midriff exposé
View allAll Photos Tagged midsection
I actually had stopped to check my map, I looked up from my parking spot and saw this steam just tucked back up in the woods. A short walk and I found this vantage point. A completely unexpected find and now one of my favorite images of the year.
Olallie Creek is located in the midsection of the Cascades mountain range in western Oregon. The area is nicely shaded by Douglas fir, maple and alder. The Willamette National Forest stretches for 110 miles with varied landscapes of high mountains, narrow canyons, cascading streams, and wooded slopes. This creek sits right beside the McKenzie River and the McKenzie River Trail.
Olallie is a very popular name in Oregon. There are several Olallie areas, from this creek, to a nice lake, not associated with this creek to a nice hiking trail, not associated with creek or lake.
NEW! Camille Dress - at Uber!
This chic, ribbed knit Just Because Camille Dress possesses an alluring and well put-together look with its sexy open midsection, banded accented V-neck, cuffs, and waistline detailing.
This Camille Dress is exclusively available at this month’s Uber Event. There is also a Demo available at the Just Because Mainstore for your shopping convenience (see link below).
This dress is sold by Body Type fitting Maitreya Lara, Reborn, and Legacy rigged mesh bodies.
The included fatpack’s Camille HUD comes with 18 different solid color choices for the Main Body of the Dress, along with its Secondary and Tertiary Banded Colors.
Just Because Camille @ Uber Taxi:
maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Uber/158/159/22
Uber always opens the 25th of each month.
Taxi for the Demo at the Just Because Mainstore:
Notice the brown belt this bumble bee is wearing around its midsection. The bee has got its pollen baskets nearly brim-full of bright orange pollen from these blooming white wild indigo plants.
Coming from snowman:
"It takes a few extra rolls to make a good midsection."
thank you very much for making my photo stream very cozy in this cold winter because of your warm and beautiful comments
fashionmusicmahem.wordpress.com/2020/12/22/advice-from-a-...
It takes a few extra rolls to make a good midsection ~ Remember, we’re all a bit Flaky ~ White is always appropriate ~ Accessorize! Accessorize! Accessorize!
Now at new round of INITHIUM EVENT:
- [ INITHIUM ] KUPRA B.O.M. BODY ORIGINAL
- Gulabi Rope Dress - Inithium Kupra (ORIGINAL Boob Shape)
· Rope Dress FATPACK: 60 beautiful solid shades + 36 exquisite ombre shades!
- 2 different dress midsection styles to choose from
- Rope panties On/Off
- Adjust intensity of rope stray fibers
- All body sizes
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- Juna Artistic Tattoo Anto tattoo
Tattoo for Classic Avatar and Tattoo Layers for body and head (Bakes On Mesh) in 4 tone (Dark 100%, Medium 75%, Light 50% and UltraLight 30%) BoM (Bakes On Mesh). @Mainstore
[ rD ]Galisteo Earrings +[ rD ] Galisteo Necklace with huds
Now at The Liaison Collaborative event.
[FORMANAILS] NAILS for Kupra - ANKE Mainstore
#1 DOUX - Summer Day Hairstyle [RARE + No Match - No Tenderness (white recolor) gift!
Ikon evening eyes
*LODE* Head Accessory - Requiem [forest lake]
Also known as a Red-billed francolin (Pternistis adspersus), this mother and single chick crossed the road right in front of our safari truck. For those who may be interested, an extract from my Journal from June 2nd, 2016:
This morning we had an intense four hours in Chobe National Park, plenty of wildlife to see and photos to take. Overnight lions had killed a buffalo close to the river bank. We found the partly eaten carcass with a lioness keeping guard close by.
The animal was still largely intact, the head, fore and rear quarters were visible, but the midsection had been well chewed. Our guide said the lioness was one of a pride, all the other lions would be in the bushes close by sleeping off their meal.
This being a National Park, we were not permitted to leave the formed tracks to go in search of the pride. In a game concession, no such limitations apply; there it's go where you please and see what you can. Other tour groups also gathered around the kill site, so we moved away to make space for them.
This male Bullock's oriole is the Baltimore oriole's bright orange counterpart in the western U.S. Their ranges overlap slightly in the country's midsection where the the two species have been known to hybridize. Note the more extensive orange coloration on this male Bullock's oriole's head when compared with the black head on a male Baltimore oriole.
Art Deco Egyptian has inspired many modern dresses.
To this very day, we have fashion lines and makeup styles influenced by Cleopatra’s original designs! Cleopatra's jewelry, wardrobes, and the boldening of eyebrows and vibrant winged eyeshadow are just a few of her influences over today's modern fashion trends.
That said, reflect the grandeur of the greatest pharaohs by immersing yourself in the ambrosial fragrances of an exotic and distant past and then wear this fabulous two-piece LF Saman Gown to watch the romantic magic unfold before your eyes.
This LF Saman Gown “walks like an Egyptian” with its silky and revealing long skirt, seamed cup top, chained choker, and caged (string) midsection. The feathered stole reminds me of the flocks of Herons that inhabited the shorelines along the ancient Nile.
You are certain to turn heads and capture hearts at any event you step foot into - just like Cleopatra, the beloved of ancient Egyptians and Romans alike!
This LF Saman Dress comes with a Color HUD featuring 10 different color options for the top, Straps, and skirt with 7 color options for the stole. The strings and choker have gold and silver choice options.
This LF Saman Dress FITS the following mesh bodies:
- Gen X
- Reborn (+Juicy)
- Legacy
- Maitreya
This Saman Dress is exclusively available at SWANK RENEW YOURSELF JANUARY 2023 EVENT:
This beautifully flowing Luxe Paris Java Dress is at once artsy and stunningly elegant. If you enjoy art like I do, and prefer to avoid conformity and standards, this dress is for you.
The highly creative cuts, textures, and patterns in this Java Dress were undoubtedly challenging to design and combine - but the end result is a creation which embraces a very fashionable vibe done right. It’s brilliant!
With its rich, high-quality splashes and strands of vibrant hues, illusion neckline, and transparent pleated ankle-length skirting, this Java Dress makes for a lasting impression. I also love how the simple black belt defines the midsection of this dress.
This Luxe Paris Java Dress is sold exclusively at Swank Events for September. Check it out and come celebrate Swank Events 7 Year Anniversary with us!
Landmark:
it leaves your midsection unprotected ;-)
Robert Orben
HMM! HPPT! Hate Will Not Make Us Great! Resist!!
fogdrops on prunus mume, pink japanese flowering apricot, 'Bonita', j c raulston arboretum, ncsu, raleigh, north carolina
Cheetah_w_9934
Cheetah is the speediest creature on earth, that is one reality that generally individuals know. At the same time there's more to a cheetah than speed distant from everyone else. It's one of Africa's generally delightful creatures, and you are lucky in the event that you get to see one on safari. Figure out all about cheetah in Africa, incorporating bunches of fun realities underneath. Truly cherish cheetahs? Span down to figure out where you can see cheetah in the wild and how you can assist save these creatures from close eradication.
The quickest land creature on the planet, the cheetah is a wonder of advancement. The cheetah's thin, as far back as anyone can remember legged form is fabricated for speed. Cheetahs are tan in colour with dark spots everywhere on their forms. They can additionally be recognised from other enormous felines by their littler size, spotted covers, modest heads and ears and unique "tear stripes" that extend from the corner of the eye to the side of the nose.
The Cheetah is fabricated for speed. It has long, thin, brawny legs, a little, adjusted head set on a long neck, an adaptable spine, a profound midsection, non retractable paws, exceptional cushions on its feet for traction and a long, tail for parity. Even though quick, the cheetah can't run at full speed for long removes (100 yards is about the point of confinement) on the grounds that it may overheat. Cheetahs have unique dark "tear stripes" that interface from within corner of every eye to the mouth that may serve as an antiglare gadget for daytime chasing.
Adorning myself in the Irene Outfit by Just BECAUSE, I feel as though history and modern artistry have conspired to embrace my form in elegance. The silhouette is long and flowing, a column of femininity that lengthens my body with grace, while the corseted midsection—delicate, daring, and irresistibly alluring—cinches me into a shape both sensual and timeless. The off-shoulder neckline whispers of romance, a design detail once celebrated by couturiers such as Dior and Valentino, now reimagined for today’s modern muse.
The cut of the Irene is deliberate yet fluid: its bodice clings softly before surrendering to a languid skirt that falls like liquid silk to the floor. Each seam is a promise of refinement, each curve a devotion to the woman within. The delicate corset overlay, at times sheer and flirtatious with intricate patterning, creates a harmony of structure and softness—an ode to the golden age of fashion when the female form was sculpted yet free.
This creation is not just a dress but a versatile ensemble, for the Irene Outfit offers a Top, Skirt, and Heels, each element elevated by its own HUD. The Top HUD allows playful freedom with colors and finishes, the Skirt HUD provides rich palettes that breathe new moods into the look, while the Heels HUD completes the ensemble with coordinating tones, letting me glide in seamless harmony from daylight into the mystery of evening.
Fitted with care for Maitreya LaraX, Legacy, Perky, Reborn, and Waifu mesh bodies, the Irene embraces every woman uniquely, celebrating curves with a design that flatters and seduces in equal measure.
As I wear it, I feel the whispers of fashion’s great storytellers—Chanel’s devotion to liberated silhouettes, Yves Saint Laurent’s bold romanticism, and Versace’s unapologetic sensuality—woven into the fabric of this modern gown. It is as much a piece of fashion history as it is a contemporary treasure.
Acquire this exquisite creation at the Just BECAUSE Mainstore, where beauty and sophistication live eternally:
🌐 [Just BECAUSE Mainstore]
This photo taken from the midsection of the Yukon Suspension Bridge located along the Klondike Highway in Canada. Note you have to wait until the bridge in unoccupied to take the shot and even then wait a good 15 seconds for the movement to stop.
Gold was found in the area surrounding the Tutshi River during the Klondike Gold Rush. While the Klondike River and Bonanza Creek are more famously associated with the initial gold discoveries, the Tutshi River region also saw gold mining activity and prosperity. The Tutshi River was a crucial transportation route, and Carcross, located on the river, became a vital supply center for the gold fields.
Our guide pointed out that the Canadian Government at the time required any prospector entering Canada to have with them enough supplies to last them one full year including pick axes and shovels. This law enforced by the RCMP.
On a personal note, we were finally able to use our Canadian money again. Our guide suggested our American counterparts use their credit cards because the Canadian coffee and souvenir store at the suspicion bridge location uses both currencies interchangeably - $1 Can = $1 US. Gotta love our spunky Northern Canadians. JoAnne and I enjoyed a cup of Canadian Hot Chocolate :)
Several years ago I started scanning bees in my immediate surroundings, and began to notice that there were often more than one species. Bumble bees are pretty quick to reveal field marks: they typically involve pretty dramatic variations in the colour pattern, at least among the bees around Ottawa. A big band of orange, for example, is hard to miss.
This one is a bit subtler: the rufous band can vary in colour, from reddish to brownish, and its width can be quite narrow. Perhaps that is why the French name is more simply ‘Belted Bumble Bee’.
This was my first encounter with a Brown-belted Bumble Bee, so-called because of the narrow rufous band in the midsection of the bee. Of all of the species I have found and identified this was the subtlest: the brown belt needs to catch the light or you need to be very close. I have lost my fear of bees (a couple of bad stinging experiences) and so getting close isn’t a problem.
This species, which nests in or near the ground, in small colonies, is very common in the US but only found in the southernmost regions of some Canadian provinces. Not sure how it made its way up to Ottawa but happen to see it.
Bergen, Norway
One of the main reasons I wanted to visit Bergen was to photograph these houses – Bryggen, a harbour district of Bergen. They are not the easiest of buildings to capture especially from the roadside due to all the table and chairs and bus stops right in front of them, so in my opinion, the other side of the harbour probably produces the better overall image. This one was taken on the only sunny day we had.
The history of the area is very interesting so I make no apologies for lifting the text from the UNESCO World Heritage Convention website… It’s better than anything I could have written!
Bryggen, the old wharf of Bergen, is a reminder of the town’s importance as part of the Hanseatic League’s trading empire from the 14th to the mid-16th century. Many fires, the last in 1955, have ravaged the characteristic wooden houses of Bryggen. Its rebuilding has traditionally followed old patterns and methods, thus leaving its main structure preserved, which is a relic of an ancient wooden urban structure once common in Northern Europe. Today, some 62 buildings remain of this former townscape.
Outstanding Universal Value – a brief synthesis
Bryggen is a historic harbour district in Bergen, one of North Europe’s oldest port cities on the west coast of Norway which was established as a centre for trade by the 12th century. In 1350 the Hanseatic League established a “Hanseatic Office” in Bergen. They gradually acquired ownership of Bryggen and controlled the trade in stockfish from Northern Norway through privileges granted by the Crown. The Hanseatic League established a total of four overseas Hanseatic Offices, Bryggen being the only one preserved today.
Bryggen has been damaged by a number of fires through the centuries and has been rebuilt after every fire, closely following the previous property structure and plan as well as building techniques. Bryggen’s appearance today stems from the time after the fire in 1702. The buildings are made of wood in keeping with vernacular building traditions. The original compact medieval urban structure is preserved with its long narrow rows of buildings facing the harbour, separated by narrow wooden passages. Today, some 62 buildings remain of this former townscape and these contain sufficient elements to demonstrate how this colony of bachelor German merchants lived and worked, and illustrate the use of space in the district. It is characterized by the construction of buildings along the narrow passages running parallel to the docks. The urban units are rows of two- to three-storey buildings signified by the medieval name “gård”. They have gabled facades towards the harbour and lie on either one or both sides of the narrow passages that have the functions of a private courtyard. The houses are built in a combination of traditional timber log construction, and galleries with column and beam construction with horizontal wooden panel cladding. The roofs have original brick tiling or sheets, a result of fast repairs after an explosion during World War II. Towards the back of the gård, there are small fireproof warehouses or storerooms (kjellere) built of stone, for protection of special goods and valuables against fire. This repetitive structure was adapted to the living conditions of the Hanseatic trading post. The German merchants took up winter residence in the small individual wooden houses and the storerooms were used as individual or collective warehouses. A true colony, Bryggen enjoyed quasi-extraterritoriality which continued beyond the departure of the Hanseatic merchants until the creation of a Norwegian trading post in 1754, on the impetus of fishermen and ship owners of German origin. Today, Bryggen is a significant part of the historic wooden city of Bergen.
Criterion (iii): Bryggen bears the traces of social organization and illustrates the use of space in a quarter of Hanseatic merchants that dates back to the 14th century. It is a type of northern “fondaco”, unequalled in the world, where the structures have remained within the cityscape and perpetuate the memory of one of the oldest large trading ports of Northern Europe.
Integrity
Only around a quarter of the original buildings that existed in Bryggen remained after demolitions at the turn of the 19th century and several fires in the 1950s; the property is comprised of these remaining buildings. Notwithstanding, the medieval urban structure is maintained and the buildings include all elements necessary to demonstrate how Bryggen functioned: offices and dwellings at the front, warehouses in the midsection and assembly rooms (“Schøtstuer”), kitchen facilities and fireproof stone cellars at the back.
Bryggen can be experienced as an entity within a larger harmonious urban landscape. It is connected more closely to the areas of small wooden dwellings beyond Bryggen and in the medieval city centre than to the larger 20th century buildings in its close proximity. The risk of fire, excessive numbers of visitors as well as global climate changes with more extreme weather and possibly higher sea levels are some of the potential risks Bryggen faces today.
Authenticity
The Hanseatic period at Bryggen ended long ago, but the Hanseatic heritage is documented through buildings, archives and artefacts which are well preserved for posterity. There are also series of architectural surveys of the buildings from 1900 onwards.
The preservation of the buildings commenced on a larger scale in the 1960s and had made major progress by 1979, the year of inscription on the World Heritage List. Some buildings at the back were moved in 1965 to create an open area for fire emergencies, but no further changes have been made to the urban structure since. The solutions and methods chosen have been well documented, and limiting the replacement of original materials has been an objective. Bryggen is built of wood, which is subject to rot, insect attack and ageing. Since 2000, there has been an increased focus on maintaining original methods and building materials in the restoration, with careful consideration given to the choice of material, paint, plugs, nails, etc. and the use of original tools as far as possible.
As the activity at Bryggen decreased after 1900, the buildings became derelict. However, from the 1960s the former trading in stockfish and commodities was gradually replaced by small arts and crafts businesses. An increase in the number of visitors has led to the establishment of restaurants and tourist businesses. This has resulted in inevitable changes in the spirit of the place, particularly along the front facades, whereas the atmosphere of the Hanseatic period can still be sensed in the more secluded area further back.
Protection and management requirements
Bryggen, including its cultural deposits, is listed pursuant to the Norwegian Cultural Heritage Act and is also protected through the Norwegian Planning and Building Act. The adopted protection plan includes an extensive area that functions as a buffer zone. Bryggen is privately owned and the majority of the buildings are owned by the Bryggen Foundation, which was established in 1962 with the objective of preserving Bryggen. The remaining owners have established a separate association to secure their interests. The stakeholders at Bryggen collaborate in different constellations of owners and authorities.
"The Bryggen Project" was established formally in 2000. This is an extensive and long-term project for monitoring, safeguarding and restoring Bryggen, including both archaeological deposits and standing buildings.
Bryggen is managed according to a management plan that is revised regularly. A fire protection system with detection and suppression has been installed and is continually being improved. Climate conditions are a key issue and measures have been taken to prepare for future changes. Possible impacts resulting from tourism are monitored.
What I love about this [FlowerDreams] Leyla Dress is its perfect fit; its luxurious HUD color / Texture options; and its impeccable attention to detail.
The dress features a strapless bodice that transitions to a delicate pleated skirt with a defined transparent midsection that effortlessly cascades down to the floor, creating a simply elegant statement.
It’s rare to find a dress here in SL that not only looks stunning but also makes you feel confident and empowered - and this Leyla Dress does just that.
This [FlowerDreams] Leyla Dress fits Legacy Pinup Bombshell and Perky, Gen X Classic ( + Curvy), Lara X ( + Lara Petite X), Maitreya Lara, Peach, and Reborn (+ Waiful) mesh bodies.
Seek and you shall find this [FlowerDreams] Leyla Dress at the Swank Around the World August Sales Event:
Taxi to SWANK Around the World August Sales Event:
Visited a Herrin Knob Falls for the first time ten days ago thanks to Dan Farmer. Dan was nice enough to show me how to find the trailhead and waterfall. I had been up there the week before and had no luck. I saw Dan's wonderful photo of it and it motivated me to find it. If you're not already following Dan's posts, I encourage you to. His work is great.
I was wondering if we'd be able to get to the trailhead as I was in heavy downpours during the ride there. Luckily, the rain stopped and we had no trouble reaching the trailhead. But we did need to be patient as the sun was playing peek-a-boo with the waterfall making its midsection blow out. But as early evening came, the light improved and we were able to compose several shots. This is the first of several I hope to post.
This vantage point caught my eye as the bright green moss seemed to lead you into the base of the falls. Given the falls small watershed, you need a heavy rain to make it look good. This flow was a little low but still looked decent. Without rain, it could only be a trickle.
Thanks for viewing my photos. Comments are always welcome.
====================================
Copyright Reid Northrup, 2023. All Rights Reserved, Worldwide. Please don't use my photos in any way without my written permission.
CP 8643 serves as a pretty decent-looking rear DPU on westbound doublestacks in downtown Milwaukee. As traffic waits on Plankinton Avenue, the train has just crossed the Menomonee River and its midsection is under the Milwaukee central post office and Intermodal Station.
Was inspired by the people tagged, especially @luca_s_projects since the midsection of mine is essentially a very slight rework of his. I tried my best to make this in scale with my AT-RT, but it’s a bit larger than it simply due to how tiny my AT-RT is. This also fits in my Republic Gunship, which I’m really happy with.
.....sits and watches while amongst the chaos.
and occasionally joins in.
so, today we did our once/week grocery shopping in my truck because leon's car's air conditioning went out. we don't use the air, but it can't be bypassed in his model. expensive to fix.
schubert went in the jump seat after it was layered with plush throws. he didn't care much for the cramped quarters, but we worry about another big seizure.
while we were gone, boo ate my favorite weed/dirt wreath.
there was pieces of dried weeds and dirt all over the entry hall and the front room. I salvaged half of it and put it outside.
I cleaned the area yesterday, and re-cleaned it today.
the spray thing on the sink went out so leon worked on it. when I came home and turned on the water to wash my hands, I got a nice ice cold spray into the midsection. I screamed.
leon went to the plumbing store to get new parts for the sprayer, and fixed it.
I have bruises all over my feet from lifting schubert onto couches and beds. he uses my feet for purchase while scrambling.
I've something wrong with my left lower eyelid.
leon and I are stressed. I told him that I thought since we were old we should be able to roll with all this. he said we rolled past coping.
sigh...
but....we're all alive, so far, and able to love each other.
the geese are flying overhead and we love the sights and sounds of them.
we are not sitting on the east coast waiting for a hurricane to hit.
schubert is hanging in.
I told leon tonight that maybe schubert and I need to get a little drunk each night.
{people on the southeast coast of the US take care.]
Pier leading to the SS Palo Alto - On 5 January 2023, a winter storm destroyed portions of the pier leading to the ship.
SS Palo Alto was a concrete ship built as a tanker at the end of World War I. Completed too late to see war service, she was mothballed until 1929, when she was intentionally grounded off Seacliff State Beach in the Monterey Bay, becoming part of a pleasure pier entertainment complex. Palo Alto was damaged by the sea, leading her to be stripped and used only as a fishing pier. Subsequent decades have seen her be further broken by the sea, but large sections of her wreck remain somewhat intact.
SS Palo Alto was built by the San Francisco Shipbuilding Company at the U.S. Naval Shipyard in Oakland, California. She was launched on 29 May 1919, too late to see service in the war. Her sister ship was the SS Peralta.
Palo Alto was mothballed in Oakland until 1929, when she was bought by the Seacliff Amusement Corporation and towed to Seacliff State Beach in Aptos, California. A pier was built leading to the ship in 1930, and she was sunk in a few feet in the water so that her keel rested on the bottom. There she was refitted as an amusement ship, with amenities including a dance floor, a swimming pool and a café.
The company went bankrupt two years later during the Great Depression, and the ship cracked at the midsection during a winter storm. The State of California purchased the ship, and she was stripped of her fittings and left as a fishing pier. She was a popular site for recreational fishing, but eventually she deteriorated to the point where she was unsafe for this purpose, and she was closed to the public in 1950. Following an attempt at restoration in the 1980s, she reopened for fishing for a few years, then closed again. The fishing pier opened to foot traffic once again in the summer of 2016, but later closed for repairs.
In the spring of 2005, oil found on wildlife nearly two years earlier, killing dozens of seabirds, was traced back to the ship, whose fuel tanks had cracked and were leaking fuel oil.[4] In September 2006, a clean-up project was started that cost an estimated $1.7 million. During the clean-up, workers pumped 500 U.S. gallons (416 Imperial gallons; 1,893 liters) of oil from the ship and discovered the carcasses of 200 more birds and two harbor seals inside the wreck.
The ship continued to deteriorate after the clean-up. While she had over the decades been broken into four roughly segmented pieces, winter storms in February 2016 pushed the wreck onto her starboard side and broke her rear half open. On 21 January 2017, another winter storm tore the stern off the ship. On 5 January 2023, yet another winter storm destroyed portions of the pier leading to the ship.
Nicknamed the "Cement Ship", Palo Alto serves as an artificial reef for marine life. Pelicans and other seabirds perch on the wreck, sea perch and other fish feed on algae that grow in the shelter of the wreck, and sea lions and other marine mammals visit the wreck to feed on the fish.
Trajan: (to Laithi) What is keeping you? The Revered One hungers! And
where is Carmine?
Laithi: We were bringing two, but she killed Carmine! Trajan, she's one
of us!
Trajan: (smirks) A rebel? (waves a hand) Retrieve the food. I'll deal
with this traitor.
(Laithi hurries after the retreating humans while Trajan stalks toward
Caly, who's getting to her feet, seeming a little stunned. they exchange
a flurry of blows, and Caly backs off a little.)
Trajan: You're weak because you don't feed as you should. (he delivers a
spinning kick to her midsection that sends Caly flying) Which is why you
will die, like ALL of the rebels I've killed!
(to be continued)
Thank you to the cast!
Trajan: B
Laithi: Kes
Caly: TB
With its bra’s center gore clasped heart, open midsection, exposed panties, ruffled mini skirt bottoms, and statement garter belts - this Linda Foodiboo Design’s Anouk Outfit oozes with sexual intrigue, provocation and desire.
Linda has put a great deal of thought into this outfit which is apparent by its stunning design, exquisite textures, and attention to detail.
Fashion is a form of expression, having confidence in your clothes and feeling comfortable in them. It is a balance between wearing clothes that fit you well, and that you enjoy.
Given your particular mood, it takes time to create your own personal style, the vibe you want to express, and what feels good. I checked all the boxes wearing this absolutely sensuous and beautiful two-piece Anouk outfit.
This LF Design Anouk Outfit fits:
-Erika
-Curvy
-Reborn
-Kupra + Kups
-Legacy + Push-up
-Maitreya + Petite
This sexy LF Design Anouk Outfit is premiered at Swank Winter Wonderland's December Sales Event. Look for free gifts as you browse the booths!
Swank Event LM:
19th century construction for The Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States and that incorporates the Stock im Eisen on one corner. Stock im Eisen (German: "staff in iron") is the midsection of a tree-trunk from the Middle Ages, a so-called nail-tree (Nagelbaum), into which hundreds of nails have been pounded for good luck over centuries.
In Pakistan Nilgai are rare and should not be hunted at all. Small populations are found within Punjab, Sindh and Aazad Kashmir - nearly allmost along the Indian border. They can be seen around Shakargarh in Narowal, around the Ravi near the border, Changa Manga plantation, Lal Suhanra National Park and the Cholistan desert in Punjab. In Sindh it can be found in the Rann of Kutch and the Thar Desert. It can also be found in the Jhelum Valley of Azad Kashmir.
Not that long ago Nilgai were foun as far west as Jhelum in Punjab and probably as far west as the Kirthar Range in Sindh. There are plans to re-introduce Nilgai back into their former haunts in Pakistan. I hope one day this graceful mammal will be a common sight around the country. Rather than hunt it, I hope people will be amazed by its size and grace!
The Nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus) is an antelope, and is one of the most commonly seen wild animals of central and northern India and eastern Pakistan; it is also present in parts of southern Nepal. The mature males appear ox-like and are also known as Blue bulls. The nilgai is the biggest Asian antelope.
Description
Nilgai stand 1.2-1.5 meters (4-5 feet) at the shoulder and are 1.8-2 meters (6-6.6 feet) long. Their tails are 40-45 centimeters. Mature nilgai typically weigh 120-240 kilograms.
Calves usually weigh 13.6-15.9 kilograms (30-35 pounds) at birth after an 8 month gestation period. Over 60% of births result in twins, though births of 1 or 3 do occur. They reach sexual maturity at around 18 months and can live as long as 21 years.
Nilgai have thin legs and a robust body that slopes down from the shoulder. Their long, narrow heads are topped by two small conical horns which are straight and tilted slightly forward. Horns on trophy males are normally 21.6-25.4 centimeters (8.5-10 inches). They have an erectile mane on the back of the neck and a tubular shaped "hair pennant" on the midsection of the throat.
Female nilgai have a short yellow-brown coat. Males' coats gradually darken to a grey-blue as they reach maturity. They have white spots on the cheeks and white coloring on the edges of the lips. They also have a white throat bib and a narrow white stripe along the underside of the body that widens at the rear.
Nilgai can be found in single sex or mixed sex herds of 4-20, although old bulls are sometimes solitary. It is beautiful animal.
Distribution
Nilgai antelopes are found in the north Indian plains from the base of the Himalayas in the north, down to the state of Karnataka in the South, and from the Gir forest and from all along the entire eastern length of Pakistan and over across the border of Rajasthan in the West to the states of Assam and West Bengal in the East; in Nepal, they occur patchily in the southern lowlands. The population density in central India is 0.07 animals per square kilometer.
Nilgai pursued by dholes, as drawn by Robert Armitage Sterndale in Denizens of the Jungles, 1886Historic notes mention the Nilgai in southern parts of India but there have also been suggestion that they may be a feral population.
I believe that the Coimbatore and Salem collectorates are almost the only places in Southern India, in which nil-gai are to be found. It is difficult to account for the animals being thus so widely divided from their usual haunts unless as has been generally supposed, these Southern specimens are the progeny of a semi-domesticated herd, which, at some by-gone period, had escaped from the preserve of a native potentate.
—A. C. McMaster (1871)[2]
The Nilgai was introduced in Texas in the 1920s as a zoo animal and is now found on some ranches there.
Habitat
Nilgai are diurnal and live in grasslands and woodlands where they eat grasses, leaves, buds, and fruit.
In the wild, females and young males gather in herds of about fifteen individuals while older males are often solitary. Individual male or female nilgais may be encountered in cultivated or semi-urban areas.
Nilgai in India
A blue bull is called a Nil gai or Nilgai in India, literally from nil meaning blue and gai meaning a bovine animal (literally 'cow'). In fact the Nilgai was known as the Nilghor (nil = blue , ghor = horse) during the rule of Aurangzeb (Mughal Era) (Gautam Masters dissertation unpubl : Dept. of Wildlife Sciences, Aligarh Muslim Univ). Nevertheless the local belief, that the Nilgai is a cow and hence sacred, has protected it against hunting.In the Rohilkhand division of U.P.,they are curse for farmers particularly in AHICHATRA belt of Aonla (Bareilly ).
However, the Nilgai is a crop menace, causing large-scale damages especially along the gangetic belt. It has been declared as vermin in northern India, and they may be legally hunted after obtaining a permit.
Habits
Blue bulls mostly live in herds and in winter, male blue bulls form herds of 30 to 100 animals in northern India. They avoid dense forest and prefer the plains and low hills with shrubs. Blue bulls are usually found in their favoured areas of scrub jungle (acacia forests) grazing upon succulent kader grass. They are not averse to crossing marshlands.
Portrait of a female NilgaiNilgai can be seen with black bucks (Antilope cervicapra) in the open plains, and in the lower Terai regions they may be seen together with Chital (Axis axis) and 'para' or Hog deer (Axis porcinus). The Chital and Hog Deer, being comparatively smaller in size, usually keep a respectful distance from the much larger Nilgai. Sambar (Cervus unicolor) frequent hills and dense forests and are rarely found in the same habitat as Nilgai.
The main predators of the blue bulls are tigers (Panthera tigris) and lions (Panthera leo). Leopards are not capable of killing a full grown Nilgai but can take calves.
A blue bull can survive for days without water, but they live close to waterholes. The deserts earlier limited their range, but the extension of irrigation canals and proliferation of tube-wells in the Thar desert have helped them colonise the desert districts of Jodhpur, Barmer, Jaisalmer, Bikaner and Ganganagar.
Blue bulls generally come to the same place to deposit their droppings.
Status
The estimated population of Nilgai in India is approximately 100,000. Wild populations also exist in Alabama and Texas where they have escaped from private exotic ranches. The Texas population is estimated to be around 15,000.
Like many Indian animals, Nilgai are often victim to vehicular accidents, and their carcasses are often seen on major highways in northern India. The main threat to this species is the loss of habitat due to human population growth.
The species is declared by the IUCN as being at low risk of extinction.
Some Texas "exotic ranches" offer Nilgai hunting. A 300 pound bull was recently bagged at one of these N. Texas ranches.[citation needed]
Most of the ambush bugs I've seen here have a dark brown/black head and thorax, but this one definitely has good camouflage for hiding in goldenrod flowers. If you look very closely on her back and midsection, you can see little two-prong claws - the toes of a male ambush bug that's mating with this one, having approached cautiously from the other side.
Bangkok City Scape. Expressway in Bangkok in the shape of S. Beautiful Bhumibol Bridge and river landscapes. Bangkok Thailand May 27, 2019
99 The mid- section of the pier at Eastbourne. Much of the first section is under repair. I liked the turrets and the shadows of the structure below and the way the seaweed drapes from the girders. For more information en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastbourne_Pier
Not actually night but you get the idea. We are almost under some very busy trans Polar routes and the main airway from the US midsection to and from Asia. This was taken just after dawn.
( Please View Full Screen ... )
Built in Benicia, California shipyards in 1891 by Matthew Turner, one of the Bay Area’s master boat builders, the Brigantine Galilee started her career as a packet ship, delivering parcels between San Francisco and Tahiti. In 1905 she began a second career as a research vessel of scientific exploration by the Carnegie Institution’s Department of Terrestrial Magnetism.
After some time as a fishing vessel, the Galilee was beached in Sausalito in 1933 in what is now known as “Galilee harbor”, marking the end of her sailing days. The ship became a houseboat and offices, part of the vibrant houseboat culture that first spring up after the 1906 earthquake and carries through to this day in Sausalito.
After the boat was declared no longer fit for habitation she sat empty and deteriorating for many more years. Finally, the stern portion of the boat was removed and relocated to Fort Mason, where it sat mysteriously unmarked and mostly exposed to the elements, under a small shelter. Today the midsection of the Galilee is still in Sausalito, sunken into the mud in Galilee harbor and the bow is located at the Benicia Historical Museum.
▰▰▰▰ NOT SPONSORED ▰▰▰▰
▰▰ ᴏʙᴊᴇᴄᴛs ᴡᴏʀɴ ᴏɴ ᴀᴠᴀᴛᴀʀ. ▰▰
Face and Head:
Sintiklia - Elias Hair
maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sintiklia/143/28/22
RichB. - Tentacle Septum
maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Baby%20Boom/155/111/27
Suicidal Unborn - Spectrum Eyes V.2
maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Dead%20Zone/64/110/2501
VALKYR - Oni Horns
maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Valkyr/50/145/21
Body:
** Aii & Ego - See the bottom for more details. (Rare long robe)
maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Aii%20and%20Ego/124/160/1521
Tanaka -BANDAGE TUTSUMU (bloody midsection bandages)
maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/TOKYO%20ZERO/202/50/3181
Arms and Hands:
Contraption - Desideratus Rings
maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Contraption/117/67/119
Petrichor - Vaera Claws (Nails)
maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Lune/129/128/1515
Legs and Feet:
PFC - Easy loin v2
maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Pirate%20Cove/126/123/54
▰▰ ʙᴏᴍs ᴡᴏʀɴ ᴏɴ ᴀᴠᴀᴛᴀʀ ▰▰
Face and Head:
HOTDOG - Chocolate face mess (Valentines day group gift.)
maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Cerberus Crossing/207/126/728
Knifu. - Eternal Rest (Ear tats.)
maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Champ/47/191/14
Body:
HEIKE - Parasite Module (The actual item is not shown. I just used the bloody BOM from it.)
maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Hell%20Fire/64/64/501
Vermilion - .Obsidian. Shattered - Blood
maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Tomoeda/94/36/1502
▰▰ ᴏᴛʜᴇʀ. ▰▰
Cryptid - Oracle Head (Unsure when this head will be back in Crow's store.)
maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Oblivion/10/96/3251
Legacy - Legacy Body (m) (Not Athletic.)
maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Rivera/94/176/547
** This robe is part of a VIP group retired gacha pack titled "Entralling Flames"
One of the many groves of aspens I came across while walking the Mosca Pass Trail in Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve. The view was looking to the southeast not long after starting the hike and before I got to the more mountainous, uphill portion of the trail. My thinking in composing this image was to focus only on the portion of trees to my front. Not the treetops and not the base. More or less, midsection and a little above eye level. I did some initial post-processing work making adjustments to contrast, brightness and saturation while playing around as I learned how to work with DxO PhotoLab 3. I then exported a TIFF image to Nik Color Efex Pro 4 where I added a Foliage and Pro Contrast filter for that last effect on the image captured.
incendia Stl mesh, sky ultra fractal, midsection, mandalbulda, lower section, flaming pear
View my recent images on Flickriver www.flickriver.com/photos/33235233@N05/
The jaguar (Panthera onca) is a big cat, a feline in the Panthera genus, and is the only Panthera species found in the Americas. The jaguar is the third-largest feline after the tiger and the lion, and the largest and most powerful feline in the Western Hemisphere. The jaguar's present range extends from Mexico across much of Central America and south to Paraguay and northern Argentina. Apart from a known and possibly breeding population in Arizona (southeast of Tucson), the cat has largely been extirpated from the United States since the early 1900s.
This spotted cat most closely resembles the leopard physically, although it is usually larger and of sturdier build and its behavioral and habitat characteristics are closer to those of the tiger. While dense rainforest is its preferred habitat, the jaguar will range across a variety of forested and open terrain. It is strongly associated with the presence of water and is notable, along with the tiger, as a feline that enjoys swimming. The jaguar is a largely solitary, stalk-and-ambush predator, and is opportunistic in prey selection. It is also an apex and keystone predator, playing an important role in stabilizing ecosystems and regulating the populations of prey species. The jaguar has an exceptionally powerful bite, even relative to the other big cats.[3] This allows it to pierce the shells of armoured reptiles[4] and to employ an unusual killing method: it bites directly through the skull of prey between the ears to deliver a fatal bite to the brain.[5]
The jaguar is a near threatened species and its numbers are declining. Threats include habitat loss and fragmentation. While international trade in jaguars or their parts is prohibited, the cat is still regularly killed by humans, particularly in conflicts with ranchers and farmers in South America. Although reduced, its range remains large; given its historical distribution, the jaguar has featured prominently in the mythology of numerous indigenous American cultures, including that of the Maya and Aztec.
Etymology
A jaguar at the Milwaukee County Zoological GardensThe word jaguar is pronounced /ˈdʒæɡwɑr/ or, in British English, /ˈdʒæɡjuː.ər/. It comes to English from one of the Tupi-Guarani languages, presumably the Amazonian trade language Tupinambá, via Portuguese jaguar.[6] The Tupian word, yaguara "beast", sometimes translated as "dog",[7][8] is used for any carnivorous mammal.[9] The specific word for jaguar is yaguareté, with the suffix -eté meaning "real" or "true".[6][9][10]
The first component of its taxonomic designation, Panthera, is Latin, from the Greek word for leopard, πάνθηρ, the type species for the genus. This has been said to derive from the παν- "all" and θήρ from θηρευτής "predator", meaning "predator of all" (animals), though this may be a folk etymology[11]—it may instead be ultimately of Sanskrit origin, from pundarikam, the Sanskrit word for "tiger".[12]
Onca is the Portuguese onça, with the cedilla dropped for typographical reasons, found in English as ounce for the Snow Leopard, Uncia uncia. It derives from the Latin lyncea lynx, with the letter L confused with the definite article (Italian lonza, Old French l'once).[13]
In many Central and South American countries, the cat is referred to as el tigre ("the tiger")
Taxonomy
The jaguar, Panthera onca, is the only extant New World member of the Panthera genus. DNA evidence shows that the lion, tiger, leopard, jaguar, snow leopard, and clouded leopard share a common ancestor and that this group is between six and ten million years old;[14] the fossil record points to the emergence of Panthera just two to 3.8 million years ago.[14][15] Phylogenetic studies generally have shown that the clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa) is basal to this group.[14][16][17][18] The position of the remaining species varies between studies and is effectively unresolved.
Based on morphological evidence, British zoologist Reginald Pocock concluded that the jaguar is most closely related to the leopard.[18] However, DNA evidence is inconclusive and the position of the jaguar relative to the other species varies between studies.[14][16][17][18] Fossils of extinct Panthera species, such as the European Jaguar (Panthera gombaszoegensis) and the American Lion (Panthera atrox), show characteristics of both the lion and the jaguar.[18] Analysis of jaguar mitochondrial DNA has dated the species lineage to between 280,000 and 510,000 years ago, later than suggested by fossil records.[19Geographical variation
While numerous subspecies of the jaguar have been recognized, recent research suggests just three. Geographical barriers, such as the Amazon river, limit gene flow within the species.The last taxonomic delineation of the jaguar subspecies was performed by Pocock in 1939. Based on geographic origins and skull morphology, he recognized eight subspecies. However, he did not have access to sufficient specimens to critically evaluate all subspecies, and he expressed doubt about the status of several. Later consideration of his work suggested only three subspecies should be recognized.[20]
Recent studies have also failed to find evidence for well defined subspecies, and are no longer recognized.[21] Larson (1997) studied the morphological variation in the jaguar and showed that there is clinal north–south variation, but also that the differentiation within the supposed subspecies is larger than that between them and thus does not warrant subspecies subdivision.[22] A genetic study by Eizirik and coworkers in 2001 confirmed the absence of a clear geographical subspecies structure, although they found that major geographical barriers such as the Amazon River limited the exchange of genes between the different populations.[19] A subsequent, more detailed, study confirmed the predicted population structure within the Colombian jaguars.[23]
Pocock's subspecies divisions are still regularly listed in general descriptions of the cat.[24] Seymour grouped these in three subspecies.[20]
Panthera onca onca: Venezuela through the Amazon, including
P. onca peruviana (Peruvian Jaguar): Coastal Peru
P. onca hernandesii (Mexican Jaguar): Western Mexico – including
P. onca centralis (Central American Jaguar): El Salvador to Colombia
P. onca arizonensis (Arizonan Jaguar): Southern Arizona to Sonora, Mexico
P. onca veraecrucis: Central Texas to Southeastern Mexico
P. onca goldmani (Goldman's Jaguar): Yucatán Peninsula to Belize and Guatemala
P. onca palustris (the largest subspecies, weighing more than 135 kg or 300 lb):[25] The Pantanal regions of Mato Grosso & Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, along the Paraguay River into Paraguay and northeastern Argentina.
Physical characteristics
The jaguar is a compact and well-muscled animal. There are significant variations in size and weight: weights are normally in the range of 56–96 kilograms (124–211 lb). Larger males have been recorded at 160 kilograms (350 lb)[26] (roughly matching a tigress or lioness), and smaller ones have extremely low weights of 36 kilograms (80 lb). Females are typically 10–20% smaller than males. The length of the cat varies from 1.62–1.83 metres (5.3–6 ft), and its tail may add a further 75 centimeters (30 in). It stands about 67–76 centimeters (27–30 in) tall at the shoulders.[27]
The head of the jaguar is robust and the jaw extremely powerful. The size of jaguars tends to increase the farther south they are located.
Jaguar skull and jawboneFurther variations in size have been observed across regions and habitats, with size tending to increase from the north to south. A study of the jaguar in the Chamela-Cuixmala Biosphere Reserve on the Mexican Pacific coast, showed ranges of just 30–50 kilograms (66–110 lb), about the size of the cougar.[28] By contrast, a study of the Jaguar in the Brazilian Pantanal region found average weights of 100 kilograms (220 lb) and weights of 300 lb or more are not uncommon in old males.[29] Forest jaguars are frequently darker and considerably smaller than those found in open areas (the Pantanal is an open wetland basin), possibly due to the smaller numbers of large herbivorous prey in forest areas.[30]
A short and stocky limb structure makes the jaguar adept at climbing, crawling and swimming.[27] The head is robust and the jaw extremely powerful. The jaguar has the strongest bite of all felids capable of biting down with 2000 lbs of force twice the strength of a lion, and the second strongest of all mammals after the spotted hyena; this strength is an adaptation that allows the jaguar to pierce turtle shells.[4] A comparative study of bite force adjusted for body size ranked it as the top felid, alongside the clouded leopard and ahead of the lion and tiger.[31] It has been reported that "an individual jaguar can drag a 360 kg (800 lb) bull 8 m (25 ft) in its jaws and pulverize the heaviest bones".[32] The jaguar hunts wild animals weighing up to 300 kilograms (660 lb) in dense jungle, and its short and sturdy physique is thus an adaptation to its prey and environment.
A melanistic jaguar. Melanism is the result of a dominant allele but remains relatively rare in jaguars.The base coat of the jaguar is generally a tawny yellow, but can range to reddish-brown and black. The cat is covered in rosettes for camouflage in its jungle habitat. The spots vary over individual coats and between individual Jaguars: rosettes may include one or several dots, and the shape of the dots varies. The spots on the head and neck are generally solid, as are those on the tail, where they may merge to form a band. The underbelly, throat and outer surface of the legs and lower flanks are white.[27]
A condition known as melanism occurs in the species. The melanistic form is less common than the spotted form (it occurs at about six percent of the population)[33] of jaguars and is the result of a dominant allele.[34] Jaguars with melanism appear entirely black, although their spots are still visible on close examination. Melanistic Jaguars are informally known as black panthers, but do not form a separate species. Rare albino individuals, sometimes called white panthers, also occur among jaguars, as with the other big cats.[30]
While the jaguar closely resembles the leopard, it is sturdier and heavier, and the two animals can be distinguished by their rosettes: the rosettes on a jaguar's coat are larger, fewer in number, usually darker, and have thicker lines and small spots in the middle that the leopard lacks. Jaguars also have rounder heads and shorter, stockier limbs compared to leopards.[35
[edit] Reproduction and life cycle
Jaguar females reach sexual maturity at about two years of age, and males at three or four. The cat is believed to mate throughout the year in the wild, although births may increase when prey is plentiful.[36] Research on captive male jaguars supports the year-round mating hypothesis, with no seasonal variation in semen traits and ejaculatory quality; low reproductive success has also been observed in captivity.[37] Female estrous is 6–17 days out of a full 37-day cycle, and females will advertise fertility with urinary scent marks and increased vocalization.[36] Both sexes will range more widely than usual during courtship.
Mother about to pick up a cub by the neckMating pairs separate after the act, and females provide all parenting. The gestation period lasts 93–105 days; females give birth to up to four cubs, and most commonly to two. The mother will not tolerate the presence of males after the birth of cubs, given a risk of infanticide; this behaviour is also found in the tiger.[38]
The young are born blind, gaining sight after two weeks. Cubs are weaned at three months but remain in the birth den for six months before leaving to accompany their mother on hunts.[39] They will continue in their mother's company for one to two years before leaving to establish a territory for themselves. Young males are at first nomadic, jostling with their older counterparts until they succeed in claiming a territory. Typical lifespan in the wild is estimated at around 12–15 years; in captivity, the jaguar lives up to 23 years, placing it among the longest-lived cats.[29]
Social activity
Like most cats, the jaguar is solitary outside mother-cub groups. Adults generally meet only to court and mate (though limited non-courting socialization has been observed anecdotally[38]) and carve out large territories for themselves. Female territories, which range from 25 to 40 square kilometers in size, may overlap, but the animals generally avoid one another. Male ranges cover roughly twice as much area, varying in size with the availability of game and space, and do not overlap.[38][40] The jaguar uses scrape marks, urine, and feces to mark its territory.[41]
Like the other big cats, the jaguar is capable of roaring (the male more powerfully) and does so to warn territorial and mating competitors away; intensive bouts of counter-calling between individuals have been observed in the wild.[42] Their roar often resembles a repetitive cough, and they may also vocalize mews and grunts.[29] Mating fights between males occur, but are rare, and aggression avoidance behaviour has been observed in the wild.[41] When it occurs, conflict is typically over territory: a male's range may encompass that of two or three females, and he will not tolerate intrusions by other adult males.[38]
The jaguar is often described as nocturnal, but is more specifically crepuscular (peak activity around dawn and dusk). Both sexes hunt, but males travel further each day than females, befitting their larger territories. The jaguar may hunt during the day if game is available and is a relatively energetic feline, spending as much as 50–60% of its time active.[30] The jaguar's elusive nature and the inaccessibility of much of its preferred habitat make it a difficult animal to sight, let alone study.
Hunting and diet
Illustration of a jaguar battling a boa constrictor
Illustration of a jaguar killing a tapirLike all cats, the jaguar is an obligate carnivore, feeding only on meat. It is an opportunistic hunter and its diet encompasses 87 species.[30] The jaguar prefers large prey and will take adult caiman, deer, capybara, tapirs, peccaries, dogs, foxes, and sometimes even anacondas . However, the cat will eat any small species that can be caught, including frogs, mice, birds, fish, sloths, monkeys, and turtles; a study conducted in Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary in Belize, for example, revealed that jaguars there had a diet that consisted primarily of armadillos and pacas.[41] Some jaguars will also take domestic livestock, including adult cattle and horses.[43]
The jaguar has an exceptionally powerful bite, even relative to the other big cats. It is an adaptation that allows it to pierce the shells of armoured reptiles.While the jaguar employs the deep-throat bite-and-suffocation technique typical among Panthera, it prefers a killing method unique amongst cats: it pierces directly through the temporal bones of the skull between the ears of prey (especially the Capybara) with its canine teeth, piercing the brain.[44] This may be an adaptation to "cracking open" turtle shells; following the late Pleistocene extinctions, armoured reptiles such as turtles would have formed an abundant prey base for the jaguar.[30][42] The skull bite is employed with mammals in particular; with reptiles such as caiman, the jaguar may leap on to the back of the prey and sever the cervical vertebrae, immobilizing the target. While capable of cracking turtle shells, the jaguar may simply reach into the shell and scoop out the flesh.[38] With prey such as smaller dogs, a paw swipe to the skull may be sufficient in killing it.
The jaguar is a stalk-and-ambush rather than a chase predator. The cat will walk slowly down forest paths, listening for and stalking prey before rushing or ambushing. The jaguar attacks from cover and usually from a target's blind spot with a quick pounce; the species' ambushing abilities are considered nearly peerless in the animal kingdom by both indigenous people and field researchers, and are probably a product of its role as an apex predator in several different environments. The ambush may include leaping into water after prey, as a jaguar is quite capable of carrying a large kill while swimming; its strength is such that carcasses as large as a heifer can be hauled up a tree to avoid flood levels.[38]
On killing prey, the jaguar will drag the carcass to a thicket or other secluded spot. It begins eating at the neck and chest, rather than the midsection. The heart and lungs are consumed, followed by the shoulders.[38] The daily food requirement of a 34 kilogram animal, at the extreme low end of the species' weight range, has been estimated at 1.4 kilograms.[45] For captive animals in the 50–60 kilogram range, more than 2 kilograms of meat daily is recommended.[46] In the wild, consumption is naturally more erratic; wild cats expend considerable energy in the capture and kill of prey, and may consume up to 25 kilograms of meat at one feeding, followed by periods of famine.[47] Unlike all other species in the Panthera genus, jaguars very rarely attack humans. Most of the scant cases where jaguars turn to taking a human show that the animal is either old with damaged teeth or is wounded.[48] Sometimes, if scared, jaguars in captivity may lash out at zookeepers.[49]
[edit] Ecology
[edit] Distribution and habitat
The jaguar has been attested in the fossil record for two million years[24] and it has been an American cat since crossing the Bering Land Bridge during the Pleistocene epoch; the immediate ancestor of modern animals is Panthera onca augusta, which was larger than the contemporary cat.[23] Its present range extends from Mexico, through Central America and into South America, including much of Amazonian Brazil.[50] The countries included in this range are Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica (particularly on the Osa Peninsula), Ecuador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, United States and Venezuela. The jaguar is now extinct in El Salvador and Uruguay.[2] It occurs in the 400 km² Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary in Belize, the 5,300 km² Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve in Mexico, the approximately 15,000 km² Manú National Park in Peru, the approximately 26,000 km² Xingu National Park in Brazil, and numerous other reserves throughout its range.
The jaguar can range across a variety of forested and open habitat, but is strongly associated with presence of water.The inclusion of the United States in the list is based on occasional sightings in the southwest, particularly in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. In the early 1900s, the jaguar's range extended as far north as the Grand Canyon, and as far west as Southern California.[45] The jaguar is a protected species in the United States under the Endangered Species Act, which has stopped the shooting of the animal for its pelt. In 2004, wildlife officials in Arizona photographed and documented jaguars in the southern part of the state. For any permanent population to thrive, protection from killing, an adequate prey base, and connectivity with Mexican populations are essential.[51] On February 25, 2009 a 118 lb Jaguar was caught, radio-collared and released in an area southwest of Tucson, Arizona; this is farther north than had previously been expected and represents a sign that there may be a permanent breeding population of Jaguars within southern Arizona. It was later confirmed that the animal is indeed the same male individual (known as 'Macho B') that was photographed in 2004 and is now the oldest known Jaguar in the wild (approximately 15 years old.)[52] On Monday March 2, 2009, Macho B, which is the only jaguar spotted in the U.S. in more than a decade, was recaptured and euthanized after he was found to be suffering from kidney failure.[53]
Completion of the United States–Mexico barrier as currently proposed will reduce the viability of any population currently residing in the United States, by reducing gene flow with Mexican populations, and prevent any further northward expansion for the species.[54]
The historic range of the species included much of the southern half of the United States, and in the south extended much farther to cover most of the South American continent. In total, its northern range has receded 1,000 kilometers southward and its southern range 2,000 km northward. Ice age fossils of the jaguar, dated between 40,000 and 11,500 years ago, have been discovered in the United States, including some at an important site as far north as Missouri. Fossil evidence shows jaguars of up to 190 kg (420 lb), much larger than the contemporary average for the animal.[55]
The habitat of the cat includes the rain forests of South and Central America, open, seasonally flooded wetlands, and dry grassland terrain. Of these habitats, the jaguar much prefers dense forest;[30] the cat has lost range most rapidly in regions of drier habitat, such as the Argentinian pampas, the arid grasslands of Mexico, and the southwestern United States.[2] The cat will range across tropical, subtropical, and dry deciduous forests (including, historically, oak forests in the United States). The jaguar is strongly associated with water and it often prefers to live by rivers, swamps, and in dense rainforest with thick cover for stalking prey. Jaguars have been found at elevations as high as 3,800 m, but they typically avoid montane forest and are not found in the high plateau of central Mexico or in the Andes.[30]
Substantial evidence exists that there is also a colony of non-native melanistic leopards or jaguars inhabiting the rainforests around Sydney, Australia. A local report compiled statements from over 450 individuals recounting their stories of sighting large black cats in the area and confidential NSW Government documents regarding the matter proved wildlife authorities were so concerned about the big cats and the danger to humans, they commissioned an expert to catch it. The three-day hunt later failed, but ecologist Johannes J. Bauer warned: "Difficult as it seems to accept, the most likely explanation is the presence of a large, feline predator. In this area, [it is] most likely a leopard, less likely a jaguar."[56]
Ecological role
The adult jaguar is an apex predator, meaning that it exists at the top of its food chain and is not preyed on in the wild. The jaguar has also been termed a keystone species, as it is assumed, through controlling the population levels of prey such as herbivorous and granivorous mammals, apex felids maintain the structural integrity of forest systems.[28][57] However, accurately determining what effect species like the jaguar have on ecosystems is difficult, because data must be compared from regions where the species is absent as well as its current habitats, while controlling for the effects of human activity. It is accepted that mid-sized prey species undergo population increases in the absence of the keystone predators and it has been hypothesized that this has cascading negative effects.[58] However, field work has shown this may be natural variability and that the population increases may not be sustained. Thus, the keystone predator hypothesis is not favoured by all scientists.[59]
The jaguar also has an effect on other predators. The jaguar and the cougar, the next largest feline of the Americas, are often sympatric (related species sharing overlapping territory) and have often been studied in conjunction. Where sympatric with the jaguar, the cougar is smaller than normal and is smaller than the local jaguars. The jaguar tends to take larger prey and the cougar smaller, reducing the latter's size.[60] This situation may be advantageous to the cougar. Its broader prey niche, including its ability to take smaller prey, may give it an advantage over the jaguar in human-altered landscapes;[28] while both are classified as near-threatened species, the cougar has a significantly larger current distribution.
[edit] Conservation status
Jaguar populations are rapidly declining. The animal is considered Near Threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources,[2] meaning it may be threatened with extinction in the near future. The loss of parts of its range, including its virtual elimination from its historic northern areas and the increasing fragmentation of the remaining range, have contributed to this status. The 1960s saw particularly significant declines, with more than 15,000 jaguar skins brought out of the Brazilian Amazon yearly; the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) of 1973 brought about a sharp decline in the pelt trade.[61] Detailed work performed under the auspices of the Wildlife Conservation Society reveal that the animal has lost 37% of its historic range, with its status unknown in an additional 18%. More encouragingly, the probability of long-term survival was considered high in 70% of its remaining range, particularly in the Amazon basin and the adjoining Gran Chaco and Pantanal.[50]
The major risks to the jaguar include deforestation across its habitat, increasing competition for food with human beings,[2] poaching, hurricanes in northern parts of its range, and the behaviour of ranchers who will often kill the cat where it preys on livestock. When adapted to the prey, the jaguar has been shown to take cattle as a large portion of its diet; while land clearance for grazing is a problem for the species, the jaguar population may have increased when cattle were first introduced to South America as the animals took advantage of the new prey base. This willingness to take livestock has induced ranch owners to hire full-time jaguar hunters, and the cat is often shot on sight.[29]
The Pantanal, Brazil, seen here in flood condition, is a critical jaguar range area.The jaguar is regulated as an Appendix I species under CITES: all international trade in jaguars or their parts is prohibited. All hunting of jaguars is prohibited in Argentina, Belize, Colombia, French Guiana, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Suriname, the United States (where it is listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act), Uruguay and Venezuela. Hunting of jaguars is restricted to "problem animals" in Brazil, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico and Peru, while trophy hunting is still permitted in Bolivia. The species has no legal protection in Ecuador or Guyana.[24]
Current conservation efforts often focus on educating ranch owners and promoting ecotourism.[62] The jaguar is generally defined as an umbrella species — a species whose home range and habitat requirements are sufficiently broad that, if protected, numerous other species of smaller range will also be protected.[63] Umbrella species serve as "mobile links" at the landscape scale, in the jaguar's case through predation. Conservation organizations may thus focus on providing viable, connected habitat for the jaguar, with the knowledge that other species will also benefit.[62]
Given the inaccessibility of much of the species' range—particularly the central Amazon—estimating jaguar numbers is difficult. Researchers typically focus on particular bioregions, and thus species-wide analysis is scant. In 1991, 600–1,000 (the highest total) were estimated to be living in Belize. A year earlier, 125–180 jaguars were estimated to be living in Mexico's 4,000 square kilometer (2400 mi²) Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, with another 350 in the state of Chiapas. The adjoining Maya Biosphere Reserve in Guatemala, with an area measuring 15,000 square kilometers (9,000 mi²), may have 465–550 animals.[64] Work employing GPS–telemetry in 2003 and 2004 found densities of only six to seven jaguars per 100 square kilometers in the critical Pantanal region, compared with 10 to 11 using traditional methods; this suggests that widely used sampling methods may inflate the actual numbers of cats.[65]
On 7 January 2008 United States Fish and Wildlife Service Director H. Dale Hall approved a decision by the George W. Bush Administration to abandon jaguar recovery as a federal goal under the Endangered Species Act. Some critics of the decision said that the jaguar is being sacrificed for the government's new border fence, which is to be built along many of the cat's typical crossings between the United States and Mexico.[66]
In the past, conservation of jaguars sometimes occurred through the protection of jaguar "hotspots". These hotspots were described as Jaguar Conservation Units, and were large areas populated by about 50 jaguars. However, some researchers recently determined that, in order to maintain a robust sharing of the jaguar gene pool necessary for maintaining the species, it is important that the jaguars be interconnected. To effect this, a new project, the Paseo del Jaguar, as been established to connect the jaguar hotspots.[67]
Fonte-Wikipedia.
Looking southeast from atop the Allegheny Front the ridges of the Ridge and Valley Province spread out into the distance. Shadowed North Mountain dominates the midsection of the image with numerous rain showers visible under the darkened sky.
18:32] Charles Noble chuckled "Ta be jolly, fa la la la la " he said, not singing, speaking each lyric slowly and deadpan. he cracked his neck loudly and put his hand to her shoulder and then turned away from her facing in the opposite direction urging her forwards, his eyes focused on sable and narrowed, he put his hand to his gaunlet and stopped in his tracks, pressing the buttons on the pda, as an image that was sent to him a few weeks ago flashed upon the screen, he clucked his tounge slowly, dropping his hand from guins shoulder "Wait here " he said lowly as he headed towards sable "Say...ain yo ston's gal" he said canting his head to one side "Need ta ask ya sumptin" he said with a tilt of the head to the alley just off to the side.
[18:35] Guinevere Fouroux raises both eyebrows, the smile not fading, but a hint of concern creeping into it nonetheless. She doesn't even notice the neck cracking, which would normally drive her nuts. She doesn't protest as he guides her forward, watching him over her shoulder until she can't any longer, stopping when he does. At his whisper, she glances over, catching sight of the girl whose name she -still- doesn't know. "Ohkaaay," she says slowly, staying right where she is as he moves over over to talk to her. She can only catch a few words, enough to pique her curiosity.
[18:36] Sable Levee looking up at the big male still as not knowing him would just smirk thinking he be looking for some fun. Rocking back on heels just nods her head," ya I am.." golden eyes shifting toward the other female for an moment before back to the male, Seeing him indicate moving to the alley moves to walk in that direction. Body pulsing still from the drugs as hips sway side to side
[18:39] Charles Noble reached inside his pocket and looked down to it, catching sables eye as if to suggest he had something in there that she would want, he followed her into the alley way he moved out of sight of the street hidden behind the pillar ,he nodded to infront of him , so she too would move out of view "Stand thar " he said looking around, dun wan no one ta see this..." he said glancing to the pocket once more "I'm chuck, owner of tha four horsemen, got somptin har for ston from me okay? want ya ta pass it on"
[18:44] Sable Levee golden eyes already dilated as she just sways once smelling of resent sex looks deep into the males eyes. Soft lips curled into an smirk as knows the bar he is refering toward. Petite frame standing before him as being curious looks him over caughting sight of the shinny toy he has stapped to wrist wanting it. " what ya gots?.." voice soft and slightly slurred at the moment as mind is slow to process things
[18:46] Charles Noble chuckled "Oh somptin ah think he's been wantin, well "he leaned forwards conspirtorially "From his behavior ah reckon he wants it anyhow..."he slowly drew a closed fist from his pocket holding it towards her gut, he uncurled his fingers to reveal an empty hand, he waited for her hazy state to process the hand was empty, eyes locking onto hers, with a faint hint of a smile there. "Get it?" he asked
[18:46] Guinevere Fouroux steps to one side, peering into the shadows where Charles and the girl had gone. She presses her lips together, curiosity only deepening, but she can't hear from here. With a quiet huff, she glances over at the stranger to her left, and gives him a quick, almost sheepish smile.
[18:50] Sable Levee delicate face frowns even as cheeks are still flushed short hair clinging along them as eyes look down to the males large hand, Thought just drifting for an moment wondering how they would feel along her flesh, Before it registers that the hand he holds before her is empty. Confused as is hard for her at the moment," ya want me to give him nothing from ya?.."
[18:52] Charles Noble looked down to the empty hand then back to her eyes . He smirked "Nah, I want ya to give him this" with that he drew his hand back quickly then threw it towards her stomach clenching his fingers at the last moment, a steamtrain of punch aimed right at her gut.
[18:53] Jeffery Nubalo would look over at Guin as she would try to see what the man who had left with Sable was doing and would give her a nod glancing down to his pda in hand "Curious about something?" talking in a low voice to prevent Charles form hearing him "I am more than sure he would tell you what he is speaking to her about" giving her a small frown "Though your snooping does seem to implicate that you do not believe he will tell you" shurgging his shoulder "Though I am sure you could get quite curious while waiting" and would look back down at his pda
[18:55] Sable Levee surprised as she would just grunt the air being knocked from her lungs. Petite frame doubling over as struggles to breath, panting. Feeling the pain along midsection as can not speak at first,' what... what the fuck ..' as leans arms wrapped to middle
[18:57] Charles Noble reached down and made a grab for her hair , attempting to yank her head back, he would also attempt to place his palm to her mouth as he delivered the following. "Ya got tha fuckin message righ?make sure ya deliver..ya tell him who, and where ta find me...a discription too..jes ta make fuckin sure..." he snarled "Ya get it, or ya want me ta give ya tha full fuckin message?"
[18:57] Guinevere Fouroux blinks at the man a few times. "I'm not snooping!" she protests. And she wasn't. Snooping implies finding something. "I was just...curious. That's all. I'm sure he'll tell me if it's important." She says that with more confidence than she feels, but deliberately leans back, looking everywhere -except- into the alley.
[19:01] Jeffery Nubalo looks back up at her and raises an eyebrow "You are not? Then you must excuse me, by your actions of trying to look into the alley as discreetly as possibly, I had take form it that you were" glancing to the alley and back to her "Though I am sure you would be above that" giving her a small smile
[19:02] Sable Levee face flushed ever more as finger grip along hair she would attempt to bite down along his fingers when hand is pressed along mouth, Gasping out an," fuck ya.." still skimming high as sure to be an bruise formed to belly squirms twisting her body
[19:04] Guinevere Fouroux's presses her lips together, and sniffs indignantly at the man, heat touching her cheeks in embarrassment. "Well, perhaps you shouldn't spend so much effort watching what I'm doing, then." Her arms wrap more tightly around her, and her back straightens. "No more misunderstandings."
[19:07] Jeffery Nubalo gives her a small frown "Well I am unsure who had the misunderstanding, but I am good at noticing what goes on around me while I work. It is my job" taking a step towards her "Though when you happen to be free from you companion, I would be more than happy to purchase you a drink"
[19:07] Charles Noble pushed his hand forwards against her mouth, pushing her towards the wall trapping her head tween his palm and the wall, pushing hard, the presure would soon be felt as if her head were inside a vice as he gradually increased the presure he leaned forwards and whispered "This is where smart pays off, " he said tween gritted teeth "I've flushed bigger turds than you girl do not piss me off. ah suggest when ya wake up, ya deliver tha message post fuckin haste" he then reached up to her hair once more and grabbed at her mop of hair, attempting once more to grip it , he would yank her head forwards then slam the back of her head against the concrete pillar
[19:12] Sable Levee draws in an deep breath as large hand comes to curl fully along her mouth the peircing cutting to lips and face. Squirming still as the ingested drugs make her react as feeling the grip of hand to hair once more. Hears the male growled words as golden eyes flashing another fuck ya look just before with an slam of head to concrete little Sable is out for the count. Body limp as dangles there for as long as he hold her pinned upwads along the piller
[19:13] Guinevere Fouroux arches a brow, curious again, though this doesn't require peering into alleys. "And just what is your job?" she asks as he steps toward her, ignoring the bit about misunderstandings. "That's very kind of you," she says politely, and musters up a polite smile again. "Though I don't imagine my... companion will be much longer." This time she does glance toward the alley, a bit worried, though what the tiny, half-naked woman might do to Charles, she can't imagine.
[19:17] Charles Noble tilted his head to one side, and then the other slowly looking her over, feeling her go limp, he held her there for a few moments before letting her slide down the pillar into darkness, his lip twitched, he lurched towards her body for a moment, before pulling himself back, he inhaled a deep breath then stepped out into the street, his expression immediately changing to a composed smiling individual, he nodded over to guin "All done har, lets go get a drink he beamed and nodded to Jeffey he called back into the alley jovially to the unconscious sable "Al right darlin, catch ya later " he said with a light laugh, as if she were fully awake and enjoying their secret togther " he batted his hand at the alley and shook his head slowly then offered his arm to guin. "c'mon" he said in a low friendly whisper.
[19:17] Jeffery Nubalo gives her a nod "I do not believe he will be much longer as well. He would not want to leave a female like yourself alone for long. If at sometime you happen to be free though, I would be happy to discuss my job with you" pulling out a card from his jacket and would prop it slightly out for her to take it "Though I must say I am normally in a more 'jovial' mood, though recent events have left me not in one of the best moods" giving her a smile
[19:22] Guinevere Fouroux reaches out for his card, glancing down at it just as Charles steps back out into the alley. His cheery farewell to the girl makes her wrinkle her nose a little, and she turns back to Jeffrey with a more obvious smile. "I'm sorry to hear that... hopefully I will catch you in a better mood soon, then." She looks up at Charles as he offers her his arm, but just before taking it, she looks to Jeffrey and inclines her head. "It was very nice to meet you. I hope to see you again soon." Then she threads her arm through Charles', squeezing a little at his whisper. "Drink it is," she murmurs.
Mythical creature from European folklore. The midsection is structured around a toa mata torso to add strength and simplicity to the build.
I had woken up several hours after the attack on the camp, and more importantly the attack on my life. I crawled out of the ruins of my tent, and took a look at my midsection. Inspecting my wounds, I saw that the gunshot was not life-threatening; it had missed any vital organs, and passed through. Still, it hurt like a son-of-a gun. I bandaged my wounds to the best of my ability, and attempted to stand. I was immediately struck with intense dizziness, and the wound in my stomach began to ooze blood. Deciding that it would be better not to push myself, I lowered back down to a sitting position. However, I was not able to rest for long; I heard Urag voices, far off, but coming closer. Grabbing my rifle, I crawled into what had been a small lean-too, built in a corner of a destroyed building. I pulled the remains of the canvas covering over my body, to hide partially from the Urags. Good. With my pale face, I may appear dead enough to fool them.
Thus so, I relaxed my rifle, and let the Urags pass. Fortunately, they disregarded me. Now, to get out of here. I briefly activated a radio beacon, to send a signal to the Silent Wolves. Unfortunately, the Urags also monitor radio frequencies. A few seconds later, the head of the lead Urag spun around, and he barked orders to the others in his file. To my horror, they began policing the bodies, firing a single round into the forehead of each. Some they had more fun with, bodily ripping them apart with brute force. Throughout this, many of the bodies remained silent as they were shot. But a few times, the Urags were rewarded with a scream as the soldier playing dead learned what they were doing. Fortunately for me, I was fairly well hidden. There were also a lot of bodies, and few Urags. I only hope the USDF can get here in time... With this, I blacked out again...
When I awoke, I heard not only Urag voices, but human in the distance. This must have been the first of them, for the Urags quickly became silent, and hid behind the ruins in the camp. They were planning an ambush! I began to hear the human voices coming closer. It sounded like some of the Silent Wolves that I knew, here to rescue me.
"C'mon! He has to be here somewhere."
That sounded like Cryptid.
"I hope we got here in time..."
That one sounded younger. It may have been Klip, who I met briefly. They would be walking right into an ambush. Feebly, I managed to fire my sniper, to warn them.
"Hold up" I heard someone say. Good. They were being careful now.
After several minutes, I was rewarded with the sight of armed me moving into my vicinity. They were checking corners, being cautious...
Suddenly, an Urag jumped out of cover, and grabbed the MG in the hands of the man on point. Grappling, they fell back, into the remains of a tent. After the premature entrance of that Urag, the other two also came out of hiding. One was near where the other one was, and the other had been hiding far in front of them, behind Cryptid. The first was blown away by Cryptid's launcher. I saw him fumbling to reload, they must have met some resistance before I was awake. Behind him, though, loomed the real threat; an Urag Warmonger, noted for their ruthlessness and brutality. It raised it's massive warhammer up above it's head, preparing to bring it down on Cryptid's skull. Summoning my last reserves of strength, I raised the rifle, and fired once. My round severed the Warmonger's spine, dropping him like a rock as Cryptid turned, and saw me. "Now," I uttered, with a small cough, "Now we're even..."
(Carmine leaps at Caly, from behind, but she thrusts the stunner against
his midsection, holding it there as he stiffens and makes a guttural
cry. His irises glow golden, the light spilling out, touching Caly's
skin. But Carmine's expression turns from pain to shock as Caly shakes
her head.)
Caly: (to Carmine) Occupied.
(The golden light evaporates and Carmine collapses to the ground, dead.
Sienna, Lucas, Mateo, and even Laithi look stunned by what happened.)
Caly: (smiles grimly at Laithi) See what I mean?
Laithi: He was a halflife incompetent!
Caly: (aside) That's racist.
Laithi: I serve the Assembly! Those who do not will perish!
(Caly and Laithi begin to fight. Each seeming equally strong and
skilled. Sienna is recovering, and she helps Mateo drag mostly
incapacitated Lucas through the trees, toward the street.)
Caly: This isn't our world, but we could have lived here, in peace. Who
knows what the humans could have become without our influence!
Laithi: They're barely more than dumb animals, skimmer!
Caly: And your ilk taught them to be tyrants.
(she's about to strike Laithi with the stunner when Trajan grabs Caly
from behind, hurling her into the trunk of a tree)
(to be continued)
Thank you to the actors!
Sienna: Bailey
Laithi: Kes
Caly: TB
Mateo: B
Lucas: B
Probably my most frequent railfanning target in 2020 was Canadian Pacific's Moosehead Subdivison across the midsection of Maine. Here is train 250 with 'NATO Green' SD70ACU 7020 on the point crossing the most impressive structure on the line: 1200' long Onawa Trestle, 17.2 miles from Brownville Jct.
The armor on this bot is light, as it's protection comes from a force field generated by it's upper crown and the emitters at it's midsection. It also comes equipped with a shoulder- mounted lazgun, and a rear mounted, 4 barrel defense gun. Common in the Human vs Valum front line encounters
After the events of today, I needed time to muse upon these flashbacks. Obviously, this was becoming a hazard. I thought back, using a technique I picked up from an old war dog. Just let your mind wander, and then focus on the problem. From there, you'll find the source.
As he used to say. I tried it, letting my mind go blank. While thinking of the horrific images I saw, one thought kept popping into my mind; the one-eyed Urag. Surely, he was important, somehow. Well, very important. But my thoughts on this will not be recorded... Some things are too private, even for this.
Gradually, I began to lose my ability to concentrate. The room seemed to be getting hazy. I must just be getting tired, I thought. But wait. There was another thing odd, a strange smell. It was sweet, invitingly so. Instinctively, I drew a long lungful of the scent. Wait. That smell... Gas! I recognized the odor from my excursion on the Urag Assault Ship. We were being attacked! But that wouldn't make sense, either. I am not on the edge of camp, and surely someone would have noticed before now... As if in answer to my confused thoughts, I heard a footstep behind me. There's no way an Urag would be able to sneak in here! I thought. I started to turn, but my muscles would hardly respond. I was feeling awfully sluggish, unusually so. Before I could turn, I felt a loop of chain slide over my head, and begin to tighten around my throat. This was a man, not a 'Rag, doing this! I tried to fight against the garrote, but I was too weak to do much. Suddenly I heard the sounds of gunfire, and the pressure around my neck abruptly stopped. "The Urags! They're attacking!" I heard a voice say from outside. My attacker uttered a muffled curse, in a foreign language. Laying on my back, and slipping into unconsciousness, I suddenly saw a pistol in the hands of my attacker. In what seemed like slow-motion, he pulled the trigger. I felt the round slam into my midsection. Odd. I thought it would hurt more... I seized up, and then relaxed, precious blood leaking out of the hole in my gut. The mysterious traitor stepped out of my tent, and I felt the swathes of fabric begin to fall around my body as the tent collapsed. The last thing I heard was another voice from outside, "Retreat! Fall back"...
Salt Lake Garfield & Western delivered a new Stadler FLIRT Diesel Multiple-Unit train at the UP interchange near 10th West in Salt Lake City, Utah on May 5, 2023. The low-floor train will operate on a former Cotton Belt freight route between the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and Plano, Texas. Each set is comprised of four passenger-carrying units, two on each side of a separate midsection power unit housing a diesel engine and traction alternator (generator). Each set is 266 feet long, with a capacity for 263 passengers (222 seated, 41 standing). The maximum operating speed is 79 mph.