Another frame of this scene from long ago seemingly in a past life of the only time I shot a train working here despite living only a couple hundred yards away for 10 years! An Alaska Railroad yard job is switching out the two stub ended warehouse tracks accessed via a diamond over the Roundhouse Lead that is right beneath me under the bridge I'm standing on.

This view looks down from the sidwalk of the C Street Bridge as an ARR yard job with GP38u 2005 (blt. Aug. 1969 as a straight GP38 for the Penn Central as their number 7752 and purchased from Conrai and rebuilt in 1986) in the 1980s Alaska bold scheme switches out cars at the warehouse. The building on the left houses the ARR's stores department and they still regularly ship and receive company material by rail. Track components (spikes, anchors, etc.) come up by barge in foreign line boxcars while various other company material is shuttled around the system on flats, gons, or in boxcars. Beyond the train can be seen the bustling port of Anchorage and then the blue waters of cook inlet. On the horizon is the 4396 ft peak of Mt. Susitna, known locally as the "Sleeping Lady" for the mountain's resemblance to a woman in repose on her back. To the right is the abandoned warehouse, which is one of the oldest structures in the Anchorage yard complex and whose fate is uncertain, though I do believe a dozen years later it still stands.

Anchorage, Alaska

Saturday May 23, 2009

[20:14] Damienn Kiranov was walking on the bridge, seemingly trying to keep a low profile, he stops when he sees Laurick pointing a gun at him. "Heh... guess it was only a matter of time... So how's this gonna go?"

[20:14] Laurick Scarbridge cocked the rifle that he had in his hands, the underside of the barrel being pumped. He leaned forward with a perpetual smile on his lips, aiming down the agog scope as he spoke in a jovial tone, "Well, I was right it seems. By the way, might I ask what you're doing heading into the swamps? Also, a gun? It means stop. That it does. Kwa hoo hoo hoo! Now, why don't you be a nice little android and stay still," the red head said, and tapped at his com, "This is Doctor Scarbridge requesting backup at the big bridge."

[20:21] Damienn Kiranov pulls his chainsword out with his right hand, then brings an SMG into his left. "Oh no... not that simple. I'm not going back. In fact, I kinda expected this. Why I made this nasty little number a little while ago. Seen some crazy android on TV. Thought it would be fun..." he wastes no time to rev his sword and quickly aims his gun at Laurick. "You see... there's one thing you forgot... I'm more durable. You may hit me a few times, but I guarantee, before I go down, either you, or one of your friends goes with me."

[20:21] Ciro Bianchi (Rein) had oocly taken his sweet ass time, amazed at hte lack of lag actualy. BUT Icly he had run, and seeing DK, recognizing hte man as teh one the Doctor wanted to confront, he droped to his knees at the side of the bridge, rifle snapping up to aim at hte mans back in such a way as to ensure any shots that missed, would not fly at Laurick.

[20:24] Laurick Scarbridge tilts his head from one side to the next as he looks at Kiranov rather curiously. He lowered his weapon only slightly as he watched the android rev up the chainsword. The red head blinked momentarily, and then started laughing, "Kwa hoo hoo hoo! Now that is fantastic! This will be most fun, don't you think? Oh my. Oh my, indeed. Well. Even if we go, we go in the name of science! But, you're a failed experiment. Therefore, you cannot win. Eventually we will win, because you are flawed in a way you likely don't understand, but unfortunate for you.. I understand your flaw," he said, raising the rifle up once more, having already cocked the grenade launcher, he almost immediately fired on DK without warning or hestiation after his wordiness.

[20:27] Damienn Kiranov had banked on the grenade being too close to fully activate, so he immediate made a jump toward Laurick. He batted the grenade away with his left gauntlet, sending it off the bridge, as he closed the distance, he would take a swing with his chainsword at Laurick.

[20:29] Ciro Bianchi (Rein) ran through options quickly. With Laurick right htere, grenades were NOT an option, as the waters below were unsafe. He was packing AP rounds, whatever size the HK 416 fired.. so he did hte best he could. Aiming from his crouched position, he pulled the trigger down and held, the automatic rifle spitting a stream of bullets for DKs back. Against an unmoving surface, you could imagine a drilling effect... and had done this to a few humans in his time too. Very messy.

[20:34] Damienn Kiranov took a few rounds in his back. At first, they caused some synthblood to shoot out, but for a very brief time, confirming that he indeed was not human, and much tougher than one. He made a quick assessment, then took another swing at Laurick with his sword, though, the intent was more as a feint, so that he could execute a spin, and put himself to where he would be facing both his opponents.

[20:37] Laurick Scarbridge would have found the first swipe ineluctable had Ciro not fired off his rifle when he'd chosen to. As it was, Laurick was able to use his rifle to move down and take the brunt of the chainsword's cut. Of course, he lost his rifle in this confusion and it was sent flying over the edge of the bridge just like his weapon had been. The Doctor started to move back when Kiranov came forward with another swipe. Laurick raised his left arm up as quickly as he possible could, likely catching the tip of the chainsword cutting against the hard diamond like filiment that had contained the plasma within the chamber. He stumbled back all the same from the attack, and shook his head, soon laughter followed, "Kwa hoo hoo hoo! I should have expected this! We might need better numbers to stop you Ghost. Oh well. We'll see what happens here now won't we? Larger weapons next time - if there is one!"

[20:40] Damienn Kiranov didn't get what he wanted, but he did get one gun out of the way, this left him an opening. Which he used to immediately send a 4 round burst of 4.3 mm bullets from his SMG towards Ciro. As he fired, he edged closer to left end of the bridge, putting his chainsword back on his back, then drawing a shotgun with his right hand.

[20:42] Ciro Bianchi (Rein) was not as well protected as he should have been, his helmet was on his ass, not his head. Oopse. Diving to his side when DK shot, he managed to avoid any serious injury, though one of the bullets grazed his thigh as he landed, a streak of blood but the wound was visibly minor. He attempted to fire, but the dive had resulted in a loss of accurate aim. Now it was more sprayed bullets in that direction. He was more interested now in keeping DK at range, as that shotgun was NOT something he wanted to get close to.

[20:45] Damienn Kiranov took a bullet in his stomach from the spray. It may not have been accurate, but there was enough lead going down to hit something. He seen that he made a mistake with his hand/weapon placement when he aimed another 3-5 round burst from his SMG towards Ciro, and had to cross his shotty under his left arm to fire a blast at Laurick.

[20:47] Laurick Scarbridge blinked as he watched Ghost's movements. The red head reached up and tapped at his bottom lip with his right hand. He tilted his head from side to side, then Kiranov started to shoot at him. He blinked. When Kiranov aimed the weapon at him, the Doctor didn't seem to move. When the buckshot ripped through his upper right shoulder he just glanced down at it. Then he started to laugh, "Kwa hoo hoo hoo! Oh my! Now that was unexpected! It's warm you know, and it feels rather good. Hm, what do I have, what do I have? Oh. Wait. This," he said, reaching down toward his belt to pick off one of the grenades. He looked up at Damienn and tossed the grenade into the air, and then leaned forward grinning as he tilted his head from side to side, "Boom," was all he said as he pulled the pin, and moved to his right side a bit waiting a moment before chucking it at Kiranov.

[20:51] Damienn Kiranov had focused on Ciro, since he was the one with the gun, as a result, he hadn't noticed the grenade until Laurick made his comment. "Oh shit..." Was all he could say as the grenade went off, spraying shrapnel into his left side, and a few pieces into his face.

[20:54] Ciro Bianchi (Rein) with DK momentarily distracted, took his chance, still on his side, he droped his rifle, a frag grenade pulled from each thigh, pulled the pins with his teeth all movie commando, waited a second, and then rolled them at DK. Laying as he was, tossing would not have been accurate enough. but bowling for bots woudl work. (yes 2 frags)

[20:58] Keelyn OHanlon mumbled into her com upon her approach, and unlike the avatar, the character really stayed back at the end of the bridge, crouched with her rifle aimed at the being on the bridge. Seeing shrapnel flying about, she naturally kept her distance and brought the target into her sight, waiting for a reply.

[20:58] Damienn Kiranov had focused on Ciro, so he seen that coming, though, with a 5 meter kill, and 15 meter injury, even with his mad dash back, he still took some shrapnel in his back as he moved away.

[21:00] Laurick Scarbridge reached up and tapped at his com, keeping his gaz steadily on Kiranov. The red head backed up as he tried to strafe move with Ghost's movements. Except, the explosion had stopped him. Laurick stumbled back and grabbed onto the railing behind him, trying not to fall off .. though he did. He gripped onto the edge of the bridge with his mechanical left hand .. which was all that was keeping him up as he clamped, surprisingly his voice was calm, "Open fire when ready, we're attempted to subdue this experiment. It is an escapee from the UAC scientific labs. It is an android. Feel free to use whatever force is necessary! Kwa hoo hoo hoo!"

[21:04] Keelyn OHanlon: Well that was all the fresh off the dropship Sargeant needed to hear. She open fired on the man, not quite realizing the scientist with the funny laugh had just dropped off the side of the bridge. She aimed for arms rather than center mass, seeing weapons in his grasp, sending a few rounds as he started running her way. She debated her options out as well, hoping to take him down before he reached her proximity. To her com, she muttered. "Copy that. Any known weak points?"

[21:05] Damienn Kiranov had to make a new assessment, but one thing was annoying him, "CYBORG, goddamn it! Not android! I have a fucking human brain in my headbox! Damn!" He accented his annoyance by sending both a 3 round burst, and a shotgun blast towards Keelyn, just after he got hit once in the right arm, and once in the chest.

[21:08] Ciro Bianchi (Rein) was able to shift his aim with DKs attention elsewhere, aiming of all odd places, for hte face. time to get personal. the shot would be VERY hard to make, but he was already prone so had that to aid in the aiming. Trigger squeezed as AP rounds sought to make themslves lead boogers in the cyborgs nose.

[21:10] Damienn Kiranov took a bullet in the side of his cranium. This staggered him severely, then caused him to fall down on his ass, his back would slump against the railing. He appeared to have been taken down.

[21:11] Keelyn OHanlon wasn't /that/ fresh off the boat, and pulled back behind the pillar she had used for protection. Shotgun blasts to brick was chipping free some debris, and a second shot grazed her calf, but she pulled it back in fast, bleeding and all. She didn't see the man slump of course, and grabbed a frag off her belt. "FIRE IN THE HOLE!" Pin pulled with her teeth and she lobbed it over his way.

[21:13] Laurick Scarbridge remained hanging on the side of the bridge, since the actions over head would likely take place at a much faster pace than his pulling himself to the bridge would. He grunted slightly as he tugged. But, the only thing really keeping him hanging there was the mechanical arm. He was a marine yes, but he wasn't very physically strong. He could probably have lifted himself up if he had two real hands. But, he didn't. He blinked as he hung there with little to no strain on his back and just shrugged. He'd wait for someone to help him up.

[21:17] Damienn Kiranov tried to shake off the severe case of bullet-to-the-head-syndrome that he had suddenly come down with, only to find a grenade tossed his way. "Well... so much for surprise..." Is all he could mutter to himself as he made a mad scramble to crawl away from the grenade. He didn't get to far before it went off, the blast had sent him flying off the bridge and into the water.

[21:18] Laurick Scarbridge glanced down at the water as Kiranov went *plop* like a fishy.

[21:19] Ciro Bianchi (Rein) from his position, was able to see Lauricks cybernetic hand holding onto teh railing, but he was too far to get close quickly "Grab the Doctor. He should weigh 90 pounds or so." he motioned as he rushed to the edge DK had dived/been thrown over, rifle pointing down.. but the mirk prevented him from seeing into the filthy waters dpeths

[21:20] Keelyn OHanlon blinked momentarily in surprise as he landed in the water, and peeked out from her pier. She heard the LT and ran over towards the scientist. Holstering her weapon, she offered him a hand. "Cmon, get up off there. No reason to commit suicide /now./" She grinned and pulled with her boot braced against one of the bridge supports.

[21:22] Laurick Scarbridge reached up with his right hand and took the hand that was extended to him. He used her bracing to place his right foot on the side of the bridge and proceeded to hop over the railing. He leaned over and brushed himself off as he looked at the new scars on the bridge, and the chunks that would be missing. He let go of Keelyn's hand and trotted to the opposite side of the bridge, leaning over, "Plenty of reasons to kill myself now, hrm? The experiment got away. I wonder if we can perhaps find it again. I would like that very much. Though, today might not be the right day to do so. However, is everyone uninjured," the Doctor said as he turned his head to look back at the two, "I am a Doctor of Science, but I am also a medical Doctor in that respect, hrm?"

[21:24] Ciro Bianchi (Rein) drops his rifle to hang from his chest, and looked down to the bullet grazing. He wasnt even gonna waste a shot of morephine on it. Pulling a field dressing from his pouch, he slid it into the opening in his pants and pressed it to his skin, eyes still scanning hte murk. "No sign of him. Figure he's clear. Unless one of those naval mines blows up"

[21:25] Keelyn OHanlon peered over the edge and shrugged. She looked down to the graze along her calf and shook her head. "Bactine'll do the trick." She seemed as if it wasn't bothering her much at all. "Bandages an' bactine. So he's your experiment, Doc? What do we know about that one? Weak spots? Besides gunshots to the face."

[21:28] Laurick Scarbridge shook his head as he looked down at the water. He grumbled as he wrapped his arms behind his back, showing the first bit of emotion other than joviality for the first time in a while. Frustration. He turned about and grumbled, "The experiment is not mine. It is the GHOST prototype series. I'm rather upset at the moment that I am. I'm going to burn all the synth skin off of that damn thing the first chance that I get! I hate when things don't go as planned! I HATE HATE HATE IT! Grah!" he said, and walked to the opposite side of the bridge, twitching with anger. "Grenades. EMP. Rockets. It doesn't matter. Explosives. You can destroy the cyborg and it will still function as it should."

[21:30] Ciro Bianchi (Rein) Lets move out folks. Aint nothing we can do here except be sitting ducks for anyone bored witha high powered rifle. WHICH is most of midian.

[21:31] Keelyn OHanlon's look skated past the LT's face to see his reaction to the outburst. She wondered if it was normal course of things, and his reaction maybe would give her a clue. She cleared her throat after a moment of silence. "Okay. So. Ghost thingamabobs. Hm." She looked releived at the LT and nodded to him. "Yes sir. Midian?"

[21:34] Ciro Bianchi (Rein) nods "Keep in com contact Doctor." he looked to Keelyn "Mans a genius." he whispers "but fucking nuts. You wanna head through Midian? I was passing through on my way to the bunker to head to ebd."

[21:36] Keelyn OHanlon shrugged her shoulders and quirked a knowing grin. She'd gathered the 'nuts' bit in about five seconds flat. Softly, she replied. "Yes sir. Seems so. It'll be good to have a genuis researching that thing's... weaknesses though." She chimed in quickly after a moment. "Need to catch up so I'm worth something to the unit by tomorrow." She turned on her heel and headed back towards Midian.

'This roadtrip is going to be great!', they had said.

Well, here I was, driving down a seemingly endless road in Kansas, and had been doing so for over two hours. I could hardly remember the last time I touched the wheel - this road just kept going straight ahead with not even the slightest hint of a curve. The scenery was no better and could be summed up in one word: plains. Green, flat, never-ending plains. Sure, ahead you had the majestic outline of the Rockies, and yes, it seemed to be pretty close. But it had already seemed close two hours ago. Like a mirage, taunting you with the promise of something better just to remain out of reach, and at this point I had stopped hoping.

Behind me, eight of my travel companions were all snoozing. Odd, since it was only mid-afternoon, but it seemed this environment had a sedative effect on everyone, not just me. Next to me sat my designated map reader who was the only reason I had not yet gone crazy. There was obviously no map reading to be done. Here there was only one direction: straight ahead. To his credit, he had instead taken it upon himself to keep me occupied and we had had some pretty interesting conversations. Ultimately though, even he had been reduced to just sitting there staring blindly into the distance. We were two friends suffering together in this seemingly static nightmare.

But wait! Surely the mountians were closer now? And we could even spot some of the hills coming up. This was it! It had to be! Yes, the road started to bend, and soon we found ourselves cruising through the foothills! The road flowing with the terrain around it - something new to see around every corner. And trees! Glorious trees!

I looked over at my fellow companion with a smile and he was smiling too. Finally we had some enjoyable driving ahead of us! Our perserverence had paid off!

- 'Good job Emil' I heard a voice from the back. 'Pull over as soon as you can and we'll switch drivers'.

It seemed I was destined to enjoy the foothills through a heavily tinted window in the back of an overcrowded van instead of having the pleasure of driving through this wonderful landscape.

This was from a road trip I took in university with some friends, and although perhaps a bit exaggerated here, the road through Kansas into Colorado is certainly not the most exciting driving to be had ;) Boring driving aside, the trip was loads of fun and I would love to go back with the family some time. But yeah, I'm a trees and mountains kinda guy, and open landscapes, though pretty in its own way, is not where I feel at home. Trees please!

Turdus Merula (juv) This bird sat on the ground out in the open. I did not touch it, simply took the picture and watched as it made its way into the bushes nearby. Seemingly unafraid, and unharmed. A strange and grand encounter

in seemingly impossible locations eastern orthodox monasteries are dotted all over mount athos, athos peninsula north east greece

mount athos is governed by the monasteries themselves

women are denied entry

ps. I take binoculars to spot birds in india, why didn't I bring them to spot monasteries ?

Two people arrive at Truro seemingly intent of surfing. If their plan was to head for Falmouth they would be disappointed as when 57603 Tintagel Castle arrived the branch was shut due to a points failure.

The seemingly never ending sunset over Lake Windermere last November... don't think ive ever walked so much in a short space of time trying to capture every angle possible.... had to be patient with this pov...with swans, togs and other distractions vying.

Prints available to view and order from my website:

stevecolelandscapephotographer.smugmug.com/

Pictured above is what seems to be a completely innocuous example of the common cardinal. I can assure you that this seemingly innocent bird possesses vocal abilities that would rival the most powerful operatic superstar and sense for timekeeping that would shame an obsessive-compulsive Swiss watchmaker.

This would-be rooster can be found perched inches from my bedroom window, singing his little heart out, at precisely 6:00 a.m., every, single, morning. Now, some of you might ask: “Why do you have a bird feeder? It will only encourage him.” And I would mention that it makes no difference, my neighbourhood contains more bird feeders per square meter than any other place on earth. No seed-eating creature on my street has ever even dreamt of foraging for food.

This particular bourgeois bird was photographed using my GoPro camera, which I set to time-lapse mode and left attached to the feeder. While in operation the camera also managed to capture a few goldfinches.

On completely unrelated note, with voting day in Canada drawing near I still need to decide whom to vote for. While I’m mostly undecided, if I want to cast my ballot for the candidate possessing the best photographic skills I can safely rule out this guy.

A seemingly ripe, streaked red apple hanging on twig on a tree in warm late afternoon sunlight. It is awaiting to be harvested.

Ambrotype, scanned from negative. Winter's calligraphy again. Cormorants up in the trees, sounding broody, and seemingly poised. There's the smell of woodsmoke, or is it peat?, coming from one of the longboats on the river. Sirens in the distance. Got to keep walking to stay warm.

The puzzling appearance of an ice cloud seemingly out of thin air has prompted NASA scientists to suggest that a different process than previously thought -- possibly similar to one seen over Earth's poles -- could be forming clouds on Saturn's moon Titan.

Located in Titan's stratosphere, the cloud is made of a compound of carbon and nitrogen known as dicyanoacetylene (C4N2), an ingredient in the chemical cocktail that colors the giant moon's hazy, brownish-orange atmosphere.

Read more: go.nasa.gov/2crVEPM

NASA image use policy.

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.

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Russia, 2018

Local time: 06:23

Vic scanned the seemingly abandoned factory from a neighboring roof. He got out his M4A1 assault rifle, making sure that a round was chambered. Carefully, Vic tied his climbing rope around the bolted-down Air Conditioning unit. Making sure the rope was secure, he pulled as hard as he could. the rope stayed put. Then Vic threw the rest over the side of the roof, watching it plummet to the concrete ground. It would have to do. He looked towards the factory again, before starting his descent. The guards still hadn't started their morning shift yet. Vic clipped his vest to the rope and quietly slid down the side of the building.

Hey guys, Mossie here, how do you like the story? I may or may not continue it but I do have some more pictures for it... I'm transitioning into WW2 (as some may have noticed) but do enjoy a bit of modern stuff sometimes. Again, heavily based on Henry W.'s photo, be sure to check his stream!

Cheers,

~Victor

A seemingly poor street musician held background with a poster model.

contrast.

some street photography I tried today.

Seemingly tiny locomotive waiting for duty on the premises of the more than 6.5 km2 Ostrava Steel Mill.

Though somewhat elusive, making his appearances seemingly randomly and frustrating many, this Northern Pintail is our celebrity guest of the moment. I gather that a wandering Pintail or two end up in Ottawa, as breeding movement begins, on a regular enough basis. So this a notch or two below thrilling, but still pretty exciting (for those of us easily excited by birds that pay an unscheduled visit). That the birds (he is accompanied by a female) are unpredictable in their showing themselves adds a bit of mystery to the experience.

I have only seen Pintails along the St. Lawrence River and inland during Snow Geese migration. That huge movement of birds, tens of thousands of Snow Geese and accompanying duck breeds, comes up from the St. Lawrence and passes about 80 kilometres east of us, funnelling north, so the appearance of this pair makes sense seasonally and geographically.

The bird is stunning up close. The chocolate-coloured back of the neck, and the gentling curving white line, are quite amazing in the sun. Before this bird I had only glimpsed details through binoculars in glaring sun - this was quite something.

While I was able to observe them, the male rested in the snow, and then swam around the calm waters of this section of the Ottawa River. A 250 metre-long ridge sits in, and runs parallel to, the River just north of Britannia Conservation area. The ridge, or the skinny island I suppose, sits about thirty metres offshore. It is only a few metres wide, but it hosts trees, and as a result, often hosts Bald Eagles and Osprey. It runs east-west, and the River, wildly raging on the other side of the ridge/island, flows more calmly inside it (but with enough energy that it does not ice over, like most of the rest of the Ottawa River). It is almost like a railway siding, where freight trains pull off the main line. Many species of ducks at this time of year use it in the same way: resting in the calm areas, and letting the current drag them down to rejoin the main River. Between the shore and the ridge there are some fallen trees, and in the water there are fish and crustaceans for the hungry hunters - Hooded and Common Mergansers are regular guests, as are Common Goldeneye.

For the birds, the price of the food and restful calmer waters is the presence of birders and photographers. Some species adjust, resting or feeding and then rejoining the roiling River proper; others don’t stay long. The Pintails may be in the latter group, though for the most part they seemed pretty oblivious on Saturday, going about their business. They are on their way to the far north for breeding season, so either way they won’t be here for long.

“I’m hungry,” she chimed, seemingly out of nowhere, idly twisting a hair lock around her finger. Her companion wasn’t quite reading as much as using an old volume as armor against conversation, she suspected. At least a legitimate concern wasn’t likely to be brushed off.

As if to mock the thought, her words were met with a flat “Mhmm.” The sort that suggested she might as well have stated she was seeing God for a speed date or was intent on reinventing the sun into something less bothersome for all that he’d been listening. Which he wasn’t, nor did he truly intend to start now, engrossed as he was in-…he turned the book over to glance at the title. Familiar Garden Flowers – how perfectly asinine. He suppressed an irritated sigh and resumed reading. Or tried. He could only re-read paragraphs without paying attention for so long before something slithered uninvited into his consciousness, after all, so it couldn’t be an absolute loss.

Not a win, but not an absolute loss.

“I said. I’m hungry,” she repeated impatiently, the glare fixed in his direction turning baleful now. Letting go of the overworked hair lock, she shifted in her seat, the movement pointedly jerky, so she could cross arms. Also, pointedly.

“I heard you the first time,” came the idle response while he made a veritable production of turning a page, from licking his fingertip to flipping the leaf with a flourish. Because really, with disregard to the fact that he had more interest in the book’s leather binding than its content, it was rude to interrupt a reader. He could hear her rustling movement and could even see it in his peripheral vision – if she could make a point, so could he.

“Did you, now. I couldn’t quite tell,” the snide response came readily, accompanied by more rustling and more movement. Next thing he knew, the book was effectively plucked from his hand, and the pages were replaced with a very distinct glare. “Do you know how long we’ve been sitting here? It’s been hours. Hours!”

Splendid. She was…angry. Just what he needed.

Option one – diffuse the situation. In favor of Familiar Garden Flowers. Pass.

Option two it was, then.

“Try reading,” he responded, still idly draped over the sofa, head leaning back to regard her with his habitual feigned indifference. And as he’d hoped, the book was used to deliver a firm smack to his nearest limb before it was thrown across the room. A hand rubbed the spot she’d smacked in reflex while he volunteered a glib “I take it that’s a no.”

Leaning back, she straightened up and took a breath. A deep breath. The sort, he suspected, one takes when they’re preparing to give a big speech.

No. No, no.

She flicked her hair over one shoulder before crossing her arms over her chest once again. “I see how it is,” she finally stated, her voice a lot calmer than he’d expected.

Oh, well.

“You’re pretending to read that book, which I don’t suppose you could even name-…”

“Familiar Garden Flowers,” he interjected, not bothering to keep the smugness out of his voice.

She waved a dismissive hand before continuing. “You’re pretending to read a book you can just about name, so we wouldn’t have do anything so unpleasant as, say, converse. Heavens forbid you should so much as show an interest in anything that isn’t your reflection!”

As if on cue, he rose from his seat, hands already reaching for his tie. It was time to preen – for effect.

Turning on her heel to track his movement, she continued, undeterred. “Very well, I accept it, all of it. But as it is, I am in fact hungry.” The last words were delivered emphatically while she glared at his preening form.

“Well, that’s mighty inconvenient,” he commented. Having found a mirror, he continued adjusting the knot on his tie, pushing it this way and that as though it had been askew. For all intents and purposes, she’d taken the fun out of needling her, and now he was intent on finding the most useless responses he could think of.

Not for the first time this evening, he’d miscalculated though.

It started with that familiar intake of breath – that sharp inhale, impatient and infuriated. The exhale that followed, nothing but a loud huff. But whereas he’d expected a few footsteps and the final sound to be that of her body slumping down on the dainty chair she’d been begrudgingly occupying all evening, there were footsteps. In the wrong direction.

“Just where do you think you’re going?!” He asked irritably, turning to watch her departing form.

“To eat.”

“Have you lost your mind?!” he asked, his irritation finally turning to something closer to the fury she was fueled by, covering the distance quickly to reach for her arm. No hesitation, no concern – a grab and a forceful pull. “You’d get us exposed. Or worse, killed!”

“I don’t care. I would rather die than endure another hour wiling away here with you. I can’t even decide if I’m going to die of hunger or of actual boredom.”

“You step outside, and you’re going to lose control and die of an actual stake, so do reconsider not-so-secret option three more carefully, if you would” he retorted snidely, the irritation and anger joined by a heavy dose of sarcasm. “And I’ve got news for you. This is what you signed up for. Forever is a long, long time. What did you think it entailed half the time?!”

And truly, he would have gone on had there not been a knock on the door.

The argument stopped, suspended and forgotten, both gazes turned to the door as though they were willing it to show them through.

“Please. I promise it wouldn’t be much. I’m dreadfully hungry.”

He considered it for a beat. But then, whether here or out in the city, his duty was the same. He…was effectively the nanny. It was only fitting that he was reading Familiar Garden Flowers, he reflected with remnants of his snideness before shrugging.

Letting go of her, he smoothed his palms over his coat and gave her a meaningful look. A look that exchanged her hopeful stare with an eyeroll.

“Coming,” he responded, his voice taking an unnaturally pleasant quality as he turned to open the door.

After a period of seemingly appearing in more comebacks than Frank Sinatra, this really was the "Scot's" last hurrah as its mainline ticket expires, fittingly marked by it proudly carrying the 'Thames Clyde Express' headboard. On Tuesday 15th August 2017, 46115 'Scots Guardsman' rounds the curve off Armathwaite viaduct heading the 1Z46 16:36 Carlisle to Chester final 'Dalesman' charter of this summer's season, comprising 13 maroon BR Mark I coaches. What a tremendous position this is now at Armathwaite since the lineside clearance has taken place, and appropriately graced by this fine 1940s Stanier rebuild of the Fowler 1927-design L.M.S. locomotive which has provided so much pleasure to many over the years.

Copyright Gordon Edgar - All rights reserved. Please do not use any of these images without my explicit permission

Been chasing this guy for months but he's always been too far, even with my telephoto. Finally, as I walked out the door to the deck, there he was, as close as he's ever been on a bush branch, seemingly ready for his close up.

Seemingly on a collision course, two of the Wightlink Ferries tackle a busy Portsmouth Harbour entrance

276A5836

This is the view that appears in seemingly every brochure or web site for the Blue Ridge Parkway.

The Linn Cove Viaduct was the last section of the Blue Ridge Parkway to be constructed. It was completed in 1983, using special methods to minimize the environmental impact. The only trees that were cut for the construction of this section were those directly beneath the roadway. 50-ton sections were pre-cast in concrete and lowered in place from the previously built sections.

Early that morning, as I was driving to the Parkway from our lodging, I could see a golden glow in the sky as dawn began. I could tell a wonderful sunrise was about to develop, and I was worried that I might not make it to this spot in time. Even after reaching the parking area, I had to hike about a half mile, rushing as fast as I could in semi-darkness.

I did make it to the viewpoint before the sun appeared, and had 10 minutes before I took this shot. This shot was taken in the very short time when the sun was above the horizon and not hidden by clouds. Even if I had failed to get a decent shot at all, I still enjoyed a glorious sunrise.

(Explore #3, 10/16/2009)

This man seemingly had Venice Beach to himself. He was on roller skates, but moved like an ice skater in the Olympics. Sometimes he moved like a ballerina. And then he would move like Mick Jagger. He was mesmerizing to watch, with the canopy of palm trees behind him and the heavy fog hanging over the ocean and the beach. As I watched him, I felt myself relaxing and breathing slower. I knew it was the affect that art has on the brain. As I made this photograph, I knew it could have the same effect on viewers -- and being able to relax, slow down, and see the beauty around us is something that almost everyone needs now, at least in the United States.

Venice Beach, CA

2024

© James Rice, All Rights Reserved

We interrupt or seemingly incessant postings of Mount Rainier and it's surrounding area to broadcast this important finding.

As you know, I'm a super secret agent for SIMPLE, (Space Invaders Monitoring and Protective League Entente), and for the past several months I've been undercover searching for the source of the Corona Virus as I was certain it stemmed from outer space, but no, here deep in the mines beneath their secret location in North Korea the insidious plot at world domination has been discovered. As it turns out, missiles cost a lot of money, but bugs are free....

Disclaimer: NOTHING above this disclaimer is true... :-) HSS

I've been working seven day weeks for over a month, I did get a weekend a couple weeks ago but spent it with the fam. Then while the zombie apocalypse broke out we were on vacation so I've been off for a LONG time. I have a grand total of 12 pics for the year so far and so.... I'll be checking in today and happily sitting on my backside one more day before I find out what kind of hell awaits me back in the real world tomorrow.

A jumble of seemingly every available transportation type converges around the intersection of SW 1st Street and SW 1st Avenue with the heavy rail Metrorail, the downtown people mover system MetroMover, MetroBus buses on SW 1st Street, and the myriad ramps off and on to I95. Miami, Florida, USA.

Un revoltijo de lo que parece todos los tipos de transporte disponibles convergen en la intersección de SW 1st Street y SW 1st Avenue con el Metrorail de tren pesado, el sistema de transporte de personas del centro MetroMover, los autobuses MetroBus en SW 1st Street y la miríada de rampas hacia I95. Miami, Florida, Estados Unidos.

13 janvier 2024 11h16min51s

390124 - seemingly sporting a replacement nose - is pictured passing Cartland with trhe 10:38 Glasgow to London service.

NOTE: Scottish Government travel guidance was adhered to during this outing. I traveled alone in a private vehicle and remained within my council area (South Lanarkshire).

Scheinbar blendend

A seemingly invisible vehicle, acting as a fly on the wall

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Made for Oceania in the World of Darkness group

Seemingly always power short, the CP would often lease GO Transit equipment for weekend freight service. Here a trio of GO power, lead by GO 702, returns to Toronto with train 916 at mile 80 on the CP's Windsor Sub.

Remote lighthouse viewed while cruising along the northwestern Norwegian coast between Artic Circle and Narvik. Location on map approximated.

See other images from a 2025 trip to Norway, Svalbard, and Iceland here: flic.kr/s/aHBqjCiG8a.

CSX 8842 drags a rail train running as J742-26 past the seemingly forgotten about location of Oak Forest. While everyone flocked to Robbins and other popular spots for the most part, it was nice having a spot to myself for once.

Seemingly always on the verge of tears, star of silent & early 1930s films, Helen Twelvetrees...

A view looking north from the Sunrise Point to Sunrise Lake. Off in the distance are peaks of the Sourdough Mountains, including Marcus Peak. For me, this image was a setting that I've seen many a time before in Colorado especially in Rocky Mountain National Park. One would have mountains all around and then one would see a lake seemingly hidden in a valley or up on a mountainside filled from the flow of waters from a nearby snowpack or glacier. Even with the wind gently blowing, there was a quietness around me...an idyllic and peaceful setting.

The ground was bare when the site was chosen. There were signs on the land here that soil here was barely draped over, these were the signs the natural characteristics that they could follow as they built up the glories of gods and set them in ‘stone bone’ back upon the Earth. The light and shadow marked out the plans by day and the stars confirmed the solar plots and so stone the bone of the land was raised for their ways to be praised longer than many, many lengths of timber lasting days.

The ground was bare when the site was chosen. Slowly addition after addition came to be wrought making a new transformed landscape. A way was made here that stood to honour our ancestors and to praise their contemporaries as they held the balance of year and kept the intent to give themselves as the makers of markers for the futures.

The ground was bare when the site was chosen. At first wooden markers were raised up and set in sockets within the ground and these posts were piled around with the egg like river stones that spoke of the fertile mother and of her elusive lover. The Spring Bolt God who echoed everywhere even as his signature was found as hollowed and hallowed as boundless vibrating Air so his spirit as swift as lightning so fully intense and so fully fledged and fletched as he as the Lord of Thunderbolts needs to be always vigilant and always ready yet also fulfilled as the Green Man that in one session flowers a Season strong enough to turn the Wheel of the Year was also upon the instant to retract, to reduce so much as to seemingly disappear.

© PHH Sykes 2023

phhsykes@gmail.com

Clava Cairns Near Inverness, IV2 5EU

www.historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-place/places/clava-c...

A Visitors’ Guide to Balnuaran of Clava a prehistoric cemetery

www.archhighland.org.uk/userfiles/file/Sites/Historic%20S...

Balnuaran Of Clava, South-west

canmore.org.uk/site/14279/balnuaran-of-clava-south-west

Highland Historic Environment Record

Clàr Àrainneachd Eachdraidheil na Gàidhealtachd

her.highland.gov.uk/monument/MHG3002

Seemingly endless hills, the view from one hilltop to the next from atop Taylor mountain.

Gentleman, seemingly a lover of guitar music and guitars, in front of a musical instrument business in one of the 19th century arcades / passages in Paris.

Faraglioni, Capri.

Another giant beauty for you to enjoy here, with seemingly endless detail. See if you can spot the smaller snowflake resting on top for a sense of scale. View large!

These giant crystals are always a joy to behold when the editing process is completed… but they take a long time to get there. Work began on this snowflake yesterday evening and has only just completed now, with a rather chaotic day of interruptions. Finally complete, looking at this gem allows me to breathe a sigh of relief. There’s a reason why I don’t edit these huge ones daily, even if I have them ready and waiting on my hard drives from a previous shoot! :)

I’ve often edited out clutter from the surfaces of snowflakes, like a broken branch from another crystal, but I really wanted to help keep a sense of scale here. On the left side, you’ll notice a smaller dendrite crystal resting on the surface of the larger one, at a slightly different angle to the camera which makes the surface less shiny and more transparent. This little snowflake was created at the same time and in the same weather system as the big one, and wow what a difference. Maybe it was in a lower level, or maybe it just didn’t have the same amount of time to grow, but as tiny as a snowflake is… there is a lot of variety.

This is one of the reasons why I like shooting with the Canon MP-E 65mm lens. Even when I add extension tubes or additional optics to increase the magnification, I still have the ability to turn the magnification ring on the lens and adjust the camera without switching out equipment. This is helpful for snowfalls like this one where the amount of magnification needed can vary drastically, and I need to work quickly.

Most of the details on this snowflake are on the backside, giving a softer look to the crystal overall, but there are a few exceptions to that. The top half of the top branch is a great example – the surface details are facing the camera, creating a much higher contrast texture. If you look closely you can see where this happens, and it’s caused by crystal splitting. The inverted features are growing on a slightly different (but still parallel) plane to the rest of the snowflake, and the evidence is clear; there are two sets of overlapping side-branches.

There may have been a beautiful gem-like “button” in the center of the snowflake on the other side, based on the patterns I can see, but I think this was the more beautiful side of this particular gem to photograph.

If you’d like to know more about the science of snowflakes with an exhaustive and comprehensive tutorial on how to photograph and edit these little gems, check out my book Sky Crystals:

Hardcover: www.skycrystals.ca/book/

eBook: www.skycrystals.ca/ebook/

Other things you might be interested in:

2018 Macro Photography Workshop Schedule: www.donkom.ca/workshops/

2018 Ice Crystals Coin from the Royal Canadian Mint featuring my snowflakes: www.mint.ca/store/coins/coin-prod3040427

“The Snowflake” print, taking 2500 hours to create: skycrystals.ca/product/poster-proof/

Photo Geek Weekly, my new podcast: www.photogeekweekly.com/

In fact, seemingly no room for anything else on this chap's head!

Soldierfly, Oxycera rara, Newport Canal, Shropshire

Burgess’ seemingly orderly assemblies of metal and granite reveal her reverence for discipline and rational order. They also disclose her spirit of inquiry and courage to express murkier and unknown elements: the stuff of dreams, intuition and experience. For Burgess, the abstract forms and geometric objects in her sculptural compositions hold specific personal meanings, memories and truths, enabling her to “situate the personal and mundane the infinite and the unknowable.”

Seemingly on the rise and about to spread its wings...

The seemingly barren landscape of the Mojave Desert is on full display as BNSF 5874 leads a stack down Ash Hill on main 2.

Two azures, seemingly the same, but two different species and part of the confusing Azure complex.

Appalachian Azure is univoltine flying for a short time in summer. Black Cohosh (Actaea racemosa or Cimicifuga racemosa) is the only known host plant. Black Cohosh with its dramatic white tall spires is plentiful along the roadsides in the Frederick mountains.

The Appalachian Azure is uncommon with an S3 (Watch list) status in Maryland.

With the rain seemingly set in forever we can only wish of winters gone by , however I still have loads of photos from the past I can post to the present and pretend its winter out there.

Happy Boxing Day .

©David S Liddle 2015. All Rights Reserved.

Please Do not copy, reproduce, download or use in any way without my permission.

Seemingly floating on the snow, ZG2OAB takes its Oakland bound train down Donner Pass. The greatest part of winter is definitely the opportunity to get scenes like this.