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I'd seen a small flock of Spoonbills for the first time at the end of last September, but after resting on the shore of Pauatahanui Estuary for a few days, they had disappeared as quickly as they'd arrived!
Anyway, last Sunday afternoon, after finally leaving the shell-bank where I'd found the Pied Stilts and the Dotterells, I rejoined the Boardwalk and continued my walk around the edge of the Estuary.
I didn't get very far; in fact I only got 40 metres around a sharp bend, and there on the same stretch of shoreline that they'd been on the last time I'd seen them were the Royal Spoonbills again!!!
What a surprise!!! This really was proving to be a very, very interesting day - but there was a problem. The Spoonbills were some distance from the road; photographing them was going to be - well - challenging...
Unless...
Unless I left the Boardwalk (again) and made my way along the edge of the Reeds which grew almost to the water's edge...
This seemed a great idea, so away I went...! The shoreline was a mixture of shell and mud with just enough shell to avoid my sinking too deeply into the mud...
All went well - until I reached a small "riverlet" of water draining into the estuary - and I was still 80 metres from the birds. But trust me Folks: this wasn't a stream, it wasn't even a brook. It was two centremetres deep, and about 15 centremetres across - or in other words: one long stride, and I should be across... (Note the words "should be"...).
With two moderately expensive cameras around my neck, I studied the ground on the other side of the water... steadied myself for the big step... and... stepped...
I'm tall (6 foot 4 inches), so it was reasonably easy to reach the other side - except that I under-estimated just how firm the mud and shell combination was on that other side - didn't I...!!!
As I landed on that shell / mud mixture on the other side of the water course, my left leg immediately sank deeply - very, very deeply - into very thick, very black, very gooey mud - whilst at the same time, I had to try and desperately save two moderately expensive cameras from burying themselves - Lens first - into the same quagmire!!!
Well, I'm pleased to say that I did manage to save the Cameras, but the next 'challenge' was to extract myself from the mire!!!
Eventually, with my shoe still attached to my foot, I managed to pull free, "shot" three or four frames of the Spoonbills (some of whom were looking back with looks that suggested they were thinking, "What on earth do you think you're doing???"), and then - with the Tide coming in at an alarming rate - made my way back to the safety of the Boardwalk (via a different "path"), and headed for the car - which was over a mile away!
I nearly made it - nearly - but a young woman walking towards me looked very startled at the thick layer of smelly black goo still caked to one leg, and couldn't refrain from asking what had happened...
Well... She laughed so hard that she nearly had tears rolling down her cheeks... So I guess if I made someone laugh that afternoon, things couldn't have been THAT bad - and after all: I did get the photos of the Royal Spoonbills - birds that I hadn't expected to see that afternoon - and I did save the cameras from what would have been a "fatal" mud bath...!
Feeling rather sheepish, I counted my blessings for the day - Pied Oyster Catchers, Dotterells and Royal Spoonbills; it had been a pretty good day out, all things considered...
However, believe it or not, but the day STILL wasn't quite over yet...!!! (I kid you not!!!).
Anyway, if you have the time, check out the Royal Spoonbills at:
nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/royal-spoonbill
And as Jenny once wrote: if you're still reading, you really are a true friend...!!!
Las Vegas is a mixture of Wild West and Urban sophistication, florescent neon-lighted gambling halls and fashionable ranches - a fascinating blend of the Old and New.
Las Vegas News Agency.
ShiniColor by Colourpicture
SK2658
CAPA-022841
seems this peacock butterfly had seen better days, but he was still flying around even though not looking his best ! .... :)
Dolly Mixtures (Candy) and a 3" bowl then taken into Photoshop and Twirled/Twisted in the latest PS craze hitting my 365 group at the moment!
Each Dolly Mixture is only 3/8" wide/long.
www.slrlounge.com/twirls-hot-new-photoshop-trend/?fbclid=...
SBB Cargo Class Re 420 locomotive 420 306 had a good mixed consist in tow forming the trunk freight service 60076 from Basel RB D to Lausanne Triage Yard recorded just south of Bavois, Vaud.
All images on this site are exclusive property and may not be copied, downloaded, reproduced, transmitted, manipulated or used in any way without expressed written permission of the photographer. All rights reserved – Copyright Don Gatehouse
Taken whilst visiting Anthony Gormley's 'Another Place' at Crosby beach, Liverpool. This view is towards the end of the beach where the docks are situated and shows a mixture of leisure time, nature and industry.
My daughter's hands, with matching nail varnish, resting on the body of 'Dolly' - one of the Shaun the sheep statues on display around the centre of Bristol.
==The Clocktower- Current Residence of the Bat-Family. One day after the Misfits' attack==
"Thank you, Mr Pennyworth," Needham said gratefully, as he took his cup of tea from off of Alfred's silver platter, and sipped it slowly. “Look," he continued, turning his attention to Bruce. "Fiasco believed that Day was masterminding events; Toying with Carson and the Misfits, maybe King of Cats too, all in a deliberate attempt to lure Walker back to Gotham. As part of a scheme where he needed him, and the rest of his crew, in attendance.”
“And you believe him?” Bruce asked.
"Hhn. I believe something's going on. But whether Day's the mastermind, or he's another pawn like Carson is another matter entirely."
Bruce considered this. “That doesn't absolve Walker. Or Fiasco."
“No," Needham agreed, staring into the cup distractedly. "Still, I had to let them go. I have faith that if they can just put the pieces together, maybe find a way to neutralise Krill, then perhaps-"
"That's not on them, Eric. And it's not on you either."
"But Batman, listen-"
"No. If there is a conspiracy at large, I'll look into it myself, but I need you focused on the False Facers. Word is that Henry Ferris, Iron-Hat, is back in Gotham, operating under Sionis' orders and I need to know why. There's a gang war brewing here; one our new mayor will undoubtedly profit from."
"Batman-"
"That's an order, Spider."
Needham obliged, and rose to his feet, walking towards his parked motorcycle. Turning his head back to Bruce, he spoke. “Do you know why Walker's gotten to you? Because you believed in him. Because you had to. After Dent, and Hush, you desperately needed to believe in redemption; real, honest redemption. But, the truth is, it doesn't exist. Because people... people are ugly and messy. But that doesn't mean you stop trying; It was your faith in me that kept me going and it's my faith in them that's going to save the Misfits."
==Arkham Asylum==
When The Joker had first taken over the Asylum, Jeremiah Arkham had himself been taken prisoner; in the subsequent weeks, he would become an outlet for the clown's musings and sadistic habits. With Day forging documents on his behalf and Zolomon dealing with the odd trespasser, few had even noticed Arkham was missing. And so long as Billings' illusion held, the Asylum would appear to outsiders as it always had; A dark blemish in the Gotham skyline. All except for one man, who watched the building vigilantly, a gun in his hand, scanning the windows for any sign of movement, any hint at the horrors hidden behind its grim facade.
Making himself at home in the doctor's study, the clown had been quick to dismantle his trophies, vandalise his artwork and incinerate his paperwork. "Tut tut tut, a lot of ABBA. You like ABBA, Jerry?" he asked mockingly, as he rifled through Arkham's rather pitiful record collection. "Mama Mia, here we go again..." he muttered under his breath.
His concentration, was disrupted by the sudden crashing of the door, as a black suited man barged into the room; the watcher from outside, who aimed a silver pistol between the clown's soulless eyes, and without a moment's hesitation, pulled the trigger. Before it could reach its target however, the bullet was intercepted by Zoom's gloved hand, who held it between his fingers, mere inches from the clown's face. The breeze from Zoom's arrival had knocked the intruder backwards, separating him from his weapons as he landed at Joker's feet.
"Huh," the clown frowned, an ABBA record still in his hand. "You, sir, look more like a Nirvana fan. You even smell like Teen Spirit to boot. Pwhoar!"
"Youuuuuuuu saaaaaaaaid wewouldbe secure," Zolomon hissed, as he watched the man curiously.
"Uhuh; almost, Hunter. I said almost," the clown corrected him, as he knelt down beside the intruder. "Always read the terms and conditions. You know, I'm slowly beginning to understand what it's like being an Arkham guard... Revolving door indeed... Eraser, isn't it?" he asked. "Awfully hard to keep track of your lot, you know. You multiply like rabbits."
Fiasco snarled. "Go to hell."
"Already been and already barred! It's overrated anyhow and not at all like the brochure," Joker replied.
"Hooooowwwwwwwdid yoooooou find uuuuuus?" Zoom demanded, as he pulled their new prisoner to his feet. Fiasco, stared back at him in utter incomprehension.
"He's asking how you found us, sweetie," Joker said flatly. "In English, Hunter, please."
Fiasco scoffed bitterly. "It wasn't hard; you're all far too sentimental; Day used Arkham as a staging ground in his last big attack. And I knew Crane wouldn't resist getting another shot at revenge neither. Factor in some poetic symmetry, that this was where Drury killed Larson that first time, and boom. Kinda obvious, really."
"Touché..." Joker smirked. "Though I think you'll find it's Carson."
"Daaaaay called him Barson," Zolomon intruded.
"I think you'll find that I don't care either way," Fiasco shot back at them both.
"Oh my, he's a rather sharp witted pencil, isn't he? Adorable," Joker remarked to an unimpressed Zoom. "It's almost a shame that he's been putting threads together. Ones that we simply can not allow to get out... Oh, well."
"Oh, please," Fiasco spat, still struggling in Zoom's grip, "If I know, it's only a matter of time before the Bat does too."
Joker laughed. "Batsy, yes... Now there's an ever present pain in my abdomen; or perhaps that's the appendicitis again... Still, we've got a contingency for that. You've met Spellbinder, wonderful houseguest. Heavy drinker... A real pity, that."
He snapped his fingers, and Billings limped into the room, his eyes widening as they made contact with Fiasco's. "How did you-?" he began, sweating nervously.
"Well, isn't that the question of the hour!" Joker glared maliciously. "I didn't clothe you, feed you and spring you from Blackgate just for some faulty hardware. Imagine if it failed for Batsy, or Drubert, heaven forbid!"
Billings swallowed, avoiding the clown's eyeline. "As I... tried to explain, the illusion holds for long as those affected continue to accept it as their reality. Once rejected or dismissed, however, the illusion loses its hold on the mind and simply... fades away. Like a mirage in the desert."
"Then whatdowe dooooooowith him?" Zoom inquired, glaring at Fiasco, his arm still wrapped around his neck.
Joker smiled. "Keep 'im. I want to have a spare for when Arkham dies."
~-~
Days passed, and still, Fiasco remained The Joker's prisoner. Following a lead from Mr Freeze, Batman had come and gone, with the clown's cabal believing he'd found nothing of note during his brief visit; Fiasco himself had been moved to Crane's old cell.
Meanwhile, in the study, the clown was firing arrows blindly. Strapped to a chair, squirming as each misfire drew closer to his skull, was Jeremiah Arkham, an apple laid atop his sweaty head. About half the arrows had rubber tips; Harmless; The rest, had recently been sharpened. Joker stuck his tongue out, in a display of faux determination and fired his next arrow. "Now, I know you're just a side project, but I can't help but think we've developed a real bond here! And I don't just mean the ropes and zip-ties."
"The Caaaaaaaaalendar Maaaaaan has returned," Zolomon announced, speeding into the room.
Joker turned his head, put his bow on the ground and winked at Arkham. "Goody, send him in. You- don't go anywhere: Can't be far from a nervous breakdown now, huh, Jerry?" he chuckled as strutted over to his captive and took a bite of the apple, spewing chunks into Arkham's hair as he spoke. "Clearly, the apple doesn't fall all that far from the tree. Hah!"
"I know about Fiasco, Joker," Day stormed into the room. "We had an arrangement; The Misfits were mine."
"Yes, an arrangement that was null and void the second that little stripey son of a tree pointed a gun in my face," Joker rolled his eyes. "He's not harmed. Much."
"I trusted you-" Day spluttered.
Joker shrugged. "Eh. You really shouldn't have."
Zoom put himself in-between Joker and Day, placing a hand around the latter's arm. "Enough. Weeeeeeee mussssssssstfind Walker," he insisted. "The Erasaaaaaaaaaser knows Waaaaaaalker. Sohe must bemadeto taaaaaaalk."
"No need," Day replied plainly. "Abner has a lead."
=Tompkins Homeless Shelter. Gotham=
Behind his iron mask, Ferris' nose wrinkled; This was not where he had wanted to meet. He, would've preferred the Iceberg Lounge, even that Olympus bar, run by that delusional Zeus character would be preferable; Provided he'd put a shirt on, that is.
Instead, he was stuck here; in a venue almost certainly chosen to make him as uncomfortable as possible.
The door chimed as a white suited figure entered the building and greeted Ferris. "Hey, don't I know you from somewhere? Maybe an old Hitler Youth ad?" he joked.
Ferris tilted his head upwards. "Krill," he said coldly.
"Adolf," the spotted man smiled snidely.
"Hope you don't mind," he elaborated, as he slid into the chair opposite him. "But the gay bar down the street's closed, and that feminist rally has been rescheduled."
"Sure," Ferris said stiffly.
"Don't worry, you're safe here; free food, doctor/patient confidentiality, the works. Oh, over here, love," Krill called out, as the server, a young Vietnamese woman, placed two hot bowls of noodle soup between them. Krill winked at her, then slurped down the mixture hungrily. Ferris looked back at him, the mask failing to hide the disgust emanating from his body.
"Ordered in advance," Krill slurped, as his free hand waved his phone at Ferris. "Not a problem for you, I'm sure."
"Of course not," Ferris lied, as he watched Krill spoon several clumps of wet noodles into his mouth. "You're a hard man to get a hold of."
Krill raised a warning finger. "And with good reason; I've only ever accepted serious and/or rich clients. Well, and you, I suppose. Might I just say that helmet really brings out your eyes? That is a very deep shade of blue," Krill teased. "Now, you said you had something for me?"
"Correct," Ferris said. "I'd heard you were looking for those... bug boys, Misfits, whatever you wanna call 'em, doesn't matter... About a week ago, I overheard the chi-"
At this, Krill cringed. "Oho, wow. Oh, wow, you're doing a hardcore racist thing- classy. Real high brow," he recoiled.
"Fine," Ferris hissed reluctantly. "I overheard Bookworm mention a school to Sionis. Greendale. Didn't think much of it, until one of my contacts said they spotted Lynns and the ni- Firebug" he breathed in heavily, "In the city center scoffing down ice cream and swinging their swords around."
Krill paused."That's not a homophobic euphemism is it-?" he queried.
"No," Ferris growled, his patience growing thinner.
"Just checking!" Krill shrugged passively. "Still, worth a look. Greendale, did you say? Neato..."
As Krill rose to his feet, he turned back to Ferris, his lip curled. "What is it?" Ferris demanded.
"Y'know, normally, I wouldn't care, but you've piqued my interest... What exactly do you get out of this? If it were Franco, sure, I'd understand, but you? I mean, let's say Sionis got wind of this-"
"Well he's not going to, is he?" Ferris challenged him. Beneath his mask, he smiled as he repeated Franco's own mantra; "The wind's changing, Mr Krill. From what I hear, there's going to be a change in management very soon; I'm just making sure I'm on their side when it comes. And Sionis? Well, Sionis can't exactly weld another mask to my face, can he?"
"No," Krill conceded, a coy smile on his face. "But you can't exactly rule out a codpiece either."
A mixture of very recent photos and some more from 2022 in this upload. I took the Sirion through to get its sills welded today - hopefully a fresh MOT very soon and I can keep this one going - I'd never fully committed myself to it, but it really does make me smile every time I drive it, so it's got to be done. If I didn't have this brilliant person doing the work, I think it would have been a very different outcome for this car. A bonus today was seeing this lovely old Saab.
INGREDIENTS
Filling
2 (3-oz.) pkg. lime flavor gelatin
2 cups boiling water
1 cup Key lime juice
2 (14-oz.) cans sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated)
1 pint (2 cups) whipping cream
Crust
45 graham cracker squares
2 tablespoons Key lime juice
2 tablespoons water
Raspberry Sauce
1 (18-oz.) jar (1 1/2 cups) seedless raspberry jam
2 tablespoons water
Garnish, if desired
Fresh raspberries
Grated lime peel or fresh mint leaves
DIRECTIONS
1. In very large bowl, combine gelatin and boiling water; stir 2 to 3 minutes or until dissolved. Add 1 cup lime juice and the sweetened condensed milk; beat with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Set aside.
2. In medium bowl, beat whipping cream until stiff peaks form. Gently fold whipped cream into gelatin mixture just until combined.
3. Grease 13x9-inch pan. Arrange 5 cracker squares down length of greased pan; repeat forming 2 additional rows and using a total of 15 cracker squares to cover bottom of pan. Set aside.
4. In small bowl, combine 2 tablespoons lime juice and 2 tablespoons water. Brush juice mixture onto each cracker square in pan just until moistened. Carefully pour 3 1/3 cups filling over cracker crust; spread evenly. Repeat cracker and filling layers 2 times. Gently tap pan on hard surface and push down any crackers that are close to surface. Cover with foil; refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight.
5. Meanwhile, in medium microwave-safe bowl, mix jam and 2 tablespoons water. Microwave on Medium for about 30 seconds or until jam is melted, stirring twice. Cover; refrigerate until serving time.
6. Cut dessert into squares. Spoon 1 tablespoon raspberry sauce onto each individual dessert plate. Place dessert squares on plates. Garnish with raspberries and lime peel. Store in refrigerator.
The Hairy Woodpecker is a medium-sized woodpecker with a fairly square head, a long, straight, chisel-like bill that is nearly the same length as the head. Like its close cousin and the similar looking Downy Woodpecker, they are contrastingly black and white. The black wings are checkered with white; the head has two white stripes. A large white patch runs down the center of the black back.
Adult male Hairy Woodpeckers have a red patch on the back of the head, while adult females lack the red patch. But juvenile and some second year birds have red feathers in the crown. The male usually has a more extensive covering of red feathers than the female, but since both gender can have it, it can be difficult to determine the sex of young birds.
Body length is 7.1 - 10.2 inches (18 - 26 cm) with a wing span of 13 - 16.1 inches (33 - 41 cm).
Hairy Woodpeckers range across most of North America where mature forests can be found with medium to large trees. They also occur in woodlots, suburbs, parks, and cemeteries. You can find them equally common in coniferous forests, deciduous forests, or mixtures, and generally up to about 6,500 feet elevation. Also found at forest edges, around beaver ponds, in recently burned forests, southern swamps, open pine, oak, or birch woodlands, and orchards.
More than 75% of the Hairy Woodpecker’s diet is made up of insects, particularly the larvae of wood-boring beetles and bark beetles, ants, and moth pupae in their cocoons. The remainder of their diet is made up of fruit and seeds. Hairy Woodpeckers can be common visitors to feeders, eating suet and sunflower seeds.
ISO1600, aperture f/5.6, exposure .003 seconds (1/320) focal length 450mm