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A structure with flexible and transparent rooms: In December 2001, following in-depth debates, the board of the BMW AG has voted in favour of the architectural concept by COOP HIMMELB(L)AU. The outstanding concept of the BMW Welt is characterised very much by the unique roof structure and the so-called Double Cone.

The 16,000 m² of cloud roof which emanates from the forming Double Cone is only carried by twelve hinged columns and creates the impression that it is floating. In its basic system, it consists of an upper and a lower girder grillage with a basic grid of five by five metres. Between the layers, diagonal struts are inserted which link the two layers of girder grillage, hereby creating a spatial supporting structure.

The Double Cone which protrudes prominently from the entire building acts as a powerful and dynamic eye-catcher. The cyclone made of glass and steel, winding upwards, ending in the roof which is suspended freely, floating just like a cloud, is created by a dynamic deformation of the two girder layers and constitutes one of the main supporting points of the roof.

The architectural concept of the BMW Welt combines form and function. This is shown in the elegant steel facade, for example, which serves the function of air-conditioning the BMW Welt, among other things. For this purpose, the solar energy which is lead from the roof to the facades contributes to the heating of the building and the ventilation of the building is also implemented with the large wall areas. Enveloping surfaces made of glass create a thermically comfortable surface temperature. Vegetation outside, specifically near the natural ventilation elements bind dust particles and also have a cooling effect.

Cubelles, Barcelona (Spain).

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ENGLISH

Anatidae is the biological family that includes the ducks and most duck-like waterfowl, such as geese and swans. These are birds that are evolutionarily adapted for swimming, floating on the water surface, and in some cases diving in at least shallow water. (The Magpie-goose is no longer considered to be part of the Anatidae, but is placed in its own family Anseranatidae.)

Extant species range in size from the Cotton Pygmy Goose, at as little as 26.5 cm (10.5 inches) and 164 grams (5.8 oz), to the Trumpeter Swan, at as much as 183 cm (6 ft) and 17.2 kg (38 lb). They have webbed feet and bills which are flattened to a greater or lesser extent. Their feathers are excellent at shedding water due to special oils. Anatidae are remarkable for being one of the few families of birds that possess a penis; they are adapted for copulation on the water only. Duck, eider, and goose feathers and down have long been popular for bedspreads, pillows, sleeping bags and coats. The members of this family also have long been used for food.

The reclaimed wetlands of the river Foix estuary have made this area into one of the main attractions of the town. The River Foix, which is dry during most of the year due to construction of the Foix Resservoir is another of the most emblematic places in Cubelles. At the Foix estuary, you can spend the day enjoying nature and birthwatching, or at one of the picnic areas. This zone is also intended for school visits, as it is a place where children can study the ecosystem of a Mediterranean river such as the Foix.

The estuary is separated from the sea by a sand barrier which has accumulated over time, due to sea currents and rainwater sediments, forming freshwater laguens behind the barrier. The natural area of the Foix Delta has a branch of land that sticks out into the sea. This was formed during the floods of 1994 and joins onto another branch, leaving an island in the middle. Tourists can visit the island by crossing a wooden footbridge.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatidae, www.cubelles.net/docs/20050211004068.htm

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CASTELLANO

Anatidae o anátidas ( del griego ανατος = pato por ser los patos los representantes más difundidos de esta familia). La Anatidae es una familia de aves del orden de los anseriformes. Las anátidas son aves usualmente migradoras y que suelen vivir en las proximidades del agua, una de sus adaptaciones al medio acuático hace que sean palmípedas. Entre las muy diversas especies de esta familia se encuentran los ánades o patos, eideres, ánsares, las barnaclas, los cauquenes, cisnes, coscorobas, gansos, mergos, ocas, ochandos, porrones, serretas, tarros y yaguasas. En eras modernas su distribución natural abarcaba prácticamente a todo el planeta Tierra a excepción (salvo casos ocasionales) de la Antártida.

La recuperación de los espacios húmedos de la desembocadura del río Foix ha convertido la zona en una de las de mayor atractivo del municipio. El río Foix -que desde la construcción del pantano del Foix está la mayor parte del año seco- es otro de los elementos más emblemáticos de los cubellenses. En la desembocadura del Foix, además de poder pasar un día rodeado de la Naturaleza, se puede observar el comportamiento de las aves autóctonas de esta zona o disfrutar de las áreas de picnic. El espacio también está dirigido a las escuelas, que pueden visitar y estudiar el ecosistema de un río mediterráneo, como es el del Foix.

Su desembocadura está separada del mar por una barrera de arena acumulada por las corrientes marítimas y los depósitos pluviales, formando lagunas de agua dulce en su interior. El Espacio Natural del Delta del Foix, mantiene el brazo de salida al mar que se formó por las riadas de 1994, a la que se ha añadido un segundo brazo dejando una isla en el medio, conectada con la zona de entretenimiento a través de unas pasarelas de madera. Otra pasarela de madera sobre uno de los brazos del río, sirve de punto de observación del desarrollo natural de la desembocadura del Foix.

Fuentes: es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatidae, www.cubelles.net/docs/20050211004073.htm

aumentar

Ahora en Biodiversidad virtual y hace poco en El País -en pdf- gracias a Elisabet Sans.

*

*

Hermosas, como gemas pálidas de esmeralda, las piezas -células- de Merismopedia parecen jugar sobre un tablero una partida al juego de la vida.

Ancladas todas sobre un tapiz transparente que las mantiene unidas, flotan en el agua viajando en esta alfombra mágica, balsa a la deriva, que recoge sol fabricando nuevas vidas.

Mientras esto ocurre, sobre el tablero, la partida sigue su curso, por cada una que se divida se formarán dos, por cada dos cuatro, por cada cuatro ocho…y así en sucesión interminable, rítmica como el latido y ordenada como un panal, siempre sobre el plano del tablero, siempre alternando en dos direcciones perpendiculares, tejiendo este mosaico de gemas verdes…Es así como juega la vida, multiplicando a saltos, construyendo, si es preciso, nuevos tableros donde seguir el juego.

Y sobre este mismo tablero se restan las piezas de Merismopedia que han llegado al final de su existencia, es un goteo incesante y lento, el sacrificio de su esfuerzo se ha multiplicado en descendencia.

Está claro que en el juego sobre este tablero con gemas hermosas gana la vida, es una partida que comenzó en el origen de los tiempos y que finalizará con ellos, juego de sabiduría que nos regala las formas, el orden y el color de su belleza.

Merismopedia elegans es una cianobacteria muy característica por la ordenada forma de crecimiento de sus individuos que permanecen unidos flotando, en una matriz plana, transparente y gelatinosa. El gran tamaño de los individuos y su particular forma de crecimiento permite diferenciar a esta especie de otras hermanas.

Merismopedia elegans vive formando parte del plancton en charcas y lagunas. La que aparece aquí fotografiada a 400 aumentos con la técnica de contraste de interferencia procede de unas muestras recogidas en las charcas de las inmediaciones de la Laguna de Peñalara durante el “testing” organizado en homenaje a “Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente” por Biodiversidad virtual. La fotografía se ha realizado a 400 aumentos empleando la técnica de contraste de interferencia.

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☁ la nube negra de una justicia pervertida en nuestro país, movida por la envidia y la venganza, permanecerá aquí, hasta que soplen los vientos limpios que todos necesitamos. La Justicia es uno de los cimientos necesarios para la Paz. Desde aquí todo nuestro apoyo al Juez Baltasar Garzón -el buen Juez de Saramago- y a las personas de buena voluntad como él que trabajan por la Justicia.

José Saramago: Ni leyes ni Justicia

Martín Pallín

Firmas de apoyo en Facebook

Radio Nacional Holandesa

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I was fortunate to grow up in a family of great readers!

We had a wealth of books in different languages to choose from!

The novel Peony, by Pearl S. Buck, I read at a fairly young age, in English, because, I was raised in 3 languages.

I remember enjoying it, but now realise I did not fully understand...

faculty.randolphcollege.edu/fwebb/buck/jlgornto/Peony.html

The Concepts of Yin-Yang

Presented Throughout

Peony

A revisiting is imminent!

Pearl was a wise lady and proved it in everything that she wrote, no wonder she was awarded the Nobel Prize!

Here are some of her quotes that I favour:

"The truly creative mind in any field is no more than this:

A human creature born abnormally, inhumanly sensitive.

To him... a touch is a blow,

a sound is a noise,

a misfortune is a tragedy,

a joy is an ecstasy,

a friend is a lover,

a lover is a god,

and failure is death."

Add to this cruelly delicate organism the overpowering necessity to create, create, create -- so that without the creating of music or poetry or books or buildings or something of meaning, his very breath is cut off from him. He must create, must pour out creation. By some strange, unknown, inward urgency he is not really alive unless he is creating."

— Pearl S. Buck

"Many people lose the small joys in the hope for the big happiness."

— Pearl S. Buck

"The secret of joy in work is contained in one word-excellence. To know how to do something well is to enjoy it."

— Pearl S. Buck

For years I 'experimented' in the studio, to get that Flemish painter's light? Well, I was born in Flanders, it must be in my blood? LOL.

NEW!!! A NEW TREAT HERE, a second choice of some of my images:

youtu.be/IzRM4viw-7g

And a NEW BLOG:

magdaindigo.blogspot.com/2011/07/of-grasses-composition-a...

Lead and enjoy a good life, do and say things that enrich... and do not forget to tell the people close to you, how much you love them!

With love to you and thank you for ALL your faves and comments, M, (* _ *)

photographershalloffame.blog.com/?s=Magda+Indigo

IT IS STRICTLY FORBIDDEN (BY LAW!!!) TO USE ANY OF MY image or TEXT on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit permission. © All rights reserved

Also I often upload more than one image at the same time, I see a tendency to only view the last uploaded...

View On Black------------------------------------------ Clika aquí para ver Mejor

.

El verderón europeo o verderón común (Carduelis chloris) es un pequeño pájaro cantor del orden de los Passeriformes y de la familia Fringillidae (como los pinzones). Es una especie común en la Península ibérica. Descripción Mide de 13 a 15 cm de largo. El macho es de color verde amarillento, con llamativas manchas amarillas en las alas y cola. La hembra es de color más apagado y tienen tonos marrón castaño en la parte posterior, y las manchas de sus alas y cola son de color amarillo pálido. Es un ave que se adapta fácilmente en cautividad. Canto Su gorjeo está bastante articulado e intercala algunas notas típicas de llamada, aparece puntuado por un silbido sostenido nasal, que parece como si fuera producido por una inspiración forzada. Imita también los cantos de otras aves. Alimentación Su pico corto y cónico es lo suficientemente poderoso para cascar semillas grandes y duras. Semillas de cereales, tomadas sólo cuando se han desprendido de la espiga; semillas de árboles: sámaras de olmo (Ulmus minor), tilo (Tilia spp.) y fresno (Tecoma amarilla), piñones; bayas como las de tejo (Taxus baccata), zarza (Rubus ulmifolius) y escaramujo (Rosa canina); insectos, entre los cuales se cuentan áfidos, hormigas, escarabajos y también arañas. En algunas ocasiones devora los brotes de árboles frutales, pero raramente hasta el punto de constituir una plaga. En otoño visita los viñedos y frutales para comer fruta madura. Soporta bien los rigores del invierno y sabe encontrar su alimento incluso cuando la capa de nieve es espesa. Hábitat En aquellas zonas de vegetación escasa y poco densa se confina en los pinares, que constituyen quizás su hábitat original. En todos los demás lugares se le encuentra en los alrededores de casas, jardines y granjas, permaneciendo ausente de los lugares más remotos de la campiña. A finales del verano, se congrega en grandes bandadas, que merodean por los campos arados y silos en busca del grano caído y semillas de plantas silvestres, especialmente aquellas que medran en terreno cultivado. Reproducción Cuando llega el mes de marzo el macho alterna su silbido inspirado con un vuelo ascendente desde la rama en que se posa y una especie de suspensión en el aire por medio de lentos aleteos, a la manera de las mariposas o murciélagos, sin cesar de gorjear. Esta acción constituye la parte principal de su exhibición galante. Cría en las arboledas y arbustos tupidos de las zonas habitadas, parques, jardines, huertos, frutales y en los cipreses de los cementerios y todos los bosquecillos e hileras de árboles del ámbito rural. Tiende a anidar en grupos. Por regla general, el nido suele ser construido en un seto o arbusto verde con raicillas finas, musgo y lana; es revestido de raíces, pelos, plumas. Los huevos, de 4 a 6, son puestos en mayo; su color varía entre el blanco sucio y el azul verdoso con manchas pardas, rojizas o violáceas, y sus dimensiones son de 19 por 12 mm. Sólo la hembra cuida de la incubación, que dura dos semanas; entre tanto, es alimentada por el macho que permanece inmóvil desde un posadero cercano. Luego ambos, una vez nacidas las crías, los alimentan durante 13-16 días por regurgitación de insectos y de semillas aplastadas. Piden alimento a sus padres con un interminable. Cuando la hembra se dispone a hacer otro nido, el padre tiene que quedarse sólo a cargo de ellas hasta que consigan el alimento por sí mismas. Cuando adquieren sus primeras plumas, permanecen junto a sus padres, formando un grupo familiar muy unido. Realizan dos puestas anuales, ocasionalmente tres. Al final de la época de cría se reúnen en bandadas numerosas que incluyen también pájaros migrantes que llegan del norte en otoño y vuelan sin rumbo a través de bosques, campos, estepas y cultivos.

Look into his big black eyes.

Have you ever watched a crab on the shore crawling backward in search of the Atlantic Ocean, and missing? That's the way the mind of man operates....

- H L Mencken

9th July, 2009 (4.30 pm IST) - BTW, a colleague of mine just told me about an abandoned kitten outside my office, that had just escaped from the clutches of a dog! That simply means another addition to my family. :)

She's very thin, and has big watery eyes and is limping slightly & is snuggled in my back pack while I'm wrapping up for the day :) Will put some pictures of her tomorrow if she poses for me in the morning after her tummy is full :)

Got to go.... Good night flickr. :)

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Today, I chilled on the couch all day. Why you may ask? I totally had a headache ALL DAY long. Still have one while I'm typing this. My headaches link to change in weather, so although I've been enjoying the rain, the changing weather is really messing up my head. :(

This weekend is going to be crazy because I have to cram a bunch of school assignments because I'm a procrastinator. :/

I sat around and watched all sort of videos such as:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvrcdQWzH-8

and

www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgnRKyPLxng

Can I have both of those for pets?!? PLZ!!!!?

Anyways, cute videos make my head not hurt so badly.

Okay so this QOTD should be fun! :):

What is your FAVORITE Youtube video?

Here's some of mine (These are in no order):

WIZARD SWEARS:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqTHmzMk0Cw

This guy is an amazing pianist:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQ0E3dsHRV4

SEVERAL gymnastics videos!!!

Mary Lou Retton:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uvxNzOTKNc

Shannon Miller:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTtR17QkZ_Y

Shawn Johnson:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qQq9lhNwHA

Mitchell Davis:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=pp7iOwRySwY

(I've met him, and Kyle for all you people who know lots about Mitchell)

Me meeting David Archuleta's family:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=_G96F00fGH0

Me, Madison and Cristen being really stupid a long time ago:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxwxipxGG5c

Hope you all enjoy! :D Give me one or more of your favorites!

ALSO I MADE A LIKE PAGE ON FACEBOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OMGGG

like it please?!!! :)

www.facebook.com/pages/Holly-DeVane-Photography/128303547...

FOR SALE ON GETTY IMAGES

Bigui (Beagle).

Check it out my Portfolio: GETTY IMAGES

Maybe you like this: / Facebook / 500px / Fine Art

Català.

Els orígens del Beagle són confusos i remots. L'any 350 a. de C. Jenofonte ja descrivia a uns gossos de tipus sabueso (hound en anglès)que coincideixen en la majoria de detalls amb el Beagle. Segons es creu van ser els romans qui els van dur a Anglaterra com caçadors de conills i una vegada allí van ser creuats amb gossos de tipus sabueso del lloc. Els Talbot Houndson són considerats els ancestres del Southern Hound, el Beagle, i el Foxhound. Entre el 1300 i el 1400 els Beagles van arribar un elevat grau de popularitat entre els monarques britànics. Eduard II i Enric VII ja tenien gossades de Glove Beagles, anomenats així per la seva reduïda grandària, fins i tot cabien en un guant. Isabel I tenia Beagles que amidaven fins a 22 centímetres. Les gossades de sabuesos eren populars en gairebé totes les grans propietats campestres. Cap al 1400, els Beagles ja s'havien estès per Gran Bretanya, Itàlia, Grècia i França augmentant així la seva popularitat. Sobre el 1700, existien dos tipus de sabuesos especialitzats en la caça del conill: el Southern Hound, i el més veloç North Country Beagle. A causa del gran auge que estava experimentant la cacera de la guineu, els Beagles anaven perdent terreny en favor dels Foxhounds. Afortunadament per a l'existència del Beagle, els grangers a Anglaterra, Irlanda i Gal·les van seguir mantenint gossades amb les quals sortien a caçar.

A principis de la dècada del 1870, els Beagle donen el salt als Estats Units. Norman Elmore de Nova Jersei i el general Richard Rowet, de Illinois van importar Beagles anglesos d'excel·lent tipus i pedigrí i van donar inici a la idea de dur registres dels aparellamments i ventrades per a un major control de la raça. Fins a aquest moment, el Beagle anglès havia estat ensinistrat principalment per a perseguir guineus, i havia estat criat per a arribar a una altura de 37-42 centímetres dedse la creu.

El reverend Phillip Honeywood criava la seva gossada d'Essex (Anglaterra) potenciant les seves habilitats caçadores sense importar-li l'aparença, mentre que el seu compatriota Thomas Johnson s'encarregà de criar línies de Beagle que poguessin tant caçar com ser atractius. A Amèrica, no obstant això, el Beagle va ser criat amb la finalitat de reduir la seva altura. Actualment, no és difícil trobar Beagles d'una altura de només 25 o 30 centímetres desde la creu. Durant tot aquest temps, el Beagle era vist estrictament com a un gos de caça, sent criat i ensinistrat exclusivament a tal efecte. No ha estat fins a més tard quan el Beagle va començar a popularitzar-se per les seves qualitats com animal de companyia, tot i que sempre ha estat i estarà molt unit als caçadors.

El nom que rep la raça té dues possibles orígens. D'una banda es considera una derivació de la paraula cèltica beag que significa petit, mentre que per un altre se sosté que prové de la paraula francesa begueule que significa boca oberta, potser en referència al fragorós clam que produïxen en el grup.

No són gossos especialment cridaners, solen bordar durant les caceres per a avisar als caçadors que es troben sobre la presa. A més dels sons comuns a tots els gossos. Es caracteritzen per un udol típic de la raça, una 'cant' barreja de bordar i udolar. Generalment, emeten aquest so quan detecten una olor que crida la seva atenció. L'udol d'un beagle és més aviat fort a causa de la seva gran capacitat pulmonar però no arriba a un to molt greu.

English

The Beagle is a medium-sized dog breed. A member of the hound group, it is similar in appearance to the Foxhound but smaller with shorter legs, and longer, softer ears. Beagles are scent hounds developed primarily for tracking hare, rabbit, and other game. They have a keen tracking instinct and an excellent sense of smell, which has seen them employed as detection dogs for prohibited agricultural imports and foodstuffs in quarantine around the world. They are popular as pets because of their size, even temper, and lack of inherited health problems. These characteristics also make them the dog of choice for animal testing.

Although beagle-type dogs have existed for over 2,000 years, the modern breed was developed in Britain around the 1830s from several breeds, including the Talbot Hound, the North Country Beagle, the Southern Hound and possibly the Harrier.

Beagles have been depicted in popular culture since Elizabethan times in literature and paintings, and, latterly in film, television and comic books. Snoopy of the comic strip "Peanuts" has been called the world's most famous Beagle.

Dogs of similar size and purpose to the modern Beagle can be traced back to around the 5th century BC. Xenophon, born around 433 BC, in his Treatise on Hunting refers to a dog that hunted hares by scent and was followed on foot.[1] Dogs of this type were taken to Rome and may have been imported to Roman Britain. Small hounds are mentioned in the Forest Laws of Canute which exempted them from the ordinance which commanded that all dogs capable of running down a stag should have one foot mutilated.[2] If genuine, Canute's laws would confirm that beagle-type dogs were present in England before 1016, but it is likely they were written in the Middle Ages to give a sense of antiquity and tradition to Forest Law.

In the 11th century, William the Conqueror brought the Talbot hound to Great Britain. The Talbot was a predominantly white, slow, deep-throated, scent hound derived from the St Hubert Hound which had been developed in the 8th century. At some point the English Talbots were crossed with Greyhounds to give them an extra turn of speed.[4] Long extinct, the Talbot strain probably gave rise to the Southern Hound which, in turn, is thought to be an ancestor of the modern day Beagle.

From Medieval times, beagle was used as a generic description for the smaller hounds, though these dogs differed considerably from the modern breed. Miniature breeds of beagle-type dogs were known from the times of Edward II and Henry VII, who both had packs of Glove Beagles, so named since they were small enough to fit on a glove, and Queen Elizabeth I kept a breed known as a Pocket Beagle, which stood 8 to 9 inches (20 to 23 cm) at the shoulder. Small enough to fit in a "pocket" or saddlebag, they rode along on the hunt. The larger hounds would run the prey to ground, then the hunters would release the small dogs to continue the chase through underbrush. Elizabeth I referred to the dogs as her singing beagles and often entertained guests at her royal table by letting her Pocket Beagles cavort amid their plates and cups.[5] Nineteenth century sources refer to these breeds interchangeably and it is possible that the two names refer to the same small variety. In George Jesse's Researches into the History of the British Dog from 1866, the early 17th century poet and writer Gervase Markham is quoted referring to the Beagle as small enough to sit on a man's hand and to the:

little small mitten-beagle, which may be companion for a ladies kirtle, and in the field will run as cunningly as any hound whatere, only their musick is very small like reeds.[6]

Standards for the Pocket Beagle were drawn up as late as 1901; these genetic lines are now extinct, although modern breeders have attempted to recreate the variety

A Larger view to see them better?

When you are asked, "What is the first thing that comes to your mind when I say 'Washington, DC'", what would you say?

Washington Monument?

The Capitol?

White House?

Memorials?

National Mall?

Smithsonial Institute?

Well I think I would say Traffic Chaos. There are so many diversions and roadblocks that even if you have lived your entire life there in the neighborhood you have a good chance of getting lost. I was lost, driving and I was in front of a road block barricade and an officer next to it. I asked him for directions and he kindly gave me the same. The directions involved crossing a one-way street. Unbeknowest to that officer, there was another one in my way, right in the middle of the road, parked car with lights on asking me to turn around. Thanks to the One way, I couldnt get back to the same place again to ask to be rerouted (I should have taken the $10.99 GPS offer). Bottom line? Lets say, I saw the entire DC driving around in a couple of hours, unintentionally :D

The signs above were all photographed on the same morning, while walking around the downtown and tourist areas of DC. On the background is Washington Monument.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

My heart is filled so full of doubt.

- The Ataris

I decided to finally explore textures. Holymygosh. They are SO much more fun than texture brushes! And you can manipulate them alot more. This feels very Jessi-esque to me.

Layer #1 is from James' Textures for Layers set, I used this one. Layer #2 is here.

I woke up at 5 this evening. Passed out last night at 930. My sleep schedule is driving me crazy.

My necklace from the jewelry party came in! This isn't the super awesome one I was talking about, but mom won't let me have it until my birthday. Which I think is pretty lame because I already know what it is and my birthday isn't until November. :( I asked if I could just use it for my 365 and she said yes. In November. Poop. :(

My whole body aches. My thighs are killing me from jumping in and out of this pose a million times yesterday. My neck is tense, I've got a massive headache and my sinuses have that itchy/allergy/pressured 'you might be getting sick, muahahaha' feeling. :(

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© All rights are reserved, please do not use my photos without my permission. Thanks!

NEUWERK

Multipurpose Vessel of water and shipping office Cuxhaven

Year: 1998

Flag: Germany

Port of Registry: Cuxhaven

Callsign: DBJM

IMO-No. 9143984

Technical data:

Length overall: 78.91 m

Width, overall: 18.63 m

Draught, max: 5.79 m

Max speed: 15 knots or 27.8 km / h

Crew: 16 people

Shipyard: Volksweft Stralsund

Building Number: 415

GT: 3422

NRZ: 1026

Displacement: 3099 to

GL-class ship: +100 A5 E3 FF1 "Oil and Chemical Recovery Vessel", "Tug", "Icebreaker"

GL-class machine: + MC E3 AUT FF1 RP505

Drive Concept: Diesel / Electric,

2x rudder propeller in nozzle (Eiskl.4) Diameter: 300 cm with 4 wings, from Schottel, and 1x 5800kW at 1074UpM Pumpjet, 2600kW at 913 rpm

Main drive: 3 x MTU 16V 595 TC 50, 3000kW at 1500UpM

Auxiliary Diesel: 1 x MTU 12V 396 TC 54, 969kW at 1500UpM

Auxiliary Diesel: 1 x MTU 8V 183 TE 52, 300kW at 1500UpM

Crane: NFM-pillar crane to hoist 220 kN at 25 m design for recovery (eg for lost container) and linkage with swell 125 kN at 15 m tons of work interpretation

Towing winch: 1130 kN bollard pull, 2,000 kN holding power, tow rope diameter 62 mm, 1000 m tow length

Responsibilities: oil skimming, tons laying, breaking ice, emergency towing, fire fighting, navigation police duties.

EBBA

Ship Type: Tanker

Year Built: 1968

Length x Breadth: 45 m X 7 m

DeadWeight: 396 t

Speed recorded (Max / Average): 12.4 / 9.8 knots

Flag: Germany

Port of Registry: Cuxhaven

Call Sign: DCCS

IMO: 6900290

MMSI: 211228230

I am using SimplePie to observe my Flickr feeds from groups and friends. I have never liked the display of the images in my feed reader so I created a private page for it. Find a demo here: www.pixelgraphix.de/tutorials/flickr-photo-observer/index...

If you are interested in using the script, you can find it @pixelgraphix: www.pixelgraphix.de/log/2007-07/flickr-photo-feeds-mit-si...

Instructions in English are included in index.php. Please let me know if you find it useful or if there are any bugs ...

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Built on a basalt outcrop, the castle was known to the native Britons as Din Guardi and had been the capital of the British Kingdom of Bryneich from the realm's foundation in c.420 until 547, the year of the first written reference to the castle. In that year the citadel was captured by the Anglo-Saxon ruler Ida of Bernicia and became Ida's seat. It was briefly retaken by the Britons from his son Hussa during the war of 590 before being relieved later that same year.

His grandson Æðelfriþ passed it on to his wife Bebba, from which the early name Bebbanburgh was derived. The Vikings destroyed the original fortification in 993.

The Normans built a new castle on the site, which forms the core of the present castle. William II unsuccessfully besieged it in 1095 during a revolt supported by its owner, Robert de Mowbray, Earl of Northumberland. After Robert was captured, his wife continued the defence until coerced to surrender by the king's threat to blind her husband.

Bamburgh then became the property of the reigning English monarch. Henry II probably built the keep. As an important English outpost, the castle was the target of occasional raids from Scotland. In 1464 during the Wars of the Roses, it became the first castle in England to be defeated by artillery, at the end of a nine-month long siege by Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick.

The Forster family of Northumberland provided the Crown with twelve successive governors of the castle for some 400 years until the Crown granted ownership to Sir John Forster. The Forster family retained ownership until Sir William Forster (d. 1700) was posthumously declared bankrupt and his estates, including the castle, were sold to Lord Crew, Bishop of Durham ( husband of his sister Dorothy) under an Act of Parliament to settle the debts.

The castle deteriorated but was restored by various owners during the 18th and 19th centuries. It was finally bought by the Victorian industrialist William Armstrong, who completed the restoration.

During the Second World War, the Royal Navy corvette HMS Bamborough Castle was named after it.

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Depuis le 3 Octobre, plus de 200 familles dorment dans la rue de la Banque pour protester contre l'absence de logements décents. Français ou immigrés en situation régulière, tous travaillent mais vivent dans des conditions déplorables: le plus souvent à l'hôtel, ou dans des appartements minuscules, parfois menacés d'expulsion.

Ce 25 Novembre, une grande fête a été organisée pour célébrer la naissance de 4 bébés parmi les familles de la rue de la Banque depuis le début du campement. Ici, l'un d'entre eux avec sa mère.

Merci de lire les explications en début d'album / Please read the explanations at the beginning of the set

Part of DAL (Recommended as a slideshow)

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I have climbed highest mountain

I have run through the fields

Only to be with you

Only to be with you

But I still haven't found what I'm looking for...

u2

*Carquinez: pronounced car-kee-nez. . . . . View Large

The activity of so many boats has stirred the bottom and muddied the waters of the strait.

From the stern of the Tractor Tugboat Andrew Foss. I'm very fortunate to be standing here. It was also a sad day, as the 887-foot Battleship IOWA is headed to the "Mothball Fleet" in Suisun Bay, California; there she'll languish for 10 years, before being saved for future generations.

The Iowa's three sister battleships already have found permanent homes as museum ships.

BB-62 New Jersey is in Camden, New Jersey.

BB-63 Missouri is at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii

BB-64 Wisconsin is at Norfolk, Virginia .... and NOW the last,

BB-61 Iowa is at San Pedro, California (Port of Los Angeles)

Go to Battleship Iowa's website, www.pacificbattleship.com...

Note 'Konabish' in blue letters on the tug ;)

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Inside one of Las Vegas' casinos (I think it's the MGM, but not sure).

Part of my US West Coast set.

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Shot it at the last day of bengali's favorite festival,"Durga Puja".Sindur khela(vermilion play) is a major event of Dashami. Married women apply vermilion to each other and greet each other with sweets. It is in the evening when the image of Goddess Durga is immersed in the Ganges, Bengalis greet each other with Bijoya Greetings and men follow the customary 'Kola-Kuli' (embracing each other). Durga Puja is a festival that the Bengalis celebrate without religious inhibitions. It is more of a socio-cultural celebration that tends to renew kinship with friends and relatives.

In this shot, a Television Crew also playing vermilion while taking footage of this ritual..

For more photos like this one.click MY SITE subirbasak.orgfree.com.....

p.s."Copyright © – Subir Basak.

The reproduction, publication, modification, transmission or exploitation of any work contained herein for any use, personal or commercial, without my prior written permission is strictly prohibited. All rights reserved."

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Bas-relief Number 3 from the 2nd century AD in the Tang-e Chowgan gorge by Bishapur is extremely worn by a flooding after an aqueduct was constructed in the gorge in the 1960s. The aqueduct wasn't removed until the 1970s, by which time a deep groove had formed throughout the gorge damaging this relief between the fourth and fifth register, near the bottom. Regardless of the damage, the rich detailing of its former glory can still clearly be distinguished.

There are many Sassanid bas reliefs in throughout the Sassanid Empire, with some excellent examples of 'vistory' and 'equestrian' reliefs found in Naqsh-e Rostam and Nasqsh-e Rajab (photos coming soon).

Bishapur' s 'Relief Number 3' is often referred to as Shapur's Victory. 'Triple Victory' would have been a more apt description. The great quantity of horsemen firmly makes this an equestrian victory relief, but the gift bearers are reminiscent of the Achaemenid Eastern Apadana Staircase reliefs in Persepolis, while the cavalries are similar to those depicted on Trajan's Column in Rome.

Sassanid King Shapur I is depicted at the heart of the relief, roughly in the centre of the third register, on his horse and victorious over three Roman Emperors.

The upper left first and second registers and lower left fourth and fifth registers the show the cavalry approaching from the left, as with all Sassanid reliefs. Notwithstanding the flood groove in the fifth register, the use of less well defined figures located on the lower registers would suggest this to represent lower orders of the cavalry.

The middle left third register shows the best defined horse riding figures, probably representing the courtiers and officers of the cavalry.

The upper right first and second registers depict people carrying tribute by way of gifts and offerings to Shapur. Unlike the identifyiable Eastern Apadana Staircase reliefs of Persepolis the graphical identitfication of the ethnicity of the gift bearers is somewhat open to speculation, but the most agreeable interpretation is that these figures depict Romans.

The middle right third register shows the well defined infantry section approaching Shapur from the right. Apart from he Romans there is also the curious presence of an elephant on the extreme right...

The lower right fourth and fifthe registers are damaged by the flooding, which makes identification of the gift bearing figures more difficult, but even before the erosion there has always been speculation about these figures

See also Bishapur Reliefs Number 1, Number 2, Number 4, Number 5, Number 6

Due to the challenging form and placement of this relief, this is not strictly speaking a photo (hence no EXIF metadata), but a rather composite, like the Chehel Sotun composite.

The uploaded version is a much lower resolution version than the actual composite, but seven detail shots are uploaded individually at about half the original resolution, while the centre piece featuring Shapur is uploaded at full resolution.

It's been a 'bumper' year for the peonies...

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I love seeing where they come from, what they look like at their peak!

Those huge heads, so layered, all coming out of this one bud, this bud unfurling and displaying all this beauty... it NEVER ceases to amaze me.

The evolution, the unfurling, the GRAND opening...

The peony is the only genus in the flowering plant family Paeoniaceae. They are native to Asia, Southern Europe and western North America but grow very well here too, Peonies are actually very easy to grow; once established they can tolerate drought and suffer from very few diseases.

Colours range from pure white through baby pinks and palest peaches to clear deep pink and darkest rich maroon. There is also a pale yellow but it is rare.

Peonies are only available between late May and early July, so get them while you can!

They are very thirsty flowers, so make sure you top up the vase or bowl.

The Greeks believed they could cure over 20 ailments and were found in every monastery garden.

Peonies have been cultivated for over 2,000 years, more for their medicinal qualities than for ornament.

An interesting extra bit of info given by www.flickr.com/photos/eytyxhs/ :

Τhe name of Peony is after a Paion (Peon) who was a student of the Gods' Doctor Asklipios. Paion had cured a wound Hercules had caused to Pluto.

Asklipios got very angry with his student and killed him.

Pluto then metamorphosed Paion into a flower.

This flower is supposed to relief many illnesses and fever.

The Japanese protect the earliest peony blooms from the snow by protecting them with individual small thatched shelters. Some geisha's used to wear special peony colours.

The Chinese name for peony is "sho yu" which means "most beautiful" and they idolised this flower.

The common thread is that the flower always denotes luxury and indulgence.

Went for again for a dramatic lighting, to make them 'different' from other flower images, as usual, comp in camera...

My favourite... Lol, thanx for your time and comments, M, (*_*)

Please do not use any of my images on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit permission. © All rights reserved

Why not view the set as a slide-show?

Also I often upload more than one image at the same time, I see a tendency to only view the last uploaded...

May I suggest this view?

A very quick snapshot taken in Strasburg, Lancaster County PA last summer. This was from quite a distance and when I opened the file in the computer I was delighted to suddenly see that all three of the little boys were barefooted. The slight over-expusure and the somwhat muted color tones suggested a painting so I gave it that effect.

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I now have two books of my work available...

The Feeding of the Birds... The photography of Allan Ellerby Book Preview

Or in a soft cover version..

Click Here

Also available is the more comprehensive...

Altering the State by Allan Ellerby

José Honorato Lozano (1821 - 1885)

Letras y’ Figuras (Views of Manila)

signed (lower right)

Ca. 1850

gouache and watercolor on paper

22” x 33” (56 cm x 84 cm)

Opening bid: PHP 5,000,000

Literature:

Roces, Alfredo. Felix Resurrección Hidalgo & The Generation of 1872.

Eugenio Lopez Foundation, Inc., 1998, p. 66.

Provenance: The Benito J. Legarda, Jr. Collection

This enchanting work in watercolor by Jose Honorato Lozano from the 1840s shows a vanished, magnificent Manila inevitably altered by the 1863 and 1880 earthquakes, Spanish decline, Revolution, American modernization, the World War II holocaust, postwar demolitions, and careless city administrations. The painting is composed of three horizontal panels: the top and bottom panels have three sections each while the middle panel is a panoramic view of the Manila Bay.

The first section of the top panel shows Calle Anloague in Binondo (“Street of the Carpenters,” now Juan Luna street leading to the Divisoria entrepot) where several foreign trading firms are headquartered. We see an all–stone building or house on the left with the flag of the United States of America (in the 1840s), it is likely the head office of an American trading firm. (It can be disputed that this is a view of Calzada de San Sebastian [now R Hidalgo street] with its rows of elegant houses. The said street rose in importance during the 1830s when the rich of the long–established arrabales (districts) of Intramuros, Binondo, and Santa Cruz, in an effort to escape their crowded and smelly communities, started constructing big urban villas with the (then unheard–of) luxury of fruit and vegetable gardens and passable, clean estuaries/waterways at the back which were impossible to build in the older arrabales. However, the view really seems to be that of Calle Anloague, which is a much more important street at the time than Calzada de San Sebastian.)

The initial letter V is composed of well–dressed, hat–wearing laborers carrying logs. The letter I is formed by a well dressed native woman with a parasol and her companions. The second/middle section of the top panel shows a view of the commercial buildings, warehouses, and big houses lining the Pasig river from Santa Cruz to Binondo to Tondo (right to left). (This brings to mind personalities like the very rich Don Narciso Padilla, who during this exact time owns a fleet of ships, boats, and cascos [big bamboo rafts] which carries goods from the Pasig river all the way up north to the Ilocos and all the way down south to the Visayas, as well as rows of warehouses that stretch from Binondo to Tondo. This shipping and logistics empire is inherited by his daughter Dona Maria Barbara Padilla y Flores [“Dona Baritay”] who subsequently becomes known as La Reina de Rio Pasig because of her immense shipping and warehousing businesses; she becomes the mother of the master painter Don Felix Resurrección Hidalgo y Padilla.)

The letter E is formed by laborers carrying logs and an ambulant Chinese vendor selling lugaw rice porridge and its condiments as well as gupit noodles to his hungry customers. The letters W and S are composed of veiled women and well–dressed men. The third section of the top panel shows a bahay kubo/nipa hut in a rustic setting which is probably the Gagalangin area in Tondo, even then the most populous district of the city. There is a simple couple huddling in a bamboo shed. Tondo in the 1800s, specially the Gagalangin area with its charming front gardens, is a pleasant residential district inhabited by people of modest means but also by some of the richest families in Manila with fortunes from international and domestic trading, warehousing, manufacturing, financing, and even micro-financing. Tondo in the 1800s up to the prewar was a vastly different community compared to what it is today.

The second section is a panoramic view of the Manila Bay with many ships and boats. It is a beautiful, swimmable beach with fine sand, just like all the lovely beaches of Las Islas Filipinas. Tragically, the Americans would fill it with boulders, stones, and sand to make Dewey boulevard (now Roxas boulevard) during the early 1900s. There is a succession of interesting vignettes on the beachfront. From the left going right, we see a young, well–dressed principalia couple of the ruling class on their horses; two men with sparring roosters (cockfighting); a man on a carabao; the letter O formed by a man inside a casco (raft) or a boat; a mother and child just finished bathing in the sea; the letter F formed by a couple pounding rice on a wooden mortar; a female vendor with a small tapayan / earthenware water container on her head, a male vendor balancing a pole hung with 2 baskets, a mature, well–dressed principalia couple, and a female vendor selling rice cakes she is preparing on a papag or bamboo daybed.

The first section of the bottom panel shows a view outside Intramuros looking north to the Pasig river. From the left, we see the Puente de Espana (Bridge of Spain) which has been there since 1630, the Pasig river, the Magellan monument, and the Maestranza wall. The Maestranza is a long portion of the Intramuros walls facing north to the Pasig river with many chambers built in the early 1600s to accommodate soldiers as well as all sorts of goods being traded downstream and upstream. There is a big woven rice thresher in the middle of it all, likely for the processing of rice being grown in the areas around Intramuros.

The letter M is formed by musicians with a harp and guitar with chickens on top. The letter A is composed of a man amidst bamboo.

The second/middle section of the bottom panel shows the Plaza Mayor of Intramuros with the three major buildings flanking it: We see the Manila Cathedral in the middle (south), the Palacio del Gobernador on the right (west), and the Ayuntamiento/Casas Consistoriales on the left (east). It is still about 20 years before the great earthquake of 1863 which will level them all. (It is after that devastation that the Governor–General will transfer the seat of power to the far more modest riverside villa in the nearby San Miguel district that is the Palacio de Malacanan. The transfer of the Governor–General to San Miguel impels the rich --- specially the Spanish peninsular and the Spanish mestizo rich --- to construct grand villas with sprawling lush gardens in the area, setting off the most European incarnations of the Filipino bahay–na–bato. The idea of luxurious urban villas conceived in Calzada de San Sebastian achieves perfection in nearby San Miguel. Calle General Solano and Calle Aviles become the most fashionable addresses of the Filipino rich towards the end of the Spanish regime in 1898.)

The letter N is formed by women with a horse. The letter I is composed of a group of men with top hats and women. The letter L is made up of a bahay kubo, a big woven rice thresher, a man with sacks, and other men.

The third section of the bottom panel shows the Binondo church with a frontage of greenery (unbelievable to contemporary eyes). It looks like an orchard with rows of fruit trees.

The final letter A is formed by an old woman cooking with palayok earthenware pots, and there is a Chinese vendor balancing a pole from which hang a pair of tapayan vessels, probably filled with clean water.

Jose Honorato Lozano was one of several painters in Manila during the first half of the 1800s, along with the pioneering Damian Domingo, Juan Arzeo, and the younger Antonio Malantic and Justiniano Asuncion (“Capitan Ting”). In the tradition of miniaturismo (highly detailed art) popular in those days, Lozano specialized in the quaint art of letras y figuras, in which a full name was exquisitely spelled out with letters formed by vignettes with all kinds of subjects --- people, animals, plants, musical instruments, conveyances, landscape views, etc. These incredibly detailed works charmed the affluent locals who hung them in their reception rooms as well as the expatriate Spaniards and other Europeans who commissioned and brought them home as souvenirs of an exotic Asian sojourn.

This utterly charming Views of Manila from the erudite Benito J. Legarda , Jr. collection was likely commissioned by a British or American client. The work in watercolor was signed por Jose Honorato Lozano in elegant script on the lower right side. It is not known how it made its way to Legarda’s collection; it could have been acquired from a prominent Filipino family but it was most likely purchased from leading rare maps and books dealers in the USA or the UK (many of whom were his longtime friends), as were many of Legarda’s Filipiniana collections. This Jose Honorato Lozano Views of Manila stands on its own as a great Filipino work of art and an important, unassailable pictorial document of Spanish Manila as it was in the 1840s, almost two hundred years ago.

Lot 70 of the Leon Gallery auction in February 2021. Please see leon-gallery.com for more details.

And if you go chasing rabbits; And you know you're going to fall

what I love about street photography in Tokyo is that you just never know what you are going to see (or, quite often, if what you're seeing is actually happening...)

I had just crossed the street with a group of friends, leaving the madness of a crowded matsuri behind me, and I looked to the right and saw this photo in front of me - all alone with his rabbit and in a world of his own...

'Myths Dreams Symbols' On Black

Music: www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJOtktgAtjE

Magic - A power stronger than your ego; an unconscious force (repressed or forgotten events in your life that is overpowering)

Magician - As the trickster it may symbolize you are fooling yourself over some aspect in your life. It could be the unconscious trying to fool {repress} the conscious mind. See Trickster

Magnet - Something that is bringing you closer to your true self.

Man - A symbol of your self; wholeness, the inner self (spiritual). It could symbolize half of the whole self, with the other half being your feminine side. In a woman's dream it may represent her animus or her father.

Mandalas - A representation of the self; that is complete, whole, balanced. a disarranged manadala may represent that the healing power of the unconscious pyche is temporily out of action. Some destructive attitude - a guilt-and-anger or inferiority complex - is blocking the flow of the natural healing powers.

Marriage - A union of opposite forces. The bringing together of the masculine and feminine sides of your personality. Resolving conflicts in your life.

Mask - Your persona, the image you see yourself as (this is not the real you, only a part of your true self). Covering up the real you; covering up your true emotions about some aspect in your life.

The "starting point" for this image came from:

www.flickr.com/photos/architect4/124550446/?#comment72057...

www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1562012417

www.lucastatagibaphotography.com/

CameraNikon D300S

Exposure0.003 sec (1/320)

Aperturef/13.0

Focal Length70 mm

ISO Speed200

© Lucas Tatagiba

My images are posted here for your enjoyment only. All rights are reserved. Please contact me through flickr if you are interested in using one of my images for any reason.

© Lucas Tatagiba - Todos os direitos reservados.

É Proibido qualquer tipo de reprodução das imagens sem autorização.

Imagem protegida pela Lei do Direito Autoral Nº 9.610 de 19/02/1998.

View On Black The gorgeous sandy expanse of Dunnet Bay, near Thurso, Caithness, Scotland, the storm see overhead is just starting to approach the sands, within about ten minutes the whole area was black, hardly any light and pouring with rain, great timing for this shot! The storm clouds are just starting to arrive overhead, compare this shot to one shot shortly afterwards... bighugelabs.com/onblack.php?id=8048767055&size=large

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The Great Famine in Ireland of 1845 - 1847 was caused by the 'potato blight'. Nearly half the population died or fled the country. Many people in the parish of Kilronan, Co. Roscommon fled to the mountains so that they could live above the 'briar line'. The briar, it seems, was the main carrier of blight spores.

These people lived in terrible conditions in make-shift mud shacks in the hills where they tried to grow potatoes in little plots of mountain given them by the natives of the Arigna area.

The crop was poor and huge numbers died from hunger, TB, exposure and famine fever.

In September of 1847, four people, who came to the area from Ballyfarnon to eke out a living in the hills, died. Their friends set out to bring them 'home' to Kilronan Cemetery. When they got to the top of 'Stantons Brea' they could go no further because they were so weak. They stopped at a small house here to shelter for the night. Next morning it was discovered that two of the bearers had died during the night. Two or three people from the house had also recently died but were not buried. The remaining people were worn out and not able to proceed to Kilronan Graveyard with the corpses. The best they could do was bury all nine in a common grave beside the small house where at least they could 'look down on their home place'.

In 1995, a mass was celebrated at the grave for these famine victims and for all the victims of the Kilronan parish and surrounding are.

10-20mm wide-angle lens. ISO 100. 0.5 seconds at f/11.

Please View On Black and/or View On White

See where this picture was taken. [?]

The only species of hummingbird that breeds in eastern North America, the Ruby-throated Hummingbird is found throughout the eastern deciduous and mixed forests. It flies nonstop across the Gulf of Mexico to winter in Central America.

Cool Facts

The Ruby-throated Hummingbird beats its wings 53 times a second.

The extremely short legs of the Ruby-throated Hummingbird prevent it from walking or hopping. The best it can do is shuffle along a perch. Nevertheless, it scratches its head and neck by raising its foot up and over its wing.

The Ruby-throated Hummingbird does not show a strong preference for any particular color of feeder. Instead, it prefers specific feeder locations

Description

Size: 7-9 cm (3-4 in)

Wingspan: 8-11 cm (3-4 in)

Weight: 2-6 g (0.07-0.21 ounces)

Tiny bird.

Back iridescent green.

Hovers at flowers.

Male with brilliant iridescent red throat.

Sex Differences

Male with red throat, female with white. Female with white tips to tail feathers. Female larger.

Male

Gorget (throat) brilliant metallic red. Back and head metallic bronze-green. Tail feathers pointed and dark purplish or black. Wing feathers dark slate. Chin, malar region, around eyes, and auriculars black. Small white spot behind eyes. Chest dull brownish white, changing to darker brownish gray on breast and abdomen; sides and flanks darker and overlaid with bronze-green. Tufts on side of rump white. Undertail coverts brownish gray, edged with dull white.

Female

Back, top of head, and two central tail feathers metallic bronze-green. Three outer tail feathers on each side with broad white tips, black central portions, and bronzy green bases. Wing feathers dark. Small white spot behind eye. Auriculars dusky. Throat and underparts dull grayish white or brownish gray. Flanks and undertail coverts tinged with buffy. Tufts on side of rump white.

Immature

Similar to adult female. Male with dusky streaks on throat and a few metallic red feathers.

Similar Species

Male Black-chinned Hummingbird has purple gorget.

Female hummingbirds are difficult to distinguish.

Sound

Rapid squeaky chipping. Humming sound from wings.

Summer Range

Breeds from central Alberta eastward to Nova Scotia, southward from eastern North Dakota to eastern Texas and Florida.

Winter Range

Winters in southern Mexico and Central America south to Costa Rica.

Habitat

Breeds in mixed woodlands and eastern deciduous forest, gardens, and orchards.

Winters in tropical deciduous forest, tropical dry forests, scrubland, citrus groves, and second growth.

Food

Flower nectar, small insects, and tree sap. Comes to hummingbird feeders.

Foraging

Hovers at flowers and sap wells, catches insects in flight and plucks them from leaves, plucks spiders from their webs.

Nest Type

Nest an open cup placed on top of small tree branch. Made of thistle and dandelion down, held together with spider web and covered on outside with lichens. Placed at 6-50 feet height, average of 10-20 feet.

Egg Description

Color: White.

Size: 12.2–14.0 mm x 8.38-9.14 mm.

(0.48-0.55 in X 0.33-0.36 in)

Incubation period: 12-14 days.

Clutch Size

Usually 2 eggs. Range: 1-3.

Condition at Hatching

Helpless, naked, and black.

Chicks fledge in 18-20 days.

Conservation Status

Populations appear stable

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I was tagged by Tedscanon to reveal ten things about myself and pass on the tag to ten of my contacts. So here it goes...

1) I'm more extroverted than introverted :)

2) Love music of all types, except country music...sorry to the country music fans out there!

3) In my younger years I was a singer in a rock band but found that touring in a drafty bus in -30 degrees C weather with no money to buy food wasn't my idea of fun so went to university, got a job, and became responsible (HA!)

4) I'm a driven person...i want to learn new things and experience all I can while I'm on this earth.

5) I care about my family, friends and co-workers...they are all part of my daily life and I deeply appreciate each of them for who they are and what they've brought to my life.

6) I drive a Subaru but want a BMW :))

7) I'm terrible with directions...I need a GPS at all times!

8) I have two incredible kids that have taught me a lot about myself and about accepting their individuality.

9) I hate drama...prefer to have people around me that don't play games and take advantage of others.

10) Last, but not least...I love photography and have met many fantastic people on flickr who share this same passion....and hope to meet many more!!! :))

And finally, the people I tag for the next round...

Jane Photo1

U-g-g-B-o-y

KPEP

Roxanne

Ashley1954

klem@s

*luis*l*

Limbo Poet

Rene from Holland

Jay Bees Pics

aumentar

Ahora en Biodiversidad virtual y hace poco en El País -en pdf- gracias a Elisabet Sans.

*

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Como en una reunión de amigas, tres diatomeas han coincidido navegando y parecen conversar imaginariamente de los problemas reales de su mundo acuático, que también es el nuestro. Tranquilas y suspendidas cerca de la superficie parecen tomar el sol de vacaciones.

Las tres son de vida independiente, viajeras incansables en navíos de cristal que se han cruzado y detenido en este instante, quizá para saludarse o porque han encontrado ese lugar en el que su vida es más fácil. Cuando esto ocurre, si son sólo tres, no habrá competencia, será su descendencia multiplicada la que impondrá su ley y sólo dejará espacio para una en una lucha incruenta por el espacio y por la luz ¿de quien será el futuro de la vida en el agua de los marjales en los que ahora conviven sin competencia?

La más pequeña de las tres, Nitzschia palea es tan diminuta como resistente, puede vivir en aguas bastante contaminadas y en ellas ya no necesita de la fotosíntesis, alimentándose directamente, como los hongos y muchas bacterias de la materia orgánica disuelta. Nitzschia palea es una diatomea común que adorna su estuche de cristal con finísimas estrías casi invisibles bajo las que brillan en verde los cloroplastos y dos pequeñas perlas, dos diminutas gotas de grasa que la ayudan a flotar.

La de tamaño intermedio remata su casco de ampolla en proa y popa con dos pequeñas burbujas de cuarzo, se trata de Stauroneis anceps, que lleva marcada una cruz en el centro de su cuerpo, justo en el lugar en el que los surcos de su cubierta de cristal se borran para trazarla. Es Stauroneis una diatomea relativamente frecuente en cualquier tipo de hábitat, a la que le gustan las orillas, pero que no resiste aguas tan contaminadas como la pequeña Nitzschia .

Por fin, la tercera es la mayor, alga muy especial, Plagiotropis de frente amplia y extendida en alas y de perfil curvado como la luna, dos botones dorados son sus cloroplastos y su estuche de nave ancha está labrado en surcos diáfanos y amplios que la recorren de extremo a extremo. Diatomea escasa y quizá nueva, Plagiotropis se ha especializado en vivir en este tipo de ambientes de los marjales en los que las aguas dulces se mezclan con las saladas.

De Plagiotropis será el futuro y en una competencia pacífica impuesta por el saber estar mejor en estos ambientes y desplazará al resto de especies de diatomeas, que seguirán conviviendo con ella pero de forma discreta…no nos adelantemos, ese es el futuro, de momento las tres diatomeas se saludan sin saber qué ocurrirá dentro de un tiempo.

Nitzschia palea , Stauroneis anceps y Plagiotropis proceden de las aguas salitrosas de los marjales de Peñíscola, formaciones lagunares con una interesantísima fauna de vertebrados y todo un universos de organismos microscópicos por descubrir. La fotografía se ha tomado a 400 aumentos empleando la técnica de contraste de interferencia.

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☁ la nube negra de una justicia pervertida en nuestro país, movida por la envidia y la venganza, permanecerá aquí, hasta que soplen los vientos limpios que todos necesitamos. La Justicia es uno de los cimientos necesarios para la Paz. Desde aquí todo nuestro apoyo al Juez Baltasar Garzón -el buen Juez de Saramago- y a las personas de buena voluntad como él que trabajan por la Justicia.

José Saramago: Ni leyes ni Justicia

Martín Pallín

Firmas de apoyo en Facebook

Radio Nacional Holandesa

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Carved by Maximilian Colte, who later carved the monument to Elizabeth I in Westminster Abbey, London. The detail shows Manwood's first wife, Dorothy ("Dorothea"), and their five children.

Sir Roger Manwood, who resided in St Stephen's, Canterbury, was a senior judge and Member of Parliament for Sandwich, Kent. He was a member of the Commission that examined Mary Queen of Scots at Fotheringay Castle in 1586.

The monument - a cadaver monument - was fashioned prior to Manwood's death, its prominent skeleton designed to focus the mind on mortality. The monument lies in the south trancept of St Stephen's Church, Hackington, Canterbury. It includes a bust of Manwood, carved figures of his two wives and five children, and a reclining skeleton.

For a portrait of Manwood in the National Portrait Gallery, London, see: www.npg.org.uk/live/search/portrait.asp?LinkID=mp02948&am...

It is often suggested that Christopher Marlowe's fees for his attendence at King's School, Canterbury, were paid by Manwood. For an epitaph to Manwood attributed to Marlowe, see: www2.prestel.co.uk/rey/manwood.htm

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It started long ago when she left her first footstep from an warm woumb,

It's the life who pushed her, it's the nature who enlightened her;

It's the time which leads her to the end,

The more she is enlightened, the more she reaches to the end

The curse of enlightenment never ends!!

Shimulia Paul Para, Dhamrai, Dhaka. Bangladesh 2010

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Copyright: Adnan Arsalan

E-mail: adnan.arsalan@gmail.com

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- She was very much half-dressed

And big indiscreet trees

Threw out their leaves against the pane

Cunningly, and close, quite close.

Sitting half naked in my big chair,

She clasped her hands.

Her small and so delicate feet

Trembled with pleasure on the floor.

- The colour of wax, I watched

A little wild ray of light

Flutter on her smiling lips

And on her breast, - an insect on the rose-bush.

- I kissed her delicate ankles.

She laughed softly and suddenly

A string of clear trills,

A lovely laugh of crystal.

The small feet fled beneath

Her petticoat: "Stop it, do!"

- The first act of daring permitted,

Her laugh pretended to punish me!

- Softly I kissed her eyes,

Trembling beneath my lips, poor things:

- She threw back her fragile head

"Oh! come now that's going too far!...

Listen, Sir, I have something to say to you..."

- I transferred the rest to her breast

In a kiss which made her laugh

With a kind laugh that was willing...

- She was very much half-dressed

And big indiscreet trees threw

Out their leaves against the pane

Cunningly, and close, quite close.

- As translated by Oliver Bernard: Arthur Rimbaud, Collected Poems (1962)

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*

*

Aunque no es un collar, Palmodictyon lo parece, no son perlas de esmeralda quienes lo tejen, aunque tienen su color y hacen de ella una joya de agua. El alga Palmodictyon es alga individual, pero nunca solitaria, se desarrolla sola pero siempre vive acompañada.

Palmodictyon forma filamentos casi invisibles, las células verdes y esféricas en estas algas se agrupan dentro de tenues tubos de mucílago que evitan su dispersión. Unas veces los tubos son rectos, otras veces se curvan o ramifican ensanchándose o haciéndose más estrechos y dando cabida así a más o menos células verdes.

Palmodictyon vive en zonas de agua de leve corriente, a veces en turberas, en otras ocasiones en lagunas o estanques, siempre en zonas poco profundas y cerca de la orilla.

Palmodictyon está emparentada con la bella Tetraspora que vive más extendida formando colonias que son redes de lunares.

Dos son las especies más comunes que representan a este género, Palmodictyon varium que es la que se muestra aquí y Palmodictyon viride, muy parecida a ella, pero diferente porque cada célula, además de la vaina que recubre a todas, está protegida por otra individual que rodea su cuerpo en una cápsula.

Hemos fotografiado a Palmodictyon varium con la técnica de campo oscuro, brillan así con más intensidad las esmeraldas que no son esmeraldas de este collar que no lo es aunque sí una joya.

Palmodictyon varium procede de un arroyo de aguas limpias y frescas situado en las inmediaciones de Mahíde en las estribaciones de la zamorana Sierra de la Culebra y ha sido fotografiada a 400 aumentos.

Con nuestra gratitud para Pilar Gil por la publicación en Qúo, a Antonio Martínez Ron ...y también Paul/

Puedes tener otra infomación en la exposición LA VIDA OCULTA DEL AGUA

Y en este catálogo

También en la galería de Fotolog

Y nuestro granito de arena por la Paz

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I've promised to some friends to show the roses of my rose garden ... here are some shots without post-production, a rough overview, just to bring you a ride!

Unfortunately I cannot upload their scent

Ho promesso ad alcuni amici che avrei fatto vedere loro alcune rose del mio roseto ....ecco qui alcuni scatti, un veloce e grezzo giretto tra la fioritura di maggio!

Sfortunatamente non son son riuscito a caricare pure il loro profumo ...

www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDiTuTQAvzo

[Gabriel Fauré - 'Impromptu' for Harp in D flat major (Catrin Finch)]

ROSA MOZART

Famiglia: synstylae

Ibrido: moschata

Ibridatore: Lambert (Germania)

Anno: 1937

Portamento: cespuglio

Altezza: 120 cm

Utilizzo: siepe media

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Jog Falls created by the Sharavathi River falling from a height of 253 meters (829 ft) is the highest plunge waterfall in India, Located in Shimoga District of Karnataka state, these segmented falls are a major tourist attraction. It is also called by alternative names of Gerusoppe falls, Gersoppa Falls and Jogada Gundi.

There are many waterfalls in Asia - and also in India - which drop from a higher altitude. But, unlike those falls, Jog Falls is untiered, i.e., it drops directly and does not stream on to rocks. Thus, it can be described as the highest untiered waterfalls in India. The waterfall database gives it 83 scenic points while Angel falls is at 97.

River Sharavathi splits up into four different tracks which are named in accordance with their perceived trajectories. Going from left to right respectively in the picture, the names and the reasons for naming are:

* Raja (King): Named so because of its apparently 'dignified' and 'serene' fall.

* Roarer: This stream appears out of a mass of rocks, making a tremendous amount of noise.

* Rocket: Consists of a large volume of water streaming out of a small opening at a very high speed.

* Rani (Queen), also called Lady: The stream has a winding, twisting trajectory, said to resemble the movements of a female dancer

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A crop of an earlier upload for use in my upcoming magazine, World View Two.

See all 36 images in the magazine's set as a slideshow:

www.flickr.com/photos/p0ps/sets/72157626154871427/show/

Found on the east side of Norfolk just south of Rivington. I really like Judith Supine's work, admire his demo video.

This shot was an experiment in using my camcorder-calico method for making hi-res photos by pano-stitching together hundreds of lo-res video stills. Why don't I just buy a 10+ megapixel SLR? It would be too easy.

I shot this in motion video holding the camcorder about 18" from the wall, starting at the upper left corner, slowly panning to the right across the top, lowering it about half a row, panning left across, then a little lower, back across, etc. until I was crouched down at the bottom and people on the sidewalk were wondering what kind of perversion I was up to.

Then, back home, I imported the footage into iMovie, converting to an 8 frame per second image sequence of tiffs. By selecting every other image file by hand, I divided the resulting 1200+ stills into 2 folders of about 600 each, then divided each of those into 2 folders of about 300 each.

I loaded the first folder into Calico, the pano-stitcher made for Mac. After about an hour of aligning, Calico formed an incomprehensible pano that looked like a blurred horizontal strip.

I ran Photoshop actions on the 300 stills in the second folder to mildly increase the saturation, the contrast and sharpness. This took about an hour. Then I loaded them into Calico and after an hour of aligning it formed a pano which had a little more height than the first one, but was still not comprehensible, didn't contain all the imagery, so I moved on.

The third folder, I ran Photoshop actions on those 300 stills with harsh increase of saturation, contrast, sharpness and the watercolor filter. Calico understood that one and after another hour of aligning, the preview display showed a decent, complete pano, so I pushed the "make" button and two hours later had a 167 MB tiff showing the complete door that the art is painted on.

The shape distortion is slight and desirable.

I opened it in Photoshop, made a few duplicate layers and worked each one with image adjustments and filters, adjusting the opacity of each layer until I thought I had the clearest, best representative image, then combined the layers, making the 2048 pixel wide jpeg which I uploaded here.

The original is about twice this size and perhaps somebody may print from it someday.

As you can see from this method, I was able to spend about 6 hours making this image, 6 hours of being in my apartment with Ruth, listening to music, talking. If I just snapped a hi-res image with a big SLR and turned it into a jpeg for Flickr, I'd have been done in 10 minutes, missing all that fun.

Also, I don't need to do straight document of street art, Elisha Cook Jr., Jake Dobkins, otherthings and a few others are covering that beat very well.

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This is another shot, from a series I took a while back, of a Greater Roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus) running across the road with a grasshopper in it's beak.

The similar shot (below) is the most viewed, and most interesting, shot in my photostream.

20081108-087

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All Rights Reserved © Nick Chill

Luz Casal - Entre Mis Recuerdos

Cuando la pena cae sobre mí

el mundo deja ya de existir,

miro hacia atrás y busco

entre mis recuerdos

Para encontrar la niña que fui

y algo de todo lo que perdí

miro hacia atrás y busco

entre mis recuerdos

Sueño con noches brillantes al borde

de un mar de aguas claras y puras

y un aire cubierto de azahar.

Cada momento era especial

días sin prisas, tardes de paz,

miro hacia atrás y busco

entre mis recuerdos.

Yo quisiera volver a encontrar la pureza

nostalgia de tanta inocencia

que tan poco tiempo duró.

Con el veneno sobre mi piel

frente a las sombras de la pared

miro hacia atrás y busco

entre mis recuerdos,

vuelvo hacia atrás y busco

entre mis recuerdos.

Y si las lágrimas vuelven

ellas me harán más fuerte.

Yo quisiera volver a encontrar la pureza

nostalgia de tanta inocencia

que tan poco tiempo duró.

Cuando la pena cae sobre mí,

quiero encontrar aquello que fui,

miro hacia atrás y busco entre mis recuerdos.

Vuelvo hacia atrás y busco entre mis recuerdos...

Esta niña de aquí arriba vestida a la última moda, despeinada y con una liebre en la mano... soy yo!! jajajaja :D

Solamente aclarar que la liebre estaba viva, je. Era mi mascota. Pobrecita... menos mal que un día me decidí a soltarla en el monte y, por lo tanto, así pudiera ser libre. Como véis la fotografía es bastante antigua y la hizo mi madre con su reflex. El lugar de la fotogradí es mi casita del pueblo (Valdeavellano).

A veces, que bonito es mirar hacia atrás y buscar entre los recuerdos...

PD. Disculpar mi ausencia. Estoy bastante ocupada con el trabajo y estudiándo para los exámenes finales.

¡¡Besitos para todos/as!! : )

Vilanova de Sau, Girona (Spain).

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Panorama from 3 photos.

ENGLISH

The reservoir of Sau, in municipal district of Vilanova de Sau, at the foot of massif of Guilleries, pertaining to river basin of river Ter, forms part of system of three marshes (next to those of Susqueda and Pasteral) that unites the regions of Osona and La Selva, and that serves to provide with potable water the cities of Barcelona and Girona.

The dam is of the type gravity, with a height of 84 m. and a length of coronation of 260 m., and its maximum capacity is 169 hm3. In its maximum level it has a length of 17 km. and 3 km. of width, allowing for that reason the practice of nautical sports.

The reservoir, constructed between 1949 and 1962, covered the town of Sant Romà de Sau, the rest of which, specially of the bell tower of the romnesque church of 11th century, they are visible when the level of the dammed water is low and at times of drought prolonged the town is in the open and even it is possible to visit.

At the moment of the photos the reservoir is approximately at 10% of its capacity, its historical minimum, mainly because the long run drought that has been undergoing this part of Catalunya for years. The proliferation of nonnative fish introduced by practisers of sport fishing, the low water level and the high insolation of the zone cause a high level of plancton and microscopic seaweed that contaminates the water, reason why in autumn of the 2005 began a draining of this dam in the one of Susqueda to improve the quality of the drinking water, and the collection of fish before they die by lack of oxygen and gets worse still more the quality of the water. Rains of October 2005 temporarily interrupted the draining, that has become to reactivate at beginning of 2008.

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CASTELLANO

El embalse de Sau, en el término municipal de Vilanova de Sau, al pie del macizo de las Guilleries, perteneciente a la cuenca del río Ter, forma parte de un sistema de tres pantanos (junto a los de Susqueda y Pasteral) que une las comarcas de Osona y de la Selva, y que sirven para proveer de agua potable las ciudades de Barcelona y Girona.

La presa es del tipo de gravedad, con una altura de 84 m. y una longitud de coronación de 260 m., y su capacidad máxima es de 169 hm3. En su nivel máximo tiene una longitud de 17 km. y 3 km. de anchura, permitiendo por ello la práctica de deportes náuticos.

El pantano, construido entre 1949 y 1962, cubrió el pueblo de Sant Romà de Sau, los restos del cual, especialmente del campanario de la iglesia románica del siglo XI, son visibles cuando el nivel del agua embalsada es bajo e incluso en épocas de sequia prolongada el pueblo queda al descubierto y es posible visitarlo.

En el momento de las fotos el embalse está aproximadamente al 10% de su capacidad, su mínimo histórico, debido principalmente a la larga sequía que sufre esta parte de Catalunya desde hace años. La proliferación de peces no autóctonos introducidos por practicantes de pesca deportiva, el bajo nivel de agua y la alta insolación de la zona provocan un alto nivel de plancton y algas microscópicas que contaminan el agua, por lo que en otoño del 2005 se inició un vaciado de este embalse en el de Susqueda para mejorar la calidad del agua potable, y la recogida de peces antes de que mueran por falta de oxígeno y empeore aún más la calidad del agua. Las lluvias de octubre del 2005 interrumpieron temporalmente el vaciado, que se ha vuelto a reactivar a primeros del 2008.

Barra

Salvador

Bahia

Brasil

bighugelabs.com/dna.php

" A palmeira-imperial (Roystonea oleracea (Palmae) ou Oreodoxa oleracea), também chamada palmeira-real[2], é uma palmeira originária das Antilhas[3]. Pertence ao género botânico Roystonea da família Arecaceae. Foi aclimatada pelos franceses no jardim botânico La Gabrielle, instalado na Guiana Francesa e depois transferida para o Jardin de Pamplemousse, nas Ilhas Maurício[3].

No Brasil, o primeiro exemplar de Roystonea oleracea, a Palma Mater, foi plantada no Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro pelo príncipe regente dom João VI, em 1809 [4] [5]. Fora presenteada a dom João VI por um dos sobreviventes de uma fragata, o oficial da Armada Real Luís Vieira e Silva. Por um erro histórico, dizia-se que tinha sido trazida do Jardim Gabrielle, de onde vieram muitas plantas, principalmente durante as Guerras Napoleônicas. Porém o Jardim Gabrielle era nas Guianas e as primeiras plantas que chegaram ao Brasil, na verdade, vieram das Ilhas Maurício, do Jardim La Pamplemousse, obtidas clandestinamente por Luiz de Abreu Vieira e Silva, que as ofereceu a dom João VI. Quando foi plantada por dom João VI, a primeira Roystonea oleracea (Palmae) brasileira passou a ser conhecida como palmeira-imperial [6]. A Palma Mater floresceu pela primeira vez em 1829. Deste exemplar plantado em 1809, descendem todas as palmeiras-imperiais do Brasil, daí sua denominação de Palma Mater. A Palma Mater foi destruída por um raio em 1972.

Tinha, naquela época, 38,70 metros de altura. O tronco foi preservado e encontra-se em exposição no Museu Botânico. Em seu lugar, foi plantado outro exemplar, simbolicamente chamado de Palma Filia, oriunda de uma semente da palmeira original. Segundo Roseli Maria Martins d’ Elboux, mestre em história e fundamentos da arquitetura e do urbanismo, o plantio das palmeiras-imperiais se tornou comum no Rio de Janeiro em meados do século XIX, diante da "necessidade do fortalecimento simbólico do Segundo Império". Pode ser procedente a história segundo a qual as sementes da palmeira-imperial foram distribuídas aos súditos como sinal de proximidade ou lealdade ao poder central e tenham, assim, se tornado o "símbolo do Império". "Desse modo, depois de alguns anos, a espécie vincula-se definitivamente à imagem do poder monárquico, à ideia de nobreza, distinção e classe."

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« bigr »

China. I'm sure you can spot the number of ways this would fall foul by most Western laws. I like the way the Chinese just get on with things, with far less 'nannying'.

This was a crazy junction, tons of bikes and scooters buzzing around with no regard for the traffic lights. Amazing how there were no accidents. Organised confusion. <3

Love the way every square inch of the scooter has been used. Check out the bag storage.

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In other news, I'm recovering from a serious spine injury. Slowly.

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What to say about the making of this image ?

Mostly that it was done using some GND filters to balance sky and ground plus my Hoya ND 400 for the long exposure. As the highlights where not at the best place for regular GND filters i used two exposures (60 and 120 seconds) for the image.

And now some news from our Corsica farming experience :)

All the family is busy with taking care of the farm : feeding animals, cutting wood, cooking clementines jam, etc.

I've started to explore the river which runs in front of the house and i'm planning some hikes in the mountains all around. Some jumps to the 15 km far sea are also planned.

Last point : the only electricity we have here is locally produced by a turbine on a water pipe. It's OK for all the house needs plus for a laptop but a little weak for a serious computer with a serious screen so my time for processing files is counted ...

har-PUL-lee-a -- Latinized from the Bengali name harpuli (হাড়পুলি) ... Dave's Botanary • Bengal Plants

ar-BOR-ee-uh -- tree-like ... Dave's Botanary

commonly known as: black tulipwood, dolls eyes, tulipwood, tulip lancewood • Kannada: ಬಿಡಿಸಾಳೆ bidisale, ಬಿಡ್ಯಾಲೆ bidyaale • Konkani: हारपुळी harpuli • Malayalam: ചിറ്റിലമടക്ക് chittilamadakku, പുഴുക്കൊല്ലി puzhukkolli • Marathi: हारपुळी harpuli • Odia: ଫୁଟିକା phutika • Tamil: நெய்க்கொட்டை ney-k-kottai

botanical names: Harpullia arborea (Blanco) Radlk. ... homotypic synonyms: Ptelea arborea Blanco ... heterotypic synonyms: Harpullia imbricata (Blume) Thwaites ... and more at POWO, and Harpullia cupanoides Hiern. auct. non Roxb. ... Botanical Survey of India

distribution in India: eastern India, Deccan Plateau and in the Western Ghats (in evergreen forests up to 1350 m.) - Assam, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu ... Botanical Survey of India

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I was quite touched when this lady greeted me this way. I saw her and her husband along the roadside. They said they belonged to a good family and are well to do, yet her husband asked me for money. Not sure if they lied to me, but I did see sincerity and truth in her eyes.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warkari

Mijas, Málaga (Spain).

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ENGLISH

The Hermitage of the Calvario was built in 1710 and was used by the barefooted Carmelitas brothers for spiritual retirement. The shrine only opens on Easter Fridays, but its worth the walk just to see the spectacular view of the coast and Mediterranean sea.

More info: www.mijas-digital.es/mijas/extranet/verContenido?al_tpu_p...

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CASTELLANO

La Ermita del Calvario está situada por encima del pueblo, en la falda de la Sierra. Su blancura destaca entre el verde del denso pinar que la rodea y hasta ella se llega por un camino a través del cual discurre en Semana Santa un vía crucis. La cercanía al pueblo y la belleza del camino la convierte en punto frecuente de paseos a pie (el sendero se encuentra marcado con cruces de hierro), y además, desde la Ermita las panorámicas de Mijas y de la costa son inmejorables.

Se construyó en 1710 y antiguamente se utilizaba como retiro espiritual de los monjes Carmelitas del convento que hubo donde hoy se levanta la ermita de la Patrona, la Virgen de la Peña.

La Ermita se abre solamente los viernes de Cuaresma y el primer viernes de marzo, fiesta del Cristo de Medinaceli, pero merece la pena subir por la panorámica tan espectacular de la costa y del mediterráneo.

Fuente: www.mijas-digital.es/mijas/extranet/verContenido?al_tpu_p...

fim de tarde avermelhando as pedras...

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O Parque Pedra da Cebola possui exemplares de Mata de Restinga e de Mata Atlântica e vegetação rupestre nativa do local, que abrigam pequenos répteis e aves. Dotado de área superior a 100 mil metros quadrados, o parque também conta com jardim oriental e um mirante, com vista para a Praia de Camburi, parte do Maciço Central, o Porto de Tubarão e o Morro do Mestre Álvaro, localizado em Serra.

O parque foi implantado em novembro de 1997, num local onde, até 1978, existiu a Pedreira de Goiabeiras, de propriedade da Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD). Trata-se da primeira recuperação de área degradada por esse tipo de atividade econômica no município. No ambiente da antiga jazida, uma área plana serve para eventos de pequeno e médio porte e para a prática de atividades esportivas.

O nome do parque deriva de uma grande pedra esculpida pela natureza que repousa sobre outra rocha. Devido a seu comportamento geológico, a pedra se "descama" de maneira similar as palhas de uma cebola.

É um bom lugar para os pais levarem seus pequenos. Lá, existem uma fazendinha, parquinhos, lagos com tartarugas, um campo de futebol, além de um Centro de Educação Ambiental (CEA).

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For a long time, I never used my tripod. I got used to having just my camera with my nifty 50 and all was happy and nice. I was pumped up to use it for this photo series together with my Sigma 70-300mm Macro DG but when I arrived at the famous garden, I did not even bothered to set it up and just use my breathing technique to keep the camera steady. Hahaha! I just felt tired and annoyed to level the tripod head, adjust the legs, etc. It was too much work for me and I had no patience for that haha! So this is the reason why most of the photos in this series in not so sharp.