FALCON JIGSAW PUZZLES
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Griffon vulture feeding on the cadaver (not visible)
showing some parts of its head and neck tinged with blood.
Buitre leonado alimentándose de un cadáver (no visible)
mostrando partes de su cabeza y cuello teñidas de sangre.
Das Gebäude wurde 1897/98 für die Firma F. Laeisz nach Plänen von Bernhard Hanssen, Wilhelm Emil Meerwein und Martin Haller im Stil der Hannoverschen Architekturschule erbaut. Der umbaute Raum betrug ca. 34.000 Kubikmeter. Die Baukosten beliefen sich auf 960.000 Reichsmark, das sind 28 Reichsmark pro Kubikmeter umbauter Raum.
Außer der Reederei Laeisz hatten von Beginn an bedeutende Seeversicherer dort ihre Geschäftsräume. Auch heute ist das Haus noch Firmensitz der Reederei F. Laeisz.
The building was built in 1897/98 for the F. Laeisz company according to plans by Bernhard Hanssen, Wilhelm Emil Meerwein and Martin Haller in the style of the Hanover School of Architecture. The enclosed space was approximately 34,000 cubic meters. The construction costs amounted to 960,000 Reichsmarks, that is 28 Reichsmarks per cubic meter of enclosed space.
In addition to the shipping company Laeisz, major marine insurers had their business premises there from the start. Even today the house is still the headquarters of the shipping company F. Laeisz.
The main idea of such gardens is to collect and display beautiful natural landscapes in a confined space.
New York City Scholar's Garden is one of two authentic classic Chinese outdoor gardens built in the United States.
On the Snug Harbor Botanical Garden premises, a classic Chinese outdoor garden appeared, made in the style of the gardens of the Ming dynasty, which ruled in China in the XIV-XVII centuries.
This garden's architectural components were made and imported from Suzhou, China, including roof tiles, columns, beams, doors and windows, bridges, and floor and walkway paving materials.
In the early days Veere was a flourishing commercial city. This prosperity can be found in the beautiful historical premises. The town of Veere arose in the twelfth century. The following centuries the town was being used to store Scottish wool. Veere still has these typical Scottish homes, which were built in the sixteenth century by rich Scottish merchants. At the Kaai in Veere, two of these Scottish houses still stand, and they remind people of the wool trade back in those days. Antique collections of the last private owners are among the things which can be admired here. Also fans of porcelain, furniture, style rooms and stitch costumes have much to look at. In the Scottish houses you can regularly go to see different expositions of the artists from Veere.
Big church
Big church Veere
The big church is from 1348 and it is a really great sight. As from 1811 the church was being used by Napoleon’s soldiers as a military hospital; the church was a beggars house and a barrack for a while as well. You can still clearly see the traces of an eventful past.
The Kirchdorf high-rise is a 52-metre-high building with 16 storeys, built in 1955 by order of Hans Liebherr for employees of the Liebherr company. Located opposite the Liebherr-Hydraulikbagger GmbH premises in Kirchdorf on the Iller in Upper Swabia, The high-rise building is regarded in the town as a sign of the economic upswing in the area after the Second World War, which is associated with the name Liebherr and the invention of the tower crane. Following its renovation at the beginning of the third millennium, it has become the town's landmark.
The high-rise building is located near Liebherrstraße at the confluence of Heimstraße and Hochhausstraße, named after the high-rise building, opposite Kirchdorf Bürgerpark. With its 16 floors, it is the highest building in the community and was the highest building in the district of Biberach at the time of its construction. It is the only high-rise building in a village community in the district of Biberach. The facade of the high-rise building is painted in yellow and white.
Quelle: Wikipedia
My Korner #389 - These Premises Are Protected!
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BLOG NAME: These Premises Are Protected!
DESIGNERS: Salt & Pepper, Exile & ACT5
I have been killed by two men but I still have 7 lives left!
Today I'm wearing:
BODYSUIT: S&P Kitty suit FATPACK @Fetish Fair
MASK: S&P Kitty mask @Fetish Fair
GLOVES/CLAWS: S&P Kitty gloves & claws @Fetish Fair
TAIL: S&P Kitty bento tail @Fetish Fair
HAIR: Exile - Felicia @Fetish Fair
POSE: ACT5-583-Female Catwoman 5 Pose
S&P Kitty Costume is rigged for Legacy, Legacy Perky, Maitreya and Maitreya Petite and has so many options. Bodysuit comes in 8 solid and 8 ombre colors. Mask, gloves with claws, and tail all come 16 color choices and can be worn with and without drips. Gloves can be worn with or without claws and claws HUD has 7 metal colors. Tail is animated. Great halloween costume.
Felicia hair comes with 150 colors and style HUD with special hair version for S&P kitty mask.
Links:
Fetish Fair
maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Aloha%20Kahakai/129/132/23
Salt & Pepper Mainstore
maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/The%20Birdcage/101/133/42
Salt & Pepper Marketplace
marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/163109
Exile Mainstore
maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Covet/125/106/45
Exile Marketplace
marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/17591
ACT5 Poses Marketplace
Ponte Vecchio, Florence, Italy (pre-dawn blue hour)
The Ponte Vecchio ("Old Bridge") is a medieval stone closed-spandrel segmental arch bridge over the Arno River, in Florence, Italy, noted for still having shops built along it, as was once common. Butchers initially occupied the shops; the present tenants are jewelers, art dealers and souvenir sellers.
The bridge spans the Arno at its narrowest point where it is believed that a bridge was first built in Roman times. The Roman piers were of stone, the superstructure of wood. After being destroyed by a flood in 1117, it was reconstructed in stone but swept away again in 1333. It was rebuilt in 1345.
The bridge has always hosted shops and merchants who displayed their goods on tables before their premises, after authorization of the Bargello (a sort of a lord mayor, a magistrate and a police authority). The back shops (retrobotteghe) that may be seen from upriver, were added in the seventeenth century.
It is said that the economic concept of bankruptcy originated here: when a money-changer could not pay his debts, the table on which he sold his wares (the "banco") was physically broken ("rotto") by soldiers, and this practice was called "bancorotto" (broken table; possibly it can come from "banca rotta" which means "broken bank"). Not having a table anymore, the merchant was not able to sell anything and went bankrupt.
(from Wikipedia)
Normally, I don't let Rooster out until I know Mama moose has left the premises but she came back so it was a surprise that her and Rooster met up. Now, If any of you wonder what would happen if you encounter any wildlife on the trail how your dog would react....well, they bring them back to you. That's right, Mama moose came galloping right past me down my driveway. She doesn't perceive me as a threat so I was safe. Imagine if that was a bear? Something I learned from this picture is when a moose is perturbed their ears go comically sideways. She has never showed me that facial expression.
Of course, Rooster thinks it is all a game, just another horse on the property.
As a side note, sadly Rooster got ran over by a truck just outside my ranch gate by a passerby going about 80, he was rushed to the Dog ER on Sunday. He suffered a pulmonary contusion so he is on bed rest and as you can imagine not happy about it now that he is on the mend. All a very traumatic ordeal, I will forever be haunted by his cry as he got run over. Hope he has learned his lesson about cars as I never had a dog that didn't respect motorized vehicles. Had I known, I wouldn't have rescued him, there is only one ending, but apparently Rooster has a guardian angel. BTW- ER Vets think you shit out money, just saying. $1600 a night. This dog is going to give me a heart attack yet. Where is my beloved Sadie Dawg when I need her? Heavy sigh....
A photo taken inside the premises of Yamada Ryokan.
Honkan (本館, main building) in the right was built during the Edo period before Meiji Restoration in 1868, Kura (蔵, treasury) in the left was built in 1885, and the buildings in the back in 1914,
The main building was originally built for Touji (湯治), a traditional form of tourism for therapeutic bathing to improve health and/or to cure disease and injury. Guests cooked foods for themselves and stayed for weeks at the spa. Therefore a communal self-catering kitchen is still attached to the establishment.
Touji had been a popular leisure activity rivalling pilgrimage before modern tourism was introduced after Meiji Restoration.
The James Ryan Ltd Retail and Wholesale Distributors buildings are part of the Ryan Premises National Historic Site located in the Town of Bonavista on the Bonavista Peninsula in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador Canada
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The James Ryan Ltd Retail and Wholesale Distributors buildings are part of the Ryan Premises National Historic Site located in the Town of Bonavista on the Bonavista Peninsula in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador Canada
James Ryan Ltd. was established in the Bayley's Cove section of Bonavista in 1857 where it operated a pub as well as a retail store. The main operation was relocated to its present location on Bonavista harbour in 1869 and liquor was only sold in bulk and the fishery became the main focus. The company bought and sold salt cod, supplied salt and other materials for the cod fishery, and sold general merchandise. By 1895 James Ryan Ltd exported 100,000 quintals (approximately 5,000,000 kg) of salt cod, approximately 10% of the total for Newfoundland.James Ryan Ltd. exited the fishing industry in 1952 and continued on as a general store until closing in 1978. In 1987, the Ryan Premises at Bonavista were designated as a National Historic Site. Parks Canada took over the property and it was officially opened to the public by Queen Elizabeth II on June 24, 1997 to mark the 500th anniversary of John Cabot's landfall at Bonavista.
©Copyright Notice
This photograph and all those within my photostream are protected by copyright. They may not be reproduced, copied, transmitted or manipulated without my written permission.
Ryan Premises National Historic Site located in the Town of Bonavista on the Bonavista Peninsula in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador Canada
The Ryan Premises is a National Historic Site of Canada located in the town of Bonavista, Newfoundland and Labrador. It is preserved as an example of a large-scale merchant operation in a Newfoundland outport.
The site consists of the proprietor's house, a carriage shed, a retail shop, a retail store, a fish store and a salt store. The staff house, adjacent to but not part of the historical site, is a Registered Heritage Structure. Earlier, the premises also included a larger salt store, a cooperage, a powder magazine, a telegraph office, wharves, fish flakes, a lumber yard and a shipyard.
James Ryan Ltd. was established in the Bayley's Cove section of Bonavista in 1857 where it operated a pub as well as a retail store. The main operation was relocated to its present location on Bonavista harbour in 1869 and liquor was only sold in bulk and the fishery became the main focus. The company bought and sold salt cod, supplied salt and other materials for the cod fishery, and sold general merchandise. By 1895 James Ryan Ltd exported 100,000 quintals (approximately 5,000,000 kg) of salt cod, approximately 10% of the total for Newfoundland.James Ryan Ltd. exited the fishing industry in 1952 and continued on as a general store until closing in 1978. In 1987, the Ryan Premises at Bonavista were designated as a National Historic Site. Parks Canada took over the property and it was officially opened to the public by Queen Elizabeth II on June 24, 1997 to mark the 500th anniversary of John Cabot's landfall at Bonavista.
©Copyright Notice
This photograph and all those within my photostream are protected by copyright. They may not be reproduced, copied, transmitted or manipulated without my written permission.
Another photo taken in the premises of Yamada Ryokan.
The building in the right is called Nagaya (長屋) that is an Edo period construction. The building in the centre is Yudono (湯殿) that houses a hotspring bath, and the three -story building is called Shinkan (新館, new wing) for guest rooms although it is old enough. The two were constructed in 1914 during the Taishou era (大正時代 1907-1926). These three architectures are listed as Registered Tangible Cultural Heritage.
They are traditional structures supported by wooden pillars and beams, which allow installing plenty of glass windows.
In my opinion, this is architecturally the best part of the Japanese inn.
The building behind Shinkan is Bekkan (別館, annex) that is a reinforced concrete structure built in late 20th century. It may be comfortable to stay but is less attractive for photo shooting.
Mandrakes in Ormskirk - the much loved coffee shop which sells Harry Potter inspired food and merchandise opened in 2019 in its St Helens Road premises in Ormskirk. The venue proved an instant hit, holding mesmerising events such as captivating ‘magical’ parties and quiz nights, with its highlights including broomsticks, the ‘Hogwarts Express,’ wands and a plethora of magical mandrakes and paraphernalia to pose with.
Ryosoku-ji Temple is a famous place for autumn leaves known as Momiji-ji Temple.
From the temple gate to the approach, the precincts, and about 150 maples are placed all over the premises, and in autumn, bright crimson colors the temple.
Early evening view from the premises of Larnach Castle on the Otago Peninsula across the bay of Otago Harbour towards the suburbs of Dunedin (South Island, New Zealand).
Camera: Canon PowerShot G3.
Edited with Adobe Photoshop.
Every year, the Tesselaar family, famous for their tulips, host two flower festivals at their show garden premises in Silvan in the Dandenong Ranges on the outskirts of Melbourne. They began many years ago with their Tulip Festival in spring, which attracts visitors locally, from interstate and internationally. However, in the last few years, the Tesselaar family have started hosting an autumn festival too, called “Ka-Bloom” which I think has now eclipsed the tulip festival with its amazing plantongs. The Ka-Bloom festival sees the gardens filled with colour from mass plantings of snapdragons, dwarf dahlias, salvias and marigolds.
The theme for "Looking Close on Friday" the 21st of November is "one flower in focus", so when the theme was announced, I remembered a photograph I had taken of the French marigolds in bloom in the gardens of the Tesselaar Ka-Bloom festival, in April of this year. It had been a cool and crisp morning, and when the gates first opened and my partner and I went in, there were still some blooms that had dewdrops on them, like this vibrant French marigold, which is bejewelled with them! As the day progressed, it warmed up quickly and soon the pretty dewdrops I captured on this orange bloom were no more. I hope you like my choice for the theme this week, and that it makes you smile.
The church has been delivered to the museum from Kysorychi village in Rokytnivskyi district of Rivnenska Region. It was built by local masters at the end of 18th Century. According to M. Teodorovych, its tops were changes in 1871, and it became one-domed instead of three-domed. Reports of Emperor’s archeological expedition witness that at the beginning of 20th Century (in 1909) the church had to be dismounted due to its emergency state. Although, it was not broken down due to high artistic value of its iconostasis. The iconostasis did not survive until nowadays, except for only four fragments of a unique hewn altar.
As of the moment of purchase there of by the museum in 1978, there were no domes at all. In this connection, they have been re-made according to Polissia typology. The reconstruction was headed by the author of Polissia display, Vergovskyi S.V., inasmuch contours of old ones remained unknown.
This is a religious building; its dimensions are 15.9 x 7.3 m; total area: 116.07 square meters.
This is a building of three rooms, built of pine-tree timbers. The walls are fixed with halving cutouts, made in upper parts of the timbers. The square aisle of the church is its smallest room (4.9 x 4.9), the nave is also square and the biggest one (7.3 x 7.3); the altar room is also almost square (5.3 x 5). The central part is the widest one; its walls extend beyond the side timbers. The church is not covered with planks. The all three floors thereof are tent-shaped. The whole construction is supported by oak piles vidzemky, imbedded around the perimeter.
The premises of the church house a permanent exposition “Religion antiques of Ukraine”. It displays the pieces of arts: icons, triple candleholders, sculptures, church’ bowls of 18th – 20th Century.
Церква Воскресіння Ісуса Христа - Воскресенська церква з села Кисоричі, Рокитнівського району Рівненської області, 1789 рік.
До музею церква перевезена з Рівненської області, Рокитнівського району, село Кисоричі. Вона споруджена місцевими майстрами. Датується кінцем ХVІІІ ст.
Належить до архаїчного типу, поширеного на Поліссі — тризрубна, завершена трьома шатровими розділами з невеликими маківками.
За М. Теодоровичем її верхи були змінені у 1871 р. і церква з триверхої стала одноверхою. З повідомлень імператорської археологічної комісії випливає, що вже на початку ХХ ст. (у 1909 р.) церкву цю хотіли розібрати у зв’язку з аварійним станом. Однак, через високу мистецьку цінність її іконостасу церкву залишили цілою. На сьогодення іконостас не зберігся, а до наших днів дійшли лише чотири фрагменти унікального рубленого престолу.
На момент купівлі музеєм у 1978 р. верхи в ній були відсутні. У зв’язку з цим вони були заново виконані за поліською типологією під керівництвом автора експозиції «Полісся» Верговського С.В., оскільки абриси старих лишилися невідомими.
Культова споруда. Габаритні розміри: 15.9 х 7.3 м. Загальна площа: 116.07 м2.
Будівля у плані трикамерна, зведена з соснового кругляка. При спорудженні зрубу застосована врубка «в чашку», драчка вибрана у верхніх частинах колод. Квадратний у плані бабинець церкви найменший за розмірами (4,9 х 4,9 м.), нава також у плані квадратна – найбільша за розмірами (7,3 х 7,3 м.), вівтар у плані чотирикутний (5,3 х 5 м.).
Центральна частина по ширині найбільша і виступає стінами за бічні зруби. Церква не шальована. Три її верхи шатрового типу. Уся споруда тримається на дубових стоянах-відземках, закопаних по периметру у землю.
У приміщенні церкви експонується постійно діюча виставка «Церковні старожитності України» в якій експонуються твори мистецтва: ікони, троєсвічники, скульптури, церковні карнавки ХУІІІ-ХХ ст.
The Great view of Humayun tomb in delhi. The foreground shows a gardeners/caretakers cart that makes it easier for the worker to inspect and maintain the premises.
The Philosophical Hall at the Strahov Monastery, Prague, Czechia (the Czech Republic's official short name as of 2016)
(unless you made and paid for a reservation months beforehand, you are not allowed inside and can only admire the room from the doorway; photos can be taken only if you pay extra for a photo permit; best viewed enlarged for details)
Abbot Vaclav Mayer, during the last quarter of the 18th century, decided to build new library premises for the numerous acquisitions so he ordered the Philosophical Hall to be built by the naturalized Italian architect Johann Ignaz Palliardi. The hall is 32 meters long, 10 meters wide and 14 meters high, flanked on all sides by rich walnut wood bookcases. The highest shelves are only accessible from the gallery which is accessed by secret spiral staircases in both corners, masked by false book covers.
The ceiling was painted by Viennese artist Anton Maulbertsch over a period of 6 months, aided by only one assistant. The painting called The Spiritual Development of Mankind depicts the development of religion and science, guided by Divine Providence in the center of the painting, surrounded by virtues.
In the 19th century, Napoleon Bonaparte's wife Marie Louise visited the library and donated a four-volume work on Louvre museum paintings and Versailles gardens. The gift was stored in the tall bookcase that dominates the left side of the hall. On the top of the bookcase, there is a marble bust of Francis I, Emperor of Austria and Marie Louise's father.
The total number of volumes in the hall exceeds 50,000 works. In 2010, the Philosophical Hall was completely restored.
Lynmouth
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Lynmouth is a village in Devon, England, on the northern edge of Exmoor. The village straddles the confluence of the West Lyn and East Lyn rivers, in a gorge 700 feet (210 m) below Lynton, which was the only place to expand to once Lynmouth became as built-up as possible. Both villages are connected by the Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway which works two cable-connected cars on gravity, using water tanks. The two villages are a civil parish governed by Lynton and Lynmouth Town Council. The parish boundaries extend southwards from the coast and includes hamlets such as Barbrook and small moorland settlements such as East Ilkerton, West Ilkerton and Shallowford. The South West Coast Path and Tarka Trail pass through, and the Two Moors Way runs from Ivybridge in South Devon to Lynmouth; the Samaritans Way South West runs from Bristol to Lynton and the Coleridge Way from Nether Stowey to Lynmouth. Lynmouth was described by Thomas Gainsborough, who honeymooned there with his bride Margaret Burr, as "the most delightful place for a landscape painter this country can boast".
A lifeboat station was established in Lynmouth on 20 January 1869, five months after the nearby wreck of the sailing vessel Home. The lifeboat was kept in a shed on the beach until a purpose-built boat house was built at the harbour. This was rebuilt in 1898 and enlarged in 1906–07. It was closed at the end of 1944 as other stations in the area could provide cover with their newer motor lifeboats. The boat house was then used as a club but was washed away in the flood of 15 August 1952. It has since been rebuilt and includes a public shelter.
On 15 and 16 August 1952, a storm of tropical intensity broke over South West England, depositing 229 millimetres (9.0 in) of rain within 24 hours on an already waterlogged Exmoor. It is thought that a cold front scooped up a thunderstorm, and the orographic effect worsened the storm. Debris-laden floodwaters cascaded down the northern escarpment of the moor, converging upon the village of Lynmouth; in particular, in the upper West Lyn valley, a dam was formed by fallen trees etc., which in due course gave way, sending a huge wave of water and debris down that river. The River Lyn through the town had been culverted to gain land for business premises; this culvert soon choked with flood debris, and the river flowed through the town. Much of the debris was boulders and trees. Overnight, over 100 buildings were destroyed or seriously damaged along with 28 of the 31 bridges, and 38 cars were washed out to sea. In total, 34 people died, with a further 420 made homeless. Similar events had been recorded at Lynmouth in 1607 and 1796. After the 1952 disaster, the village was rebuilt, including diverting the river around the village.
The town of Lynton and Lynmouth is twinned with Bénouville in France.
Botlek, Rotterdam industrial area, Zuid-Holland, the Netherlands
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© 2016 Bart van Damme
E.B.S. [European Bulk Services] were so kind to allow me to shoot on their premises.
Brown Falcon (Falco berigora)
Australian Magpie (Cracticus tibicen)
This Brown Falcon was being 'escorted off the premises' by the Maggies at Point Cook Coastal Park.
Town of Bonavista Flag on display in one of the Ryan Premises National Historic Site of Canada buildings in the Town of Bonavista on the Bonavista Peninsula in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador Canada
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This photograph and all those within my photostream are protected by copyright. They may not be reproduced, copied, transmitted or manipulated without my written permission.
Private premises of
Lord Aberconwy.
Bodnant Garden is a National Trust property near Tal-y-Cafn, Conwy, Wales, overlooking the Conwy Valley towards the Carneddau mountains. Founded in 1874 and developed by five generations of one family, it was given to the National Trust in 1949.
(5/5) Premises by premises, public space by public space, inch by inch we hand over our belongings, our ownership to be treated back to safety and security. We trusted to be treated the way we should. We are trading our lives now. When our quarantines are broken, permissions issued, it is the system that is ready to 'treat' us, us and our diseases, us and our corpses, us and our insurances. Pegs return to stations, ready to turn and let turn.
Interestingly, an equality comes with this disease. We all have to line up to get inside the supermarket to get toilet paper or bleach. We all have to buy the unpopular pasta brand now. We all have to report to the young admission desk clerk to walk into the clinic. It is all military and we must be grateful. We certainly don't want to die like those people who are not as fortunate as we are.
What we treasure more, some consciously and some not, is the untouchable world inside, the ocean of consciousness, the land of the truly free. We hide in it, take refuge in it, treasure it.
With the question of how are you doing these days, we take our defenses up. What? Now you need to know what goes inside? "I'm all right. It's a small price to pay."
The fact is it is a huge price to pay. Here in America being was limited by confusion due to an abundance of options and now we are limited by our inabilities or even worse by lack of permissions. We lost permissions and those who do not want it, have to learn how to live without.
Old confusions due to a plethora of options are gone. Old choices are gone, old options, old confusions. We are limited by lacks, lack of permissions.
Now confusion belongs to those who push the limits without permissions or beyond permissions. Confusion belongs to those trying to separate themselves from collective security that government aparatus promises with no guarantee.
Closeup Of Old World Swallowtail (Papilio Machaon), 04-2023, Ticino, Switzerland
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THE STORY BEHIND THE PHOTO:
When I was a little boy, the butterfly in the photo above was an almost mythical creature to me. It was so rare, that I seem to remember most people I knew excitedly shouting "A SWALLOWTAIL! A SWALLOWTAIL" if they happened to spot one, and we kids would come running for a chance to see this unicorn of the insect world with our own eyes.
Granted, for 5-year old me "most people I knew" probably consisted of my parents and siblings plus a few kids and the kindergarten teacher, but what is certainly true is that unlike with more common butterflies, a visit from this elusive beauty would not go unnoticed and rarely unmentioned. The swallowtail was important - I knew that much.
A couple of years later, when I was maybe six or seven years old, I learned that the swallowtail belonged to the family of the „Ritterfalter“ (that is the German name for the Papilionidae) which translates to „knight butterflies“. Now this new knowledge really fueled my imagination: so the swallowtail was a knight!
There were only three butterfly species present in Switzerland that had been granted a knighthood - the other two being Sir Scarce Swallowtail and Sir Apollo - and since the (old world) swallowtail was the most beautiful, it was certainly the most valiant and probably sat at the head of the knights’ table; heck, in my mind it was practically the Sir Lancelot of the butterfly world!
Now you might chuckle at the notion that this insect - which may seem like "just another butterfly" to people who live in countries with a large and colorful insect fauna - made this much of an impression on me. But such exotic looking creatures (ANY exotic looking animals) were practically non-existent where I lived.
I grew up in a very rural area of Switzerland outside the city of Zurich during the late seventies and eighties, and although things would get worse in the 90s (before they got better in the 2000s with the boom of organic farming), intense agriculture had already taken a terrible toll on the biodiversity of the open grass land around our little village.
Most crucially for the swallowtail, the once abundant wild carrot - which is the plant the caterpillars of Papilio machaon most commonly feed on in northern Switzerland - had nearly disappeared from our fields and meadows, so the species relied on fennel and carrot plants in private vegetable gardens for its survival. Sadly, those were few and far between, and by the time I grew up, the swallowtail had gone all but extinct in our area.
My desperate attempts to help it out and lure it into our garden (well, mom did all the work by planting carrot seeds at my insistence) remained futile; regardless how meticulously I searched every plant, to my great disappointment I never found a single caterpillar nor even so much as a tiny swallowtail egg.
But there was one place where I could rely on encountering this rarest and most gorgeous of butterflies - and also many other fantastical creatures that were the stuff of legend for the little nature nerd I was (well, I guess still am 😊 ). This was a magical place that lay on the other side of a gigantic mountain, and it could only be accessed through a dark tunnel that would go on for miles and miles and miles (ten, to be exact).
One could enter in winter and come out in spring; on one side there might be snow several feet high while on the other side warm sunshine would illuminate lush green fields that, after a further 30-minutes drive in the family car, would give way to gardens with palm trees.
This was a fantasy land from a fairy tale, where people grew peaches and lemons and figs in their gardens, giant beetles grew antlers like stags, snakes grew to a length of six feet, and colorful lizards basked on the walls of peculiar and ancient looking little stone houses, while exotic seeming insects and spiders (and even scorpions) populated the fields and forests.
This place (as you might have guessed) wasn't Hogwarts: it was Ticino, the Italian speaking southern part of Switzerland. And since it lay on the other side of the Alps, we would usually drive through the 10-mile (16.9 kilometers) Gotthard road tunnel to get there, and it was indeed quite common that there would still be snow covering the north entry in early March, while on the southern end of the tunnel spring had already arrived.
I knew that this land of seemingly endless sunshine was where my grandparents had grown up, but to little-boy me it might as well have been Hogwarts (although the Harry Potter books obviously hadn't yet been written back then 😉 ). Driving to Ticino through this endless appearing tunnel was nothing short of a trip to another world.
What further added to the magic was that our vacation home was a several-hundred year old "rustico" (that's what the ancient, traditionally built stone houses are called in Ticino) that was located like some long forgotten stronghold in the midst of a wild, jungle-like forest in a remote area of the Verzasca valley. The place - which belonged to my uncle (who never went there) - was completely off-grid and had its own power supply from solar panels on the roof and fresh water from a nearby spring.
With no neighbors around that we could bother - and armed with a deep trust in fate (which was kinda typical for the "baby-boomer" generation) that we kids would neither fall from a cliff, drown in the river, get bitten by a venomous snake, get lost in the woods, NOR go feral and start a savage little Lord-Of-The-Flies style cult - our parents let us roam free.
To me this meant I went exploring the untamed nature around me for as long as there was daylight. I wanted to know and see every creature that lived in the area; it was like going on a gemstone hunt. And the bounty would always be plentiful: there were snakes and lizards and stag beetles and mantises and giant caterpillars of hawk moths to be found, but the big price - the crown jewel if you will - was the swallowtail.
For here the "winged knight" still ruled supreme, and even though it didn't exist in large numbers, I would always find at least one a day on some little meadow in the forest. Because swallowtails are so much bigger than the more common butterflies, I could easily spot it from afar, and just like the one in the photo above (taken in my garden in Ticino this past spring), I would usually find Sir Papilio Machaon sipping nectar from the flowers of red clover.
These swallowtail hunts in the wild Verzasca valley were marvelous adventures (though in hindsight they were probably more than just a little dangerous), and to this day they're among my favorite childhood memories.
A lot has changed in the nearly forty years that have since gone by; parents who let their kids roam free all day long in untamed forests are certainly a thing of the past in Switzerland (my own generation seems to have a hard time letting their kids go ANYwhere unsupervised - except perhaps for the internet 😉 ). But what has remained the same is my fascination with these gorgeous insects.
And there's some good news: I'm happy to report that the swallowtail has bounced back a little in many parts of northern Switzerland. It's still one of the rarest butterflies, but nowadays I consistently find the cute, characteristically striped caterpillars on the carrot plants in my parents' vegetable garden year after year, and every once in a while I'm even greeted by a "winged knight" in person when I take a stroll across the fields and meadows of my youth.
As for Ticino; well, I now have my own little house there (also a "rustico", but in the less remote Malcantone region) with a tiny garden attached, and every year I make sure to do everything in my power to accommodate Sir (or Dame) Swallowtail on my premises (also read: www.lacerta-bilineata.com/post/how-to-attract-a-swallowta... - and with great success I might add :-)
During the warmer months, this gorgeous Papilionidae species regales me with its knightly presence nearly every day, and I still make a run for my camera each time I get a visit - even though Sir Lancelot of the butterfly world is a nightmare to photograph.
Knighthood or not, this is one nervous fella that constantly jumps and flutters around on the flowers he likes to visit, which tends to drive a certain (now fully grown) nature nerd and wannabe-photographer to the brink of insanity on a regular basis.
Thankfully though, by now my neighbors are used to the (embarrassingly frequent) frustrated shouts and bouts of swearing coming from my garden (I imagine them just rolling their eyes and saying: "Great, there's a butterfly in his garden again..." 😂 ).
And with this (as always far too lengthy) anecdote I'll leave you for now and say goodbye to 2023:
😊❤🎉💕 - HAPPY NEW YEAR my friends!!! - 😊❤🎉💕
All the best - and the best of light - to you in 2024 and beyond! And as always: let me know what you think in the comments (even though it will take me a while to respond, but I promise I will). 🙏 😊 ❤
Tucked away in Barrio Norte, Buenos Aires is a beautiful shop that every bookworm would love to visit, called El Ateneo Grand Splendid. It is built within the almost 100-year-old Grand Splendid Theater, which opened in 1919. The premises were later converted into a movie theater and eventually, in 2000, it was transformed into the El Ateneo Grand Splendid bookstore, which currently welcomes over one million book lovers each year.
The stunning building was initially designed by architects Peró and Torres Armengol, then later converted from an old movie theater into a bookshop by architect Fernando Manzone, who retained many parts of the theatre, including the stage, the balconies, the interior design details and even the red curtains. In 2008 El Ateneo Grand Splendid was named the second most beautiful bookshop in the world by The Guardian, and that’s no surprise considering its elaborate décor and classic 1920’s theater feel.*
*https://www.boredpanda.com/buenos-aires-bookstore-theatre-el-ateneo-grand-splendid/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=organic
This shot was the result of me making the (for me) monumental decision of leaving the premises and venturing out into Big Lake Park, northeast of Edmonton.
I hadn’t got out much this summer, mostly because it’s raining a lot (actually, I really hate going out) and the air was not that great in June due to the wildfires up north (yes, even further north than Edmonton) but I could not resist taking part in the Big Lake Bird Walk sponsored by the folks from Wild Birds Unlimited. These are the guys that keep me in peanuts. The walk just about did not take place since in the afternoon we had another stormy and rainy weather scenario. But by walk start time, 6:30pm, things had cleared up and the group took off. I had been to that area before, several years ago, so it was not completely alien to me, and had heard people talking about the yellow-headed black birds that call these wetlands their home. That was the main reason I found myself there. Since, for me, this was mainly an exploratory excursion, I left the big equipment at home and chose the more walk-friendly lighter combo of EOS 70D and 100-400mm EF. That was a great decision, since at first we did not see any of my targeted birds. So, to get at least some juice (lemons, etc), I concentrated on ordinary black birds and some swallows and began to dawdle, dropping way behind the main pack of bird watching individuals. All of a sudden, I hear “Franz … Franz” being called out. I wondered who the hell knew my name here and what was I doing to attract all this attention. Then I remembered telling Vicki (bestest peanut supplier and one of the walk leaders) that I had high hopes to capture one of these blackbirds. Well, her eagle eyes had scouted one of these elusive little guys and after surfacing from my self-induced trance I hurried over and set up camp.
I was getting despondent because the light was dwindling and I feared not being able to get a shot. Then I remembered the remote lighting equipment I was carrying in my pack. I grabbed it and hurried into the swamp trying not to disturb my target nor to drown my equipment. Ok, there goes another pair of hiking boots. No chance of getting decent reflections since I disturbed the water way too much. And wouldn’t you know it, it worked. I will, however invest in some hip waders … damn, these things are expensive. Ok, ok, I cannot continue with this joke… Much easier to set up the spot lights in Affinity than to attempt this in real nature while being consumed by mosquitos.
In addition to getting the shot of a new bird I also had a great time talking with Don Delaney who was sharing his unlimited birding expertise with anyone having questions and thanks to Vickie for pointing out the attractions.
Black Drongo (Dicrurus macrocercus) is a common resident and visitor to Thailand. Captured at Asia Pacific International University premises., Muaklek, Thailand
Shot around a temple premises in the middle of a forest. The temple rituals involve sacrifices of goats which are then cooked into a meal and distributed to the poor as free food. This happens once a week and the leftover blood attracts several flycatchers.
The Taiga flycatcher is a small flycatcher from Palearctic region that winters in India. They are not easy to sight and harder to id since the Red-Breasted Flycatcher looks very similar except for a few minor differences (like feet color, beak and tail colors). We sighted 2-3 of them and they were quite wary of some monkeys nearby. Monkeys tend to grab birds for food and hence birds fly away quickly.
Thanks in advance for your views, favorites and feedback.
Schloss Philippsruhe, Hanau, Hesse, Germany
The black pattern on the pavement was caused by the shadow of a massive wrought-iron gilded entrance gate behind me, protecting the castle of "unbidden guests" outside the opening hours. I liked the pattern in conjunction with this beautiful(ly illuminated) castle and fountain hence the reason why I made it a part of this picture.
"The impressive baroque palace was built in 1725 in Hanau Kesselstadt on behalf of the Hanau Count Philipp Reinhard. Its present appearance can be traced back to conversions during the founding time. The premises now house the Historical Museum. The surrounding landscape park was originally designed as a baroque garden, but was renovated in the English style in the 19th century. The popular Brothers Grimm Festival takes place every year at the edge of the park in a newly designed amphitheatre. A highlight of the castle is the so called white hall. In the first years of the 18th century these rooms were used to house the cold-sensitive orange and lemon trees. Today the white hall offers sufficient space to host an opulent banquet at major celebrations such as weddings, birthdays or anniversaries, to function as a ballroom or to provide a dignified setting for meetings."
I love domestic history, and I am known to often end up like Alice : lost down the rabbit hole, in my case a rabbit hole of historical facts. When history is coupled with one of my other passions - haberdashery, in particular cotton spools with beautiful thread heads with elegant graphics - then I am in heaven! This is one such example.
D. H. Evans was a large department store along the major West End shopping strip of Oxford Street. D. H. Evans was opened in 1879 by Dan Harries Evans at 320 Oxford Street. Evans was a Welshman who had trained as draper and had moved to London in 1878. The store quickly grew and by 1885 it had absorbed three of the stores adjoining it. In 1893, the store moved into further new premises at 290 to 294 Oxford Street and became a limited liability company. In 1897, Dan Evans resigned as Managing Director but stayed on the board, and was replaced by Harrods manager Ernest Webb on the advice of Harrods and D. H. Evans director Richard Burbridge. The business continued to expand by purchasing the business of neighbors James Goodman and Arthur Saunders, and in 1906, announced the rebuilding of the collection of buildings on the west side of Old Cavendish Street. In 1915, Dan Evans retired from the board and was replaced by Ernest Webb's son William Wallace Webb. By 1928, however, D. H. Evans realized they could not expand without further investment, and due to the relationship with Harrods agreed a merger with Harrods being the senior partner, with William Burbridge becoming the chairman. 1935, land bounded by Oxford Street, Old Cavendish Street, Henrietta Street and Chapel Place was acquired and demolished for a new store designed by Louis Blanc, which opened in 1937. In 1954, Harrods was purchased by House of Fraser, and D. H. Evans become a trading arm within the Harrods group. A second D. H. Evans store was added in Wood Green, London in 1980, and the Oxford Street store was refurbished twice between 1982 and 1985. I began to shop there during this period. In 2001, the store was rebranded under the House of Fraser name. The store closed permanently in January 2022.
This small spool of creamy white thread has never been used, and comes from D. H. Evans' heyday in the Edwardian era of the early Twentieth Century. I acquired it from a collector in Dorset, divesting herself of some of her pieces as she downsizes her home. The spool has been photographed on a piece of heavily embroidered Art Deco patterned organza which I bought from a specialist shop that has a particularly wonderful range of unusual fabrics that they sell by the quarter metre (just enough for my purposes).
Grade ll listed corner banking premises circa 1880. Two tall storeys, painted stone and terracotta. Eclectic design combining Gothic with Renaissance and Dutch gable motifs. Tall corner oriel surmounted by octagonal cupola with scrolled consoles. Dutch gables, ogee capped finials. Banking hall windows, in grooved ground floor, have massive keystones. End bays of each front have 2 storeys contained in main ground floor with boldly carved acanthus leaf decoration to aprons of upper windows. Steep slate roofs, ribbed chimney stacks (historicengland.org.uk)
Inside, it's on-the-premises distilled cocktails. Outside, it's classic food-truck fare. It's Friday night good spirits, at...
Independent Distilling Company
Decatur (Agnes Scott Historical District), Georgia, USA.
5 May 2023.
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Altra coppia di treni notturni da/per la Capitale sono gli ICN1960 e 1959.
Vediamo proprio l'ICN1959 Roma Termini - Siracusa trainato dal E656 421, in transito dalle saline di Augusta e prossimo a fermarsi in questa località.
Stranamente, le voci circolanti di una sua soppressione con il cambio di orario del 14 Giugno sono risultate infondate, dato che ancora è tracciato da Viaggiatreno ed è prenotabile sul sito di Trenitalia...
English:
Now near the end of his journey, the Trenitalia's ICN1959 Roma Termini - Siracusa is preparing to stop at the station in Augusta, shown here in transit in the former premises of salt. Holder from Messina, the E656 421.
Les grandes marées de cet hiver ont arrachées beaucoup de sable sur la plage des blockhaus du Cap ferret. Ces géants de pierre, de fer et de béton jaillissent des profondeurs dunaires pour affronter de nouveau les éléments marins, faisant rejaillir de nos mémoires, ces souvenirs de guerres et de resistances sur le Mur de l' Atlantique, prémisses de notre Liberté contemporaine...
The high tides of this winter have torn up a lot of sand on the beach of the blockhouses of Cap Ferret. These giants of stone, iron and concrete spring from the dune depths to confront the marine elements again, bringing back from our memories these memories of wars and resistance on the Atlantic Wall, premises of our contemporary Liberty...