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how many daffodils comprise a host I wonder?
"For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils"
William Wordsworth - 1804
Sun today.
We seem to have luck with the weather right now, the sun is already here.
Tuesday is expected to be most sunny throughout Västra Götaland and the temperature rises to between 6 and 7 degrees Celsius. Take advantage of already during the night of Wednesday, it becomes wetter again, and in the morning is overcast, cold weather again.
Frente al hostal del Espitau de Vielha se encuentran el establo y el almacén donde se guardaban animales y mercancías de los viajeros alojados en el refugio.
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Vielha, Lleida.
Un paseo... una foto.
Me había olvidado totalmente del magnífico espectáculo del cielo, al atardecer, sobre Santiago.
Ésta es la terraza que, en verano, el Hostal de los Reyes Católicos de Santiago, usa para poner mesas y poderse tomar un café o un refresco. Pero ahora, en el invierno, está como se ve en la foto.
Y es un magnífico lugar para observar las puestas de sol.
Un detalle curioso, que probablemente ya sabréis, es el referente a la iglesia de San Fructuoso, que se ve a la izquierda.
Fijándose uno, un poquito, se pueden ver los "cuatro reyes o las cuatro sotas" de la baraja española: de izquierda a derecha, el rey de bastos, el rey de oros, el rey de espadas y el rey de copas"
En realidad, representan a las cuatro virtudes cardinales: Prudencia, Justicia, Fortaleza y Templanza.
IN ENGLISH BELOW THE LINE
La platja de S'Agaró, amb el famós Hostal de la Gavina al fons, a principis dels anys 60 del s. XX (diapositiva del meu avi).
La tardor del 2025, remenant per les golfes, vaig trobar unes bosses amb quelcom que havia perdut de vista feia anys i em feia molta il·lusió tornar a trobar: centenars de diapositives del meu avi matern. Unes 1500 aproximadament! Sabia que existien perque les recordava de quan varem buidar la casa de la meva avia quan va morir, el 2005. El meu avi ja havia mort a principis dels anys 80. Son diapositives en color, molt ben conservades (majoritariament Kodakchrome, crec).
Tot i que una part no tenen cap data, la majoria tenen el més i l'any del revelat estampats al marquet, element molt util per a classificar-les: van del 1965 al 1982. Crec que les sense data son lògicament anteriors, probablement de principis dels anys 60. També tinc força clar que foren fetes amb la càmera Voigtlander Vito BL que tenia el meu avi, que encara conserva un familiar (i que encara funciona perfectament i he fet fotos amb ella i tot!). La Vito BL es fabricà entre 1956 i 1958, pel que el meu avi la deuria comprar a finals dels anys 50 o principis dels 60.
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The beach of S'Agaró (in the Costa Brava), with the famous Hostal de la Gavina (a luxury hotel) in the background, in the early 1960s (slide taken by my grandfather).
In the fall of 2025, rummaging through my mother's attic, I found some bags with something I had lost sight of for years and was very excited to find again: hundreds of slides from my maternal grandfather. About 1500 or so! I knew they existed because I remembered them from when we emptied my grandmother's house when she died, in 2005. My grandfather had already died in the early 80s. They are color slides, very well preserved (mostly Kodakchrome, I think).
Although some of them have no date, most have the month and year of development stamped on the frame, a very useful element for classifying them: they range from 1965 to 1982. I think that the ones without a date are logically earlier, probably from the early 60s. I am also quite sure that they were taken with the Voigtlander Vito BL camera that my grandfather had, which a relative still has (and which still works perfectly and I have taken photos with it and everything!). The Vito BL was manufactured between 1956 and 1958, so my grandfather must have bought it in the late 50s or early 60s.
As it was the season for ‘The Holly and Ivy’ I decided to explore some of the Ivy in Tiddesley wood, a Worcestershire Wildlife Trust reserve. I really liked the trails of Ivy vines that surrounded this host tree.
Such an amazing night, and we raised almost 60k linden for Don't Be a Monster! Come see us and all our amazing designers today!
Autumn - Höst bliss at Kvarnbacken in Mårdsjön, Jämtland, Sweden.
I love seasons and the autumn is special with its colours, the crisp and clear air in the mornings.
What is your Autumn or season feelings?
The latest on Instagram:
Photo and video credit: Lars Ling
All rights reserved (c) copyright
Our AirBnB host had slipped a page into the guest book saying "My favorite place to stargaze in the desert is a plot of land out in the middle of Wonder Valley. I call it the Star Box. It's far from light pollution and you'll be all alone out there. Venmo $25 for access to the land. I do not take responsibility for nails or glass in tires. Arrive before sunset or you'll never find the place." The tire thing worried us, but we paid up, got the coords, and checked it out in daylight - soft sand road, but seemed fine. It was indeed magical - I hadn't seen a sky this big before - free of obstructions in every direction, ringed by distant mountains all the way around, a totally enveloping experience. I'd expected the temps to drop with nightfall, but a warm wind persisted. We ate pizza and watched the North Star appear, then watched as cosmos lit up. The downside of the location for astro photography is that there were no landmarks, so there's nothing to include (skies with stars and nothing else are boring). But we had fun doing some light painting in the desert while we waited for the full star show. Amazing evening.
Holy Relic of St. Michael the Archangel, Prince of the Heavenly Host.
Ex Crypta Apparitionis or Piece of Stone from the Cave of Mount Gargano in Italy, where St. Michael the Archangel appeared. The Cave is now a Sanctuary dedicated to the Prince of the Heavenly Host and is one of the most famous pilgrimage sites in Italy and Europe.
Feast Day: September 29
The Sanctuary of Monte Sant'Angelo sul Gargano, sometimes called simply Monte Gargano, is a Catholic sanctuary on Mount Gargano, Italy, part of the commune of Monte Sant'Angelo, in the province of Foggia, northern Apulia.
It is the oldest shrine in Western Europe dedicated to the archangel Michael and has been an important pilgrimage site since the middle ages. The historic site and its environs are protected by the Parco Nazionale del Gargano.
The legend of the Archangel's apparition at Gargano is related in the Roman Breviary for May 8, as well as in the Golden Legend (Legenda Aurea), the compendium of Christian mythology compiled by Jacobus de Voragine between 1260-1275.
According to this legend, around the year 490 the Archangel Michael appeared several times to the Bishop of Sipontum near a cave, asking that the cave be dedicated to Christian worship and promising protection of the nearby town of Sipontum from pagan invaders. These were the first apparitions of Michael in Western Europe.
Pope Gelasius I (reigned 492-496) directed that a basilica be erected enclosing the space. The Basilica di San Giovanni in Tumba is the final resting-place of the Lombard king Rothari (died 652); the designation "tumba" is now applied to the cupola on squinches.
To Michael's dramatic later intercession, appearing with flaming sword atop the mountain, in the midst of a storm on the eve of the battle, the Lombards of Sipontum attributed their victory (May 8, 663) over the Greeks loyal to the Byzantine emperor, and so, in commemoration of this victory, the church of Sipontum instituted a special feast honoring the Archangel, on May 8, which then spread throughout the Catholic Church. Since the time of Pius V it has been formalized as Apparitio S. Michaelis although it originally did not commemorate the apparition, but the victory of the barbarian Lombards over the Orthodox Greeks.
The complex of buildings consists of the Battistero di San Giovanni in Tumba, damaged in 1942, and the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore. The baptistery presents a rectangular storey on which rests an octagon supporting an elliptical section and a high drum that supports the cupola. The church erected in the eleventh century by Archbishop Leone stands upon the remains of an ancient necropolis. A few remnants attest to its once-rich fresco decoration.
The Castello was enlarged by the Normans upon an episcopal residence of Orso, Bishop of Benevento, to provide a suitable seat for the Honor Montis Sancti Angeli, further modified by Frederick II. The massive, octagonal campanile was built in the late 13th century by Frederick II as a watchtower. It was turned into a bell tower by Charles I of Anjou.
Behind a forecourt the sanctuary presents a portico of two Gothic arches, the right one of 1395 by the local architect Simone, the left one a reconstruction of 1865. From the portico steps lead down to the low arched nave. The cavern can be accessed from a Romanesque portal, called the Portale del Toro ("Gate of the Bull"): the doors, in bronze, were made in Constantinople in 1076, the donation of an Amalfitan noble. They are divided in 24 panels portraying episodes of angels from the Old and New Testaments.
The archaic cavern opening to the left, with its holy well, is full of votive offerings, especially the 12th century marble bishop's throne supported on crouching lions. Among the ex voto objects is a statue of the Archangel by Andrea Sansovino.
During centuries, millions of pilgrims went to Monte Sant'Angelo in order to visit the “Celestial Basilica”. Among the pilgrims who visited the Saint Michael Archangel Sanctuary were many popes (Gelasius I, Leo IX, Urban II, Alexander III, Gregory X, Celestine V, John XXIII as Cardinal, John Paul II), saints (Bridget of Sweden, Bernard of Clairvaux, Thomas Aquinas) emperors, kings and princes (Louis II of Italy, Otto III, Henry II, Matilda of Tuscany, Charles I of Naples, Ferdinand II of Aragon).
Also Francis of Assisi went to visit the Sanctuary, but feeling himself unworthy to enter the grotto, he stopped in prayer and meditation at the entrance, kissed and carved on a stone the sign of the cross in the form of “T” (tau).
Since 13 July 1996, the pastoral care of Saint Michael Archangel Sanctuary has been given to the Congregation of Saint Michael the Archangel.
ACT OF CONSECRATION
Oh, most Noble Prince
of the Angelic Hierarchies,
valorous warrior of Almighty God,
and zealous lover of His glory,
terror of the rebellious angels,
and love and delight of all the just,
my beloved Archangel Saint Michael,
desiring to be numbered among your
devoted servants,
I, today offer and consecrate myself to you,
and place myself, my family and all I possess
under your most powerful protection.
I entreat you not to look at how little I,
as your servant have to offer,
being only a wretched sinner,
but to gaze rather with favourable
eye at the heartfelt affection
with which this offering is made,
and remember that it from this day
onward I am under your patronage,
you must during all my life assist me,
and procure for me
the pardon of my many grievous
offences and sins,
the grace to love with all my heart my God,
my dear Saviour Jesus,
and my Sweet Mother Mary,
and obtain for me all the help necessary
to arrive to my crown of glory.
Defend me always
from my spiritual enemies,
particularly in the last moments of my life.
Come then oh glorious Prince
and succour me in my last struggle,
and with your powerful weapon
cast far from me
into the infernal abysses that prevaricator
and proud angel that one day you prostrated
in the celestial battle.
Accompany me then to the throne of God
to sing with you, Archangel Saint Michael
and all the Angels, praise, honour and glory
to the One who reigns for all eternity.
Amen.