...for victory.

One final shot from the Dragon Boat Races 2016. Didn't heed my own advice and came back for the finals, luckily brought a longer lens (and didn't schlepp my tripod to there).

© All Rights Reserved - you may not use this image in any form without my prior permission.

SMALLEST GOOSE in the region and the largest numbers in the Winter months in Kent, which is a joy to see, but very hard to approach without sending them into an extremely vocal flight. Found almost exclusively at coastal distribution.

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THANK YOU FOR BEING A FRIEND, please leave a comment and I will enjoy doing the same on your latest posting.

Hope your all keeping well, Covid is running out of control in Kent, and they have identified it as a new strain, lets hope the vaccine works on this one as well.

God bless.........................Tomx.

I couldn't decide which one is better ;-)

Macro Mondays: Mesh

The strainer is under 6cm across.

Spotted Pardalote straining to see something.

Warning : ALL RIGHTS RESERVED : do not use my images without my EXPLICIT permission

This view did some very wonky things to my eyes so I figured it would make for an interesting shot. At first glance, the eyes are challenged as they strain to figure out what is being viewed. But, upon further inspection one can tell it is a snow lined shore with colored trees reflecting in the river. The combination of cold and warm colors also contributed to an interesting look.

Credits:

Body: Lara by Maitreya

Head: Uma by Catwa

Head Applier: Susanne new from Session @ eBENTO

Skin Tone: Tone01 from Session

Hair: Salma new from Sintiklia @ eBENTO

Dress: Kathia new from Avale @ Cosmopolitan

Footwear: Nicol new from Nanika @ The Chapter Four

Tattoo: Exquisite Perfume new from K-tarsis @ eBENTO

Pose and Weights: Celly Pose #1 new from Kokoro Poses @ eBENTO

"A watched pot..."

Shot for Our Daily Challenge :“Eyecatcher”

Across the Miles to you on St Patricks Day

And heres the "Galway Girl"!!!

" Hey-I-Hey-I- Oh " All together now

and No dancing please!!!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNs0vKDvs0g

Green, White and Gold are the colours of the Irish flag and seeing as its "the Day", I thought Id put this pic up here.

This is the Bailey Lighthouse that stands guard over Dublin bay. It is the first sight of the "Emerald Isle" that you will see as you come in by ship or plane from the far flung corners of the World. You would be more than welcome you know.

Over 60 million people World wide claim Irish heritage, Bejaysus, as long as they all dont turn up at once!! The Guinness wouldnt stand the strain of it and this little place would sink with the weight!

Dublin bay is pretty spectacular and Ive a few snaps of it on here. Its very similar to the Bay of Naples but with rain! Aha, but when it doesnt rain!!!! And then even when it does sure isnt it a grand soft rain anyway!

So, if you are coming, your welcome and if your not, well maybe soon?

And as the old pub sign that I seen in I seen in Co. Kerry says; "There are no strangers here. Only friends who havent met as yet",

So I will wish you all, no matter where you are ;

"Céad Míle Fáilte roimh go-léir agus Beannacht Lá Fhéile Pádraig ar trasna an Domhain"

"A hundred thousand welcomes and blessings on St Patricks Day to all of you across the World"

P@t

These chains supported some seats on a fairground attraction called a Wave Swinger.

🎧 Kavinsky

Fence strainers for tightening the wires on a farm fence. Seen on a walk in the rain.

No idea can succeed except at the expense of sacrifice; no one ever escapes without enduring strain from the struggle of life.

Ernest Renan.

Joseph Ernest Renan (28 February 1823 – 2 October 1892) was a French expert of Semitic languages and civilizations (philology), philosopher, historian, and writer, devoted to his native province of Brittany. He is best known for his influential historical works on Early Christianity, and his political theories, especially concerning nationalism and national identity. Renan is credited as being among the first scholars to advance the Khazar theory, which held that Ashkenazi Jews were descendants of the Khazars, Turkic peoples who had adopted Jewish religion and migrated to Western Europe following the collapse of their khanate. Source Wikipedia.

For your libations.

Pasadena, California

#Macro Mondays #Copper

Pumped up with testosterone, the Red Deer stag has only one thing on its mind. Forgoing food, it fights off contenders, locking with them in a clash of antlers.

In such a stage of mind its a powerful and unpredictable beast. To photograph it I had to get fairly close, but didn't hang about too long. Seeing it attention was drawn to me, I withdraw to a safer place.

When the autumn rut is over, exhausted and battle weary, they reverts back to their calmer ways, to await another season. And so it is, the next generation is secured. Such is the cycle of life and the need to propagate the species. Long may it continue.

Many thanks for your comments. Have a great week.

My garden / Mon jardin

Carl Sydow's Maquette Of A Proposed Sculpture For Queen Elizabeth II Park in Christchurch.

A Great Blue Heron strains to get some momentum into a strong wind at the Shiawassee NWR on this evening, June, 2022. The "Shiawassee Flats" are a delta where the Flint, Cass, and Shiawassee Rivers converge before joining the Tittabawassee River to form the Saginaw River.

Well, our state is back in lockdown again as the UK strain of Corona virus spreads after escaping hotel quarantine. We are told it is a 5-day "circuit breaker" lockdown, but I suspect it will be longer.

So, limited again to within 5km of our home, this is an iPhone shot of the Moonee Ponds Creek within Woodlands Historic Park on my "allowed exercise" yesterday.

Image Created in Deep Dream Generator.New Background and Lighting effects in Photoshop.What Life may be like with a totally different Bio-Chemistry (not necessarily DNA)

in Tama-plaza

IMG_1531WB7C21

“There is one thing I must do here at my woodshed hermitage, Saint Anne’s (and may I one day live here and do it all day long), and it is to prepare for my death. But that means a preparation in gentleness. A gentleness, a silence, a humility that I have never had before—which seems impossible in the community, where even my compassion is tinged with force and strain.

But if I am called to solitude, it is, I think, to unlearn all tension, and get rid of the strain that has always falsified me in the presence of others and put harshness into the words of my mind. If I have needed solitude, it is because I have always so much needed the mercy of Christ and needed His humility and His charity. How can I give love unless I have much more than I have ever had?”

- Thomas Merton from January 14, 1953 Journal III. 28-29

These leaves looked like they were struggling with the snow getting heavier .

Kodak Portra 400 Film ~ Canon AE-1P 28mm f/2.8

I got the heads up that 1943 ‘The Spirit of Union Pacific’ would be on the point of UP’s daily Lathrop-bound intermodal out of Los Angeles. Due to prior commitments, I made it trackside just in time to see it roll by me, so without a second thought, I gave chase. I was confident that somewhere along the line I would get good sunlight on it, but 100 miles later Mother Nature made sure there’d be no chance of that with high clouds coming into the picture just as the line turned west. Although I was a bit disappointment, I was glad I was able to get out on the road and railfan, even if it was only for 3 hours.

UP 1943 strains against grade as it climbs out of the Mojave Sink and toward Tehachapi summit only a few miles away.

Dinosaur Jr. - „Out there“

www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyE0sEHw3cc

I know your name

I know the people out there feel the same

I know you′re gone

I hope you got some friends to come along

I know you're out there

I know you′re gone

You can't say that's fair

Can′t you be wrong?

I feel ok

Sure, I know that′s not what people say

Maybe they're wrong

Maybe you weren′t on my side all along

I know you're out there

I know you′re gone

You can't say that′s fair

Can't you be wrong?

I know you're out there

You′re still a case

It′s still the place

Weren't you invited?

It′s what you can't spare

Whatever′s left, just hide the rest

And bring it right in

I know it's sick

I know you think a game is just a trick

Maybe I′ve changed

Just tell me was this all in vain?

I know you're out there

I know that space is not a race

Weren't you invited?

It′s what you can′t spare

Whatever's left, just hide the rest

And bring it right in

Maintained inside

I′ve lost my range

Feel the strain

Weren't you invited?

Just never try

It′s still the place,

you're still the case,

now bring it right in

The second stage

It slithers awake

Twisting inside

Its fingers writhe

The ovomorph opens slow

Like a macabre flower unknown

From within the black

It now attacks

Hugged around your face

Lungs can't stand the strain

Forceful insemination

Mankind's annihilation

FACEHUGGER!

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This is Part 2 of an alien trilogy set of photos...you can see part one Here! and stay tuned for part 3!

Beauriful Lake Vyrnwy and its victorian gothic straining tower (Powys, UK) were constructed in the 1880s to provide a source of water for Liverpool.

Lewisia cotyledon, my garden / mon jardin

Clarence-Rockland, Ontario, Canada

Low-growing evergreen perennial native to subslpine southern Oregon and northern California.

P2148099.

This is one of the groynes on Blyth Beach and something has obviously gone awry. I spotted it as I was trying to get a shot of the beach huts and thought that it might make for a good mono long exposure. However, when I got there the low sun was bouncing off the face of it so I thought a colour LE would work better.

I do want to go back when the tide is a little higher so I can get the end of the groyne disappearing into the North Sea.

Stacked from 25 shots using DslrDashboard and Affinity Photo

Lake Vyrnwy overflowing the dam after the recent heavy rain

FRANCE, Boulogne-sur-Mer – Centre national de la Mer ‘NausicaA

We stopped here for a while as part of our holiday. It is probably the best Sea Life centre that I have visited, beautifully constructed and very well set out. There were information points all over the building, great for kids. The tanks were well stocked with fish and other creatures, the only problem that I had was with the camera. I found it difficult to handle with the variations of light and movement. So I have taken very few fish but have much more in the way of abstract designs inside the building and the building itself. So good for me. This is one of three postings. This one will strain your eyes.