The Sleeping Giant is a formation of mesas and sills on Sibley Peninsula which resembles a giant lying on its back when viewed from the west to north-northwest section of Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. As one moves southward along the shoreline toward Squaw Bay the Sleeping Giant starts to separate into its various sections. Most distinctly in the view from the cliffs at Squaw Bay the Giant appears to have an Adam's Apple. The formation is part of Sleeping Giant Provincial Park. Its dramatic steep cliffs are among the highest in Ontario (250 m). The southernmost point is known as Thunder Cape, depicted by many early Canadian artists such as William Armstrong.

One Ojibway legend identifies the giant as Nanabijou, who was turned to stone when the secret location of a rich silver mine now known as Silver Islet was disclosed to white men.[3]

It might just be down to recolour overload and familiarity but the Hot Wheels McLaren P1 seems to have lost a bit of its shine especially with the recent introduction of the newer 720S! We collectors can be a very fickle bunch and what was last months must have casting is quickly brushed aside in the never-ending quest for something new!

Well the P1 gets YET ANOTHER recolour for 2018 and happily it now gets the all white treatment which as ever can really make a model that extra bit neater and crisper. Its dramatic appearance remains along with delicate striping and front tampo treatment.

Bought recently from Sainsbury's. Mint and boxed.

Llyn Llech Owain Country Park is is a stunning 158-acre expanse of woods and lakeland near Cross Hands with nature trails, an adventure area and visitor centre. At the heart of this spectacular park is its dramatic lake which is surrounded by peat bog and there’s a lovely myth associated with Llyn Lech Owain. Legend has it that Owain Lawgoch ("Owain of the Red Hand" - who led an army of French mercenaries against the English in the Hundred Years' War), was entrusted to look after a well on the mountain named Mynydd Mawr. Each day, after extracting enough water for himself and his horse, Owain was always careful to replace the stone but on one occasion he forgot and a torrent of water poured down the side of the mountain. The resultant lake was hence named Llyn Lech Owain - the lake of Owain’s slab. Today, specially constructed paths allow for safe access over the bog and around the lake. The paths are well-surfaced and accessible to wheelchair-users. A forest track provides a longer walk or cycle ride around the country park and there’s a rough mountain bike trail for the more adventurous cyclist. Much of the park consists of coniferous woodland, planted by the Forestry Commission during the 1960s and there are also areas of dry heath and broad-leaved woodland.

St Fin Barre’s Cathedral. This is without doubt one of the most striking buildings in the region with its history rooted in the people of Cork and of course its dramatic architecture.

The location of the current Cathedral has been a place of Christian worship since the 7th century. This is said to be the actual location where St Finn Barre (Corks Patron Saint) founded his original monastery and thereby creating the first settlement in what is now Cork.

The current church being consecrated in 1870 in Victorian/ Gothic style. In the intervening centuries various buildings have come & gone but the original structure by St Fin Barre was said to have been one of the main centres of scholastic learning until the 10th century.

REFORD GARDENS | LES JARDINS DE METIS

Dwarf Morning Glory. | Tricolour Convolvulus

Convolvulus Royal Ensign | Liseron Royal Marine

Beautiful flowers at Reford Gardens.

Visit : www.refordgardens.com/

From Wikipedia:

Elsie Stephen Meighen - born January 22, 1872, Perth, Ontario - and Robert Wilson Reford - born in 1867, Montreal - got married on June 12, 1894.

Elsie Reford was a pioneer of Canadian horticulture, creating one of the largest private gardens in Canada on her estate, Estevan Lodge in eastern Québec. Located in Grand-Métis on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River, her gardens have been open to the public since 1962 and operate under the name Les Jardins de Métis and Reford Gardens.

Born January 22, 1872 at Perth, Ontario, Elsie Reford was the eldest of three children born to Robert Meighen and Elsie Stephen. Coming from modest backgrounds themselves, Elsie’s parents ensured that their children received a good education. After being educated in Montreal, she was sent to finishing school in Dresden and Paris, returning to Montreal fluent in both German and French, and ready to take her place in society.

She married Robert Wilson Reford on June 12, 1894. She gave birth to two sons, Bruce in 1895 and Eric in 1900. Robert and Elsie Reford were, by many accounts, an ideal couple. In 1902, they built a house on Drummond Street in Montreal. They both loved the outdoors and they spend several weeks a year in a log cabin they built at Lac Caribou, south of Rimouski. In the autumn they hunted for caribou, deer, and ducks. They returned in winter to ski and snowshoe. Elsie Reford also liked to ride. She had learned as a girl and spent many hours riding on the slopes of Mount Royal. And of course, there was salmon-fishing – a sport at which she excelled.

In her day, she was known for her civic, social, and political activism. She was engaged in philanthropic activities, particularly for the Montreal Maternity Hospital and she was also the moving force behind the creation of the Women’s Canadian Club of Montreal, the first women club in Canada. She believed it important that the women become involved in debates over the great issues of the day, « something beyond the local gossip of the hour ». Her acquaintance with Lord Grey, the Governor-General of Canada from 1904 to 1911, led to her involvement in organizing, in 1908, Québec City’s tercentennial celebrations. The event was one of many to which she devoted herself in building bridges with French-Canadian community.

During the First World War, she joined her two sons in England and did volunteer work at the War Office, translating documents from German into English. After the war, she was active in the Victorian Order of Nurses, the Montreal Council of Social Agencies, and the National Association of Conservative Women.

In 1925 at the age of 53 years, Elsie Reford was operated for appendicitis and during her convalescence, her doctor counselled against fishing, fearing that she did not have the strength to return to the river.”Why not take up gardening?” he said, thinking this a more suitable pastime for a convalescent woman of a certain age. That is why she began laying out the gardens and supervising their construction. The gardens would take ten years to build, and would extend over more than twenty acres.

Elsie Reford had to overcome many difficulties in bringing her garden to life. First among them were the allergies that sometimes left her bedridden for days on end. The second obstacle was the property itself. Estevan was first and foremost a fishing lodge. The site was chosen because of its proximity to a salmon river and its dramatic views – not for the quality of the soil.

To counter-act nature’s deficiencies, she created soil for each of the plants she had selected, bringing peat and sand from nearby farms. This exchange was fortuitous to the local farmers, suffering through the Great Depression. Then, as now, the gardens provided much-needed work to an area with high unemployment. Elsie Reford’s genius as a gardener was born of the knowledge she developed of the needs of plants. Over the course of her long life, she became an expert plantsman. By the end of her life, Elsie Reford was able to counsel other gardeners, writing in the journals of the Royal Horticultural Society and the North American Lily Society. Elsie Reford was not a landscape architect and had no training of any kind as a garden designer. While she collected and appreciated art, she claimed no talents as an artist.

Elsie Stephen Reford died at her Drummond Street home on November 8, 1967 in her ninety-sixth year.

In 1995, the Reford Gardens ("Jardins de Métis") in Grand-Métis were designated a National Historic Site of Canada, as being an excellent Canadian example of the English-inspired garden.(Wikipedia)

Visit : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elsie_Reford

Visit : www.refordgardens.com

LES JARDINS DE MÉTIS

Créés par Elsie Reford de 1926 à 1958, ces jardins témoignent de façon remarquable de l’art paysager à l’anglaise. Disposés dans un cadre naturel, un ensemble de jardins exhibent fleurs vivaces, arbres et arbustes. Le jardin des pommetiers, les rocailles et l’Allée royale évoquent l’œuvre de cette dame passionnée d’horticulture. Agrémenté d’un ruisseau et de sentiers sinueux, ce site jouit d’un microclimat favorable à la croissance d’espèces uniques au Canada. Les pavots bleus et les lis, privilégiés par Mme Reford, y fleurissent toujours et contribuent , avec d’autres plantes exotiques et indigènes, à l’harmonie de ces lieux.

Created by Elsie Reford between 1926 and 1958, these gardens are an inspired example of the English art of the garden. Woven into a natural setting, a series of gardens display perennials, trees and shrubs. A crab-apple orchard, a rock garden, and the Long Walk are also the legacy of this dedicated horticulturist. A microclimate favours the growth of species found nowhere else in Canada, while the stream and winding paths add to the charm. Elsie Reford’s beloved blue poppies and lilies still bloom and contribute, with other exotic and indigenous plants, to the harmony of the site.

Commission des lieux et monuments historiques du Canada

Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada.

Gouvernement du Canada – Government of Canada

© Copyright

This photo and all those in my Photostream are protected by copyright. No one may reproduce, copy, transmit or manipulate them without my written permission.

Day Two.

Stayed the night at a motel in Monterey, which is a nice town. Had a quick look at the place last night/evening.

"Monterey is a city on California’s rugged central coast. Its Cannery Row, one-time centre of the sardine-packing industry, was immortalized by novelist John Steinbeck. Today, it's a popular strip of gift shops, seafood restaurants and bars in converted factories" Wiki.

Heading south now on Route One again to our next motel in San Luis Obispo about 150 miles away.

First stop (not far from Monterey) is Carmel - "Carmel-by-the-Sea is a small beach city on California's Monterey Peninsula. It's known for the museums and library of the historic Carmel Mission, and the fairytale cottages and galleries of its village-like center, a famous place known for its natural scenery and rich artistic history" Wiki.

Back on the road and Route One we headed down and into the bit of coast called Big Sur.

"Big Sur is a rugged and mountainous section of the Central Coast of the U.S. state of California between Carmel Highlands and San Simeon, where the Santa Lucia Mountains rise abruptly from the Pacific Ocean. It is frequently praised for its dramatic scenery. Big Sur has been called the "longest and most scenic stretch of undeveloped coastline in the contiguous United States"

It certainly lived up to the description! Amazing place to ride through/along!

Stopped at so many various vista points for pictures and posing etc!

We stopped for lunch at a place called Ragged Point -

"The tiny hamlet of Ragged Point where travellers are welcomed with a hotel, gourmet restaurant, a gas station, wedding facilities, hiking trails and outdoor cafe with an espresso bar. Towering high above the Pacific on a promontory with 400 foot sheer cliffs"

Unfortunately there was quite a bit of sea fret (low cloud) in the area, so our views were limited here..

Lunch was good too.. Met and chatted with another Harley biker on his way to San Diego.

Back on the road and continued down to San Luis Obispo to find our motel..

Once we had landed and sorted ourselves out, we went for a walk down into the town. One of the places we wanted to see was the (in)famous Bubblegum Alley. - "Bubblegum Alley is a tourist attraction in downtown San Luis Obispo, California, known for its accumulation of used bubble gum on the walls of an alley. It is a 15-foot (4.6 m) high and 70-foot (21 m) long alley lined with chewed gum left by passers-by. It covers a stretch of 20 meters in the 700 block of Higuera Street in downtown San Luis Obispo" Wiki.

We bought some food from a takeaway near our motel and ate that back in our room watching telly! Great day seeing so much beautiful coastline on the famous Route One!

Llyn Llech Owain Country Park is is a stunning 158-acre expanse of woods and lakeland near Cross Hands with nature trails, an adventure area and visitor centre. At the heart of this spectacular park is its dramatic lake which is surrounded by peat bog and there’s a lovely myth associated with Llyn Lech Owain. Legend has it that Owain Lawgoch ("Owain of the Red Hand" - who led an army of French mercenaries against the English in the Hundred Years' War), was entrusted to look after a well on the mountain named Mynydd Mawr. Each day, after extracting enough water for himself and his horse, Owain was always careful to replace the stone but on one occasion he forgot and a torrent of water poured down the side of the mountain. The resultant lake was hence named Llyn Lech Owain - the lake of Owain’s slab. Today, specially constructed paths allow for safe access over the bog and around the lake. The paths are well-surfaced and accessible to wheelchair-users. A forest track provides a longer walk or cycle ride around the country park and there’s a rough mountain bike trail for the more adventurous cyclist. Much of the park consists of coniferous woodland, planted by the Forestry Commission during the 1960s and there are also areas of dry heath and broad-leaved woodland.

Founded on July 10, 1876 after the discovery of gold, Lead has always been less known than its infamous neighbor Deadwood, but is both larger in population and more of a city than the tourist town to the Northeast. Lead is dominated by the Homestake Mine, the largest and deepest gold mine in North America until it closed in 2002. The Homestake Mine was led by mining baron George Hearst, and Lead consequently became something of a company town, with George's wife Pheobe Hearst opening the Hearst Free Public Library and the Hearst Free Kindergarten, then later with Homestake Mine superintendent Thomas Grier, the Homestake Opera House and Recreation Center. As the Homestake Mine continually expanded swallowing up neighboring mines and the city itself, the entire city moved atop the hills in the 1930s. The Homestake Mine is now the site of the Sanford Underground Research Facility to study neutrinos and dark matter.

Lead (and Deadwood) actually lead to a question that has been on my mind for years: what can you do to reverse a city on the decline? As both cities can attest to, relying on a single industry leads to a big risk for a catastrophic collapse when that industry dies. The coasts and ports, being closer to other parts of the world and far easier for transportation or communication, can thrive in a more globalist World with its free-flowing information and automation and its cold, dog-eat-dog libertarian mindset, but what about the small towns in the middle of nowhere? Both towns nearly died, but whereas Deadwood survived on first gambling and then (intelligently) using that seed money to shift focus onto its dramatic history, Lead survived using the federal government to invest in long-term research that may lead to future discoveries or inventions. Time will tell how one or both do.

Lead, South Dakota

Situated over a thousand metres above sea level 30km northwest of Antalya, the ancient site of Termessos is one of Turkey’s prime attractions. Indeed, its dramatic setting and well-preserved ruins, tumbling from the summit of the mountain and enclosed within the boundaries of a national park – the Güllük Dağ Milli Parkı – merit a journey.

Despite its close proximity to Lycia, Termessos was actually a Pisidian city, inhabited by the same warlike tribe of people who settled in the Anatolian Lakeland, around Isparta and Eğirdir, during the first millennium BC. The city’s position, commanding the road from the Mediterranean to the Aegean, gave Termessians the opportunity to extract customs dues from traders; a wall across the valley is believed to be the site of their customs post. Later, in 70 BC, Termessos signed a treaty with Rome, under which their independence was preserved – a fact the Termessians proudly expressed by never including the face or name of a Roman emperor on their coinage. The city must have been abandoned quite early, probably after earthquake damage in 243 AD, and has only been surveyed, never excavated.

Source/Read more: www.roughguides.com/destinations/europe/turkey/mediterran...

Saltwell Park, Gateshead

former home of the stained glass designer/manufacturer William Wailes.

"At the turn of the 19th century, Gateshead, with the exception of a couple of industrial hubs at Sherriff Hill and the quayside, was mostly made up of substantial agricultural estates.

The largest of these was Saltwell Estate which consisted of around 500 acres of land between Team Valley, Bensham and Low Fell. In 1805 this estate was broken up into a number of smaller areas including Saltwell Cottage.

Newcastle born William Wailes who was one of the19th century’s leading stained glass designers bought this area of land in 1850. He lived in South Dene Towers before it was demolished which was on the site now occupied by Gateshead Crematorium.

By 1856 Saltwell Cottage had become the Saltwellside estate and Wailes commissioned the design of a grand Victorian mansion for his family to live in. He employed builder George Brown and this was probably his biggest project. He began work on the mansion in 1859 and continued until 1871 when Saltwell Towers was finally complete.

Saltwell Towers (listed grade II) was a large mansion of striking design with red brickwork and Gothic turrets, but its dramatic exterior masked what was essentially a flawed building. It was built without foundations, with only basic sanitation and a variety of miss matched roofing levels and guttering.

While Brown was building Saltwell Towers, Gateshead was expanding and industrialising. As a result, the air pollution, poor social conditions and general shortage of clean drinking water in the town led to concern about public health and gave rise to calls for the creation of a public park.

William Wailes’s dream didn’t last long and he sold Saltwellside Park and Towers for £35,000 to the Gateshead Corporation in November 1875 when he ran into financial difficulties.

In 1876 garden designer Edward Kemp was invited to submit designs to the Corporation for the existing gardens and an area of open fields to the north. Kemp's plans were implemented over a period of years by borough surveyor James Bowyer at a cost of around £11,000.

In the Spring of 1876 there was a buzz in the year as the Park was prepared for its grand opening. The hedges enclosing the four fields were rooted out and the whole area was ploughed by a steam plough. The town Surveyor ordered one dozen metal plates marked "please keep off the grass"; and police supervision of the Park was arranged. The formal opening was planned for Whit Monday, but it never actually went ahead. Nonetheless, the public were allowed to use the park by the end of 1876 and it became the People’s Park.

In its early years, Saltwell Park showed signs of being transformed into a zoo. In June 1877 the park was home to swans, peacocks, peahens, pheasants, bantam cocks, bantam hens and ducks.

In 1880 the Chief Constable of Gateshead, John Elliott paid for the construction of an aviary, supplied birds, and in the same year he built a monkey house and provided monkeys. These, however, were not a success and in October 1880 the male monkeys were ordered to be removed ’forthwith’.

Around this time, Lord Ravensworth also presented two deer to the Park and it may have been one of these which involved the Corporation in litigation and expenses of £650 when a visitor to the Park in 1889 was attacked by a stag.

Wailes carried on as a private tenant in the Towers at a cost of £140 per year until his death in 1881. While Wailes was prepared to put up with the building problems, others were not, and there were continuing complaints about the sanitation, heating and the inconvenient size of the larger rooms.

The first tenant after Wailes was Hugh Clayton Armstrong, a Newcastle timber merchant who surrendered his tenancy when his original five year lease was up. At this time, Joseph Ainsley Davidson Shipley, a Newcastle based solicitor, approached the Council with a view to leasing the Towers.

Shipley lived in the mansion until his death in 1909 and the following year, the Towers was leased to John Henry Rowell, a local brewer, for five years for an annual rent of £120 and the Council agreed to have electricity installed at a cost of £445.

After Rowell died in August 1913, his widow kept the tenancy on until 1915 after which the house was used temporarily as a billet for soldiers and then, between 1916 and 1920, it was used as an army hospital attached to the nearby Whinney House Hospital.

There was only to be one further documented tenant and this was Harold Svendsen, a garage owner who moved into the house in 1920, again on a five year tenancy, but within two years had left, unable to pay the rent.

Around this time, Sarah’s Great Grandma went to live in the Towers to work as a nanny to care for the two sets of twins who lived there. She had been known to say it was a wonderful place to live and it was a very happy time in her life.

Sarah’s Great Grandma met her husband to be John Roberts while she was working there. John ran a business with his sister supplying agricultural feed. John was described as having perfect manners, very articulate and quite well to do. Even his own family nicknamed him Lord John.

John’s sister lived in Balmoral Terrace which was her week day town house and she spent the weekends with her younger brother who lived at the building which is now the Shepherd and Shepherdess at Beamish.

John married Sarah’s Great Grandma at Lamesley church and they moved to John Street and raised their own family there. There are memories that there was a family rift on John’s side as it was seen that he had “married out”, meaning he had married out of his class, but this didn’t stop him marrying the love of his life.

It is believed that they called their children Brenda and Pat after the children she looked after at Saltwell Towers. Sarah’s Great Grandma worked all the hours she could and Brenda, her first born became fretful, so much so, the doctor took her away and gradually weaned her back to the family once she was settled.

As business became more prosperous John tried allsorts to get Sarah’s Great Grandma to move to a new house but she liked the community she lived in and her neighbourhood and wanted to stay where she was.

Just a life was treating them well, John died suddenly at the age of 42 from a heart defect. Unbeknown to them, Brenda, their first born had the same defect and she tragically died at the tender age of 16. Sarah’s Mam was born the same year and was named Brenda after her.

Attempts to lease Saltwell Towers following Mr Svfendsen’s departure were unsuccessful and the house remained unoccupied for over ten years. Eventually, and after some debate, it was decided to turn the house into a museum.

On 8 July 1933, Saltwell Towers opened up as the Gateshead Municipal Museum and it was re-named several times to Gateshead local and Industrial Museum, Saltwell Towers Museum and Saltwell Park Museum.

Saltwell Towers had dry rot and a serious damp problem that was first identified in 1932. It never really got fixed and was only superficially resolved for the opening a year later.

The condition of building gradually declined and gradually the rooms that held the exhibits were systematically closed, due to a fear that the ceilings would collapse.

In February 1969 the Saltwell Park Museum’s closure happened quickly and very suddenly and the collection that remained in the closed building could not be moved to safer storage for another five years in 1974 when Tyne and Wear Museums was set up.

In 1999 the Towers was refurbished as part of a £9.6 million restoration project, funded collaboratively by the Heritage Lottery Fund and Gateshead Council and re-opened in 2005 as a café and visitor centre which plays host to around two million visitors each year. " www.sarahmains.com

Stitched Panorama of the Golden Horn. Taken from Pierre Loti Hill.

The Golden Horn is a historic inlet of the Bosphorus dividing the city of Istanbul and forming the natural harbor that has sheltered Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman and other ships for thousands of years. It is a scimitar-shaped estuary that joins the Bosphorus just at the point where that strait enters the Sea of Marmara, thus forming a peninsula the tip of which is "Old Istanbul" (ancient Byzantion and Constantinople). Its Greek and English names mean the same, but the significance of the designation "golden" is obscure, while its Turkish name Haliç simply means "estuary". It has witnessed many tumultuous historical incidents and its dramatic vistas have been the subject of countless works of art.

Day Two.

Stayed the night at a motel in Monterey, which is a nice town. Had a quick look at the place last night/evening.

"Monterey is a city on California’s rugged central coast. Its Cannery Row, one-time centre of the sardine-packing industry, was immortalized by novelist John Steinbeck. Today, it's a popular strip of gift shops, seafood restaurants and bars in converted factories" Wiki.

Heading south now on Route One again to our next motel in San Luis Obispo about 150 miles away.

First stop (not far from Monterey) is Carmel - "Carmel-by-the-Sea is a small beach city on California's Monterey Peninsula. It's known for the museums and library of the historic Carmel Mission, and the fairytale cottages and galleries of its village-like center, a famous place known for its natural scenery and rich artistic history" Wiki.

Back on the road and Route One we headed down and into the bit of coast called Big Sur.

"Big Sur is a rugged and mountainous section of the Central Coast of the U.S. state of California between Carmel Highlands and San Simeon, where the Santa Lucia Mountains rise abruptly from the Pacific Ocean. It is frequently praised for its dramatic scenery. Big Sur has been called the "longest and most scenic stretch of undeveloped coastline in the contiguous United States"

It certainly lived up to the description! Amazing place to ride through/along!

Stopped at so many various vista points for pictures and posing etc!

We stopped for lunch at a place called Ragged Point -

"The tiny hamlet of Ragged Point where travellers are welcomed with a hotel, gourmet restaurant, a gas station, wedding facilities, hiking trails and outdoor cafe with an espresso bar. Towering high above the Pacific on a promontory with 400 foot sheer cliffs"

Unfortunately there was quite a bit of sea fret (low cloud) in the area, so our views were limited here..

Lunch was good too.. Met and chatted with another Harley biker on his way to San Diego.

Back on the road and continued down to San Luis Obispo to find our motel..

Once we had landed and sorted ourselves out, we went for a walk down into the town. One of the places we wanted to see was the (in)famous Bubblegum Alley. - "Bubblegum Alley is a tourist attraction in downtown San Luis Obispo, California, known for its accumulation of used bubble gum on the walls of an alley. It is a 15-foot (4.6 m) high and 70-foot (21 m) long alley lined with chewed gum left by passers-by. It covers a stretch of 20 meters in the 700 block of Higuera Street in downtown San Luis Obispo" Wiki.

We bought some food from a takeaway near our motel and ate that back in our room watching telly! Great day seeing so much beautiful coastline on the famous Route One!

Known in the botanical world as peniocereus greggii, the queen of the night was named for its dramatic, white, waxy flowers that are composed of elegant white petals and stamens. One of the desert's most famous yet least encountered cactus, the queen of the night is virtually invisible most of the year. Reaching a height of four to eight feet, its thin, inconspicuous branches are frequently hidden amongst other desert cacti or shrubbery. What may come as a surprise is the very large, turnip-shaped root or tuber that grows underneath each plant and stores its' food and water. It usually weighs between 5 and 15 lbs., but there have been reports of ones weighing 5x as much.

This unprocessed "raw" image of Saturn's icy, geologically active moon Enceladus was acquired by NASA's Cassini spacecraft during its dramatic Oct. 28, 2015 flyby in which the probe passed about 30 miles (49 kilometers) above the moon's south polar region. via NASA ift.tt/1MxNoLy

Lazi

Sqiuijor Island

The Philippines

The M/V Doña Rosario of George & Peter Lines, as it was docked at the Port of Lazi.

The point of Crocodile Hills, also locally referred to as Cantil, is where the ship makes its dramatic turn for its final approach towards the Port of Lazi.

Picture was taken in May 1984, using an Olympus OM-2D film camera, with a 150mm zoom Zuiko lens.

The name “Devil’s Tears” comes from the phenomena of the sea spray that splashes up as if the sea were ‘crying’ when the waves crash against the rugged rocks and flow back into the ocean through a natural arch. The site is known for its dramatic and breath taking seascape, particularly during high tide when the waves crash onto the rocky cliffs, causing a burst of water spray that can reach significant heights. On sunny days, the water spray caused by the crashing waves often creates a mini rainbow, adding an extra element of beauty to the scene.

It's all here in one puzzling page-turner of a novel: conspiracy, codes, secret societies, UFOs, ancient mysteries, the prophetic Mayan calendar end-date of 2012, alternative interpretations of Biblical events, mystifying metaphysics, good guys, bad guys, murder most foul and, yes, even a touch of romance. All of this, and more, is intricately woven into the multifaceted storyline of THE EZEKIEL CODE.

Gary Val Tenuta - former contributing writer for Fate Magazine (U.S.) and Beyond Magazine (U.K.) and a guest on numerous radio programs (including Dreamland, hosted by best selling author Whitley Strieber and The X-Zone hosted by Rob McConnell) - has crafted a provocative mystery novel with an esoteric edge that may upset certain segments of the population while at the same time enthralling others with it's alternative perspective on reality and its vision for the future.

From its cryptic prologue to its dramatic climax, THE EZEKIEL CODE is a skillful blend of fact and fiction with likable, vividly developed characters:

Zeke Banyon is a handsome Catholic seminary dropout who now runs a homeless shelter in Seattle's old waterfront district and Angela Ann Martin is an attractive young widow who just wants a simple part-time job at the shelter. But a single twist of fate turns their simple lives upside down when together they stumble onto a mysterious code and a rumor about a lost scroll penned by the prophet, Ezekiel, thousands of years ago. They soon find themselves thrust deep into a world of secret societies, metaphysics, mystery and murder as they jet across continents in a race to understand the code that will lead them to an ancient artifact of profound importance. Dodging rogue Jesuit priests at every turn and unaware that the Illuminati are ever-present in the shadows, Zeke and Angela soon discover it's not just their own lives that are in danger but also the lives of everyone on the planet.

Is Zeke Banyon the Chosen One of an obscure ancient prophecy? And if so, can he successfully accomplish the mission fate has in store for him? Nothing in seminary school could ever have prepared him for this.

2012 is coming...The clock is ticking…The code must be deciphered…And only one man can save the planet...If he can just figure out how - before it's too late.

"The plot is intriguing and interesting to the point of being bestseller material."

- Red Adept's Kindle Book Review Blog

"Entertaining and enlightening. A course in high strangeness."

–– Jay Weidner, documentary producer and co-author of Mysteries of the Great Cross of Hendaye

"The most gripping and informative book I have read in ages."

–– Robert Tulip, independent reader

"High-concept fiction. An unforgettable book."

–– Rai Aren, co-author of Secret of the Sands

"I have read it twice and thinking about a third time.

There aren't many books I read more than once. For me it had the WOW factor."

–– L. Sue Durkin, author of Life is Like Making Chocolate Chip Cookies

"An impressive feat."

–– Peter A. Gersten, editor, PAG eNews

"Highly Recommended!"

–– Michael Tsarion, internationally renown divination scholar, author and lecturer

THE EZEKIEL CODE, an EVVY Award nominee, is available in paperback and Kindle.

Watch the video trailers, read the first 12 chapters (free!) and full reviews at www.ezekielcode.com.

The Ezekiel Code

By Gary Val Tenuta

ISBN: 978-1-4327-0650-0

676-Page Paperback (6x9)

Published by Outskirts Press (www.outskirtspress.com)

Contact the author: TheEzekielCode@aol.com

A documenary about the changing times in the arctic region - with its dramatic impacts on living creatures. Picture is showing an Killer Whale.

Credit: Terra Mater / Brian Leith Productions

One of the many carvings adorning the wall arcading in the north aisle. Late 14th century carving in the north aisle of Beverley Minster portraying the Devil abducting two nuns. The subject is either a warning against idle gossip in church or a depiction of a poem from the tale of Reynard the Fox (who is portrayed in the adjoining carving) which tells of two 'naughty nuns' unwittingly communing with the Devil. The nuns' arms and the Devil's goat-head are 19th century restorations, but the latter is consistent with his description in the poem.

There is a danger of running out of superlatives when trying to describe Beverley Minster. It is not only the second finest non-cathedral church in the country but is architecturally a far finer building than most of our cathedrals themselves! It will come as a surprise to many visitors to find this grand edifice simply functions today as a parish church and has never been more than collegiate, a status it lost at the Reformaton. What had added to its mystique and wealth was its status as a place of pilgrimage housing the tomb of St John of Beverley, which drew visitors and revenue until the Reformation brought an end to such fortunes and the shrine was destroyed (though the saint's bones were later rediscovered and reinterred in the nave). That this great church itself survived this period almost intact is little short of a miracle in itself.

There has been a church here since the 8th century but little remains of the earlier buildings aside from the Saxon chair near the altar and the Norman font in the nave. The present Minster's construction spans the entirety of the development of Gothic architecture but forms a surprisingly harmonious whole nevertheless, starting with Early English in the 13h century choir and transepts (both pairs) with their lancet windows in a building phase that stopped at the first bays of the nave. Construction was then continued with the nave in the 14th century but only the traceried windows betray the emergent Decorated style, the design otherwise closely followed the work of the previous century which gives the Minster's interior such a pleasingly unified appearance (the only discernable break in construction within can be seen where the black purbeck-marble ceased to be used for certain elements beyond the eastern bay of the nave). Finally the building was completed more or less by 1420 with the soaring west front with its dramatic twin-towers in Perpendicular style (the east window must have been enlarged at this point too to match the new work at the west end).

The fabric happily survived the Reformation intact aside from the octagonal chapter-house formerly adjoining the north choir aisle which was dismantled to raise money by the sale of its materials while the church's fate was in the balance (a similar fate was contemplated for the rest of the church by its new owners until the town bought it for retention as a parish church for £100). The great swathes of medieval glass alas were mostly lost, though seemingly as much to neglect and storm-damage in the following century than the usual iconoclasm. All that survived of the Minster's original glazing was collected to form the patchwork display now filling the great east window, a colourful kaleidoscope of fragments of figures and scenes. Of the other furnishings the choir stalls are the major ensemble and some of the finest medieval canopied stalls extant with a full set of charming misericords (though most of these alas are not normally on show).

There are suprisingly few monuments of note for such an enormous cathedral-like church, but the one major exception makes up for this, the delightful canopied Percy tomb erected in 1340 to the north of the high altar. The tomb itself is surprisingly plain without any likeness remaining of the deceased, but the richly carved Decorated canopy above is alive with gorgeous detail and figurative embellishments. There are further carvings to enjoy adorning the arcading that runs around the outer perimeter of the interior, especially the north nave aisle which has the most rewarding carved figures of musicians, monsters and people suffering various ailments, many were largely restored in the 19th century but still preserve the medieval spirit of irreverent fun.

To summarise Beverley Minster would be difficult other than simply adding that if one enjoys marvelling at Gothic architecture at its best then it really shouldn't be missed and one should prioritise it over the majority of our cathedrals. It is a real gem and a delight to behold, and is happily normally open and welcoming to visitors (who must all be astonished to find this magnificent edifice is no more than a simple parish church in status!). I thoroughly enjoyed this, my second visit here (despite the best efforts of the poor weather!).

beverleyminster.org.uk/visit-us-2/a-brief-history/

Wrapping up my Southern Arizona Adventure 2024 with a visit to Amerind Foundation and Texas Canyon. This is stage 9 of 9.

This looks like shearing / cutting ranch equipment that would hook up to a tractor for cutting range grass and weeds. Looks like it needs a healthy dose of WD40.

www.amerind.org/texascanyonnaturepreserve/

Chat GPT

Texas Canyon is a striking natural area located in Cochise County, southeastern Arizona, along Interstate 10 between Benson and Willcox. It is renowned for its dramatic landscape, characterized by massive granite boulders scattered across the desert terrain, creating a rugged and picturesque environment.

The granite boulders in Texas Canyon were formed through millions of years of erosion and weathering. These formations, often precariously balanced, provide a unique and photogenic sight, making the canyon a popular stop for travelers and photographers.

The area is surrounded by the Chiricahua Mountains to the south and other nearby ranges, offering expansive views of the Sonoran Desert with its mix of desert vegetation, including cacti and mesquite trees. The light, especially at sunrise and sunset, enhances the golden hues of the rocks, adding to the area's charm.

Texas Canyon has a rich history tied to the Chiricahua Apache people, who once roamed these lands. Later, it became home to early settlers.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Canyon

Texas Canyon is a valley in Cochise County, Arizona,[1] about 20 miles east of Benson on Interstate 10. Lying between the Little Dragoon Mountains to the north and the Dragoon Mountains to the south and known for its giant granite boulders, the canyon attracts rockhounds and photographers.

www.arizonahighways.com/article/texas-canyon-nature-preserve

The giant granite boulders along Interstate 10 in Southeastern Arizona have been gracing postcards for decades, but that otherworldly landscape was always off-limits to the general public. Not anymore. Thanks to the Amerind Foundation, 6 miles of trails in the brand-new Texas Canyon Nature Preserve are now available to those who want a closer look.

By Suzanne Wright

Zipping past Texas Canyon, an hour southeast of Tucson, it’s impossible not to notice the boulders — giant, eye-catching piles of granite, like something out of The Flintstones. But other than providing scenery along Interstate 10 — particularly at a rest area just down the highway from the kitschy attraction known as The Thing — the area has long been off-limits to curious travelers who wanted to stretch their legs and get a closer look.

There are several private landowners in Texas Canyon, including Triangle T Guest Ranch, which has some trails for its guests. But none had opened its trails to the public until this past October, when the portion of the area owned and managed by the Amerind Foundation had its ribbon-cutting. After a multi-year campaign that raised $250,000, the Texas Canyon Nature Preserve — on land previously closed to the public for 85 years, and where the organization’s founding family raised quarter horses until 1968 — is open to all.

“The idea had been percolating with the Amerind Foundation board and management for years,” says Eric Kaldahl, the president, CEO and chief curator of the foundation. “The response from the surrounding community has been very enthusiastic. We welcomed more visitors last October than we’ve seen for the past 10 years.”

The preserve, located just off I-10 between Benson and Willcox, is part of a 1,900-acre campus that includes the Amerind Museum. More than 6 miles of trails wind past balanced rocks, fantastical shapes and rocky spires in open, sun-warmed high-desert grasslands studded with cactuses, wildflowers and trees. The trail is self-guided, although Kaldahl hopes to offer guided sunrise and sunset hikes in the next year. Visitors can pay a $12 admission fee for just the trails or $20 to visit both the trails and the museum.

Trail designer Sirena Rana knows the landscape can look intimidating, but she purposely designed the trails to be “perfect little morsels.” Rana didn’t grow up hiking, so she aimed to make the trails a comfortable experience for all ages and abilities. There are no steep elevation gains, and dirt, rather than gravel, makes for more stability. And Rana recalls walking for miles and miles over several months to understand the land and ensure the trails were constructed to shed water, limit erosion and provide firebreaks.

“Texas Canyon is one of the most unique landscapes in the Southwest, formed by millions of years of wind and rain weathering the granite,” she says, likening it to Joshua Tree National Park and the Wilderness of Rock on Mount Lemmon. “It’s very unusual that it’s right off a major interstate and just an hour from a major metropolitan area,” she adds. “This is one of the greatest outdoor sculpture gardens in the world designed by Mother Nature. I’m so pleased with how it turned out.”

Elsewhere along the trail, signage reflects the Amerind Museum’s mission of fostering knowledge and understanding of Indigenous peoples. Acknowledging that these are ancestral lands, the signs feature O’odham, English and Spanish text, in that order — and Kaldahl hopes to add Apache, too.

Additionally, Indigenous people have collected basket-weaving materials from these lands for generations, and they remain free to access the grounds.

Haiku Thoughts:

Cutting blades at work

tractor pulls with steady might

ranch chore nears complete

Southern Arizona Adventure 2024

A Sydney summer's evening at its dramatic best.

The Sleeping Giant is a formation of mesas and sills on Sibley Peninsula which resembles a giant lying on its back when viewed from the west to north-northwest section of Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. As one moves southward along the shoreline toward Squaw Bay the Sleeping Giant starts to separate into its various sections. Most distinctly in the view from the cliffs at Squaw Bay the Giant appears to have an Adam's Apple. The formation is part of Sleeping Giant Provincial Park. Its dramatic steep cliffs are among the highest in Ontario (250 m). The southernmost point is known as Thunder Cape, depicted by many early Canadian artists such as William Armstrong.

One Ojibway legend identifies the giant as Nanabijou, who was turned to stone when the secret location of a rich silver mine now known as Silver Islet was disclosed to white men.[3]

Always listed as one of Italy's premier examples of Gothic architecture, Siena's cathedral owes its dramatic first impression to the genius of Giovanni Pisano, who designed its façade and sculpted most of the statues and reliefs that adorn it. The alternating stripes of dark and light marble that cover most of the church and its tall campanile contrast not only with each other, but with the predominating red brick of the rest of Siena's buildings. The cathedral has more masterpieces and art treasures than many prestigious museums, or in fact, many entire cities, with multiple works by both Nicola and Giovanni Pisano, Donatello, Bernini, Lorenzo Ghiberti, Pinturicchio, Iácopo della Quercia, Giovanni di Turino, Vecchietta, and others. The works that decorate the walls, ceilings, and floors, and fill the chapels, crypt, library, and museum constitute one of Italy's outstanding assemblies of frescoes, sculptures, stone and wood carving, paintings, gold and silver work, illuminated manuscripts, mosaics, and stained glass art.

This photo can be used copyright free, attribution only is requested.

Fonte : Wikipedia

Florence and the Machine (styled as Florence + the Machine) are an English indie rock band that formed in London in 2007, consisting of lead singer Florence Welch, Isabella Summers, and a collaboration of other artists. The band's music received praise across the media, especially from the BBC, which played a large part in their rise to prominence by promoting Florence and the Machine as part of BBC Introducing. At the 2009 Brit Awards they received the Brit Awards "Critics' Choice" award. The band's music is renowned for its dramatic and eccentric production and also Welch's powerful vocal performances.

The band's debut studio album, Lungs, was released on 6 July 2009, and held the number-two position for its first five weeks on the UK Albums Chart. On 17 January 2010, the album reached the top position, after being on the chart for twenty-eight consecutive weeks.As of October 2010, the album had been in the top forty in the United Kingdom for sixty-five consecutive weeks, making it one of the best-selling albums of 2009 and 2010. The group's second studio album, Ceremonials, released in October 2011, entered the charts at number one in the UK and number six in the US. The band's third album, How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful, was released on 2 June 2015. It topped the UK charts, and debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, their first to do so. The album reached number one in a total of eight countries and the top ten of twenty. Also in 2015, the band was the headlining act at Glastonbury Festival, making Florence Welch the first British female headliner this century.

Florence and the Machine's sound has been described as a combination of various genres, including rock and soul. Lungs won the Brit Award for Best British Album in 2010. Florence and the Machine has been nominated for eight Grammy Awards including Best New Artist and Best Pop Vocal Album. Additionally, the band performed at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards and the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize Concert

The Postcard

A Caledonia Series postcard that was published by J. M. & Co. Ltd. This is short for J. A. McCulloch & Co. Ltd. of Edinburgh.

The card was posted in Rothesay using a ½d. stamp on Monday the 10th. July 1911. It was sent to:

Mr. Stanbrook,

'K' Goods,

123, Seymour Street,

Euston,

London NW.

The message on the divided back of the card was as follows:

"Free from all worries

& interruptions. The

weather is beautiful.

Scenery grand.

Kind regards,

G."

The Demolition of Glen Caladh House

Glen Caladh is a remote coastal estate situated on the Cowal Peninsula in Argyll, Scotland, overlooking the scenic Kyles of Bute and Loch Riddon. It is located near the village of Tighnabruaich.

Glen Caladh Farm is a remote organic farm at the end of a 3-mile track, famous for running one of Scotland's first commercial tea plantations.

Alan Peters, a former pupil at Strathallan School, recalled the demolition of Glen Caladh House, which was more commonly known as Glen Caladh Castle:

"Glen Caladh Castle started off life as a Victorian baronial mansion. It was a convalescent home for the British Red Cross during the First World War, and served as a naval training headquarters for tank landing operations during the Second World War.

The stone from the castle was transported to nearby Tighnabruaich village where stone masons built a retaining wall in the village opposite the shops. Our mission complete, we returned to our school to begin the summer holidays."

The Kyles of Bute

The Kyles of Bute is a narrow, scenic sea channel in Argyll and Bute, Scotland, that separates the northern end of the Isle of Bute from the Cowal Peninsula on the Scottish mainland.

Renowned for its dramatic, tree-lined hillsides and tranquil waters, this stunning strait is designated as a National Scenic Area.

The channel is roughly 20 miles long, and less than a mile wide at its narrowest points. It is naturally split into two distinct stretches:

-- The East Kyle: Runs from Rothesay Bay northwest up toward Loch Riddon. It features a cluster of small, uninhabited islands, including the Burnt Islands and Eilean Dubh (Black Island).

-- The West Kyle: Sweeps southwest from the mouth of Loch Riddon, passing picturesque coastal villages before opening into the Sound of Bute.

-- Key Attractions

-- Kyles of Bute Viewpoint: Located on the mainland side along the high road between Tighnabruaich and Colintraive. Maintained by the National Trust for Scotland, this famous roadside layby offers panoramic vistas looking down over the Burnt Islands and Loch Riddon.

-- Boating and Sailing: The waters are highly sheltered, making them a haven for yachts and kayakers. You can book local excursions like Bute Boat Tours to see the resident seal colonies and spot porpoises or sea eagles.

-- Charming Villages: The mainland villages of Tighnabruaich, Kames, and Colintraive frame the channel, offering traditional pubs, shoreline walks, and overnight moorings.

-- The Colintraive Ferry: One of Scotland's shortest ferry crossings, connecting Rhubodach on Bute to Colintraive on the mainland in just a few minutes.

-- Hiking: The shoreline forms part of the Loch Lomond and Cowal Way, offering excellent hiking paths through silver birch woodlands and rocky ledges.

The Royal Australian Navy

So what else happened on the day that the card was posted?

Well, on the 10th. July 1911, the Royal Australian Navy was bestowed its name by King George V, having previously been known as the "Commonwealth Naval Forces."

The Surrendering of La Pedrera

Also on that day, troops from Peru, arriving on the launch Loreto and backed up by the gunboat America, arrived at the settlement of La Pedrera.

La Pedrera had been established by Colombia on disputed territory on the Apaporis, a tributary of the Amazon River.

Peruvian Lt. Col. Oscar Benavides gave the Colombians an ultimatum to abandon the outpost. After a battle lasting two days, the Colombians surrendered, and agreements on the 15th. and 19th. July ended the fighting.

The coastline near Bells Beach in Victoria is renowned for its dramatic, rugged beauty, with towering cliffs that rise above the roaring surf of the Southern Ocean. This stretch of coastline is part of the Great Ocean Road, offering spectacular views of sandy beaches, rocky outcrops, and pristine coves. Bells Beach itself is famous worldwide for its powerful waves, attracting surfers from all over, while the surrounding area features coastal heathlands and natural reserves, creating a serene and picturesque environment for nature lovers and visitors alike.

St Lawrence, Brundall, Norfolk

The Broads begin at Brundall. This is furthest outer Norwich; Brundall, and particularly adjoining Brundall Gardens, is Norwich's Metroland. How Betjeman must have loved it. And I liked it a lot too. The first time I came here was on a day in the summer of 2011. I had been cycling in nearby parishes which had, for Norfolk, a somewhat unenlightened attitude to church-opening, so it was a pleasure to come here and be able to step inside this lovely space.

But first, I had to find it. St Lawrence is a long, towerless church set back from the road and hidden in a garden-like churchyard with its rectory and parish hall. You step through a pretty thatched lychgate which serves as the parish memorial to the local boys lost in the mud and blood of Flanders and France. The path takes you to the east of the church and onto the south side, where the neat graveyard slopes down towards the river. Many churchyards have benches, but here was the first time that day I was unable to resist sitting down and soaking up the sunshine and the birdsong. It was idyllic.

It was good to be back here. They were doing building work to the north of the church, but the south was as idyllic as ever. St Lawrence is a curious building. There probably never was a tower. A tall bellcote sits about a third of the way down the nave, level with the porch. As Pevsner notes, it appears to be medieval. The north aisle you see as you walk from the lych gate dates from as recently as 1900, but everything you see from the south side is apparently 13th Century, except that, in reality, the bellcote sits above the medieval western gable; early in the 20th Century, the nave was extended westwards. if you stand to the south you can see that the building must get darker inside the further east you go.

You step into what is essentially an Edwardian era interior, that period of High Church triumphalism and gravitas between the end of the 19th Century and the First World War. It is the Church of England at its dramatic peak. But there are plenty of medieval survivals here, including East Anglia's only lead font. it is contemporary with the church building, its design depicting a repeated motif of the crucifixion and fleur-de-lys. It seems curiously primitive compared with lead fonts found elsewhere in the country, for example Low Halstow and Brookland in Kent.

There is good glass by Clayton and Bell, less good by Kempe & Co, but they both let coloured light fall across the dark wood furnishings, which is very atmospheric. In the north aisle, and probably installed here as part of the restoration in 1900, there is a fine roundel of continental glass depicting the church's patron Saint with his grid iron. It is probably 18th Century, I should think, unless it is one of those clever copies by the King workshop. Certainly of the 20th Century is the set of royal arms above the south door, because it is for Elizabeth II, one of several sets in East Anglia but probably the only one which appears to be painted on a fibre glass panel.

The view eastwards is to the early 20th Century roodscreen and the darkness of the chancel beyond. You can see that St Lawrence was restored for shadowy, incense-led worship. The memorials either side of the sanctuary are worth a look. The one on the south side is to Charles Leath, Midshipman of the British Navy... who died at sea in 1804. The memorial features his sword and sextant in relief at the top.

Even more striking is the relief on the memorial on the opposite wall. It dates from half a century later, and remembers Robert Cubitt and his wife Henrietta. The relief depicts a schooner with its sails furled, basking on a choppy sea. Under the relief are the words Such is Life.

Detail of the upper half of the west window depicting the Last Judgement. The Last Judgement is Fairford's most celebrated window for its dramatic composition and graphic depiction of the horrors of hell in the lower half. The window sadly suffered badly during the great storm of 1703 with the upper half depicting Christ in Judgement and the surrounding company of saints and angels the most seriously affected part.

A substantial amount however still remained until it was unfortunately 'restored' in 1860 by Chance Bros of Smethwick, whose approach was to substitute all the surviving glass in the upper half of the window with a carefully created replica. It is clear that the design is a faithful copy of what was there originally, but none of the surviving material was reused, parts of it being secretly kept by the studio and probably sold (some elements have resurfaced much more recently).

St Mary's at Fairford is justly famous, not only as a most beautiful building architecturally but for the survival of its complete set of late medieval stained glass, a unique survival in an English parish church. No other church has resisted the waves of iconoclasm unleashed by the Reformation and the English Civil War like Fairford has, and as a result we can experience a pre-Reformation iconographic scheme in glass in its entirety. At most churches one is lucky to find mere fragments of the original glazing and even one complete window is an exceptional survival, thus a full set of 28 of them here in a more or less intact state makes Fairford church uniquely precious.

The exterior already promises great things, this is a handsome late 15th century building entirely rebuilt in Perpendicular style and dedicated in 1497. The benefactor was lord of the manor John Tame, a wealthy wool merchant whose son Edmund later continued the family's legacy in donating the glass. The central tower is adorned with much carving including strange figures guarding the corners and a rather archaic looking relief of Christ on the western side. The nave is crowned by a fine clerestorey whilst the aisles below form a gallery of large windows that seem to embrace the entire building without structural interruption aside from the south porch and the chancel projecting at the east end. All around are pinnacles, battlements and gargoyles, the effect is very rich and imposing for a village church.

One enters through the fan-vaulted porch and is initially met by subdued lighting within that takes a moment to adjust to but can immediately appreciate the elegant arcades and the rich glowing colours of the windows. The interior is spacious but the view east is interrupted by the tower whose panelled walls and arches frame only a glimpse of the chancel beyond. The glass was inserted between 1500-1517 and shows marked Renaissance influence, being the work of Flemish glaziers (based in Southwark) under the direction of the King's glazier Barnard Flower. The quality is thus of the highest available and suggests the Tame family had connections at court to secure such glaziers.

Entering the nave one is immediately confronted with the largest and most famous window in the church, the west window with its glorious Last Judgement, best known for its lurid depiction of the horrors of Hell with exotic demons dragging the damned to their doom. Sadly the three windows in the west wall suffered serious storm damage in 1703 and the Last Judgement suffered further during an 1860 restoration that copied rather than restored the glass in its upper half. The nave clerestories contain an intriguing scheme further emphasising the battle of Good versus Evil with a gallery of saintly figures on the south side balanced by a 'rogue's gallery' of persecutors of the faith on the darker north side, above which are fabulous demonic figures leering from the traceries.

The aisle windows form further arrays of figures in canopies with the Evangelists and prophets on the north side and the Apostles and Doctors of the Church on the south. The more narrative windows are mainly located in the eastern half of the church, starting in the north chapel with an Old Testament themed window followed by more on the life of Mary and infancy of Christ. The subject matter is usually confined to one light or a pair of them, so multiple scenes can be portrayed within a single window. The scheme continues in the east window of the chancel with its scenes of the Passion of Christ in the lower register culminating in his crucifixion above, while a smaller window to the south shows his entombment and the harrowing of Hell. The cycle continues in the south chapel where the east window shows scenes of Christ's resurrection and transfiguration whilst two further windows relate further incidents culminating in Pentecost. The final window in the sequence however is of course the Last Judgement at the west end.

The glass has been greatly valued and protected over the centuries from the ravages of history, being removed for protection during the Civil War and World War II. The windows underwent a complete conservation between 1988-2010 by the Barley Studio of York which bravely restored legibility to the windows by sensitive releading and recreating missing pieces with new work (previously these had been filled with plain glass which drew the eye and disturbed the balance of light). The most dramatic intervention was the re-ordering of the westernmost windows of the nave aisles which had been partially filled with jumbled fragments following the storm damage of 1703 but have now been returned to something closer to their original state.

It is important here not to neglect the church's other features since the glass dominates its reputation so much. The chancel also retains its original late medieval woodwork with a fine set of delicate screens dividing it from the chapels either side along with a lovely set of stalls with carved misericords. The tomb of the founder John Tame and his wife can be seen on the north side of the sanctuary with their brasses atop a tomb chest. Throughout the church a fine series of carved angel corbels supports the old oak roofs.

Fairford church is a national treasure and shouldn't be missed by anyone with a love of stained glass and medieval art. It is normally kept open for visitors and deserves more of them.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Mary%27s_Church,_Fairford

"White Sands National Monument is in the northern Chihuahuan Desert in the U.S. state of New Mexico. It's known for its dramatic landscape of rare white gypsum sand dunes. Trails through the dunes include the raised Interdune Boardwalk and the Dune Life Nature Trail, dotted with interpretive exhibits on wildlife and other features. " A popular activity here is sledding on the dunes using plastic discs or elongated sleds.

This unprocessed "raw" image of Saturn's icy, geologically active moon Enceladus was acquired by NASA's Cassini spacecraft during its dramatic Oct. 28, 2015 flyby in which the probe passed about 30 miles (49 kilometers) above the moon's south polar region. via NASA ift.tt/1MxNoLy

Mount Lao, or Laoshan (Chinese: 崂山; pinyin: Láo Shān) is a mountain located near the East China Sea on the southeastern coastline of the Shandong Peninsula in China. The mountain is culturally significant due to its long affiliation with Taoism and is often regarded as one of the "cradles of Taoism". It is the highest coastal mountain in China and the second highest mountain in Shandong, with the highest peak (Jufeng) reaching 1,132.7 metres (3,716 ft). The mountain lies about 30 kilometres (19 mi) to the northeast of the downtown area of the City of Qingdao and is protected by the Qingdao Laoshan National Park that covers an area of 446 square kilometers.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Lao

🇬🇧 English

Lao Shan (Laoshan) is a sacred mountain on China’s eastern coast, near Qingdao, famous for its dramatic granite peaks, clear springs, and strong Taoist heritage.

It is considered one of the birthplaces of Taoism, with temples dating back over 2,000 years. Laoshan is renowned for its pure mountain water, believed to have exceptional quality, and for its rare combination of mountain landscapes and direct sea views, which is unusual in China.

The mountain has long inspired poets, philosophers, and martial artists, symbolizing harmony between nature, spirit, and the Dao.

🇨🇳 中文（简体）

崂山（Lao Shan） 位于中国山东省青岛市东部，是中国著名的道教名山之一。

崂山以奇峰怪石、清泉瀑布和临海山景而闻名，是中国少有的“海上第一名山”。这里被认为是道教的重要发源地之一，至今仍保留着大量古老的道观。

崂山的山泉水极为著名，被认为清澈甘甜，富含灵气，长期被用于茶叶和传统养生文化中。

🇭🇷 Hrvatski

Lao Shan (Laoshan) je sveta planina na istočnoj obali Kine, u blizini Qingdaoa, poznata po strmim granitnim vrhovima, čistim izvorima i snažnoj daoističkoj tradiciji.

Smatra se jednim od najvažnijih povijesnih središta taoizma, s hramovima starima više od dvije tisuće godina. Posebnost Lao Shana je rijetka kombinacija planine i mora, gdje se s vrhova pruža pogled izravno na Žuto more.

Planina simbolizira sklad prirode, duhovnosti i dugovječnosti te ima važno mjesto u kineskoj filozofiji i kulturi.

REFORD GARDENS | LES JARDINS DE METIS

MECONOPSIS BETONICIFOLIA

“Blue poppy bed”

Himalayan flower imported by Elsie Reford in the early 1930s that has since become the floral emblem of the Gardens.

Visit : www.refordgardens.com/

From Wikipedia:

Elsie Stephen Meighen - born January 22, 1872, Perth, Ontario - and Robert Wilson Reford - born in 1867, Montreal - got married on June 12, 1894.

Elsie Reford was a pioneer of Canadian horticulture, creating one of the largest private gardens in Canada on her estate, Estevan Lodge in eastern Québec. Located in Grand-Métis on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River, her gardens have been open to the public since 1962 and operate under the name Les Jardins de Métis and Reford Gardens.

Born January 22, 1872 at Perth, Ontario, Elsie Reford was the eldest of three children born to Robert Meighen and Elsie Stephen. Coming from modest backgrounds themselves, Elsie’s parents ensured that their children received a good education. After being educated in Montreal, she was sent to finishing school in Dresden and Paris, returning to Montreal fluent in both German and French, and ready to take her place in society.

She married Robert Wilson Reford on June 12, 1894. She gave birth to two sons, Bruce in 1895 and Eric in 1900. Robert and Elsie Reford were, by many accounts, an ideal couple. In 1902, they built a house on Drummond Street in Montreal. They both loved the outdoors and they spend several weeks a year in a log cabin they built at Lac Caribou, south of Rimouski. In the autumn they hunted for caribou, deer, and ducks. They returned in winter to ski and snowshoe. Elsie Reford also liked to ride. She had learned as a girl and spent many hours riding on the slopes of Mount Royal. And of course, there was salmon-fishing – a sport at which she excelled.

In her day, she was known for her civic, social, and political activism. She was engaged in philanthropic activities, particularly for the Montreal Maternity Hospital and she was also the moving force behind the creation of the Women’s Canadian Club of Montreal, the first women club in Canada. She believed it important that the women become involved in debates over the great issues of the day, « something beyond the local gossip of the hour ». Her acquaintance with Lord Grey, the Governor-General of Canada from 1904 to 1911, led to her involvement in organizing, in 1908, Québec City’s tercentennial celebrations. The event was one of many to which she devoted herself in building bridges with French-Canadian community.

During the First World War, she joined her two sons in England and did volunteer work at the War Office, translating documents from German into English. After the war, she was active in the Victorian Order of Nurses, the Montreal Council of Social Agencies, and the National Association of Conservative Women.

In 1925 at the age of 53 years, Elsie Reford was operated for appendicitis and during her convalescence, her doctor counselled against fishing, fearing that she did not have the strength to return to the river.”Why not take up gardening?” he said, thinking this a more suitable pastime for a convalescent woman of a certain age. That is why she began laying out the gardens and supervising their construction. The gardens would take ten years to build, and would extend over more than twenty acres.

Elsie Reford had to overcome many difficulties in bringing her garden to life. First among them were the allergies that sometimes left her bedridden for days on end. The second obstacle was the property itself. Estevan was first and foremost a fishing lodge. The site was chosen because of its proximity to a salmon river and its dramatic views – not for the quality of the soil.

To counter-act nature’s deficiencies, she created soil for each of the plants she had selected, bringing peat and sand from nearby farms. This exchange was fortuitous to the local farmers, suffering through the Great Depression. Then, as now, the gardens provided much-needed work to an area with high unemployment. Elsie Reford’s genius as a gardener was born of the knowledge she developed of the needs of plants. Over the course of her long life, she became an expert plantsman. By the end of her life, Elsie Reford was able to counsel other gardeners, writing in the journals of the Royal Horticultural Society and the North American Lily Society. Elsie Reford was not a landscape architect and had no training of any kind as a garden designer. While she collected and appreciated art, she claimed no talents as an artist.

Elsie Stephen Reford died at her Drummond Street home on November 8, 1967 in her ninety-sixth year.

In 1995, the Reford Gardens ("Jardins de Métis") in Grand-Métis were designated a National Historic Site of Canada, as being an excellent Canadian example of the English-inspired garden.(Wikipedia)

Visit : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elsie_Reford

Visit : www.refordgardens.com

LES JARDINS DE MÉTIS

Créés par Elsie Reford de 1926 à 1958, ces jardins témoignent de façon remarquable de l’art paysager à l’anglaise. Disposés dans un cadre naturel, un ensemble de jardins exhibent fleurs vivaces, arbres et arbustes. Le jardin des pommetiers, les rocailles et l’Allée royale évoquent l’œuvre de cette dame passionnée d’horticulture. Agrémenté d’un ruisseau et de sentiers sinueux, ce site jouit d’un microclimat favorable à la croissance d’espèces uniques au Canada. Les pavots bleus et les lis, privilégiés par Mme Reford, y fleurissent toujours et contribuent , avec d’autres plantes exotiques et indigènes, à l’harmonie de ces lieux.

Created by Elsie Reford between 1926 and 1958, these gardens are an inspired example of the English art of the garden. Woven into a natural setting, a series of gardens display perennials, trees and shrubs. A crab-apple orchard, a rock garden, and the Long Walk are also the legacy of this dedicated horticulturist. A microclimate favours the growth of species found nowhere else in Canada, while the stream and winding paths add to the charm. Elsie Reford’s beloved blue poppies and lilies still bloom and contribute, with other exotic and indigenous plants, to the harmony of the site.

Commission des lieux et monuments historiques du Canada

Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada.

Gouvernement du Canada – Government of Canada

© Copyright

This photo and all those in my Photostream are protected by copyright. No one may reproduce, copy, transmit or manipulate them without my written permission.

Visit : www.refordgardens.com/

MECONOPSIS BETONICIFOLIA

From Wikipedia:

Elsie Stephen Meighen - born January 22, 1872, Perth, Ontario - and Robert Wilson Reford - born in 1867, Montreal - got married on June 12, 1894.

Elsie Reford was a pioneer of Canadian horticulture, creating one of the largest private gardens in Canada on her estate, Estevan Lodge in eastern Québec. Located in Grand-Métis on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River, her gardens have been open to the public since 1962 and operate under the name Les Jardins de Métis and Reford Gardens.

Born January 22, 1872 at Perth, Ontario, Elsie Reford was the eldest of three children born to Robert Meighen and Elsie Stephen. Coming from modest backgrounds themselves, Elsie’s parents ensured that their children received a good education. After being educated in Montreal, she was sent to finishing school in Dresden and Paris, returning to Montreal fluent in both German and French, and ready to take her place in society.

She married Robert Wilson Reford on June 12, 1894. She gave birth to two sons, Bruce in 1895 and Eric in 1900. Robert and Elsie Reford were, by many accounts, an ideal couple. In 1902, they built a house on Drummond Street in Montreal. They both loved the outdoors and they spend several weeks a year in a log cabin they built at Lac Caribou, south of Rimouski. In the autumn they hunted for caribou, deer, and ducks. They returned in winter to ski and snowshoe. Elsie Reford also liked to ride. She had learned as a girl and spent many hours riding on the slopes of Mount Royal. And of course, there was salmon-fishing – a sport at which she excelled.

In her day, she was known for her civic, social, and political activism. She was engaged in philanthropic activities, particularly for the Montreal Maternity Hospital and she was also the moving force behind the creation of the Women’s Canadian Club of Montreal, the first women club in Canada. She believed it important that the women become involved in debates over the great issues of the day, « something beyond the local gossip of the hour ». Her acquaintance with Lord Grey, the Governor-General of Canada from 1904 to 1911, led to her involvement in organizing, in 1908, Québec City’s tercentennial celebrations. The event was one of many to which she devoted herself in building bridges with French-Canadian community.

During the First World War, she joined her two sons in England and did volunteer work at the War Office, translating documents from German into English. After the war, she was active in the Victorian Order of Nurses, the Montreal Council of Social Agencies, and the National Association of Conservative Women.

In 1925 at the age of 53 years, Elsie Reford was operated for appendicitis and during her convalescence, her doctor counselled against fishing, fearing that she did not have the strength to return to the river.”Why not take up gardening?” he said, thinking this a more suitable pastime for a convalescent woman of a certain age. That is why she began laying out the gardens and supervising their construction. The gardens would take ten years to build, and would extend over more than twenty acres.

Elsie Reford had to overcome many difficulties in bringing her garden to life. First among them were the allergies that sometimes left her bedridden for days on end. The second obstacle was the property itself. Estevan was first and foremost a fishing lodge. The site was chosen because of its proximity to a salmon river and its dramatic views – not for the quality of the soil.

To counter-act nature’s deficiencies, she created soil for each of the plants she had selected, bringing peat and sand from nearby farms. This exchange was fortuitous to the local farmers, suffering through the Great Depression. Then, as now, the gardens provided much-needed work to an area with high unemployment. Elsie Reford’s genius as a gardener was born of the knowledge she developed of the needs of plants. Over the course of her long life, she became an expert plantsman. By the end of her life, Elsie Reford was able to counsel other gardeners, writing in the journals of the Royal Horticultural Society and the North American Lily Society. Elsie Reford was not a landscape architect and had no training of any kind as a garden designer. While she collected and appreciated art, she claimed no talents as an artist.

Elsie Stephen Reford died at her Drummond Street home on November 8, 1967 in her ninety-sixth year.

In 1995, the Reford Gardens ("Jardins de Métis") in Grand-Métis were designated a National Historic Site of Canada, as being an excellent Canadian example of the English-inspired garden.(Wikipedia)

Visit : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elsie_Reford

Visit : www.refordgardens.com/

LES JARDINS DE MÉTIS

Créés par Elsie Reford de 1926 à 1958, ces jardins témoignent de façon remarquable de l’art paysager à l’anglaise. Disposés dans un cadre naturel, un ensemble de jardins exhibent fleurs vivaces, arbres et arbustes. Le jardin des pommetiers, les rocailles et l’Allée royale évoquent l’œuvre de cette dame passionnée d’horticulture. Agrémenté d’un ruisseau et de sentiers sinueux, ce site jouit d’un microclimat favorable à la croissance d’espèces uniques au Canada. Les pavots bleus et les lis, privilégiés par Mme Reford, y fleurissent toujours et contribuent , avec d’autres plantes exotiques et indigènes, à l’harmonie de ces lieux.

Created by Elsie Reford between 1926 and 1958, these gardens are an inspired example of the English art of the garden. Woven into a natural setting, a series of gardens display perennials, trees and shrubs. A crab-apple orchard, a rock garden, and the Long Walk are also the legacy of this dedicated horticulturist. A microclimate favours the growth of species found nowhere else in Canada, while the stream and winding paths add to the charm. Elsie Reford’s beloved blue poppies and lilies still bloom and contribute, with other exotic and indigenous plants, to the harmony of the site.

Commission des lieux et monuments historiques du Canada

Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada.

Gouvernement du Canada – Government of Canada

© Copyright

This photo and all those in my Photostream are protected by copyright. No one may reproduce, copy, transmit or manipulate them without my written permission.

Llyn Llech Owain Country Park is is a stunning 158-acre expanse of woods and lakeland near Cross Hands with nature trails, an adventure area and visitor centre. At the heart of this spectacular park is its dramatic lake which is surrounded by peat bog and there’s a lovely myth associated with Llyn Lech Owain. Legend has it that Owain Lawgoch ("Owain of the Red Hand" - who led an army of French mercenaries against the English in the Hundred Years' War), was entrusted to look after a well on the mountain named Mynydd Mawr. Each day, after extracting enough water for himself and his horse, Owain was always careful to replace the stone but on one occasion he forgot and a torrent of water poured down the side of the mountain. The resultant lake was hence named Llyn Lech Owain - the lake of Owain’s slab. Today, specially constructed paths allow for safe access over the bog and around the lake. The paths are well-surfaced and accessible to wheelchair-users. A forest track provides a longer walk or cycle ride around the country park and there’s a rough mountain bike trail for the more adventurous cyclist. Much of the park consists of coniferous woodland, planted by the Forestry Commission during the 1960s and there are also areas of dry heath and broad-leaved woodland.

Turtle Bay, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States

The Chrysler Building, a stunning statement in the Art Deco style by architect William Van Alen, embodies the romantic essence of the New York City skyscraper. Built in 1928-30 for Walter P. Chrysler of the Chrysler Corporation, it was "dedicated to world commerce and industry."- The tallest building in the world when completed in 1930, it stood proudly on the New York skyline as a personal symbol of Walter Chrysler and the strength of his corporation.

History of Construction

The Chrysler Building had its beginnings in an office building project for William H. Reynolds, a real-estate developer and promoter and former New York State senator. Reynolds had acquired a long-term lease in 1921 on a parcel of property at Lexington Avenue and 42nd Street owned by the Cooper Union tor the Advancement of Science and Art. In 1927 architect William Van Alen was hired to design an office tower to be called the Reynolds Building for the site. Publicized as embodying new principles in skyscraper design,*' the projected building was to be 67 stories high rising 808 feet, and it was "to be surmounted by a glass dome, which when lighted from within, will give the effect of a great jewelled sphere."-' In October, 1928, however, the office building project and the lease on the site were taken over by Walter P. Chrysler, head of the Chrysler Corporation, who was seeking to expand his interests into the real estate field.

Walter Percy Chrysler (1875-1940), one of America's foremost automobile manufacturers, was a self-made man who worked his way up through the mechanical an; manufacturing aspects of the railroad business before joining the Buick Motor Company as works manager in 1912. Because of his success in introducing new processes and efficiencies into the automobile plant, he rose quickly through the administrative ranks of General Motors (which had absorbed Buick) before personality conflicts with William C. Durant, head of General Motors, forced Chrysler to leave. In 1921 he reorganized Willys-Overland Company, and then took over as chairman of the reorganization and management committee of the Maxwell Motor Company, eventually assuming the presidency. This enabled Chrysler to introduce in 1924 the car bearing his name which presented such innovations as four-wheel hydraulic brakes and high compression motor.

Over 50 million dollars worth of cars were sold the first year, and in 1925, the Maxwell Motor Company became the Chrysler Corporation, Dodge Brothers was acquired in 1928 giving the Chrysler Corporation additional manufacturing facilities, a famous line of cars, and putting it in a position to challenge the leadership of Ford and General Motor By 1935, when Chrysler retired from the presidency of the Chrysler Corporation to become chairman of the board, the company was second in the automobile industry ir. volume of production.

It was while Chrysler was aggressively expanding his corporation in 1928 that he took over the office building project from Reynolds. In his autobiography, Chrysler said that he had the building constructed so that his sons would have something to be responsible for. He could not have been unaware, however, that the building would become a personal symbol and further the image of the Chrysler Corporation — even though no corporate funds were used in its financing or construction. To that end Chrysler worked with architect William Van Alen to make the building a powerful and striking design.

William Van Alen (1882-1954) studied at Pratt Institute before beginning his architectural career in the office or Clarence True, a speculative builder. Severs! years later while continuing his studies at the Beaux-Arts Institute 01 Design in the atelier of Donn Barber, Van Alen entered the office of Clinton * Russell as a designer. In 1908 he won the Paris Prize of the Beaux-Arts Institute and entered the Ecole des Beaux-Arts and the Atelier lLaloux. According to architect Francis S. Swales, "

His work at the Ecole indicated that the training was providing him with the mental freedom necessary to think independently, instead of merely the usual school -cargo of elements of architecture and a technique or competition by rules."0 Returning to New York in 1912 he introduced the concept of "garden11 apartments and also designed the Albemarle Building, a skyscraper without cornices. In the 1920s he became known for his innovative shop-front designs and for a series of restaurants for the Child's chain. With the Chrysler Building, Van Alen was able to apply modern principles of design to the skyscraper but at the same time created such a striking image that critic Kenneth Murchison dubbed him "the Ziegfield of his profession.

'In the 1930s he pioneered in prefabricated housing designs although they were never widely produced. Van Alen served for four years in the 1940s as director of sculpture for the Beaux-Arts Institute of Design, and he was a member of the American Institute of Architects and the National Academy of Design.

Work began on the Chrysler Building on October 15, 1928, when Chrysler acquire the lease, with clearance of the site. Construction proceeded rapidly; foundations to a depth of 69 feet were completed early in 1929, and the steel framework was completed by the end of September of that year.

The design of the building, however, was altered from that for Reynolds. Chrysler, in his autobiography, credits himself for suggesting that it be taller than the 1000-foot Eiffel Tower. The design of the crowning dome was also changed, and the addition of a spire, which the architect called a "vertex," made the Chrysler at 1046 feet the tallest building in the world at the time. Kenneth Murchison fancifully depicts Chrysler urging Van Alen to win the race to construct the world's tallest building.

Van Alen himself had personal reasons for achieving this goal, as a former partner, ii. Craig Severance, was constructing the Bank of Manhattan, 40 Wall Street, at the same time with the aim of making it the world's tallest skyscraper. Thinking that the Chrysler Building would be only 925 feet high, Severance added a 50-foot flagpole to his building making it 927 feet. Meanwhile, Van Alen designed the 185-foot spire which would make the Chrysler Building the tallest. The spire was fabricated, then delivered to the building in five sections, and assembled secret at the 65th floor.

In November, 1929, it was finally raised into position by a 20-ton derrick through a fire tower in the center of the building, then riveted i place, the whole operation taking about 90 minutes. This engineering feat capture the popular imagination as well as that of professionals, and it helped to further the progressive image of the Chrysler Building. However, the Chrysler lost its height distinction two years later with the construction of the Empire State Building.

The first tenants moved into the Chrysler Building in April, 1930, even though construction was not completed. Formal opening ceremonies were held on May 27, 1930 in conjunction with the annual meeting of the 42nd Street Property Owners and Merchants Association. A bronze tablet was placed in the lobby of the building "in recongnition of Mr. Chrysler's contribution to civic advancement." The building was considered finished in August, 1930, but curiously, the completion date recorded in the records of the Manhattan Building Department is February 19, 1932.

The Chrysler Building and Art Deco

Waiter P. Chrysler wanted a progressive image and a personal symbol. Van Alen strove* to create such an image using the tenets of modernism as he interpreted them. In so doing he designed a building which has come to be regarded as one of the outstanding examples of Art Deco architecture.

The term. Art Deco, which is also referred to by several different names such as the Style Moderne and Modernistic, is adopted from the Exposition International: des Arts Decoratifs et Industrie]s Modernes--an important European influence or. the American Art Deco sty!e--held in Paris in 1925.

In the period following the first World War, architects in Europe and the united States had begun to simplify traditional design forms and to use -industrial materials in innovative ways in order to characterize the modern age.

The Art Deco style seemed to lend itself particularly well to skyscraper design because the skyscraper, more than any other building type, epitomized progress, innovation, and a new modern age. Although the Art Deco style was short-lived, it coincided with a great building boom at the end of the 1920s in New York. The many-skyscrapers which were erected in the Art Deco style gave New York and its skyline a characteristic and romantic image, popularized in theater and films, which persisted until the next great building boom of the early 1960s. In the Chrysler Building, Van Alen used a variety of materials, techniques, and design forms which are characteristic of Art Deco.

The Chrysler Building rises 77 stories in a series of setbacks which accord with the regulations of the 1916 New York zoning prdinance. As a freestanding tower occupying about half a block, the building is visible from four sides. Like many Art Deco architects. Van Alen believed strongly in designing steel structures so that they would not be imitative of masonry construction.'- Also unlike many earlier skyscrapers, the design of the Chrysler did not follow the formula of a column with ornamental base, bare shaft, and ornamental capital; rather the design was to be of interest throughout the entire height.13 Both the great height of the building and the mandated setbacks aided Van Alen in making this design decision,

The first four stories of the building cover the entire site arid are faced with polished black Shastone granite at the first story and white Georgian marble above. The most striking features of this portion of the building are the two entrances, on Lexington Avenue and 42nd Street. Each entrance rises for h height of three stories in proscenium fashion and is enframed by Shastone granite. Set back within the deep reveals of the entrances are sets of revolving doors beneath intricately patterned metal and glass screens.

The treatment is such as to heighten the dramatic effect of entering the building --a concern of Art Deco design There is a one-story entrance on 43rd Street. Also at first story level are iarge show windows for shops, framed in metal. Windows for offices may be seen at the second, third, and fourth stories. Ornamental spandrels are set at the bases of the second story windows. The exposed metal frames of the entries and windows art of "Nirosta" steel, a kind of rust-resistant, chromium nickel steel, manufactured for the first time in the United States specifically for the Chrysler Building according to a German formula from Krupp. This use of a new. material is in keeping with Art Deco principles.

Above the fourth story, the building is penetrated on the east and west sides by light courts extending to the face of the tower, while on the north and south the structure gradually rises in a series of setbacks. The facing of the walls through the first setback at the sixteenth story is of white brick with contrast! white marble strips creating a basketweave pattern. The use of a variety of colo and textures is characteristic of Art Deco. Windows are set in a regular grid pattern. An. unusual feature of all windows in the building is that they have no reveals; frames are set flush with the walls. This was seen is another means of indicating modernity and progress.

In the next setback, ending at the twenty-fourth floor, there is a vertical emphasis with piers of white brick alternating with vertical window strips. Aluminum spandrels between the windows aid this effect. Spandrels at the twentieth twenty-first, and twenty-second floors are adorned with polished abstract relief ornament. At the corners of the twenty-fourth floor are placed conventionalized pineapples, about nine feet high, of "Nirosta" steel, which had been fabricated < the site.

The next three stories, through the twenty-seventh, form the third setback. Horizontal banding and zigzag motifs in gray and black brick contrast with the verticality of the setback below. The fourth setback, to the thirty-first story marks the emergence of the tower shaft from the lower masses. At the thirty-first floor the corners of the building are extended outward and crowned by huge ornamental Chrysler radiator caps in "Nirosta" steel, spanning about 15 feet.

The- extension was necessary to overcome the optical effect that would otherwise make the tower appear wider at the top than at the base. Also at this floor is a frieze ir. gra; and white brick of stylized racing automobiles with polished steel hub caps. Th ornamental features are overt symbols of the Chrysler Corporation and characteristic of the types of effects created by Art Deco architects.

The building had a number of innovative and desirable features. THe soundproofed office partitions were of steel made in interchangeable sections so that arranges! of any office suite could be changed quickly and conveniently. Under-floor duct systems carried wiring for telephone and electric outlets.

The elevators, specifically at Chrysler's instruction, were capable of speeds of 1000 feet per minute although city codes in effect in 1930 only allowed 700 feet per minute. The building also had three of the longest continuous elevator shafts in the world To enhance public access to the building, an underground arcade led to the IRT subway system. The connection was strongly opposed by the IRT, but Chrysler prevailed and the passageway was built at his expense. In the dome was the private-Cloud Club, which still exists, and, in the very topmost floor, a public observation deck.

On display was Walter P. Chrysler's box of handmade tools, the emblem of his enterprise and personal success. The observatory has been closed for many years.

Conclusion

Critics such as Lewis Mumford who favored the International Style denigrated the Chrysler Building for its "inane romanticism,... meaningless voluptuousness, ... /and/ void symbolism," " but it was these qualities which captured the popular imagination and helped make it one of the most famous buildings in New York. We can appreciate the comments of the editor of Architectural Porum who wrote:

It stands by itself, something apart and alone. It is simply the realization, the fulfillment in metal and masonry, of a one-man dream, a dream of such ambition and such magnitude as to defy the comprehension and the criticism of ordinary men or by ordinary standards.

The Chrysler Building still stands proudly in the New York skyline, its gleaming spire and soaring tower capturing the eye and imagination of the viewer. While it may no longer symbolize the Chrysler Corporation, it still embodies the romantic essence of the Art Deco skyscraper in New York City, with its dramatic effects, elegant materials, and vivid ornamental details. Built as a monument to progress in commerce and industry, it remains as one of New York's finest office buildings and great examples of the Art Deco style.

- From the 1978 NYCLPC Landmark Designation Report

Random shot #igs #igers #instago #ig_nesia #iphone4s #instagood #instagram #iphonesia #indogallery #instagramhub #its_dramatic #instahub #webstagram #b_ig #gf_daily #gang_family #photooftheday #all_shots #hdr #hdrsoft #hdr_arts #hdreality #hdr_lovers #hdrpotters #hdroftheday #hdrstyles_gf #hdr_indonesia #tree #natgeohub treescollection

171 Likes on Instagram

36 Comments on Instagram:

ryosky: @code99 tengkyu bro,siap bro bikin acc baru nih

ahay_art: nice..

mitsukiney: Wow

dickymuhammad: Aduuuh Keren Pisan!!

ryosky: @ahay_art @mitsukiney @dickymuhammad thanks always guys

asti_2105: Wow

spacelord_mf: I'm back so tell Karen ok bro! I miss fucking her! Hahaha

myfotodiary: great shot n edit bro...

Barsana Monastery - Maramures - Romania

Barsana Monastery - -

Barsana monastery, one of the main attractions in Maramures, Romania

When UNESCO designated parts of the Maramures Region in Northern Transylvania a WORLD HERITAGE site, it was aimed at protecting the stylized wooden architecture and its dramatic vernacular. Of particular appeal are the tall spires of orthodox churches that dot the area. One of these is the recently constructed Barsana Monastery complex - actually a convent with sixteen nuns. Created in post-Communist years on the site of a church abandoned in 1790, the complex has become a significant cultural and religious attraction. Its 56 meter-tall (180 feet) spired church is reputedly the tallest wooden structure in Europe.

www.flickr.com/photos/wwwdragos/7614653774/in/set-7215762...

Detail of the upper half of the west window depicting the Last Judgement. The Last Judgement is Fairford's most celebrated window for its dramatic composition and graphic depiction of the horrors of hell in the lower half. The window sadly suffered badly during the great storm of 1703 with the upper half depicting Christ in Judgement and the surrounding company of saints and angels the most seriously affected part.

A substantial amount however still remained until it was unfortunately 'restored' in 1860 by Chance Bros of Smethwick, whose approach was to substitute all the surviving glass in the upper half of the window with a carefully created replica. It is clear that the design is a faithful copy of what was there originally, but none of the surviving material was reused, parts of it being secretly kept by the studio and probably sold (some elements have resurfaced much more recently).

St Mary's at Fairford is justly famous, not only as a most beautiful building architecturally but for the survival of its complete set of late medieval stained glass, a unique survival in an English parish church. No other church has resisted the waves of iconoclasm unleashed by the Reformation and the English Civil War like Fairford has, and as a result we can experience a pre-Reformation iconographic scheme in glass in its entirety. At most churches one is lucky to find mere fragments of the original glazing and even one complete window is an exceptional survival, thus a full set of 28 of them here in a more or less intact state makes Fairford church uniquely precious.

The exterior already promises great things, this is a handsome late 15th century building entirely rebuilt in Perpendicular style and dedicated in 1497. The benefactor was lord of the manor John Tame, a wealthy wool merchant whose son Edmund later continued the family's legacy in donating the glass. The central tower is adorned with much carving including strange figures guarding the corners and a rather archaic looking relief of Christ on the western side. The nave is crowned by a fine clerestorey whilst the aisles below form a gallery of large windows that seem to embrace the entire building without structural interruption aside from the south porch and the chancel projecting at the east end. All around are pinnacles, battlements and gargoyles, the effect is very rich and imposing for a village church.

One enters through the fan-vaulted porch and is initially met by subdued lighting within that takes a moment to adjust to but can immediately appreciate the elegant arcades and the rich glowing colours of the windows. The interior is spacious but the view east is interrupted by the tower whose panelled walls and arches frame only a glimpse of the chancel beyond. The glass was inserted between 1500-1517 and shows marked Renaissance influence, being the work of Flemish glaziers (based in Southwark) under the direction of the King's glazier Barnard Flower. The quality is thus of the highest available and suggests the Tame family had connections at court to secure such glaziers.

Entering the nave one is immediately confronted with the largest and most famous window in the church, the west window with its glorious Last Judgement, best known for its lurid depiction of the horrors of Hell with exotic demons dragging the damned to their doom. Sadly the three windows in the west wall suffered serious storm damage in 1703 and the Last Judgement suffered further during an 1860 restoration that copied rather than restored the glass in its upper half. The nave clerestories contain an intriguing scheme further emphasising the battle of Good versus Evil with a gallery of saintly figures on the south side balanced by a 'rogue's gallery' of persecutors of the faith on the darker north side, above which are fabulous demonic figures leering from the traceries.

The aisle windows form further arrays of figures in canopies with the Evangelists and prophets on the north side and the Apostles and Doctors of the Church on the south. The more narrative windows are mainly located in the eastern half of the church, starting in the north chapel with an Old Testament themed window followed by more on the life of Mary and infancy of Christ. The subject matter is usually confined to one light or a pair of them, so multiple scenes can be portrayed within a single window. The scheme continues in the east window of the chancel with its scenes of the Passion of Christ in the lower register culminating in his crucifixion above, while a smaller window to the south shows his entombment and the harrowing of Hell. The cycle continues in the south chapel where the east window shows scenes of Christ's resurrection and transfiguration whilst two further windows relate further incidents culminating in Pentecost. The final window in the sequence however is of course the Last Judgement at the west end.

The glass has been greatly valued and protected over the centuries from the ravages of history, being removed for protection during the Civil War and World War II. The windows underwent a complete conservation between 1988-2010 by the Barley Studio of York which bravely restored legibility to the windows by sensitive releading and recreating missing pieces with new work (previously these had been filled with plain glass which drew the eye and disturbed the balance of light). The most dramatic intervention was the re-ordering of the westernmost windows of the nave aisles which had been partially filled with jumbled fragments following the storm damage of 1703 but have now been returned to something closer to their original state.

It is important here not to neglect the church's other features since the glass dominates its reputation so much. The chancel also retains its original late medieval woodwork with a fine set of delicate screens dividing it from the chapels either side along with a lovely set of stalls with carved misericords. The tomb of the founder John Tame and his wife can be seen on the north side of the sanctuary with their brasses atop a tomb chest. Throughout the church a fine series of carved angel corbels supports the old oak roofs.

Fairford church is a national treasure and shouldn't be missed by anyone with a love of stained glass and medieval art. It is normally kept open for visitors and deserves more of them.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Mary%27s_Church,_Fairford

REFORD GARDENS | LES JARDINS DE METIS

GENTIANA SEPTEMFIDA Var. LAGODECHIANA

Beautiful flowers at Reford Gardens.

Visit : www.refordgardens.com/

From Wikipedia:

Elsie Stephen Meighen - born January 22, 1872, Perth, Ontario - and Robert Wilson Reford - born in 1867, Montreal - got married on June 12, 1894.

Elsie Reford was a pioneer of Canadian horticulture, creating one of the largest private gardens in Canada on her estate, Estevan Lodge in eastern Québec. Located in Grand-Métis on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River, her gardens have been open to the public since 1962 and operate under the name Les Jardins de Métis and Reford Gardens.

Born January 22, 1872 at Perth, Ontario, Elsie Reford was the eldest of three children born to Robert Meighen and Elsie Stephen. Coming from modest backgrounds themselves, Elsie’s parents ensured that their children received a good education. After being educated in Montreal, she was sent to finishing school in Dresden and Paris, returning to Montreal fluent in both German and French, and ready to take her place in society.

She married Robert Wilson Reford on June 12, 1894. She gave birth to two sons, Bruce in 1895 and Eric in 1900. Robert and Elsie Reford were, by many accounts, an ideal couple. In 1902, they built a house on Drummond Street in Montreal. They both loved the outdoors and they spend several weeks a year in a log cabin they built at Lac Caribou, south of Rimouski. In the autumn they hunted for caribou, deer, and ducks. They returned in winter to ski and snowshoe. Elsie Reford also liked to ride. She had learned as a girl and spent many hours riding on the slopes of Mount Royal. And of course, there was salmon-fishing – a sport at which she excelled.

In her day, she was known for her civic, social, and political activism. She was engaged in philanthropic activities, particularly for the Montreal Maternity Hospital and she was also the moving force behind the creation of the Women’s Canadian Club of Montreal, the first women club in Canada. She believed it important that the women become involved in debates over the great issues of the day, « something beyond the local gossip of the hour ». Her acquaintance with Lord Grey, the Governor-General of Canada from 1904 to 1911, led to her involvement in organizing, in 1908, Québec City’s tercentennial celebrations. The event was one of many to which she devoted herself in building bridges with French-Canadian community.

During the First World War, she joined her two sons in England and did volunteer work at the War Office, translating documents from German into English. After the war, she was active in the Victorian Order of Nurses, the Montreal Council of Social Agencies, and the National Association of Conservative Women.

In 1925 at the age of 53 years, Elsie Reford was operated for appendicitis and during her convalescence, her doctor counselled against fishing, fearing that she did not have the strength to return to the river.”Why not take up gardening?” he said, thinking this a more suitable pastime for a convalescent woman of a certain age. That is why she began laying out the gardens and supervising their construction. The gardens would take ten years to build, and would extend over more than twenty acres.

Elsie Reford had to overcome many difficulties in bringing her garden to life. First among them were the allergies that sometimes left her bedridden for days on end. The second obstacle was the property itself. Estevan was first and foremost a fishing lodge. The site was chosen because of its proximity to a salmon river and its dramatic views – not for the quality of the soil.

To counter-act nature’s deficiencies, she created soil for each of the plants she had selected, bringing peat and sand from nearby farms. This exchange was fortuitous to the local farmers, suffering through the Great Depression. Then, as now, the gardens provided much-needed work to an area with high unemployment. Elsie Reford’s genius as a gardener was born of the knowledge she developed of the needs of plants. Over the course of her long life, she became an expert plantsman. By the end of her life, Elsie Reford was able to counsel other gardeners, writing in the journals of the Royal Horticultural Society and the North American Lily Society. Elsie Reford was not a landscape architect and had no training of any kind as a garden designer. While she collected and appreciated art, she claimed no talents as an artist.

Elsie Stephen Reford died at her Drummond Street home on November 8, 1967 in her ninety-sixth year.

In 1995, the Reford Gardens ("Jardins de Métis") in Grand-Métis were designated a National Historic Site of Canada, as being an excellent Canadian example of the English-inspired garden.(Wikipedia)

Visit : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elsie_Reford

Visit : www.refordgardens.com

LES JARDINS DE MÉTIS

Créés par Elsie Reford de 1926 à 1958, ces jardins témoignent de façon remarquable de l’art paysager à l’anglaise. Disposés dans un cadre naturel, un ensemble de jardins exhibent fleurs vivaces, arbres et arbustes. Le jardin des pommetiers, les rocailles et l’Allée royale évoquent l’œuvre de cette dame passionnée d’horticulture. Agrémenté d’un ruisseau et de sentiers sinueux, ce site jouit d’un microclimat favorable à la croissance d’espèces uniques au Canada. Les pavots bleus et les lis, privilégiés par Mme Reford, y fleurissent toujours et contribuent , avec d’autres plantes exotiques et indigènes, à l’harmonie de ces lieux.

Created by Elsie Reford between 1926 and 1958, these gardens are an inspired example of the English art of the garden. Woven into a natural setting, a series of gardens display perennials, trees and shrubs. A crab-apple orchard, a rock garden, and the Long Walk are also the legacy of this dedicated horticulturist. A microclimate favours the growth of species found nowhere else in Canada, while the stream and winding paths add to the charm. Elsie Reford’s beloved blue poppies and lilies still bloom and contribute, with other exotic and indigenous plants, to the harmony of the site.

Commission des lieux et monuments historiques du Canada

Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada.

Gouvernement du Canada – Government of Canada

© Copyright

This photo and all those in my Photostream are protected by copyright. No one may reproduce, copy, transmit or manipulate them without my written permission.

A national treasure built by third Edo shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu, the Main Hall was obliterated in the March 1945 Tokyo air raids. However, it was reconstructed in October 1958 through donations collected from adherents around Japan. Though it mirrors the original style, the current building features a solid reinforced concrete structure with titanium roof tiles.

One immediately apparent characteristic of the Main Hall is its dramatically sloping roof, quite tall compared to that of other temples, such that it can be seen from a great distance.

The 1,150 square-meter hall is divided into the naijin (inner sanctum) lain in tatami mats and the concrete-floor gejin (outer sanctum). Senso-ji's principle image, the Bodhisattva Kannon, sits on the zushi (miniature shrine) called the gokuden in the center of the naijin. The gokuden houses both the secret statue and the duplicate statue carved by Ennin, which is taken out for public viewing on December 13 of every year. It also holds images of Kannon once worn by persons of high rank including Edo period shoguns and ordained members of the royal family. To the left and right of the gokuden sit the Buddhist protector deities Bonten and Taishakuten. To the rear left of the naijin is a statue of Fudo Myo-o, and to the right is Aizen Myo-o, attendants of Bodhisattva Kannon.

Midtown Manhattan, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States

The Chrysler Building, a stunning statement in the Art Deco style by architect William Van Alen, embodies the romantic essence of the New York City skyscraper. Built in 1928-30 for Walter P. Chrysler of the Chrysler Corporation, it was "dedicated to world commerce and industry."- The tallest building in the world when completed in 1930, it stood proudly on the New York skyline as a personal symbol of Walter Chrysler and the strength of his corporation.

History of Construction

The Chrysler Building had its beginnings in an office building project for William H. Reynolds, a real-estate developer and promoter and former New York State senator. Reynolds had acquired a long-term lease in 1921 on a parcel of property at Lexington Avenue and 42nd Street owned by the Cooper Union tor the Advancement of Science and Art. In 1927 architect William Van Alen was hired to design an office tower to be called the Reynolds Building for the site. Publicized as embodying new principles in skyscraper design,*' the projected building was to be 67 stories high rising 808 feet, and it was "to be surmounted by a glass dome, which when lighted from within, will give the effect of a great jewelled sphere."-' In October, 1928, however, the office building project and the lease on the site were taken over by Walter P. Chrysler, head of the Chrysler Corporation, who was seeking to expand his interests into the real estate field.

Walter Percy Chrysler , one of America's foremost automobile manufacturers, was a self-made man who worked his way up through the mechanical an; manufacturing aspects of the railroad business before joining the Buick Motor Company as works manager in 1912. Because of his success in introducing new processes and efficiencies into the automobile plant, he rose quickly through the administrative ranks of General Motors before personality conflicts with William C. Durant, head of General Motors, forced Chrysler to leave. In 1921 he reorganized Willys-Overland Company, and then took over as chairman of the reorganization and management committee of the Maxwell Motor Company, eventually assuming the presidency. This enabled Chrysler to introduce in 1924 the car bearing his name which presented such innovations as four-wheel hydraulic brakes and high compression motor.

Over 50 million dollars worth of cars were sold the first year, and in 1925, the Maxwell Motor Company became the Chrysler Corporation, Dodge Brothers was acquired in 1928 giving the Chrysler Corporation additional manufacturing facilities, a famous line of cars, and putting it in a position to challenge the leadership of Ford and General Motor By 1935, when Chrysler retired from the presidency of the Chrysler Corporation to become chairman of the board, the company was second in the automobile industry ir. volume of production.

It was while Chrysler was aggressively expanding his corporation in 1928 that he took over the office building project from Reynolds. In his autobiography, Chrysler said that he had the building constructed so that his sons would have something to be responsible for. He could not have been unaware, however, that the building would become a personal symbol and further the image of the Chrysler Corporation — even though no corporate funds were used in its financing or construction. To that end Chrysler worked with architect William Van Alen to make the building a powerful and striking design.

William Van Alen studied at Pratt Institute before beginning his architectural career in the office or Clarence True, a speculative builder. Severs! years later while continuing his studies at the Beaux-Arts Institute 01 Design in the atelier of Donn Barber, Van Alen entered the office of Clinton * Russell as a designer. In 1908 he won the Paris Prize of the Beaux-Arts Institute and entered the Ecole des Beaux-Arts and the Atelier lLaloux. According to architect Francis S. Swales, "

His work at the Ecole indicated that the training was providing him with the mental freedom necessary to think independently, instead of merely the usual school -cargo of elements of architecture and a technique or competition by rules."0 Returning to New York in 1912 he introduced the concept of "garden11 apartments and also designed the Albemarle Building, a skyscraper without cornices. In the 1920s he became known for his innovative shop-front designs and for a series of restaurants for the Child's chain. With the Chrysler Building, Van Alen was able to apply modern principles of design to the skyscraper but at the same time created such a striking image that critic Kenneth Murchison dubbed him "the Ziegfield of his profession.

'In the 1930s he pioneered in prefabricated housing designs although they were never widely produced. Van Alen served for four years in the 1940s as director of sculpture for the Beaux-Arts Institute of Design, and he was a member of the American Institute of Architects and the National Academy of Design.

Work began on the Chrysler Building on October 15, 1928, when Chrysler acquire the lease, with clearance of the site. Construction proceeded rapidly; foundations to a depth of 69 feet were completed early in 1929, and the steel framework was completed by the end of September of that year.

The design of the building, however, was altered from that for Reynolds. Chrysler, in his autobiography, credits himself for suggesting that it be taller than the 1000-foot Eiffel Tower. The design of the crowning dome was also changed, and the addition of a spire, which the architect called a "vertex," made the Chrysler at 1046 feet the tallest building in the world at the time. Kenneth Murchison fancifully depicts Chrysler urging Van Alen to win the race to construct the world's tallest building.

Van Alen himself had personal reasons for achieving this goal, as a former partner, ii. Craig Severance, was constructing the Bank of Manhattan, 40 Wall Street, at the same time with the aim of making it the world's tallest skyscraper. Thinking that the Chrysler Building would be only 925 feet high, Severance added a 50-foot flagpole to his building making it 927 feet. Meanwhile, Van Alen designed the 185-foot spire which would make the Chrysler Building the tallest. The spire was fabricated, then delivered to the building in five sections, and assembled secret at the 65th floor.

In November, 1929, it was finally raised into position by a 20-ton derrick through a fire tower in the center of the building, then riveted i place, the whole operation taking about 90 minutes. This engineering feat capture the popular imagination as well as that of professionals, and it helped to further the progressive image of the Chrysler Building. However, the Chrysler lost its height distinction two years later with the construction of the Empire State Building.

The first tenants moved into the Chrysler Building in April, 1930, even though construction was not completed. Formal opening ceremonies were held on May 27, 1930 in conjunction with the annual meeting of the 42nd Street Property Owners and Merchants Association. A bronze tablet was placed in the lobby of the building "in recongnition of Mr. Chrysler's contribution to civic advancement." The building was considered finished in August, 1930, but curiously, the completion date recorded in the records of the Manhattan Building Department is February 19, 1932.

The Chrysler Building and Art Deco

Waiter P. Chrysler wanted a progressive image and a personal symbol. Van Alen strove* to create such an image using the tenets of modernism as he interpreted them. In so doing he designed a building which has come to be regarded as one of the outstanding examples of Art Deco architecture.

The term. Art Deco, which is also referred to by several different names such as the Style Moderne and Modernistic, is adopted from the Exposition International: des Arts Decoratifs et Industrie]s Modernes--an important European influence or. the American Art Deco sty!e--held in Paris in 1925.

In the period following the first World War, architects in Europe and the united States had begun to simplify traditional design forms and to use -industrial materials in innovative ways in order to characterize the modern age.

The Art Deco style seemed to lend itself particularly well to skyscraper design because the skyscraper, more than any other building type, epitomized progress, innovation, and a new modern age. Although the Art Deco style was short-lived, it coincided with a great building boom at the end of the 1920s in New York. The many-skyscrapers which were erected in the Art Deco style gave New York and its skyline a characteristic and romantic image, popularized in theater and films, which persisted until the next great building boom of the early 1960s. In the Chrysler Building, Van Alen used a variety of materials, techniques, and design forms which are characteristic of Art Deco.

The Chrysler Building rises 77 stories in a series of setbacks which accord with the regulations of the 1916 New York zoning prdinance. As a freestanding tower occupying about half a block, the building is visible from four sides. Like many Art Deco architects. Van Alen believed strongly in designing steel structures so that they would not be imitative of masonry construction.'- Also unlike many earlier skyscrapers, the design of the Chrysler did not follow the formula of a column with ornamental base, bare shaft, and ornamental capital; rather the design was to be of interest throughout the entire height.13 Both the great height of the building and the mandated setbacks aided Van Alen in making this design decision,

The first four stories of the building cover the entire site arid are faced with polished black Shastone granite at the first story and white Georgian marble above. The most striking features of this portion of the building are the two entrances, on Lexington Avenue and 42nd Street. Each entrance rises for h height of three stories in proscenium fashion and is enframed by Shastone granite. Set back within the deep reveals of the entrances are sets of revolving doors beneath intricately patterned metal and glass screens.

The treatment is such as to heighten the dramatic effect of entering the building --a concern of Art Deco design There is a one-story entrance on 43rd Street. Also at first story level are iarge show windows for shops, framed in metal. Windows for offices may be seen at the second, third, and fourth stories. Ornamental spandrels are set at the bases of the second story windows. The exposed metal frames of the entries and windows art of "Nirosta" steel, a kind of rust-resistant, chromium nickel steel, manufactured for the first time in the United States specifically for the Chrysler Building according to a German formula from Krupp. This use of a new. material is in keeping with Art Deco principles.

Above the fourth story, the building is penetrated on the east and west sides by light courts extending to the face of the tower, while on the north and south the structure gradually rises in a series of setbacks. The facing of the walls through the first setback at the sixteenth story is of white brick with contrast! white marble strips creating a basketweave pattern. The use of a variety of colo and textures is characteristic of Art Deco. Windows are set in a regular grid pattern. An. unusual feature of all windows in the building is that they have no reveals; frames are set flush with the walls. This was seen is another means of indicating modernity and progress.

In the next setback, ending at the twenty-fourth floor, there is a vertical emphasis with piers of white brick alternating with vertical window strips. Aluminum spandrels between the windows aid this effect. Spandrels at the twentieth twenty-first, and twenty-second floors are adorned with polished abstract relief ornament. At the corners of the twenty-fourth floor are placed conventionalized pineapples, about nine feet high, of "Nirosta" steel, which had been fabricated < the site.

The next three stories, through the twenty-seventh, form the third setback. Horizontal banding and zigzag motifs in gray and black brick contrast with the verticality of the setback below. The fourth setback, to the thirty-first story marks the emergence of the tower shaft from the lower masses. At the thirty-first floor the corners of the building are extended outward and crowned by huge ornamental Chrysler radiator caps in "Nirosta" steel, spanning about 15 feet.

The- extension was necessary to overcome the optical effect that would otherwise make the tower appear wider at the top than at the base. Also at this floor is a frieze ir. gra; and white brick of stylized racing automobiles with polished steel hub caps. Th ornamental features are overt symbols of the Chrysler Corporation and characteristic of the types of effects created by Art Deco architects.

The building had a number of innovative and desirable features. THe soundproofed office partitions were of steel made in interchangeable sections so that arranges! of any office suite could be changed quickly and conveniently. Under-floor duct systems carried wiring for telephone and electric outlets.

The elevators, specifically at Chrysler's instruction, were capable of speeds of 1000 feet per minute although city codes in effect in 1930 only allowed 700 feet per minute. The building also had three of the longest continuous elevator shafts in the world To enhance public access to the building, an underground arcade led to the IRT subway system. The connection was strongly opposed by the IRT, but Chrysler prevailed and the passageway was built at his expense. In the dome was the private-Cloud Club, which still exists, and, in the very topmost floor, a public observation deck.

On display was Walter P. Chrysler's box of handmade tools, the emblem of his enterprise and personal success. The observatory has been closed for many years.

Conclusion

Critics such as Lewis Mumford who favored the International Style denigrated the Chrysler Building for its "inane romanticism,... meaningless voluptuousness, ... /and/ void symbolism," " but it was these qualities which captured the popular imagination and helped make it one of the most famous buildings in New York. We can appreciate the comments of the editor of Architectural Porum who wrote:

It stands by itself, something apart and alone. It is simply the realization, the fulfillment in metal and masonry, of a one-man dream, a dream of such ambition and such magnitude as to defy the comprehension and the criticism of ordinary men or by ordinary standards.

The Chrysler Building still stands proudly in the New York skyline, its gleaming spire and soaring tower capturing the eye and imagination of the viewer. While it may no longer symbolize the Chrysler Corporation, it still embodies the romantic essence of the Art Deco skyscraper in New York City, with its dramatic effects, elegant materials, and vivid ornamental details. Built as a monument to progress in commerce and industry, it remains as one of New York's finest office buildings and great examples of the Art Deco style.

- From the 1978 NYCLPC Landmark Designation Report

Høytorp Fort, Mysen in Indre Østfold on November 14, 2021. Historical reenactors in period Norwegian Army infantry uniforms from April 1940. Høytorp Fort - with its dramatic story from the German invasion of Norway - forms a realistic background to this type of scene.

REFORD GARDENS | LES JARDINS DE METIS

Dwarf Morning Glory | Tricolour Convolvulus

Beautiful flowers at Reford Gardens.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Visit : www.refordgardens.com/

From Wikipedia:

Elsie Stephen Meighen - born January 22, 1872, Perth, Ontario - and Robert Wilson Reford - born in 1867, Montreal - got married on June 12, 1894.

Elsie Reford was a pioneer of Canadian horticulture, creating one of the largest private gardens in Canada on her estate, Estevan Lodge in eastern Québec. Located in Grand-Métis on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River, her gardens have been open to the public since 1962 and operate under the name Les Jardins de Métis and Reford Gardens.

Born January 22, 1872 at Perth, Ontario, Elsie Reford was the eldest of three children born to Robert Meighen and Elsie Stephen. Coming from modest backgrounds themselves, Elsie’s parents ensured that their children received a good education. After being educated in Montreal, she was sent to finishing school in Dresden and Paris, returning to Montreal fluent in both German and French, and ready to take her place in society.

She married Robert Wilson Reford on June 12, 1894. She gave birth to two sons, Bruce in 1895 and Eric in 1900. Robert and Elsie Reford were, by many accounts, an ideal couple. In 1902, they built a house on Drummond Street in Montreal. They both loved the outdoors and they spend several weeks a year in a log cabin they built at Lac Caribou, south of Rimouski. In the autumn they hunted for caribou, deer, and ducks. They returned in winter to ski and snowshoe. Elsie Reford also liked to ride. She had learned as a girl and spent many hours riding on the slopes of Mount Royal. And of course, there was salmon-fishing – a sport at which she excelled.

In her day, she was known for her civic, social, and political activism. She was engaged in philanthropic activities, particularly for the Montreal Maternity Hospital and she was also the moving force behind the creation of the Women’s Canadian Club of Montreal, the first women club in Canada. She believed it important that the women become involved in debates over the great issues of the day, « something beyond the local gossip of the hour ». Her acquaintance with Lord Grey, the Governor-General of Canada from 1904 to 1911, led to her involvement in organizing, in 1908, Québec City’s tercentennial celebrations. The event was one of many to which she devoted herself in building bridges with French-Canadian community.

During the First World War, she joined her two sons in England and did volunteer work at the War Office, translating documents from German into English. After the war, she was active in the Victorian Order of Nurses, the Montreal Council of Social Agencies, and the National Association of Conservative Women.

In 1925 at the age of 53 years, Elsie Reford was operated for appendicitis and during her convalescence, her doctor counselled against fishing, fearing that she did not have the strength to return to the river.”Why not take up gardening?” he said, thinking this a more suitable pastime for a convalescent woman of a certain age. That is why she began laying out the gardens and supervising their construction. The gardens would take ten years to build, and would extend over more than twenty acres.

Elsie Reford had to overcome many difficulties in bringing her garden to life. First among them were the allergies that sometimes left her bedridden for days on end. The second obstacle was the property itself. Estevan was first and foremost a fishing lodge. The site was chosen because of its proximity to a salmon river and its dramatic views – not for the quality of the soil.

To counter-act nature’s deficiencies, she created soil for each of the plants she had selected, bringing peat and sand from nearby farms. This exchange was fortuitous to the local farmers, suffering through the Great Depression. Then, as now, the gardens provided much-needed work to an area with high unemployment. Elsie Reford’s genius as a gardener was born of the knowledge she developed of the needs of plants. Over the course of her long life, she became an expert plantsman. By the end of her life, Elsie Reford was able to counsel other gardeners, writing in the journals of the Royal Horticultural Society and the North American Lily Society. Elsie Reford was not a landscape architect and had no training of any kind as a garden designer. While she collected and appreciated art, she claimed no talents as an artist.

Elsie Stephen Reford died at her Drummond Street home on November 8, 1967 in her ninety-sixth year.

In 1995, the Reford Gardens ("Jardins de Métis") in Grand-Métis were designated a National Historic Site of Canada, as being an excellent Canadian example of the English-inspired garden.(Wikipedia)

Visit : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elsie_Reford

Visit : www.refordgardens.com

LES JARDINS DE MÉTIS

Créés par Elsie Reford de 1926 à 1958, ces jardins témoignent de façon remarquable de l’art paysager à l’anglaise. Disposés dans un cadre naturel, un ensemble de jardins exhibent fleurs vivaces, arbres et arbustes. Le jardin des pommetiers, les rocailles et l’Allée royale évoquent l’œuvre de cette dame passionnée d’horticulture. Agrémenté d’un ruisseau et de sentiers sinueux, ce site jouit d’un microclimat favorable à la croissance d’espèces uniques au Canada. Les pavots bleus et les lis, privilégiés par Mme Reford, y fleurissent toujours et contribuent , avec d’autres plantes exotiques et indigènes, à l’harmonie de ces lieux.

Created by Elsie Reford between 1926 and 1958, these gardens are an inspired example of the English art of the garden. Woven into a natural setting, a series of gardens display perennials, trees and shrubs. A crab-apple orchard, a rock garden, and the Long Walk are also the legacy of this dedicated horticulturist. A microclimate favours the growth of species found nowhere else in Canada, while the stream and winding paths add to the charm. Elsie Reford’s beloved blue poppies and lilies still bloom and contribute, with other exotic and indigenous plants, to the harmony of the site.

Commission des lieux et monuments historiques du Canada

Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada.

Gouvernement du Canada – Government of Canada

© Copyright

This photo and all those in my Photostream are protected by copyright. No one may reproduce, copy, transmit or manipulate them without my written permission.

Bolafjall is a 638-metre mountain overlooking the fishing town of Bolungarvík in the Westfjords of Iceland. Renowned for its dramatic cliffs and breathtaking panoramic views, the summit offers sweeping vistas over Ísafjarðardjúp, the surrounding fjords, and the remote Hornstrandir peninsula. During the Cold War, Bolafjall was the site of a NATO radar station

Every Thursday night, at 7:30, I get watch my favourite TV show… Naruto (ナルト). It's a popular ninja manga and anime series in Japan.

Yeah, I know I'm a big nerdy kid… but I'm proud of this particular geekness. I've followed this anime since it started 10 years ago. The manga series is even better and due to hit its dramatic ending soon according to the author Masashi Kishimoto.

Here in Japan, I get to watch it live without any English subtitles which helps with my Japanese comprehension skills. I just have to make sure I don't start speaking like the characters in the show and I'll be fine… datte bayo!!

Morning igers #webstagram #its_dramatic #iphone4s #gang_family #instagram #syahduhdr #str8hdr #james_pop #hdr_indonesia #gf_indonesia #hdroftheday #nstagramhub #hdrpotters #hdri #hdr #gang_family #igers #instago #instagood #iphonesia #iphoneography #inhil_community #james_favorites #picoftheday #photooftheday ori pic by @ar_yudha edit by me

66 Likes on Instagram

22 Comments on Instagram:

ryosky: @anyo_ndut suwun lagi ya masbro

glaponk: Asli kerennn bro

ryosky: @glaponk makasi bro

ar_yudha: syahdu syah juaranya ryosyah juara

ryosky: @ar_yudha makasi ketua yudhasyah

dickymuhammad: Awesome!!!! Top bgt!!

ryosky: @dickymuhammad hatur nuhun bro

xtramoney: Great edit

Llyn Llech Owain Country Park is is a stunning 158-acre expanse of woods and lakeland near Cross Hands with nature trails, an adventure area and visitor centre. At the heart of this spectacular park is its dramatic lake which is surrounded by peat bog and there’s a lovely myth associated with Llyn Lech Owain. Legend has it that Owain Lawgoch ("Owain of the Red Hand" - who led an army of French mercenaries against the English in the Hundred Years' War), was entrusted to look after a well on the mountain named Mynydd Mawr. Each day, after extracting enough water for himself and his horse, Owain was always careful to replace the stone but on one occasion he forgot and a torrent of water poured down the side of the mountain. The resultant lake was hence named Llyn Lech Owain - the lake of Owain’s slab. Today, specially constructed paths allow for safe access over the bog and around the lake. The paths are well-surfaced and accessible to wheelchair-users. A forest track provides a longer walk or cycle ride around the country park and there’s a rough mountain bike trail for the more adventurous cyclist. Much of the park consists of coniferous woodland, planted by the Forestry Commission during the 1960s and there are also areas of dry heath and broad-leaved woodland.

All Saints in Pavement, York is distinguished by its dramatic octagonal tower, a major landmark of the city and masterpiece of late medieval architecture. The church itself is of mainly 14th/15th century date, though lost its chancel in the following centuries. The west window contains reset late 14th century panels depicting the Passion.

This church is generally open and welcoming to visitors.

The redness in the sky to the west was now alarming, although I knew the reason, it felt like something supernatural.

Palgrave was just a few miles from Hepworth, and one I hoped to find open, and at just after four in the afternoon, but nearly dar, it was.

It was really very gloomy inside the church, even with the lights on, shots were difficult to take. I was on a mission to snap all I could as soon as possible before the light failed altogether.

Church features a splendid Norman font, modern glass, and the remains of a spiral staircase leading to a room over the south porch, the floor of which has long since vanished. The stairs now a broom cupboard.

Wonderful painted roof, I thought maybe done in the last century, but might be much, much older than that.

-----------------------------------------

2015: I've visited Palgrave church several times since this account first appeared, most recently to take the photographs here. However, I hope I will be forgiven for retaining the original text from 2003, if only for its freshness, and perhaps also for what may be viewed at this distance as its charm.

2003: I arrived at Diss railway station in that gentle sunshine for which we’ll remember the Spring of 2003. Diss is in Norfolk; I had just crossed the border on my train journey from Ipswich, but I was bound for Diss's southern suburb, the Suffolk village of Palgrave. I cycled off from the station. I headed under the railway line, and over the infant Waveney. At this point, I entered Suffolk again, but there were no county signs in either direction. To be honest, it didn’t feel that different, apart from the way that the road surface improved, the schools came off special measures, the police force became efficient, and so on.

The countryside opened out into golden oilseed rape fields under a wide sky. It was good to be home. Soon, I was coming into Palgrave village, which seemed very pleasant indeed.

In medieval times, Palgrave was actually two parishes; the westerly one, Palgrave St John, has been subsumed into this one, and that church has completely disappeared. However, this pretty church is walled neatly into its graveyard at the heart of the village, which spreads neatly around it. As this was my first church of the day, I hoped it would be open; it always puts a crimp in a trip if the first one is a lock-out. I was not disappointed; St Peter is a friendly parish that knows that part of its Christian mission is to welcome strangers and pilgrims.

I stepped through the elaborate arch of the late 15th Century south doorway. An angel and a dragon contended in the spandrels, and there were characterful heads carved in the entrance arch. Inside, a very nice lady was busy with the flowers, and took time out to show me around. All the while, I was conscious that above my head the lovely painted roof of Palgrave. Marian monograms and symbols punctuate the whitewash; once, many small Suffolk churches must have been like this. Perhaps someone can explain to me why this one hasn’t faded like many of the others; I don’t think it has been redone.

The other famous treasure here is the font. It is unlike anything else in Suffolk. Clearly Norman, but much more elaborate than most, its most outstanding features are the faces in each corner. Again, this is a more intimate experience of the faces we normally see as corbels; but Palgrave has these too, stunning medieval characters along the lines of the arcades.

While we are on the subject of treasure, there were two modern features that were obviously loved by the locals. Firstly, Surinder Warboys has her studio nearby at Mellis, and here is one of her windows in the south aisle. The light flooded through it. The lady told me that everybody liked it, but that it was very hard to do a flower arrangement in front of it! I thought that they had done very well. Secondly, up in the chancel is the benefice millennium banner – people from all the parishes came together and produced this amazing patchwork cross. On the back, there are panels depicting the mission of the Church. Apparently, it is shared around the benefice churches for display for a few weeks at a time.

In the place where many churches now display the coat of arms, Palgrave has part of a suit of armour. I have seen an explanation in several books that it was from the parish armoury, which was once stored in the upper room of the porch, as at Mendlesham. This upper room has now gone, and the armoury has, as in most churches, been dispersed. However, I could find no evidence for this story, and it seems to be based on one of Arthur Mee’s fancies. I don't think it is even real armour; rather, it is similar to the mock plate armour behind the Bacon memorial at nearby Redgrave. It seems likely to me that this is also part of an old set of armour associated with a memorial of some kind, which the Victorians swept away. I don’t suppose we’ll ever know.

Back outside again, I took time out to photograph the famous grave of carter John Catchpole, with its relief of a wagon and horses – you can see it in the left-hand column. It seems a modern fashion to decorate headstones with symbols associated with the deceased; nice to know it was happening in the mid-18th century.

I turned, and looked back at the neat tower, the splendid porch with its dramatic niches. You can see that there was once an upper room, but it has now gone.

And it was time for me to be gone, too. Waving cheerily, I headed off in the direction of Thrandeston, all the road back to Ipswich open in front of me in the sunshine.

Simon Knott, August 2003, updated July 2015

www.suffolkchurches.co.uk/palgrave.htm

Programme for the play 'Pick-Up Girl', by Elsa Shelley, being staged by repertory company The Queen's Players at the Hippodrome and Queen's Theatre in Keighley for one week from Monday 26th November 1951. The play was strictly for adults only due to the nature of its subject.

A promotional leaflet for the play states: "'Pick-Up Girl' is a play about juvenile delinquency in America. It takes place in the Court Room of a Juvenile Court. When 'Pick-Up Girl' was first played in England [in 1946] the Lord Chamberlain considered it too outspoken for public performance and it was only possible to present it in a small private theatre which was outside the Lord Chamberlain's jurisdiction. Following a visit to the play by H. M. Queen Mary, a further appeal was made to the Lord Chamberlain for permission to perform the play publicly, and this time it was granted. 'Pick-Up Girl' immediately moved to the Prince of Wales Theatre, where it was a tremendous popular success. Audiences recognised the sincerity with which its daring theme was handled and found themselves carried away by its dramatic and moving story. We believe that 'Pick-Up Girl' not only provides an unforgettable evening in the theatre, but also exposes an evil which flourishes not only in America, but everywhere. Remember - IT CAN HAPPEN HERE!"

Players in the company included Reginald Selleck, Dennis Buckley, April Andrew, Sheila Price, James Barnes, Sheila Hope-Johnstone, Evelyn Napier, Philip Ingram, Edward Ballard, Patrick Conway, Esme Lawton, Gina Bon and Peter Fox. The play was produced by Philip Ingram. Linda Dale accompanied proceedings on the piano.

The programme also includes adverts for Fred's Ice Cream ("made in one of Yorkshire's most modern dairies"); H. Wilkinson (Murphy and Hoover dealer) of The Arcade on North Street; Edward Foulds (Motor Engineers) Ltd. of Cavendish Street; J. Scheerer & Sons (sound firm) of Leeds; C. Holmes (plumber and sanitary engineer) of Sandywood Street; Collette (smart ladies' fashion shop) of East Parade; Jack Hey (joiner and undertaker) of Albert Yard; E. Crawshaw (Keighley vac sweep service) of Manville Walk; John W. Laycock Ltd. (fireplace specialists) of North Street; Timothy Taylor's Prize Ales ("for men of the north"); Jennett and Scaife (high class dressmakers) of East Parade; A. Lord & Co. (furnishers and undertakers) of High Street; Renee (coats, suits and gowns) of South Street; and Windser Pottery of North Street.

The 1950s was a turbulent decade in the history of the Hippodrome and Queen's Theatre in Keighley. Long-time Managing Director Francis Laidler (who also owned the Alhambra Theatre in Bradford) died in 1955 and was succeeded by his widow Gwladys. Television was providing a significant challenge to theatre-going by the middle of the decade, and the Hippodrome had to try more extreme forms of entertainment to draw in the crowds. But to no avail, and the theatre finally closed its doors in 1956, before being demolished in 1961 to make way for the new town centre's multi-storey car park.

The item was donated to Keighley and District Local History Society by Tim Neal in 2022. It is held in the History Society's physical archive.