Roberta, Georgia (population 784)

Leica II, Elmar 50mm f/3.5 lens and 720nm filter. JCH Streetpan 400 film.

Portret of a tiger, taken in the zoo in Płock :)

 

The Siberian tiger is a tiger from a specific population of the Panthera tigris tigris subspecies native to the Russian Far East, Northeast China, and possibly North Korea. It's the largest of the subspecies of the Asian tiger, a predatory mammal of the felidae family. It lives in mountain coniferous and mixed forests, near rivers and streams. A mature male reaches a length of over 300 cm (including the tail) with a body weight of up to 300 kg. Females are smaller - they reach 260 cm in length and weigh from 100–167 kg. As a result of warfare in the areas occupied by the Siberian tiger, as well as hunting, its population decreased to about 20-30 individuals in the 1940s. In 1947, a total ban on hunting Siberian tigers was issued. In the 1990s, a number of measures were introduced as part of the plan to stabilize the Siberian tigers population. It is now recognized that the primary goal has been achieved and the number of Siberian tigers is beginning to increase. Despite this, the species is still threatened with extinction.

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

 

Portret tygrysa, spacerującego w płockim zoo :)

 

Tygrys syberyjski, tygrys amurski (Panthera tigris altaica) – największy z podgatunków tygrysa azjatyckiego, drapieżnego ssaka z rodziny kotowatych. Zamieszkuje Kraj Nadmorski i Kraj Chabarowski na wschodnich krańcach Rosji a część występuje na granicy rosyjsko-chińskiej, w dolnym biegu Amuru. Żyje w górskich gęstych lasach iglastych i mieszanych, w pobliżu rzek i potoków. Dojrzały samiec osiąga długość ponad 300 cm (razem z ogonem) przy masie ciała dochodzącej do 300 kg. Samice są mniejsze – osiągają do 260 cm długości i ważą od 100–167 kg. Na skutek działań wojennych na terenach zajmowanych przez tygrysa syberyjskiego, a także polowań, jego populacja zmniejszyła się do około 20-30 osobników w latach 40. XX wieku. W 1947 roku wydano całkowity zakaz polowań na tygrysy syberyjskie. W latach 90-tych wprowadzono szereg działań w ramach planu ustabilizowania syberyjskiej populacji. Obecnie uznaje się, że podstawowy cel został osiągnięty, a liczba tygrysów syberyjskich zaczyna wzrastać. Mimo tego wciąż gatunek ten znajduje się na granicy wymarcia.

  

Information from: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Cod

 

Cape Cod

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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This article is about the area of Massachusetts. For other uses, see Cape Cod (disambiguation).

For other uses, see Cod (disambiguation).

 

Coordinates: 41°41′20″N 70°17′49″W / 41.68889°N 70.29694°W / 41.68889; -70.29694

Map of Massachusetts, with Cape Cod (Barnstable County) indicated in red

Dunes on Sandy Neck are part of the Cape's barrier beach which helps to prevent erosion

 

Cape Cod, often referred to locally as simply the Cape, is an island and a cape in the easternmost portion of the state of Massachusetts, in the Northeastern United States. It is coextensive with Barnstable County. Several small islands right off Cape Cod, including Monomoy Island, Monomoscoy Island, Popponesset Island, and Seconsett Island, are also in Barnstable County, being part of municipalities with land on the Cape. The Cape's small-town character and large beachfront attract heavy tourism during the summer months.

 

Cape Cod was formed as the terminal moraine of a glacier, resulting in a peninsula in the Atlantic Ocean. In 1914, the Cape Cod Canal was cut through the base or isthmus of the peninsula, forming an island. The Cape Cod Commission refers to the resultant landmass as an island; as does the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in regards to disaster preparedness.[1] It is still identified as a peninsula by geographers, who do not change landform designations based on man-made canal construction.[citation needed]

 

Unofficially, it is one of the biggest barrier islands in the world, shielding much of the Massachusetts coastline from North Atlantic storm waves. This protection helps to erode the Cape shoreline at the expense of cliffs, while protecting towns from Fairhaven to Marshfield.

 

Road vehicles from the mainland cross over the Cape Cod Canal via the Sagamore Bridge and the Bourne Bridge. The two bridges are parallel, with the Bourne Bridge located slightly farther southwest. In addition, the Cape Cod Canal Railroad Bridge carries railway freight as well as tourist passenger services.

Contents

[hide]

 

* 1 Geography and political divisions

o 1.1 "Upper" and "Lower"

* 2 Geology

* 3 Climate

* 4 Native population

* 5 History

* 6 Lighthouses of Cape Cod

* 7 Transportation

o 7.1 Bus

o 7.2 Rail

o 7.3 Taxi

* 8 Tourism

* 9 Sport fishing

* 10 Sports

* 11 Education

* 12 Islands off Cape Cod

* 13 See also

* 14 References

o 14.1 Notes

o 14.2 Sources

o 14.3 Further reading

* 15 External links

 

[edit] Geography and political divisions

Towns of Barnstable County

historical map of 1890

 

The highest elevation on Cape Cod is 306 feet (93 m), at the top of Pine Hill, in the Bourne portion of the Massachusetts Military Reservation. The lowest point is sea level.

 

The body of water located between Cape Cod and the mainland, bordered to the north by Massachusetts Bay, is Cape Cod Bay; west of Cape Cod is Buzzards Bay. The Cape Cod Canal, completed in 1916, connects Buzzards Bay to Cape Cod Bay; it shortened the trade route between New York and Boston by 62 miles.[2] To the south of Cape Cod lie Nantucket Sound; Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard, both large islands, and the mostly privately owned Elizabeth Islands.

 

Cape Cod incorporates all of Barnstable County, which comprises 15 towns: Bourne, Sandwich, Falmouth, and Mashpee, Barnstable, Yarmouth, Dennis, Harwich, Brewster, Chatham, Orleans, Eastham, Wellfleet, Truro, and Provincetown. Two of the county's fifteen towns (Bourne and Sandwich) include land on the mainland side of the Cape Cod Canal. The towns of Plymouth and Wareham, in adjacent Plymouth County, are sometimes considered to be part of Cape Cod but are not located on the island.

 

In the 17th century the designation Cape Cod applied only to the tip of the peninsula, essentially present-day Provincetown. Over the ensuing decades, the name came to mean all the land east of the Manomet and Scussett rivers - essentially the line of the 20th century Cape Cod Canal. Now, the complete towns of Bourne and Sandwich are widely considered to incorporate the full perimeter of Cape Cod, even though small parts of these towns are located on the west side of the canal. The canal divides the largest part of the peninsula from the mainland and the resultant landmass is sometimes referred to as an island.[3][4] Additionally some "Cape Codders" – residents of "The Cape" – refer to all land on the mainland side of the canal as "off-Cape."

 

For most of the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, Cape Cod was considered to consist of three sections:

 

* The Upper Cape is the part of Cape Cod closest to the mainland, comprising the towns of Bourne, Sandwich, Falmouth, and Mashpee. Falmouth is the home of the famous Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and several other research organizations, and is also the most-used ferry connection to Martha's Vineyard. Falmouth is composed of several separate villages, including East Falmouth, Falmouth Village, Hatchville, North Falmouth, Teaticket, Waquoit, West Falmouth, and Woods Hole, as well as several smaller hamlets that are incorporated into their larger neighbors (e.g., Davisville, Falmouth Heights, Quissett, Sippewissett, and others).[5]

 

* The Mid-Cape includes the towns of Barnstable, Yarmouth and Dennis. The Mid-Cape area features many beautiful beaches, including warm-water beaches along Nantucket Sound, e.g., Kalmus Beach in Hyannis, which gets its name from one of the inventors of Technicolor, Herbert Kalmus. This popular windsurfing destination was bequeathed to the town of Barnstable by Dr. Kalmus on condition that it not be developed, possibly one of the first instances of open-space preservation in the US. The Mid-Cape is also the commercial and industrial center of the region. There are seven villages in Barnstable, including Barnstable Village, Centerville, Cotuit, Hyannis, Marstons Mills, Osterville, and West Barnstable, as well as several smaller hamlets that are incorporated into their larger neighbors (e.g., Craigville, Cummaquid, Hyannisport, Santuit, Wianno, and others).[6] There are three villages in Yarmouth: South Yarmouth, West Yarmouth and Yarmouthport. There are five villages in Dennis including, Dennis Village(North Dennis), East Dennis, West Dennis, South Dennis and Dennisport.[7]

 

* The Lower Cape traditionally included all of the rest of the Cape,or the towns of Harwich, Brewster, Chatham, Orleans, Eastham, Wellfleet, Truro, and Provincetown. This area includes the Cape Cod National Seashore, a national park comprising much of the outer Cape, including the entire east-facing coast, and is home to some of the most popular beaches in America, such as Coast Guard Beach and Nauset Light Beach in Eastham. Stephen Leatherman, aka "Dr. Beach", named Coast Guard Beach the 5th best beach in America for 2007.[8]

 

[edit] "Upper" and "Lower"

 

The terms "Upper" and "Lower" as applied to the Cape have nothing to do with north and south. Instead, they derive from maritime convention at the time when the principal means of transportation involved watercraft, and the prevailing westerly winds meant that a boat with sails traveling northeast in Cape Cod Bay would have the wind at its back and thus be going downwind, while a craft sailing southwest would be going against the wind, or upwind.[9] Similarly, on nearby Martha's Vineyard, "Up Island" still is the western section and "Down Island" is to the east, and in Maine, "Down East" is similarly defined by the winds and currents.

 

Over time, the reasons for the traditional nomenclature became unfamiliar and their meaning obscure. Late in the 1900s, new arrivals began calling towns from Eastham to Provincetown the "Outer Cape", yet another geographic descriptor which is still in use, as is the "Inner Cape."

[edit] Geology

Cape Cod and Cape Cod Bay from space.[10]

 

East of America, there stands in the open Atlantic the last fragment of an ancient and vanished land. Worn by the breakers and the rains, and disintegrated by the wind, it still stands bold.

“

”

Henry Beston, The Outermost House

 

Cape Cod forms a continuous archipelagic region with a thin line of islands stretching toward New York, historically known by naturalists as the Outer Lands. This continuity is due to the fact that the islands and Cape are all terminal glacial moraines laid down some 16,000 to 20,000 years ago.

 

Most of Cape Cod's geological history involves the advance and retreat of the Laurentide ice sheet in the late Pleistocene geological era and the subsequent changes in sea level. Using radiocarbon dating techniques, researchers have determined that around 23,000 years ago, the ice sheet reached its maximum southward advance over North America, and then started to retreat. Many "kettle ponds" — clear, cold lakes — were formed and remain on Cape Cod as a result of the receding glacier. By about 18,000 years ago, the ice sheet had retreated past Cape Cod. By roughly 15,000 years ago, it had retreated past southern New England. When so much of Earth's water was locked up in massive ice sheets, the sea level was lower. Truro's bayside beaches used to be a petrified forest, before it became a beach.

 

As the ice began to melt, the sea began to rise. Initially, sea level rose quickly, about 15 meters (50 ft) per 1,000 years, but then the rate declined. On Cape Cod, sea level rose roughly 3 meters (11 ft) per millennium between 6,000 and 2,000 years ago. After that, it continued to rise at about 1 meter (3 ft) per millennium. By 6,000 years ago, the sea level was high enough to start eroding the glacial deposits that the vanished continental ice sheet had left on Cape Cod. The water transported the eroded deposits north and south along the outer Cape's shoreline. Those reworked sediments that moved north went to the tip of Cape Cod.

 

Provincetown Spit, at the northern end of the Cape, consists largely of marine deposits, transported from farther up the shore. Sediments that moved south created the islands and shoals of Monomoy. So while other parts of the Cape have dwindled from the action of the waves, these parts of the Cape have grown.

Cape Cod National Seashore

 

This process continues today. Due to their position jutting out into the Atlantic Ocean, the Cape and islands are subject to massive coastal erosion. Geologists say that, due to erosion, the Cape will be completely submerged by the sea in thousands of years.[11] This erosion causes the washout of beaches and the destruction of the barrier islands; for example, the ocean broke through the barrier island at Chatham during Hurricane Bob in 1991, allowing waves and storm surges to hit the coast with no obstruction. Consequently, the sediment and sand from the beaches is being washed away and deposited elsewhere. While this destroys land in some places, it creates land elsewhere, most noticeably in marshes where sediment is deposited by waters running through them.

[edit] Climate

 

Although Cape Cod's weather[12] is typically more moderate than inland locations, there have been occasions where Cape Cod has dealt with the brunt of extreme weather situations (such as the Blizzard of 1954 and Hurricane of 1938). Because of the influence of the Atlantic Ocean, temperatures are typically a few degrees cooler in the summer and a few degrees warmer in the winter. A common misconception is that the climate is influenced largely by the warm Gulf Stream current, however that current turns eastward off the coast of Virginia and the waters off the Cape are more influenced by the cold Canadian Labrador Current. As a result, the ocean temperature rarely gets above 65 °F (18 °C), except along the shallow west coast of the Upper Cape.

 

The Cape's climate is also notorious for a delayed spring season, being surrounded by an ocean which is still cold from the winter; however, it is also known for an exceptionally mild fall season (Indian summer), thanks to the ocean remaining warm from the summer. The highest temperature ever recorded on Cape Cod was 104 °F (40 °C) in Provincetown[13], and the lowest temperature ever was −12 °F (−24.4 °C) in Barnstable.[14]

 

The water surrounding Cape Cod moderates winter temperatures enough to extend the USDA hardiness zone 7a to its northernmost limit in eastern North America.[15] Even though zone 7a (annual low = 0–5 degrees Fahrenheit) signifies no sub-zero temperatures annually, there have been several instances of temperatures reaching a few degrees below zero across the Cape (although it is rare, usually 1–5 times a year, typically depending on locale, sometimes not at all). Consequently, many plant species typically found in more southerly latitudes grow there, including Camellias, Ilex opaca, Magnolia grandiflora and Albizia julibrissin.

 

Precipitation on Cape Cod and the islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket is the lowest in the New England region, averaging slightly less than 40 inches (1,000 mm) a year (most parts of New England average 42–46 inches). This is due to storm systems which move across western areas, building up in mountainous regions, and dissipating before reaching the coast where the land has leveled out. The region does not experience a greater number of sunny days however, as the number of cloudy days is the same as inland locales, in addition to increased fog. Snowfall is annual, but a lot less common than the rest of Massachusetts. On average, 30 inches of snow, which is a foot less than Boston, falls in an average winter. Snow is usually light, and comes in squalls on cold days. Storms that bring blizzard conditions and snow emergencies to the mainland, bring devastating ice storms or just heavy rains more frequently than large snow storms.

[hide]Climate data for Cape Cod

Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year

Average high °C (°F) 2.06

(35.7) 2.5

(36.5) 6.22

(43.2) 11.72

(53.1) 16.94

(62.5) 23.5

(74.3) 26.39

(79.5) 26.67

(80.0) 25.06

(77.1) 18.39

(65.1) 12.56

(54.6) 5.44

(41.8) 26.67

(80.0)

Average low °C (°F) -5.33

(22.4) -5

(23.0) -1.33

(29.6) 2.72

(36.9) 8.72

(47.7) 14.61

(58.3) 19.22

(66.6) 20.28

(68.5) 15.56

(60.0) 9.94

(49.9) 3.94

(39.1) -2.22

(28.0) -5.33

(22.4)

Precipitation mm (inches) 98

(3.86) 75.4

(2.97) 95

(3.74) 92.5

(3.64) 83.6

(3.29) 76.7

(3.02) 62.2

(2.45) 65

(2.56) 74.7

(2.94) 84.8

(3.34) 90.7

(3.57) 92.7

(3.65) 990.9

(39.01)

Source: World Meteorological Organisation (United Nations) [16]

[edit] Native population

 

Cape Cod has been the home of the Wampanoag tribe of Native American people for many centuries. They survived off the sea and were accomplished farmers. They understood the principles of sustainable forest management, and were known to light controlled fires to keep the underbrush in check. They helped the Pilgrims, who arrived in the fall of 1620, survive at their new Plymouth Colony. At the time, the dominant group was the Kakopee, known for their abilities at fishing. They were the first Native Americans to use large casting nets. Early colonial settlers recorded that the Kakopee numbered nearly 7,000.

 

Shortly after the Pilgrims arrived, the chief of the Kakopee, Mogauhok, attempted to make a treaty limiting colonial settlements. The effort failed after he succumbed to smallpox in 1625. Infectious diseases such as smallpox, measles and influenza caused the deaths of many other Kakopee and Wampanoag. They had no natural immunity to Eurasian diseases by then endemic among the English and other Europeans. Today, the only reminder of the Kakopee is a small public recreation area in Barnstable named for them. A historic marker notes the burial site of Mogauhok near Truro, although the location is conjecture.

 

While contractors were digging test wells in the eastern Massachusetts Military Reservation area, they discovered an archeological find.[citation needed] Excavation revealed the remains of a Kakopee village in Forestdale, a location in Sandwich. Researchers found a totem with a painted image of Mogauhok, portrayed in his chief's cape and brooch. The totem was discovered on property on Grand Oak Road. It is the first evidence other than colonial accounts of his role as an important Kakopee leader.

 

The Indians lost their lands through continued purchase and expropriation by the English colonists. The documentary Natives of the Narrowland (1993), narrated by actress Julie Harris, shows the history of the Wampanoag people through Cape Cod archaeological sites.

 

In 1974, the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council was formed to articulate the concerns of those with Native American ancestry. They petitioned the federal government in 1975 and again in 1990 for official recognition of the Mashpee Wampanoag as a tribe. In May 2007, the Wampanoag tribe was finally federally recognized as a tribe.[17]

[edit] History

Cranberry picking in 1906

 

Cape Cod was a landmark for early explorers. It may have been the "Promontory of Vinland" mentioned by the Norse voyagers (985-1025). Giovanni da Verrazzano in 1524 approached it from the south. He named Martha's Vineyard Claudia, after the mother of the King of France.[18] The next year the explorer Esteban Gómez called it Cape St. James.

 

In 1602 Bartholomew Gosnold named it Cape Cod, the surviving term and the ninth oldest English place-name in the U.S.[19] Samuel de Champlain charted its sand-silted harbors in 1606 and Henry Hudson landed there in 1609. Captain John Smith noted it on his map of 1614 and at last the Pilgrims entered the "Cape Harbor" and – contrary to the popular myth of Plymouth Rock – made their first landing near present-day Provincetown on November 11, 1620. Nearby, in what is now Eastham, they had their first encounter with Native Americans.

 

Cape Cod was among the first places settled by the English in North America. Aside from Barnstable (1639), Sandwich (1637) and Yarmouth (1639), the Cape's fifteen towns developed slowly. The final town to be established on the Cape was Bourne in 1884.[20] Provincetown was a group of huts until the 18th century. A channel from Massachusetts Bay to Buzzards Bay is shown on Southack's map of 1717. The present Cape Cod Canal was slowly developed from 1870 to 1914. The Federal government purchased it in 1928.

 

Thanks to early colonial settlement and intensive land use, by the time Henry Thoreau saw Cape Cod during his four visits over 1849 to 1857[21], its vegetation was depauperate and trees were scarce. As the settlers heated by fires, and it took 10 to 20 cords (40 to 80 m³) of wood to heat a home, they cleared most of Cape Cod of timber early on. They planted familiar crops, but these were unsuited to Cape Cod's thin, glacially derived soils. For instance, much of Eastham was planted to wheat. The settlers practiced burning of woodlands to release nutrients into the soil. Improper and intensive farming led to erosion and the loss of topsoil. Farmers grazed their cattle on the grassy dunes of coastal Massachusetts, only to watch "in horror as the denuded sands `walked' over richer lands, burying cultivated fields and fences." Dunes on the outer Cape became more common and many harbors filled in with eroded soils.[22]

 

By 1800, most of Cape Cod's firewood had to be transported by boat from Maine. The paucity of vegetation was worsened by the raising of merino sheep that reached its peak in New England around 1840. The early industrial revolution, which occurred through much of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, mostly bypassed Cape Cod due to a lack of significant water power in the area. As a result, and also because of its geographic position, the Cape developed as a large fishing and whaling center. After 1860 and the opening of the American West, farmers abandoned agriculture on the Cape. By 1950 forests had recovered to an extent not seen since the 18th century.

 

Cape Cod became a summer haven for city dwellers beginning at the end of the 19th century. Improved rail transportation made the towns of the Upper Cape, such as Bourne and Falmouth, accessible to Bostonians. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the Northeastern mercantile elite built many large, shingled "cottages" along Buzzards Bay. The relaxed summer environment offered by Cape Cod was highlighted by writers including Joseph C. Lincoln, who published novels and countless short stories about Cape Cod folks in popular magazines such as the Saturday Evening Post and the Delineator.

 

Guglielmo Marconi made the first transatlantic wireless transmission originating in the United States from Cape Cod, at Wellfleet. The beach from which he transmitted has since been called Marconi Beach. In 1914 he opened the maritime wireless station WCC in Chatham. It supported the communications of Amelia Earhart, Howard Hughes, Admiral Byrd, and the Hindenburg. Marconi chose Chatham due to its vantage point on the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded on three sides by water. Walter Cronkite narrated a 17-minute documentary in 2005 about the history of the Chatham Station.

 

Much of the East-facing Atlantic seacoast of Cape Cod consists of wide, sandy beaches. In 1961, a significant portion of this coastline, already slated for housing subdivisions, was made a part of the Cape Cod National Seashore by President John F. Kennedy. It was protected from private development and preserved for public use. Large portions are open to the public, including the Marconi Site in Wellfleet. This is a park encompassing the site of the first two-way transoceanic radio transmission from the United States. (Theodore Roosevelt used Marconi's equipment for this transmission).

 

The Kennedy Compound in Hyannisport was President Kennedy's summer White House during his presidency. The Kennedy family continues to maintain residences on the compound. Other notable residents of Cape Cod have included actress Julie Harris, US Supreme Court justice Louis Brandeis, figure skater Todd Eldredge, and novelists Norman Mailer and Kurt Vonnegut. Influential natives included the patriot James Otis, historian and writer Mercy Otis Warren, jurist Lemuel Shaw, and naval officer John Percival.

[edit] Lighthouses of Cape Cod

Race Point Lighthouse in Provincetown (1876)

 

Lighthouses, from ancient times, have fascinated members of the human race. There is something about a lighted beacon that suggests hope and trust and appeals to the better instincts of mankind.

“

”

Edward Rowe Snow

 

Due to its dangerous constantly moving shoals, Cape Cod's shores have featured beacons which warn ships of the danger since very early in its history. There are numerous working lighthouses on Cape Cod and the Islands, including Highland Light, Nauset Light, Chatham Light, Race Point Light, and Nobska Light, mostly operated by the U.S. Coast Guard. The exception is Nauset Light, which was decommissioned in 1996 and is now maintained by the Nauset Light Preservation Society under the auspices of Cape Cod National Seashore. These lighthouses are frequently photographed symbols of Cape Cod.

 

Others include:

 

Upper Cape: Wings Neck

 

Mid Cape: Sandy Neck, South Hyannis, Lewis Bay, Bishop and Clerks, Bass River

 

Lower Cape: Wood End, Long Point, Monomoy, Stage Harbor, Pamet, Mayo Beach, Billingsgate, Three Sisters, Nauset, Highland

[edit] Transportation

 

Cape Cod is connected to the mainland by a pair of canal-spanning highway bridges from Bourne and Sagamore that were constructed in the 1930s, and a vertical-lift railroad bridge. The limited number of access points to the peninsula can result in large traffic backups during the tourist season.

 

The entire Cape is roughly bisected lengthwise by U.S. Route 6, locally known as the Mid-Cape Highway and officially as the Grand Army of the Republic Highway.

 

Commercial air service to Cape Cod operates out of Barnstable Municipal Airport and Provincetown Municipal Airport. Several bus lines service the Cape. There are ferry connections from Boston to Provincetown, as well as from Hyannis and Woods Hole to the islands.

 

Cape Cod has a public transportation network comprising buses operated by three different companies, a rail line, taxis and paratransit services.

The Bourne Bridge over the Cape Cod Canal, with the Cape Cod Canal Railroad Bridge in the background

[edit] Bus

 

Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority operates a year-round public bus system comprising three long distance routes and a local bus in Hyannis and Barnstable Village. From mid June until October, additional local routes are added in Falmouth and Provincetown. CCRTA also operates Barnstable County's ADA required paratransit (dial-a-ride) service, under the name "B-Bus."

 

Long distance bus service is available through Plymouth and Brockton Street Railway, with regular service to Boston and Logan Airport, as well as less frequent service to Provincetown. Peter Pan Bus Lines also runs long distance service to Providence T.F. Green Airport and New York City.

[edit] Rail

 

Regular passenger rail service through Cape Cod ended in 1959, quite possibly on June 30 of that year. In 1978, the tracks east of South Dennis were abandoned and replaced with the very popular bicycle path, known as the Cape Cod Rail Trail. Another bike path, the Shining Sea Bikeway, was built over tracks between Woods Hole and Falmouth in 1975; construction to extend this path to North Falmouth over 6.3 miles (10.1 km) of inactive rail bed began in April 2008[23] and ended in early 2009. Active freight service remains in the Upper Cape area in Sandwich and in Bourne, largely due to a trash transfer station located at Massachusetts Military Reservation along the Bourne-Falmouth rail line. In 1986, Amtrak ran a seasonal service in the summer from New York City to Hyannis called the Cape Codder. From 1988, Amtrak and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation increased service to a daily frequency.[24] Since its demise in 1996, there have been periodic discussions about reinstating passenger rail service from Boston to reduce car traffic to and from the Cape, with officials in Bourne seeking to re-extend MBTA Commuter Rail service from Middleboro to Buzzards Bay[25], despite a reluctant Beacon Hill legislature.

 

Cape Cod Central Railroad operates passenger train service on Cape Cod. The service is primarily tourist oriented and includes a dinner train. The scenic route between Downtown Hyannis and the Cape Cod Canal is about 2½ hours round trip. Massachusetts Coastal Railroad is also planning to return passenger railroad services eventually to the Bourne-Falmouth rail line in the future. An August 5, 2009 article on the New England Cable News channel, entitled South Coast rail project a priority for Mass. lawmakers, mentions a $1.4-billion railroad reconstruction plan by Governor Deval Patrick, and could mean rebuilding of old rail lines on the Cape. On November 21, 2009, the town of Falmouth saw its first passenger train in 12 years, a set of dinner train cars from Cape Cod Central. And a trip from the Mass Bay Railroad Enthusiasts on May 15, 2010 revealed a second trip along the Falmouth line.

[edit] Taxi

 

Taxicabs are plentiful, with several different companies operating out of different parts of the Cape. Except at the airport and some bus terminals with taxi stands, cabs must be booked ahead of time, with most operators preferring two to three hours notice. Cabs cannot be "hailed" anywhere in Barnstable County, this was outlawed in the early nineties after several robbery attempts on drivers.

 

Most companies utilize a New York City-style taximeter and charge based on distance plus an initial fee of $2 to $3. In Provincetown, cabs charge a flat fare per person anywhere in the town.

[edit] Tourism

Hyannis Harbor on Nantucket Sound

 

Although Cape Cod has a year-round population of about 230,000, it experiences a tourist season each summer, the beginning and end of which can be roughly approximated as Memorial Day and Labor Day, respectively. Many businesses are specifically targeted to summer visitors, and close during the eight to nine months of the "off season" (although the "on season" has been expanding somewhat in recent years due to Indian Summer, reduced lodging rates, and the number of people visiting the Cape after Labor Day who either have no school-age children, and the elderly, reducing the true "off season" to six or seven months). In the late 20th century, tourists and owners of second homes began visiting the Cape more and more in the spring and fall, softening the definition of the high season and expanding it somewhat (see above). Some particularly well-known Cape products and industries include cranberries, shellfish (particularly oysters and clams) and lobstering.

 

Provincetown, at the tip of Cape Cod, also berths several whale watching fleets who patrol the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. Most fleets guarantee a whale sighting (mostly humpback whale, fin whale, minke whale, sei whale, and critically endangered, the North Atlantic Right Whale), and one is the only federally certified operation qualified to rescue whales. Provincetown has also long been known as an art colony, attracting writers and artists. The town is home to the Cape's most attended art museum, the Provincetown Art Association and Museum. Many hotels and resorts are friendly to or cater to gay and lesbian tourists and it is known as a gay mecca in the summer.[26]

 

Cape Cod is a popular destination for beachgoers from all over. With 559.6 miles (900.6 km) of coastline, beaches, both public and private, are easily accessible. The Cape has upwards of sixty public beaches, many of which offer parking for non-residents for a daily fee (in summer). The Cape Cod National Seashore has 40 miles (64 km) of sandy beach and many walking paths.

 

Cape Cod is also popular for its outdoor activities like beach walking, biking, boating, fishing, go-karts, golfing, kayaking, miniature golf, and unique shopping. There are 27 public, daily-fee golf courses and 15 private courses on Cape Cod.[27] Bed and breakfasts or vacation houses are often used for lodging.

 

Each summer the Naukabout Music Festival is held at the Barnstable County Fair Grounds located in East Falmouth,(typically) during the first weekend of August. This Music festival features local, regional and national talent along with food, arts and family friendly activities.

[edit] Sport fishing

 

Cape Cod is known around the world as a spring-to-fall destination for sport anglers. Among the species most widely pursued are striped bass, bluefish, bluefin tuna, false albacore (little tunny), bonito, tautog, flounder and fluke. The Cape Cod Bay side of the Cape, from Sandwich to Provincetown, has several harbors, saltwater creeks, and shoals that hold bait fish and attract the larger game fish, such as striped bass, bluefish and bluefin tuna.

 

The outer edge of the Cape, from Provincetown to Falmouth, faces the open Atlantic from Provincetown to Chatham, and then the more protected water of Nantucket and Vineyard Sounds, from Chatham to Falmouth. The bays, harbors and shoals along this coastline also provide a robust habitat for game species, and during the late summer months warm-water species such as mahi-mahi and marlin will also appear on the southern edge of Cape Cod's waters. Nearly every harbor on Cape Cod hosts sport fishing charter boats, which run from May through October.[28]

[edit] Sports

 

The Cape has nine amateur baseball franchises playing within Barnstable County in the Cape Cod Baseball League. The Wareham Gatemen also play in the Cape Cod Baseball League in nearby Wareham, Massachusetts in Plymouth County. The league originated 1923, although intertown competition traces to 1866. Teams in the league are the Bourne Braves, Brewster Whitecaps, Chatham Anglers (formerly the Chatham Athletics), Cotuit Kettleers, Falmouth Commodores, Harwich Mariners, Hyannis Harbor Hawks (formerly the Hyannis Mets), Orleans Firebirds (formerly the Orleans Cardinals), Wareham Gatemen and the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox. Pro ball scouts frequent the games in the summer, looking for stars of the future.

 

Cape Cod is also a national hot bed for baseball and hockey. Along with the Cape Cod Baseball League and the new Junior Hockey League team, the Cape Cod Cubs, many high school players are being seriously recruited as well. Barnstable and Harwich have each sent multiple players to Division 1 colleges for baseball, Harwich has also won three State titles in the past 12 years (1996, 2006, 2007). Bourne and Sandwich, known rivals in hockey have won state championships recently. Bourne in 2004, and Sandwich in 2007. Nauset, Barnstable, and Martha's Vineyard are also state hockey powerhouses. Barnstable and Falmouth also hold the title of having one of the longest Thanksgiving football rivalries in the country. The teams have played each other every year on the Thanksgiving since 1895. The Bourne and Barnstable girl's volleyball teams are two of the best teams in the state and Barnstable in the country. With Bourne winning the State title in 2003 and 2007. In the past 15 years, Barnstable has won 12 Division 1 State titles and has won the state title the past two years.

 

The Cape also is home to the Cape Cod Frenzy, a team in the American Basketball Association.

 

Soccer on Cape Cod is represented by the Cape Cod Crusaders, playing in the USL Premier Development League (PDL) soccer based in Hyannis. In addition, a summer Cape Cod Adult Soccer League (CCASL) is active in several towns on the Cape.

 

Cape Cod is also the home of the Cape Cod Cubs, a new junior league hockey team that is based out of Hyannis at the new communtiy center being built of Bearses Way.

 

The end of each summer is marked with the running of the world famous Falmouth Road Race which is held on the 3rd Saturday in August. It draws about 10,000 runners to the Cape and showcases the finest runners in the world (mainly for the large purse that the race is able to offer). The race is 7.2 miles (11.6 km) long, which is a non-standard distance. The reason for the unusual distance is that the man who thought the race up (Tommy Leonard) was a bartender who wanted a race along the coast from one bar (The Cap'n Kidd in Woods Hole) to another (The Brothers Four in Falmouth Heights). While the bar in Falmouth Heights is no longer there, the race still starts at the front door of the Cap'n Kidd in Woods Hole and now finishes at the beach in Falmouth Heights. Prior to the Falmouth race is an annual 5-mile (8.0 km) race through Brewster called the Brew Run, held early in August.

[edit] Education

 

Each town usually consists of a few elementary schools, one or two middle schools and one large public high school that services the entire town. Exceptions to this include Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School located in Yarmouth which services both the town of Yarmouth as well as Dennis and Nauset Regional High School located in Eastham which services the town of Brewster, Orleans, Eastham, Wellfleet, Truro, and Provincetown (optional). Bourne High School is the public school for students residing in the town of Bourne, which is gathered from villages in Bourne, including Sagamore, Sagamore Beach, and Buzzards Bay. Barnstable High School is the largest high school and is known for its girls' volleyball team which have been state champions a total of 12 times. Barnstable High School also boasts one of the country's best high school drama clubs which were awarded with a contract by Warner Brothers to created a documentary in webisode format based on their production of Wizard of Oz. Sturgis Charter Public School is a public school in Hyannis which was featured in Newsweek's Magazine's "Best High Schools" ranking. It ranked 28th in the country and 1st in the state of Massachusetts in the 2009 edition and ranked 43rd and 55th in the 2008 and 2007 edition, respectively. Sturgis offers the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme in their junior and senior year and is open to students as far as Plymouth. The Cape also contains two vocational high schools. One is the Cape Cod Regional Technical High School in Harwich and the other is Upper Cape Cod Regional Technical High School located in Bourne. Lastly, Mashpee High School is home to the Mashpee Chapter of (SMPTE,) the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers. This chapter is the first and only high school chapter in the world to be a part of this organization and has received much recognition within the Los Angeles broadcasting industry as a result. The officers of this group who have made history are listed below:

 

* President: Ryan D. Stanley '11

* Vice-President Kenneth J. Peters '13

* Treasurer Eric N. Bergquist '11

* Secretary Andrew L. Medlar '11

 

In addition to public schools, Cape Cod has a wide range of private schools. The town of Barnstable has Trinity Christian Academy, Cape Cod Academy, St. Francis Xavier Preparatory School, and Pope John Paul II High School. Bourne offers the Waldorf School of Cape Cod, Orleans offers the Lighthouse Charter School for elementary and middle school students, and Falmouth offers Falmouth Academy. Riverview School is located in East Sandwich and is a special co-ed boarding school which services students as old as 22 who have learning disabilities. Another specialized school is the Penikese Island School located on Penikese Island, part of the Elizabeth Islands off southwestern Cape Cod, which services struggling and troubled teenage boys.

 

Cape Cod also contains two institutions of higher education. One is the Cape Cod Community College located in West Barnstable, Barnstable. The other is Massachusetts Maritime Academy in Buzzards Bay, Bourne. Massachusetts Maritime Academy is the oldest continuously operating maritime college in the United States.

[edit] Islands off Cape Cod

 

Like Cape Cod itself, the islands south of the Cape have evolved from whaling and trading areas to resort destinations, attracting wealthy families, celebrities, and other tourists. The islands include Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard, as well as Forbes family-owned Naushon Island, which was purchased by John Murray Forbes with profits from opium dealing in the China trade during the Opium War. Naushon is one of the Elizabeth Islands, many of which are privately owned. One of the publicly accessible Elizabeths is the southernmost island in the chain, Cuttyhunk, with a year-round population of 52 people. Several prominent families have established compounds or estates on the larger islands, making these islands some of the wealthiest resorts in the Northeast, yet they retain much of the early merchant trading and whaling culture.

my home...

cedar rapids, iowa

population: 125,000

motto: The City of Five Seasons; the traditional four seasons and a fifth season is the time to enjoy the other four....

unique fact: city hall and the county courthouse are located on Mays Island, an island on the Cedar River. Cedar Rapids is one of only two mainland cities to have their governmental offices on an island (the other being Paris, France).

 

despite the weather i have always thought of cedar rapids as a great place to live and the best place to raise kids. we have high educational standards, low crime, great midwestern kindness, good cost of living, job opportunity, chicago, minneapolis and kansas city are a 4 hour drive....really the only downfall being the yucky weather we have to tolerate.

 

and it is a great place to live but this past year has been a huge wake up call for me. i have become more aware for the first time in my life....probably because i have led a somewhat 'sheltered' life. i am so blessed to have wonderful parents who are still married after 30+ years, a great home, everything i always wanted (or at least more than i ever needed), a great college education, i now own my second home at age 29, i own my own business, i'm married, i have two awesome kids, i've been very very very lucky my entire life and i think this has made me unaware of the severity of problems in my own community. i was never exposed to foster kids, homelessness, child abuse, adoption, not on a personal or 'real' level ever, divorce was probably the worst thing my friends had gone through. i've always been aware of others, i have a huge heart and i've always volunteered, helping at nursing homes, delivering food for hacap, assisting at a homeless or woman's shelter for a few days.....but i really did not understand the severity of issues we have right here in our own community.

 

we always joke about our 'top news stories' and how lucky we are that our biggest problem is people not loading their 'yardies' correctly or that we have a winter storm coming, it's funny but we're lucky, our news isn't filled with mass murders every day, we don't have a lot of crime. well tonight's top news story was 'homeless students'...we have homeless students? a lot of them? yes! we have 710 homeless students in the cedar rapids community school district. what!?!?!?! seven are at my children's elementary school, what!?!?!? some of the schools in our district have as many as 90 children that are homeless. i am shocked, i am sad, i feel so helpless, i feel ignorant....

 

the sad thing is many (most) of us are only a paycheck away from homelessness, how quickly could we be one of these 'statistics' and we're not even aware of how many people are homeless, or atleast i'm not aware...why do we have so many people living on the streets in a community the size of cedar rapids...what can be done to fix this...no child should have to go 'home' to the streets to sleep in the snow after staying at the public library until close or anywhere else they could find indoors to stay after school. we've had 60" of snow this year, temps of -30 degrees and we have children sleeping out there?!

 

i don't have an answer, i don't have a solution, i'm dumbfounded and i really feel sick to my stomach, i don't find this acceptable, i don't think its okay, i don't want people to forget about this tomorrow.......i know there are so many problems, so many issues and i can't help every single one but they break my heart....i recently decided to put my passion and energy into families helping families of iowa which is so wonderful and helps foster children (many of the homeless children include children waiting to find foster care) so it does directly relate to this but it doesn't seem like enough. how do we balance helping our own children, providing for them and making sure there aren't other children sleeping in the snow tonight?!

 

i am shocked, stunned and hopefully can work through to a positive approach to this in the near future....

 

{photographs are not mine, arial views are the Gazette & tree is a stock image from a local photography company}

"An American Bald Eagle at sunrise along the Jersey Shore."

 

American Bald Eagle

 

The American Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla). Its range includes most of Canada and Alaska, all of the contiguous United States, and northern Mexico. It is found near large bodies of open water with an abundant food supply and old-growth trees for nesting.

 

The Bald Eagle is an opportunistic feeder which subsists mainly on fish, which it swoops down and snatches from the water with its talons. It builds the largest nest of any North American bird and the largest tree nests ever recorded for any animal species, up to 4 m (13 ft) deep, 2.5 m (8.2 ft) wide, and 1 metric ton (1.1 short tons) in weight. Sexual maturity is attained at the age of four to five years.

 

Bald Eagles are not actually bald; the name derives from an older meaning of the word, "white headed". The adult is mainly brown with a white head and tail. The sexes are identical in plumage, but females are about 25 percent larger than males. The beak is large and hooked. The plumage of the immature is brown.

 

The Bald Eagle is the national bird of the United States of America. The bald eagle appears on its seal. In the late 20th century, it was on the brink of extirpation in the contiguous United States. Populations have since recovered and the species was removed from the U.S. government's list of endangered species on July 12, 1995 and transferred to the list of threatened species. It was removed from the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife in the contiguous states on June 28, 2007.

For more info: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bald_eagle

The relationships between the general population in Israel and the Ultra-Orthodox Jewish community are always tensed: The general population feels the Ultra-Orthodox do not contribute enough (don't serve in the army, don't participate in the work force); while the Ultra-Orthodox feel their values (mainly studying, and worshiping the Lord) are not honored.

 

Naturally, things become even more tensed these days when the country is under a shutdown (#1 in the world, in the number of cases relative to the size of the population) while some Ultra-Orthodox think that praying together in a synagogue is more important than the regulations (The result is that though they are 10% of the population, they are about 30% of the cases, if not more).

 

I think that today was my worst day on flickr with respect to Bad Pandas :-(

 

Bananas are the staple starch of many tropical populations. Depending upon cultivar and ripeness, the flesh can vary in taste from starchy to sweet, and texture from firm to mushy. Both skin and inner part can be eaten raw or cooked. Bananas' flavor is due, amongst other chemicals, to isoamyl acetate which is one of the main constituents of banana oil.

 

During the ripening process, bananas produce a plant hormone called ethylene, which indirectly affects the flavor. Among other things, ethylene stimulates the formation of amylase, an enzyme that breaks down starch into sugar, influencing the taste of bananas. The greener, less ripe bananas contain higher levels of starch and, consequently, have a "starchier" taste. On the other hand, yellow bananas taste sweeter due to higher sugar concentrations. Furthermore, ethylene signals the production of pectinase, an enzyme which breaks down the pectin between the cells of the banana, causing the banana to soften as it ripens.

 

Bananas are eaten deep fried, baked in their skin in a split bamboo, or steamed in glutinous rice wrapped in a banana leaf. Bananas can be made into jam. Banana pancakes are popular amongst backpackers and other travelers in South Asia and Southeast Asia. This has elicited the expression Banana Pancake Trail for those places in Asia that cater to this group of travelers. Banana chips are a snack produced from sliced dehydrated or fried banana or plantain, which have a dark brown color and an intense banana taste. Dried bananas are also ground to make banana flour. Extracting juice is difficult, because when a banana is compressed, it simply turns to pulp. Bananas fried with batter is a popular dessert in Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia. A similar dish is known in the United States as banana fritters. Plantains are used in various stews and curries or cooked, baked or mashed in much the same way as potatoes.

 

www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=xZGXs3P...

 

Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Miami FL

www.susanfordcollins.com

 

Bananas are the staple starch of many tropical populations. Depending upon cultivar and ripeness, the flesh can vary in taste from starchy to sweet, and texture from firm to mushy. Both skin and inner part can be eaten raw or cooked. Bananas' flavor is due, amongst other chemicals, to isoamyl acetate which is one of the main constituents of banana oil.

 

During the ripening process, bananas produce a plant hormone called ethylene, which indirectly affects the flavor. Among other things, ethylene stimulates the formation of amylase, an enzyme that breaks down starch into sugar, influencing the taste of bananas. The greener, less ripe bananas contain higher levels of starch and, consequently, have a "starchier" taste. On the other hand, yellow bananas taste sweeter due to higher sugar concentrations. Furthermore, ethylene signals the production of pectinase, an enzyme which breaks down the pectin between the cells of the banana, causing the banana to soften as it ripens.

 

Bananas are eaten deep fried, baked in their skin in a split bamboo, or steamed in glutinous rice wrapped in a banana leaf. Bananas can be made into jam. Banana pancakes are popular amongst backpackers and other travelers in South Asia and Southeast Asia. This has elicited the expression Banana Pancake Trail for those places in Asia that cater to this group of travelers. Banana chips are a snack produced from sliced dehydrated or fried banana or plantain, which have a dark brown color and an intense banana taste. Dried bananas are also ground to make banana flour. Extracting juice is difficult, because when a banana is compressed, it simply turns to pulp. Bananas fried with batter is a popular dessert in Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia. A similar dish is known in the United States as banana fritters. Plantains are used in various stews and curries or cooked, baked or mashed in much the same way as potatoes.

 

www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=xZGXs3P...

 

Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Miami FL

www.susanfordcollins.com

 

A super-important person in London

Want to see a short series of iPhone photos from London? Want to read about why I love London? Click here - you know you want to!

 

Blog | Twitter | Instagram | iPhone Flickr |

Today Hastings has a population of something over 80,000 and depends heavily on tourism to earn its living. There is still a fishing fleet based at The Stade in the Old Town, though severely hampered now by restrictions imposed from Europe. There is a remarkable amount of creative talent in the town: artists, writers and musicians seem to be particularly attracted here. Current Hastings residents include the jazz saxophone legend Trevor Watts, folk fiddlers Peter Knight (of "Steeleye Span") and Barry Dransfield; the award-winning science fiction writer Christopher Priest, and American-born novelist Leigh Kennedy. If rare musical instruments are your thing, have a look at the small 18th century John Snetzler organ, rebuilt in 1837, which found its way from Derby via Banbury and Lewes to Hastings, and is now sitting unobtrusively in the Unitarian Chapel in South Terrace (just a few doors along from the Quaker Meeting House).

 

Hastings never quite achieved the prosperity of resorts like Bournemouth or Brighton, but it has a comfortable, "lived in" feel and a lot to recommend it which is not perhaps obvious to the casual visitor. The ruins of the Norman castle on the West Hill are a major attraction as are St. Clement's caves nearby, while below on the seafront is Pelham Crescent and its centrepiece St. Mary-in-the-Castle, magnificently restored with its Georgian columns and soaring dome. For those who enjoy walking in the countryside, the unspoiled Country Park stretches from the East Hill up and down the glens and over the "fire hills" to Fairlight - and further if you can manage it!

 

The Old Town, nestling between the East and West Hills, is well worth exploring: as well as the picturesque houses and shops, the streets are riddled with a surprising network of little alleyways (or "twittens" as we call them in Hastings!) The beach is home to the largest shore-based fishing fleet in England, and to the eye-catching tall wooden huts where the fishermen dry their nets.

There are only two breeds of alpaca. Suri alpacas make up about 10 percent of the population. Huacayas are the more familiar. They have poofier hair and are slightly cuter. Suri alpacas look slightly more elegant. Their fibre is straighter, silkier, and more lustrous.

 

During a farm tour, we visited this suri alpaca fibre mill somewhere in northern Wellington County, but I cannot recall the name or exactly where it was.

 

The landscape is typical of many parts of Southwestern Ontario: as flat as the Prairies but with occasional woodlots preventing a flat horizon. This photo pays tribute to luminosity of the paintings of Georges Seurat.

 

I'm sorting through old photos and posting some interesting ones. This image was uploaded to Flickr on Dec. 17, 2021.

 

Thank you to everyone who visits, faves, and comments.

Population leaked away from the upper valley, leaving it to wind, rain, frost, and wild creatures about their business ... stones that had been raised sought the ground again.

 

Tulips (Tulipa) form a genus of spring-blooming perennial herbaceous bulbiferous geophytes (having bulbs as storage organs). The flowers are usually large, showy and brightly coloured, generally red, pink, yellow, or white (usually in warm colours). They often have a different coloured blotch at the base of the tepals (petals and sepals, collectively), internally. Because of a degree of variability within the populations, and a long history of cultivation, classification has been complex and controversial. The tulip is a member of the Liliaceae (lily) family, along with 14 other genera, where it is most closely related to Amana, Erythronium and Gagea in the tribe Lilieae. There are about 75 species, and these are divided among four subgenera. The name "tulip" is thought to be derived from a Persian word for turban, which it may have been thought to resemble.

Tulips originally were found in a band stretching from Southern Europe to Central Asia, but since the seventeenth century have become widely naturalised and cultivated (see map). In their natural state they are adapted to steppes and mountainous areas with temperate climates. Flowering in the spring, they become dormant in the summer once the flowers and leaves die back, emerging above ground as a shoot from the underground bulb in early spring.

Dao population is over 620.000 inhabitants living together with other ethnic groups along the Sino-Vietnamese and Vietnamese-Lao borders and in some midland provinces and provinces along the coastline of northern Vietnam.

Morondava (from Malagasy: morona lava "long coast") is a city located in Menabe Region, of which it is the capital, in Madagascar. It is located in the delta of the Morondava Rive. Its population as of the 2018 census, was 53,510.

The predominant tribe is the Sakalava. But there are also a few Betsileo, Tsimihety, Merina, Makoa and Europeans.

Air Madagascar has regular scheduled flights to Morondava Airport. The main road to town has been renovated recently. With the new road established, a trip from Antananarivo to Morondava by taxi-brousse takes approximately 12 hours. Pirogues are consequently a popular mode of transport used to ferry people and goods along the coast, especially to Morombe.

The city is famous amongst other things for the spectacular Avenue of Baobabs nearby. These giant baobab trees are an 800-year-old legacy of the dense tropical forests that once throve here. Over the years, as the country's population grew, the forests were steadily cut down, leaving only the baobab trees, which the locals preserved for religious reasons. Today, deforestation still continues as large areas of this region, including some of few remaining baobabs, are cleared to make way for sugar cane plantations.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morondava

traslashuellasdemir.com/destinos-irresistibles/madagascar...

 

Morondava (del malgache: morona lava "costa larga") es una ciudad situada en la región de Menabe, de la que es capital, en Madagascar. Está ubicado en el delta del río Morondava. Su población, según el censo de 2018, era 53.510.

La tribu predominante es la Sakalava. Pero también hay algunos Betsileo, Tsimihety, Merina, Makoa y europeos.

Air Madagascar tiene vuelos regulares al aeropuerto de Morondava. La carretera principal a la ciudad ha sido renovada recientemente. Con la nueva carretera establecida, un viaje de Antananarivo a Morondava en taxi-brousse dura aproximadamente 12 horas. Por lo tanto, las piraguas son un medio de transporte popular que se utiliza para transportar personas y mercancías a lo largo de la costa, especialmente hasta Morombe.

La ciudad es famosa, entre otras cosas, por la espectacular Avenida de los Baobabs que se encuentra cerca. Estos baobabs gigantes son un legado de 800 años de los densos bosques tropicales que alguna vez prosperaron aquí. Con el paso de los años, a medida que la población del país crecía, los bosques fueron talados constantemente, dejando sólo los baobabs, que los lugareños conservaban por motivos religiosos. Hoy en día, la deforestación continúa, ya que grandes áreas de esta región, incluidos algunos de los pocos baobabs que quedan, son talados para dar paso a plantaciones de caña de azúcar.

 

The Urban Fox

 

Wild foxes have learned to adapt to the urban environment in order to survive. By nature, foxes are nocturnal and hunt at night, whereas the urban fox has adapted its behavior to survive and can be seen during daylight hours.

 

Locally, a fox vixen has located her den in the foundational remains of a razed building complex along the boardwalk at the Jersey Shore. She has six Kits, which can be seen frolicking in the debris and along the dunes during the day. The fox family has become local celebrities and unfortunately people have begun feeding them. Never feed wild animals. Although you may feel as if you’re helping them survive, you are actually harming them. Feeding foxes can alter their natural behavior and they may lose its fear of humans.

 

“Wildlife that is fed by people become less experienced at forging for their natural food and may become dependent on handouts that are not a part of their natural diets. This is especially true in juvenile animals that have not yet developed their own foraging skills and have little ability to fend for themselves once handouts cease.” ~ Julie King, Senior Wildlife Biologist

 

Please Do Not Feed the Wildlife!

  

Red Fox

 

The Red Fox, Vulpes vulpes, is the largest of the true foxes and the most abundant wild member of the Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere from the Arctic Circle to North Africa, North America and Eurasia. It is listed as least concern by the IUCN. Its range has increased alongside human expansion, having been introduced to Australia, where it is considered harmful to native mammals and bird populations. Due to its presence in Australia, it is included among the list of the "world's 100 worst invasive species".

 

For more info: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_fox

Narvik is the third-largest municipality in Nordland county, Norway by population. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Narvik.

Narvik is located on the shores of the Ofotfjorden.

The history of Narvik as a settlement began in the Bronze Age. Not very much is known about these people, but the Vikings lived in this area.

Narvik was developed as an all-year ice free port for the Swedish Kiruna and Gällivare iron mines. The history of modern Narvik begins in the 1870s, when the Swedish government began to understand the potential of the iron ore mines in Kiruna, Sweden. Obtaining iron ore from Kiruna had one significant problem in that there was no suitable Swedish port. The nearest Swedish port, Luleå, had limitations. It was covered with ice all winter, it is far from Kiruna, and it allows only medium-sized bulk freight vessels. Narvik offered a port which is ice-free thanks to the warm Gulf Stream, and is naturally large, allowing boats of virtually any size to anchor, up to 208 metres (682 ft) long and 27 metres (89 ft) deep. The Swedish company (Gällivarre Aktiebolag) built the Iron Ore Line (Malmbanan) to Riksgränsen on the Norway–Sweden border. The Norwegian Ofotbanen railway line connects Narvik to the Swedish border.

Swedish mining corporation LKAB still ships the majority of its ore from Narvik (a total 25 million tons a year). The corporation is still important in the area, both as an employer and landowner, although its influence is not as prominent now as it has been in previous years.

The port of Narvik proved to be strategically valuable in the early years of World War II and the town became a focal point of the Norwegian Campaign. In 1939, Germany's war industry depended upon iron ore mined in Kiruna and Malmberget in Sweden. During the summer season, this ore could be sent by cargo ship to Germany through the Baltic Sea via the Swedish port of Luleå on the Gulf of Bothnia. However, when the Gulf of Bothnia froze during the winter, more shipments of the ore needed to be transported through Narvik and, from there, down the west coast of Norway to Germany. The town of Narvik is linked by rail to Sweden, but not to any other towns in Norway. As a result, Narvik serves as a gateway to the ore fields of Sweden that cannot be easily reached from southern Norway via land. (Wikipedia)

Eilean Donan, is a small tidal island where three sea lochs meet, Loch Duich, Loch Long and Loch Alsh, in the western Highlands of Scotland. A picturesque castle that frequently appears in photographs, film and television dominates the island, which lies about 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) from the village of Dornie. Since the castle's restoration in the early 20th century, a footbridge has connected the island to the mainland.

 

Eilean Donan is part of the Kintail National Scenic Area, one of 40 in Scotland. In 2001, the island had a recorded population of just one person, but there were no "usual residents" at the time of the 2011 census.

 

Eilean Donan, which means simply "island of Donnán", is named after Donnán of Eigg, a Celtic saint martyred in 617. Donnán is said to have established a church on the island, though no trace of this remains.

 

The castle was founded in the thirteenth century, and became a stronghold of the Clan Mackenzie and their allies the Clan MacRae. In the early eighteenth century, the Mackenzies' involvement in the Jacobite rebellions led in 1719 to the castle's destruction by government ships. Lieutenant-Colonel John Macrae-Gilstrap's twentieth-century reconstruction of the ruins produced the present buildings

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Doomsday in 2014. Happy New Fuckin' Year...

Elk of the Canadian Rockies

 

Elk, also known as Wapiti or Red Deer, enjoy large populations in North America, primarily in western parts of the United States and Canada. These large relatives of deer are also found in smaller populations in other parts of the world, in protected native groups or introduced populations. Their preference for open woodlands and a range of elevations make many states habitable for elk, though their current range is much smaller than their historical range.

 

The Elk Range is a mountain range of the Canadian Rockies, located on the southern edge of Kananaskis on the Alberta-British Columbia border. The range was named for Elk found on the mountain slopes and in the nearby Elk River valley. Originally known as the Elk Mountains in 1917, the name was formally changed to the Elk Range in 1951.

I suppose this variation could be described as the standard colour of Early Purple Orchids within this large population in Rice Woods, Kent.

As the population grows, the availability of water decreases. There are a number of ways to save water, and they all start with you.

The City of Vancouver is a coastal, seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia. Located on the western half of the Burrard Peninsula, Vancouver is bounded to the north by English Bay and the Burrard Inlet and to the south by the Fraser River. It has an area of 114 square kilometers (44 square miles) with a population of 631,486 (according to the 2016 census. Vancouver is the largest city in British Columbia, and the eighth largest municipality in Canada; the Greater Vancouver metropolitan area (which includes neighboring cities such as Burnaby, Richmond, and Surrey) is the third largest in Canada. The coordinates: 49° 15' 39.14\" N, 123° 6' 50.23\" W measure from the City Hall. It has the Pacific time zone: GMT -8 as part of the Pacific maritime ecozone and has a huge and famous park called Stanley Park is one of the largest urban parks in North America. A very diverse city with a very high standard of living is also one of the most expensive cities in the world and for sure the most expensive one in North America. It is a beautiful city with water and forest and flowers all over.

 

A cidade de Vancouver é uma cidade costeira e portuária da Colúmbia Britânica, no Canadá. Localizada na metade ocidental da Península Burrard, Vancouver é delimitada ao norte pela English Bay e pela Burrard Inlet e ao sul pelo rio Fraser. Tem uma área de 114 quilômetros quadrados (44 milhas quadradas) com uma população de 631.486 (de acordo com o censo de 2016. Vancouver é a maior cidade da Colúmbia Britânica e o oitavo maior município do Canadá; a área metropolitana da Grande Vancouver (que inclui cidades vizinhas como Burnaby, Richmond e Surrey) é a terceira maior do Canadá. As coordenadas: 49° 15' 39.14\" N, 123° 6' 50.23\" W medem da Prefeitura. Tem o fuso horário do Pacífico : GMT -8 faz parte da ecozona marítima do Pacífico e tem um enorme e famoso parque chamado Stanley Park é um dos maiores parques urbanos da América do Norte. Uma cidade muito diversificada com um alto padrão de vida sendo também uma das mais caras cidades do mundo e com certeza a mais cara da América do Norte, é uma bela cidade com água e floresta e flores por toda parte.

 

La ciudad de Vancouver es una ciudad portuaria costera en la parte de tierra firma de la Columbia Británica. Ubicada en la mitad occidental de la península de Burrard, Vancouver limita al norte con English Bay y Burrard Inlet y al sur con el río Fraser. Tiene un área de 114 kilómetros cuadrados (44 millas cuadradas) con una población de 631,486 (según el censo de 2016). Vancouver es la ciudad más grande de la Columbia Británica y el octavo municipio más grande de Canadá; el área metropolitana del Gran Vancouver (que incluye ciudades vecinas como Burnaby, Richmond y Surrey) es la tercera más grande de Canadá. Las coordenadas: 49° 15' 39.14\" N, 123° 6' 50.23\" W miden desde el Ayuntamiento. Tiene la zona horaria del Pacífico : GMT -8 como parte de la ecozona marítima del Pacífico y tiene un enorme y famoso parque llamado Stanley Park es uno de los parques urbanos más grandes de América del Norte. Una ciudad muy diversa con un nivel de vida muy alto siendo también una de las más caras ciudades del mundo y seguramente la más cara de América del Norte. Es una ciudad hermosa con agua y bosques y flores por todas partes.

 

La ville de Vancouver est une ville portuaire côtière située sur le continent de la Colombie-Britannique. Située sur la moitié ouest de la péninsule Burrard, Vancouver est délimitée au nord par English Bay et Burrard Inlet et au sud par le fleuve Fraser. Il a une superficie de 114 kilomètres carrés (44 miles carrés) avec une population de 631 486 (selon le recensement de 2016. Vancouver est la plus grande ville de la Colombie-Britannique et la huitième plus grande municipalité du Canada; la région métropolitaine du Grand Vancouver (qui comprend villes voisines telles que Burnaby, Richmond et Surrey) est le troisième plus grand au Canada. Les coordonnées : 49° 15' 39.14\" N, 123° 6' 50.23\" W mesurent à partir de l'hôtel de ville. Il a le fuseau horaire du Pacifique : GMT -8 dans le cadre de l'écozone maritime du Pacifique et possède un immense et célèbre parc appelé Stanley Park est l'un des plus grands parcs urbains d'Amérique du Nord.Une ville très diversifiée avec un niveau de vie très élevé étant également l'un des plus chers villes du monde et certainement la plus chère d'Amérique du Nord, c'est une belle ville avec de l'eau, de la forêt et des fleurs partout.

 

La città di Vancouver è una città portuale costiera sulla terraferma della Columbia Britannica. Situata nella metà occidentale della penisola di Burrard, Vancouver è delimitata a nord da English Bay e Burrard Inlet ea sud dal fiume Fraser. Ha un'area di 114 chilometri quadrati (44 miglia quadrate) con una popolazione di 631.486 (secondo il censimento del 2016. Vancouver è la città più grande della Columbia Britannica e l'ottavo comune più grande del Canada; l'area metropolitana di Greater Vancouver (che comprende città vicine come Burnaby, Richmond e Surrey) è la terza più grande del Canada. Le coordinate: 49° 15' 39.14\" N, 123° 6' 50.23\" W misurano dal municipio. Ha il fuso orario del Pacifico : GMT -8 come parte dell'ecozona marittima del Pacifico e ha un enorme e famoso parco chiamato Stanley Park è uno dei più grandi parchi urbani del Nord America.Una città molto diversificata con uno standard di vita molto elevato è anche una delle più costose città del mondo e sicuramente la più cara del Nord America, è una bellissima città con acqua, foreste e fiori dappertutto.

 

De stad Vancouver is een kust-, zeehavenstad op het vasteland van Brits-Columbia. Vancouver, gelegen op de westelijke helft van het schiereiland Burrard, wordt in het noorden begrensd door English Bay en de Burrard Inlet en in het zuiden door de Fraser River. Het heeft een oppervlakte van 114 vierkante kilometer (44 vierkante mijl) met een bevolking van 631.486 (volgens de volkstelling van 2016. Vancouver is de grootste stad in British Columbia, en de achtste grootste gemeente in Canada; het grootstedelijk gebied van Vancouver (dat omvat naburige steden zoals Burnaby, Richmond en Surrey) is de derde grootste in Canada. De coördinaten: 49° 15' 39.14\" N, 123° 6' 50.23\" W meten vanaf het stadhuis. Het heeft de Pacific-tijdzone : GMT -8 als onderdeel van de maritieme ecozone van de Stille Oceaan en heeft een enorm en beroemd park genaamd Stanley Park is een van de grootste stadsparken in Noord-Amerika. Een zeer diverse stad met een zeer hoge levensstandaard die ook een van de duurste is steden in de wereld en zeker de duurste in Noord-Amerika.Het is een prachtige stad met water en bos en bloemen overal.

 

Die Stadt Vancouver ist eine Küsten- und Seehafenstadt auf dem Festland von British Columbia. Vancouver liegt in der westlichen Hälfte der Burrard-Halbinsel und wird im Norden von der English Bay und dem Burrard Inlet und im Süden vom Fraser River begrenzt. Es hat eine Fläche von 114 Quadratkilometern (44 Quadratmeilen) mit einer Bevölkerung von 631.486 (laut Volkszählung von 2016). Vancouver ist die größte Stadt in British Columbia und die achtgrößte Gemeinde in Kanada; die Metropolregion Greater Vancouver (einschließlich Vancouver). Nachbarstädte wie Burnaby, Richmond und Surrey) ist die drittgrößte in Kanada. Die Koordinaten: 49° 15' 39,14\" N, 123° 6' 50,23\" W, gemessen vom Rathaus. Es hat die pazifische Zeitzone : GMT -8 als Teil der pazifischen maritimen Ökozone und hat einen riesigen und berühmten Park namens Stanley Park ist einer der größten städtischen Parks in Nordamerika.Eine sehr vielfältige Stadt mit einem sehr hohen Lebensstandard, die auch eine der teuersten ist Städte der Welt und mit Sicherheit die teuerste in Nordamerika, eine wunderschöne Stadt mit Wasser und Wald und Blumen überall.

 

Η πόλη του Βανκούβερ είναι μια παραθαλάσσια, παραθαλάσσια πόλη στην ηπειρωτική χώρα της Βρετανικής Κολομβίας. Βρίσκεται στο δυτικό μισό της χερσονήσου Burrard, το Βανκούβερ οριοθετείται στα βόρεια από τον κόλπο English Bay και την είσοδο Burrard και νότια από τον ποταμό Fraser. Έχει έκταση 114 τετραγωνικά χιλιόμετρα (44 τετραγωνικά μίλια) με πληθυσμό 631.486 (σύμφωνα με την απογραφή του 2016. Το Βανκούβερ είναι η μεγαλύτερη πόλη στη Βρετανική Κολομβία και ο όγδοος μεγαλύτερος δήμος στον Καναδά· η μητροπολιτική περιοχή του Ευρύτερου Βανκούβερ (η οποία περιλαμβάνει γειτονικές πόλεις όπως το Μπέρναμπυ, το Ρίτσμοντ και το Σάρεϊ) είναι η τρίτη μεγαλύτερη στον Καναδά. Οι συντεταγμένες: 49° 15' 39,14\" Β, 123° 6' 50,23\" μέτρο Δ από το Δημαρχείο. Έχει τη ζώνη ώρας του Ειρηνικού : GMT -8 ως μέρος της θαλάσσιας οικοζώνης του Ειρηνικού και έχει ένα τεράστιο και διάσημο πάρκο που ονομάζεται Stanley Park είναι ένα από τα μεγαλύτερα αστικά πάρκα στη Βόρεια Αμερική. Μια πόλη με πολύ μεγάλη ποικιλία με πολύ υψηλό βιοτικό επίπεδο είναι επίσης μια από τις πιο ακριβές πόλεις στον κόσμο και σίγουρα η πιο ακριβή στη Βόρεια Αμερική.Είναι μια όμορφη πόλη με νερό και δάσος και λουλούδια παντού.

 

مدينة فانكوفر هي مدينة ساحلية ساحلية تقع على البر الرئيسي لكولومبيا البريطانية. تقع فانكوفر في النصف الغربي من شبه جزيرة بورارد ، ويحدها من الشمال خليج إنجليش ومدخل بورارد ومن الجنوب نهر فريزر. تبلغ مساحتها 114 كيلومترًا مربعًا (44 ميلًا مربعًا) ويبلغ عدد سكانها 631،486 نسمة (وفقًا لتعداد عام 2016. فانكوفر هي أكبر مدينة في كولومبيا البريطانية ، وثامن أكبر بلدية في كندا ؛ منطقة العاصمة الكبرى فانكوفر (التي تشمل المدن المجاورة مثل برنابي وريتشموند وساري) هي ثالث أكبر مدن كندا. الإحداثيات: 49 ° 15 '39.14 \ "شمالاً ، 123 ° 6' 50.23 \" غربًا من قاعة المدينة. بها المنطقة الزمنية للمحيط الهادئ : GMT -8 كجزء من منطقة المحيط الهادئ البحرية وبها حديقة ضخمة وشهيرة تسمى حديقة ستانلي وهي واحدة من أكبر المنتزهات الحضرية في أمريكا الشمالية. مدينة متنوعة للغاية مع مستوى معيشي مرتفع للغاية وهي أيضًا واحدة من أغلى مدن في العالم وبالتأكيد أغلى مدينة في أمريكا الشمالية ، إنها مدينة جميلة بها مياه وغابات وأزهار في كل مكان.

 

バンクーバー市は、ブリティッシュコロンビア州本土にある沿岸の港湾都市です。バラード半島の西半分に位置するバンクーバーは、北はイングリッシュベイとバラード入り江に、南はフレーザー川に囲まれています。面積は114平方キロメートル（44平方マイル）で、人口は631,486人です（2016年の国勢調査によると、バンクーバーはブリティッシュコロンビア州で最大の都市であり、カナダで8番目に大きい自治体です。バーナビー、リッチモンド、サリーなどの近隣の都市は、カナダで3番目に大きい都市です。座標：市庁舎から北緯49度15分39.14インチ、西経123度6分50.23インチ。太平洋のタイムゾーンがあります。 ：太平洋海事エコゾーンの一部としてのGMT -8で、スタンレーパークと呼ばれる巨大で有名な公園があります。これは北米で最大の都市公園の1つです。非常に多様な都市であり、生活水準も非常に高く、最も高価な都市の1つです。世界の都市、そして確かに北米で最も高価な都市です。それは水と森と花がいたるところにある美しい都市です。

 

वैंकूवर शहर ब्रिटिश कोलंबिया की मुख्य भूमि पर एक तटीय, बंदरगाह शहर है। बर्रार्ड प्रायद्वीप के पश्चिमी भाग में स्थित, वैंकूवर उत्तर में इंग्लिश बे और बर्रार्ड इनलेट और दक्षिण में फ्रेजर नदी से घिरा है। इसका क्षेत्रफल 631,486 (2016 की जनगणना के अनुसार) की आबादी के साथ 114 वर्ग किलोमीटर (44 वर्ग मील) है। वैंकूवर ब्रिटिश कोलंबिया का सबसे बड़ा शहर है, और कनाडा में आठवीं सबसे बड़ी नगरपालिका है; ग्रेटर वैंकूवर महानगरीय क्षेत्र (जिसमें शामिल है) पड़ोसी शहर जैसे बर्नाबी, रिचमंड, और सरे) कनाडा में तीसरा सबसे बड़ा है। निर्देशांक: 49° 15' 39.14\" N, 123° 6' 50.23\" W सिटी हॉल से मापता है। इसमें प्रशांत समय क्षेत्र है : जीएमटी -8 प्रशांत समुद्री इकोज़ोन के हिस्से के रूप में और स्टेनली पार्क नामक एक विशाल और प्रसिद्ध पार्क है, जो उत्तरी अमेरिका के सबसे बड़े शहरी पार्कों में से एक है। एक बहुत ही विविध शहर जिसमें उच्च जीवन स्तर भी सबसे महंगे में से एक है दुनिया में शहर और निश्चित रूप से उत्तरी अमेरिका में सबसे महंगा। यह एक सुंदर शहर है जिसमें पानी और जंगल और फूल हैं।

 

溫哥華市是不列顛哥倫比亞省大陸的沿海海港城市。溫哥華位於伯拉德半島的西半部，北接英吉利灣和伯拉德灣，南接弗雷澤河。面積 114 平方公里（44 平方英里），人口 631,486 人（根據 2016 年人口普查。溫哥華是不列顛哥倫比亞省最大的城市，加拿大第八大城市；大溫哥華都會區（包括本拿比、里士滿和素裡等鄰近城市是加拿大第三大城市。坐標：49° 15' 39.14\" N, 123° 6' 50.23\" W 從市政廳測量。它有太平洋時區: 格林威治標準時間 -8 作為太平洋海洋生態區的一部分，擁有一個名為斯坦利公園的巨大而著名的公園，是北美最大的城市公園之一。一個非常多樣化的城市，生活水平很高，也是最昂貴的城市之一世界上最貴的城市，當然也是北美最貴的城市。它是一個美麗的城市，有水、森林和鮮花。

Eurasian Jay-Garrulus glandarius-1933

These jays are distinctive, but because there can be great differences between populations in widespread areas, birders need to be familiar with the key markings to be sure they can identify Eurasian jays properly.

 

Bill: relatively short but thick, black, slightly rounded, framed with rictal bristles

Size: 14 inches long with 21-23-inch wingspan, heavy build, long tail, crown feathers can be raised into a short crest

Colors: black, white, blue, tan, pink-brown, gray, rust

Markings: Genders are similar but there is much geographic variation in plumage color and head markings. Typically, the upperparts range from pinkish-brown to darker tan or rust, with the back showing more pronounced gray or gray-brown. The wings are black with a broad white patch and white edging on the primary feathers, and light blue with fine black barring on the upper wings. The underparts are paler, and the throat is white or pale buff bordered with a thick black malar stripe. The rump and undertail coverts are white. The crown and face vary most between populations, and could be brown with black streaking on the crown or white with a solid black crown. The forehead may be pale or dark. The tail is solid black and very gently rounded when spread. The legs and feet are pale, and the eyes have a light iris that ranges from yellow to light blue.

 

Juveniles are similar to adults but with generally darker plumage and less defined head markings.

 

These songbirds are omnivorous and will sample a wide variety of foods, including nuts, fruit, insects, eggs, bird hatchlings, amphibians, and even small mammals. Because Eurasian jays adapt to whatever foods may be most abundant and easiest to find, their diets vary by season and in different regions where foods are different.

 

While foraging, Eurasian jays glean insects from foliage or scour the ground for nuts, caching them for winter storage. Those hidden nuts help reforest many areas.

 

For more information please visit www.thespruce.com/eurasian-jay-profile-386000

 

The American Eagle Foundation works to protect our Eagle population. Dollywood houses Bald Eagles that have been injured or for some reason would not survive if returned to the wild. There is a "bird show" right next to the eagle enclosure. You can learn about all kinds of birds, many of them native to East Tennessee. It's located in Craftsmans Valley. Just follow the creek.

 

Note: I mistakenly posted two of this shot, so I deleted the other one. It came right back. So if you see two of this picture, . . . . . well, I tried.

The largest population of Glanville Fritillary in the UK is found on the cliffs on the south coast of the Isle of Wight. The Glanville Fritillary is one of the smaller fritillaries. It's very active with rapid wing beats and a short glide.

 

Thanks for your visit… Any comment you make on my photograph is greatly appreciated and encouraging! But please do not use this image without permission.

A large population of feral chickens inhabit Key West, Florida, reminders of the days when cock fighting was a sport on the island, and Ernest Hemingway spent hours in the local bars. Generations of released/escaped "Cubalaya" roosters have "cock-a-doodle-do-ed" their freedom and roamed free.

 

This handsome fellow is protected by law, but is not admired by all of the current residents of Key West. The chickens do provide local "color" and a link to the romantic past of Key West, but they are also noisy and messy. For now the Rhode Island Red hens/roosters still "rule the roost."

Eastern State Penitentiary

TriColored Heron

 

Tricolored Heron populations declined slightly between 1966 and 2014, according to the North American Breeding Bird Survey. The North American Waterbird Conservation Plan estimates a U.S. breeding population of less than 194,000 birds, rates the species a 15 out of 20 on the Continental Concern Score, and lists it as a Species of High Concern. Tricolored Heron is not on the 2014 State of the Birds Watch List.

Cass, Canterbury, New Zealand

 

Lord of the rings territory

 

Cass is a small locality in inland Canterbury on New Zealand's South Island, near Arthur's Pass. It is known for its small railway station which was the subject of the 1936 painting Cass by Rita Angus, voted in 2006 New Zealand's favourite work of art. It is also the location of a University of Canterbury field station established in 1914. Cass currently has a single permanent resident.

 

Ladybug Season

 

California State University

Fullerton

Florida has the largest bald eagle population in the lower 48 states.

 

Easily identified by their white heads, distinctive size and soaring flight, bald eagles are often seen flying above Florida’s lakes, estuaries and wetlands. Adults have a white head and tail, chocolate colored plumage, and yellow bill and feet. The characteristic white head and tail develops when the bird becomes sexually mature at about 5 years of age. The plumage of the immature is a dark brown overlaid with messy white streaking until the fifth (rarely fourth, very rarely third) year, when it reaches sexual maturity.

 

Prime nesting habitat consists of tall trees near water. The exception to this general rule occurs in the Florida Keys where bald eagles nest in mangroves and even occasionally on the ground.

 

Bald eagles feed mainly on fish snatched from the water’s surface with talons, but also take wading birds, small mammals, and carrion. You may occasionally seen them feeding on a road kill with a group of vultures.

 

Most bald eagles migrate, but some stay in their territories year around. Males and females form life-long bonds. Pairs return to the same breeding territory year after year – usually in late September or early October in Florida - and will reuse the same nest if the site is still there.

 

Bald eagles were once common in Florida, more than a thousand nesting pairs are thought to have lived along the states coasts and inland waterways. But in the 1960’s the species was almost completely eliminated from the lower 48 states - a combination of habitat loss and pesticide use reduced the total US population to only about 500 pairs. When the use of DDT was banned in 1972, numbers began a steady increase. In 40 years the bald eagle has gone from 400 breeding pairs in the contiguous US (excluding Alaska), to more than 5,000 breeding pairs today.

 

During Florida’s 2004 bald eagle survey, biologists identified 1,139 active breeding territories. Florida’s nesting eagles currently produce about 1,500 chicks a year, and the state’s breeding eagle population constitutes more than 80 percent of the entire bald eagle population within the southeastern United States.

 

The four hurricanes that struck Florida in the summer of 2004 damaged or destroyed at least half of the state’s bald eagle nests. Bald eagles typically use the same nest for decades, adding sticks and nest material every year. If the nest blows down, the pair may rebuild, or they may skip a nesting season.

 

I was driving along Canoe Creek Road in Osceola County, when I noticed a group of BLACK VULTURES feeding on something along the side of the roadway. Any time I see vulture in Florida I check to see if there is a Caracara among them which is often the case. As I looked I did not see anything and drove on by. Then something struck me as not being just right so I turned around and went back to where they were feeding and found this young (juvenile) Bald Eagle with them. He blended right in, and was helping himself to some early morning road kill.

Jodhpur is the second largest city in the Indian state of Rajasthan. After its population crossed a million, it has been declared as the second 'Metropolitan City' of Rajasthan. It was formerly the seat of a princely state of the same name, the capital of the kingdom known as Marwar. Jodhpur is a popular tourist destination, featuring many palaces, forts and temples, set in the stark landscape of the Thar desert.

 

The city is known as the "Sun City" for the bright, sunny weather it enjoys all the year round. It is also referred to as the "Blue City" due to the vivid blue-painted houses around the Mehrangarh Fort. The old city circles the fort and is bounded by a wall with several gates. However, the city has expanded greatly outside the wall over the past several decades. Jodhpur lies near the geographic centre of Rajasthan state, which makes it a convenient base for travel in a region much frequented by tourists.

South Africa

Kruger National Park

 

The waterbuck (Kobus ellipsiprymnus) is a large antelope found widely in sub-Saharan Africa. It is placed in the genus Kobus of the family Bovidae. It was first described by Irish naturalist William Ogilby in 1833.

 

The thirteen subspecies are grouped under two varieties: the common or Ellisprymnus waterbuck and the Defassa waterbuck. A sexually dimorphic antelope, males are taller as well as heavier than females. Males reach approximately 127 cm (50 in) at the shoulder, while females reach 119 cm (47 in). Males typically weigh 198–262 kg (437–578 lb) and females 161–214 kg (355–472 lb).

 

The coat colour varies from brown to grey. The long, spiral horns, present only on males, curve backward, then forward and are 55–99 cm (22–39 in) long.

 

Waterbuck are rather sedentary in nature. A gregarious animal, the waterbuck may form herds consisting of six to 30 individuals. These groups are either nursery herds with females and their offspring or bachelor herds.

 

The waterbuck cannot tolerate dehydration in hot weather, and thus inhabits areas close to sources of water. Predominantly a grazer, the waterbuck is mostly found on grassland. Waterbuck inhabit scrub and savanna areas along rivers, lakes and valleys. Due to their requirement for grasslands as well as water, the waterbuck have a sparse ecotone distribution.

 

The population trend for both the common and defassa waterbuck is downwards, especially that of the latter, with large populations being eliminated from certain habitats because of poaching and human disturbance. - Wikipedia

 

McCarthy, Alaska. Population 28

McCarthy is 120 mi (190 km) northeast of Cordova at the foot of the Wrangell Mountains. According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP of McCarthy has a total area of 148.3 square miles (384 km2). None of the area is covered with water. It is connected to the outside world via the McCarthy Road spur of the Edgerton Highway from Chitina, and must be passed through to reach Kennecott, a destination of tourists seeking access to Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve.

Beluga Whales are not especially common in the Svalbard archipelago with a population of about 550. They are usually seen in shallow water in the fjords, often near glaciers and usually in small groups. These three adults and a dark juvenile were part of a group of about ten Belugas near Kapp Lee on the island of Edgeoya. They feed mainly on fish but will also eat invertebrates likes shrimps, crabs, squid and clams. The name Beluga derived from the Russian word "belyi" meaning white, and their scientific name Delphinapterus leucas translates as white dolphin without a fin. This refers to their lack of a dorsal fin which allows them to move freely under sea-ice. My experience of photographing Belugas in the wild is that they are difficult as all you usually see is a white lens in the water for a split second as they surface to breathe. But I decided to upload because there appear to be very few photos of Beluga in the wild on Flickr. I typed Beluga into the search engine and I reached the bottom of the first page of hundreds of images and they all appeared to be captive animals. This was one of five species of cetacean we saw during our trip around Spitsbergen.

Belgian artist and designer Charles Kaisin, in March, asked to the population to realize origami. For each one received a donation of €5 was made to Hospital Erasme Foundation to fight COVID-19. The 20 325 origami were displayed in the SAINTS-MICHEL-ET-GUDULE CATHEDRAL. Brussels. Belgium.

Likely / Modoc County / California

I have recentely been in Paris (for my birthday!) and since it was the first time there I made the tipical stops in the most touristic places that "you should visit at least once in your life". This was taken from the top of the Arc de Triomphe. I liked very much the precence of only three color in the space: the creme of the building, the greyish blue of the roofs and the vivid rusty red of the chimneys. It's just a beautiful harmony that makes you think directly to this city, even if you didn't know from where the picture was taken. That is just Paris. :)

Morondava (from Malagasy: morona lava "long coast") is a city located in Menabe Region, of which it is the capital, in Madagascar. It is located in the delta of the Morondava Rive. Its population as of the 2018 census, was 53,510.

The predominant tribe is the Sakalava. But there are also a few Betsileo, Tsimihety, Merina, Makoa and Europeans.

Air Madagascar has regular scheduled flights to Morondava Airport. The main road to town has been renovated recently. With the new road established, a trip from Antananarivo to Morondava by taxi-brousse takes approximately 12 hours. Pirogues are consequently a popular mode of transport used to ferry people and goods along the coast, especially to Morombe.

The city is famous amongst other things for the spectacular Avenue of Baobabs nearby. These giant baobab trees are an 800-year-old legacy of the dense tropical forests that once throve here. Over the years, as the country's population grew, the forests were steadily cut down, leaving only the baobab trees, which the locals preserved for religious reasons. Today, deforestation still continues as large areas of this region, including some of few remaining baobabs, are cleared to make way for sugar cane plantations.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morondava

traslashuellasdemir.com/destinos-irresistibles/madagascar...

 

Morondava (del malgache: morona lava "costa larga") es una ciudad situada en la región de Menabe, de la que es capital, en Madagascar. Está ubicado en el delta del río Morondava. Su población, según el censo de 2018, era 53.510.

La tribu predominante es la Sakalava. Pero también hay algunos Betsileo, Tsimihety, Merina, Makoa y europeos.

Air Madagascar tiene vuelos regulares al aeropuerto de Morondava. La carretera principal a la ciudad ha sido renovada recientemente. Con la nueva carretera establecida, un viaje de Antananarivo a Morondava en taxi-brousse dura aproximadamente 12 horas. Por lo tanto, las piraguas son un medio de transporte popular que se utiliza para transportar personas y mercancías a lo largo de la costa, especialmente hasta Morombe.

La ciudad es famosa, entre otras cosas, por la espectacular Avenida de los Baobabs que se encuentra cerca. Estos baobabs gigantes son un legado de 800 años de los densos bosques tropicales que alguna vez prosperaron aquí. Con el paso de los años, a medida que la población del país crecía, los bosques fueron talados constantemente, dejando sólo los baobabs, que los lugareños conservaban por motivos religiosos. Hoy en día, la deforestación continúa, ya que grandes áreas de esta región, incluidos algunos de los pocos baobabs que quedan, son talados para dar paso a plantaciones de caña de azúcar.

 

The Namib Desert horses are the only feral herd of horses residing in Africa, with a population ranging between 90 and 150. Despite the harsh environment in which they live, the horses are generally in good condition, except during times of extreme drought.

The origin of the Namib Desert horse is unclear, though several theories have been put forward. The most likely ancestors of the horses are a mix of riding horses and cavalry horses, many from German breeding programs, released from various farms and camps in the early 20th century, especially during World War I. Whatever their origin, the horses eventually congregated in the Garub Plains, near Aus, Namibia, the location of a man-made water source.

I met Namib Desert horses when we stopped in Aus, on the way to Lüderitz

  

The monarch butterfly population has decreased 80 percent in the last 20 years.

Conversion of conservation land to crops for biofuel is a major factor in the monarch's demise.

Planting milkweed may help restore the monarch population.

 

But tropical milkweed has a parasite problem for Monarchs. The parasites don't die each year like they do in colder areas. If you do have Tropical Milkweed, this is what the experts suggest you do, to keep parasites under control.

 

- Don't try keeping it alive during the winter

 

- Cut the plant back six inches

 

- Dispose of those trimmings once you are done

 

Also it's hard to identify a monarch versus a queen butterfly in this view. I hope I correctly identified a monarch. The queen butterfly has more white spots. They both like milkweed. :)

"Critically Endangered" The world population is estimated at about 1000 birds. In Costa Rica estimates range between 300-400 individuals.

Tiny remaining populations are found in the lowland rainforests on the Caribbean slope from east Honduras to northwest Colombia. In parts of Panama and at the southern end of their range in Ecuador they are found in the dry forests on the Pacific coast.

Dwindling populations are the result of habitat loss (their main source of food and nest sites is the mountain almond, which was logged extensively for its prized lumber, and poaching for the pet trade.

Great green macaws are the largest parrots in their natural range, the second heaviest macaw species (although they are relatively shorter tailed than other large macaws such as the red-and-green macaw and are thus somewhat shorter), and the third heaviest parrot species in the world. This species averages 85–90 cm (33.5–35.5 in) in length and 1.3 kg (2.9 lb) in weight. They are mainly green and have a reddish forehead and pale blue lower back, rump and upper tail feathers. The tail is brownish-red tipped with very pale blue. The bare facial skin is patterned with lines of small dark feathers, which are reddish in older and female parrots. Juveniles have grey-coloured eyes instead of black, are duller in colour and have shorter tails which are tipped in yellow.

MRN (Macaw Recovery Network) is working hard to try to get the population stable. They monitor nest sites, do radio tracking and have started a tree planing program to reintroduce trees that the macaws depend on back into the environment. The Mountain almond tree is now a tree that is protected by legislation in Costa Rica.

Boca Tapada, San Carlos, Costa Rica

 

Photos of this series: t1p.de/3ngz

  

OLDENBURG - UTKIEK : the old landfill / alte Mülldeponie / Graffiti, Street Art: goo.gl/qcHfkz

OLDENBURG - Grundschule / primary school (Eßkamp) / Graffiti, Street Art: goo.gl/ngAi7d

OLDENBURG - Youth Club Ofenerdiek / Graffiti, Street Art: goo.gl/g8r9of

OLDENBURG - Rudolf-Diesel Straße / Burmesterstraße / Graffiti, Street Art: goo.gl/ZsI9AI

OLDENBURG - Melkbrink / Graffiti, Street Art: goo.gl/fQj9wO

OLDENBURG - Warehouse Logemann / Graffiti, Street Art: goo.gl/b0Y4sS

OLDENBURG - Sportshall TuS Bloherfelde / Graffiti, Street Art: tinyurl.com/ycftt9gl

OLDENBURG - an verschiedenen Plätzen / at different locations / Graffiti, Street Art: goo.gl/7e1fkZ

OLDENBURG - Metal Wall - Stedinger Str., Drielaker 'Str. / Graffiti, Street Art: tinyurl.com/y7w3kfh5

  

` OLDENBURG ´ - is an independent city in the state of Lower Saxony, Germany.

Population 165.000 ( Dec. 31. 2015 ) ( Metropolitan Region `Bremen / Oldenburg´ 2.4 million people )

In the first century AD, Nîmes, a prosperous Roman colony, saw its population growing to 20,000 people. At the foot of the Mount Cavalier, the Nemausus fountain no longer sufficed in providing the city with its daily needs in drinking water, let alone in supplying the baths, fountains and many gardens. It was decided to build an aqueduct to channel water from the source of the Eure in Uzés all the way to Nîmes: 50 kilometres of channels dug out of the earth to install the pipes. Along the way, the Gardon River proved to be a difficult obstacle, overcome by the construction of the Pont du Gard.

 

A few years ago, I was able to retrace some of the footsteps I took almost 35 years before, when I visited this same place with my parents and siblings. A lot has changed since, there's no more vehicle traffic across the aqueduct and it's now classed a World Heritage Site by Unesco, but I was happy to see the magnificent Roman masterpiece of engineering still stand just as tall today as it did we I saw last saw it over three decades ago!

 

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The rose-ringed parakeet (Psittacula krameri), also known as the ring-necked parakeet, ringneck parrot (in aviculture) or the Kramer parrot, is a medium-sized parrot in the genus Psittacula, of the family Psittacidae. It has disjunct native ranges in Africa and the Indian Subcontinent, and is now introduced into many other parts of the world where feral populations have established themselves and are bred for the exotic pet trade.

  

Narvik is the third-largest municipality in Nordland county, Norway by population. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Narvik.

Narvik is located on the shores of the Ofotfjorden.

The history of Narvik as a settlement began in the Bronze Age. Not very much is known about these people, but the Vikings lived in this area.

 

Narvik was developed as an all-year ice free port for the Swedish Kiruna and Gällivare iron mines. The history of modern Narvik begins in the 1870s, when the Swedish government began to understand the potential of the iron ore mines in Kiruna, Sweden. Obtaining iron ore from Kiruna had one significant problem in that there was no suitable Swedish port. The nearest Swedish port, Luleå, had limitations. It was covered with ice all winter, it is far from Kiruna, and it allows only medium-sized bulk freight vessels. Narvik offered a port which is ice-free thanks to the warm Gulf Stream, and is naturally large, allowing boats of virtually any size to anchor, up to 208 metres (682 ft) long and 27 metres (89 ft) deep. The Swedish company (Gällivarre Aktiebolag) built the Iron Ore Line (Malmbanan) to Riksgränsen on the Norway–Sweden border. The Norwegian Ofotbanen railway line connects Narvik to the Swedish border.

Swedish mining corporation LKAB still ships the majority of its ore from Narvik (a total 25 million tons a year). The corporation is still important in the area, both as an employer and landowner, although its influence is not as prominent now as it has been in previous years.

 

The port of Narvik proved to be strategically valuable in the early years of World War II and the town became a focal point of the Norwegian Campaign. In 1939, Germany's war industry depended upon iron ore mined in Kiruna and Malmberget in Sweden. During the summer season, this ore could be sent by cargo ship to Germany through the Baltic Sea via the Swedish port of Luleå on the Gulf of Bothnia. However, when the Gulf of Bothnia froze during the winter, more shipments of the ore needed to be transported through Narvik and, from there, down the west coast of Norway to Germany. The town of Narvik is linked by rail to Sweden, but not to any other towns in Norway. As a result, Narvik serves as a gateway to the ore fields of Sweden that cannot be easily reached from southern Norway via land. (Wikipedia)

 

Each population of these plants vary a little in colouration and growth habit. The plants here had some flowers open, but many more were in bud. These were a bright red and giving a lovely display.

 

Photos: Fred and Jean

Carrizozo NM

The population of birds in New Mexico was quite different from what we're used to in Florida. I saw 11 different life birds (including this one) that I hadn't seen before. And this was really with just casual birding. I'm sure my more serious birding friends (thinking of you KM) would have found many more!

 

Many thanks to Mr. Mckinney (www.flickr.com/people/44542650@N08/) for the ID help

 

More info: edrosack.com/2017/07/16/casual-birding-in-new-mexico/