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It was forecast to be a cloudless sunrise so I took a drive out to Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge to photograph the sandhill cranes this morning. Oddly, all the birds remained distant. I visited both the bird blinds but even with the 500mm I couldn’t get anything but “crowd” shots.
Oh well. It’s a wonderful experience, even if I didn’t get the pictures I wanted. There are thousands upon thousands of sandhill cranes there in the winter. (Check the dates before visiting.) There are so many, you almost don’t notice the place is teeming with other wildlife.
As usual, the best pictures come with the best light. This is at the fishing dock, across the highway — on the north side — from the Visitor’s Center. The Sun was just hitting the trees and giving the water the brown glow, but it hadn’t made it to the birds yet. You know me, I’m all about the color.
Nikon D7200 — Nikon 200-500 F5.6 ED VR
500mm
F5.6@1/640th
ISO 1,000
Cropped
ROD_4736.JPG
©Don Brown 2025
I found these little insects on some of the Milkweed pods. There are hundreds of them on each pod. They are as small as a pinhead.
It's not flooding in Brisbane like Sydney and New South Wales but we have had a bit of rainy weather of late. For the most part, it hasn't filled the dams but it has given more hope to the people in the country who have had several years of drought.
This shot was from a couple of months back but a similar day to today (Sunday). This is the southern end of Sandgate Station on Queensland Rail's Brisbane suburban network and its level crossing.
When I was a kid, the porter would go down and shut the manual gates then they would set the road (railway jargon for the correct track to be used) for the train to cross from this platform over to the left hand track towards the city (we stay left mostly in Australia). It's different now, the level crossing gates are half barriers which work automatically, colour light signalling and inbound trains actually use the correct inbound left hand side platform and points controlled from a central operations building at Mayne.
The terminus is the next station behind me at Shorncliffe and there is only a single track between Sandgate and Shorncliffe.
I think about it; I think about it all the time; I just can't stop thinking about it; And upon further reflection, I think there is nothing wrong with it...
The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in south-west London, England, forms part of Outer London and is the only London borough on both sides of the River Thames
Details of the Guillemins railway station (designed by Calatrava) and the tower of the "Mémorial Interalliés" in Cointe - Liège (Belgium)
My precious samara seedlings, how you've grown so fair,
From tiny buds upon my boughs to fluttering in the air.
As you drift away from me, my heart is filled with sorrow,
But know that I will love you still, today and every morrow.
I've watched you bask in sunlight and dance in gentle breeze,
I've seen you sprout your tender wings and flutter with such ease.
Now as you journey far and wide, my love will follow too,
For you are part of me, my dears, forever and anew.
Through seasons bright and seasons dim, I've been your steadfast guide,
Nurturing and protecting you, in my shade you'd hide.
But now it's time to set you free, to find your own true place,
Spread your wings and soar up high, with courage and with grace.
So fly my darling seedlings, with the wind beneath your wings,
And know that as you journey on, my love for you still sings.
Though we may be apart, my heart will never stray,
For you're forever cherished, in my thoughts every day.
So go and explore the world, my precious samara seeds,
Grow strong and tall, and never forget the love that feeds.
And when you feel a longing, for the home you left behind,
Know that I am here for you, in spirit and in kind.
So fly away, my darlings, with blessings from above,
Know that you are loved, always, by a mother's endless love.
— Poem courtesy of Editpad Poem Generator.
Todd Village Apartments, Tualatin, Oregon
See also: SAM_4137 Samaras in Love
“I'm like the sky, pregnant with life
I'm searching for a safe place to empty
Mother crashes her body against the shore
Says, pain is what we carry upon our backs
Love is being silent about the weight . . .
. . . The body is a continent
But may your heart
Always remain the sea.”
Remain The Sea | Maza Dohta & Anoushka Shankar
A leatherback sea turtle, nests on the island of Tobago. She is a survivor, the one hatchling out of a thousand that has made it to adulthood. After several years at sea, she has journeyed from the icy North Atlantic Ocean to the warm Caribbean beaches of her birth some twenty or more years ago. Over the next three months, she will haul her 1000lb body onto the beach multiple times, laying up to 100 eggs in each nest, before finally returning to the sea to make the long migration back north.
Russell works across the Afon Dylif near the site of Ynsferlas halt late afternoon on 9 March 2025.
The distinctive peak of Cnicht dominates the background.
Taken on a David Williams charter.
I may write 2-3 pages per day, but each page is usually it's own thought, theme, or idea.
Theme: Upon These Pages
Year Fourteen Of My 365 Project
Upon stepping out of the tram at the stop Duisburg - Thyssen Verwaltung, you are greeted with monumental buildings of the Thyssenkrupp steelworks. The general shape of the buildings leads me to believe that this part of the industrial facility is home to the mill’s electric arch furnace and rolling mills. That’s also confirmed by the presence of scrap metal laying around.
In this very spot, it’s not uncommon to meet a locomotive with the steel plant’s own wagons for internal transport of raw materials. With good sunlight in the morning and a gap in the fence it’s possible to take a picture like the one shown above, presenting the usual small shunters waiting for their future tasks.
In this case, the two locomotives are of Eisenbahn und Häfen, working numbers 852 and 874. Both are of a relatively new series - MH05 - manufactured by Krauss-Maffei. This type of engine was introduced in 1984 with 43 being made in total until 2001. 25 out of all the produced units were delivered to Eisenbahn und Häfen.
Photo by Piotrek/Toprus
Dedicated as the Diamond Jubilee Gardens, 1952-2012.
"Berwick's town walls are a sequence of defensive structures built around the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed in England.
Berwick's town walls were built in the early 14th century under Edward I, following his capture of the city from the Scots. When complete they stretched 2 miles (3.2 km) in length and were 3 feet 4 inches thick and up to 22 feet (6.7 m) high, protected by a number of smaller towers, up to 60 feet (18 m) tall. They were funded by a murage grant in 1313, a tax on particular goods imported into the town. By 1405, however, the walls had fallen into considerable disrepair and were incapable of preventing Henry IV from taking the town with relative ease.
Berwick Castle (an earlier structure) lay just outside the medieval wall to the north-west, and was connected to the town by a bridge leading to a gate in the wall.
An additional, short-lived, fort was built in 1552 to supplement the walls. By 1560, however, it was concluded that it was impractical to upgrade the existing walls and a new set of town fortifications in an Italian style were constructed instead, destroying much of the earlier medieval stonework. Sir Richard Lee served as Chief Surveyor for these works; he came up with an innovative design, combining ditches and walls backed by substantial earthworks (designed to absorb the force of an artillery attack). The new walls were much smaller in length, enclosing only two thirds of the medieval area, allowing them to include more artillery emplacements and five large stone bastions. The 16th century walls included four gates. In the 18th century most of the remaining parts of the medieval walls were steadily lost.An additional, short-lived, fort was built in 1552 to supplement the walls. By 1560, however, it was concluded that it was impractical to upgrade the existing walls and a new set of town fortifications in an Italian style were constructed instead, destroying much of the earlier medieval stonework. Sir Richard Lee served as Chief Surveyor for these works; he came up with an innovative design, combining ditches and walls backed by substantial earthworks (designed to absorb the force of an artillery attack). The new walls were much smaller in length, enclosing only two thirds of the medieval area, allowing them to include more artillery emplacements and five large stone bastions. The 16th century walls included four gates. In the 18th century most of the remaining parts of the medieval walls were steadily lost.
Today the walls are, in the view of archaeologists Oliver Creighton and Robert Higham, "by some measure the best-preserved example of town defences in Britain designed for post-medieval warfare". They are protected as a scheduled monument and a grade I listed building.
Berwick-upon-Tweed (/ˌbɛrɪk-/; Scots: Sooth Berwick, Scottish Gaelic: Bearaig a Deas) is a town in the county of Northumberland. It is the northernmost town in England, at the mouth of the River Tweed on the east coast, 2 1⁄2 miles (4 kilometres) south of the Scottish border (the hamlet of Marshall Meadows is the actual northernmost settlement). Berwick is approximately 56 mi (90 km) east-south east of Edinburgh, 65 mi (105 km) north of Newcastle upon Tyne and 345 mi (555 km) north of London.
The 2011 United Kingdom census recorded Berwick's population as 12,043. A civil parish and town council were created in 2008 comprising the communities of Berwick, Spittal and Tweedmouth.
Berwick was founded as an Anglo-Saxon settlement during the time of the Kingdom of Northumbria, which was annexed by England in the 10th century. The area was for more than 400 years central to historic border wars between the Kingdoms of England and Scotland, and several times possession of Berwick changed hands between the two kingdoms. The last time it changed hands was when Richard of Gloucester retook it for England in 1482. To this day many Berwickers feel a close affinity to Scotland.
Berwick remains a traditional market town and also has some notable architectural features, in particular its medieval town walls, its Georgian Town Hall, its Elizabethan ramparts, and Britain's earliest barracks buildings, which Nicholas Hawksmoor built (1717–21) for the Board of Ordnance." - info from Wikipedia.
Summer 2019 I did a solo cycling tour across Europe through 12 countries over the course of 3 months. I began my adventure in Edinburgh, Scotland and finished in Florence, Italy cycling 8,816 km. During my trip I took 47,000 photos.
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I took a road trip last weekend to Detroit (Oregon, not Michigan) to see how all of the streams and creeks looked. Unfortunately, when I arrived I couldn’t get very far up the back-roads due to a high volume of snowfall this year. Disappointed I couldn’t reach my destination I turned around and decided to change my plans from a photography trip to a scouting mission. I viewed some places of potential for later in the year. Then I stumbled upon the place where French Creek enters Detroit Lake. The sun peaked over the mountains so as to shine across, but not directly on, the lake. Since the snow was melting ever so slowly the water level was low exposing many of the tree stumps that are usually covered by water during late spring and summer. Because I was fixated on the stumps I didn’t notice the green reflections until after I shot two or three times and viewed them on the back of my camera. Liking what I saw I continued to shoot and at several different perspectives and angles. This was the best of the bunch, I felt.
When finished I happened to see a young couple enjoying an afternoon picnic across the creek but upstream 100 yards, or so. They were situated in an area featuring wild green grass, a few tree stumps, some colorful shrubbery, and the creek. The sun was at the right spot, too. So, I began to shoot thinking between the couple and the beautiful backdrop these would make wonderful candid scenes. What I didn’t know was there were two Oregon State Policemen watching every move I was making. Upon completion of my photo-shoot I was confronted by the two nice officers at my car. I guess they didn’t understand why I was taking pictures of total strangers without their permission. I can understand their point. So, I handed them one of my trusty forms listing the rights of a photographer while explaining the meaning of candid photography. With all of the candid street photography I do in the city without ever a complaint who’d a thought the one place I’d experience confrontation would be out in the wilderness.
More of Detroit Lake -------> www.flickr.com/photos/31246066@N04/6320351843
For this weeks theme, Once upon a time, I used a salt and pepper set of Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, from the story Through the looking-glass.
"May the road rise to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face.
And rains fall soft upon your fields."
- Irish Blessing
the trio of bridges spanning the River Tweed and the medieval walls of Berwick-upon-Tweed. The river marks the border between Scotland and England