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After our visit to the appliance store, we stopped at Walmart to pick up a few things before grabbing a bite to eat. And I figured I may as well do another rear view while I was at it. 😉
www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0CP9RVvm_4
Ooh, and all I taught her was everything
Ooh, I know she gave me all that she wore
And now my bitter hands chafe beneath the clouds
Of what was everything.
Oh, the pictures have all been washed in black, tattooed everything...
Taken through the aperture at the top of Richard Serra's 'Sight Point' sculpture outside of the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam.
Camera: Fujica STX-1
Lens: 55mm f2.2
Film: 35mm Kodak ultramax 400 C41
Slight edit on CS6 to remove spot of dust that was on lens in upper left corner.
This little Blue Tailed skink is the first lizard we've seen since spring in our backyard. And what a welcome sight to see, for sure!
Normally, they are regular visitors, showing up all over the place, even raiding our mealworm feeder, but this year just hasn't been the same without them. Hopefully, this sighting is a good sign they're still around and have just been better at hiding from us.
Many thanks for the visits, faves and comments. Cheers
Rainbow Bee-eater
Scientific Name: Merops ornatus
The Rainbow Bee-Eater is a spectacular bird. With its green, blue, chestnut and yellow plumage, its slim build, slender curved bill and distinctive streamers that extend from the end of its tail, it is simply beautiful. Bee-Eaters are a familiar sight in many lightly-timbered parts of mainland Australia, where they often perch on fence-posts or overhead wires, then launch after flying insects, flying swiftly, sometimes with rapid twists and turns, before snapping the insect in its bill, and returning to the perch to eat it. Research featured in the 'State of Australia's Birds 2015' headline and regional reports shows a marked decline for the Rainbow Bee-eater (and some other aerial insectivories) in the East Coast region, where reporting rates for this species have dropped by over 50% in the since 2001.
Description: A striking, colourful bird, the Rainbow Bee-eater is medium sized, with a long slim curved bill and a long tail with distinctive tail-streamers. It has a golden crown and a red eye set in a wide black stripe from the base of the bill to the ears, which is edged with a thin blue line. The throat is orange-yellow, with a broad black band separating it from a green breast. The upperparts are green, with the flight feathers coppery and black tipped. The underwings are bright orange, with a black edge. The lower abdomen is blue. The tail is black, including the long tail streamers, with a blue tinge. Females have shorter, thicker tail streamers than males, but are otherwise similar. Young birds are duller and greener, lacking the black band on the chest and the long tail streamers.
Similar Species: The Rainbow Bee-eater may resemble some kingfishers, however these are plumper, with strong straight beaks, and never catch prey in flight.
Distribution: The Rainbow Bee-eater is found throughout mainland Australia, as well as eastern Indonesia, New Guinea and, rarely, the Solomon Islands. In Australia it is widespread, except in desert areas, and breeds throughout most of its range, although southern birds move north to winter over.
Habitat: The Rainbow Bee-eater is most often found in open forests, woodlands and shrublands, and cleared areas, usually near water. It will be found on farmland with remnant vegetation and in orchards and vineyards. It will use disturbed sites such as quarries, cuttings and mines to build its nesting tunnels.
Feeding: Rainbow Bee-eaters eat insects, mainly catching bees and wasps, as well as dragonflies, beetles, butterflies and moths. They catch flying insects on the wing and carry them back to a perch to beat them against it before swallowing them. Bees and wasps are rubbed against the perch to remove the stings and venom glands.
Breeding: Rainbow Bee-eaters gather in small flocks before returning to summer breeding areas after over-wintering in the north (apart from the resident northern populations). Both males and females select a suitable nesting site in a sandy bank and dig a long tunnel (average length: 89.4 cm) leading to a nesting chamber, which is often lined with grasses. Both parents incubate the eggs and both feed the young, sometimes with the assistance of auxiliaries (helpers).
(Source: www.birdlife.org.au)
© Chris Burns 2017
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This image may not be copied, reproduced, distributed, republished, downloaded, displayed, posted or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic, mechanical, photocopying and recording without my written consent.
Panoramic from Graça Viewpoint, one of the most beautiful views of Lisbon city.
D800 + AF-S Nikkor 24-70mm f / 2.8G ED @ 70mm
ISO 100 - f / 11
Lee GND 0.6 SE
Merge of 13 vertical photos
original file - 2109mm x 603mm | 24911x7117px
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In a village Kreung.
Ratanakiri province, Cambodia
At first sight this picture wasn't easy to take since I had heard that people in Cambodia, as a lot of other ethnies, are scared of the camera thinking that taking a picture could steal your soul.
When I arrived in this village this woman smiled to me, I came to her, smiling back, and I finally pointed at my camera to "ask" if I could take a picture. She smiled again and nodded. She smiled at her baby too and carried him kindly so I could see them better.
I thanked her with my eyes, the more I could, and showed her the pictures I took. She was very sweet and so beautiful, her son too. It was an amazing so simple moment.
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Explored - February 24th, 2011 - #198
Strolling along the South Bank with two famous London buildings behind us, the Shard is London's tallest structure and the oddly shaped City Hall is where the Mayor of London is based. Of course three other sights of London would be Sarah, Rebecca and I.
With new 'Touax' branded hoppers in tow, 66513 passes the site of Wootton Bassett station with 7B12 11.35 Merehead-Wootton Bassett on 22/06/20. The train travels to Swindon to run-round then returns to access the stone terminal out of sight on the left.
Some sun yesterday afternoon so a visit to my local reserve.
I saw large numbers of these - both adults and nymphs. More in fact than during all my previous sightings.
After months of repairs to tracks and bridges, the local railroad is once again hauling freight. Bright red new diesel locomotive doing the heavy pulling.
Sell lessons retouching.There are ready-made video tutorials on photo retouching of color and black-and-white portraits.
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Mobile Phone - Photo taken near Valley of Fire Highway.
This was a fleeting moment of euphoria (at least for me). This was the first time I had seen a full (double?) rainbow on the way back to Las Vegas from Valley of Fire. There was no time to set the big camera but thanks to the panorama feature of smartphones, I was able to take this shot.
Archway resp. arcade of the Château de Hautefort, connecting its western with its eastern wing, Dordogne, France
Some background information:
The Château de Hautefort (in English: "Hautefort Castle") is situated on a plateau in the northern part of the French department of Dordogne. It overlooks the village of Hautefort and is located approximately 34 kilometers (21 miles) northeast of the town of Périgueux. The building complex is the largest Baroque castle in southwestern France and one of the most significant castles in the Périgord region. Located in the far eastern part of the White Périgord (in French: "Périgord blanc"), the castle was classified as a historic monument in 1958. Since 1967, its French formal gardens and the landscaped park have also been listed as historic monuments.
As early as the 9th century, a fortress was located at the site of the present-day Hautefort Castle, belonging to the viscounts of Limoges. In 1030, the castle became the property of Guy de Lastours after he defeated the rebellious viscounts at Arnac on behalf of the Count of Périgord. Following his death in 1046, his sole daughter Aloaarz brought the property into her marriage with Aymar de Laron, who adopted the Lastours name.
Through the marriage of Agnes de Lastours in 1160, the castle passed to the family of her husband, Constantin de Born. Constantin and his brother Bertran de Born, quarreled over the castle, as they supported opposing factions of the English princes Henry the Young King and Richard the Lionheart. Bertran sided with Prince Henry, while Constantin aligned himself with Richard's camp. In 1182, Bertran managed to expel Constantin from the castle, but in the following year, after Henry's death, Richard the Lionheart laid siege to the fortress. After eight days, he captured it, took Bertran prisoner, and demolished the fortifications.
However, King Henry II of England granted Bertran his freedom and even restored the castle to him. In 1184, the rebuilding of the castle began. By 1196, Bertran retired to the Cistercian Abbey of Dalon and became a monk, while the grounds passed to his son. At that time, the structure consisted of a large donjon and several smaller towers connected by curtain walls and battlements.
In the course of the Hundred Years' War, English soldiers occupied the castle in 1355 and forced its owners to recognize the English king as their liege lord. However, in 1406, the castle returned to French control. Shortly before, the last male representative of the family, Bertrand, had died, and the property passed to his sole daughter, Marthe. Her son Antoine, from her second marriage to Hélie de Gontaut, adopted the name of the Hautefort lordship when he became the new lord of the castle. In 1588, the northwestern entrance wing of the castle was altered and fortified – perhaps influenced by the French Wars of Religion. This renovation likely replaced a less defensible Renaissance-style structure.
In 1614, under François de Hautefort, the seigneurie was elevated to a marquisate. Accordingly, he sought to replace the outdated structure with a representative château. In 1633, the marquis commissioned Nicolas Rambourg, an architect from Périgueux, to undertake a major renovation of the estate. When François passed away in 1640, the work was far from complete, leaving the task of continuing the project to his successor, his grandson Jacques-François. Jacques-François' sister, Marie, gained fame at the Parisian royal court as the platonic companion of King Louis XIII.
The death of Nicolas Rambourg in 1649 temporarily halted construction, but in 1651, the inauguration of a château chapel on the ground floor of the new logis was celebrated. In 1669, the marquis resumed the renovation project, enlisting the Parisian architect Jean Maigret. Maigret completed the château as a symmetrical three-wing complex in the style of classical Baroque, adding the current south tower and relocating the chapel there in 1670. Although the second marquis died in 1680, Maigret's work on the château continued until 1695. During the renovations, the defensive elements that had still been present at the beginning of the 17th century were gradually dismantled.
During the French Revolution, the citizens of Hautefort prevented the château's destruction. From 1793 to 1795, the estate was used as a prison. But after the revolutionary period, Sigismonde Charlotte Louise de Hautefort, the daughter of the last marquis, Louis Frédéric Emmanuel, regained control of the family seat. In 1853, the redesign of the château's gardens was commissioned and the plans were drawn up by Paul de Lavenne, one of the most renowned landscape architects in France at the time. He reimagined the baroque gardens on the terraces surrounding the château and designed a large English landscape garden with broad sightlines into the surrounding countryside.
After the death of Maxence de Hautefort in 1887, his second wife sold the estate in 1890 to wealthy industrialist Bertrand Artigues. Artigues undertook various restoration projects and demolished the old outbuildings to the northwest of the château. Despite these efforts, the structural condition of the château remained poor. After Bertrand Artigues passed away in 1908, his heirs sold the château in 1913 to a real estate speculator. Between then and 1925, the speculator sold off all the furnishings and interior elements, including paneling and parquet floors. Subsequently, the parceled estate was sold off piece by piece.
In 1929, Baron Henry de Bastard and his wife Simone, the daughter of banker and patron David David-Weill, purchased the château. They began extensive restoration work in 1930, which continued until 1965. The couple undertook a complete restoration of both the interior and exterior of the buildings and also worked to restore the baroque garden parterres based on historical plans. While the flowerbeds were replanted, the design created by Paul de Lavenne was preserved.
After the death of the baron in 1957, his widow opened the château to the public. However, this decision proved disastrous for the estate. In 1968, a major fire broke out, caused by a carelessly discarded cigarette butt from a visitor. The fire devastated the main northeastern wing, including its interiors and furnishings. Only the side wings with their round towers at the ends remained intact. But the baroness wasted no time and began restoration work as early as September of the same year. Using old photographs, the destroyed wing and its rooms were faithfully reconstructed and refurnished.
Today, the Château de Hautefort, along with its park and large sections of the French gardens, can be visited for an admission fee. Visitors can explore the interior rooms, including the grand reception hall, the château lord’s bedroom, Marie de Hautefort’s room in the Louis Quinze style, the chapel, and the kitchen. Furthermore, it is worth mentioning that the palace has also served as a film location for several productions. The last one was the movie "Ever After" from 1998, starring Drew Barrymore and Anjelica Huston.
A herd of deer, kept in an enclosing on the side of the hill, next to the road. I saw them quite often, since they were located on the road to my lodgings. It was quite a large herd and they had two or more males with very nice horns but I didn't manage to get any pictures worth posting of them. When they weren't sleeping or in the lower part of the hill there would always be at least a couple of deer getting up and coming to the fence whenever a human approached, because they usually got something nice to eat. :)
On Thursday 23 December, the James Webb Space Telescope, safely stowed inside the fairing of ESA’s Ariane 5 launch vehicle, left the final assembly building for roll-out to the launch pad at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.
Webb, no longer in sight since its encapsulation in the fairing on 17 December, has been closely monitored. The fairing is equipped with specialised environmental controls that keep the observatory in a perfectly controlled temperature and humidity range during its final few days on Earth.
Ariane 5, standing 53 m high on its mobile launch platform was transported along rails from the final preparation building to the launch zone where final health checks and preparations for liftoff will occur.
This includes filling the propellant tanks of the Ariane 5 core stage with liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen via lines through the launch table.
Final electrical and software configurations will also occur on the launch pad. Webb will switch to internal battery power about 20 minutes prior to liftoff, and within 15 minutes prior to liftoff the observatory and its launch vehicle will both be fully cleared for flight.
Webb will be the largest, most powerful telescope ever launched into space. As part of an international collaboration agreement, ESA is providing the telescope’s launch service using the Ariane 5 launch vehicle. Working with partners, ESA was responsible for the development and qualification of Ariane 5 adaptations for the Webb mission and for the procurement of the launch service by Arianespace.
Webb is an international partnership between NASA, ESA and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).
Find out more about Webb in ESA’s launch kit and interactive brochure.
Credit: ESA - S. Corvaja
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This is the first time in almost a month we have seen the sun, sky, clouds, or anything like it without a thick layer of smog. It was a very welcome sight when the air cleared and the sun came out. 1-31-2013.
DSC_4537
The National Harbor and MGM complex have several interesting sights and plenty of restaurants and shops.
Here you see two of the landmarks (a portion of) The Awakening sculpture in the foreground and the Capital Wheel in the background.
More about them here (from Wikipedia)
220034 approaches Nuneaton with 1T18. The unit would carry on to Coventry where it would turn round before going up to Birmingham New Street.
A friend said me: The best sight is this. I agree. (But I must see the Empire State sight another day).
The start of 2023 has revealed some unusual sightings on Limerick City Services.
Route 306 is one of two not-so-busy routes on the network and it could possibly be withdrawn without any loss of connectivity if there was some creative rerouting of Route 303 on the northside and Route 301 on the southside.
In recent years, my only recollection of seeing a double deck bus on it would have been when I saw PAD128 operate a few turns on Saturday, 7th May, 2022.
However, with the arrival of 20 new Electroliners at Roxboro Depot in 2023, the smart money seems to be on the remaining 6 single-deck VWLs cascading to other depots, so Routes 305, 305A and 306 will most-likely convert to double-deck operation.
NTA/BÉ (Roxboro) Wright Gemini 3 Volvo B5TL VWD53 (152-L-1774) was seen on Route 306, a few hundred yards from its southern terminus at Edward Street, Limerick on Friday morning, 6th January 2023.