Восторга чуть, немного наслаждения…

Конфеты точно управляют чудесами

И точно поднимают настроение!

Попробуйте, Вы убедитесь сами!...........................A little bit of delight, a little bit of pleasure…

Candies precisely control miracles

And they definitely cheer you up!

Try it, you will see for yourself!

"Rozando la eternidad

En vuelos a ras del mar

Negando la realidad

Para poderlo contar..."

"Border on eternity

in flights almost touching the sea

denying reality

in order to tell count it..."

Duncan Dhu, one of finest Spanish groups from the 80's, and they are precisely from San Sebastian: youtu.be/slbhmKuNGbM

Thistle is the common name of a group of flowering plants characterised by leaves with sharp prickles on the margins, mostly in the family Asteraceae. Prickles can also occur all over the plant – on the stem and on the flat parts of the leaves. These prickles are an adaptation that protects the plant from being eaten by herbivores. Typically, an involucre with a clasping shape similar to a cup or urn subtends each of a thistle's flowerheads. The comparative amount of spininess varies dramatically by species. For example, Cirsium heterophyllum has minimal spininess while Cirsium spinosissimum is the opposite. Typically, species adapted to dry environments have greater spininess. The term thistle is sometimes taken to mean precisely those plants in the tribe Cardueae (synonym: Cynareae), especially the genera Carduus, Cirsium, and Onopordum. However, plants outside this tribe are sometimes called thistles, and when this is done, "thistles" would form a polyphyletic group. A thistle is the floral emblem of Scotland and Lorraine, as well as the emblem of the Encyclopædia Britannica. Biennial thistles are particularly noteworthy for their high wildlife value, producing such things as copious floral resources for pollinators, nourishing seeds for birds like the goldfinch, foliage for butterfly larvae, and down for the lining of birds' nests. 45834

🇫🇷Nous voici sur la terrasse de notre location pour cette 2° semaine de vacances en Corse, plus précisément Tiuccia qui est une station balnéaire de Corse-du-Sud, dépendant de la commune de Casaglione et située à une vingtaine de kilomètres d'Ajaccio, sur la route de Calvi (par la côte), au fond du golfe de Sagone.

Elle est bâtie au pied du rocher de Capraghja (Carpraja), où demeurent quelques vestiges des fondations du château des comtes de Cinarca, et d'où l'on domine la totalité du golfe, jusqu'à Cargèse.

Le site est bordé au nord par le Monte Lazzu (100 m). Dans son prolongement en direction de la mer se trouvent également les ruines de deux anciennes fortifications génoises, la tour du Capigliolu (XVIe siècle) et un fortin (XVIIe siècle/XVIIIe siècle).

🇬🇧 Here we are on the terrace of our rental for this 2° week holiday in Corsica, more precisely Tiuccia which is a seaside resort of Corsica-du-Sud, dependent on the commune of Casaglione and located about twenty kilometers from Ajaccio, on the road to Calvi (by the coast), at the bottom of the Gulf of Sagone.

It is built at the foot of the rock of Capraghja (Carpraja), where remains of the foundations of the castle of the counts of Cinarca, and from where one dominates the entire gulf, up to Cargèse.

The site is bordered to the north by the Monte Lazzu (100 m). In its extension towards the sea are also the ruins of two ancient Genoese fortifications, the tower of Capigliolu (16th century) and a fortin (17th century/18th century).

Depuis début 2015 et la fin des grands travaux d'aménagement du Couesnon à l'entrée du Mont, le Mont Saint-Michel redevient une île lors des grandes marées.

C'est justement un jour de grande marée (114). On s'est levés tôt pour rentrer dans le Mont avant que l'accès ne soit coupé et assister à l'évènement.

On voit ici la chaussée d'accès au Mont sur le point d'être submergée.

____________________________________________

Large Tide

Since the beginning of 2015 and the end of great works on the Couesnon at the entrance of the Mount, Mont-Saint-Michel becomes again an island at Large Tides.

It is precisely one day of Large Tide (114). We got up early to get into the Mount before access is cut and attend the event.

Here we see the access road to the Mount about to be submerged.

______________________________________________

Mont Saint-Michel - Normandie/Normandy

A painter can't do this, a writer can't do this, a sculptor can't do this :-)

Brett Weston

HMM! HPPT! Science Matters!

sasanqua camellia, 'Bonanza', sarah p duke gardens, duke university, durham, north carolina

Today, March 19 is International Sleep Day, also for Peter and Oleg

PETER:

Eh ... Oleg .... Pssst.

I can not sleep.

OLEG:

Wh..Wh..What?

PETER:

I can not sleep

OLEG:

Why not?

PETER:

You snore

OLEG:

Nonsense ... I don't hear it and I sleep well. Let me sleep on now. It is 1 day in the year International Sleep Day and it is precisely on that special day that you wake me up.

PETER:

Yes ... but I would also like to enjoy this day.

OLEG: (irritated because he was woken up)

Then shut up and go to sleep.

PETER:

How?

OLEG: Go count sheep jumping over the fence.

PETER:

1, 2, 20, .... 31 ..

Oleg?

OLEG:

What is it now?

PETER:

The fence is too high for sheep number 32.

OLEG:

Lift number 32

or shorten the gate.

PETER:

Thank you Oleg

It'll be fine.

Sleep well Oleg

OLEG:

Sleep well Peter

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Sleep_Day

The Grand Galibier is a summit of the French Alps in the Cerces massif and precisely in the Galibier range, at the limit of the departments of Savoie in the town of Valloire and Hautes-Alpes in the town of Monêtier-les-Bains. It rises to an altitude of 3,228 m and dominates the Col du Galibier.

focusing on the small and the unexpected, conferring attention on the helter-skelter juxtapositions of time and space, the photographer reminds us that the actual world is full of surprise, which is precisely that most people, imprisoned in habit and devoted to the familiar, tend to forget.

John Rosenthal

HPPT! Ukraine Matters!

japanese camellia, 'October Affair', sarah p duke gardens, duke university, durham, north carolina

A solitary deer grazes peacefully on a distant shore in a world of green...

________________________

For those of you wondering (as was I) why this photo turned out so very green, a quick trip to Wikipedia (bless them) explained it all quickly and precisely. To satisfy your curiousity, I attach the following enlightening (no pun intended) explanation of green:

Spectral coordinates:

Wavelength 495–570 nm

Frequency ~575–525 THz

Color coordinates:

Hex triplet: 00FF00

sRGBB (r, g, b) (0, 255, 0)

Source sRGB approximation to NCS S 2060-G[a]

B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

Now you know...;-)

Le Grand Galibier est un sommet des Alpes françaises dans le massif des Cerces et précisément dans le chaînon du Galibier, à la limite des départements de la Savoie sur la commune de Valloire et des Hautes-Alpes sur la commune du Monêtier-les-Bains.

Il culmine à 3 228 m d'altitude et domine le col du Galibier.

The Grand Galibier is a summit of the French Alps in the Cerces massif and precisely in the Galibier range, at the limit of the departments of Savoie in the town of Valloire and Hautes-Alpes in the town of Monêtier-les-Bains. It rises to an altitude of 3,228 m and dominates the Col du Galibier.

Precisely that moment when your entire world looks like an upside down chaos.

The Basilica and Convent of San Francisco, is a Catholic basilica that stands in the middle of the historic center of Quito. The structure is the largest architectural complex within the historic centers of all of South America. San Francisco is considered a jewel of continental architecture for its mixture of different styles combined throughout more than 150 years of construction. Inside the church there are more than 3,500 works of colonial art, of multiple artistic manifestations and varied techniques, especially those corresponding to the Colonial Quito School of Art, which was born precisely in this place.

HDR of M & M's in small amber glass bowl taken for Macro Mondays Misfit theme. The width is precisely 3 inches.

Or - an accidental discovery.

There is a certain satisfaction in discovering through experience the underlying reality of something we take for granted. I mean, we all know what a mile is right - 1760 yards. Well, actually no, it wasn’t that at all, that calculation must have come later, the mile stood alone prior to that.

On my long walks with my guide dog, and later with just my white stick, to pass the time I used to count my paces - sad I know, but I can’t see the scenery, so it kept me awake. I used to count 100 paces on just one foot, on each finger and thumb, and when I had done all digits - 1000 paces, I would transfer a coin to another pocket. As time went on, on certain walks , if there was a marker nearby like a large tree, a road or whatever. - something I could pick up, I would mark the 1000 paces or sometimes 500. One day I went in the car with my wife to see how far a particular walk was and as we drove I asked the distance at the markers I had accumulated, and to my surprise, they coincided almost exactly with 1 mile, or half mile intervals! The fact is - and you can verify this, 1000 strides on one foot is one mile, it is very accurate, to within 20 or 30 paces for me. I am of average height and stride. One hand half a mile, two hands a full mile.

This must be how the distance of one mile came into being, people in times of yore, needed to know how long a journey would take and therefore a standard was set by which anyone could gauge their progress. All you needed was 10 fingers and some stones in a pocket.

As a small boy I can remember seeing very old stone roadside markers - milestones, ’40 miles to London’ or 50 miles to London’ or which ever town, they must be all gone now. Somebody - with a pocket full of stones - must have paced those markers, 100 paces x 10 fingers x 10 stones = 10 miles. He would then leave some sort of marker by the wayside, and later along comes the horse and cart with the large stone markers and drops them off at each marked point.

The measurement of a yard has nothing to do with a mile. The name tells us that, it was obviously a measurement for small pieces of land and fields a *yard*. One day somebody said I wonder how many yardsticks make one of those mile things? They had someone - probably several people walk the mile, then lay down a yard stick at the starting point and discovered you had to flip it 1759 times to reach the mile.

So a mile is not a measurement of yards and feet, it is a measurement of hands and feet, and that photograph above, of all the cow parsley lining the road was taken precisely 3500 paces (on one foot) from my front door, or exactly, three and a half miles……

I don't take many tourist type photos, but I couldn't resist this...

The terms "mushroom" and "toadstool" go back centuries and were never precisely defined, nor was there consensus on application. During the 15th and 16th centuries, the terms mushrom, mushrum, muscheron, mousheroms, mussheron, or musserouns were used.[3]

The term "mushroom" and its variations may have been derived from the French word mousseron in reference to moss (mousse). Delineation between edible and poisonous fungi is not clear-cut, so a "mushroom" may be edible, poisonous, or unpalatable.[4][5] The word toadstool appeared first in 14th century England as a reference for a "stool" for toads, possibly inferring an inedible poisonous fungu

Personal and current note:

All my May flowers, I mean every possible color here, bloomed in May. The Christmas cactus are known in the northern hemisphere as the Christmas Cactus (late autumn or early winter), but in the state of São Paulo it has the popular name of the May flower, native to a mountain range in the state of Rio de Janeiro , overhangs trees. The rest of the country calls it the silk flower and it makes sense because of the transparency and delicacy of the flower petals.

It's a shame to be so perennial.

Once a year and for a maximum of 6 days or a maximum of seven days of flowering.

This orange May flower is tricolor. It has an orange inner part, a yellow to orange upper part and a pink stigma. It's very beautiful!

PS. It was like this last year:

flic.kr/p/2jWWaFS

***

S. Truncata Group 'Gold Charm'; note the very pointed teeth at the end of the segments, zygomorphic flowers held above the horizontal, and yellow pollen.

May flower: the cactus that offers beauty instead of thorns:

The May flower - common name of the species Schlumbergera truncata - is one of those plants that we tend to despise most of the year. It is, after all, a true botanical commonplace:

since the days of grandma's gardens, it has been hanging around on any balcony or housed in cachepots on some furniture in the living room. It is also a champion of popularity in floras - ready to be pushed by sellers every time the consumer searches for a plant “for beginners”.

This is all true, yes. But, as I was able to feel myself this week, the fact that it is party rice does not eliminate the extraordinary value and the pleasure of having a May flower inside the house. And pleasure is precisely in the miracle that works, out of nowhere, in your metabolism. During most of the year, the May flower is a discreet little thing, with its branches formed by fragile and evergreen buds releasing at most new buds. Suddenly, sometime between the end of autumn and the beginning of winter, behold that dull plant explodes in buttons with extremely striking shapes and colors - mine, for example, pump out between May and July.

flic.kr/p/2j5vm49

After flowering, it often withers, loses part of the buds and spends the rest of the year trying to recover from the excruciating effort of flowering.

The May flower is from the cactus family, but has no thorns. In its original habitat, the Atlantic Forest, it presents an epiphyte behavior. In other words: like orchids and many bromeliads, it uses tree trunks as a support. Thanks to horticultural improvement, the variety of colors available on the market today is immense. You can splurge, as you can see in this photo that illustrates this post, the very rare flower of May YELLOW.

Despite the fact that the May flower is a peaceful and favorable cultivation plant, some precautions are mandatory to avoid unpleasantness. Here is a basic guide to success:

1) SOIL - As it is a succulent, the may flower requires perfect drainage. She does, however, enjoy a lot of organic matter. So, plant it in pots with holes, filled with pebbles and sand at the bottom and the remaining two thirds completed with vegetable soil. Curiosity: if these conditions are met, the May flower can grow a lot and live for years in small pots.

2) WATERING - Do not overdo it and do not leave dishes filled with water under the pot, to avoid waterlogging and root rot. But also be sure to water frequently - two to four times a week, depending on the weather. She likes the slightly damp earth.

3) LUZ - This is, perhaps, the main catch. The May flower hates receiving direct sunlight, but enjoys well-lit environments. The right places for her, therefore, are balconies and bright interiors, but fresh. Or under the treetops.

4) FLOWERING - The May flower releases its buds when two variables combine: the nights become longer and the minimum temperatures are close to 10-15 degrees. And so it lives up to its name: in the Southeast of Brazil, these ideal conditions are usually registered between mid-May and the end of June.

5) POST-FLOWERING STRESS - May flower is a perennial species, that is, it does not die after giving flowers. Often, however, it cannot withstand the thud of its metabolic explosion: after so much effort, the stem buds become wilted and break easily. In the extreme, the plant dies from stress. To avoid this, it is necessary to redouble the care with nutrition. After flowering, increase the watering slightly and add a little earthworm humus or phosphorus-rich fertilizer (the “P” of the renowned NPK trio).

Last tip: take advantage of the loose buds to produce new seedlings. It's very easy, just fix a piece of them in moist soil.

Geese can often be seen flying so low over the water that their wing tips just touch the surface on the down-stroke. I assume this helps them judge their height very precisely by touch so they can keep looking ahead.

In this case, the lake was frozen solid, yet they still used the same technique.

This photo was taken in the southern part of Oomachi city, 20 km south of Lake Kizakiko. There was no snow on the rice terrace.

Azumino Valley is in the snow shadow created by Kita Alps. The windward western slope of Kita Alps in the Toyama prefecture (富山県) over the mountain range is a notoriously heavy snowfall area. Precisely, Toyama is reached "through" the mountain range as there is a tunnel.

I think more precisely an old agave wagon once used to transport the agave plants from the agave farm to a distillery to make tequila.

The morphology of Sierra Negra is the upturned soup bowl shape of the other Isabela volcanoes, however it does not have the steep sloping sides that are on others. Instead the slope goes from approximately 2 degrees at its base and although increasing averages only 5 degrees.

The volcano has the largest caldera of all of the Galapagos volcanoes, with dimensions of 7.2 x 9.3 km, with the long axis being south west to north east. The caldera is also the shallowest of the Isabela volcanoes at only 100 meters. The caldera is structurally complex with a 14 km long ridge within it. A large fumarolic area, Volcan de Azufre, lies between this ridge and the western caldera wall.

This fumarolic area is one of the locations where terrestrial sulfur flows have been identified, this is associated with the melting of sulfur deposits.

***

The volcano is one of the most active in the Galapagos, with the most recent eruption beginning on 26 June 2018, only ten days after a nearby Volcano, La Cumbre, also began erupting. The previous eruption began on 22 October 2005 and ended on 30 October 2005. That eruption was estimated to have produced 1.5x108 m3 of lava. Despite the GPS monitoring on Sierra Negra there was no advance warning of the eruption. There had been expansion of the caldera floor since 1992 but no short term deformational signal was noted before the eruption. Contraction continued through the nine-day eruption before starting again immediately after the eruption ended.

Other eruptions in the historical record are 1911, 1948, 1953, 1954, 1957, 1963, 1979 and 2005. Eruptions in earlier years are recorded by dating lava flows but their location on the volcano and the dates of the eruption are not known precisely.

This pic is back on the Bouddi coastal track. Well, more precisely, off the track. Wanna come join me hop over the edge, scale down the cliffside to the little grassy platform for some fantastic views looking along the cliffs instead of down on them. It's a different perspective at the bottom; it feels more real for some reason. And this grassy area was just inviting us down! Don't worry, if a rogue wave happens along its just a quick scramble up for some immediate elevation out of harm's way :)

Have a great Easter weekend everyone!

Thanks kindly for any likes/comments, they are always appreciated.

Waterscape 33/100 in 2025

This visual touch allows photography to establish a special relationship between its subject and ourselves, a kind of carnal knowledge unique to the photographic medium. It has also allowed photography to claim a special relationship to memory :-)

Geoffrey Batchen

HSS! Kindness Matters!

rose, "Artistry', little theater rose garden, raleigh, north carolina

J'ouvre un livre, et là, mon chapeau prend des allures d'une photo de Ralph Gibson.

How to know ? We'll have to look inside this hat, try and read lhe label which I can image stuck onto this woven material, precisely where it touches the top of the head. I imagine it to be yellowish, like my dustbin or the inside of an egge, but I can read nothing but the obsessive search for a sign of authenticity wich Ralph has already given me in speaking of « Piece of Visual Intelligence ».

(Les Cahiers de la Photographie.1988. Ralph Gibson, p76 pour le texte anglais, p77 pour une partie de l'image.)

Canon Ra, Canon 24mmTS-E LII à f8 8s 400iso (aucun recadrage, une seule prise, une seule exposition)

www.ralphgibson.com/gallery.html

An old tree towers high above the world-famous Neuschwanstein Castle. He doesn't look quite as fresh anymore. But on the contrary. Only a small part of the branches is still green.

On the one hand, I find that very regrettable, because a healthy, strong tree is of course a much nicer sight.

On the other hand, precisely because it looks that way, this pine is more interesting from a photographic point of view. For me it has more the appearance of a sculpture than that of a plant.

This photo was taken 2 years ago and fell into my "hands" again today (actually only into my eyes). Since I'm not going to travel this summer, I spontaneously came up with the idea of ​​digging up a few unpublished pictures from earlier trips and refreshing the memories with them.

Let's see what else comes up.

Hoch oben über den weltbekannten Schloss Neuschwanstein tront ein alter Baum. Er sieht nicht mehr ganz so frisch aus. Ganz im Gegenteil. Nur noch ein kleiner Teil der Äste ist noch grün.

Auf der einen Seite finde ich das sehr bedauerlich, denn ein gesunder kräftiger Baum ist natürlich ein viel schönerer Anblick.

Auf der anderen Seite ist diese Kiefer, gerade weil sie so aussieht, aus fotografischer Sicht interessanter. Sie hat für mich eher das Erscheinung einer Skulptur, als die einer Pflanze.

Dieses Foto ist bereits vor 2 Jahren entstanden und mir heute wieder in die "Hände" gefallen (eigentlich ja nur in die Augen). Dabei ist mir spontan die Idee gekommen, da ich diesen Sommer nicht verreise, ein paar unveröffentlichte Bilder früherer Reisen nochmal auszugraben und damit die Erinnerungen aufzufrischen.

Mal sehen, was dabei noch so auftaucht.

more of this on my website at: www.shoot-to-catch.de

Safranbolu is a town and district of Karabük Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. It is about 200 kilometres (120 mi) north of Ankara and about 100 km south of the Black Sea coast, or more precisely about 9 km north of the city of Karabük.

The Old Town preserves many old buildings, with 1008 registered historical artifacts. These are: 1 private museum, 25 mosques, 5 tombs, 8 historical fountains, 5 Turkish baths, 3 caravanserais, 1 historical clock tower, 1 sundial and hundreds of houses and mansions. Safranbolu was added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites in 1994 due to its well-preserved Ottoman era houses and architecture.

Karaüzümler Konağı, photographed here, is one of the preserved houses and used as a hotel currently

The Roman Temple in Evora is one of the greatest and best preserved roman temples in the Iberian Peninsula. That is why it was considered World Heritage by UNESCO in 1986. This is the ex-libris of the city, a sort of visiting card. And, of course, the most important representative of the Roman remains in Evora.

Looking at this Roman Temple, also wrongly known as Diana Temple, is like returning to the past. It is one of the most important landmarks of Evora, and probably the most famous, also being um of the most visible symbols of the roman occupation in the city.

Built in Corinthian style in early 1st century AD, it is located in the historical centre, more precisely in Largo Conde de Vila Flor, near Evora Cathedral, Evora Library, Fórum Eugénio de Almeida, Evora Museum and the beautiful inn Pousada Convento de Evora.

Source and to read further follow link, www.visitevora.net/en/roman-temple-evora/

The Temple of Artemis also known less precisely as the Temple of Diana, was a Greek temple dedicated to the goddess Artemis. It was located in Ephesus . One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, it was completely rebuilt three times before its eventual destruction in 401 AD. Only foundations and sculptural fragments of the latest of the temples at the site remain.nr Ephesus turkey june 2015

YouTube said i should upload this old pic when it recommended this tune today. Precisely so.

"toy-like people make me boy-like"

Massive Attack - Risingson

youtu.be/85E9Q5Wx210

The sun bursts out just after sunset on Mono Lake

Taken at 8:15pm

Take a look at this photo..... This was taken precisely 12 minutes before my post "Biogenesis" which was captured at 8:27pm. Look at the dramatic difference in the cloud cover and general openness from this shot to the last, the words fleeting, serendipitous, miraculous, Stratus-morphic all came to mind while moving from one location to the next. This was taken about 100 feet to the left of the prior shot but both were taken facing northwest, if you look close you can see the same shapes on the mountain range in the background. In fact I have a better composition of my prior post but it doesn't illustrate as well the differences in the sky, I will replace that one with the correct composition after a couple of weeks. To witness such a transformation was a solemn and inspirational moment for me, it's was like hitting a golf swing really well, "Ping", that brings me back every time. :)

Thanks for taking the time to take a look at my photos, and as always, your views, comments, faves, and support are greatly appreciated!!

Have a great day my friends!! :)

Please do me a favor and follow me on my other social sites found below:

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Copyright 2017©Eric Gail

Ein Planimeter (hier genauer: Polarplanimeter) ist ein mathematisches Instrument und Analogrechner zur Ermittlung beliebiger Flächeninhalte in Landkarten oder Zeichnungen.

Hier sichtbar ist das Fahrgestell, insbesondere das Zählwerk mit vierstelliger Anzeige: Die höchste Dezimalstelle (Tausender) wird am Zählrad rechts abgelesen, die beiden mittleren Stellen (Hunderter, Zehner) am Skalenring und die niedrigste Stelle (Einer) am Nonius.

(OTT-Planimeter, Typ 31. Hersteller: A. Ott, Kempten, Bayern. Herstellungsjahr unbekannt)

---

A planimeter (here more precisely: polar planimeter) is a mathematical instrument and analog computer for determining any area in maps or drawings.

Visible here is the chassis, especially the counter with a four-digit reading: The highest decimal place (thousands) is read off the counting wheel on the right, the two middle places (hundreds, tens) on the scale ring and the lowest place ( ones) on the vernier.

(OTT Planimeter, Type 31. Manufacturer: A. Ott, Kempten, Bavaria. Year of manufacture unknown)

The hunting technique varies depending on the spider and its prey. Sometimes the spider waits in the center of the web, sometimes it sits at the edge of its burrow, with one or two legs attached to the silken thread. Once prey gets caught in the web and causes sufficient vibrations, the spider rushes towards it. Sometimes the spider goes straight for it, or shakes the web back and forth several times, often further entangling the prey, allowing it to be precisely located and identified. If prey doesn't move, the spider may lose interest; dead prey is generally ignored by spiders.

Small prey is immediately seized and often devoured straight away.

Slightly larger prey is grabbed and quickly spun; by rolling the prey in the web, a package is created that hangs from both ends of the web.

Even larger or more dangerous-looking prey is approached cautiously; the spider will first attempt to cover the prey with sticky threads from a distance using its hind legs. If the prey appears too dangerous, the spider will "free" it by biting through the threads.

The prey is eaten either on the spot, in the center of the web, or in the burrow, leaving a hole in the web. Orb-weavers "chew" their food, unlike most other spiders that suck their prey dry.

Some orb-weaver spiders that can be found in the Netherlands and Belgium: cross spider , wasp spider (or tiger spider), and the four-spot orb-weaver spider .

The Church houses the city's beloved Virgin of Quito (1734).

***

On the main altar of San Francisco, dominated by a large baroque altarpiece and covered with gold leaf, the sculptures of the "Virgin of Quito" of Legarda and the "Jesus of the Great Power" of Father Carlos stand out; both prominent members of the Quito art school.

***

San Francisco houses over 3,500 works of colonial art, of varied artistic styles and techniques, most notably those of the famous Quito School of art, which had it genesis precisely here. Undoubtedly the most celebrated of these is the 18th century sculpture known as the Virgin of Quito, which has long been a kind of icon of the city. Here also is a magnificent Franciscan library, described in the 17th century as the best of the Viceroyalty of Peru.

***

Construction of the convent, the city’s largest colonial structure, began only a few weeks after the Spanish establishment of Quito in 1534, but wasn't finished for another 70 years. Although much of the church has been rebuilt because of earthquake damage, some is original. The chapel of Señor Jesús del Gran Poder, to the right of the main altar, has original tile work. The main altar itself is a spectacular example of baroque carving, while the roof shows Moorish influences.

The founder was Franciscan missionary Joedco Ricke, credited with being the first man to sow wheat in Ecuador.

Not the best place to emerge with a big tasty fish!

The chances of the Gull stealing the fish from the Cormorant?

Precisely zero!

And so it proved!

There are a couple of Rose bushes in my yard and I wait patiently each Spring for when they open for the very first time. I’m usually ready to take pictures to share here on Flickr. I’m amazed at the intricacy in which the pedals open and close so precisely. The tolerances are so minute. Someone’s done a grand job the engineering the beautiful Red Rose. Thanks for viewing my work. Stay safe. Keep smiling and be kind to everyone.

Look at me

for a while

then

tell me

what you see…..

Like looking at clouds…………. I'm curious what you see ;-))

Will be back in a few days, have a little mini-origami-convention. Have a great time too ;-))

Close-up of the Rock Garden (karesansui, 枯山水, dry landscape) of the Ryoanji Temple (龍安寺 or 竜安寺, Ryōanji), Kyoto, Japan.

For a view of the whole garden, click here.

Nearby the Kinkaku-ji (The Golden Pavilion, Kyoto) is the Ryoanji Temple (龍安寺 or 竜安寺, Ryōanji) .

The temple's name is synonymous with the temple's famous Zen garden, the karesansui, 枯山水, (dry landscape), Rock Garden.

The temple and its gardens are listed as one of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto, and as an UNESCO World Heritage.

""This simple and remarkable garden measures only 25 meters from east to west and 10 meters from south to north.

The rectangle Zen Garden is completely different from the gorgeous gardens of court nobles constructed in the Middle Ages. No trees are to be seen; only 15 rocks and white gravel are used in the garden.

The walls are made of clay boiled in oil. As time went by, the peculiar design was made of itself by the oil that seeped out.

This international famous rock garden is said to be created at the end of Muromachi Period (around 1500), by a highly respected Zen monk, Tokuho Zenketsu.""

information - from the brochure

""Meaning of the garden.

Like any work of art, the artistic garden of Ryōan-ji is also open to interpretation, or scientific research into possible meanings. Many different theories have been put forward inside and outside Japan about what the garden is supposed to represent, from islands in a stream, to swimming baby tigers to the peaks of mountains rising above to theories about secrets of geometry or of the rules of equilibrium of odd numbers.

Garden historian Gunter Nitschke wrote: "The garden at Ryōan-ji does not symbolize anything, or more precisely, to avoid any misunderstanding, the garden of Ryōan-ji does not symbolize, nor does it have the value of reproducing a natural beauty that one can find in the real or mythical world. I consider it to be an abstract composition of 'natural' objects in space, a composition whose function is to incite meditation.""

information - WiKi

13-August-2022

The lake, in its natural vastness 25/30km2 (up to 38km2), disappeared during the summer of 2021, with water remaining in the channels dug by the tributaries (in the middle of the empty wide basin) and in the small part dammed by man (less than 1% of its "normal" surface), which is the deepest part and therefore the one in which the water never disappears, at least until it disappears.

The owners of the modest boats, mostly used for fishing, in the course of 2021 (some already since 2003, indeed), seeing that the lake no longer filled up, "temporary" moved their mooring along the "new" banks, or those corresponding to the perennial part of the lake, precisely the embanked one.

In the past there have been several episodes of emptying, but they were shorter and this part of the lake was always full of water up to the edge of the embankment, with a constant level, also because the tributaries have always carried a bit of water up to here.

For the first time, starting from June 2022, the tributaries dried up, the pools in the parts dug by them dried up in July (as seen in the previous photos) and, during this period, the emptying of this part also began, for the first time, not more fed, mainly due to evaporation, which in summer is very intense.

The "constant" part of the lake, artificially dammed, for the first time has decreased its water level and we are now about 5 meters below the standard, a standard level that is already 2 or 3 meters below the average of the full lake.

The caterpillar of the fork-tailed moth, or more precisely the large fork-tailed moth (Cerura vinula), is a striking appearance with a forked abdomen that is raised when threatened. It is bright green in color and has a black-brown, white-edged dorsal pattern. The caterpillar is defensive and can spray formic acid when threatened

Vielen Dank für euren Besuch, Sternchen, Awards und Kommentare! 💚🐛

Thanks for visits, faves, awards and comments! 💚🐛

Ein Planimeter (hier genauer: Polarplanimeter) ist ein mechanisches Messgerät zur Ermittlung beliebiger Flächeninhalte in Landkarten oder Zeichnungen.

Hier sichtbar ist das Fahrgestell, insbesondere das Zählwerk mit vierstelliger Anzeige: Die höchste Dezimalstelle (Tausender) wird am Zählrad rechts abgelesen, die beiden mittleren Stellen (Hunderter, Zehner) am Skalenring und die niedrigste Stelle (Einer) am Nonius.

(OTT-Planimeter, Typ 31. Hersteller: A. Ott, Kempten, Bayern. Herstellungsjahr unbekannt)

---

A planimeter (here more precisely: polar planimeter) is a mechanical measuring device for determining any area in maps or drawings.

Visible here is the chassis, especially the counter with a four-digit reading: The highest decimal place (thousands) is read off the counting wheel on the right, the two middle places (hundreds, tens) on the scale ring and the lowest place ( ones) on the vernier

(OTT Planimeter, Type 31. Manufacturer: A. Ott, Kempten, Bavaria. Year of manufacture unknown)

begins with an idea and a plan. The more precisely a photographer knows what it is he wishes to do, the better the chances are that he will do it :-)

Andreas Feininger

HPPT! Ukraine Matters!

camellia, 'Chansonette', sarah p duke gardens, duke university, durham, north carolina

IN ENGLISH BELOW THE LINE

La segona (i darrera) nit en busca d'aurores fou més positiva que la primera, tot i que varem anar força lluny de Tromso, també. Per a mi, en total, fou la cinquena nit d'aurores, entre 2019 i 2025.

Varem marxar de nou amb furgoneta des de Tromso cap al sud, vers el Balsfjorden i Hatteng, on de nou ens varem equipar amb extra roba d'hivern i botes de neu. Però després anarem força aprop, a la vall de Signaldalen, que forma un dels punts més estrets de Noruega amb la frontera sueca. Justament per això fou el lloc escollit per els alemanys per a construir una linea de defensa el 1944-45 davant els avenços sovietics al front de Murmansk-Kirkenes.

www.fergusmurraysculpture.com/arctic-norway/the-german-oc...

Però nosaltres erem allà per a veure aurores en un entorn muntanyós privilegiat, i varem tenir exit. La aurora fou força més intensa que la anterior vegada, amb grans arcs que ens passaven just sobre el cap i també cap al nord, entorn els pics de Mannfjellet i Otertinden.

Aquí en concret, el Mannfjellet sembra entrar en una erupció de llum tot al seu entorn.

================================

The second (and last) night in search of the auroras was more positive than the first, although we went quite far from Tromso, too. For me, in total, it was the fifth night of auroras, between 2019 and 2025.

We set off again by van from Tromso south, towards the Balsfjorden and Hatteng, where we again equipped ourselves with extra winter clothes and snow boots. But then we will go quite close, to the Signaldalen valley, which forms one of the narrowest points in Norway with the Swedish border. Precisely for this reason it was the place chosen by the Germans to build a defense line in 1944-45 against the Soviet advances on the Murmansk-Kirkenes front.

www.fergusmurraysculpture.com/arctic-norway/the-german-oc...

But we were there to see the aurora in a privileged mountainous setting, and we succeeded. The aurora was much more intense than last time, with large arcs passing right overhead and also to the north, around the peaks of Mannfjellet and Otertinden.

Here the Mannfjellet looks like exploding in Northern Lights.

Felsenmeer, Lautertal - According to legend, two giants are said to have pelted each other with stones until they were both buried under it - sometimes you can hear the murmur of a brook under the stones that sounds like a voice .

Der Legende nach sollen sich zwei Riesen mit Steinen beworfen haben, bis sie beide darunter begraben wurden – manchmal hört man unter den Steinen das Rauschen des Baches, der wie eine Stimme klingt.

Das Felsenmeer auf dem Felsberg oberhalb von Lautertal-Reichenbach im Vorderen Odenwald ist eine Felsenlandschaft aus dunkelgrauem Quarzdiorit (genauer ein Hornblende-Biotit-Diorit), die durch Wollsackverwitterung entstand. Das Felsenmeer wurde bereits von den Römern und später durch die örtlichen Steinmetze zur Steingewinnung genutzt. Die Steinmetzen bezeichneten ihn als „Felsberg-Granit“, der heute nicht mehr abgebaut wird. Heute ist das Felsenmeer ein beliebtes Naherholungsgebiet und Ausflugsziel für Familien und Wanderer. Es liegt innerhalb des Naturschutzgebiets „Felsberg bei Reichenbach“. Am oberen Ende des Felsenmeers befindet sich eine kleine Quelle, deren Rinnsal zwischen den Felsen hinab ins Tal fließt und schließlich im Graulbach mündet.

The sea of rocks on the Felsberg above Lautertal-Reichenbach in the Vorderen Odenwald is a rocky landscape made of dark gray quartz diorite (more precisely a hornblende biotite diorite), which was created by weathering wool sacks. The sea of rocks was already used by the Romans and later by the local stonemasons for stone extraction. The stonemasons referred to it as "Felsberg granite", which is no longer mined today. Today the Felsenmeer is a popular local recreation area and excursion destination for families and hikers. It is located within the "Felsberg bei Reichenbach" nature reserve. At the upper end of the sea of rocks there is a small spring whose rivulet flows down between the rocks into the valley and finally flows into the Graulbach.

The Sesto Sundial is an imposing natural monument: it is made up of five peaks which are all located in the municipality of Sesto and ... They tell the hour! It is a real natural clock and the course of the sun gives its name to the mountains on which it falls at the exact time: Top Nine, Top Ten, Top Eleven, Top twelve and Top One.

The Basilica and Convent of San Francisco, is a Catholic basilica that stands in the middle of the historic center of Quito. The structure is the largest architectural complex within the historic centers of all of South America. San Francisco is considered a jewel of continental architecture for its mixture of different styles combined throughout more than 150 years of construction. Inside the church there are more than 3,500 works of colonial art, of multiple artistic manifestations and varied techniques, especially those corresponding to the Colonial Quito School of Art, which was born precisely in this place.

(HDR blend of 2 exposures)

Suedbahnhotel Semmering, Semmering, Austria

"The original Suedbahnhotel Semmering (also called “Hotel Semmering” or “First Suedbahnhotel”) was the 1st Hotel am Semmering at all and was opened in 1882 at the foot of Pinkenkogel Mountain–at precisely 1000 m above sea level. The Suedbahnhotel am Semmering was one of several grand hotels along the Suedbahn route from Vienna to Triest which were commissioned in order to stimulate the tourism in the respective regions and also the Suedbahn route from the privileged K. u. k. Suedbahngesellschaft. Semmering was already easy to reach at this time through the pioneering accomplishment of the Semmering Railways and was consequently expanded to create a popular holiday and spa resort. Semmering was popular with Viennese society as well as with the multi-national guests from all levels of the royal monarchy. Fin de Siècle and Belle Époche are two eras at the end of the 19th century and/or at the beginning of the 20th century which were characteristic for the Suedbahnhotel Semmering, but not just from social-political and sports history perspectives. A section of the Austrian tourism history also had its start here.

Currently, the opportunity exists to acquire the fairy-tale and spaciously-constructed “Second Suedbahnhotel” in order to be able to continue to develop it with a corresponding usage concept and to be able to sustainably preserve a unique architectural jewel. The Suedbahnhotel Semmering is by no means dead: It is merely sleeping and waiting to be kissed to be awakened..."

(Source: suedbahnhotel-semmering.at/?lang=en)

Ein Planimeter (hier genauer: Polarplanimeter) ist ein mechanisches Messgerät zur Ermittlung beliebiger Flächeninhalte in Landkarten oder Zeichnungen.

Hier sichtbar ist das Fahrgestell, insbesondere das Zählwerk mit vierstelliger Anzeige: Die höchste Dezimalstelle (Tausender) wird am Zählrad rechts abgelesen, die beiden mittleren Stellen (Hunderter, Zehner) am Skalenring und die niedrigste Stelle (Einer) am Nonius.

(OTT-Planimeter, Typ 31. Hersteller: A. Ott, Kempten, Bayern. Herstellungsjahr unbekannt)

---

A planimeter (here more precisely: polar planimeter) is a mechanical measuring device for determining any area in maps or drawings.

Visible here is the chassis, especially the counter with a four-digit reading: The highest decimal place (thousands) is read off the counting wheel on the right, the two middle places (hundreds, tens) on the scale ring and the lowest place ( ones) on the vernier

(OTT Planimeter, Type 31. Manufacturer: A. Ott, Kempten, Bavaria. Year of manufacture unknown)

Marry Me

Alana: Uhh-uhh-uhh, ohh-yeah, hmmm

A hundred and five is the number that comes to my head

When I think of all the years I wanna be with you

Wake up every morning with you in my bed

That's precisely what I plan to do

And you know one of these days, when I get my money right

Buy you everything and show you all the finer things in life

Will forever be enough, so there ain't no need to rush

But one day, I won't be able to ask you loud enough

I'll say, will you marry me?

I swear that I will mean it

IZZY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!?

I'll say, will you marry me?

Izzy: Are you asking?

Alana:Singing, uh-oh-oh, uh-oh-oh

Uh-oh-oh, oh-yeah... YES!!

How many Boys in the world can make me feel like this?

Baby, I don't ever plan to find out

The more I look, the more I find the reasons why

You're the love of my life

You know one of these days, when I get my money right

Buy you everything and show you all the finer things in life

Will forever be enough, so there ain't no need to rush

But one day, I won't be able to ask you loud enough

I'll say, will you marry me?

I swear that I will mean it

I'll say, will you marry me?

And if I lost everything

In my heart, it means nothing

'Cause I have you, Boy, I have you

To get right down on bended knee

Nothing else would ever be better, better

The day when I

I'll say, will you marry me?

I swear that I will mean it

I'll say, will you marry me?

I'll say, will you marry me? (the day I get on my knees)

I swear that I will mean it

I'll say, will you marry me? (and what you do me, baby?)

Got me singing (uh-ooh, uh-ooh)

Got me singing (uh-ooh, uh-ooh)

Would you marry me, baby? (uh-ooh, uh-ooh, uh-ooh)

A hundred and five is the number that comes to my head

When I think of all the years I wanna be with you

Wake up every morning with you in my bed

That's precisely what I plan to do

This cavern offers a completely ride-through cave experience on propane-powered Jeep-drawn trams.

Fantastic Caverns was discovered in 1862 by an Ozarks farmer -- or more precisely, by his dog, who crawled through a small entrance in a hillside. It wasn't until five years after its discovery that the first exploration of Fantastic Caverns took place: twelve women from Springfield, answering a newspaper ad seeking explorers, ventured into the cave. Fantastic Caverns is one of more than 7,300 documented caves in Missouri, and more are still being discovered. Missouri is called The Cave State.

So, there I was on Pelican Beach, stumbling across what I initially took to be a horse, more precisely a sea-horse. The mythical creature of the beach log variety. It had a certain equine look, if you squinted and ignored the lack of legs and general horse-ness. But hey, who am I to be a neigh-sayer?

It was wedged so deeply in the sand, must have been some powerful seas wash it up. I suppose the seaweed mane might’ve just washed up on it, or maybe an enterprising mermaid did a little redecorating — who knows? Not many people wander this far down the beach, so it remains a mystery for the ages.

It definitely qualifies as a log with more personality than most that I have encountered!