came with the male and female on the rear garden fence. They sat together, locked beaks like a kiss and then the male took his time gently preening her head feathers and the back of her neck as she made tiny happy sounds. They stayed together like that for several minutes, showing a gentle, softer side to their nature and demonstrating the deep bond between them. Into July and the pair started to bring their three youngsters to my garden, the nippers learning to use the birdbath for bathing and dipping food, the parents attentive as ever. Two of the youngsters headed off once large enough and strong enough.

  

I was privileged to be in close attendance as the last juvenile was brought down by the pair, taught to take food and then on a night in July, to soar and fly with it's mother in the evening sky as the light faded. She would swoop and twirl, and at regular intervals just touch the juvenile in flight with her wing tip feathers, as if to reassure it that she was close in attendance. What an amazing experience to view. A few days later, the juvenile, though now gaining independence and more than capable of tackling food scraps in the garden, was still on occasions demand feeding from it's mother who was now teaching him to take chicken breast, hotdogs or digestive biscuits and bury them in the garden beds for later delectation. The juvenile also liked to gather up peanuts and bury them in the grass. On one occasion I witnessed a pair of rumbunctious Pica Pica (Magpies), chasing the young crow on rooftops, leaping at him no matter how hard he tried to get away. He defended himself well and survived the attacks, much to my relief.

  

Into August and the last youngster remained with the adults, though now was very independent even though he still spent time with his parents on rooftops, and shared food gathering duties with his mum.Hotdog sausages were their favourite choice, followed by fish fingers and digestive biscuits which the adult male would gather up three at a time. In October, the three Crows were still kings of the area, but my time observing them was pretty much over as I will only put food out now for the birds in the winter months. The two adults are still here in December and now taking the food that I put out to help all birds survive in the winter months. They also have a pair of Magpies to compete with now.

Late February 2022 and Cheryl and Russell and their youngster are still with me, still dominant in the area and still taking raw chicken, hotdogs, biscuits and fatballs that I put out for them. Today I saw them mating for the first time this year in the tree and the cycle continues.

  

Corvus Corone.... magnificently misunderstood by some!

  

Paul Williams June 4th 2021 (Updated in April 2022)

  

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Nikon D850 Focal length 500mm Shutter speed: 1/200s Electronic front-curtain enabled Aperture f/7.1 iso320 Hand held with Tamron VC Vibration control set to ON in position 1 14 Bit uncompressed RAW NEF file size L (8256 x 5504 pixels) FX (36 x 24) Focus mode: AF-C AF-Area mode: 3D-tracking AF-C Priority Selection: Release. Nikon Back button focusing enabled 3D Tracking watch area: Normal 55 Tracking points Exposure mode: Manual exposure mode Metering mode: Matrix metering White balance on: Auto1, 0, 0 (4680k) Colour space: RGB Picture control: Neutral (Sharpening +2)

  

Tamron SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2. Nikon GP-1 GPS module. Lee SW150 MKII filter holder. Lee SW150 95mm screw in adapter ring. Lee SW150 circular polariser glass filter.Lee SW150 Filters field pouch. Hoodman HEYENRG round eyepiece oversized eyecup.Mcoplus professional MB-D850 multi function battery grip 6960.Two Nikon EN-EL15a batteries (Priority to battery in Battery grip). Black Rapid Curve Breathe strap. My Memory 128GB Class 10 SDXC 80MB/s card. Lowepro Flipside 400 AW camera bag.

     

LATITUDE: N 51d 28m 27.97s

LONGITUDE: E 0d 8m 10.51s

ALTITUDE: 48.00m

  

RAW (TIFF) FILE: 130.00MB NEF FILE: 90.9MB

PROCESSED (JPeg) FILE: 53.60MB

      

PROCESSING POWER:

  

Nikon D850 Firmware versions C 1.10 (9/05/2019) LD Distortion Data 2.018 (18/02/20) LF 1.00

  

HP 110-352na Desktop PC with AMD Quad-Core A6-5200 APU 64Bit processor. Radeon HD8400 graphics. 8 GB DDR3 Memory with 1TB Data storage. 64-bit Windows 10. Verbatim USB 2.0 1TB desktop hard drive. WD My Passport Ultra 1tb USB3 Portable hard drive. Nikon ViewNX-1 64bit Version 1.4.1 (18/02/2020). Nikon Capture NX-D 64bit Version 1.6.2 (18/02/2020). Nikon Picture Control Utility 2 (Version 2.4.5 (18/02/2020). Nikon Transfer 2 Version 2.13.5. Adobe photoshop Elements 8 Version 8.0 64bit.

   

Aankomst in Rotterdam van het containerschip EVER GIVEN , VB TIGER , ROTTERDAM , SD STINGRAY en RT ROB van Boluda Towage assisteerden naar de ECT in de Amazonehaven.29-7-2021 gezien vanaf de KRVE 71

given a chance to meet the virgin of la naval face to face before she was brought out of her side altar room, in Sto. Doming Church QC.

My wife was given a Bush portable radio for her twenty-first birthday by her father. (This was several months before I knew her.)

In the late evening, we would listen to Radio Luxembourg on it. It finally packed up and was thrown away.

Years later, Bush produced a replica, so I bought one for my wife … but we no longer listened to the latest pop records on it.

 

The hereios of the We're Here! group have paid a visit to the Radio heads group today 😜

 

Stuck for an idea for your daily 365 shot? Join the hereios of the We're Here! group for inspiration.

Aurelio (Martinez) from Honduras, performing in the Siam Tent at WOMAD on Saturday.

 

You can see my WOMAD 2015 shots here: WOMAD 2015

 

You can see my WOMAD 2014 shots here: WOMAD 2014

 

You can see my WOMAD 2013 shots here: WOMAD 2013

 

You can see my WOMAD 2012 shots here: WOMAD 2012

 

You can see my WOMAD 2011 shots here: WOMAD 2011

 

You can see my WOMAD 2010 shots here: WOMAD 2010

 

You can see my WOMAD 2009 shots here: WOMAD 2009

 

My thanks are due to Dee McCourt of Borkowski PR for arranging my photo pass.

This weekend, I was very generously given 626 assorted rolls of 35mm, 110, 120, and 220 roll film, some APS canisters, and 3 bulk rolls (100ft) of slide film. If this wasn't all expired stuff, this would easily top the $2000 range.

 

Some of the more interesting films in the lot included:

Kodak: Vericolor, Hi Speed Infrared, 'Recording Film', Pantomic X (ISO 32!!), Pro400MC, Tri-X Pan 400, Technical Pan, Plus X Pan 125, and Kodacolor VR 1000.

 

Fuji: Pre-Velvia Fujichrome (50, 100, 400, and 1600), Fujicolor 1600 Super HG, Neopan SS, NPH 400

 

I spent some time picking out the interesting 35mm cannisters and photographing them. Please do check out my blog for more photos of this incredible haul.

 

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©All photographs on this site are copyright: DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams) 2011 – 2020 & GETTY IMAGES ®

  

No license is given nor granted in respect of the use of any copyrighted material on this site other than with the express written agreement of DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams) ©

  

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I would like to say a huge and heartfelt 'THANK YOU' to GETTY IMAGES, and the 36.707+ Million visitors to my FLICKR site.

  

***** Selected for sale in the GETTY IMAGES COLLECTION on July 28th 2020

  

CREATIVE RF gty.im/1259925211 MOMENT ROYALTY FREE COLLECTION**

  

This photograph became my 4,480th frame to be selected for sale in the Getty Images collection and I am very grateful to them for this wonderful opportunity.

  

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Photograph taken at an altitude of Fifty three metres, at 16:01pm on Monday July 29th 2019, off Chessington Avenue in Bexleyheath, Kent, England.

  

Here we see a Sphinx ligustri (Prepupating Privet Hawkmoth caterpillar), which is searching for a place to pupate in the soil. It will become a Privet Hawk-moth which is the United Kingdoms largest resident Hawk-moth. In Larva form it is seen between July and September, a beautiful bright green caterpillar with purple and white stripes and a distinctive curved yellow and black tail.

  

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Nikon D850 Focal length 300mm Shutter speed 1/100s Aperture f/13.0 iso640 RAW (14 bit uncompressed) Image size L 8256 x 5504 FX). Hand held with Nikkor VR Vibration (Normal) selected . Colour space Adobe RGB. Nikon Back button focusing enabled. Focus mode AF-C focus 51 point with 3-D tracking. AF Area mode single. Exposure mode - Manual exposure. Matrix metering. ISO Sensitivity: Manually set. Nikon Distortion control on. Vignette control Normal. Active D-lighting on Automatic. High ISO Noise Reduction: On. Picture control: Auto with Sharpening A+1.00.

  

Nikkor AF-P 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6E. Lee SW150 MKII filter holder. Lee SW150Con adapter for Lee 100 rings.Lee 100 67mm screw in adapter ring. Lee SW150 0.9 (3 stops) soft ND Grad resin filter. Lee SW150 Filters field pouch. Nikon EN-EL15a battery. Matin quick release neckstrap. My Memory 128GB Class 10 SDXC 80MB/s card. Lowepro Flipside 400 AW camera bag. Nikon GP-1 GPS module.

  

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LATITUDE: N 51d 28m 28.20s

LONGITUDE: E 0d 8m 10.50s

ALTITUDE: 53.0m

  

RAW (TIFF) FILE: 130.0MB NEF: 94.8MB

PROCESSED (JPeg) FILE: 34.80MB

  

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PROCESSING POWER:

 

Nikon D850 Firmware versions C 1.10 (9/05/2019) LD Distortion Data 2.017 (20/3/18) LF 1.00

 

HP 110-352na Desktop PC with AMD Quad-Core A6-5200 APU 64Bit processor. Radeon HD8400 graphics. 8 GB DDR3 Memory with 1TB Data storage. 64-bit Windows 10. Verbatim USB 2.0 1TB desktop hard drive. WD My Passport Ultra 1tb USB3 Portable hard drive. Nikon ViewNX-1 64bit (Version 1.2.11 15/03/2018). Nikon Capture NX-D 64bit (Version 1.4.7 15/03/2018). Nikon Picture Control Utility 2 (Version 1.3.2 15/03/2018). Adobe photoshop Elements 8 Version 8.0 64bit.

   

So, I have given a lot of thought to this whole Street Photography pursuit and I think I am going to stick with it. Granted, I dont see the improvements coming as fast and steady as I had hoped (even with what I consider reasonably low expectations) and likely I will never be as good as the people I respect, or as popular as the people I loath, I still get excited every time I unload a roll of film from my camera, and I still get a feeling of anticipation every time I load a new roll in. What I think I need to do is start printing, showing, and (gag) socializing in this community. Maybe even learn proper PP skills. All things are possible. Life is an open book.