While attending a wedding on California’s central coast, I snuck away for a bit of Pelican watching at Pismo Beach. Watching these unwieldy Birds dive at breakneck speed into the Pacific Ocean (to catch a fish) makes for an interesting morning… but I’m easy to please : )

The Brown Pelican is a comically elegant bird with an oversized bill, sinuous neck, and big, dark body. Squadrons glide above the surf along southern and western coasts, rising and falling in a graceful echo of the waves.

They feed by plunge-diving from high up, using the force of impact to stun small fish before scooping them up. They are fairly common today—an excellent example of a species’ recovery from pesticide pollution that once placed them at the brink of extinction.

While the Brown Pelican is draining the water from its bill after a dive, gulls often try to steal the fish right out of its pouch—sometimes while perching on the pelican's head. Pelicans themselves are not above stealing fish, as they follow fishing boats and hang around piers for handouts.

Pelicans incubate their eggs with the skin of their feet, essentially standing on the eggs to keep them warm. In the mid-twentieth century the pesticide DDT caused pelicans to lay thinner eggs that cracked under the weight of incubating parents. After nearly disappearing from North America in the 1960s and 1970s, Brown Pelicans made a full comeback thanks to pesticide regulations.

During a dive, the Brown Pelican tucks its head and rotates its body to the left. This maneuver is probably to cushion the trachea and esophagus—which are found on the right side of the neck—from the impact.

The oldest Brown Pelican on record was 43 years of age.

(Nikon D500, 80-400/5.6 @ 300 mm, 1/5000 @ f/6.3, ISO 360, edited to taste)

Downtown Tokyo is not without the nature or, I should say, something like that, as many Japanese gardens are hidden behind concrete buildings rather than being integrated with the cityscape.

Shinjuku Gyoen (新宿御苑) is a typical example, which is a walking distance from neon-lit Kabukichou.

It was originally constructed as a garden attached to the residence of the Naitou (内藤) family that ruled their Han (藩, domain) in the present-day Nagano prefecture from the castle in the Takatoo (高遠) town during the Edo Period.

Local Samurai rulers like the Naitou family are called Daimyou (大名), and the gardens constructed by such people are called Daimyou Teien (庭園 garden). Tokyo has an agglomeration of Daimyou gardens.

The reason for a Daimyo to have a residence in Edo (Tokyo) was a regulation forced by the Tokugawa Shogunate (government); Daimyo's spouse and children were forced to live in Edo as hostage, and Daimyo had to ply between their Han and Edo periodically.

Thanks to this ruling system, Daimyou's family members and retainers learned to speak the Edo dialect, which contributed later to establish the Edo dialect as the standard Japanese.

Dipper - Cinclus Cinclus

aka Water Ouzel

Dippers are members of the genus Cinclus in the bird family Cinclidae, named for their bobbing or dipping movements. They are unique among passerines for their ability to dive and swim underwater.

They have a characteristic bobbing motion when perched beside the water, giving them their name. While under water, they are covered by a thin, silvery film of air, due to small bubbles being trapped on the surface of the plumage.

Dippers are found in suitable freshwater habitats in the highlands of the Americas, Europe and Asia. In Africa they are only found in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco. They inhabit the banks of fast-moving upland rivers with cold, clear waters, though, outside the breeding season, they may visit lake shores and sea coasts.

The high haemoglobin concentration in their blood gives them a capacity to store oxygen greater than that of other birds, allowing them to remain underwater for thirty seconds or more, whilst their basal metabolic rate is approximately one-third slower than typical terrestrial passerines of similar mass. One small population wintering at a hot spring in Suntar-Khayata Mountains of Siberia feeds underwater when air temperatures drop below −55 °C (−67 °F).

Dippers are completely dependent on fast-flowing rivers with clear water, accessible food and secure nest-sites. They may be threatened by anything that affects these needs such as water pollution, acidification and turbidity caused by erosion. River regulation through the creation of dams and reservoirs, as well as channelization, can degrade and destroy dipper habitat.

Dippers are also sometimes hunted or otherwise persecuted by humans for various reasons. The Cyprus race of the white-throated dipper is extinct. In the Atlas Mountains dippers are claimed to have aphrodisiacal properties. In parts of Scotland and Germany, until the beginning of the 20th century, bounties were paid for killing dippers because of a misguided perception that they were detrimental to fish stocks through predation on the eggs and fry of salmonids.

Population:

UK breeding:

6,200-18,700 pairs

regulation rage

Prime Tower - Zürich

The water of Tahoe is unbelieveably clear, although it takes considerable effort and regulation to keep it so.

Quelle Wikipedia: Die Aktion Grüne Kreuze ist eine Protestaktion deutscher Landwirte, die im Jahr 2019 ins Leben gerufen wurde. Landwirte rufen ihre Kollegen dazu auf, auf eigenen landwirtschaftlichen Flächen an Weg- und Straßenrändern grün angestrichene Kreuze aus Holz aufzustellen. Auf diese Weise können Äcker und Felder als Werbefläche für die Interessen der Landwirte und zu stillem Protest genutzt werden. Mit der Aufstellung der grünen Kreuze protestieren Landwirte gegen neue Regulierungen aus Politik und Verwaltung und für mehr Respekt der Gesellschaft für ihre Arbeit. Die Kreuze sollen ein Mahnzeichen gegenüber Politik und Gesellschaft darstellen und Verbraucher zum Nachdenken anregen.

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

"The green cross on the field"

Source Wikipedia: The Green Crosses campaign is a protest action by German farmers that was launched in 2019. Farmers call on their colleagues to set up wooden crosses painted green on their own agricultural land at roadsides. In this way, fields can be used as advertising space for the interests of farmers and for silent protest. By putting up the green crosses, farmers are protesting against new regulations from politics and administration and for more respect from society for their work. The crosses should represent a warning sign to politics and society and stimulate consumers to think.

I guess the willet was tired of posing on the post, and wanted a break.

The image was taken in the middle of a bright afternoon, so the light on the bird is not great. I think it was a touch overcast, fortunately, so the shadows are not as horrible as they could be.

From A.I. Google: "Birds yawn for several reasons, primarily related to temperature regulation and alertness. Like mammals, birds may yawn to cool their brains by increasing blood flow to the head and facilitating heat exchange with the air. Yawning can also help birds increase oxygen intake and clear carbon dioxide from their lungs."

It looks good, but Google's AI has offered up some pretty goofy answers for me on some topics, so I will often do a bit more digging on topics I'm interested in.

The Dickens Inn is an original warehouse building near Tower Bridge dating back to the 18th century. It is thought to have been built in the early 1700s as a tea factory or a local brewery.

Years later, it was converted into a tavern, with sawdust strewn floors and no bottled or canned beer would have been stocked. Diners also enjoyed candlelit meals on the balconies; this practice has been phased out due to modern fire safety regulations!

All 120 tonnes of The Dickens Inn was moved 70 meters east to make room for a new housing development.

The original timbers, tailboards, and ironwork were used in the restoration and the building was reconstructed in the style of a three-story balconied inn of the 18th century.

In May 1976, The Dickens Inn was opened by the grandson of Charles Dickens, Cedric Charles Dickens.

(various sources)

Double click to view very Large.

"All the regulations of mankind are tuned to the end that the intense sensation of life is lost in continual distractions." - Friedrich Nietzsche

I used to use that quote to prep my students on field trips for a sensitization exercise before we'd start shooting. I hope my interventions helped some of them. Learning to see is a long, intense process; really, it takes a lifetime. Maybe more.

The morning I shot this, I wasn't getting anything. The fog was too thick to allow big landscape views, and the world was grey. Then the sun pushed its way up from the murk, and... transformation!

As for Nietzsche and his "continual distractions", I wonder what he would think of us and how we live today. I try to keep the distractions under control - I have a smart TV but only use it to watch movies. I no longer use Facebook. I watch hockey in season (just starting). Sometimes I go to YouTube. So I do spend too much time sitting passively and I'm not exactly a vessel of purity.

On the other hand, I moved to rural Saskatchewan 15 years ago to remove myself from the pace of modern life and be closer to the natural world, wherein my sanity resides. No regrets!

Photographed in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission © 2025 James R. Page - all rights reserved.

Regulation 32,

Section 18,

Subsection 147,

Footnote # 96,

(c) always read the rules

This old barn near Lyndon,IL. is heading off to the sunset. Should have been razed years ago, but county regulations make that an expensive process. It has to be put in dumpsters and taken to the landfill. The county has their reasons, but the expenses keep many old buildings up till the bitter end....

These are conservative or "low" Amish horses. The church district no longer exists. 10 years ago there was a schism. The conservative families moved and the remaining Amish became more liberal or "high" in adopting more technology and expanding the type of jobs that were allowed......................................................

The conservative Amish did not allow rubber on tires, tops on buggies, use of propane and required farming and lumber production as acceptable economic activities. The remaining turned to industrial farming practices building large Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOS). Unfortunately given few state pollution regulations and the isolation of the community the few regulations are not enforced. This has led to practices that pollute ground water...................................................................................

Unlike their co-workers the horses don't mind having their pic taken..... #kentstrock

no running, no jumping, no whistling/singing, no swimming

© Leanne Boulton, All Rights Reserved

Candid street photography from Glasgow, Scotland. I have no idea what she had seen to cause this expression but I am certainly intrigued. Wishing you all a great weekend of photography - stay safe!

- Image captured in accordance with coronavirus pandemic rules and regulations applicable at the time.

Native to North America, the Trumpeter Swan presented in previous posts, was eradicated from the province of Ontario by the late 1860’s as a result of over hunting for their meat, feathers and hides. Concurrently, European settlers began to bring Mute Swans to North America in the 1870’s for ornamental purposes, principally. The Mute Swan is now considered an invasive species in Canada, but due to human actions as opposed to the birds coming over on their own volition. Over time, their populations exploded, spreading beyond controlled environments into natural habitats where they began to outcompete native bird species such as ducks and geese for resources. This population boom can be directly attributed to insufficient regulation and monitoring of non-native species, again highlighting humanity's role in enabling their invasion.

So, Mute Swans did not displace Trumpeter Swans and are not responsible for being in North America. Calls for culling Mute Swans are unfair to this bird and very impractical because the population will keep rebounding. Demonizing Mute Swans as in saying they disrupt the environment for other native species or that they are aggressive toward other wildlife, dogs and humans might be just one of those time-tested tactics to seed dislike of the bird amongst the human population. Are Mute Swans an environmental problem in their native Europe and Asia with similar climate and ecosystems where they’ve been for over 6,000 years?

If there are significant ecological repercussions of this particular invasion, and there are countless other examples, that’s a clear evidence of our responsibility which serves as a reminder of how human introduction of non-native species can have unintended, long-lasting consequences. Considering the two birds share the same behaviours and eating habits, would this real or perceived ecological imbalance attributed to the Mute Swans be course corrected by replacing them with Trumpeters?

Since their introduction to North America in the 1870’s, Mute Swan population in Ontario grew to 500 individuals by 1985 and by 2012 had risen to 3,000 birds. Comparatively, the Trumpeters, introduced back in the Province of Ontario in 1982, grew to about 1,500 individual by 2015, already half the Mute population with the latter benefiting from a 500 members headstart. Notwithstanding Ontario’s reportedly ineffective population management of the Mute Swans, the growth in Trumpeter Swan numbers appears to be quite satisfactory in spite of the claims that they are being suppressed and bullied by the somewhat larger Mute Swans sharing the same habitats. Indeed, when observing large flocks of Mutes and Trumpeters gathered on the same limited areas of open water during the winter, I noticed significantly more inter-species squabbling than aggressivity between Mutes and Trumpeters.

So, despite the presence of Mute Swans, it appears Trumpeter Swans have been holding their own in their competitive natural environment. Considering the above, perhaps it would be best to consider the Mute Swan naturalized to North America, after all they were invited here, and do our own research before adhering to talking points from sources that may or may not have hidden agendas or influencing biases.

Mute Swans are gorgeous birds despite the negative press they are given.

Images captured from the Rideau Canal, Southern Ontario, Canada.

It is the third largest lake in France, after the Lac du Bourget and Lac de Grand-Lieu, if the French part of Lake Geneva (which is also partly in Switzerland) is excluded. It is known as "Europe's cleanest lake" because of strict environmental regulations introduced in the 1960s. It is a popular tourist destination known for its swimming and water sports.

The lake was formed about 18,000 years ago, at the time the large alpine glaciers melted. It is fed by many small rivers from the surrounding mountains (Ire, Eau morte, Laudon, Bornette and Biolon), and from a powerful underwater source, the Boubioz, which enters at 82 m depth.

This 26-kilometer-long stream is located in the province of Limburg, the Netherlands, and originated naturally before 1860 when the official first work to professionalize the stream began. The catchment area of this stream covers 157 square kilometers and drains into the river De Maas.

Rice fields on terraced of Mu Cang Chai, YenBai, Vietnam

design Verner Panton

copenhagen | denmark

MOON is a spherical lamp of metal with vertical lamella, arranged like a fan, for individual regulation of the light.‎

I took this photograph on my phone last February but have posted it now because moorland burning is in the news. My photo was also used this week here in the excellent Raptor Persecution UK blog raptorpersecutionscotland.wordpress.com/2021/02/16/enviro...

This was taken on a cloudless day in the Peak District and shows the air pollution caused by this seemingly small moorland fire. But the real damage is not quite so obvious as this with a double blow to the climate. The first blow is the simple unessential burning of a fossil "fuel" (peat), but more importantly healthy deep peat blanket bog should remove large amounts of CO2 from the atmosphere, and thus help to counter climate change. But blanket bog damaged by fire cannot absorb CO2.

In 1993 farmers were prevented from burning crop stubbles when the Crop Residues (Burning) Regulations came into force in the UK. Yet moor owners are exempt from these regulations. Moorland burning also contributes to water discolouration in the reservoirs that we pay to have removed in our water bills, yet it continues on a massive scale in the uplands, and here in the Peak District National Park too. The moors and their wildlife survived perfectly well for the thousands of years before burning and gamekeepering.

This week 17 environmental organisations have written to George Eustace (Secretary of State for DEFRA) who has proposed a sort of "ban" on burning peat peat. But the "ban" is so riddled with loopholes and concessions to the grouse shooting industry that it will allow burning to continue unabated. These organisations are calling for a proper ban on burning of deep peat and you can read the letter and see the organisations behind it on the RPUK blog linked above. There is also strong public support for a ban, with recent polling showing that 62% are in favour of a ban, while only 3% are against it.

Finishing on a lighter note, that valley just this side of the burning is Mickleden Clough where Britain's first Marmora's Warbler was found in May 1982. That was one of my earliest rare birds in Britain but alas I never took a photograph. But here is a Marmora's Warbler taken by my friend Chris Galvin www.flickr.com/photos/chrisgalvinphoto/22997669301/in/pho...

The old floodgate is still working and regulating the level of a parallel side river of the river Reuss.

Caught an epic sunrise today amidst the recent spate of events that rocked the Singapore drone community. I was thinking of how many more sunrises can I ever get to shoot from the air in Sg again. With the recent incursion incidents within the 5km aerodomes of both the Changi Airport and Paya Lebar Airbase, the government has decided to tighten drone regulations in the very near future. Been thinking of whether is it still practical of flying and pursuing aerial photography in Singapore. Only time will tell though...

DJI Mavic 2 Pro ı 1s ı f/2.8 ı ISO 200

Explore no. 8, 11 July 2019

©Rik Amar 2019. All Rights Reserved

A regulation spin back in the derelict asylum.

(PS 'regulation' here means returning for a 3rd night and having a dozen goes at getting it right because the ones I'd spun on the last visit weren't quite there...)

Em Ourense, o Paseo Fluvial do Miño, que conecta a Via Vella às pontes históricas, oferece um testemunho da rica paisagem ribeirinha galega no início de dezembro. A imagem capturada revela um ecossistema em transição, onde árvores de folha caduca, como amieiros, freixos e salgueiros, iniciam o processo de despojamento, contrastando com o verde persistente do sub-bosque denso, composto por fetos e outras herbáceas que estabilizam o solo e mitigam a erosão. A presença constante de hera nos troncos sublinha a humidade característica deste corredor ecológico, vital para a regulação hidrológica e preservação da biodiversidade em ambiente urbano. O rio Minho, elemento estruturante da identidade de Ourense e o mais longo da Galiza, serpenteia ao fundo, revelando zonas de água lenta e barras de seixos, reflexo da dinâmica natural de deposição e caudais mais baixos na estação fria. Este passeio pedonal, integrado numa requalificação das frentes ribeirinhas, promove a mobilidade suave, a educação ambiental e valoriza o património natural e histórico da cidade, outrora assentamento romano atraído pelas termas e recursos hídricos abundantes.

In Ourense, the Miño River Walk, which connects the Via Vella to historic bridges, offers a glimpse of Galicia's rich riverside landscape in early December. The image captured reveals an ecosystem in transition, where deciduous trees such as alders, ash trees, and willows begin the process of shedding their leaves, contrasting with the persistent green of the dense undergrowth, composed of ferns and other herbaceous plants that stabilize the soil and mitigate erosion. The constant presence of ivy on the trunks highlights the characteristic humidity of this ecological corridor, vital for hydrological regulation and the preservation of biodiversity in an urban environment. The Minho River, a structuring element of Ourense's identity and the longest in Galicia, meanders in the background, revealing areas of slow water and pebble bars, reflecting the natural dynamics of deposition and lower flows in the cold season. This pedestrian walkway, part of a redevelopment of the riverfront, promotes soft mobility and environmental education and enhances the natural and historical heritage of the city, once a Roman settlement attracted by its thermal springs and abundant water resources.

Ears of Belgian Hare in the sunlight.

Explored 4th January 2021.

This 26-kilometer-long stream is located in the province of Limburg, the Netherlands, and originated naturally before 1860 when the official first work to professionalize the stream began. The catchment area of this stream covers 157 square kilometers and drains into the river De Maas.

shot with a fujifilm x-s10 and a fujifilm xf35mm f/1.4 lens

RMS Titanic was a British passenger liner that sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after colliding with an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England to New York City. The sinking of Titanic caused the deaths of 1,514 people in one of the deadliest peacetime maritime disasters in history. She was the largest ship afloat at the time of her maiden voyage. One of three Olympic class ocean liners operated by the White Star Line, she was built between 1909–11 by the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast. She carried 2,224 people.

Her passengers included some of the wealthiest people in the world, as well as over a thousand emigrants from Britain, Ireland, Scandinavia and elsewhere seeking a new life in North America. The ship was designed to be the last word in comfort and luxury, with an on-board gymnasium, swimming pool, libraries, high-class restaurants and opulent cabins. She also had a powerful wireless telegraph provided for the convenience of passengers as well as for operational use. Though she had advanced safety features such as watertight compartments and remotely activated watertight doors, she lacked enough lifeboats to accommodate all of those aboard. Due to outdated maritime safety regulations, she carried only enough lifeboats for 1,178 people – a third of her total passenger and crew capacity.

After leaving Southampton on 10 April 1912, Titanic called at Cherbourg in France and Queenstown (now Cobh) in Ireland before heading westwards towards New York. On 14 April 1912, four days into the crossing and about 375 miles south of Newfoundland, she hit an iceberg at 11:40 pm (ship's time; UTC-3). The glancing collision caused Titanic's hull plates to buckle inwards in a number of locations on her starboard side and opened five of her sixteen watertight compartments to the sea. Over the next two and a half hours, the ship gradually filled with water and sank. Passengers and some crew members were evacuated in lifeboats, many of which were launched only partly filled. A disproportionate number of men – over 90% of those in Second Class – were left aboard due to a "women and children first" protocol followed by the officers loading the lifeboats. Just before 2:20 am Titanic broke up and sank bow-first with over a thousand people still on board. Those in the water died within minutes from hypothermia caused by immersion in the freezing ocean. The 710 survivors were taken aboard from the lifeboats by the RMS Carpathia a few hours later.

The disaster was greeted with worldwide shock and outrage at the huge loss of life and the regulatory and operational failures that had led to it. Public inquiries in Britain and the United States led to major improvements in maritime safety. One of their most important legacies was the establishment in 1914 of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), which still governs maritime safety today. Many of the survivors lost all of their money and possessions and were left destitute; many families, particularly those of crew members from Southampton, lost their primary bread-winners. They were helped by an outpouring of public sympathy and charitable donations. Some of the male survivors, notably the White Star Line's chairman, J. Bruce Ismay, were accused of cowardice for leaving the ship while people were still on board, and they faced social ostracism.

The wreck of the Titanic remains on the seabed, gradually disintegrating at a depth of 12,415 feet (3,784 m). Since its rediscovery in 1985, thousands of artefacts have been recovered from the sea bed and put on display at museums around the world. Titanic has become one of the most famous ships in history, her memory kept alive by numerous books, films, exhibits and memorials.

Belfast has opened the Iconic Titanic Signature Building which will house Titanic Belfast ® it is iconic in design and houses a world class visitor attraction. It is located at Titanic Quarter (East Belfast). The exhibition is based on the theme of the Titanic and the wider subject of Belfast’s shipbuilding and maritime heritage. Of such scale, the building is likely to become Northern Ireland’s largest and most successful built attraction.

A symbolic statue made by world-renowned Irish sculptor Rowan Gillespie has been unveiled at Titanic Belfast.

‘Titanica’, a female figure designed to represent hope and positivity.

Gillespie has had work commissioned across the world, from Moscow to LA, but Titanica is his first work in Northern Ireland.

Titanica has been placed on the plaza in front of the iconic Titanic Belfast building, the world’s largest Titanic visitor attraction which will formally open on Saturday.

The bronze sculpture with a high-bolted brass base is a life-size female figure, similar to female figureheads which historically rested on the bows of ships as a symbol of good fortune.

Gillespie said: “I visited Titanic Quarter early last year and was so inspired by the stunning architecture and the energy of the development and the construction working there that I was moved to make something special for the area.

“I spent the next 12 months working on the sculpture and it is a real honour to have my work displayed in front of Titanic Belfast, one of the most impressive architectural designs in Europe. I hope Titanica provides as much joy for those who see her as I had in making her.”

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

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

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

The Palace of Justice, a captivating blend of history and architecture in Bucharest, stands as a symbol of justice. Constructed at the close of the 19th century during a period of economic growth post-independence, it shares significance with other iconic structures like the C.E.C. buildings, the Post Office, and the Athenaeum. King Carol I personally laid the foundation stone on October 7, 1890, adorned in a white apron with gold tassels, marking the beginning of this monumental edifice's construction. Positioned on the grounds where the Court of Justice operated during the Organic Regulation era, it replaced the estates of the Crețulești and Golești boyars on the right bank of the Dâmbovița River, specifically on the land within the garden of Brâncovean's "Small Palace."

Victoria Tower

The history of human activity on Castle Hill goes back over 4000 years. The site was developed as an iron age hill fort, surrounded by defensive ditches and ramparts. In the Middle Ages, there was a castle on the hill, of which the well remains. The present tower was built to commemorate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee of 1897. Perched on Castle Hill, Victoria Tower was completed in 1899 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Queen Victoria's reign. The cornerstone of the tower was laid on 25 June 1898 by Mr John Frechville Ramsden and was officially opened by the Earl of Scarborough on 24 June 1899. The walls of the tower are four feet thick at the bottom, tapering to two feet at the top. The tower was renovated in 1960 when the top seven feet were removed. It reaches a height of almost 997 feet above sea level. In November 2012 the lantern light on top of Victoria Tower was replaced due to the original light that had failed. The red LED light on the top of the building meets aviation regulations and uses the same energy as a 35W bulb.

Well .. it's not anywhere near where the government makes parliamentary rules and regulations , believe it or not .. It's a tattoo parlour , opposite the Story Bridge Hotel .

Kangaroo Point

Brisbane

Wildlife photographers move in closer to a herd of bison in Yellowstone National Park, USA (Lower Geyser Basin area).

The trees are mostly pitch pines (Pinus rigida).

From Wikipedia:

Franklin Parker Preserve is an 11,379 acre natural preserve located in the Pine Barrens in Chatsworth, New Jersey. The preserve links Brendan Byrne, Wharton, and Penn State Forests. Franklin Parker Preserve is owned and managed by New Jersey Conservation Foundation.

Geography is typical of the Pine Barrens with sandy roads, pitch pines, cedar swamps, blueberry fields and tributaries of the Wading River. The 53 mile Batona Trail runs through parts of the preserve and the preserve provides habitat for rare, threatened or endangered species including bobcats, bald eagles, barred owls, northern pine snakes and pine barrens tree frogs. The area also serves as a filter for rainwater that makes its way into the Kirkwood-Cohansey aquifer.

Franklin Parker Preserve was a former cranberry farm that was once the third largest cranberry producer in the US. The farm was owned by Garfield DeMarco, an influential Burlington County Republican Chairman. He frequently opposed many of the pineland's preservation regulations but he decided to sell the land at a significant discount versus the lands estimated value in order to preserve it. The land was purchased by New Jersey Conservation Foundation in 2003 after they were able to raise the funds for preservation. After securing additional adjacent tracts of land from private owners in 2015 and 2016 the total acreage of the preserve is now 11,379. The preserve is named after Franklin E. Parker III, the first chairman of the New Jersey Pinelands Commission.

Retour aux anciens Bains et Thermes liégeois transformés en Cité Miroir, un lieu de débat, d'éducation et de culture.

L’échevin liégeois Georges Truffaut lance le projet des Bains et Thermes. Il comprend deux bassins de natation, une station d'autobus, une section d'hydrothérapie, des locaux annexes, un café-restaurant, un dancing. L'architecte moderniste Georges Dedoyard sera désigné au terme d'un concours au règlement très strict.

Le bâtiment est achevé sous l’occupation nazie et ouvre ses portes au public en mai 1942. Georges Truffaut, décédé en résistant en Angleterre un mois auparavant, ne verra jamais son projet abouti.

Considéré comme l’une des plus importantes réalisations du style moderniste de l’entre-deux-guerres, le bâtiment de la Sauvenière adopte les formes d’un paquebot aux proportions majestueuses. A l’intérieur, l’élément le plus singulier est le grand hall des bassins qui s’étend sur 80 mètres de long et plus de 10 mètres de haut.

Dedoyard s’est inspiré du courant artistique et architectural allemand Bauhaus. Les formes élémentaires - ici le cube et la sphère - sont mises en valeur, la symétrie règne. Les murs nus, les lignes épurées, l’omniprésence du béton armé et du verre vont dans le sens de cette architecture essentiellement fonctionnaliste.

Return to the old Liège baths and thermal baths transformed into a Cité Miroir, a place of debate, education and culture.

The Liège alderman Georges Truffaut launched the Bains et Thermes project. It includes two swimming pools, a bus station, a hydrotherapy section, additional premises, a café-restaurant, a dance hall. The modernist architect Georges Dedoyard will be appointed after a competition with very strict regulations.

The building was completed under the Nazi occupation and opened its doors to the public in May 1942. Georges Truffaut, who had died in resistance in England a month earlier, would never see his project succeeded.

Considered one of the most important achievements of the Modernist style of the interwar period, the Sauvenière building takes the form of a liner of majestic proportions. Inside, the most unique feature is the large pool hall which stretches 80 meters long and more than 10 meters high.

Dedoyard was inspired by the German Bauhaus artistic and architectural movement. The elementary forms - here the cube and the sphere - are highlighted, symmetry reigns. Bare walls, clean lines, the omnipresence of reinforced concrete and glass go in the direction of this essentially functionalist architecture.

From the looks of it, this old sign has been high up on this wall on one of the lanes running off of Rose Street for many, many years, but Mr Observant here has walked past it for ages without noticing it, until recently!

I love finding old, forgotten bits of the town like this. I'm also amused by the wording - does it mean that if you go to the next street along it is anarchy and free-for-all??! But right here the cops will bust you for any naughtiness!

View On Black

I guess I am one of the people being boycotted for not inviting with multiple comment and fave groups. Or perhaps it's because I've had some in Explore. I don't know the reason. Well, I am sorry but I don't believe in that and I am not on flickr to promote everyone to Explore. I don't promote myself and I am not going to promote you. If you don't want to be my contact for this reason just remove me from your list. I am too busy deleting photos from my groups that are against rules and regulation. People are so selfish and rude! I don't require my contacts to invite,comment or fave. I know, like me, people have lives and are busy and I don't always comment or invite. I try to go and fave to at least let people know I am thinking of them. You know my profile, that says who I am, if you don't like my profile you won't like me so don't add me or remove me if you already did.

Nikon F3, Nikkor 35/2.8, Ektar 100.

RCA 0D3 voltage-regulator tube from an old power supply I bought many years ago. Unlike a regular vacuum tube, this device did not have a heater filament; it was filled with a gas which ionized at a certain voltage to pass current.

The shape of the glass envelope was nicknamed “Coke-bottle” for its resemblance to the iconic soft drink container.

The title is a quote by Winston Churchill.

Regulation screening visit to the Royal Stoke.

In life, it is our nature to obey rules and regulations, but when we use them to inflict excessive guilt...it is a sign to move past them. They are guides that is certain and beautiful, but they are only guides. When we move past them, we can see their beauty and purpose. Since, I will never be perfect, what use is it to dwell on some defect, if I let myself become their slave.

-rc

/*************

Virtues, I take leave of you for evermore,

I’ll have a freer and happier heart;

Your service is too oppressive,

this I well know,

Once I gave my heart to you, unconditionally.

You know that I had abandoned myself entirely to you;

I once was your slave, but now I am free of you.

I had given you my whole heart,

of this there is no doubt,

And I lived a long time in great trouble,

Thus I suffered many a torment, bore many a pain.

It is a great wonder that I escaped alive;

But since it is so, all this no longer matters,

For I am severed from you.

For this I thank God on high:

a good day it is for me.

I have left your dangers, the cause of many a woe.

Never was I free until separated from you;

I have left your dangers and now I dwell in peace.

-(Guarnieri, p.525; Doiron, pp.254-255), as quoted in

WOMEN MYSTICS IN Medieval Europe Emilie Zum Brunn and Georgette Epiney-Burgard, (Marguerite Porete (d. 1310))

Broto, Sobrarbe, Aragón, España.

Broto es un municipio de España en la provincia de Huesca, Comunidad Autónoma de Aragón. Tiene un área de 128,50 km² con una población de 531 habitantes (INE 2018) y una densidad de 4,28 hab/km².

La villa de Broto es la cabecera natural del Valle de Broto, y tradicionalmente ha sido el lugar de reunión del Conzello de Broto, una institución del valle que antiguamente hacía las veces de parlamento y diputación de todos los pueblos del mismo, donde se debían tomar todas las decisiones que implicasen a los vecinos de éste; concesiones de explotaciones forestales y agropecuarias, regulaciones económicas y arrendamientos, facerías (especialmente importantes en este lugar las que lo unían con el valle francés de Barèges), tribunal, etc. La institución todavía es funcional hoy en día, aunque en un grado mayor de como lo estaba antiguamente, hoy en día es gobernada sobre todo por los núcleos de Broto y la vecina Torla-Ordesa. Sus funciones están hoy muy menguadas respecto al grado de autonomía de que gozaba con los antiguos fueros, dado que contaba con auspicio de la casa real aragonesa, siendo por primera vez regulado su funcionamiento en el siglo XIII.

El Conzello efectuaba sus reuniones dentro del edificio de la Cárcel, que además incluye dependencias que se utilizaron hasta el siglo XVIII como prisión, y donde algunos de los reclusos realizaron grabados en las paredes, algunos de ellos con singular destreza, que se han convertido en uno más de los múltiples atractivos de la villa, siendo visitables en fechas concretas.

El núcleo de Broto se estructura en torno a la carretera nacional, llamada Avenida de Ordesa a su paso por la villa, con todos los comercios abiertos a ella. La iglesia se encuentra en la parte más elevada del pueblo, al mismo lado de la carretera que la cárcel, aunque esta segunda se encuentra más cerca del río. Por el lado sur de la carretera cabe buscar la Plaza de las Herrerías (también llamada "de la Santa Cruz" o "de los Porches") que constituye una de las visiones más hermosas de la población.

Los dos barrios que componen Broto están separados uno a cada orilla del Ara, con el barrio de la Santa Cruz en el norte, y en el sur el llamado Barrio de los Porches. Es una costumbre muy arraigada en los pueblos del Alto Aragón considerar y nombrar como barrios diferentes simples agrupaciones de casas que, como en este caso, están separadas únicamente por un curso de agua sobre el cual se levanta un puente. Antiguamente ambos barrios estaban unidos por un único puente medieval que fue desgraciadamente destruido en el transcurso de la Guerra Civil (cabe destacar la crudeza que alcanzó dicho conflicto en esta zona de Aragón, llegando a su punto cumbre con el fenómeno llamado la Bolsa de Bielsa). Hoy en día entre ambos barrios la carretera circula por un puente de hormigón.

Actualmente, puente románico sólo se conserva el que cruza por encima del río Sorrosal junto a la llamada Cascada del Sorrosal, un salto de agua que se precipita de una pared de roca hasta caer por debajo de la villa de Broto. El puente del Sorrosal está hoy en día cerrado al tránsito de personas que tienen que pasar por un puente paralelo habilitado a pocos metros y que, así mismo, conduce al vecino lugar de Oto.

Broto is a municipality of Spain in the province of Huesca, Autonomous Community of Aragon. It has an area of ​​128.50 km² with a population of 531 inhabitants (INE 2018) and a density of 4.28 inhabitants / km².

The town of Broto is the natural head of the Broto Valley, and traditionally it has been the meeting place of the Conzello de Broto, an institution of the valley that formerly served as parliament and deputation of all the towns of the same, where they had to take all decisions involving its neighbors; forest and agricultural exploitation concessions, economic regulations and leases, faceries (especially important in this place those that linked it with the French valley of Barèges), court, etc. The institution is still functional today, although to a greater degree than it was in the past, today it is governed mainly by the towns of Broto and neighboring Torla-Ordesa. Today its functions are greatly diminished with respect to the degree of autonomy it enjoyed with the old fueros, since it was sponsored by the Aragonese royal house, its operation being regulated for the first time in the 13th century.

The Conzello held its meetings inside the Prison building, which also includes rooms that were used as a prison until the 18th century, and where some of the inmates made engravings on the walls, some of them with singular skill, which have become one more of the multiple attractions of the town, being visited on specific dates.

The nucleus of Broto is structured around the national highway, called Avenida de Ordesa as it passes through the town, with all the shops open to it. The church is located in the highest part of town, on the same side of the road as the jail, although the latter is closer to the river. On the south side of the road, you can look for the Plaza de las Herrerías (also called "de la Santa Cruz" or "de los Porches") which constitutes one of the most beautiful views of the town.

The two neighborhoods that make up Broto are separated, one on each bank of the Ara, with the Santa Cruz neighborhood in the north and the so-called Barrio de los Porches in the south. It is a deeply rooted custom in the towns of Alto Aragón to consider and name as different neighborhoods simple groupings of houses that, as in this case, are separated only by a watercourse over which a bridge rises. Formerly both neighborhoods were linked by a single medieval bridge that was unfortunately destroyed in the course of the Civil War (it is worth noting the harshness that this conflict reached in this area of ​​Aragon, reaching its peak with the phenomenon called the Bielsa Stock Exchange) . Today between the two neighborhoods the road runs over a concrete bridge.

Currently, the only surviving Romanesque bridge is the one that crosses over the river Sorrosal next to the so-called Cascada del Sorrosal, a waterfall that falls from a rock wall until it falls below the town of Broto. The Sorrosal bridge is nowadays closed to the transit of people who have to go through a parallel bridge enabled a few meters away and that, likewise, leads to the neighboring place of Oto.