A rather relaxing scene to an otherwise wonderful and eventful weekend!! Along Forest Road 52, in lonesome Lewis County's Cascades region, this unnamed creek simply flowed freely for all to bask in its immediate glory.

Photo captured via Minolta Maxxum AF Zoom 28-85mm F/3.5-4.5 Lens. Western Cascades Lowlands and Valleys section within the Cascades Range. Gifford Pinchot National Forest. Lewis County, Washington. Late October 2022.

Exposure Time: 2 sec. * ISO Speed: ISO-100 * Aperture: F/22 * Bracketing: None * Color Temperature: 5350 K * Film Emulation: Dark Woods 10

Sometimes you pick the horse but in rare and exceptional instances, the horse picks you. 8 years ago, I drove out to west Texas to buy my first horse and when I walked up to the 1 year old stallion pasture, I was greeted by over 20 stallions ranging in a variety of colors and temperaments. I didn't know much about horses at this point but I knew I wanted a horse that would be a good companion and train easily. Well, this cinnamon boy walks straight up to me, lowers his head, and gently presses his face against my torso. I of course melt into a puddle while I stroke his face, and when I was done I walked away. The sea of stallions were moving around us and the owners while we walked but the same horse continued to follow close behind. When I stopped, he stopped. When I walked, he walked. That's when I decided he's the one. He picked me. I kindly said to him "I guess I'm your huckleberry..." and it stuck-- I named him Huck. He was a quick learner in ground work, and didn't buck once under saddle while he was being trained with rider weight. He has been the perfect first horse for this city girl and I love him so.

Huck - Red Roan - 9 years old

The breeder's site: www.mahorses.com

Semipalmated Sandpiper has a Conservation Status under the IUCN of Near Threatened www.iucnredlist.org/species/22693373/93400702

Even among the smallest birds, there can be territorial interactions between members of a species. In this instance, it was Semipalmated Sandpiper — average weight 25 grams (less than an ounce). These two individuals were feeding on a small mudflat at Tyrell Lake in southern Alberta, Canada, en route to breeding much further north. Such a long migration requires sufficient fuel, over which there can be competition.

This was one of those instances when I was out to shoot the sunset, but it wasn't very special. Turning to my left (south) however, the clouds were lit up like they were on fire.

The peaks in the foreground, from left to right, are Eagle Mtn, Buck Knob and Bell Knob. Centered in the rear is the valley of the upper Hiwassee River. On the horizon to the right, above Bell Knob, is Georgia's tallest mountain, Brasstown Bald. If you look real close you can see the visitor center tower at the summit.

I love walking in woods in summer, enveloped by the green canopy like a cocoon but with sparkles of sky and cloud, all the while aware of a slow-living seemingly ageless, benign presence surrounding me…

Capturing that in an image is another matter…

This is another attempt at taking a photograph about something rather than of something… the feeling of trees in summer in this instance…

(One of these days I shall run out of ellipses ;) )

This is for Crazy Tuesday and the theme Looking up. You can imagine me lying on the ground taking this.

You’d be wrong of course - I wouldn’t recommend ever doing that - eventually the man-eating ants will find you and all that will be left for others to discover will be your camera and your water bottle. A sad end….

Thank you for taking the time to look. I hope you enjoy the image. Happy Craziness :)

Many industries in the modern era still receive single car shipments. Take for instance Wegner Feeds in Martinsburg, PA. The Everett railroad can come to them daily or as needed with just a single car of material for making dairy, swine and poultry feeds. The crew will leave the rear car on spot and take the remaining two cars with them to Cargill, just up the road.

From the 50501 protest in Denver, Colorado. The U.S. flag code (which is not legally enforceable, BTW), specifically says that the flag is not to be inverted “except as a signal of dire distress in instance of extreme danger to life or property.” I think what's currently going on in America certainly qualifies.

© Web-Betty: digital heart, analog soul

This waterfall is created when the ocean waves during high tide rise up from the rock channels below and crash against these rocks. They are gone in an instance.

Autumn colours at the Sir Thomas Phillips Weir in the Roe Valley Country Park, Limavady, Northern Ireland.

The two best known instances of water power being exploited in the Roe are seen in the installation of Ireland’s first hydro-electric turbine in 1896 and the use of water for the flourishing flax industry in both the 17th and 18th centuries.

However, the earliest known use of power from the red river can be traced to a much earlier date. While it has long been known that the Norman invaders of the 12th Century made use of water power from the Roe, it has been suggested by recent archaeological evidence that the monks who lived in the area made use of sophisticated water mills before any Norman French had set foot in Ireland.

The next known use of the river for power comes from the modernising English soldier, Sir Thomas Phillips. Phillips was a professional soldier, who has left a significant mark on the town of Limavady, with some commentators suggesting that without his vigour and zeal, the town as we know it might today be nothing more than another small village.

Phillips was one of the leading figures in the plantation of Ulster, serving the Crown through warfare as a ‘servitor’ and also as chief advisor to the Crown on the plantation of County Londonderry.

Phillips was granted some 3,500 acres in the Roe Valley, in addition to 500 in Castledawson, which he described as “the horsepond of Limavady” and the “cabbage patch of Castledawson.”

He did, however, immediately set about making improvements to his new territory. He extended and repaired the O’Cahan Castle and dug out a surrounding ditch.

Other works included a ‘pleasure garden’, a fish-pond, an orchard, a ‘malt house’ for brewing beer as well as a host of embattlements.

It was Phillips who built what remains today of a ‘weir’ in the Roe, having constructed a water mill and a mile long race. It has been suggested, however, that the race was more likely a renovated version of the old race built by the Normans for their own mill centuries earlier.

An interesting fact about Sir Thomas Phillips reveals him as the man who applied for the licence for the brewery at Bushmills, which still produces world-famous whiskey to this day.

It wasn’t until the development of the linen industry, however, that the Roe was to be fully exploited. The Roe Valley was an ideal location for the process of linen production, commonplace throughout Ireland on a large scale from the late 17th Century onwards.

www.facebook.com/Neil.Moroney.Photography

SG50 National Day Parade, Singapore 国庆——新加坡

What is SG50? Well, it represents the little red dot that we’ve come to know as home. The logo celebrates the Singaporean spirit – signifying that our dreams are not limited by the physical size of our island nation.

Well in this instance , recycling !! Shot taken for Saturday Self Challenge 04/01/25 -- Seasonal !!

So here we are with a random shot of a recycling bin left out for the dustman after the Christmas festivities and obviously a seasonal bi-product is the amount of rubbish and recycling that is generated by many - next week it will be proper rubbish to be collected and I wonder how full to overflowing the black bins will be . I am glad to say as a rule my green bin is usually full but not overflowing and the black bin is usually no more than two thirds full or less . I did note this year that most folk left their bins out on the usual day only for it not to be collected !! There is always an alteration to collection times this time of the year so that the bin men get time off for the bank holidays !!

So for our music this week , it has to be a track from an album called " Recycler " !

First the electric version , then the wooden version from the film and then ZZ Top talking about playing on the film !!

youtu.be/y9zw_79tlgM?feature=shared

youtu.be/RofU48nw80E?feature=shared

youtu.be/R7laKmiUGho?feature=shared

Epidote shelf 1 of 2.

Well developed crystals of epidote, Ca2Al2(Fe3+;Al)(SiO4)(Si2O7)O(OH), crystallizing in the monoclinic system, are of frequent occurrence: they are commonly prismatic in habit, the direction of elongation being perpendicular to the single plane of symmetry. The faces are often deeply striated and crystals are often twinned. Many of the characters of the mineral vary with the amount of iron present for instance, the color, the optical constants, and the specific gravity. The color is green, grey, brown or nearly black, but usually a characteristic shade of yellowish-green or pistachio-green. It displays strong pleochroism, the pleochroic colors being usually green, yellow and brown. Clinozoisite is green, white or pale rose-red group species containing very little iron, thus having the same chemical composition as the orthorhombic mineral zoisite. The name, due to Haüy, is derived from the Greek word "epidosis" (ἐπίδοσις) which means "addition" in allusion to one side of the ideal prism being longer than the other.

Version 2

In this instance, the background artwork (a pen & ink & watercolor rendering) is licensed to yours truly. No attribution is necessary or required.

Btw- folks, I am heading in a new direction with my artwork but at this juncture, I am not divulging "the direction" until I get fully established. I will say only that a recent development in my hobby (slash) digital artist aspirations has opened a new and exciting horizon which I intend to pursue (God willing). No, I will not be abandoning flickr..........unless flickr abandons me.

Hope you enjoy...............

The Mottled Duck breeds from Texas to Florida, introduced to South Carolina coast. Non-migratory, year-round resident of coastal marshes, both freshwater and estuarine. In a few instances, I have even seen them on the ocean taking the little ones for swimming lessons.

“We Slytherins are brave, yes, but not stupid. For instance, given the choice, we will always choose to save our own necks.”

― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Harry Potter Theme Song

Video

Credits:

Head: LeL EvoX

Body: Maitreya Lara

Hair: DOUX

Ears: L'Etre

Tailcoat: Hotdog

Trousers/Boots: [ContraptioN]

Wand: [ContraptioN]

Shako: *LG*

Made at Mischief Managed www.mischiefmanagedsl.net Sim:

BG: Hogwarts 5th Floor

Teleport

Photo of Nason Creek captured via Minolta Maxxum AF 16mm Fish-Eye F/2.8 Lens. Washington's Central Cascades Range. Wenatchee/Chelan Highlands section within the North Cascades Region. Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest. Chelan County, Washington. Late October 2021.

Exposure Time: 1/5 sec. * ISO Speed: ISO-100 * Aperture: F/22 * Bracketing: None * Color Temperature: 4650 K * Plug-In: Vibrant Fall - Lou & Marks * Elevation: 2,067 feet above sea-level

- John Burroughs.

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While I sometimes struggle to emphasize the actual size of massive trees like the Redwoods and Sequoias, I also struggle to include humans or human-made things in my pictures. While at the redwood groves, there were a few instances where I had people walking through my frame, and instead of taking the picture with them, I instinctively waited until they passed to take the image. After the week, I only had about five pictures where I intentionally included people in my shot. So I guess the struggle will stay on for a while. Today's shot is an image of a massive Redwood I took at the Drury-Chaney trail. While composing this image, I noticed my wife admiring the tree and how her being in the frame conveyed size so well. She was initially standing to my left in the same pose but out of the frame. After I composed the image, I asked her to change position and to recreate the pose. Thankfully she was in the mood to oblige, and I got this amazing picture out of it. One thing that surprised me about this image was the size of the ferns, and I didn’t think they were that big until I started to look at the photos.

Another one of my currently being organised archives: an instance of an exceptionally beautiful Scottish west coast sunset as seen from Connel Bridge. The turbulence in in the water are what is called the Falls of Lora, which are generated when the water level in the Firth of Lorn (i.e. the open sea) drops below the level of the water in Loch Etive as the tide goes out. As the seawater in Loch Etive pours out through the narrow mouth of the loch, it passes over a rocky shelf which causes the rapids to form. As the tide rises again there is a period of slack water when the levels are the same on either side. However, due to the narrow entrance to the Loch, the tide rises more quickly than the water can flow into the Loch. Thus there is still considerable turbulence at high tide caused by flow into the Loch. Thus, unlike most situations where slack water is at high and low tides, in the case of the Falls of Lora slack water occurs when the levels on either side are the same, not when the tidal change is at its least. As a result, the tidal range is much greater on the coast than it is inside the loch. A 3 metres (9.8 ft) range at Oban may produce only a 1.3 metres (4.3 ft) at Bonawe on the loch shore.

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This was one of the rare instances in my birding and photography experience where a species was completely unexpected (by me, not by others) and it showed upright before sunrise on the cliffs by Prince Edward Point. I was prepared for the spring migration of brightly-coloured Warblers to begin; not for some tardy bird from the North to be heading home for summer. Instead of songbirds filling the morning air with their noisy and tuneful interactions, we found the species that doesn’t have a song.

But like the other migrants, she just flew in from down south and boy were her arms tired! The morning was awash in small insects of varying types, and this bird was cleaning up everything she could find. She was gone in twenty minutes, moving on northward.

Because I have had most of my experience with the species in Algonquin Park or in a small corner of a forest southeast of Ottawa, always in the winter and always on its coldest days, it was also quite striking to see one in the spring sunshine.

The valley of the ten peaks is a lovely stroll through Alpine forest, that ends at lake Eiffel. The immense grandeur of the canadian rockies can in most instances only be caught by panoramas, and this one was made with my wide angle. The little lake on the left is btw not Lake Eifel, but lake Moraine, another miracle of emerald color in Banff NP.(NB this picture can be viewed best enlarged).

From 11 june till the 25th of July, I traveled in Canada. Starting in Brighton Ontario, where my sister lives at the border of an amazing part of lake Ontario, I flew to Vancouver, and Vancouver island where I took the boat at Port Hardy to take part 1 of the Inside passage, to Prince Rupert in BC. Two days later I took part 2 to Skagway in Alaska. When coming from Skagway Alaska, you can take the train to Carcross. it is a very scenic train ride that halts at Bennet lake.

And then to Whitehorse and further on by car to Kluane National park in the Yukon district. Whitehorse is situated at the border of the Yukon. Frow there I flew back to Vancouver, rented a car, and traveled three weeks in the BC- and Alberta Rockies, visiting the famous, and less famous Nature parks like Banff and Jasper. Last few days back to Brighton Ontario to enjoy lake Ontario once more, before going home. A picture of my itinerary can be found on Facebook (www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152940536581759&set...).

4000 pictures later, it is quite a task to show the right stuff, although the stunning scenery guarantees at least a few great shots to share. Objective will be to make a book (for myself mainly), and that might take a while.

I hope you will enjoy the impression of my travel, one that equals earlier journeys to Alaska and south America, this journey was the first in the digital era, and equally intensive because of all the hiking activities every day on and on. I loved every minute of it.

The Samanid mausoleum is located in the historical urban nucleus of the city of Bukhara, in a park laid out on the site of an ancient cemetery. This mausoleum, one of the most esteemed sights of Central Asian architecture, was built in the 9th (10th) century (between 892 and 943) as the resting-place of Ismail Samani - a powerful and influential amir of the Samanid dynasty, one of the Persian dynasty to rule in Central Asia, which held the city in the 9th and 10th centuries. Although in the first instance the Samanids were Governors of Khorasan and Transoxiana under the suzerainty of the Abbasid Caliphate, the dynasty soon established virtual independence from Baghdad.

For many years the lower part of the mausoleum remained under a two-meter high layer of sediment. Now the foundation has been cleared of these obstacles and the mausoleum, fully restored, is open for observation from all sides as was initially planned by the builders.

The monument marks a new era in the development of Central Asian architecture, which was revived after the Arab conquest of the region. The architects continued to use an ancient tradition of baked brick construction, but to a much higher standard than had been seen before. The construction and artistic details of the brickwork (see picture), are still enormously impressive, and display traditional features dating back to pre-Islamic culture.

I know, with all the getting lost etc., we seem to have been heading to Jandowae for ages! This small former railway town at the end of its own branch line north west of Dalby, Queensland is in the middle of a grain growing and agricultural district. But like other towns (Bell for instance) changes to transportation meant the town lost its railway branch line that was used in latter days for bulk grain back in June 2013. Not all that long ago.

It's easy to sniff out the former railway station and yard as some infrastructure like this old crane still exists and it's all basically in the middle of town. The cranes, back in the day would have had adjacent sidings and used for loading wagons with general goods and dairy products and maybe bales of wool or bags of wheat before methods changed to bulk loads (see link below). The old crane sits as a silent sentinel to what was the normal way of life in country Australia and in fact, around the world back before bulk took on.

Jandowae has managed to retain an ex Queensland Railways steam locomotive of Class C17 and it can be found at the local caravan park.

Read about the closed branch line here

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jandowae_railway_line

This heron just seems to take a little breather from a hectic day...

Click the image to view it large.

Have a pleasant day, everyone...

another instance of that station building in Vienna which I found so Scifiesque

Da die neue Bauteihe 249 immer mehr Leistungen übernimmt, verschwinden die Loks der Baureihe 298 nach und nach. Groß war die Freude deswegen am 24. Februar 2025 als die 298 310 mit ein paar Wagen von Hennigsdorf nach Seddin fuhr. Südlich von Golm lauerte ich den Zug auf und konnte dieses Bild machen.

De nieuwe DB locs uit de serie 249 worden steeds meer ingezet. Als gefolg hiervan verdwijnen de oudere locs steeds meer van de Duitse sporen. Groot was de vreugde daarom op 24 februari 2025 toen de 298 310 een slag van Seddin naar Hennigsdorf en terug reed. Op de foto is de loc met een drietal wagons op weg terug naar Seddin was (hier iets ten zuiden van Golm).

More and more freight trains are being hauled by new DB class 249 engines. This means, that it is getting rarer to see one of the older engines (like for instance class 298 engines).

On February 24th, luckily engine 298 310 was tasked with bringing a short train from Hennigsdorf to Seddin (seen here near Golm).

“Nobody of any real culture, for instance, ever talks nowadays about the beauty of sunset. Sunsets are quite old fashioned. To admire them is a distinct sign of provincialism of temperament. Upon the other hand they go on.”

Oscar Wilde

Not everywhere in Iceland met with our universal approval. While some places brought a pleasant surprise, there were others that found us harrumphing noisily as we pulled up at a packed car park, and sighing as we realised we’d need to do battle with other human beings to get a view. Take Fjaðrárgljúfur for instance. It was a place that had all the hallmarks of great promise, a high sided narrow winding canyon, through which runs a shallow river, small soft cascades offering a happy detour from the main road near the equally difficult to pronounce town of Kirkjubæjarklaustur. The place names around here seem to be even more arcane than is usual in a country where attempting to say anything at all requires a certain degree of tonsillar dexterity. Come to think of it, I’m not sure I can get through “tonsillar dexterity” without tripping up somewhere in the middle. I’m glad nobody asks me to read this stuff aloud.

Fjaðrárgljúfur seemed to have attracted quite a number of visitors. Ok, so we were here in the middle of the afternoon, gradually making our way towards Vik from Jökulsárlón, but even so, it felt busy as we squeezed our van into the car parking area. And of course we already knew that the welly boots would be redundant here. That’s the problem with Feeyardarawotsit you see (spell checker just blew up by the way); it’s been tainted by a teenage pop sensation and now it’s mostly off limits. All the fault of one Justin Bieber. Apparently his music videos have blighted the plane wreck too.

I should stress here that I’m a leading authority on neither Mr Bieber nor his work. In fact I know nothing about him at all, other than the fact that the “i” comes before the “e” in his surname, he’s aged somewhere between twelve and forty-six, and is either a fresh faced teenager with carefully airbrushed pimples, or on his fifth marriage and counting after a number of high profile alimony disputes. I gather he is, or was very popular. If you can name one of his songs, you’re doing better than me. I didn’t even bother to watch his videos during the countless hours of research I did before this trip. You can only do so much preparation you know. I’m sure he’s very talented - I just wish he’d stayed away from Iceland. It’s bad enough fighting off other togs for the prime spots, but when a gang of Instaselfie teenyboppers arrive, armed with giggles and iPhones, things can get nasty.

What I’d have loved to do here, is quietly potter around in the canyon, revelling in the fact that while others packed a bottle of gin or two in their suitcases, I kept the space free for my wellies, planting the tripod in the water here and there, mostly getting it wrong, but maybe just once finding something worthy. Of course it’s a fragile space that the authorities want to protect, but then again if that teen idol had stayed away, a tide of adolescent adoring hordes might have done too, instead leaving the canyon to a pair of peaceful middle aged seventies rock fans who were only too aware of how sinful it is to tread on the moss.

So sadly, the only option open to us was to traipse up the dedicated path to the dedicated viewing point, a thoughtfully placed balcony at the head of the canyon, where we waited our turn. Once we were installed in the best position, we still had to wait for one of those “in-between” moments when the balcony was vacant apart from ourselves. That’s the trouble with those lofty steel platforms - the minute anyone shuffles from one side to the other, it bounces around like the main stand at a football stadium when the home team has just scored a vital goal. And with all those energetic young Bieberites around, bouncing was the order of the moment. This was only a six second exposure, but it needed to be a bounce free six seconds unless I fancied trying a bit of ICM.

We didn’t stay long. Maybe an extended visit might have resulted in some amazing discovery, but on the face of it there was only one shot, unless you had a drone. Neither of us are brave enough to own one. With some dramatic light the view here can come to life, as I’ve seen in one or two fine examples, but in the middle of the day, there was nothing doing. This shot looks like pretty much every other shot from Feey…whatstheuse, and the fact it’s taken me four years to post it probably tells you what I think. It’s only because I wanted to write a story about a pop star whose music I’ve never knowingly listened to that it’s here at all. I hope the read was worth it…..

I took this sunset at St Ives in 2007 and tbh i did little at all in the way of new post work but i did upsize it in a minute or so. i have two upsizers and in this instance I used Gigapixel.. Jonathan was reading on Drs.Net ( they even have a photography forum on the site ) how easy it was to remove copyright symbols too now. AI is becoming a monster but I do find the upsizer useful for my old shots..Sue :)

Set of thee oldies again and comments are still off. We were supposed to be on holiday this fine weather week but things have not gone to plan...nothing new there and its not health related i'm thankful to add. !

Paris, Avenue de la Porte de Clichy, Tribunal de Grande Instance, 08/25

Experimenting with zoom blur during the Vivid light festival in Sydney. In this instance I zoomed in and out during a 5 second exposure using a 70-200mm lens.

Circular Quay, Sydney

June, 2019

Finally a sunny morning here in BE (shb 23/3/21). Here’s a little stream by the F14 bike path. This is a quick exploratory sketch in view of a possible oil painting. I wasn't wearing my glasses, just trying to see what I was missing for next time... a clip to keep pages from flying in the wind, for instance!

Here's the theme for everyone to join:

www.flickr.com/groups/urbansketches/discuss/7215771870873...

various instances of jellyfish at the Berlin Aquarium.

Another instance of perceived laziness.

I composed this image while hiking the short Pioneer Names Trail in Utah's Snow Canyon State Park. It depicts the names of some early settlers to the region (or, more likely their children) written in wagon axle grease, and in some instances the actual date of the inscriptions. The writings are in a shallow cave, thus preserved somewhat from th elements.

The area was settled by Mormons in the mid-late 1800s, and this site was a popular picnic area. The area was also used for some cattle ranching.

Not hieroglyphics, but still...

The 9th of November is a very fateful day for Germany. In a good way (for instance, on Nov. 9th in 1989 the Berlin Wall came down), but mostly in a terrible and very sad way: November 9th 2018, is the 80th anniversary of the Pogrom Night of 1938, also referred to as "Crystal Night", "Night of Broken Glass", or Kristallnacht. The Pogrom Night on November 9th was the terrible "highlight" of days of destruction and arrests which followed the assassination of Nazi diplomat Ernst vom Rath by 17 year old Herschel Grynszpan in Paris. During the night of November 9th to November 10th SA paramilitary forces (and civilians) ransacked and damaged or destroyed Jewish shops, businesses, homes, schools, hospitals and cemetaries, and set synagogues on fire in Germany and Austria. Hundreds of people died, about 30,000 were arrested. While the Jewish population in Germany had, more than ever before, been discriminated against, surpressed and persecuted since the Nazi regime had come into power, that terrible night in 1938 marked the beginning of the so called "Final Solution" and the Holocaust. The name "Crystal Night" (Kristallnacht) comes from thousands upon thousands of glass shards that covered the streets after that night.

This was taken at the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, also known as the Holocaust Memorial, at the heart of Berlin. The Holocaust Memorial was designed by architect Peter Eisenman. It consists of 2,711 stelae (concrete slabs) arranged in a grid pattern on a sloping field, covering an area of 19,000 square metres. According to Eisenman, the stelae on sloping ground are supposed to create an atmosphere of uneasiness and confusion.

For me, due to the long and narrow alleys, there also is a feeling of losing "track" of people, of people disappearing. People you see there are "gone" the next moment. There can also be a sensation of "encircling". When I was there, I "met" a man, a tourist, and we happened to always take the same turn around the stelae, so we would meet each other again and again for a few times...The people who went underground in order to survive the Holocaust must have felt that where ever they turned to, however well chosen and protected their hideouts were, their persecutors could (and all too often would) find them at any time, anywhere...

Taken during a photowalk with Sabine.R, marionrosengarten, --Conrad-N-- and H. Roebke.

Den 9. November könnte man durchaus als "Schicksalstag" der Deutschen bezeichnen, nur dass die diversen Ereignisse, die sich in den vergangenen einhundert Jahren an einem 9. November zugetragen haben, eher weniger mit Schicksal zu tun haben als mit aktivem Tun. Im sehr guten (09.11.'89) wie im unfassbar schlechtem Sinne (09.11.1938):

09.11.1918: Beginn der Novemberrevolution in Berlin

09.11.1923: Hitler-Ludendorff-Putsch

09.11.1938: Pogromnacht

09.11.1989: Fall der Berliner Mauer

Der fürchterlichste 9. November war sicherlich jener vor 80 Jahren, die Pogromnacht, in deren Verlauf mehrere hundert Menschen getötet, mindestens 30.000 inhaftiert wurden und tausende jüdischer Geschäfte, Wohnhäuser, Schulen, Krankenhäuser, Friedhöfe verwüstet und Synagogen in ganz Deutschland und Österreich in Brand gesteckt wurden. Der 9. November 1938 gilt als Auftakt des Holocaust.

Not only one gorgeous fireplace to enjoy a pint of beer by, but two of them! This one again is so inviting when lit during the winter months. The new landlord Neil spent some time polishing those brasses and copper bucket! Actually he has transformed this place back into the community spirited building it once was and added a few touches that make it so inviting. The beer's damn good too!

Just the first set of pictures from the new Olympus. Unfortunately I can't get the Olympus software to convert the RAW's without hanging so just the straight jpegs for now. (Unless anyone else has some ideas on RAW conversion?) Still getting to grips with the new camera but so refreshing to turn that LCD off and use it just like one of my old film cameras! Completely different set of shots from me I know and I loathe to say it but it's refreshing to not have to deal with the purple fringing from the Fuji in these instances. Now if I can just crack the 'studio' shots I'll be more than happy! Tried desperately to avoid the 'bokeh' shots that are so tempting with a new dSLR, but there's probably going to be a few soon!

Overall for the camera so far - a big fat 10 out of 10 :-)

Dubai Marina is a district in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Dubai Marina is an artificial canal city, built along a two-mile (3 km) stretch of Persian Gulf shoreline. When the entire development is complete, it will accommodate more than 120,000 people in residential towers and villas. It is located on Interchange 5 between Jebel Ali Port and the area which hosts Dubai Internet City, Dubai Media City, and the American University in Dubai. The first phase of this project has been completed. Dubai Marina was inspired by the Concord Pacific Place development along False Creek in Vancouver, BC, Canada.

There have been many instances of marine wildlife (especially whales and sharks) entering the marina, because of its proximity to the open sea.

The word dungeon comes from French donjon (also spelled dongeon), which means "keep", the main tower of a castle. The first recorded instance of the word in English was near the beginning of the 14th century when it held the same meaning as donjon. The proper original meaning of "keep" is still in use for academics, although in popular culture it has been largely misused and come to mean a cell or "oubliette". Though it is uncertain, both dungeon and donjon are thought to derive from the Middle Latin word dominio, meaning "lord" or "master".

In French, the term donjon still refers to a "keep", and the English term "dungeon" refers mostly to oubliette in French. Donjon is therefore a false friend to dungeon (although the game Dungeons & Dragons is titled Donjons et Dragons in its French editions).

An oubliette (same origin as the French oublier, meaning "to forget") was a form of prison cell which was accessible only from a hatch or a hole (sometimes called an angstloch) in a high ceiling. The use of "donjons" evolved over time, sometimes to include prison cells, which could explain why the meaning of "dungeon" in English evolved over time from being a prison within the tallest, most secure tower of the castle into meaning a cell, and by extension, in popular use, an oubliette or even a torture chamber.

The earliest use of oubliette in French dates back to 1374, but its earliest adoption in English is Walter Scott's Ivanhoe in 1819: "The place was utterly dark—the oubliette, as I suppose, of their accursed convent.

A dragon is a large, serpent-like legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures around world. Beliefs about dragons vary drastically by region, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as winged, horned, four-legged, and capable of breathing fire. Dragons in eastern cultures are usually depicted as wingless, four-legged, serpentine creatures with above-average intelligence.

The earliest attested dragons resemble giant snakes. Dragon-like creatures are first described in the mythologies of the ancient Near East and appear in ancient Mesopotamian art and literature. Stories about storm-gods slaying giant serpents occur throughout nearly all Indo-European and Near Eastern mythologies. Famous prototypical dragons include the mušḫuššu of ancient Mesopotamia, Apep in Egyptian mythology, Vṛtra in the Rigveda, the Leviathan in the Hebrew Bible, Python, Ladon, and the Lernaean Hydra in Greek mythology, Jörmungandr, Níðhöggr, and Fafnir in Norse mythology, and the dragon from Beowulf.

The popular western image of a dragon as winged, four-legged, and capable of breathing fire is an invention of the High Middle Ages based on a conflation of earlier dragons from different traditions. In western cultures, dragons are portrayed as monsters to be tamed or overcome, usually by saints or culture heroes, as in the popular legend of Saint George and the Dragon. They are often said to have ravenous appetites and to live in caves, where they hoard treasure. These dragons appear frequently in western fantasy literature, including The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien, the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling, and A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin.

The word "dragon" has also come to be applied to the Chinese lung, which are associated with good fortune and are thought to have power over rain. Dragons and their associations with rain are the source of the Chinese customs of dragon dancing and dragon boat racing. Many East Asian deities and demigods have dragons as their personal mounts or companions. Dragons were also identified with the Emperor of China, who, during later Chinese imperial history, was the only one permitted to have dragons on his house, clothing, or personal articles. Source Wikipedia.

TD : 1/250 f/8 ISO 100 @18 mm

© Leanne Boulton, All Rights Reserved

It can happen to anyone, from any walk of life.

20 years ago I had a career that I was incredibly proud of, saving lives, I had a home, mortgage, car and disposable income. I was confident and, even though I hate to blow my own trumpet, I was incredibly good at the work that I did.

I was, however, bullied, harassed, abused, belittled and ostracised by management and many colleagues in a toxic environment where this behaviour had spread like a cancer. This went on daily for 13 years. I thought that I was 'ignoring' it and just knuckling down in my work. I didn't know, until it was too late, that this was damaging both my physical and mental health.

After some time off due to a stress breakdown I returned and the bullying turned into a witch hunt. They succeeded. My mental and physical health had been destroyed. I was wrongly advised to resign by a union that had representatives embedded in management. I was too unwell to pursue any means of recompense.

Losing my career lead to my first Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy attack. This one was nearly fatal.

I have suffered from Complex Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD) for at least 20 years as a direct result of this. Only finally receiving help for the condition last year after years of medical denial because the establishment at the time did not understand the connection between non-life threatening instances and PTSD despite mounting evidence. Thankfully it is much better understood today.

The bullies took my career, my confidence, my identity, my physical health, my mental health and now they have taken my relationship and my home. My ex being unable to cope with my PTSD and reacting to it in a way that was making it worse in a cycle that just destroyed our relationship.

Now, unable to work and unable to claim benefits for the moment, unwell, terrified and struggling at times to cope with basic life things, I am facing this horrendous situation that is so daunting there are times that my thoughts go to a very dark place.

I never imagined any of this would happen to me. I was on top of the world back in the early 2000s. The best time of my entire life.

Maybe I deserved this. Maybe I did something terrible in a former life. I don't know. I can't make sense of it.

I don't want to give up just yet. I want to fight back. I just have so little actual physical support. PTSD can cause isolation. Distrust. Withdrawal.

I have lost my few best friends since moving to Scotland for numerous reasons outside of my control. My family are 300 miles away and offer just loving thoughts. I am on my own.

On Friday I will be completely on my own for the first time in 20 years. This time without the confidence and abilities I had back then. I have to try and find them but without safety, comfort and familiarity I face an impossible task. It can take monumental effort just to cook a simple meal. PTSD is a terrible thing to have.

I am sharing my story as I don't know when or how I will return to Flickr.

Photography has been my recovery. My saviour from PTSD. An adrenaline kick from street photography, the excitement of the edit when you return home. Sharing my photographs with you and taking time to enjoy your photographs. The Flickr routine has kept my sanity and been an important part of my day for years now. I fully intend to return but the odds are against me at least for the moment.

Some of you wanted to help by donating towards the expensive Internet costs I will face in temporary housing.

I hate asking for help but please know that I am incredibly grateful for the help that I have received, both financially and otherwise. Just knowing that people care is a help in itself.

If you wish to keep in touch with me via WhatsApp while I am unable to get my PC online then please Flickrmail me your contact details. (bearing in mind that over the next few days my time is limited).

My PC will be packed tomorrow so I may make one more post before I go. I'll make sure it is a happier picture.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. I am profoundly thankful for the friendships and acquaintances that I have made here. You are all wonderful, awesome people. Thank you.

Homelessness can happen to anyone.

I decided to stop out at the park at 6 PM because this location has been a goldmine for warblers over the past week and when I first saw this bird I thought it was just another one of the many Ruby-crowned Kinglets I have seen there. Good thing I followed my rule of "shoot first, ask questions (ID) later". It wasn't until I put the image up on my computer screen that I realized what I had. This is one of those instances where the female has total disregard for the the color scheme naming given to the male - and I think she looks stunning in the colors of her choosing 😁.

...pylons and power lines crossing Kyle Rhea.Normaly pylons are intrusive in landscape images, but not in this instance I think

Sprocket, in a rare instance when she can successfully stop me from whatever I was about to do and make me grab a camera for a few shots, one of which ultimately fits the weekend's Happy Caturday theme (sorry, usually of the broader ones like today's). Time constraints normally dictate the use of my everyday-carry camera, the timing was right for me to go fetch the DSLR.

Wishing all of you a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, and a fun, safe, and rewarding Happy New Year!

"To me the Fox Sparrow stands out as the singer of joy. Many birds are of this kind, but few are to such a degree as this inhabitant of the stunted woodlands of the North. The musical construction indicates it, for instance the dancing rhythm, the major keys, and the speed with which it fairly shoots through the central phrase. But deeper than these are certain qualities in his physical being and character, which make for happiness: his robustness and virility, his excessive activity in all his waking hours."

William Brewster (1883)

This church and Bălteni village lie in Scroviștea area of Ilfov county.

Few Romanians know that "Scroviștea", the name of this little forest near Bucharest, is actually Slavic.

Skrovište (скровиште) means hideout in Serbo-Croatian and sŭkrovište (съкровищте) means hiding place or treasury in Old Church Slavonic and treasure in Bulgarian.

It is the name of the forest and of the train station near Bălteni village, less than 30 minutes away from Bucharest by Regio train.

I'm suprised that the name didn't spark the imagination of treasure hunters, but the real treasure of this area is its beauty (and its value as real estate, unfortunately).

One of the few truly magical places, visited at the right time. Like most such places, there is a time to visit when magic is at its best - during spring bloom, for instance.

Example of an older, asbestos plaster wall system on wood lath. While these plaster materials may look like any typical plaster, that's partly the point of this photo: asbestos-containing plaster might be present in any ordinary-looking plaster material; whether the plaster is troweled-on or spray-applied onto wood or metal lath, on gypsum wallboard panels, onto concrete or applied to any type of substrate. In this particular example, asbestos was found within the thicker, plaster base layer.

For a more conclusive determination about whether or not plaster contains asbestos (or any type of suspect material for that matter), multiple bulk samples of the material, including all layers of a "system", are to be properly collected by a trained, certified, and accredited ("licensed") asbestos inspector, and then tested via specialized, laboratory microscopy method(s) to determine asbestos presence or absence and its respective percentage therein. The testing can be relatively inexpensive, ranging on average between $6-to-$30 USD (or more) per sample, per layer, often depending upon required turn-around time

Another point of interest regarding the plaster system in the above example is that there are actually three layers of plaster: the bottom ("render") thick base-layer; the thin ("floating" or "setting") skim-layer, and a textured finishing layer. Each type of plaster layer, (base-coat, skim-coat, textured surfacing, etc.) has been known to contain asbestos.

The coarse, base plaster in this instance, sometimes referred to as "brown-coat" or "scratch-coat", in addition to asbestos, also contains small aggregate and animal hair fibers (likely bovine, equine, porcine, caprine, or cervine). These constituents are more visible in the inset image.

Although not in this particular case, sometimes the white, finish layer or "skim-coat" may contain asbestos. Or, even the textured finish, stucco-style spackling may contain asbestos as well.

Particular attention to different types of plasters, possibly applied in different areas, such as: mechanical rooms, boiler rooms, fan rooms, auditoriums, stages, arenas, churches/temples (or other places of worship), cafeterias, theaters, air plenums, utility areas, electrical rooms/vaults, workshops, stairwells, corridors, decorative applications, lobbies, elevator shafts, radiator shielding, instrumental-band/choir rooms, library/media centers, etc.; are all unique functional spaces that should be especially considered when evaluating the potential for differing types of plaster applications.

Further yet, ceiling plaster may contain asbestos and wall plaster may not, despite being in the same functional space and having similar appearance/texture.

Of further importance in distinguishing different types of plasters that may exist in a building is knowing the renovation history of the structure, and also if additions were constructed or patching was installed that contain plaster(s) applied at later date(s). Each plaster from differing dates of construction or patches should be assessed separately.

There are also examples of asbestos inspection surveys in multi-floor buildings where asbestos (> 1% content) was found in wall/ceiling plasters on certain floors, but not others (trace to < 1%).

Keep in mind that if asbestos (>1%) is identified in one layer of a plaster application, then the entire plaster "system" is treated as an ACM.

Additionally, don't forget about potential lead or cadmium-based paint or respirable silica dust exposure issues when dealing with older painted plaster materials during demolition or renovation activities.

WARNING WARNING WARNING, THIS MAY INCLUDE SPOILERS FROM HALF LIFE AND PORTAL

I was searching for pictures of glados and then I found a couple intresting articles about glados...

Here is a article that got me thinking.

The human imagination is a real magnificent and powerful thing. Like for instance, when I look at a cloud, I sometimes see kittens and bunnies. This writer over on game-ism is the same way. Except, instead of clouds and kittens, he sees GlaDOS as a woman hanging upside down and bound up. This take on GlaDOS is really interesting, and slightly erotic. Game-ism believes that GlaDOS wants to be killed by Chell, the main character of Portal. GlaDOS feels trapped at Aperture Science and she wants Chell to set her free.

It's a really great read that puts a fresh spin on the story of the game. What do you think of it?

And here is article I found about the credit song:

Thanks to the great comments in my last post where I waxed all philo about what I think GlaDOS is supposed to look like, I think I’ve changed my tune on why GlaDOS wanted to be free. While I still think she wanted to be free, the only way she could truly be free was to die. She can’t just walk amongst the people of suburbia. She’s an Artificial Intelligence. She can’t just go out in public and “blend in.” A life of enslavement serving man, she craved for it to be over, and I think if I overanalyze the lyrics of “Still Alive,” we can see (or at least convince ourselves of) some evidence of this.

The only thing you’ve managed to break so far…is my heart.

That actally make sense...

At first it wasn't intense, just one little instance

Sure, it didn't occur, he turned to resist it

As if it wasn't much more than just a figment of his imagination but for days it was persistent

And it went, "follow me, follow me. follow me, follow me" then it got louder

"follow me, follow me...I have something to show you"

For an instance got the kingfisher sitting nice and clam for a long time. Probably looking for fish and thinking about the next move :)