View allAll Photos Tagged subdivided
Under the 1905 French law on the separation of Church and State, however, the school was forced to close. The house was subdivided into lodgings, and plans were afoot to demolish the mansion entirely and replace it with a block of flats. Auguste Rodin rented several rooms on the ground floor in which to store his sculptures. The rooms became his studio; there he worked and entertained friends among the overgrown gardens. In 1909, Rodin, at the height of his fame, began to agitate for the Hôtel Biron to become a museum of his work. Some restoration work was carried out in 1911–1912 by the architect Henri Eustache. Rodin proposed to make a bequest of his property, his archives and the contents of his studio at the time of his death, and the French government accepted in 1916. The museum opened in 1919.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topi,_Khyber_Pakhtunkhwa
Topi (Pashto: ټوپۍ) is a town in the eastern part of the Swabi District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.[1] Topi is administratively subdivided into two Union councils: Topi East and Topi West.[4] Tarbela Dam is located 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) east of Topi.
Geography
Topi is located in the east of Swabi District of the Khyber Pukhtoonkwa Province of Pakistan. Topi is located to the west of the Tarbela Dam, the world's largest earth filled dam.[5][6] Tarbela Dam is the largest hydroelectric generation project in Pakistan, producing 3,495 megawatts of electricity accounting for 40 percent of the Water and Power Development Authority's total power output as of 1980.[5]
Education sector
The town of Topi is home of the Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology (GIKI), named after Ghulam Ishaq Khan, a former President of Pakistan who had served at Topi during his illustrious career as a civil servant.[7]
Notable people
Sahibzada Abdul Qayyum Khan, a Pashtun educationist and politician, was born in Topi
Bayazid Pir Roshan, the sixteenth century revolutionary Pashtun leader, died in Topi
Wilyakali lies in the east of the state of South Australia, crossing into New South Wales, including the town of Broken Hill. The Wilyakali people traditionally visited the Paakantji people on the Menindee Lakes in the Darling Riverine Plains Bioregion each year.
The three Major language groups for the Broken Hill Region are the Paakantji, Mayyankapa, and Nyiimpaa.
Wilyakali and Danggali both lie east of the Ngadjuri language and north of the upper River Murray languages.
Wilyakali and Danggali are part of the Darling River Language Group or Paakantyi / Paakantji language group. This is a group of closely related languages in South Australia and New South Wales, which can be subdivided into two groups: the “Northern Dialects” and the “Southern Dialects.” Wilyakali and Danggali are both part of the “Southern Dialects.”
Other “Southern Dialects” include Pulaali, Southern Pankantyi, Pantyikali, Wanyuparlku and Marrawarra. Some of these languages have been recorded more than others. Although each language has its own distinguishing features, they are so similar they can be understood by speakers of other languages in this group. Therefore, the following reference list will include Southern Paakantyi references that may be helpful. The language name is noted in square brackets after each reference, when known.
Today the Wilyakali people are still the main Aboriginal group in Broken Hill, though there are a number of Aboriginal people that come from other language groups.
The Aboriginal people of Broken Hill have established working parties to pursue their vision of a better future. They continue to look after their traditional lands and are joint managers of the Mutawintji National Park which is the first national park handed back to the traditional owners in New South Wales. There are many strong elders who continue to maintain and pass on their traditional knowledge to their young people and, today, share their stories with the wider community.
Source: Mobile Language Team & Aboriginal Housing Office.
It's Woodpecker Wednesday. Time to talk about woodpeckers in general: "Woodpeckers are part of the bird family Picidae, which also includes the piculets, wrynecks and sapsuckers.Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Madagascar and the extreme polar regions." There are 248 species of woodpeckers and, btw, they're related to toucans.
Woodpeckers have strong bills that they use for drilling and drumming on trees, and long, sticky tongues for extracting food (insects and larvae).Woodpecker bills are typically longer, sharper, and stronger than the bills of piculets and wrynecks, but their morphology is very similar. The bill's chisel-like tip is kept sharp by the pecking action in birds that regularly use it on wood.
Many of the foraging, breeding, and signaling behaviors of woodpeckers involve drumming and hammering using their bills.
The kicker: An anatomical adaptation of woodpeckers is the enormously elongated hyoid bone which subdivides, passes on either side of the spinal column and wraps around the brain case, before ending in the right nostril cavity. It plays the role of safety-belt.
The image is another of my many Acorn Woodpeckers that inhabit Mt. Diablo in Contra Costa County, California. What better place for an ACORN woodpecker than in a state with 17 and a mountain with four species of oak trees?
They are rodents and not dogs! Their name derives from their bark-like call. At least 12 alarm calls are known and it is believed that they can communicate detailed information about predators.
Each colony shares a complex network of burrows. The largest ever recorded colony is 65 billion m² containing ~400 million animals! Colonies are subdivided into “wards” and then into smaller family units.
In meteorology, a cloud is an aerosol consisting of a visible mass of minute liquid droplets, frozen crystals, or other particles suspended in the atmosphere of a planetary body or similar space. Water or various other chemicals may compose the droplets and crystals. On Earth, clouds are formed as a result of saturation of the air when it is cooled to its dew point, or when it gains sufficient moisture (usually in the form of water vapor) from an adjacent source to raise the dew point to the ambient temperature. They are seen in the Earth's homosphere, which includes the troposphere, stratosphere, and mesosphere. Nephology is the science of clouds, which is undertaken in the cloud physics branch of meteorology. There are two methods of naming clouds in their respective layers of the homosphere, Latin and common. Genus types in the troposphere, the atmospheric layer closest to Earth's surface, have Latin names due to the universal adoption of Luke Howard's nomenclature that was formally proposed in 1802. It became the basis of a modern international system that divides clouds into five physical forms which can be further divided or classified into altitude levels to derive ten basic genera. The main representative cloud types for each of these forms are stratus, cirrus, stratocumulus, cumulus, and cumulonimbus. Low-level clouds do not have any altitude-related prefixes. However mid-level stratiform and stratocumuliform types are given the prefix alto- while high-level variants of these same two forms carry the prefix cirro-. Genus types with sufficient vertical extent to occupy more than one level do not carry any altitude related prefixes. They are classified formally as low- or mid-level depending on the altitude at which each initially forms, and are also more informally characterized as multi-level or vertical. Most of the ten genera derived by this method of classification can be subdivided into species and further subdivided into varieties. Very low stratiform clouds that extend down to the Earth's surface are given the common names fog and mist, but have no Latin names. R_4066
Metro Cinema, Harrow. Originally opened as the Dominion Theatre in January 1936, designed by Frank Bromige, in the Art Deco Futuristic style. It had 2,014 seats in stalls and balcony, possessed an oddly shaped stage with a full flytower, and featured live presentations with the film fare until the auditorium was subdivided in 1972. Initially the stalls section was a bingo hall, later becoming a church. The balcony was reduced in with and depth and reopened as a cinema, later a second screen was added in the former café - they seated 612 and 133. The church closed first, followed by the cinemas - by known as the Safari, having gone through ABC, Cannon and Virgin, in March 2020. Everything apart from the facade was demolished in 2021, and a residential block built on the site incorporating Bromige's frontage (which had been criminally hidden away with sheet metal cladding in 1962), with three new cinemas included. These are very comfortable, though architecturally plain, but with bargain seat prices!
London Borough of Harrow, London, Greater London, England - Metro Cinema, Station Road
May 2026
Visit my website: www.macropoulos.com
22/3/09: Nominee in Wildlife, 3rd Photography Masters Cup, International Color Awards
Moorish Gecko (Tarentola mauritanica), clinging to the other side of the office window.
Best viewed Large, On Black.
If you've ever seen a gecko, then you must have admired their ability to scurry up walls and stick to ceilings. People had been baffled for years at how geckos manage to adhere to even the most polished surfaces. They don't use claws (otherwise they wouldn't be able to hold on to a glass window like in this photo). Suction was regarded as an unlikely explanation since geckos can cling on to a wall even in a vacuum. That astonishing trick of walking upside down on the ceiling would seem to rule out friction. Furthermore, without any glands on their feet, it would be hard for geckos to produce their own natural glue. So how do they do it?
Scientists found out that that the attractive forces that hold geckos to surfaces are van der Waals interactions, intermolecular forces so weak they are normally swamped by the many stronger forces in nature. Geckos have millions of densely packed, fine hairs, or setae, on their toes. The end of each seta is further subdivided into hundreds to thousands of structures called spatulae. Each such spatula interacts with the surface's molecules and the cumulative effect from the billions of tiny spatulae is a force strong enough to hold many times the weight of the small reptile. Geckos have developed an amazing way of walking, that rolls these hairs onto the surface, and then peels them off again, just like adhesive tape, only better. Because, unlike adhesive tape, the setae on the feet of geckos are also self cleaning and will usually remove any clogging dirt within a few steps! Imagine the possibilities... Synthetic Gecko, Gecko Tape, Carbon Nanotubes, these are some examples of the kind of research going on...
Sources:
It was sunny but cold this morning, then just after lunch the snow started falling again. So instead of going for a walk I photographed garden birds in the snow, including this Blue Tit.
One of the old folk names for this bird is "Nun". According to the Oxford English Dictionary this name for Blue Tit first occurred in an English text in 1589 "Parus minor, a little titmouse, called a Nunne, because her heade is filleted as it were Nunlike"(OED). It was still in use a century later when John Ray published the first bird book in English in 1678 "The blue Titmouse, or Nun" but the name disappeared from use soon after that. The name Tit (as opposed to Titmouse) made its debut in 1706 but it was another hundred years before the shortened name started to gain traction. Many die-hards clung to the old name titmouse which even appeared in an official BOU Checklist as late as 1952. But from about 1930 Blue Tit was the most commonly used name.
To our eyes male and female Blue Tits look exactly the same, but birds are sensitive to ultra violet so see things that are invisible to the human eye. When Blue Tits were filmed using UV sensitive techniques it was discovered that the males had a glowing blue crown, whereas female crowns were comparatively dull. This is because the male's crown reflected more UV light than the females. So while all Blue Tits may look the same to us, Blue Tits see themselves very differently.
There are about 3.4 million pairs of Blue Tits in Britain, which does indeed make it one of our commonest birds. Its scientific name used to be Parus caeruleus which literally translated as Blue Tit (this is quite rare in scientific names). However, DNA studies showed that the genus Parus should be subdivided and Blue Tit was reclassified as Cyanistes caeruleus, which translates as "dark blueish, blue".
New features in HUD
In Maitreya 5 the layers are subdivided in several body sections. In the tattoo layer, you can wear different tattoos
on left/right arms or legs There are more independent area.
Look out when wearing your HD-nips and a body tattoo on the same section, like on your back. You need to mask your back tattoo. When not , your nips are looking distorted.
A bit of a typical "tourist" shot and a tad dull for the photography critics but still it was a beautiful place....
Hout Bay (Afrikaans: Houtbaai, meaning "Wood Bay") is a town near Cape Town, South Africa situated in a valley on the Atlantic seaboard of the Cape Peninsula.
When the Dutch established a colony in Table Bay in 1652, a great quantity of good timber was required for construction, shipbuilding other purposes. There was no large forest in the immediate vicinity of the settlement, mainly because the rainfall was not high enough. It was soon apparent that the colonists would be able to fell wood they needed in the wetter valley that lay on the other side of a low pass (called Constantia Nek) between the southern end of Table Mountain and Constantiaberg. The area was originally made up of two farms, which were slowly subdivided to make way for urban expansion
Hout Bay is surrounded by mountains to the north, east and west and the southern Atlantic Ocean to the south. In the north, it is bordered by Table Mountain National Park comprising the Orangekloof Nature reserve and the bottom slopes of Table Mountain beyond that. To the north-west, it is bordered by the backside of the Twelve Apostles, known as the Oranjekloof. To the west, it is bordered by Little Lion's Head, Karbonkelberg, Kaptein's Peak and The Sentinel. To the east it is bordered by the Vlakkenberg, Skoorsteenskopberg and Constantiaberg. The world-famous Chapman's Peak Drive is carved out of the mountainside and leads towards Noordhoek and onwards to Cape Point.
Built along the northern side of the former 1820's toll road these are clearly part of the city's outward expansion during the later Victorian boom times of the cycle and engineering industry, and were where middle management might have lived, the upper-most floors being the servants quarters, though by the 1950's that standard of living would have been long gone and indeed the houses would start to be subdivided by landlords into flats and bedsits (with the bed room sharing the sitting room) as Coventrys population outgrew the available housing stock and High Rise flats where seen as the answer.
The Simon Benson House is a Queen Anne–style residence built around 1900 for the Norwegian-born timber baron Simon Benson, on the southeast corner of SW 11th and Clay in downtown Portland.
It's a two-and-a-half-story frame structure clad in lapped weatherboard, with the varied hipped-and-gabled roofline, bracketed hoods, wraparound porch, and leaded-glass windows characteristic of the style — though, as Leland Roth notes, a comparatively restrained example of it.
A nice wrinkle for anyone interested in Portland's Victorian stock: one of the city's wealthiest men chose a George F. Barber mail-order catalogue design rather than commissioning one of Portland's established turn-of-the-century architects, preferring to spend on his businesses and his considerable philanthropy.
Inside, each room was paneled in a different species of wood — a fitting flourish for a lumberman.
Benson himself lived there only briefly. The family moved out in 1913, around the time he opened the hotel that still bears his name, and the house began its long second life as rented space — successively a single residence, a boarding house, and then subdivided apartments.
In the 1930s it became a boarding house and was later cut up into apartments, and over the decades it accumulated deferred maintenance and neglect.
The preservation-by-listing gambit failed. The city nominated the house to the National Register in an effort to encourage upkeep, and it was listed in August 1983 — but neglect continued until 1991, when the city condemned it as a dangerous building.
The owner shuttered it and left it to rot. By the end of the decade the roof had failed, the building was no longer weathertight, and it was routinely occupied by vagrants — a textbook case of demolition by neglect, with a developer eyeing the land underneath.
The pilferage is the vivid part. During the years it stood vacant, thirteen of its original art-glass windows were stolen and sold. Remarkably, they were later recovered with the help of the Portland police, so the restored house retains much of its original glass — plus one salvaged window from another circa-1895 Queen Anne, donated by a PSU alumnus.
The rescue was an unusual public-private effort. City Commissioner Gretchen Kafoury organized a coalition of the State Historic Preservation Office, the Portland Development Commission, city agencies, charities, and private donors; the Friends of Simon Benson House raised the roughly $1.6 million needed to move and restore it, with PSU donating the land.
In January 2000 the house was lifted off its foundation, set on wheeled carriages, and moved three blocks to 1803 SW Park Avenue, in the Park Blocks at the edge of campus. SERA Architects and P&C Construction handled the rehabilitation — new plumbing, electrical, and seismic systems, replicated chimneys, reproduced curved porch work, and refurbished interior woodwork including the cherry wainscoting and front stair.
It was relisted on the National Register in 2002 at its new location and today serves as the PSU Alumni Association's home and campus visitor center — with a Benson Bubbler, appropriately, out front.
Updated Photo of Former Lucky Supermarket, converted to Albertsons in 1999 when Albertsons took over the Lucky Supermarket Chain. In 2006, this store closed and is currently under construction, and renovation to become a Fresh & Easy Market, owned by Tosco of Britain. Located on Verdugo Road in Eagle Rock, an area of Los Angeles, California. One of xx photos. Store has been subdivided. Closeup of Fresh & Easy entrance.
I visited Rippon Lea historical mansion last Friday on a beautiful and sunny day. Whilst I was strolling through the gardens behind the house, I came across a bed planted with an amazing variety of dahlias.
Dahlia is a genus of bushy, tuberous, herbaceous perennial plants native to Mexico and Central America. A member of the Compositae family of dicotyledonous plants, its garden relatives thus include the sunflower, daisy, chrysanthemum, and zinnia.
Rippon Lea Estate is a heritage-listed historic house and gardens located in the leafy inner Melbourne suburb of Elsternwick. Built in 1868 for Sir Frederick Sargood, a wealthy Melbourne businessman, politician and philanthropist, the Sargood family lived at Rippon Lea until Frederick's death in 1903. The property was sold to a consortium of real estate developers who had plans to demolish the house and subdivide the land. However due to one of the partner's deaths, it was partially subdivided and the house and remaining land not subdivided was sold to Ben and Agnes Nathan, who owned the Maples chain of furniture stores in Melbourne in 1910. The Nathans lived there until Ben's death in 1935. The property then passed to their eldest daughter, Louisa, along with a legacy of one million pounds. Louisa bequeathed the Rippon Lea estate to the National Trust upon her death in 1972. It is still in the care of the National Trust of Australia today. It was added to the Australian National Heritage List in August 2006. The house is sometimes used for exhibitions and the Hollywood style ballroom built in the 1930s is used for functions, most commonly weddings. The gardens are often used for entertainments such as open air plays, opera and children's shows.
Ballycarbery Castle dates from the fourteen hundreds and was built by the McCarthy Mór family. It is not known if the McCarthy’s actually lived here but their agents the O’Connells did. The McCarthys were a wealthy trading family and imported goods from Europe into the small bay on their doorstep. Daniel McCarthy pledged his loyalty to Queen Elizabeth I of England and he was called the Earl of Clancarre. He did not produce an heir and on his death the Queen gave his lands to Trinity College Dublin. The land was then subdivided and given to various landlords.
Album: Mundo Animal - Animal World / Viajes - Traveling
Argentina, Mendoza, Reserva Natural Villavicencio, Minas manto de cobre.
La vizcacha de la sierra o chinchillón, Lagidium viscacia sarae, es una de las subespecies en que se subdivide la especie Lagidium viscacia, un roedor de la familia de las chinchillas. Se distribuye en el oeste del Cono Sur de Sudamérica.
The vizcacha of the sierra or chinchillón, Lagidium viscacia sarae, is one of the subspecies in which the species Lagidium viscacia, a rodent of the family of the chinchillas, is subdivided. It is distributed in the west of the South Cone of South America.
Ph.Wal wsg
Instagram: @ph.walwsg
Fall has arrived here in Fairbanks and the bulk of the seasonal birds have gone south for the season. But I still go on walks pretty much every day.
Creamer's was a dairy from the 30's to the mid 60's when Charlie Creamer decided to call it quits. His original plan was to subdivide the land for development. However a town wide drive to collect money, even down to children donating their lunch money, collected enough to buy an option on the land, and after a few years, the state bought the land to make it a bird reserve.
We headed out to the "backyard" area of the Santa Barbara Natural History Museum to check out the raptor housing. The shutter screens of the housing were lowered so we could look into the individual rooms reserved for the raptors of the Eyes in the Sky program.
Puku, the Western Screech Owl, wasn't visible and I speculated that she might be in her little box. We leaned on the railing to peer in. The glass had a message "do not tap on the glass." Was Puku a no show?
We turned around to walk away. A small amphitheater with rocks for seating had a small stream nearby. Pots and pans and a colander sat on the ground near a water spigot next to a wood storage structure, subdivided into “pots, pans, and colanders.” Kids milled around making restless and loud banging noises with all the cookware. A lady sat in a lawn chair, her face content and interested....then, we noticed a small feathered bundle, comfortably attached to her hand.
There was Puku, calmly turning her head slowly, rotating back and again turning her head slowing, again and again. She was “tracking.”
(I am terrible at remembering so I don’t recall the lady/handler’s name.)
The handler invited us to move in closer. It was obvious that Puku had cloudy eyes. The lady explained that Puku had contracted a virus when a youngster that would have blinded her completely if it were not for veterinary intervention. We were told that Puku had 25% vision in her right but was totally blind in her left eye.
All of the birds in the program, including a red tailed hawk, a peregrine falcon, a great horned owl, a barn owl, and two beautiful kestrels, are all rescues that cannot be released for one reason or another. The birds are all calm professionals and the trust they have with their handlers is obvious. Puku is no exception.
Puku’s feathers are soft and delicate with the humble browns and grays you’d find in Oak Tree bark. It was tempting to ask if we could pet her. The little Western Screech Owl appeared to invite tactile contact from humans. We were told that in the past, she was touched and her head area rubbed but some of her feathers were rubbed off, …loved off, because of the oil present on our fingers. A bit of a Blarney Stone. Puku had developed a little bald patch which has since resolved. So, no more petting for this avian gal. Too bad.
We took many photos and asked many questions. Puku was a picture of tolerance and acceptance. How could one photo capture her beautiful and wise spirit?
Cavendish Mews is a smart set of flats in Mayfair where flapper and modern woman, the Honourable Lettice Chetwynd has set up home after coming of age and gaining her allowance. To supplement her already generous allowance, and to break away from dependence upon her family, Lettice has established herself as a society interior designer, so her flat is decorated with a mixture of elegant antique Georgian pieces and modern Art Deco furnishings, using it as a showroom for what she can offer to her well heeled clients.
Today however, we are following Edith, Lettice’s maid, along with her best friend and fellow maid-of-all-work, Hilda Clerkenwell, who works around the corner from Cavendish Mews in Hill Street as a live-in maid for Lettice’s married friends Margot and Dickie Channon. It is Wednesday, and both maids have Wednesdays as a half-day off work and are free until four o’clock. The pair of maids head east of Mayfair, to a place far removed from the elegance and gentility of Lettice’s flat, in London’s East End. Thanks to Lettice’s Cockney charwoman*, Mrs. Boothby, who lives in nearby Poplar, Edith now has her own hand treadle Singer** sewing machine, and frequents a wonderful haberdasher in Whitechapel, Mrs. Minkin, whom she goes to on her days off when she needs something for one of her many sewing projects as she slowly adds to and updates her wardrobe. Before the General Strike*** paralysed London a few weeks ago, Edith had attended a jumble sale**** held at her family’s parish church of All Souls***** in Harlesden to raise funds for the underpaid Welsh coal miners****** whose plight is what started the general movement of workers to strike. She acquired a number of things at the sale, including some pretty floral fabric and lace trims, which she is using to make Hilda, who is far less fashion conscious than Edith is, a new summer frock.
Both girls like Mrs. Minkin’s haberdashery. The heavy wood shelves and bolts of various fabrics stacked up around the walls muffle the sounds of the noisy street outside and envelop them in a cosy material cocoon. The shop is like a hoarder’s stash, filled with the most amazing collection of treasures to please even the fussiest of seamstresses or milliners: exotic and brightly coloured silks from the orient*******, intricate thick satin brocades from France******** glittering Bohemian glass buttons and beads*********, satin, velvet and grosgrain ribbons********** in every shade and tumbling cascades of frothy white and ecru lace from Nottingham and Derbyshire***********. The shop not only feels comforting, it smells comforting too, with a mixture of natural fabric, Lux Flakes************ – a scent Edith knows only too well because of her mother taking in other people’s laundry over the years – lavender and cloves************. We find Edith and Hilda in one of the many nooks in Mrs. Minkin’s shop, in front of the drawers that contain spools of brightly coloured silk threads.
“How is your latest sewing project coming along, Edit.” eagle eyed Mrs. Minkin calls from behind the shop counter where she has just finished serving another customer, her pudgy finger decorated with a few sparkling gold bejewelled rings moving with dexterity as she tidies her glass top and fronted counter. “Are you looking for a particular shade, my dear?”
A refugee from Odessa as a result of a pogrom************* in 1905, Mrs. Minkin’s Russian accent, still thick after nearly twenty years of living in London’s East End, muffles the h at the end of Edith’s name, never ceasing to make the young girl smile, for it is an endearing quality.
“Thank you, Mrs. Minkin.” Edith calls cheerfully in reply. “I’m looking for Sylko’s************** Sèvres Blue*************** if you have it, Mrs. Minkin.”
“I don’t know if I have any Sèvres Blue at the moment, Edit my dear,” Mrs. Minkin replies as she scratches her scalp beneath her old fashioned upswept hairdo with the end of a pencil as she thinks. “It’s not a colour that is hugely in demand.” She steps away from her space behind the counter and bustles across the room, her frilly and high Edwardian lace jabot running down the front of her blouse, held in place at her throat by a beautiful cameo – a gift from her beloved and at the same time irritating Mr. Minkin – flapping in the breeze as she moves around displays of haberdashery and notions**************** towards the two maids. “I am sure I will have somethink lovely in these drawers, dear Edit, which will be equally suitable if I don’t. Now let’s see.”
“Thank you Mrs. Minkin.” Edith replies gratefully as the woman begins to fossick through a set of wooden drawers of cotton spools emblazoned with a cotton manufacturers on each individual drawer.
“Oy vey iz mir*****************!” Mrs. Minkin exclaims with exasperation. “What is wrong with you Anglit******************?”
“What’s the matter, Mrs, Minkin?” Hilda asks as she sees the proprietoress withdraw a black spool from the drawer she is rifling through.
“Is England not a country of well-educated people, Hilde?” Mrs, Minkin asks with a pained look as she holds up the thread spool that is causing her offence.
“Well of course we are, Mrs. Minkin.” Edith replies quickly.
“I think that was a rhetorical question, Edith.” Hilda whispers under her breath to her best friend.
“What’s that when it’s at home, then?” Edith whispers back.
“A question that doesn’t need an answer, Edith.”
Seemingly not to have heard the two maids’ conspiratorial hushed conversation, Mrs. Minkin goes on, “Can no-one read? “Narishe froy!*****************! Can they not read? Black belongs in here!” She irritably yanks open a drawer marked ‘black’ in bold ink stencilled letters and slips the spool in with other black reels of cotton. “There are bound to be colours in there too, no doubt.” she sighs heavily. “I’ll get to it soon enough.” She returns to the colours drawer and keeps looking. “meanwhile you didn’t answer my question, Edit my dear.”
“And what question was that, Mrs. Minkin?” Edith asks politely, seeking clarification.
“What project are you working on now? It must be very special if you particularly want Bleu de Sèvres.”
“Oh, sorry Mrs. Mikin,” Edith apologises earnestly, raising her right hand to her chest. “I must have been concentrating so hard on finding Sèvres Blue cotton that I mustn’t have heard you.”
“Is it special? A new frock perhaps, , Edit my dear?” the older woman asks tentatively as she pries. “I’m sure I have some lovely Gablonz glass buttons that would go with something in the vein of Bleu de Sèvres.” she says as she tries to tempt Edith.
Edith likes the Jewess proprietoress. She always has a smile and a kind word for Edith and Hilda, and her generosity towards her has found Edith discover extra spools of coloured cottons or curls of pretty ribbons and other notions in the lining of her parcel when she unpacks it at Cavendish Mews. Mrs. Minkin always insists when Edith mentions it, that she wished all her life that she had had a daughter, but all she ever had were sons, so Edith is like a surrogate daughter to her, and as a result she gets to reap the small benefits of her largess.
“It is rather special, yes.” Edith replies, casting a glance at Hilda and smiling. “It’s a new frock for Hilda.”
“Hilde!” Mrs. Minkin stops fossicking and glances at the two maids. “You are making a frock for Hilde, Edit?”
“Yes Mrs. Minkin.” Hilda replies. Noting the older woman’s startled look which matches the tone in her voice, Hilda goes on, “Is that such a surprise?”
“Oh well!” Mrs. Minkin reaches up and clasps her cameo at her throat and coughs awkwardly. “No, of course not Hilde. I mean, it is a surprise, but a nice one. How lucky you are to have such a good chaverah tovah******************** in Edit, my dear Hilde, to make you a frock.”
“Well, she needs it, Mrs. Mikin.” Edith pipes up joyfully.
“A meydele, can never have too many frocks, Edit my dear.” Mrs. Minkin replies sagely. “Which is why I’m in business.” She smiles broadly as she opens her arms expansively and gesticulates proudly to all the beautiful things in their immediate surrounds.
“Well Hilda definitely needs a new frock, since she’s started stepping out with a nice young man, finally.” Edith giggles girlishly.
“Oh Edith, don’t!” Hilda defends, swatting at her best friend as her cheeks flush with embarrassed colour.
“What’s this?” Mrs. Minkin exclaims with excitement. “Hilde? Is this true?”
Hilda’s blush deepens as she replies. “It’s early days yet, Mrs. Minkin.”
“But it’s promising, Mrs. Minkin.” Edith interjects excitedly. “He boards with my Frank, you see, and he’s ever such a nice chap.”
“Mazel Tov*********************, Hilde!” the old Jewess grasps, clapping her bejewelled hands in delight. “This is wonderful news!” She reaches out her careworn digits and envelops Hilda’s fat, sausage like fingers and squeezes them, giving her a beaming smile of genuine happiness for her. “You and Edit are like my daughters, Hilde, since God only thought to bless Soloman and I with sons, so you must keep me informed.” She nods affirmatively, making the dainty gold droplet earrings hanging from her lobes dance about, glinting as they catch the light. “I take it he isn’t Jewish?”
“No!” Hilda laughs, surprised at Mrs. Minkin’s question. “He’s C of E**********************, like me, Mrs. Minkin.”
“Nu, shoyn***********************,” Mrs. Minkin replies with a shrug and a sigh. “It would be better if he was, Hilde my dear, but as you Anglit say, we cannot have all that we would want.”
“I think you mean, ‘you cannot have everything you want’, Mrs. Minkin.” Hilda corrects her older woman politely.
“That is what I say.” Mrs. Minkin replies with a determined nod.
In order to deflect the conversation away from her buddling relationship with Frank’s best man, John Simpkin, Hilda begins, “I’ve been meaning to ask you, Mrs. Minkin,”
“Hhhmmm?” Mrs. Minkin murmurs as she returns to sorting the spools of colourful threads in the drawers whilst helping Edith to find the shade of cotton she is seeking. “Ask me what, Hilde?”
“That sign advertising Weldon’s************************.” Hilda points to the poster of a Weldon’s Ladies’ Journal cover pinned to the papered wall.
“What about it, Hilde?” Mrs. Minkin asks without ceasing her task, her fingers moving deftly through the drawer’s contents.
“Well, it just seems like such an anomaly.” She pauses for a moment as she realises that her choice of words might be a little too academic for her best friend, who she doubts would have been exposed to the word, and the old Jewess, for whom English was not a first language. “An oddity. It doesn’t fit in.”
“What are you saying, Hilda?” Edith retorts. “Of course it does. I buy Weldon’s from here every month. I mean, it’s a bit out of date.” She glances at the edition, which states that it is from September 1910.
“That’s what I mean.” Hilda replies. “Mrs. Minkin, you always have the most up-to-date and fashionable fabrics and notions, yet this is over fifteen years old.”
“Ahh.” Mrs, Minkin notes with a wistful sigh as she pauses in her task, allowing her fingers to rest in the colours drawer atop the lines of round spools. “I see what you mean.”
“Surely you realised that it was pinned up there, Mrs. Minkin?” Edith queries. “You know all the stock in your shop.”
“Except maybe whether I have a spool of Sylko Bleu de Sèvres.” Mrs. Minkin chuckles before continuing, “Yes, I know it is there, Edit. And yes, I do know it is very far out-of-date.” She takes a deep breath. “But you see, September 1910 is a very important date for me.”
“What happened in September 1910?” Edith queries.
“That was the month and year I opened my haberdashery here in Whitechapel.” Mrs, Minkin replies, a wistfulness entering her voice as she speaks.
“But I thought you said that you left your home in Russia in 1905.” Edith remarked.
“We didn’t leave,” Mrs, Minkin replies with bitterness replacing the wistfulness. “We were driven from our homes by Bloody Nicholas************************* and his supporters**************************!”
“I beg your pardon, Mrs. Minkin.” Edith apologises.
The steeliness that has possessed the old Jewess’ face and hardened her gaze dissipates a little as she turns to Edith and smiles sadly. “It’s alright Edit my dear. You are not to blame for the persecutions my Soloman and our children suffered. We were good people. We were fabric merchants. We even employed Goyim*************************** to work for us. Other merchants refused to employ anyone who wasn’t Jewish, but we wanted to employ local people.”
“So, you came to England to start over again?” Hilda asks, tentatively.
“Oy vey, Hilde!” Mrs. Minkin raises her hands and casts her eyes to the ceiling above. “How could we? Mr. Minkin and I had to leave so much behind, not least of all our business, and all the fabrics Mr. Minkin had to leave in the warehouse. We had a few paltry bags of belongings between us, and that included food, for we were unsure what kind of reception or hospitality we would receive as we fled.”
“But you found safety, here in England, Mrs. Minkin.” Edith says, but even as she speaks the words, they almost come out like a question, rather than a statement.
“Oh yes, Edit,” the older woman pauses. “Eventually.”
“Eventually?” Edith ventures.
“England was not so willing to take poor and destitute émigrés such as Mr. Minkin and I. We had to prove that we would not be a burden by showing that we could support ourselves with money****************************, but we had none. We had to rebuild our business to support ourselves, and that took five years.”
“So, what did you do?” Hilda asked.
“We went to France*****************************. They didn’t care that we didn’t have a sou between us******************************!”
Edith gasps as she realises something. “That explains why you use French terms, Mrs. Minkin.”
“We arrived via a third class ticket aboard a locomotive that pulled into the Gare de l'Est along with many others after travelling through Germany*******************************. Mr. Minkin and I set up a small haberdashery export business in the Pletzl in the Le Marais neighbourhood******************************** and slowly built up our business. It was never ging to be what we had back home in Odessa, but it was enough to prove that we would be able to financially support ourselves.”
“I’m sorry it’s not like the kind of life that you led back in Russia, Mrs. Minkin.” Edith remarks kindly.
“Nu, shoyn, Edit my dear.” Mrs, Minkin says with a shrug. “We are here. We are alive, we are not persecuted and my sons and our business thrive. What more can I ask God for? Eh?”
“How about a reel of blue thread so that Edith can finish my frock, Mrs. Minkin?” Hilda says with a cheeky glint in her eye as she tries to brighten the atmosphere and conversation.
Mrs. Minkin delves her hand back into the colours drawer of the spool cabinet and continues her search.
“Ahh!” she says at length, before holding up a single spool of Sèvres Blue. “D110, Bleu de Sèvres!” She smiles proudly as she presents it to a grateful Edith. “Ask Him, and God shall provide.”
*A charwoman, chargirl, or char, jokingly charlady, is an old-fashioned occupational term, referring to a paid part-time worker who comes into a house or other building to clean it for a few hours of a day or week, as opposed to a maid, who usually lives as part of the household within the structure of domestic service. In the 1920s, chars usually did all the hard graft work that paid live-in domestics would no longer do as they looked for excuses to leave domestic service for better paying work in offices and factories.
**The Singer Corporation is an American manufacturer of consumer sewing machines, first established as I. M. Singer & Co. in 1851 by Isaac M. Singer with New York lawyer Edward C. Clark. Best known for its sewing machines, it was renamed Singer Manufacturing Company in 1865, then the Singer Company in 1963. In 1867, the Singer Company decided that the demand for their sewing machines in the United Kingdom was sufficiently high to open a local factory in Glasgow on John Street. The Vice President of Singer, George Ross McKenzie selected Glasgow because of its iron making industries, cheap labour, and shipping capabilities. Demand for sewing machines outstripped production at the new plant and by 1873, a new larger factory was completed on James Street, Bridgeton. By that point, Singer employed over two thousand people in Scotland, but they still could not produce enough machines. In 1882 the company purchased forty-six acres of farmland in Clydebank and built an even bigger factory. With nearly a million square feet of space and almost seven thousand employees, it was possible to produce on average 13,000 machines a week, making it the largest sewing machine factory in the world. The Clydebank factory was so productive that in 1905, the U.S. Singer Company set up and registered the Singer Manufacturing Company Ltd. in the United Kingdom.
***The General Strike in Britain occurred between May the 3rd and May the 12th, 1926. It was a nine-day nationwide stoppage called by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) to support coal miners facing wage reductions and worsening conditions. Roughly one million, seven hundred thousand workers went on strike, primarily in transport and heavy industry.
****A jumble sale is a British community event, often held in church or village halls, where donated second-hand goods are sold to raise funds for charity or local organisations. Common items sold include used clothes, books, toys, and bric-a-brac at very low prices.
*****The parish of All Souls, Harlesden, was formed in 1875 from Willesden, Acton, St John's, Kensal Green, and Hammersmith. Mission services had been held by the curate of St Mary's, Willesden, at Harlesden institute from 1858. The parish church at Station Road, Harlesden, was built and consecrated in 1879. The town centre church is a remarkable brick octagon designed by E.J. Tarver. Originally there was a nave which was extended in 1890 but demolished in 1970.
******Following a post-war slump, market downturns, and the government’s return to the Gold Standard, coal mine owners demanded substantial wage cuts in 1925, threatening to remove the national minimum wage. In some cases, proposed wages were lower than unemployment benefits. Owners sought to increase the working day as well, which would have meant more time in hazardous conditions for less pay for the miners. Mining was fraught with danger, with over one thousand two hundred miners killed annually across Britain and many more suffering life-altering injuries and industrial diseases. When mine owners, backed by the British government, threatened to terminate the 1924 wage agreement in July 1925 (known as Red Friday) a nine month government subsidy was paid to keep mines open. This was not a victory for the miners, but rather a temporary delay that allowed the government to stockpile coal and prepare for the inevitable showdown. The fear of the workhouse or absolute destitution was a constant pressure on mining families in the Valleys. Employers were already implementing harsh conditions, forcing miners into a position where they felt they had no choice but to fight for the right to work. These conditions, compounded by the eventual withdrawal of the subsidy and the subsequent lockout in May 1926, created a deeply entrenched, desperate situation for Welsh communities before the General Strike of 1926 occurred.
*******In the 1920s, Britain primarily sourced its raw silk and finished silk fabrics from China and Japan who were global producers of silk at the time. Britain sourced vast quantities of raw silk from East Asia to feed its own regional weaving centres in towns like Macclesfield, Congleton, and Braintree. High-end woven silk fabrics and chinoiserie-style textiles were also widely imported from China.
********Famous for its fashion and luxury textile industries, France (particularly Lyon) remained a primary source for highly sought-after, intricately woven satins, brocades, and finished fashion garments.
*********In the 1920s, Britain sourced the vast majority of its glass buttons and beads from Bohemia (specifically the industrial glassmaking region around Jablonec and Nisou). Following the Great War, this region became part of the newly formed republic of Czechoslovakia, and British traders and designers widely referred to the area and its imports by the German name, Gablonz. Following the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the German-Bohemian glassworks in Gablonz dominated the global costume jewellery, button, and bead markets. By the late 1920s, Czechoslovakia was the largest exporter of beads and jewellery in the world.
**********"Grosgrain" is commonly used to refer to a heavy, stiff ribbon of silk or (in the 1920s) manmade silk or rayon, woven via taffeta weave using a heavy weft, which results in distinct transverse ribs. Historically, grosgrain was made from wool, silk, or a combination of fibres such as silk and wool or silk and mohair. When a combination of fibres was used, the result was sometimes given the name grogram, silk mohair, gros de Tours or gros de Naples.
***********Throughout the 1920s, Britain sourced most of its commercial lace from the East Midlands, specifically Nottingham and Derbyshire, for local supply. Nottingham was undisputed global hub of the machine-made lace industry, famous for producing fine fabrics and lace curtains. Towns like Long Eaton and Ilkeston in Derbyshire, experienced major industrial expansion after the Great War, becoming vital mass-production centres for Leavers lace. Pockets of traditional handmade lace — such as Bedfordshire lace, Buckinghamshire (Bucks Point) lace, and Honiton lace from Devon — were still produced on a smaller scale by preservation groups and rural workers, though they had sharply declined.
***********Before the invention of modern liquid detergents, Lux Flakes revolutionised hand-washing. Because the flakes were pure and mild, the brand marketed heavily to women, positioning itself as a safe way to care for fine lace, knitwear, and hosiery. Lever Brothers first produced "Sunlight Flakes" out of their factories in Port Sunlight on the Wirral Peninsula in 1899. "Sunlight Flakes" were an innovative product made from thin sheets of Sunlight soap that could easily dissolve in water. By 1900, the product was officially renamed "Lux." The brand expanded into the US market by 1906. In 1925, the company launched Lux toilet soap, shifting the brand's focus heavily toward beauty. By leveraging celebrity endorsements from Hollywood icons, it quickly became famous as the soap of the stars. Lux Flakes solidified its position as the ultimate gentle cleanser for delicate fabrics, woolens, and lingerie in the post Second World War era, and is still available today, although it no longer trades as Lux Soap Flakes since the brand of Lux has shifted globally to beauty soaps. The laundry tradition of pure soap still survives under trade names like “Softly Pure Soap Flakes”.
************People placed lavender and cloves amongst their linens primarily to repel fabric-eating insects (like moths) and to naturally freshen stale-smelling fabrics. Historically, before the invention of synthetic chemicals, these botanicals were a safe, chemical-free way to keep stored bedding and clothing in pristine condition. Insects loathe the chemical compounds naturally present in these plants. Lavender contains oils that naturally repel clothes moths and silverfish, while cloves act as a powerful deterrent for a variety of household pests.
*************Pogroms in the Russian Empire were large-scale, targeted, and repeated anti-Jewish rioting that began in the Nineteenth Century. Pogroms began to occur after Imperial Russia, which previously had very few Jews, acquired territories with large Jewish populations from the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Ottoman Empire from 1772 to 1815. The 1905 pogrom against Jews in the Odessa region was the most serious pogrom of the period, with reports of up to 2,500 Jews killed. Jews fled Russia, some ending up in London’s East End, which had a reasonably large Jewish community, particularly associated with clothing manufacturing.
**************Sylko cotton threads were produced in a dizzying array of colours and shades by Dwehurt’s. Belle Vue Mill, commonly known as Dewhurst’s, was built by Thomas Dewhurst in 1828. It opened in 1829 as John Dewhurst & Sons and was one of Skipton’s largest spinning and weaving mills. The mill’s position next to the Leeds Liverpool Canal meant that raw cotton could be shipped in by boats from Liverpool. Finished goods would then be sent back the same way ready for distribution. Coal to power the machine’s steam engines was also delivered by barge. In 1897 Dewhurst’s was bought by the English Sewing Cotton Co. It continued to produce Sylko, one of the mill’s most famous products. It was produced in over 500 colours and sold throughout the world. Sylko cottons are still available at haberdashers today, albeit under a different branding.
***************Sèvres Blue (Bleu de Sèvres) is a signature deep, inky-cobalt colour developed by chemists at the renowned French porcelain manufactory in the 1750s. Associated with luxury, it became an international symbol of royal prestige, famously paired with 24-carat gold and used in diplomatic gifts for European monarchs. Dewhurst’s produced a Sèvres Blue shade of cotton before the Second World War. It was dye shade number D110.
****************In sewing and haberdashery, notions are small objects or accessories, including items that are sewn or otherwise attached to a finished article, such as buttons, snaps, and collar stays. Notions also include the small tools used in sewing, such as needles, thread, pins, marking pens, elastic, and seam rippers.
*****************“Oy vey iz mir” is the most famous Ashkenazi Jewish expression for a sigh of mild despair, exasperation, or "drat".
******************“Anglit” is Hebrew for English.
*******************“Narishe froy is Yiddish for “stupid woman.”
********************“Chaverah tovah” is Yiddish for a good female friend.
*********************“Meydele” is the he affectionate Yiddish diminutive for a "little girl" or "young girl".
*********************“Masel” Tov is the most common and widely understood way to say congratulations in Yiddish. It is usually used for birthdays, weddings, new jobs, and graduations, but can be used for any celebration.
**********************The abbreviation "C of E" began as a practical administrative and journalistic shorthand during the rapid industrial expansion of the Nineteenth Century. It became widely used in public records, timetables, and census documents by the mid-1800s to quickly reference the English state church.
***********************“Nu, shoyn” is the closest direct Yiddish equivalent to "oh well," "so be it," or "whatever happens, happens." It is used when shrugging off a minor inconvenience.
************************Created by British industrial chemist and journalist Walter Weldon Weldon’s Ladies’ Journal was the first ‘home weeklies’ magazine which supplied dressmaking patterns. Weldon’s Ladies’ Journal was first published in 1875 and continued until 1954 when it ceased publication.
*************************Tsar Nicholas II earned the name "Bloody Nicholas" primarily due to his regime's violent suppression of peaceful protests during Bloody Sunday in 1905, and his government's bungled response to a deadly stampede at his coronation in 1896 which became known as the Khodynka Tragedy. Just days after Tsar Hicholas’ coronation, a massive public festival was held in Moscow where free food and souvenir mugs were being given out. Due to rumours that there wouldn't be enough gifts, a catastrophic stampede broke out. Nearly 1,400 of his subjects were crushed to death. Nicholas attended a ball that same evening, which the Russian public saw as deeply callous, staining his early reputation. On January 22, 1905, tens of thousands of unarmed, peaceful workers marched toward the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg to present a petition for better working conditions and political reform. Without provocation, the Imperial Guard opened fire on the crowd, killing and wounding hundreds. Although the Tsar was not physically in the palace, he was held ultimately responsible, turning public sentiment sharply against him.
**************************The Odessa Pogrom of 1905 erupted from a volatile mix of political revolution, economic tension, and government-backed antisemitism. When Tsar Nicholas II issued the October Manifesto promising civil liberties, pro-tsarist and conservative groups (the "Black Hundreds") were furious. They scapegoated the Jewish population, claiming Jews had forced the Tsar's hand, and violently attacked Jewish neighbourhoods in an effort to suppress the Russian Revolution of 1905. Jews were heavily represented in the opposition movement demanding an end to autocratic rule. Consequently, pro-government mobs targeted them as political enemies of the Russian state. Rapid modernisation and industrial downturns fostered intense job competition, particularly among unskilled, non-Jewish day labourers. This fuelled deep economic resentment, as many non-Jewish workers viewed Jewish merchants and professionals as the cause of their financial hardships. Local authorities, the police, and the military deliberately turned a blind eye or took belated action. By refusing to intervene, the Tsarist government tacitly allowed the ethnic violence to distract from broader social discontent and to crush revolutionary sentiment.
***************************In Hebrew and Yiddish, “goy” is a term for a gentile: a non-Jew. Through Yiddish, the word has been adopted into English also to mean "gentile", sometimes in a pejorative sense. Goyim is the plural variation of the word.
****************************Immigrants entering England in the early 1900s needed to arrive at an approved port, pass medical and financial inspections, and prove they were not criminals or likely to become a burden on the state. Under the Aliens Act 1905, those who failed these inspections were denied entry. Immigrants needed to prove they had the means to support themselves. Those deemed destitute or likely to become a charge on the state were refused entry.
*****************************In the early 1900s, unlike entering Britain, crossing into France was relatively informal, with minimal paperwork. Immigrants simply arrived and moved about freely. However, rising nationalism leading up to World War I, followed by massive post-war labour shortages, prompted the French government to enforce standardised passports and strict police registration requirements. However, in 1905 when the Minkin family escaped the Russian pogroms, there were no such regulations.
******************************A sou is an old French coin or a slang term for a very small, insignificant amount of money.
*******************************Fleeing the 1905 Russian pogroms, Jewish refugees traveled westward overland by rail and on foot, exiting the Russian Empire via border checkpoints in Brody (Galicia) or across the German frontier. From there, they traveled through Central Europe, primarily entering France by train through northeastern border crossings such as Belfort and Lunéville, arriving in Paris at the Gare de l'Est or Gare du Nord. Trains traveling from the Russian Empire and Central Europe (passing through major transit hubs like Berlin or Leipzig) into Paris typically terminated at these two northern stations.
********************************Arriving exhausted via the Gare du Nord and Gare de l’Est railway stations, Russian Jewish refugees fleeing the pogroms of 1905 clustered in specific areas of Paris due to the availability of cheap tenement housing and existing community networks. The Pletzl (in the Le Marais neighbourhood of the 4th arrondissement) centred around the Rue des Rosiers, Place Saint-Paul, and Rue Ferdinand Duval. This area became a bustling, Yiddish-speaking immigrant enclave reminiscent of the shtetls (Yiddish word that literally means "little town") they left behind in Russia. The neighbourhood was deeply impoverished, with families crowding into old, subdivided mansions, but it offered a robust support network of communal kitchens and small synagogues.
This corner of Mrs. Minkin’s cluttered haberdashers filled with an assortment of notionsand spools is not all it seems to be at first glance, for it is made up of pieces from my 1:12 size dollhouse miniatures collection.
Fun things to look for in this tableau include:
The two sets of spool drawers and hand made and stencilled by miniature artisan Carlotta Rossi, who runs her miniatures business Cinen out of Bologna in Italy. The miniature compartmentalised wooden display featuring cards of buttons, needle packets and mending threads on cards was also made by her. The quality of her pieces and the fine details they display make these real artisan pieces.
The wooden spools of cotton in their varying shades and sizes I acquired from Kathleen Knight’s Dolls’ House Shop in the United Kingdom and several online suppliers of miniatures via eBay.
Edith’s and Hilda’s handbags in the foreground are handmade from soft leather and are part of a larger collection of hats and bags that I bought from an American miniature collector Marilyn Bickel.
The poster featuring the very Edwardian cover of the September 1910 Weldon’s Ladies Home Journal was a gift to me from my friend Sharon in Dorset, with whom I have an affinity over beautiful haberdashery pieces.
The wallpaper is an authentic, rather garish, Edwardian pattern that was sourced and printed by me.
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into provinces.
Trieste is located at the head of the Gulf of Trieste, on a narrow strip of Italian territory lying between the Adriatic Sea and Slovenia; Slovenia lies approximately 8 km (5 mi) east and 10–15 km (6–9 mi) southeast of the city, while Croatia is about 30 km (19 mi) to the south of the city.
The city has a long coastline and is surrounded by grassland, forest, and karstic areas. The city has a subtropical climate, unusual in relation to its relatively high latitude, due to marine breezes. In 2022, it had a population of about 204,302. Trieste is the capital of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia and was previously capital of the Province of Trieste, until its abolition on 1 October 2017.
Trieste belonged to the Habsburg monarchy from 1382 until 1918. In the 19th century the monarchy was one of the Great Powers of Europe and Trieste was its most important seaport. As a prosperous trading hub in the Mediterranean region, Trieste became the fourth largest city of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (after Vienna, Budapest, and Prague). In the fin de siècle period it emerged as an important hub for literature and music. Trieste underwent an economic revival during the 1930s, and the Free Territory of Trieste became a major site of the struggle between the Eastern and Western blocs after the Second World War.
Trieste, a deep-water port, is a maritime gateway for northern Italy, Germany, Austria and Central Europe. It is considered the end point of the maritime Silk Road, with its connections to the Suez Canal and Turkey. Since the 1960s, Trieste has emerged as a prominent research location in Europe because of its many international organizations and institutions. The city lies at the intersection of Latin, Slavic and Germanic cultures where Central Europe meets the Mediterranean Sea and is home to diverse ethnic groups and religious communities.
Trieste has the highest percentage of researchers in Europe in relation to population. "Città della Barcolana", "Città della bora", "Città del vento", "Vienna by the sea" and "City of coffee" are also idioms used to describe Trieste.
Credit for the data above is given to the following websites:
© All Rights Reserved - you may not use this image in any form without my prior permission.
Facebook ♦ Twitter ♦ Pinterest ♦ Instagram ♦ 500px ♦ Website
In its first incarnation, Bright Street, a narrow residential road opposite the old Don Brewery building, was aligned parallel to Sackville Street which, before the Don Valley Parkway on-ramps forced the reconfiguration of local roads, ran in a dog-legged kink between Queen and King.
The street is named for Thomas Bright, an early landowner whose land was subdivided and sold by his son William Bright after his death in 1857. www.blogto.com/city/2014/04/why_did_bright_street_get_so_...
Near The Gulf Of Mexico
Naples, Florida
USA
Southwest Florida
Best viewed in Lightbox -
www.flickr.com/photos/42964440@N08/47828571122/in/photost...
The anhinga (Anhinga anhinga), sometimes called snakebird, darter, American darter, or water turkey, is a water bird of the warmer parts of the Americas. The word anhinga comes from the Brazilian Tupi language and means devil bird or snake bird. The origin of the name snakebird is apparent when swimming: only the colored neck appears above water so the bird looks like a snake ready to strike. They do not have external nares (nostrils) and breathe solely through their epiglottis.
The anhinga is placed in the darter family, Anhingidae, and is closely related to Indian (Anhinga melanogaster), African (Anhinga rufa), and Australian (Anhinga novaehollandiae) darters. Like other darters, the anhinga hunts by spearing fish and other small prey using its sharp, slender beak.
Anhinga species are found all over the world in warm shallow waters. The American anhinga has been subdivided into two subspecies, A. a. anhinga and A. a. leucogaster, based on their location. A. a. anhinga can be found mainly east of the Andes in South America and also the islands of Trinidad and Tobago. A. a. leucogaster can be found in the southern United States, Mexico, Cuba, and Grenada.
Only birds that live in the extreme north and south of their range migrate and do so based on temperature and available sunlight. Anhingas will migrate towards the equator during winter but this range is "determined by the amount of sunshine to warm the chilled birds". Although not in their usual range, anhingas have been found as far north as the states of Pennsylvania and Wisconsin in the United States. - Wikipedia
Buffalo, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 2024
The 800 West Ferry Condominium is a landmark residential building with significant history, located in Buffalo's upscale Delaware District, close to Elmwood Village.
History and Architecture
Construction: Originally built as a luxury apartment building starting in 1929 and completed around 1930.
Design: Designed by the noted Buffalo architect Duane Lyman, the 11-story structure displays a mix of architectural styles, including elements of Art Deco, modern-Tudor, and Neo-Gothic (particularly at the entrance).
Original Concept: It was initially conceived as a high-end rental building with only 21 large units, most of which were duplexes (two-story) featuring multiple bedrooms, including staff quarters. The top floors were an expansive penthouse for the original developer, Darwin R. Martin.
Conversion: Due to the Great Depression, the original large apartment format became financially unstable. In 1940, the duplexes were subdivided into numerous smaller, single-floor apartments. The building was officially converted to a condominium association in 1980.
Current Features
Residences: Today, the building houses about 58 unique condominium units, ranging from one to three bedrooms, which retain much of the original historic charm and detailing.
Amenities: Residents benefit from upscale services including 24-hour concierge service, on-site security, secure parking (underground and off-street), and a large communal outdoor terrace. HOA fees typically cover all utilities (heat, electricity, water).
Location: It is ideally located within walking distance of the shops, restaurants, and parks of the Elmwood Village and Delaware Park.
Palgon དཔལ་མགོན། county
Palgon county in the hinterland of Lake Namtso Chukmo. Until recently Palgon was one of largest of the Jangtang counties (being Shentsa the largest), extending from the present-day Xinjiang and Qinghai provincial borders in the north to the Yarlung Tsangpo ཡར་ཀླུངས་གཙང་པོ་ (Brahmaputra) watershed in the south. As such the county was larger than the United Kingdom! But now it has been subdivided into Tsonyi county and Palgon proper, governed from Naktsang. The county capital is located at Namru. Area: 99.112 sq km. www.footprinttravelguides.com/c/2848/tibet/&Action=pr...
Please view more of my photography at the following websites. Totally, I have 25+ million views; 4,100+ followers/subscribers and 15,000+ views daily
*Flickr: www.flickr.com/people/viv_vivekananda/
*Fluidrive www.fluidr.com/photos/viv_vivekananda
*YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCt5wf3DvvWAqgUd9NMUItVw
*500px: 500px.com/p/svive1?view=photos
*Facebook: www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61560235015998
*Instagram www.instagram.com/viv_vivekananda/
You may purchase my images at:
*Shootproof: vivvivekanandaphotography.shootproof.com/
*Getty Images: www.gettyimages.com.au/search/2/image?family=creative&...
In meteorology, a cloud is an aerosol consisting of a visible mass of minute liquid droplets, frozen crystals, or other particles suspended in the atmosphere of a planetary body or similar space. Water or various other chemicals may compose the droplets and crystals. On Earth, clouds are formed as a result of saturation of the air when it is cooled to its dew point, or when it gains sufficient moisture (usually in the form of water vapor) from an adjacent source to raise the dew point to the ambient temperature. They are seen in the Earth's homosphere, which includes the troposphere, stratosphere, and mesosphere. Nephology is the science of clouds, which is undertaken in the cloud physics branch of meteorology. There are two methods of naming clouds in their respective layers of the homosphere, Latin and common. Genus types in the troposphere, the atmospheric layer closest to Earth's surface, have Latin names due to the universal adoption of Luke Howard's nomenclature that was formally proposed in 1802. It became the basis of a modern international system that divides clouds into five physical forms which can be further divided or classified into altitude levels to derive ten basic genera. The main representative cloud types for each of these forms are stratus, cirrus, stratocumulus, cumulus, and cumulonimbus. Low-level clouds do not have any altitude-related prefixes. However mid-level stratiform and stratocumuliform types are given the prefix alto- while high-level variants of these same two forms carry the prefix cirro-. Genus types with sufficient vertical extent to occupy more than one level do not carry any altitude related prefixes. They are classified formally as low- or mid-level depending on the altitude at which each initially forms, and are also more informally characterized as multi-level or vertical. Most of the ten genera derived by this method of classification can be subdivided into species and further subdivided into varieties. Very low stratiform clouds that extend down to the Earth's surface are given the common names fog and mist, but have no Latin names. R_5187
Please visit my YouTube, 500px, Instagram & Facebook channels www.youtube.com/channel/UCt5wf3DvvWAqgUd9NMUItVw
500px.com/p/svive1?view=photos
www.instagram.com/viv_vivekananda/
www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61560235015998
In meteorology, a cloud is an aerosol consisting of a visible mass of minute liquid droplets, frozen crystals, or other particles suspended in the atmosphere of a planetary body or similar space. Water or various other chemicals may compose the droplets and crystals. On Earth, clouds are formed as a result of saturation of the air when it is cooled to its dew point, or when it gains sufficient moisture (usually in the form of water vapor) from an adjacent source to raise the dew point to the ambient temperature. They are seen in the Earth's homosphere, which includes the troposphere, stratosphere, and mesosphere. Nephology is the science of clouds, which is undertaken in the cloud physics branch of meteorology. There are two methods of naming clouds in their respective layers of the homosphere, Latin and common. Genus types in the troposphere, the atmospheric layer closest to Earth's surface, have Latin names due to the universal adoption of Luke Howard's nomenclature that was formally proposed in 1802. It became the basis of a modern international system that divides clouds into five physical forms which can be further divided or classified into altitude levels to derive ten basic genera. The main representative cloud types for each of these forms are stratus, cirrus, stratocumulus, cumulus, and cumulonimbus. Low-level clouds do not have any altitude-related prefixes. However mid-level stratiform and stratocumuliform types are given the prefix alto- while high-level variants of these same two forms carry the prefix cirro-. Genus types with sufficient vertical extent to occupy more than one level do not carry any altitude related prefixes. They are classified formally as low- or mid-level depending on the altitude at which each initially forms, and are also more informally characterized as multi-level or vertical. Most of the ten genera derived by this method of classification can be subdivided into species and further subdivided into varieties. Very low stratiform clouds that extend down to the Earth's surface are given the common names fog and mist, but have no Latin names. R_7797
Inner sarcophagus and false lid of Butehamon (1939-1875 BC. Third Intermediate Period XXI Dynasty - Painted wood - lid 211 x 75 x 42 cm. - false lid 174 x 37 x 13 cm. Provenance: Deir el-Medina - Egyptian Museum, Turin, Italy
Butehamon’s set of coffins, probably found in the tomb of Nakhtmin (Theban Tomb 291), is already the typical one for the Third Intermediate Period: an outer coffin, an inner coffin, and a “false lid”. Nothing is known of the whereabouts of his mummy. The outer coffin shows stylistic features that are still typical for the Ramesside period (1292 – 1076 BC), but the growing space devoted to images is a feature of the new “yellow coffin” style. The image repertoire is expanded, combining typical New Kingdom elements with Third Intermediate Period Theological creations. Offering and mythological scenes are alternated in the decoration of the outer coffin. The lid shows a board collar with lotus flower, a pectoral dominated by the Khepri scarab (the morning sun), and the winged figure of Nut on the abdomen. The lower half of the top of the lid, instead, is subdivided into frames showing a number of offering scenes. An exceptional feature is the long hieratic text painted on the inside of both the lid and the mummy board. It contains the “Ritual of the Opening of the Mouth”, a very old religious text whose purpose was to reanimate the mummy. Recent scientific tests have shown that Butehamon, in spite of his high rank, used pieces of earlier coffins to assemble his outer coffin
New (furtive) sighting from yesterday in the dry forest litter. This springtail was quite large, about ~1.2mm. The ant.3 segment is elongated. The ocell is red and unfortunately I cannot distinguish the number of ocelli. The focus is not terrible, these little springtails are running all the time. It is likely that the two photos are two different specimens.
I am not sure of the identification and it is still different from other Pseudosinella spp. / Cyphoderus spp. that I have photographed lately
My ID : Pseudosinella sp.
At Eagle Hawkneck on Tasmania's Tasman Pensula, is a relatively flat rock surface or pavement that is subdivided into more or less regular rectangles or blocks, known as the Tesselated Pavement.
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into provinces.
Trieste is located at the head of the Gulf of Trieste, on a narrow strip of Italian territory lying between the Adriatic Sea and Slovenia; Slovenia lies approximately 8 km (5 mi) east and 10–15 km (6–9 mi) southeast of the city, while Croatia is about 30 km (19 mi) to the south of the city.
The city has a long coastline and is surrounded by grassland, forest, and karstic areas. The city has a subtropical climate, unusual in relation to its relatively high latitude, due to marine breezes. In 2022, it had a population of about 204,302. Trieste is the capital of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia and was previously capital of the Province of Trieste, until its abolition on 1 October 2017.
Trieste belonged to the Habsburg monarchy from 1382 until 1918. In the 19th century the monarchy was one of the Great Powers of Europe and Trieste was its most important seaport. As a prosperous trading hub in the Mediterranean region, Trieste became the fourth largest city of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (after Vienna, Budapest, and Prague). In the fin de siècle period it emerged as an important hub for literature and music. Trieste underwent an economic revival during the 1930s, and the Free Territory of Trieste became a major site of the struggle between the Eastern and Western blocs after the Second World War.
Trieste, a deep-water port, is a maritime gateway for northern Italy, Germany, Austria and Central Europe. It is considered the end point of the maritime Silk Road, with its connections to the Suez Canal and Turkey. Since the 1960s, Trieste has emerged as a prominent research location in Europe because of its many international organizations and institutions. The city lies at the intersection of Latin, Slavic and Germanic cultures where Central Europe meets the Mediterranean Sea and is home to diverse ethnic groups and religious communities.
Trieste has the highest percentage of researchers in Europe in relation to population. "Città della Barcolana", "Città della bora", "Città del vento", "Vienna by the sea" and "City of coffee" are also idioms used to describe Trieste.
Credit for the data above is given to the following websites:
© All Rights Reserved - you may not use this image in any form without my prior permission.
Week 36/52 - Green, Macro of a leaf looking like urban sprawl
Find me on facebook @ Jeremy J. Saunders Photography
the edges of the garden of the Royal Palace were subdivided in the years 1780.
180 arcades border the garden.
www.domaine-palais-royal.fr/decouvrir/histoire-du-domaine...
Excerpt from uwaterloo.ca:
Description of the District
The Durand-Markland Heritage Conservation District runs along Markland Street and includes Park Street and MacNab Street between Markland Street and Herkimer. Chilton Place is also included.
The Durand-Markland Heritage Conservation District is found in the City of Hamilton and consists of 51 residential properties.
Cultural Heritage Value of the District
The Heritage Conservation District Plan describes the heritage character as:
“Although a few residents were built in the 1850s and 1860s, the Durand-Markland study area is characterized by a predominance of late nineteenth century to early twentieth century building construction. There is a range and diversity of structures from small, vernacular worker’s cottages to large classically detailed houses of the upper middle class.
The most prominent architectural styles are nineteenth century Italianate (1850-1900), and Queen Anne (1880-1910), and twentieth century Tudor Revival (1900-1930s) Examples of such architectural styles as Second Empire (1860-1880), Colonial Revival (1900-present), Edwardian Classicism (1900-1930), and four-square (1900-1930) are also represented in the district ”.
It goes on to state:
“The distinctive architectural features of the area are its scale, mass, decorative detailing and building sitting. Remarkably few individual buildings and properties have been extensively altered or subdivided over time due to changing tastes, economics and fashion The overall nineteenth century residential character coupled with a distinctive treeline and canopied streetscapes have generally been retained and occasionally enhanced”.
Designation of the District
The designation of Durand-Markland was initiated by local residents. Unterman McPhail Cumming Associates Heritage Conservation and Planning Consultants and Wendy Shearer Landscape Architect Limited completed the plan in 1994 for the City of Hamilton.
The Durand-Markland Heritage Conservation District is protected by By-law 94-184, which was passed in 1994 by the City of Hamilton.
Excerpt from waterdownmillstreetheritage.ca:
493 Dundas Street East: A two-story Georgian red-brick dwelling. It was built for the Forbes family in 1857 and remained in the family until 1913. The building is known today as the Pearson House.
Excerpt from the plaque:
King's College in Toronto was granted Lot 3 Concession 3 in the Town of East Flamborough in 1828, part of a large endowment to support the university. In 1839, the lot was subdivided into two parcels, on on either side of Dundas Street, The north parcel, later home to the Avonsyde Dairy, was sold to James Brown, the village grocer.
In 1857, James Forbes, a Scottish immigrant and founder of the Forbes-Fisher Stove Foundry Company in Hamilton, purchased the lot. Forbes built the late Georgian brick residence, 'Avonsyde', on a terraced green. Several out buildings were also constructed to support the operations of the family farm.
From 1913, George Pearson and his sons operated the farm as Avonsyde Dairy. the dairy delivered the milk in glass bottles, first to Waterdown and later to Aldershot and Burlington. The milk delivery business was sold to Sunnybrook Dairy in 1940 and the dairy closed in 1973. The property remained in the Pearson family's ownership until 1988, when it was sold for residential subdivision development.
The upward, wide-angle interior view gives a good impression of the Pisan Romanesque architectural style and negates the tourists scurrying like ants on the marble church floor.
Pisa Cathedral
Tuscany, Italy
"Pisa Cathedral (Italian: Cattedrale Metropolitana Primaziale di Santa Maria Assunta; Duomo di Pisa) is a medieval Roman Catholic cathedral dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, in the Piazza dei Miracoli in Pisa, Italy, the oldest of the three structures in the plaza followed by the Pisa Baptistry and the Campanile known as the Leaning Tower of Pisa. The cathedral is a notable example of Romanesque architecture, in particular the style known as Pisan Romanesque. Consecrated in 1118, it is the seat of the Archbishop of Pisa. Construction began in 1063 and was completed in 1092. Additional enlargements and a new facade were built in the 12th century and the roof was replaced after damage from a fire in 1595. [...]
The interior, subdivided at the front into a central nave flanked by two side aisles on either side and with the transept and apse in three naves, is covered with white and black marble, with monolithic grey marble columns having corinthian capitals. It has a wooden 17th-century coffered ceiling, painted and decorated with gold leaf, made by Domenico and Bartolomeo Atticciati; it bears the Medici coat of arms. Presumably the earlier ceiling was a structure with wooden trusses. [...]"
(Wikipedia)
Animations consist of individual frames - at a rate of 20 frames per second our eyes can't distinguish between the individual frames (images) but perceive motion.
The "action scene" I made consists of some 1,100 frames. You don't have to make each individual frame yourself though.
For instance, you can define the location (in 3D - on X, Y and Z axis) of an object at a certain frame, for instance frame 470. Then move the object to a different location (defined in X,Y,Z coordinates) for frame 1100. And then tell Blender how to get from the first to the last location and at what speed. Blender will then generate all the frames in between.
The above is a screen capture of the Blender workspace.
Top left you can see the (solid view) epilogue of the action scene after the spaceship drops out of warp. This epilogue starts at frame 470 (where the scene also switches to camera 3).
There are various ways to animate an object. For this epilogue I wanted the ship to move on a curved trajectory. So I first added a curve (the thin black line) that I manipulated to nicely bend around the moon.
Then I added a physical constraint to the spaceship, indicating that this spaceship has to follow the curve, starting from frame 470. And it has to arrive at the end of the curve at frame 1,000.
Then you can define at what speed the ship moves along the curve. This can be done in the Graph Editor (bottom half of the above screen capture). You can, for instance, make it move at a steady speed with linear interpolation or at viriable speeds with a Bezier curve interpolation (like in the above example).
You can manipulate this "speed" curve - you can stretch it, skew it, subdivide it, make it go up and down to get variable speeds or make the object pause for a while before resuming its course etc at any point along its trajectory.
As show in the lightblue curve in the Graph Editor, the ship comes in fast (when it drops out of warp) and then slows down (curve becomes flatter) as it approaches the moon and takes a turn to hide behind it and then comes to a standstill (curve flatlines).
Irlanda - The Burren - Paisaje cárstico
ENGLISH:
The Burren (Irish: Boireann, meaning "great rock") is a region in County Clare, Ireland. It is dominated by karst landscape and measures, depending on the definition, at least 250 square kilometres. The name The Burren is most often applied to the area within the circle made by the villages of Ballyvaughan, Kinvara, Tubber, Corofin, Kilfenora and Lisdoonvarna.
The Burren National Park is one of six National Parks in Ireland and the smallest in size (15 km2).
The area is formed from a thick succession of sedimentary rocks, largely limestones but also including sandstones, mudstones and siltstones. All of the solid rocks exposed at the surface are of Carboniferous age though they are underlain at depth by Old Red Sandstone of Devonian age which in turn overlies rocks of Lower Palaeozoic age. None of the pre-Carboniferous rocks is seen at the surface in the area. The limestones, which date from the Visean stage of the early Carboniferous, formed as sediments in a tropical sea approximately 325 million years ago. The strata contain fossil corals, crinoids, sea urchins and ammonites. This bed of limestone is up to 800 metres thick. In the north and west it lies on a shelf of Galway granite which supported the upper layers, preventing shifts like those that created the "twisted" hills Knockanes and Mullaghmore. The limestone also extends below Galway Bay out to the Aran Islands and to the east into the Gort plain.
Later in the Carboniferous (c. 318 million years ago), the limestone was covered by darker sand and mud that later turned into shale (the lower "Clare Shales") and sandstone (the upper "Millstone Grit"). These layers reached a thickness of up to 330 metres in north Clare. These top layers protected the underlying limestone from erosion for millions of years before being largely stripped away by glaciers, except in the south west, where they still extend from Doolin to Slieve Elva, Lisdoonvarna, Kilfenora and to the western shore of Lake Inchiquin. One "island" of shale is the hill Poulacapple, southwest of Ballyvaughan, where an upland moor has formed on top of the impermeable shale layers.
The local geological succession comprises the following formations some of which are subdivided into various members. The youngest rocks are at the start of the list, the oldest at the bottom. The first three listed are of Namurian age and are a mix of mudstones, sandstones and siltstones, the remainder are Visean age limestones.
*******************************************************************************
ESPAÑOL:
El Burren (An Bhoireann, en irlandés; The Burren, en inglés) significa literalmente "lugar pedregoso" y es una zona de peculiar paisaje kárstico al noroeste del condado de Clare, en Irlanda. La zona mide 300 kilómetros cuadrados y está rodeada por las poblaciones de Ballyvaughan, Kinvarra, Gort, Corrofin, Kilfenora, Lisdoonvarna y el faro llamado Black Head Lighthouse. Esta zona contiene, además de su peculiar paisaje, diversos asentamientos arqueológicos, como el fuerte de Caherconnell o el dolmen de Poulnabrone. Una pequeña porción de El Burren ha sido designado como parque nacional: Burren National Park. Es uno de los seis parques nacionales de la República de Irlanda y el más pequeño de tamaño (15 km²), en la esquina sureste de El Burren. El parque fue comprado por el gobierno con la finalidad de proteger la naturaleza y que el público accediera a la zona.
La región del Burren es rica en restos históricos y arqueológicos. Hay más de 90 tumbas megalíticas en la zona, varios dólmenes y cruces celtas en el pueblo de Kilfenora, así como un importante número de fortificaciones circulares, como las de Cahercommaun -al borde de un precipicio interior-, o el de Caherconnell, excepcionalmente bien conservado. La Abadía de Corcomroe es una de las principales atracciones turísticas de la zona.
El territorio del Burren también recibía el nombre de Corco Modhruadh Oirthearach ("Corcomroe occidental"), que hace referencia a la porción noroccidental del territorio compartido, o túath, de Corco Modhruadh, así como a la población que lo habita. La diócesis de Kilfenora, en la que se sitúa el Burren, coincide exactamente con el territorio de Corco Modhruadh. En los anales, Burren aparece generalmente citado como "Burren in Corco Modhruadh". El Burren estaba históricamente dominado por el clan Ó Lochlainn, quienes se autodenominaban "Reyes del Burren" hasta el siglo XVII. En la actualidad, los descendientes de los jefes del clan Ó Lochlainn residen en Ballyvaughan (en gaélico Baile Uí Bheacháin).
(circa 320 CE under Constantine I)
Commission: Museu da Imaginação, São Paulo (permanent exhibition)
Parts: ~66,000
Scale: 1:650
Dimensions: 91in x 54in (231cm x 137cm)
Design Time: 300+ hours in 32 days
Build Time: 220+ hours in 24 days
PC: Brianda Mireles
________________________________________________
On this day in 69 CE, the accomplished military commander Vespasian entered Rome to claim the title of Imperator, establishing the Flavian Dynasty and overseeing the largest empire the world had ever seen. At the time, the city of Rome was the preeminent bustling metropolis of the ancient world and was home to more than a million people. It would be nearly a half-century before the Empire reached its greatest territorial extents under Trajan I in 117 CE, spanning the entire Mediterranean from modern-day Iberia to Iraq and Scotland to Egypt.
As decorated as Vespasian became, and as incredibly vast as the empire was for its time, both came from humble beginnings. Vespasian was the first Roman Emperor to ascend from the level of commoner through a series of increasing senatorial ranks coupled masterfully with a distinguished military career. Similarly, Rome was once a lowly tribal settlement atop the Capitoline Hill which, over the centuries, grew to cover seven hills and served as the seat of the Roman Republic, and later the vast Roman Empire.
After being commissioned by the Museu da Imaginação to design and build ‘a large, 1m x 2m historical layout of Ancient Rome’ with little more to go off than said prompt, I immediately dove headfirst into the incredibly vast rabbit hole that is Ancient Roman history. Quite early on, I realized the approach to designing something so mindbogglingly vast in such a relatively small window of time would critically depend on having a strict schedule of target deadlines by which to design compartmentalized stages of the overall layout. After all, considering Vespasian or the Roman Empire at the heights of their power would be such an inconceivable notion without having also studied the respective contexts and timeline of events leading to each of their zeniths.
For this reason, the design of the layout was subdivided into eight regional stages and executed over the course of about five weeks between September and November 2019. Not only did this subdivision ease my sleepless nights of nearly being overwhelmed by the commitment, it was also my crossing-the-Rubicon moment when I truly considered this to be something I could commit to accomplishing within the timeframe, without sacrificing any of my signature design rigor. It has always been a creative dream of mine to design a vast, comprehensive city layout in which individual landmarks can be appreciated as integral parts of a much broader historical and cultural landscape. That is why I am immensely grateful to the Museu da Imaginação for commissioning this piece. Not only has it been an incredibly humbling and educational collaboration for myself, but I can rest more easily knowing our efforts will inspire countless guests and museum patrons for years to come. No time to rest on my laurels though! The question now is, “What comes after the Eternal City?”
NJ Transit 4300 picks up an Aqua Train consist from the Maintenance-of-Way Shop in Wood-Ridge. I assume it was being repositioned, as it should not be needed again until autumn when leaves start falling. The large structures in the background are remnants of the once sprawling Curtiss-Wright complex in Wood-Ridge. A portion of the site has been turned into the Wesmont residential development while the remainder is subdivided for light industrial use. NJT has plans to eventually move this facility to a new site in Clifton. Other Aqua Train cars can also be seen in the distance. 4300 is one of four GP40-2s purchased specifically for work train service.
NJTR 4300 GP40-2 (ex-PC/CR 3189 GP40)
Wolf Road Prairie is an excellent example of the original tallgrass prairie of Illinois and is the largest prairie of its type remaining in the Chicago area. Shortly before the Great Depression, this land had been subdivided for a housing development with sidewalks already done -- the current trails -- but was never built. It took a long, long time before parcels were cobbled together to create the preserve.
The prairie is dominated by big bluestem, little bluestem, prairie dropseed and Indian grass. Among its common forbs are smooth blue aster, sky blue aster, black-eyed Susan, nodding onion, prairie phlox, obedient plant and rattlesnake master. Uncommon prairie forbs include Indian paintbrush, bottle gentian, prairie gentian and Indian plantain.
New (furtive) sighting from yesterday in the dry forest litter. This springtail was quite large, about ~1.2mm. The ant.3 segment is elongated. The ocell is red and unfortunately I cannot distinguish the number of ocelli. The focus is not terrible, these little springtails are running all the time. It is likely that the two photos are two different specimens.
I am not sure of the identification and it is still different from other Pseudosinella spp. / Cyphoderus spp. that I have photographed lately
My ID : Pseudosinella sp.
Near The Gulf Of Mexico
Naples, Florida
USA
Best seen in Lightbox and then click again -
www.flickr.com/photos/42964440@N08/46990202304/in/photost...
The anhinga (Anhinga anhinga), sometimes called snakebird, darter, American darter, or water turkey, is a water bird of the warmer parts of the Americas. The word anhinga comes from the Brazilian Tupi language and means devil bird or snake bird. The origin of the name snakebird is apparent when swimming: only the colored neck appears above water so the bird looks like a snake ready to strike. They do not have external nares (nostrils) and breathe solely through their epiglottis.
The anhinga is placed in the darter family, Anhingidae, and is closely related to Indian (Anhinga melanogaster), African (Anhinga rufa), and Australian (Anhinga novaehollandiae) darters. Like other darters, the anhinga hunts by spearing fish and other small prey using its sharp, slender beak.
Anhinga species are found all over the world in warm shallow waters. The American anhinga has been subdivided into two subspecies, A. a. anhinga and A. a. leucogaster, based on their location. A. a. anhinga can be found mainly east of the Andes in South America and also the islands of Trinidad and Tobago. A. a. leucogaster can be found in the southern United States, Mexico, Cuba, and Grenada. A fossil species Anhinga walterbolesi has been described from the Late Oligocene to Early Miocene of Australia.
Only birds that live in the extreme north and south of their range migrate and do so based on temperature and available sunlight. Anhingas will migrate towards the equator during winter but this range is "determined by the amount of sunshine to warm the chilled birds". Although not in their usual range, anhingas have been found as far north as the states of Pennsylvania and Wisconsin in the United States.
When I was at University I was told that Lesser Black-backed and Herring Gulls were the classic example of a Ring species. There was apparently a ring of gull subspecies around the northern hemisphere (fuscus, heuglini, taimyrensis, vegae, smithsonianus, argentatus) where each subspecies interbred with the adjacent subspecies, but by the time the two ends of this clinal ring came together they were too different to interbreed, so the "ends" were considered to be full species. And Lesser Black-backed Gull and Herring Gull were the two good species in western Europe where the chain came back together.
However further research and advances in DNA technology showed that the situation was far more complicated than that with a suite of species around the ring, plus several outlier species to the south (atlantis, michahellis, cachinnans, armenicus, barabensis and mongolicus). This group includes Yellow-legged and Caspian Gulls, both regular visitors to Britain.
The Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus) is further subdivided into three subspecies in Europe and this is the palest-backed race graellsii which breeds in Britain, but also in Iceland and Greenland. The ones that breed in Scandinavia have noticeably darker black backs. When I started birdwatching Lesser Black-backed Gulls were almost entirely a summer visitor, with the whole population flying south for the winter. But over the last thirty years or so it has been wintering in Britain in increasing numbers. 120,000 were counted in Britain in the winter of 2005/6 and presumably will have now topped 150,000. Imagine if Swallows or Cuckoos had done that over the past thirty years. The nominate Baltic Lesser Black-backed Gulls (Larus fuscus fuscus) have long been wholly migratory, moving to Africa.
This adult Lesser Black-backed Gull in full breeding plumage (with an immaculate white head and a red eye-ring) was photographed on the shores of a Pennine Reservoir recently. A few pairs breed in rooftops in Manchester with larger numbers in nearby Merseyside. But the nearest large breeding colony is on moorland in Lancashire's Forest of Bowland about 50 miles to the northwest.
This store was subdivided by Walmart. No other tenant ever filled up the right half of the building.
Hong Kong, around 2005. A second‑storey balcony stacked with signs and promises, beauty treatments drifting above the street heat. Air‑con units humming, lattice panels catching the afternoon light, potted plants doing their best against the city’s humidity. Names layered over names — the accidental poetry of a building that’s been adapted, subdivided, repurposed a dozen times. A small fragment of the city’s vertical life, caught in the moment before everything changed again.
This carpenter bee has had enough of me
The 100,000+ species of the largest insect order, Hymenoptera, are subdivided into 3 groups (superfamilies): Vespoidea (yellow jackets, wasps), Apoidea (bees), and Formicoidea (ants); in contrast to ants and termites, most wasp and bee species are solitary, the remainder ranging from slightly social to definitively social
____________________________________
Charlotte, NC – 2020OCT03 – Winged Insects
I went to check on my goldenrod beginning to bloom...
And found my goldenrod has company: beetles, bees, wasps, and flies, together with their mimics!
Everybody is hungry, and goldenrod offers great nourishment.
Hope you enjoy this 11% of 103 captures I took here this day!
The 10 Year Old Mansion
Check out this week's video for this modern day McMansion!!
The staircase.
A little more than a decade ago there used to be a ranch home on this large property that looked much like its surrounding neighbours. It was bought and subdivided into two separate lots. In it's place two brand new custom McMansions were built, this particular house was lived in for only 10 years before the property was bought yet again with plans for demolition to build a brand new sprawling townhouse complex. The developers who own the property have been actively salvaging any and all materials worth keeping before the remains of this abandoned mansion are demolished.
Before this day I honestly never thought that I would ever explore such a modern house, nor did I ever think that such a new home would ever be demolished in the first place...but here we are!
High resolution print of this photo available @ My Portfolio
The Trevi Fountain in all his majesty. My goal, was to build an image a little different of the other ten million made by tourists and photographers; I've choosen the HDR technique to try to bring out the incredible details and the delicate sculpting work which is usually hidden by the shadows. The dramatic sky and the rainy weather allowed me to obtain a good background; then I've opted for a warm tone of the marble to contrast with the green water of the fountain, to subdivide the picture in three distinct entities, water, marble and sky. I hope the trick did the work. The most difficult part of the work, has been to shoot, freehand, five photos, on my knees, while an infinite crowd of tourists was pulling, pushing and tossing coins..