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Excerpt from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_Gallery_of_Peterborough:
The Art Gallery of Peterborough is a free admission, non-profit public art gallery in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. A registered charity that depends on the support of its members, it was founded in 1974 by an independent board of volunteers. In 1977 it was given the Foster House by the City of Peterborough, a historical residence set in parkland beside Little Lake. In 1979 The gallery expanded to its current size of 11,000 square feet (1,000 m2) with the construction of its modernist wing designed by Crang & Boake architects. The collection presently numbers over 1,300 pieces. In addition to its permanent collection and exhibitions, the gallery offers many educational programs for adults and children. There is also a gallery shop featuring a variety of works by local and regional artists and makers.
The acquisition program is funded by private donations and matching grants from the Canada Council. Annual operating and management costs are provided by the Ontario Arts Council, the Canada Council for the Arts, and community fundraising efforts. The Art Gallery of Peterborough is a City of Peterborough facility. The gallery is a member of the Ontario Association of Art Galleries.
Prominent Canadian artists with works in the collection include Carl Beam, Rebecca Belmore, David Bierk, Ron Bloore, Emily Carr, Dorothy Caldwell, A.J. Casson, Paterson Ewen, Ivan Eyre, Gershon Iskowitz, A.Y. Jackson, Rita Letendre, Sanaz Mazinani, Daphne Odjig, Jack Shadbolt, and Bill Vazan.
el.kingdomsalvation.org/gospel.html
Δευτέρα Παρουσία
Ο Θεός λέει:«Καθώς η θάλασσα δεν ήταν πλέον σιωπηλή, η ζωή άρχισε να γεμίζει και τους ουρανούς. Ένα-ένα τα πουλιά, μικρά και μεγάλα, πετούσαν στον ουρανό από το έδαφος. Αντίθετα από τα πλάσματα της θάλασσας, εκείνα είχαν φτερά και πούπουλα που σκέπαζαν τις λεπτές και χαριτωμένες φιγούρες τους. Χτυπούσαν τα φτερά τους με περηφάνια και επεδείκνυαν αγέρωχα το υπέροχο φτέρωμά τους και τις ειδικές λειτουργίες και ικανότητες που τους χάρισε ο Δημιουργός. Πετούσαν ψηλά με ευκολία και δεξιότητα, ανάμεσα στον ουρανό και στη γη και μέσα από αγρούς και δάση… Ήταν τα αγαπημένα πλάσματα του αέρα και τα αγαπημένα πλάσματα όλων. Σύντομα θα αποτελούσαν τον σύνδεσμο μεταξύ ουρανού και γης και θα μετέφεραν τα μηνύματα σε όλα τα πράγματα… Κελαηδούσαν, εφορμούσαν χαρωπά, σκόρπιζαν κέφι, γέλιο και παλμό σ’ αυτόν τον μέχρι τότε άδειο κόσμο… Χρησιμοποιούσαν το καθάριο τους μελωδικό κελάηδισμα και τα λόγια που είχαν στην καρδιά τους για να υμνούν τον Δημιουργό για τη ζωή που Εκείνος τους χάρισε. Χόρευαν χαρωπά για να δείξουν την τελειότητα και το θαύμα της δημιουργίας του Δημιουργού και θα αφιέρωναν ολόκληρη τη ζωή τους στο να γίνουν μάρτυρες της εξουσίας του Δημιουργού μέσα από την ιδιαίτερη ζωή που Εκείνος τους χάρισε…... »
από το βιβλίο «Ο Λόγος Ενσαρκώνεται»
Υιός του Ανθρώπου
The North Carolina Arboretum is an arboretum and botanical garden located within the Bent Creek Experimental Forest of the Pisgah National Forest at 100 Frederick Law Olmsted Way, southwest of Asheville, North Carolina near the Blue Ridge Parkway. It is open daily except for Christmas Day. There is no admission charge, but some parking fees do apply. Although the idea for the arboretum stretches back to landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted in 1898, who wished to create an arboretum at the nearby Biltmore Estate, today's arboretum was established by the General Assembly relatively recently, in 1986, as a facility of the University of North Carolina. In 1989 the site was officially designated the North Carolina Arboretum. The arboretum is still under active development. It includes many hiking and bicycling trails, a bonsai collection, a holly garden, and a stream garden. Its tree collection includes a fine set of Metasequoias planted in 1950, and now said to be the tallest in the south. In 2016, a certification from Bee Campus USA recognized the arboretum's efforts to teach about and support pollinators.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Carolina_Arboretum
Website: www.ncarboretum.org/
Europe, Portugal, Matosinhos, Praca Cidade San Salvador, Sculpture, Highrises, Cars and people (very slightly cut)
A giant man and car earing jelly fish ? A partly deconstructed UFO?
It is 'She Changes' , a sculpture of Janet Echelman near the Atlantico.
'She changes' (Janet Echelman) is a monumental, red and white, membrane-like sculpture at the Praca Cidade San Salvador in the town of Matosinhos along the shoreline outside of Porto It prompts multiple associations, both in terms in Echelmanâs earlier works as they relate to its morphology and in terms of its context. One can readily make a connection with the fishing nets that have played a historical role in the economy and life of this region for centuries. One may also envision sea creatures from the tide pools, as one of my colleagues pointed out. Yet there is another aspect of the work that can also be recognizedâand that is the sensuality of the piece as it exists in a pure form without cynicism and without domination in relation to this remarkable seaside vista.'
Source: here.
Excerpt from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chung_Ying_Street:
Chung Ying Street (中英街) is a street on the border between Hong Kong and Shenzhen, within the border town of Sha Tau Kok (Hong Kong) and Shatoujiao (Shenzhen). One side of the street belongs to Hong Kong and the other belongs to mainland China.
In Cantonese, Chung means China and Ying England or the United Kingdom. The name is a mark of history of the Second Convention of Peking, a treaty that China under the Qing dynasty was forced to lease New Territories to Britain in 1899.
The street was a river in 1899, and the British used the high water mark as the border. The river was too shallow at the section of Sha Tau Kok. It dried before the coming of World War II. The residents on both dried river sides then erected their shops to trade. The dried river then renamed to Chung Hing Street (中興街), and later renamed to Chung Ying Street.
The town of Sha Tau Kok flourished for that period of time. After World War II, with large influx of refugees from China, the British colonial government decided to close the border and the town fell within the Frontier Closed Area. The border town declined since then.
Chung Ying Street was once a famous place for shopping. In the 1990s, when China was still closed to the world, Chinese tourists visited to buy foreign goods, mostly watches, clothing and jewellery. However, the prosperity has declined in the early 21st century, due to a policy allowing most people from Mainland China to apply to visit Hong Kong directly, causing Chung Ying Street to transform into a place for historical sight-seeing. The PRC government has built a museum about the history of Chung Ying Street to attract tourists again.
www.rspb.org.uk/discoverandenjoynature/discoverandlearn/b...
Also known as the peewit in imitation of its display calls, its proper name describes its wavering flight. Its black and white appearance and round-winged shape in flight make it distinctive, even without its splendid crest. This familiar farmland bird has suffered significant declines recently and is now an Red List species.
Overview
Latin name
Vanellus vanellus
Family
Plovers and lapwings (Charadriidae)
Where to see them
Lapwings are found on farmland throughout the UK particularly in lowland areas of northern England, the Borders and eastern Scotland. In the breeding season prefer spring sown cereals, root crops, permanent unimproved pasture, meadows and fallow fields. They can also be found on wetlands with short vegetation. In winter they flock on pasture and ploughed fields. The highest known winter concentrations of lapwings are found at the Somerset Levels, Humber and Ribble estuaries, Breydon Water/Berney Marshes, the Wash, and Morecambe Bay.
When to see them
All year round. Leaves upland areas after the breeding season and moves to lowland fields for the winter. Large numbers of N European birds arrive in autumn for the winter.
What they eat
Worms and insects
Population
UK Breeding:- 140,000 pairs
UK Wintering:- 650,000 birds
Breeding
The winter flocks begin to break up in February, when the birds will start to return to their breeding grounds.
The lapwing has a spectacular songflight. The male wobbles, zigzags, rolls and dives while calling to advertise his presence to rival males and potential mates. The birds tend to nest in loose groups. Individual territories are small about 0.4-0.8 ha and are only held until the chicks hatch.
In the breeding season, lapwings need a mosaic of habitats, because they need different conditions for nesting and for chick rearing.
The nest is a scrape in the ground, lined with a variable amount of plant material. The birds need a good all round view from the nest to spot predators, and nest either on bare ground or in short vegetation. They often choose rough or broken ground to aid concealment of the nest. Spring sown crops and rough grazing are ideal.
They lay clutches of four cryptically coloured eggs from late March to early June, and chicks hatch 3-4 weeks later. They are covered in down when they hatch, and are able to walk about and feed within hours.
Soon after hatching, the parents will lead them to suitable feeding areas, where the supply of surface invertebrates is good and the vegetation low. They particularly need to have nearby grassland, especially if it contains flood pools and damp patches.
The transfer between the nesting and chick-rearing habitats can be hazardous, and chick survival often depends on how far they have to travel. The families stay in the chick-rearing habitat until the young are ready to fly at 5-6 weeks old. Lapwings only rear one brood a year, but may lay up to four replacement clutches if the eggs are lost.
Legal status
The lapwing is fully protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981; it an offence to kill, injure or take an adult lapwing, or to take, damage or destroy an active nest or its contents.
The only exception is legitimate farming practices that cannot be reasonably delayed, although farming methods can often be modified to reduce the impact on the lapwings.
Population trends
Lapwing numbers have decreased in Britain since the middle of the 19th century. The early declines were caused by large scale collection of eggs for food. Introduction of the Lapwing Act in 1926 prohibited this, and was followed by a considerable recovery in bird numbers.
Since the 1940s lapwing declines have been driven by large-scale changes to farming. Large areas of grassland were converted to arable, marginal land was drained and improved, and chemicals were introduced for fertilisers and pest control with increasing reliance on them. By 1960 the lapwing population had stabilised at a lower level.
Another sharp and sustained decline started in the mid-1980s, with range contractions in south-west England and in parts of Wales. This followed further intensification and specialisation - abandonment of rotations, switch from spring to autumn sown crops, increased drainage, increased use of agrochemicals. Such changes have resulted in much of the arable land becoming unsuitable for nesting by April because the crop grows too high. Tillage, drainage and pesticides have also caused a reduction in food availability.
As pasture land is improved, the resulting increased risk of trampling by livestock, earlier cutting for silage and lower food availability have affected lapwings adversely. Phasing out of rotational farming and shift of arable to the east of England and pastureland to the west of England has removed the habitat mosaic that is essential for successful chick rearing.
Mosaic where grass and spring tillage fields are close together has declined significantly in recent years, and the loss of this prime habitat has resulted in a decline in lapwing numbers.
Nest failures on arable land come from egg losses during cultivation and from predation, and poor chick survival due to crop growth. Crop growth can also shorten the laying season.
The declines in lapwing population have been greatest in southern England and Wales, where the farming changes have been greatest and farmland is the only suitable habitat for the lapwing. Between 1987 and 1998 lapwing numbers dropped by 49% in England and Wales. Since 1960 the numbers dropped by 80%.
The birds have fared better in Scotland, where the crucial changes to farming were introduced later than in England and Wales. However, even there the numbers have dropped by 29% since 1987.
Lapwings have to fledge at least 0.6 young per pair each year to maintain the population. They usually can achieve this in rough grazing and unimproved pastures, but often not on arable land or improved grassland. Since the birds cannot produce enough chicks to offset the natural mortality of adults, population declines.
It is possible to halt and reverse the decline in lapwing numbers with sympathetic farming methods, which include creation of a mosaic of spring sown crops and grassland, managing grazing pressure and maintaining damp areas on unimproved grassland. Agri-environment schemes in each part of the UK provide grants to help land-owners manage their land to help lapwings.
Survival
Egg survival and hatching success varies depending on the habitat, and appears to have declined in some habitats over the past decade.
Main causes of nest failure are predation, agricultural activity and desertion. While the birds often re-lay, changes in cropping practices often result in the habitat being unsuitable for replacement clutches because the vegetation has grown too tall, thus shortening the potential breeding season.
Only about 25-40% of chicks survive to fledging. Most of the chick mortality occurs in the first few days after hatching, when chicks are most vulnerable to cold or wet weather, and when they may be undertaking hazardous journeys from nesting to feeding areas. The further chicks have to go, the lower their survival.
Once the birds have reached adulthood, they can expect to live a further 4-5 years. The oldest known individual was about 20 years. Lapwings normally breed one year after fledging.
The Helix Bridge, previously known as the Double Helix Bridge, is a pedestrian bridge linking Marina Centre with Marina South in the Marina Bay area in Singapore. It was officially opened on April 24, 2010. It is located beside the Benjamin Sheares Bridge and is accompanied by a vehicular bridge, known as the Bayfront Bridge.
The bridge complements other major development projects planned in the area, including the highly-anticipated Integrated Resort Marina Bay Sands, Singapore Flyer, Gardens by the Bay and the 438,000 m² business and financial centre which will be ready by 2012.
The design consortium is an international team comprising Australian architects the Cox Group and engineers Arup, and Singapore based Architects 61. The bridge is expected to be a focal point for the community, linking cultural, recreational and entertainment facilities in the area and complements the overall pedestrian scheme of Marina Bay. The bridge also functions as a gallery where childrens' paintings and drawings are exhibited for public viewing.
Canopies (made of fritted-glass and perforated steel mesh) are incorporated along parts of the inner spiral to provide shade for pedestrians. The bridge has five viewing platforms sited at strategic locations which provide stunning views of the Singapore skyline and events taking place within Marina Bay. At night, the bridge will be illuminated by a series of lights that highlight the double-helix structure, thereby creating a special visual experience for the visitors.
The Land Transport Authority claims it is a world's first in architectural & engineering bridge design.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Please take your time... to View it large on black
A classic view of the lighthouse beyond the cliffs. This is one of the best places imaginable for watching the sunset. A short walk visiting Neist Point, most western point on Skye. This spectacular headland is a good place for bird, dolphins and whale-watchers. The made-up path ends just before the lighthouse and cottages, where are on fenced private land. The complex was built in 1909 at a cost of £4,350 - the engineer being David A Stevenson of the famous Stevenson family of lighthouse builders. A place to look out for breaching fins and blows in the sea. Have a look at the walking route.
Photo taken on a boggy path northwest from the car park for about half a kilometre. The stormy wind up here almost blew my camera from my neck!!!
Een bekend en prachtig uitzicht op de vuurtoren achter de rotsen. Dit is een van de mooiste plekken van Skye om de zonsondergang te bekijken. Een wandeling van een uur brengt je naar het meest westelijk punt van Skye: Neist point. Een goeie plek om uit te kijken naar vogels, dolfijnen en walvissen. Een klein wandelpad brengt je naar het vuurtoren complex. Het vuurtoren complex was destijds in 1909 gebouwd voor maar £4,350 door David A Stevenson. Een bekende familienaam die meer vuurtorens bouwden. Zie hier de wandelkaart.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malham_Cove
Malham Cove is a limestone formation 0.6 miles (1 km) north of the village of Malham, North Yorkshire, England. The large, curved feature was formed by a waterfall carrying meltwater from glaciers at the end of the last Ice Age more than 12,000 years ago. Today it is a well-known beauty spot within the Yorkshire Dales National Park. A large limestone pavement is above the cove.
Geology
The cove was formed by a large Ice-age river that fell at this point as a cataract. The water drop was 80 m (260 ft) high and more than 300 m (980 ft) wide. The colossal amount of water flowing over the waterfall created the curved shape of the cove because the lip was more heavily eroded than the sides.
Today the water course is marked by a stream that flows out of Malham Tarn 1.5 mi (2.4 km) north of the cove. It becomes a subterranean stream at 'Water Sinks' about 1 mi (1.6 km) before the top of the cove. Another stream named Malham Beck emerges from a cave at the bottom of the cove. The two streams were once thought to be one and the same. However, experiments with dyes have shown that they are two separate waterways that go underground at different locations. Their paths cross without mixing behind the limestone cliff re-emerging a few miles apart. The experiments show that there is complex system of caves and tunnels within the limestone cliff. The system is estimated to be about 50,000 years old. Cave divers, entering the system through the cave at the base of the cove, have so far explored about 1 mi (1.6 km).[1]
The cave systems usually carry away any waters before they reach the fall; however, Malham Cove temporarily became a waterfall for what is believed to be the first time in centuries on 6 December 2015, after heavy rainfall from Storm Desmond.
History
The priest and noted antiquary, Thomas West described the cove in 1779 as, "This beautiful rock is like the age-tinted wall of a prodigious castle; the stone is very white, and from the ledges hang various shrubs and vegetables, which with the tints given it by the bog water. & c. gives it a variety that I never before saw so pleasing in a plain rock."[4]
On the west side of the 80 metre (260 foot) high cliff face are about 400 irregular stone steps: these form part of the route of the Pennine Way and lead to an uneven limestone pavement at the top.
Today the cove is very popular with climbers because of its number of climbing routes (many of which can be ascended in the rain). They include easy to hard traditional climbs as well as sport climbing. Due to the cliff's south face, it is a popular venue for rock climbing in winter, its aspect making it a sun trap; in summer, however, the rock face can become unbearably hot.[5]
Media appearances
The cove, along with nearby Gordale Scar, was featured in an episode of the BBC TV series Seven Natural Wonders as one of the natural wonders of Yorkshire.[6]
The Pavement was used as a shooting location for the 1992 film version of "Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights"[7]
The cove was also featured in the film Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part 1) as one of the places Hermione and Harry travel to. The scenes were filmed in November 2009.[8]
The limestone pavement and general location of Malham featured in an episode of The Trip starring Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon which aired on BBC2 on 29 November 2010.[9]
The cove is the bridgehead of an alien invasion in Charles Stross’ 2016 novel The Nightmare Stacks.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derwentwater
Derwentwater (or Derwent Water) is one of the principal bodies of water in the Lake District National Park in north west England. It lies wholly within the Borough of Allerdale, in the county of Cumbria.
The lake occupies part of Borrowdale and lies immediately south of the town of Keswick. It is both fed and drained by the River Derwent. It measures approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) long by 1 mile (1.6 km) wide and is some 72 feet (22 m) deep. There are several islands within the lake, one of which is inhabited. Derwent Island House, an 18th-century residence, is a tenanted National Trust property open to the public on five days each year.
Derwentwater is a place of considerable scenic value. It is surrounded by hills (known locally as fells), and many of the slopes facing Derwentwater are extensively wooded. A regular passenger launch operates on the lake, taking passengers between various landing stages. There are seven lakeside marinas, the most popular stops being: Keswick, Portinscale and the Lodore Falls, from which boats may be hired. Recreational walking is a major tourist activity in the area and an extensive network of footpaths exists within the hills and woods surrounding the lake.
The Keswick—Borrowdale road runs along the eastern shore of the lake and carries a regular bus service. There is a lesser, or unclassified, road along the western shore connecting the villages of Grange and Portinscale.
Derwentwater gave its name to the Earldom of Derwentwater.
The lake is believed to be the last remaining native habitat of the vendace (Coregonus vandesius) fish from the 4 originally known sites: Bassenthwaite Lake and Derwent Water in the Lake District and the Castle Loch & Mill Loch in Lochmaben.[2]
Etymology
'Derwent' is " '(River) with oak trees', traditionally explained from Brit." (i.e.: Brythonic Celtic) " 'derwā' 'oak' plus suffixes, hence of the same origin as other English rivers named Derwent, Darwen, Darent and Dart...The river gave its name to Derwent Water (which was also known as the 'Lake of Derwent', 'Keswick Lake', or 'Keswick Water' in the 18th-19th centuries)...".[3] Plus "OE 'wæter', with the meaning probably influenced by its ON relative 'vatn'
Derwentwater's islands
There are numerous islands in Derwentwater, the largest being: Derwent Island, Lord's Island, St Herbert's Island, Rampsholme Island, Park Neb, Otter Island, and Otterbield Island. St. Herbert's Island is named after a C. 7th priest hermit, St. Herbert of Derwentwater.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Canyon
The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is 277 miles (446 km) long, up to 18 miles (29 km) wide and attains a depth of over a mile (6,093 feet or 1,857 meters).
The canyon and adjacent rim are contained within Grand Canyon National Park, the Kaibab National Forest, Grand Canyon–Parashant National Monument, the Hualapai Indian Reservation, the Havasupai Indian Reservation and the Navajo Nation. The surrounding area is contained within the Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument. President Theodore Roosevelt was a major proponent of the preservation of the Grand Canyon area and visited it on numerous occasions to hunt and enjoy the scenery.
Nearly two billion years of Earth's geological history have been exposed as the Colorado River and its tributaries cut their channels through layer after layer of rock while the Colorado Plateau was uplifted. While some aspects about the history of incision of the canyon are debated by geologists, several recent studies support the hypothesis that the Colorado River established its course through the area about 5 to 6 million years ago. Since that time, the Colorado River has driven the down-cutting of the tributaries and retreat of the cliffs, simultaneously deepening and widening the canyon.
For thousands of years, the area has been continuously inhabited by Native Americans, who built settlements within the canyon and its many caves. The Pueblo people considered the Grand Canyon a holy site, and made pilgrimages to it. The first European known to have viewed the Grand Canyon was García López de Cárdenas from Spain, who arrived in 1540.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Canyon_National_Park
Grand Canyon National Park is a national park of the United States located in northwestern Arizona, the 15th site to have been named as a national park. The park's central feature is the Grand Canyon, a gorge of the Colorado River, which is often considered one of the Wonders of the World. The park, which covers 1,217,262 acres (1,901.972 sq mi; 4,926.08 km2) of unincorporated area in Coconino and Mohave counties, received more than 4.7 million recreational visitors in 2023. The Grand Canyon was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1979. The park celebrated its 100th anniversary on February 26, 2019.
Source: www.nps.gov/grca/index.htm
Entirely within the state of Arizona, the park encompasses 278 miles (447 km) of the Colorado River and adjacent uplands. Located on the ancestral homelands of 11 present day Tribal Communities, Grand Canyon is one of the most spectacular examples of erosion anywhere in the world—a mile deep canyon unmatched in the incomparable vistas it offers visitors from both north and south rims.
Additional Foreign Language Tags:
(United States) "الولايات المتحدة" "Vereinigte Staaten" "アメリカ" "米国" "美国" "미국" "Estados Unidos" "États-Unis" "ארצות הברית" "संयुक्त राज्य" "США"
(Arizona) "أريزونا" "亚利桑那州" "אריזונה" "एरिजोना" "アリゾナ州" "애리조나" "Аризона"
(Grand Canyon) "جراند كانيون" "大峡谷" "גרנד קניון" "ग्रांड कैन्यन" "グランドキャニオン" "그랜드 캐니언" "Гранд-Каньон" "Gran Cañón"
The keepers must have given him somefing good smelling on that hay, eh? Such a widldle cutie!
givesotheystay.org
The Zlatorog is a superb Slovenia folk beast/hero, who when shot by a hunter goes wild in rage and gores out a valley from rock.
A chamois or mountain goat, I kind of saw his determined, wild eyes and horns in the flow of the water. It's shot just downstream from this light painting at the Mala Savica stone bridge which I took last year.
If you get there early and work as the night falls, you forget how horrifically scary it is when it's dark. And by then you have to leave anyway. It's easy to understand how these folk tales, and grimmer ones, came to life in Central Europe. Walking along with a military spec LED and second torch to light my way is a thing of terror, even though there's nothing in the woods. Try that with whale oil in a sputtering lantern and bears, wolves, bandits, etc. lurking in the shadows.
Still - this was an experiment. The left is lit with feathered continuous light from an LED. The right is lit from below with a single 1/8 power zap from a Canon 600EX-RT. Without adding light the scene would have been black.
I started shooting long exposure in urban surrounds, looking for scenes with movement that could be blurred over ten minutes. As I started to shoot long exposure in the country, things looked flat. Movement being blurred, it turned out, isn't what appealed to me in the urban environments - rather it was the way that light sources were limited, and how that changed the mood.
The more I shoot rural long exposure, the more I find that means adding light to sculpt the scene to your vision - or you are left, to my mind, a little flat.
Hope everyone is having an incredible start to the weekend!
Excerpt from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sens%C5%8D-ji:
Sensō-ji (浅草寺, officially Kinryū-zan Sensō-ji (金龍山浅草寺), also known as Asakusa Kannon (浅草観音)), is an ancient Buddhist temple in Asakusa, Tokyo, Japan. It is Tokyo's oldest-established temple, and one of its most significant. It is dedicated to Kannon, the bodhisattva of compassion. Structures in the temple complex include the main hall, a five-story pagoda and large gates. It is the most widely visited religious site in the world with over 30 million visitors annually.
The temple was destroyed during a 10 March 1945 firebombing air raid on Tokyo during World War II. The main hall was rebuilt in the 1950s. Formerly associated with the Tendai sect of Buddhism, the temple became independent after the war. Leading to it is Nakamise-dōri street, containing many shops with traditional goods. Adjacent to the east of Sensō-ji is the Asakusa Shrine of the Shinto religion.
The Kaminarimon (雷門, "Thunder Gate") is the outer of two large entrance gates that ultimately lead to the Sensō-ji (the inner being the Hōzōmon) in Asakusa. The gate, with its lantern and statues, is popular with tourists. It stands 11.7 metres (38 ft) tall, 11.4 metres (37 ft) wide and covers an area of 69.3 square metres (746 sq ft). The first gate was built in 941, but the current gate dates back to 1960, after the previous gate was destroyed in a fire in 1865.
Four statues are housed in the Kaminarimon, two in the front alcoves and two on the other side. On the front of the gate, the statues of the Shinto gods Fūjin and Raijin are displayed. Fūjin, the god of wind, is located on the east side of the gate, while Raijin, the god of thunder, is located on the west side. The original sculptures were severely damaged in the fire of 1865, with only the heads being saved, and the statues restored for the gate's 1960 reconstruction.
Two additional statues stand on the reverse of the gate: the Buddhist god Tenryū on the east, and the goddess Kinryū on the west side. These were donated in 1978 to commemorate the 1350th anniversary of the first appearance of the bodhisattva Kannon (Avalokiteśvara) at Asakusa, which led to the founding of Sensō-ji. The statues were carved by then-106-year-old master sculptor Hirakushi Denchū.
A giant red lantern (chōchin) hangs under the center of the gate. It is 3.9 metres (13 ft) tall, 3.3 metres (11 ft) wide and weighs approximately 700 kilograms (1,500 lb). The current lantern, the fifth iteration, was built by Takahashi Chōchin K.K in 2013 and has the same metallic base on the bottom as the previous lantern. The base has a name plate that says "Matsushita Denki", an abbreviated form of Panasonic's old Japanese name, Matsushita Denki Sangyo Kabushiki Gaisha.[16] The front of the lantern displays the gate's name, Kaminarimon (雷門). Painted on the back is the gate's official name, Fūraijinmon (風雷神門). During festivals such as Sanja Matsuri, the lantern is collapsed to let tall objects pass through the gate.
The characters 金龍山 (Kinryū-zan) on the tablet above the lantern read from right to left and reference the Sensō-ji.
Devocional cristiano de hoy | Al recibir al Señor, hay que evitar caminar por la senda de los fariseos
Hace 2000 años, los israelitas esperaban desesperadamente la venida del Mesías, pero cuando llegó Él, los fariseos lo clavaron en la cruz, al final Israel fue castigado por Dios, y esto llevó a la destrucción de Israel. Ahora ya estamos en los últimos días, y las profecías del regreso del Señor se han cumplido básicamente. El Señor se ha encarnado y se ha convertido en el Hijo del hombre para aparecer y obrar, Él es Cristo de los últimos días, Dios Todopoderoso. Dios Todopoderoso ha expresado millones de palabras y ha llevado a cabo una nueva obra. Pero, al oír la noticia del retorno del Señor, algunas personas se niegan a buscar e investigar, porque creen que todas las palabras y obra de Dios están en la Biblia, y no hay más Sus palabras y obra fuera de la Biblia. ¿Hemos pensado alguna vez si este punto de vista se conforma al hecho de la obra de Dios?
Juan 21:25 dice: “Y hay también muchas otras cosas que Jesús hizo, que si se escribieran en detalle, pienso que ni aun el mundo mismo podría contener los libros que se escribirían”.
El Señor Jesús profetizó: “Aún tengo muchas cosas que deciros, pero ahora no las podéis soportar. Pero cuando Él, el Espíritu de verdad, venga, os guiará a toda la verdad, porque no hablará por su propia cuenta, sino que hablará todo lo que oiga, y os hará saber lo que habrá de venir” (Juan 16:12-13).
El Apocalipsis profetiza: “El que tiene oído, oiga lo que el Espíritu dice a las iglesias” (Apocalipsis 2:7).
De esto podemos ver que cuando el Señor venga en los últimos días, expresará nuevas palabras, así pues, ¿cómo podrían estas palabras ser registradas en la Biblia de antemano? Si pensamos que no hay palabras de Dios fuera de la Biblia, ¿cómo se pueden cumplir las profecías anteriores?
Dios Todopoderoso dice: “¿Quién es más grande: Dios o la Biblia? ¿Por qué debe obrar Dios de acuerdo con la Biblia? ¿Podría ser que Dios mismo no tuviera derecho de sobrepasar la Biblia? ¿No puede salirse Dios de la Biblia y hacer otra obra? ¿Por qué no guardaban el día de reposo Jesús y Sus discípulos? Si debía guardar el día de reposo y practicar según los mandamientos del Antiguo Testamento, ¿por qué no lo hizo Jesús después de venir, sino que en su lugar lavó pies, cubrió cabezas, partió pan y bebió vino? ¿No está todo esto ausente de los mandamientos del Antiguo Testamento? Si Jesús honraba el Antiguo Testamento, ¿por qué terminó con estas doctrinas? Deberías saber qué vino primero, ¡Dios o la Biblia! Si era el Señor del día de reposo, ¿no podría ser también el de la Biblia?”.
“El hecho que estoy explicando aquí es este: lo que Dios es y tiene es inagotable e ilimitado por siempre. Dios es la fuente de la vida y de todas las cosas. Dios no puede ser dimensionado por ningún ser creado. Por último, debo todavía recordar a todos: no delimitéis otra vez a Dios en libros, palabras o en Sus declaraciones pasadas. Hay una sola palabra para la característica de la obra de Dios: nueva. A Él no le gusta tomar caminos antiguos o repetir Su obra, y mucho menos quiere que la gente lo adore mientras que lo delimita a un cierto ámbito. Este es el carácter de Dios”.
Extracto de “La Palabra manifestada en carne”
Las palabras de Dios nos dicen con claridad que Él es la fuente del agua viva, que el contenido registrado en la Biblia es limitado y que Él no obra de acuerdo con la Biblia. Si pensamos que todas las palabras de Dios están en la Biblia y nos negamos a aceptar las declaraciones del Señor regresado, entonces ¿no nos convertiremos en personas que esperan el regreso del Señor Jesús pero se resisten a Su venida? En el momento crítico en que damos la bienvenida al Señor, ¿cómo debemos evitar repetir el camino de los fariseos y recibir al Señor cuanto antes? Haga clic en el enlace para encontrar la manera correcta de recibir al Señor.
👉 www.messenger.com/t/kingdomsalvationes/
Recomendación: ¿Qué es un anticristo?
Unas citas bíblicas son tomadas de LA BIBLIA DE LAS AMERICAS® (LBLA) Copyright © 1986, 1995, 1997 por The Lockman Foundation usado con permiso. www.LBLA.com.
copyright: © R-Pe 1764.org All rights reserved. Please do not use this image, or any images from my flickr photostream, fb account or g+, without my permission.
Excerpt from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tai_Kwun:
Tai Kwun, or the Former Central Police Station Compound (CPS Compound) includes three declared monuments in Central, Hong Kong: the former Central Police Station, the Former Central Magistracy, and the Victoria Prison. Surrounded by Hollywood Road, Arbuthnot Road, Chancery Lane, and Old Bailey Street, the compound underwent a heritage revitalisation and reopened to the public on 29 May 2018[1] as Tai Kwun (Chinese: 大館), a centre for heritage and arts.
The Former Central Police Station Compound (FCPSC), built between 1841 and 1925, comprises 16 historic buildings grouped under the former Central Police Station, the Former Central Magistracy, and the Victoria Prison. Most of the city's historic colonial architecture had been bulldozed for development before the British government handed it back to China in 1997.
The first building in the FCPSC is the Magistrate's House, with jail blocks, which were built in 1841. In 1899, the former Central Prison was renamed to Victoria Prison (or Victoria Gaol). The site underwent numerous expansions and reconstruction over the next century. In 1862, the number of prisoners increased to 650, and the government decided to develop the land nearby. The series of compounds hence formed Tai Kwun. Victoria Prison was decommissioned in 2006.
In 2008, the government of Hong Kong partnered with the Hong Kong Jockey Club to conserve and revitalise the complex, which turned into one of the most significant and expensive revitalisation projects in the territory, costing HK$1.8 billion; work began in 2011.
The conversion was completed in phases. Work faced a setback when a wall and roof collapsed in 2016. The Buildings Department prosecuted a subcontractor it deemed responsible for the accident, which was reportedly triggered by the failure of a brick pier that had been structurally undermined. Tai Kwun partially reopened to the public in May 2018.
A Former Central Police Station (CPS) Revitalisation Project was established to conserve and revitalise the heritage site for reuse. The project was operated by the Hong Kong Jockey Club and took eight years and HK$3.8 billion or about US$480M in 2018.
Tai Kwun, named after the historical colloquial name of the compound, is a mix of heritage and contemporary architecture. 16 heritage buildings have been restored for reuse. An additional two new buildings have been constructed, featuring designs inspired by the site's historic brickwork.
As early as the 1880s, the name Tai Kwun has been recorded in news articles in reference to the Former Central Police Station.
In 2018, Time listed Tai Kwun in its "World's Greatest Places 2018" list.
In 2019, Tai Kwun was awarded "Award of Excellence" from the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation.
Excerpt from metmuseum.org:
Corridor-Asylum: This haunting view of a sharply receding corridor is the artist's most powerful depiction of the asylum of Saint-Paul-de-Mausole in St. Rémy, where he spent twelve months near the end of his life and where he painted the Museum's oils of olive groves, cypresses, roses, and irises ("Women Picking Olives" (1995.535.44); "Olive Orchard" (1998.325.1); "Cypresses" (49.30); "Wheat Field with Cypresses" (1993.132); "Irises" (58.187); "Vase of Roses" (1993.400.5)). The buildings (largely remains of a twelfth-century monastery) were divided into men's and women's wards, but most of the small cells looking out on the neglected garden were empty when Van Gogh was there. One of the rooms he was able to use as a studio.
Excerpt from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nieuwe_Kerk_(The_Hague):
The Nieuwe Kerk (New Church) is a Dutch Baroque Protestant church in The Hague, located across from the modern city hall on the Spui. It was built in 1649 after the Great Church had become too small. Construction was completed in 1656.
The church was designed by the architect Peter Noorwits, who was assisted by the painter and architect Bartholomeus van Bassen. The church is considered a highlight of the early Protestant church architecture in the Netherlands. Like many churches of that time was the New Church, a central building. Unlike other central building, the church is no simple circular or multifaceted plan but there is a space of two octagonal sections which are connected by a slightly smaller proportion in which the pulpit was prepared. The Dutch Baroque architecture of the church shows elements of both Renaissance and Classicism. Two church bells by Coenraat Wegewaert in 1656 hang in their original bell-chairs, 100,2 cm and 81,5 cm in diameter. He also designed the clock.
The church has an organ built by the Dutch organ builder Johannes Duyschot (1645-1725) in 1702. The construction has left most of the pipework and the case. The organ was rebuilt in 1867 by one of the best organ builders of that time, the business of Christian Gottlieb Friedrich Witte. They adjusted the design of the organ to make it suitable for modern Romantic music.
Up until these canals in The Hague were filled in at the end of the 19th century, the church was accessed by boat or from the Wagenstraat on a square island between the Spui river, the St. Anthonisburgwal or Rotterdam Veerkade (the old trekschuit route to Rotterdam), the Stille Veerkade or Amsterdam Veerkade (the old trekschuit route to Amsterdam), and the Paviljoensgracht.
In the 20th century, acoustical adjustments were made to the interior in a modern face. In the thirties the church was notable as the most impressive building on the Spui, which was one of the streets in the Dutch game of Monopoly. The church was closed in 1969 after a long restoration and reopened as a concert hall.
The Church of Saint Mary Magdalene.
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Estudios biblicos profundos | ¿Cómo pueden asistir a las bodas del Cordero?
Una mañana estaba leyendo la Biblia con mi prima, “Regocijémonos y alegrémonos, y démosle a El la gloria, porque las bodas del Cordero han llegado y su esposa se ha preparado. Y a ella le fue concedido vestirse de lino fino, resplandeciente y limpio, porque las acciones justas de los santos son el lino fino. Y el ángel me dijo: Escribe: ‘Bienaventurados los que están invitados a la cena de las bodas del Cordero.’ Y me dijo: Estas son palabras verdaderas de Dios” (Apocalipsis 19:7-9).
Después de terminar de leer, le dije contenta a mi prima: “Todos sabemos que esta es la visión que Juan vio sobre el regreso del Señor en los últimos días. Ha llegado el período de los últimos días, el tiempo en que el Señor vendrá de nuevo. Como cristianos, todos anhelamos asistir a las bodas del Cordero, entrar en el reino de los cielos y vivir juntos con Dios. Para ello, debemos prepararnos sobriamente, asistiendo a más reuniones, orando cada día por la mañana y por la noche, trabajando y predicando más para el Señor, y dando más fruto. De esta manera, podremos asistir a la fiesta de las bodas del Cordero cuando el Señor regrese. ¿Qué dices?”
…
Fuente del artículo:https:// www.biblia-es.org/las-bodas-del-cordero.html
www.nationaltrust.org.uk/hardcastle-crags
A beauty spot of the South Pennines with more than 400 acres of unspoilt woodland.
As well as being the home of the northern hairy wood ant, there are tumbling streams, glorious waterfalls and stacks of millstone grit, all crisscrossed by more than 15 miles of footpaths.
At the heart of the woodland you'll find Gibson Mill, home to the Weaving Shed Cafe. Having no link to the national grid, the mill is unique in the UK and is the Trust's flagship sustainable building.
Telephone
01422841020
hardcastlecrags@nationaltrust.org.uk
Address
Gibson Mill, Midgehole Road, Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, HX7 7AW
By cycle
NCN68 passes close by
On foot
Access on foot via riverside walk from Hebden Bridge. Pennine Way and Bridleway both pass close to the property
By train
For local trains www.wymetro.com or call 0113 245 7676
By road
Parking: Two pay and display car parks available - Clough Hole car park (HX7 7AZ) and Midgehole car park (HX7 7AA) please note there is some distance between the two car parks. A £5 car parking charges will apply, National Trust members park free. Cash only. From both car parks you will need to walk to access the Mill (note: route is steep from Clough hole). Disabled badge holders only allowed access to mill (book space).
SatNav: Use HX7 7AZ for Clough Hole car park and use HX7 7AA for Midgehole car park. Look out for the National Trust signs.
By bus
for local buses visit www.wymetro.com or call 0113 245 7676
General
•The carparks, countryside and toilet facilities are open. The Weaving Shed Café, in Gibson Mill, is open on selected dates for takeaway drinks, light snacks and sweet treats.
•In line with government guidance, you're required to wear a face covering in most enclosed spaces. Please bring one with you.
•Our pay and display car parks at Cloughhole, Widdop Road HX7 7AZ and Midgehole HX7 7AA are £5, coin only. No change given.
•We have a choice of waymarked walking routes available across the site.
•Dogs are welcome, under close control.
•Gibson Mill, which houses the Weaving Shed Cafe, is half a mile walk from Clough Hole car park and a one mile walk from Midgehole Road car park.
•Sorry, no BBQs or drones.
Family
•The main estate road suitable for pushchairs
•Baby changing facilities are available at Gibson Mill
Access
•There is acessible parking at Gibson Mill (limited, pre-book on 01422 846236).
•Assistance dogs are welcome.
•Accessible cafe and toilet at Gibson Mill.
el.kingdomsalvation.org/gospel/various-geographical-envir...
Ενσάρκωση
Ο Θεός λέει:« ... Για παράδειγμα, ένα βουνό έχει ένα συγκεκριμένο ύψος, η βάση του έχει συγκεκριμένη έκταση, έχει ένα συγκεκριμένο υψόμετρο και έχει μια συγκεκριμένη ποσότητα βλάστησης. Όλα αυτά είναι σχεδιασμένα και υπολογισμένα από τον Θεό και το ύψος του ή η έκτασή του δεν θα αλλάξουν αυθαίρετα. ...
Γιατί, λοιπόν, ο Θεός διαχειρίζεται όλα αυτά τα διάφορα εδάφη που υπάρχουν στη γη με αυτόν τον τρόπο; Ο λόγος είναι ώστε τα ζωντανά όντα που επιβιώνουν στα διάφορα γεωγραφικά περιβάλλοντα να έχουν ένα σταθερό περιβάλλον, έτσι ώστε να είναι σε θέση να συνεχίσουν να ζουν και να πολλαπλασιάζονται σε ένα σταθερό περιβάλλον. Όλα αυτά τα όντα – αυτά που είναι κινητά και αυτά που είναι σταθερά, αυτά που μπορούν να αναπνεύσουν και αυτά που δεν μπορούν –αποτελούν ένα μοναδικό περιβάλλον για την επιβίωση του ανθρώπινου γένους. Μόνο αυτού του είδους το περιβάλλον μπορεί να θρέψει γενιές και γενιές ανθρώπων, και μόνο αυτού του είδους το περιβάλλον μπορεί να επιτρέψει στους ανθρώπους να συνεχίσουν να επιβιώνουν ειρηνικά, η μια γενιά μετά την άλλη. ...
Η χιλιετής βασιλεία
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Seals, both Common and Grey can be seen around the coastline of the Highlands and Islands – on a wet walk they are guaranteed to raise spirits. We took a 2 hour walk onto the little visited Fiadhairt peninsula, the south shores of which are the best place in Skye for seeing seals close up. These shores are much favoured by the Loch Dunvegan common seal colony, which is the largest on Skye. A walk in the rain across the soaking wet grassy moorland with faint sheep tracks. See this map for details. The seals can often be seen basking on the rocks where seaweed filled inlets either on shore or just out in the sea. Approach very quietly, taking care not to disturb the seals too much. There are usually many of them swimming in the water; when in the water, the seals are much more confident and often swim quite close, seemingly as inquisitive as their human visitors.
Photo of common Seals taken on the Isle of Skye in Loch Dunvegan - Scotland.
De gewone Zeehonden en de grijze zeehonden kunnen rond de Schotse kustlijn en eilanden van de Hooglanden gezien worden. Het is zeker na een natte wandeling een fantastisch ervaring. We deden een wandeling van 2 uur op het weinig bezochte Fiadhairt schiereiland. De beste plaats van het eiland Skye zijn deze zuid oevers van het meer van Dunvegan. Een wandeling in de regen over het natte en drassige heidelandschap. Zie kaart voor details. De zeehonden kunnen dikwijls worden gezien op de rotsen of tussen het zeewier in de vele inhammen. Benader ze heel rustig en zorg er voor om de zeehonden niet te veel te storen. Zeehonden vinden het veiliger wanneer ze in het water zijn dan op de oevers. In het water zwemmen ze dikwijls redelijk dichtbij, schijnbaar even nieuwsgierig als hun menselijke bezoekers.
www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/m/meadowpipit/
A small, brown, streaky bird, it is the commonest songbird in upland areas and its high, piping call is a familiar sound. In flight it shows white outer tail feathers and in the breeding season it has a fluttering 'parachute' display flight. In winter they are quite gregarious and gather in small flocks, often invisible among the vegetation, suddenly flying up with typical jerky flight.
Meadow pipit numbers in the UK have been declining since the mid-1970s, resulting in this species being included on the amber list of conservation concern.
Overview
Latin name
Anthus pratensis
Family
Pipits and wagtails (Motacillidae)
Where to see them
Found across the UK but commonest in the west and north. In winter it moves south, to more lowland areas and becomes much commoner in the southern half of the UK. Found in open country - upland moors to saltmarshes in summer, more agricultural land and marshes in winter. Will even come to suburban parks and playing fields.
When to see them
All year round. In summer most common in upland areas which become deserted in winter as birds move to more lowland habitats, some migrating to Continental Europe.
What they eat
Insects - flies, beetles and moths - and spiders
Population
UK Population
La mejor música cristiana | El reino de Dios ha aparecido en la tierra
www.jesucristo-es.org/el-reino-de-Dios-ha-aparecido.html
I
El verdadero Dios Todopoderoso, Rey del trono,
que rige el universo entero, frente a las naciones y los pueblos.
El mundo entero brilla con la gloria de Dios.
El mundo entero brilla, el mundo entero brilla, brilla con la gloria de Dios.
El mundo entero brilla, el mundo entero brilla, brilla con la gloria de Dios.
Todo en el universo, todo en el universo verá,
todos los seres vivientes verán.
Las montañas, las tierras, ríos y lagos,
los océanos y todos los seres vivos,
bajo la luz del Dios verdadero,
han abierto sus cortinas, han revivido,
como si despertasen de un sueño,
como retoños saliendo de la tierra hacia la luz.
¡Oh, el verdadero y único Dios aparece ante el mundo!
Nadie se resiste.
¡Todos tiemblan de miedo, todos están convencidos,
arrodillados ante Él!
Mira cómo le piden perdón, sin cesar rogándole.
¡Todas las voces lo alaban!
II
Continentes y océanos, montañas y ríos,
todas las cosas lo alaban sin cesar.
Las brisas primaverales traen finas lluvias.
Las corrientes de los ríos, como la gente,
mezclan tristeza y alegría,
lloran lágrimas de endeudamiento,
llenos de culpa y remordimiento.
Los ríos, lagos, olas y mareas,
todos cantan, todos cantan,
y alaban el sagrado nombre de Dios.
Todas las cosas profanadas por Satanás,
todas y cada una se renovarán.
Todo lo que ha sido corrupto cambiará.
Entrarán en un nuevo ámbito.
¡Oh, el verdadero y único Dios aparece ante el mundo!
Nadie se resiste.
¡Todos tiemblan de miedo, todos están convencidos,
arrodillados ante Él!
III
Entonces, la trompeta sagrada resuena.
Presta atención y escucha.
Un dulce sonido viene del trono,
anunciándole a cada nación que ha llegado la hora,
que el fin del mundo está aquí.
El plan gestionado por Dios culminó,
y Su reino ha venido a la tierra.
Cada reino en el mundo se ha convertido en el reino de Dios.
Siete trompetas suenan desde el trono,
¡qué grandes maravillas tendrán lugar!
Dios disfruta viendo a Su pueblo, que lo escucha, escucha Su voz.
Acuden personas de todas las naciones.
Todos hablan del verdadero Dios,
¡alaban, saltan, alaban, saltan, alaban, saltan, sin cesar!
Dando testimonio del verdadero Dios, tronador como las aguas.
Todos colmarán el reino de Dios.
Todos colmarán el reino de Dios. ¡Reino!
De “La Palabra manifestada en carne”
Recomendación: Vídeos de Música Cristiana
livingplanet.panda.org/en-US/?utm_campaign=LPR&utm_co...
www.worldwildlife.org/publications/2024-living-planet-ind...
Non sono buone le notizie dal Rapporto biennale (l'ultimo del 2022, con aggiornamento riguardo ai pesci, del 2024) del WWF sulla vita sul Pianeta.
"Il Living Planet Index (LPI), che tiene traccia delle popolazioni di mammiferi, uccelli, pesci, rettili e anfibi, rivela una diminuzione media del 69% delle popolazioni di fauna selvatica monitorate dal 1970. L’LPI del 2022 ha analizzato quasi 32.000 popolazioni di specie. Fornisce la misura più completa di come stanno rispondendo alle pressioni nel loro ambiente."
The news from the WWF's biennial report (the last in 2022, with an update on fish in 2024) on life on the planet is not good.
“The Living Planet Index (LPI), which tracks populations of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians, reveals an average 69% decline in monitored wildlife populations since 1970. The 2022 LPI analyzed nearly 32,000 species populations. It provides the most comprehensive measure of how they are responding to pressures in their environment."
Bing Image Creator
Excerpt from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torrance_Barrens:
The Torrance Barrens (officially Torrance Barrens Conservation Reserve) is a conservation area and dark-sky preserve in the District Municipality of Muskoka in Central Ontario, Canada. The reserve consists of Crown Lands in the municipalities of Gravenhurst and Muskoka Lakes. It is notable as the first dark-sky preserve in Canada and for its geological and environmental features.
In 1870, the Musquash Colonization Road was built, connecting Gravenhurst to Musquash Falls (now Bala). This road was the first in the area and some segments are still in use. However, the portion that bisects through the reserve is no longer in use and is a separate nature reserve, the 195 acres (79 ha) Musquash Road Nature Reserve.
In 1992, its significant natural values were identified, and additional studies described the aesthetic and recreational importance. In 1995, the Ministry of Natural Resources proposed to protect the area and public consultations began.
The reserve was established in June 1997 under Ontario Regulation 259/97, and as a result of its favourable conditions for astronomy viewing, it was recognized as a permanent dark-sky preserve in 1999, the first in Canada.
The reserve straddles the edges of the Moon River Domain (Parry Sound Terrane) and the Go Home Domain (Algonquin Terrane), structural subdivisions of the Grenville province of the Grenville orogeny. It is characterized by low elongated ridges of Precambrian bedrock with little topsoil and scattered boulders. The ridges are granitic gneisses and migmatites of varied origins, separated by wetland, ponds, and peat-filled hollows.
The geology represents the Grenville Province continental accretion theme and is therefore locally significant.
While the Torrance Barrens are part of an intermittent band of granite barrens stretching from Eastern Ontario to Georgian Bay, it is rare this far south in Ontario, and therefore the environment and flora of the reserve are unique and distinct in its location.
The location and topography make the Torrance Barrens a suitable location for night-time sky viewing opportunities. There is no light pollution of nearby cities, and the reserve is mostly surrounded by undeveloped private lands and other parks, allowing it to retain the natural darkness of the night. Because of its barren bedrock, telescopes and cameras can be stationed on a solid base, immune to vibrations. Furthermore, the natural open spaces and lack of surrounding high hills provide an unobstructed panorama of the sky and horizon.
Owing to these favourable conditions, the Andromeda Galaxy is visible with the naked eye from the Torrance Barrens, and with a simple telescope, the cloud bands of Jupiter and the rings of Saturn can be seen.
The glossy ibis (Plegadis falcinellus) is a wading bird in the ibis family Threskiornithidae. The scientific name derives from Ancient Greek plegados and Latin, falcis, both meaning "sickle" and referring to the distinctive shape of the bill.
This is the most widespread ibis species, breeding in scattered sites in warm regions of Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Atlantic and Caribbean regions of the Americas. It is thought to have originated in the Old World and spread naturally from Africa to northern South America in the 19th century, from where it spread to North America. The glossy ibis was first found in the New World in 1817 (New Jersey). Audubon saw the species just once in Florida in 1832. It expanded its range substantially northwards in the 1940s and to the west in the 1980s. This species is migratory; most European birds winter in Africa, and in North America birds from north of the Carolinas winter farther south. Birds from other populations may disperse widely outside the breeding season. While generally declining in Europe, it has recently established a breeding colony in southern Spain, and there appears to be a growing trend for the Spanish birds to winter in Britain and Ireland, with at least 22 sightings in 2010. In 2014, a pair attempted to breed in Lincolnshire, the first such attempt in Britain. A few birds now spend most summers in Ireland, but as yet there is no evidence of breeding there.
Glossy ibises undertake dispersal movements after breeding and are very nomadic. The more northerly populations are fully migratory and travel on a broad front, for example across the Sahara Desert. Populations in temperate regions breed during the local spring, while tropical populations nest to coincide with the rainy season. Nesting is often in mixed-species colonies. When not nesting, flocks of over 100 individuals may occur on migration, and during the winter or dry seasons the species is usually found foraging in small flocks. Glossy ibises often roost communally at night in large flocks, with other species, occasionally in trees which can be some distance from wetland feeding areas.
For more information, please visit en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossy_ibis
Palabra de Dios | Bajo la autoridad del Creador, todas las cosas son perfectas
Todas las cosas creadas por Dios, las que podían moverse y las que no, las aves y los peces, los árboles y las flores, el ganado, los insectos y los animales salvajes creados el sexto día, todas estaban bien para Dios; además, a Sus ojos y según Su plan, todas estas cosas habían alcanzado el apogeo de la perfección y los estándares que Él deseaba lograr. Paso a paso, el Creador hizo la obra que pretendía hacer de acuerdo con Su plan. Una tras otra aparecieron las cosas que Él pretendía crear, y la aparición de cada una de ellas fue un reflejo de la autoridad del Creador, y la cristalización de Su autoridad. Debido a estas materializaciones, ninguna de las criaturas podía evitar estar agradecida por la gracia y la provisión del Creador. Cuando los hechos milagrosos de Dios se manifestaron, este mundo creció poco a poco, con todas las cosas que Él creó, y pasó del caos y de las tinieblas a la claridad y la luminosidad, de la quietud sepulcral a la vivacidad y la vitalidad sin límites. Entre todas las cosas de la creación, desde las grandes a las pequeñas, y desde estas a las microscópicas, no había ni siquiera una que no hubiese sido creada por la autoridad y el poder del Creador, y existía una necesidad y un valor únicos e inherentes a la existencia de cada criatura. Independientemente de las diferencias de forma y estructura, sólo tenía que hacerlas el Creador para que existieran bajo Su autoridad. […]
Así, bajo la autoridad del Creador, todas las cosas interpretarán una nueva sinfonía por Su soberanía; iniciarán un brillante preludio por Su obra del nuevo día, ¡y en ese momento, Él también abrirá una nueva página en la obra de Su gestión! Según la ley de los brotes de primavera, la maduración del verano, la cosecha del otoño, y el almacenamiento del invierno asignados por el Creador, todas las cosas harán eco de Su plan de gestión, y darán la bienvenida a su propio nuevo día, nuevo comienzo, y nueva trayectoria vital; y pronto se reproducirán en una sucesión infinita a fin de recibir cada nuevo día bajo la soberanía de la autoridad del Creador…
Fuente: Evangelio de la Fuente de la Vida
Recomendación: En el sexto día, el Creador habla, y cada especie de criatura viviente en Su mente hace su aparición, una tras otra