View allAll Photos Tagged wiki
Excerpt from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyeongbokgung:
Gyotaejeon (交泰殿), also called Gyotaejeon Hall, is a building used as the main residing quarters by the queen during the Joseon Dynasty. The building is located behind Gangnyeongjeon, the king's quarters, and contains the queen's bed chamber. It was first constructed in around 1440, the 22nd year of King Sejong the Great.
King Sejong, who was noted to have a frail health later in his reign, decided to carry out his executive duties in Gangnyeongjeon, where his bed-chamber is located, instead of Sajeongjeon. Since this decision meant many government officials routinely needed to visit and intrude Gangnyeongjeon, King Sejong had Gyotaejeon built in consideration of his wife the queen's privacy.
The building was burned down in 1592 when the Japanese invaded Korea, but was reconstructed in 1867. Nevertheless, when Daejojeon of Changdeokgung Palace was burned down by a fire in 1917, the Japanese government disassembled the building and recycled its construction materials to restore Daejojeon. The current building was reconstructed in 1994 according to its original design and specifications. The building, like Gangnyeongjeon, does not have a top roof ridge called yongmaru.
Preface _ Three Hundred Sixty Five Project : 1/365
BANGLADESH, a Land of Fertility and Dhaka is the capital city a Country of Land, boat /river , hills and sea, The Longest sea beach Cox Bazar and Famous Mango groves Sundorban is the tourist attraction with heritage of Old days makes One Nostalgic. BANGLADESH is born out of series of political movements ,Those Started with Language movement in 1952 , followed by Non cooperation Movement in 1969 and finally ended up with Liberation war in 1971,
Jute , The Golden Fiber of Bangladesh is world wide famous while now Garmentsbecame the economical backbone of the country, Bangladesh has a Long rich cultural and Literatures heritage, with our noble Laurent Poet Nobel Laurent Rabindranath Tagore., Followed by Kazi Nazrul Islam and Jibanananda Das.
The country BANGLASDESH is a land of fertility for Agriculture, while Livestock’s are the main driving force for the rural life, Education had been the prime concerned for people of these days . Bangladesh has the glory to Inaugurate ICC World cup Cricket in 2011 at Mirpur stadium,
Season has Lot of credit in photography , along with the landscape. Heritage. Rivers cape, and Life style, People here enjoy festival in Bangladesh almost every month, Sometimes they are religious an most of the time seasonal, thus allow good subjects for Image capturing,
Let’s we EXPLORE Our Beautiful BANGLADESH.
Excerpt from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chung_Ying_Street:
Chung Ying Street (中英街) is a street on the border between Hong Kong and Shenzhen, within the border town of Sha Tau Kok (Hong Kong) and Shatoujiao (Shenzhen). One side of the street belongs to Hong Kong and the other belongs to mainland China.
In Cantonese, Chung means China and Ying England or the United Kingdom. The name is a mark of history of the Second Convention of Peking, a treaty that China under the Qing dynasty was forced to lease New Territories to Britain in 1899.
The street was a river in 1899, and the British used the high water mark as the border. The river was too shallow at the section of Sha Tau Kok. It dried before the coming of World War II. The residents on both dried river sides then erected their shops to trade. The dried river then renamed to Chung Hing Street (中興街), and later renamed to Chung Ying Street.
The town of Sha Tau Kok flourished for that period of time. After World War II, with large influx of refugees from China, the British colonial government decided to close the border and the town fell within the Frontier Closed Area. The border town declined since then.
Chung Ying Street was once a famous place for shopping. In the 1990s, when China was still closed to the world, Chinese tourists visited to buy foreign goods, mostly watches, clothing and jewellery. However, the prosperity has declined in the early 21st century, due to a policy allowing most people from Mainland China to apply to visit Hong Kong directly, causing Chung Ying Street to transform into a place for historical sight-seeing. The PRC government has built a museum about the history of Chung Ying Street to attract tourists again.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malham_Cove
Malham Cove is a limestone formation 0.6 miles (1 km) north of the village of Malham, North Yorkshire, England. The large, curved feature was formed by a waterfall carrying meltwater from glaciers at the end of the last Ice Age more than 12,000 years ago. Today it is a well-known beauty spot within the Yorkshire Dales National Park. A large limestone pavement is above the cove.
Geology
The cove was formed by a large Ice-age river that fell at this point as a cataract. The water drop was 80 m (260 ft) high and more than 300 m (980 ft) wide. The colossal amount of water flowing over the waterfall created the curved shape of the cove because the lip was more heavily eroded than the sides.
Today the water course is marked by a stream that flows out of Malham Tarn 1.5 mi (2.4 km) north of the cove. It becomes a subterranean stream at 'Water Sinks' about 1 mi (1.6 km) before the top of the cove. Another stream named Malham Beck emerges from a cave at the bottom of the cove. The two streams were once thought to be one and the same. However, experiments with dyes have shown that they are two separate waterways that go underground at different locations. Their paths cross without mixing behind the limestone cliff re-emerging a few miles apart. The experiments show that there is complex system of caves and tunnels within the limestone cliff. The system is estimated to be about 50,000 years old. Cave divers, entering the system through the cave at the base of the cove, have so far explored about 1 mi (1.6 km).[1]
The cave systems usually carry away any waters before they reach the fall; however, Malham Cove temporarily became a waterfall for what is believed to be the first time in centuries on 6 December 2015, after heavy rainfall from Storm Desmond.
History
The priest and noted antiquary, Thomas West described the cove in 1779 as, "This beautiful rock is like the age-tinted wall of a prodigious castle; the stone is very white, and from the ledges hang various shrubs and vegetables, which with the tints given it by the bog water. & c. gives it a variety that I never before saw so pleasing in a plain rock."[4]
On the west side of the 80 metre (260 foot) high cliff face are about 400 irregular stone steps: these form part of the route of the Pennine Way and lead to an uneven limestone pavement at the top.
Today the cove is very popular with climbers because of its number of climbing routes (many of which can be ascended in the rain). They include easy to hard traditional climbs as well as sport climbing. Due to the cliff's south face, it is a popular venue for rock climbing in winter, its aspect making it a sun trap; in summer, however, the rock face can become unbearably hot.[5]
Media appearances
The cove, along with nearby Gordale Scar, was featured in an episode of the BBC TV series Seven Natural Wonders as one of the natural wonders of Yorkshire.[6]
The Pavement was used as a shooting location for the 1992 film version of "Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights"[7]
The cove was also featured in the film Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part 1) as one of the places Hermione and Harry travel to. The scenes were filmed in November 2009.[8]
The limestone pavement and general location of Malham featured in an episode of The Trip starring Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon which aired on BBC2 on 29 November 2010.[9]
The cove is the bridgehead of an alien invasion in Charles Stross’ 2016 novel The Nightmare Stacks.
22nd June 2017:
A Darkling Beetle ~ Lagria hirta. Take 1.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lagria_hirta
I went out for a very pleasant walk this morning and found this on the main front door of the apartment block as I was leaving.
As it was on the outside I could easily get my camera lens right up close to the glass to get a macro view of the underside.
I also took a photo of its back too. See following photo or click on the link:
www.flickr.com/photos/44506883@N04/35079805500/in/datepos...
I could have just walked back upstairs to the apartment having got these two photos, but I'd have missed the Peacock Butterfly and a good chat with two friends I met at different places during my walk.
Better viewed large and thank you for your favourites. :O)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derwentwater
Derwentwater (or Derwent Water) is one of the principal bodies of water in the Lake District National Park in north west England. It lies wholly within the Borough of Allerdale, in the county of Cumbria.
The lake occupies part of Borrowdale and lies immediately south of the town of Keswick. It is both fed and drained by the River Derwent. It measures approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) long by 1 mile (1.6 km) wide and is some 72 feet (22 m) deep. There are several islands within the lake, one of which is inhabited. Derwent Island House, an 18th-century residence, is a tenanted National Trust property open to the public on five days each year.
Derwentwater is a place of considerable scenic value. It is surrounded by hills (known locally as fells), and many of the slopes facing Derwentwater are extensively wooded. A regular passenger launch operates on the lake, taking passengers between various landing stages. There are seven lakeside marinas, the most popular stops being: Keswick, Portinscale and the Lodore Falls, from which boats may be hired. Recreational walking is a major tourist activity in the area and an extensive network of footpaths exists within the hills and woods surrounding the lake.
The Keswick—Borrowdale road runs along the eastern shore of the lake and carries a regular bus service. There is a lesser, or unclassified, road along the western shore connecting the villages of Grange and Portinscale.
Derwentwater gave its name to the Earldom of Derwentwater.
The lake is believed to be the last remaining native habitat of the vendace (Coregonus vandesius) fish from the 4 originally known sites: Bassenthwaite Lake and Derwent Water in the Lake District and the Castle Loch & Mill Loch in Lochmaben.[2]
Etymology
'Derwent' is " '(River) with oak trees', traditionally explained from Brit." (i.e.: Brythonic Celtic) " 'derwā' 'oak' plus suffixes, hence of the same origin as other English rivers named Derwent, Darwen, Darent and Dart...The river gave its name to Derwent Water (which was also known as the 'Lake of Derwent', 'Keswick Lake', or 'Keswick Water' in the 18th-19th centuries)...".[3] Plus "OE 'wæter', with the meaning probably influenced by its ON relative 'vatn'
Derwentwater's islands
There are numerous islands in Derwentwater, the largest being: Derwent Island, Lord's Island, St Herbert's Island, Rampsholme Island, Park Neb, Otter Island, and Otterbield Island. St. Herbert's Island is named after a C. 7th priest hermit, St. Herbert of Derwentwater.
A gate that was crashed by the tanks from the military junta during Athens Polytechnic uprising in 1973, more here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athens_Polytechnic_uprising
Excerpt from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T%C5%8D-ji:
Tō-ji Temple (東寺, Tō-ji, "East Temple"), also known as Kyō-ō-gokoku-ji (教王護国寺, The Temple for the Defense of the Nation by Means of the King of Doctrines) is a Shingon Buddhist temple in the Minami-ku ward of Kyoto, Japan.
Founded in 796, it was one of the only three Buddhist temples allowed in the city at the time it became the capital of Japan. As such it has a long history, housing treasures and documents from the early Heian period and the Tang dynasty, and with buildings in its complex covering the Kamakura, Muromachi, Momoyama, and Edo periods. Five of these buildings have been designated National Treasures in two different categories: the Lotus Flower Gate (rengemon), the Miei Hall (mieidō), the Golden Hall (kondō) and the five-storied Pagoda (gojūnotō) (temple buildings) and the Kanchiin Guest Hall (kanchiin kyakuden) (residences).
Tō-ji was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994, as part of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto.
The five-storied Pagoda (五重塔, gojūnotō) of Tō-ji dates from 1643 (Edo period), when it was rebuilt by order of the third Tokugawa Shōgun, Iemitsu. The original pagoda was built in the 9th century, but it was destroyed and rebuilt four times before reaching its current state. It was designated a National Treasure in 1952.
The pagoda stands 54.8 meters (180 feet) high, and is the tallest wooden tower in Japan. Entrance into the pagoda itself is permitted only on special occasions, but it is usually open and the interior can be seen from the outside. It houses relics, sculptures, and paintings. At ground level, there are statues of four Buddhas facing different directions.
The Kondo or Golden Hall is the main hall of the temple and contains a statue of Yakushi from 1603.
The Miedo is dedicated to Kobo Daishi, also called Kukai, the temple's founder. It stands on the location of his original residence. The hall is opened on the 21st of each month when a memorial service is held for Kukai.
The grounds feature a garden and pond, in which turtles and koi swim. The grounds also house an academically rigorous private school, Rakunan, from which many students are sent to elite universities.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uckermark
The Uckermark, a historical region in northeastern Germany, currently straddles the Uckermark District of Brandenburg and the Vorpommern-Greifswald District of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Its traditional capital is Prenzlau.
Geography
The region is named after the Uecker River, which is a tributary of the Oder; the name Uckermark means "March of the Uecker". The river's source is close to Angermünde, from where it runs northward to Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The Oder River, forming the German-Polish border, bounds the region in the east. The western parts of the Lower Oder Valley National Park are located in the Uckermark.
History
Early history
In the Ice Age, glaciers shaped the landscape of the region. A climate change left a hilly area with several lakes formed by the melting ice, and humans started to settle the area. Megalithic-cultures arose, followed by Germanic cultures.
Ukrani, a Polabian tribe
From the 6th–12th centuries Polabian Slavs migrating from Eastern Europe moved westward into the later Uckermark. The Slavs settling the terra U(c)kera (Uckerland, later Uckermark) became known as Ukrani (Ukranen, Ukrer, Ukri, Vukraner).[1] Their settlement area was centered around the lakes Oberuckersee and Unteruckersee at the spring of the Uecker River. In this region, burghs with a proto-town suburbium were set up at Drense and on an isle in Lake Oberuckersee (near modern Prenzlau).
In 954, Margrave Gero of the Saxon Eastern March (the marca Geronis), aided by Holy Roman Emperor Otto I's son-in-law, Conrad of Lorraine, launched a successful campaign to subdue the Ukrani, who had come in reach of the Empire after the 929 Battle of Lenzen. After the 983 revolt of the Obodrites and Liutizians, the area became independent again, yet remained under permanent military pressure, especially from Poland and the Holy Roman Empire.
Pomerania, Ostsiedlung
In 1172 Pomeranian dukes, vassals of the Duchy of Saxony, later of the Holy Roman Empire, controlled the area. In the course of the medieval Ostsiedlung, the Ukrani were Christianized and Germanized by Saxons, who founded monasteries, castles, and towns; the Slavic heritage is reflected in the many regional towns whose names end with "-ow" and "-in". The early centers of the territory were the Seehausen (Gramzow) Premonstratensian monastery and the city of Prenzlau, developed and granted German town law by Barnim I, Duke of Pomerania, in 1234. Both the central city and the central monastery were set up beside the former Ukrani central burghs.
Pomerania and Brandenburg struggle for overlordship
The Margraviate of Brandenburg, holding claims on the Duchy of Pomerania, expanded north since the 1230s, taking her chances while the House of Pomerania was weakened. In the 1250 Treaty of Landin, Barnim I conceded the Uckermark to John I and Otto III, Ascanian Margraves of Brandenburg. After the extinction of the Ascanians, the Pomeranian dukes reacquired a few border regions. Mecklenburg advanced into the Uckermark, but lost her gains in a 1323 war with Brandenburg. In the Pomeranian-Brandenburg War from 1329–33, Pomerania was able to defeat Brandenburg at Kremmer Damm. In the following years, control of the Uckermark was disputed by Brandenburg, Mecklenburg, and Pomerania.
Brandenburg
The first Peace of Prenzlau of 3 May 1448 established Brandenburg's control over most of the territory, except for the northern Pasewalk and Torgelow region, which was to remain in Pomerania and is not considered to be a part of Uckermark anymore. Though another Brandenburgian-Pomeranian war was fought in the area in the 1460s, Brandenburg's possession of most of the Uckermark was confirmed again in a second Peace of Prenzlau on 30 July 1472, which was renewed on 26 June 1479.
Prussia, and Huguenot settlement
The Uckermark became part of Brandenburg-Prussia in 1618, but was ravaged during the Thirty Years' War. Frederick William, the Great Elector, invited large numbers of French Huguenots to resettle the Uckermark and his other territories by announcing the Edict of Potsdam. These Huguenots helped to develop the economy and culture of the Uckermark. In 1701 the territory became part of the Kingdom of Prussia.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monument_Valley
Monument Valley (Navajo: Tsé Biiʼ Ndzisgaii, pronounced [tsʰépìːʔ ǹtsɪ̀skɑ̀ìː], meaning "valley of the rocks") is a region of the Colorado Plateau characterized by a cluster of sandstone buttes, with the largest reaching 1,000 ft (300 m) above the valley floor. The most famous butte formations are located in northeastern Arizona along the Utah–Arizona state line. The valley is considered sacred by the Navajo Nation, the Native American people within whose reservation it lies.
Monument Valley has been featured in many forms of media since the 1930s. Famed director John Ford used the location for a number of his Westerns. Film critic Keith Phipps wrote that "its five square miles [13 km2] have defined what decades of moviegoers think of when they imagine the American West".
Sourc: navajonationparks.org/navajo-tribal-parks/monument-valley/
History
Before human existence, the Park was once a lowland basin. For hundreds of millions of years, materials that eroded from the early Rock Mountains deposited layer upon layer of sediment which cemented a slow and gentle uplift, generated by ceaseless pressure from below the surface, elevating these horizontal strata quite uniformly one to three miles above sea level. What was once a basin became a plateau.
Natural forces of wind and water that eroded the land spent the last 50 million years cutting into and peeling away at the surface of the plateau. The simple wearing down of altering layers of soft and hard rock slowly revealed the natural wonders of Monument Valley today.
From the visitor center, you see the world-famous panorama of the Mitten Buttes and Merrick Butte. You can also purchase guided tours from Navajo tour operators, who take you down into the valley in Jeeps for a narrated cruise through these mythical formations. Places such as Ear of the Wind and other landmarks can only be accessed via guided tours. During the summer months, the visitor center also features Haskenneini Restaurant, which specializes in both native Navajo and American cuisines, and a film/snack/souvenir shop. There are year-round restroom facilities. One mile before the center, numerous Navajo vendors sell arts, crafts, native food, and souvenirs at roadside stands.
Additional Foreign Language Tags:
(United States) "الولايات المتحدة" "Vereinigte Staaten" "アメリカ" "米国" "美国" "미국" "Estados Unidos" "États-Unis" "ארצות הברית" "संयुक्त राज्य" "США"
(Arizona) "أريزونا" "亚利桑那州" "אריזונה" "एरिजोना" "アリゾナ州" "애리조나" "Аризона"
(Utah) "يوتا" "犹他州" "יוטה" "यूटा" "ユタ州" "유타" "Юта"
(Monument Valley) "وادي النصب التذكاري" "纪念碑谷" "Vallée des monuments" "מוניומנט ואלי" "स्मारक घाटी" "モニュメントバレー" "모뉴먼트 밸리" "Долина Монументов" "Valle de los Monumentos"
Flooded Wümme meadow landscape. The Wümme flows into Lesum which goes into the Weser river. And that already had much elevated levels so the water backed up.
[Oberneuland_20231230_1301_e-m10_12300462]
The Church of Saint Mary Magdalene.
______________________________
Use your arrow keys on your keyboard to navigate to the next picture.
One of several projects, that explore photography as evidence amongst other ideas. Blog | Tumblr | Website | pixelfed.au | Instagram | Photography links | my Ko-fi shop | Off Ya Trolley! | s2z digital garden | vero | Dpreview albums | my work archived on trove at the National Library of Australia.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monument_Valley
Monument Valley (Navajo: Tsé Biiʼ Ndzisgaii, pronounced [tsʰépìːʔ ǹtsɪ̀skɑ̀ìː], meaning "valley of the rocks") is a region of the Colorado Plateau characterized by a cluster of sandstone buttes, with the largest reaching 1,000 ft (300 m) above the valley floor. The most famous butte formations are located in northeastern Arizona along the Utah–Arizona state line. The valley is considered sacred by the Navajo Nation, the Native American people within whose reservation it lies.
Monument Valley has been featured in many forms of media since the 1930s. Famed director John Ford used the location for a number of his Westerns. Film critic Keith Phipps wrote that "its five square miles [13 km2] have defined what decades of moviegoers think of when they imagine the American West".
Sourc: navajonationparks.org/navajo-tribal-parks/monument-valley/
History
Before human existence, the Park was once a lowland basin. For hundreds of millions of years, materials that eroded from the early Rock Mountains deposited layer upon layer of sediment which cemented a slow and gentle uplift, generated by ceaseless pressure from below the surface, elevating these horizontal strata quite uniformly one to three miles above sea level. What was once a basin became a plateau.
Natural forces of wind and water that eroded the land spent the last 50 million years cutting into and peeling away at the surface of the plateau. The simple wearing down of altering layers of soft and hard rock slowly revealed the natural wonders of Monument Valley today.
From the visitor center, you see the world-famous panorama of the Mitten Buttes and Merrick Butte. You can also purchase guided tours from Navajo tour operators, who take you down into the valley in Jeeps for a narrated cruise through these mythical formations. Places such as Ear of the Wind and other landmarks can only be accessed via guided tours. During the summer months, the visitor center also features Haskenneini Restaurant, which specializes in both native Navajo and American cuisines, and a film/snack/souvenir shop. There are year-round restroom facilities. One mile before the center, numerous Navajo vendors sell arts, crafts, native food, and souvenirs at roadside stands.
Additional Foreign Language Tags:
(United States) "الولايات المتحدة" "Vereinigte Staaten" "アメリカ" "米国" "美国" "미국" "Estados Unidos" "États-Unis" "ארצות הברית" "संयुक्त राज्य" "США"
(Arizona) "أريزونا" "亚利桑那州" "אריזונה" "एरिजोना" "アリゾナ州" "애리조나" "Аризона"
(Utah) "يوتا" "犹他州" "יוטה" "यूटा" "ユタ州" "유타" "Юта"
(Monument Valley) "وادي النصب التذكاري" "纪念碑谷" "Vallée des monuments" "מוניומנט ואלי" "स्मारक घाटी" "モニュメントバレー" "모뉴먼트 밸리" "Долина Монументов" "Valle de los Monumentos"
The Zlatorog is a superb Slovenia folk beast/hero, who when shot by a hunter goes wild in rage and gores out a valley from rock.
A chamois or mountain goat, I kind of saw his determined, wild eyes and horns in the flow of the water. It's shot just downstream from this light painting at the Mala Savica stone bridge which I took last year.
If you get there early and work as the night falls, you forget how horrifically scary it is when it's dark. And by then you have to leave anyway. It's easy to understand how these folk tales, and grimmer ones, came to life in Central Europe. Walking along with a military spec LED and second torch to light my way is a thing of terror, even though there's nothing in the woods. Try that with whale oil in a sputtering lantern and bears, wolves, bandits, etc. lurking in the shadows.
Still - this was an experiment. The left is lit with feathered continuous light from an LED. The right is lit from below with a single 1/8 power zap from a Canon 600EX-RT. Without adding light the scene would have been black.
I started shooting long exposure in urban surrounds, looking for scenes with movement that could be blurred over ten minutes. As I started to shoot long exposure in the country, things looked flat. Movement being blurred, it turned out, isn't what appealed to me in the urban environments - rather it was the way that light sources were limited, and how that changed the mood.
The more I shoot rural long exposure, the more I find that means adding light to sculpt the scene to your vision - or you are left, to my mind, a little flat.
Hope everyone is having an incredible start to the weekend!
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Canyon
The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is 277 miles (446 km) long, up to 18 miles (29 km) wide and attains a depth of over a mile (6,093 feet or 1,857 meters).
The canyon and adjacent rim are contained within Grand Canyon National Park, the Kaibab National Forest, Grand Canyon–Parashant National Monument, the Hualapai Indian Reservation, the Havasupai Indian Reservation and the Navajo Nation. The surrounding area is contained within the Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument. President Theodore Roosevelt was a major proponent of the preservation of the Grand Canyon area and visited it on numerous occasions to hunt and enjoy the scenery.
Nearly two billion years of Earth's geological history have been exposed as the Colorado River and its tributaries cut their channels through layer after layer of rock while the Colorado Plateau was uplifted. While some aspects about the history of incision of the canyon are debated by geologists, several recent studies support the hypothesis that the Colorado River established its course through the area about 5 to 6 million years ago. Since that time, the Colorado River has driven the down-cutting of the tributaries and retreat of the cliffs, simultaneously deepening and widening the canyon.
For thousands of years, the area has been continuously inhabited by Native Americans, who built settlements within the canyon and its many caves. The Pueblo people considered the Grand Canyon a holy site, and made pilgrimages to it. The first European known to have viewed the Grand Canyon was García López de Cárdenas from Spain, who arrived in 1540.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Canyon_National_Park
Grand Canyon National Park is a national park of the United States located in northwestern Arizona, the 15th site to have been named as a national park. The park's central feature is the Grand Canyon, a gorge of the Colorado River, which is often considered one of the Wonders of the World. The park, which covers 1,217,262 acres (1,901.972 sq mi; 4,926.08 km2) of unincorporated area in Coconino and Mohave counties, received more than 4.7 million recreational visitors in 2023. The Grand Canyon was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1979. The park celebrated its 100th anniversary on February 26, 2019.
Source: www.nps.gov/grca/index.htm
Entirely within the state of Arizona, the park encompasses 278 miles (447 km) of the Colorado River and adjacent uplands. Located on the ancestral homelands of 11 present day Tribal Communities, Grand Canyon is one of the most spectacular examples of erosion anywhere in the world—a mile deep canyon unmatched in the incomparable vistas it offers visitors from both north and south rims.
Additional Foreign Language Tags:
(United States) "الولايات المتحدة" "Vereinigte Staaten" "アメリカ" "米国" "美国" "미국" "Estados Unidos" "États-Unis" "ארצות הברית" "संयुक्त राज्य" "США"
(Arizona) "أريزونا" "亚利桑那州" "אריזונה" "एरिजोना" "アリゾナ州" "애리조나" "Аризона"
(Grand Canyon) "جراند كانيون" "大峡谷" "גרנד קניון" "ग्रांड कैन्यन" "グランドキャニオン" "그랜드 캐니언" "Гранд-Каньон" "Gran Cañón"
Excerpt from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sens%C5%8D-ji:
Sensō-ji (浅草寺, officially Kinryū-zan Sensō-ji (金龍山浅草寺), also known as Asakusa Kannon (浅草観音)), is an ancient Buddhist temple in Asakusa, Tokyo, Japan. It is Tokyo's oldest-established temple, and one of its most significant. It is dedicated to Kannon, the bodhisattva of compassion. Structures in the temple complex include the main hall, a five-story pagoda and large gates. It is the most widely visited religious site in the world with over 30 million visitors annually.
The temple was destroyed during a 10 March 1945 firebombing air raid on Tokyo during World War II. The main hall was rebuilt in the 1950s. Formerly associated with the Tendai sect of Buddhism, the temple became independent after the war. Leading to it is Nakamise-dōri street, containing many shops with traditional goods. Adjacent to the east of Sensō-ji is the Asakusa Shrine of the Shinto religion.
The Kaminarimon (雷門, "Thunder Gate") is the outer of two large entrance gates that ultimately lead to the Sensō-ji (the inner being the Hōzōmon) in Asakusa. The gate, with its lantern and statues, is popular with tourists. It stands 11.7 metres (38 ft) tall, 11.4 metres (37 ft) wide and covers an area of 69.3 square metres (746 sq ft). The first gate was built in 941, but the current gate dates back to 1960, after the previous gate was destroyed in a fire in 1865.
Four statues are housed in the Kaminarimon, two in the front alcoves and two on the other side. On the front of the gate, the statues of the Shinto gods Fūjin and Raijin are displayed. Fūjin, the god of wind, is located on the east side of the gate, while Raijin, the god of thunder, is located on the west side. The original sculptures were severely damaged in the fire of 1865, with only the heads being saved, and the statues restored for the gate's 1960 reconstruction.
Two additional statues stand on the reverse of the gate: the Buddhist god Tenryū on the east, and the goddess Kinryū on the west side. These were donated in 1978 to commemorate the 1350th anniversary of the first appearance of the bodhisattva Kannon (Avalokiteśvara) at Asakusa, which led to the founding of Sensō-ji. The statues were carved by then-106-year-old master sculptor Hirakushi Denchū.
A giant red lantern (chōchin) hangs under the center of the gate. It is 3.9 metres (13 ft) tall, 3.3 metres (11 ft) wide and weighs approximately 700 kilograms (1,500 lb). The current lantern, the fifth iteration, was built by Takahashi Chōchin K.K in 2013 and has the same metallic base on the bottom as the previous lantern. The base has a name plate that says "Matsushita Denki", an abbreviated form of Panasonic's old Japanese name, Matsushita Denki Sangyo Kabushiki Gaisha.[16] The front of the lantern displays the gate's name, Kaminarimon (雷門). Painted on the back is the gate's official name, Fūraijinmon (風雷神門). During festivals such as Sanja Matsuri, the lantern is collapsed to let tall objects pass through the gate.
The characters 金龍山 (Kinryū-zan) on the tablet above the lantern read from right to left and reference the Sensō-ji.
A nice cloud cover and very windy over the North see beach where shrimp fishing with Belgian horses tradition since the 1500 , Martin’s photographs , Oostduinkerke , now Koksijde , West Vlaanderen , West Flanders , Belgium June 8. 2019
( en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oostduinkerke)
Belgium
Belgie
Flags waving in the wind
Martin’s photographs
June 2019
Favourites
iPhone 6
shrimp fishing with Belgian horses tradition since the 1500
Koksijde
Oostduinkerke
West Vlaanderen
West Flanders
North see beach where shrimp fishing with Belgian horses
North see beach where shrimp fishing
Belgian horses
North see beach in Oostduinkerke
North see
Beach
Noord Zee kust
Shrimp
Belgian horses
Noord zee
Strandt
Beach huts
Beach changing huts
Heavy cloud cover
( en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oostduinkerke)
The Petronas Twin Towers at night.
I've just recovered from German Measles, contracted from my son. Luckily it was a mild one, though I wouldn't want to be infected with another one :-)
Tech Details: 9 exposure HDR + some digital blending. I must say I like Photomatix 3.0 a lot!
::View Large On Black::Most Interesting according to Flickr:: View my HDR/DRI Collections::
Buy My Art at :: vedd.imagekind.com or Projeto Online Gallery UK
Song thrush - Wikipedia
The song thrush (Turdus philomelos) is a thrush that breeds across the West Palearctic. It has brown upper-parts and black-spotted cream or buff underparts and has three recognised subspecies. Its distinctive song, which has repeated musical phrases, has frequently been referred to in poetry.
The song thrush breeds in forests, gardens and parks, and is partially migratory with many birds wintering in southern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East; it has also been introduced into New Zealand and Australia. Although it is not threatened globally, there have been serious population declines in parts of Europe, possibly due to changes in farming practices.
The song thrush builds a neat mud-lined cup nest in a bush or tree and lays four to five dark-spotted blue eggs. It is omnivorous and has the habit of using a favourite stone as an "anvil" on which to break open the shells of snails. Like other perching birds (passerines), it is affected by external and internal parasites and is vulnerable to predation by cats and birds of prey.
Singdrossel - Wikipedia
Die Singdrossel (Turdus philomelos) ist eine Vogelart, die zur Familie der Drosseln (Turdidae) und zur Ordnung der Sperlingsvögel (Passeriformes) gehört. Sie ist in der gemäßigten und der borealen Zone der westlichen und zentralen Paläarktis beheimatet und zählt dort zu den häufigen waldbewohnenden Arten. Europäische Vögel überwintern im Mittelmeerraum. Im Südosten Australiens und in Neuseeland wurde sie Mitte des 19. Jahrhunderts als Neubürger (Neozoon) eingeführt.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Canyon
The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is 277 miles (446 km) long, up to 18 miles (29 km) wide and attains a depth of over a mile (6,093 feet or 1,857 meters).
The canyon and adjacent rim are contained within Grand Canyon National Park, the Kaibab National Forest, Grand Canyon–Parashant National Monument, the Hualapai Indian Reservation, the Havasupai Indian Reservation and the Navajo Nation. The surrounding area is contained within the Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument. President Theodore Roosevelt was a major proponent of the preservation of the Grand Canyon area and visited it on numerous occasions to hunt and enjoy the scenery.
Nearly two billion years of Earth's geological history have been exposed as the Colorado River and its tributaries cut their channels through layer after layer of rock while the Colorado Plateau was uplifted. While some aspects about the history of incision of the canyon are debated by geologists, several recent studies support the hypothesis that the Colorado River established its course through the area about 5 to 6 million years ago. Since that time, the Colorado River has driven the down-cutting of the tributaries and retreat of the cliffs, simultaneously deepening and widening the canyon.
For thousands of years, the area has been continuously inhabited by Native Americans, who built settlements within the canyon and its many caves. The Pueblo people considered the Grand Canyon a holy site, and made pilgrimages to it. The first European known to have viewed the Grand Canyon was García López de Cárdenas from Spain, who arrived in 1540.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Canyon_National_Park
Grand Canyon National Park is a national park of the United States located in northwestern Arizona, the 15th site to have been named as a national park. The park's central feature is the Grand Canyon, a gorge of the Colorado River, which is often considered one of the Wonders of the World. The park, which covers 1,217,262 acres (1,901.972 sq mi; 4,926.08 km2) of unincorporated area in Coconino and Mohave counties, received more than 4.7 million recreational visitors in 2023. The Grand Canyon was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1979. The park celebrated its 100th anniversary on February 26, 2019.
Source: www.nps.gov/grca/index.htm
Entirely within the state of Arizona, the park encompasses 278 miles (447 km) of the Colorado River and adjacent uplands. Located on the ancestral homelands of 11 present day Tribal Communities, Grand Canyon is one of the most spectacular examples of erosion anywhere in the world—a mile deep canyon unmatched in the incomparable vistas it offers visitors from both north and south rims.
Additional Foreign Language Tags:
(United States) "الولايات المتحدة" "Vereinigte Staaten" "アメリカ" "米国" "美国" "미국" "Estados Unidos" "États-Unis" "ארצות הברית" "संयुक्त राज्य" "США"
(Arizona) "أريزونا" "亚利桑那州" "אריזונה" "एरिजोना" "アリゾナ州" "애리조나" "Аризона"
(Grand Canyon) "جراند كانيون" "大峡谷" "גרנד קניון" "ग्रांड कैन्यन" "グランドキャニオン" "그랜드 캐니언" "Гранд-Каньон" "Gran Cañón"
The Maroon Bells is a mountain in the Elk Mountains that consists of two peaks, South Maroon Peak and North Maroon Peak, separated by about a third of a mile. The mountain is on the border between Pitkin County and Gunnison County, Colorado, United States, about 12 miles southwest of Aspen. Both peaks are counted as fourteeners. Maroon Peak, at 14,156 feet, is the 27th highest peak in Colorado; North Maroon Peak, at 14,014 feet, is the 50th highest. The view of the Maroon Bells from the Maroon Creek valley to the northeast is one of the most famous scenes in Colorado, and is reputed to be the "most-photographed spot in Colorado" and one of Colorado's premier scenic overlooks.
A National Park Service sign on the access trail refers to these mountains as "The Deadly Bells" and warns would-be climbers of "downsloping, loose, rotten and unstable" rock that "kills without warning". Unlike other mountains in the Rockies that are composed of granite and limestone, the Bells are composed of metamorphic sedimentary mudstone that has hardened into rock over millions of years. Mudstone is weak and fractures readily, giving rise to dangerously loose rock along almost any route. The mudstone is responsible for the Bells' distinctive maroon color. The Bells got their "deadly" name in 1965 when eight people died in five separate accidents.
Maroon Lake (9,580') provides one of the most memorable scenes in the Rockies. The lake occupies a basin that was sculpted by Ice-Age glaciers and later dammed by landslide and rockfall debris from the steep slopes above the valley floor. (Wikipedia)
Wiki: Die Forschungseinrichtung für experimentelle Medizin der Charité, ehemals Zentrale Tierlaboratorien der Freien Universität Berlin, ist ein wissenschaftliches Forschungsgebäude. Das Gebäude gehört seit 2003 zur Charité und beherbergte bis 2019 den Hauptsitz der gleichnamigen Zentraleinrichtung.[1] Umgangssprachlich ist das Gebäude als Mäusebunker bekannt.
Im November 2019 erklärte der Landesdenkmalrat, beide Gebäude stellten „unbestreitbar bedeutende bauliche Manifestationen ihrer Zeit dar“, und empfahl den Erhalt des Ensembles.
9156 - MECONOPSIS BETONICIFOLIA
Visit : www.refordgardens.com/
Visit : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elsie_Reford
From Wikipedia:
Elsie Stephen Meighen - born January 22, 1872, Perth, Ontario - and Robert Wilson Reford - born in 1867, Montreal - got married on June 12, 1894.
Elsie Reford was a pioneer of Canadian horticulture, creating one of the largest private gardens in Canada on her estate, Estevan Lodge in eastern Québec. Located in Grand-Métis on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River, her gardens have been open to the public since 1962 and operate under the name Les Jardins de Métis and Reford Gardens.
Born January 22, 1872 at Perth, Ontario, Elsie Reford was the eldest of three children born to Robert Meighen and Elsie Stephen. Coming from modest backgrounds themselves, Elsie’s parents ensured that their children received a good education. After being educated in Montreal, she was sent to finishing school in Dresden and Paris, returning to Montreal fluent in both German and French, and ready to take her place in society.
She married Robert Wilson Reford on June 12, 1894. She gave birth to two sons, Bruce in 1895 and Eric in 1900. Robert and Elsie Reford were, by many accounts, an ideal couple. In 1902, they built a house on Drummond Street in Montreal. They both loved the outdoors and they spend several weeks a year in a log cabin they built at Lac Caribou, south of Rimouski. In the autumn they hunted for caribou, deer, and ducks. They returned in winter to ski and snowshoe. Elsie Reford also liked to ride. She had learned as a girl and spent many hours riding on the slopes of Mount Royal. And of course, there was salmon-fishing – a sport at which she excelled.
In her day, she was known for her civic, social, and political activism. She was engaged in philanthropic activities, particularly for the Montreal Maternity Hospital and she was also the moving force behind the creation of the Women’s Canadian Club of Montreal, the first women club in Canada. She believed it important that the women become involved in debates over the great issues of the day, « something beyond the local gossip of the hour ». Her acquaintance with Lord Grey, the Governor-General of Canada from 1904 to 1911, led to her involvement in organizing, in 1908, Québec City’s tercentennial celebrations. The event was one of many to which she devoted herself in building bridges with French-Canadian community.
During the First World War, she joined her two sons in England and did volunteer work at the War Office, translating documents from German into English. After the war, she was active in the Victorian Order of Nurses, the Montreal Council of Social Agencies, and the National Association of Conservative Women.
In 1925 at the age of 53 years, Elsie Reford was operated for appendicitis and during her convalescence, her doctor counselled against fishing, fearing that she did not have the strength to return to the river.”Why not take up gardening?” he said, thinking this a more suitable pastime for a convalescent woman of a certain age. That is why she began laying out the gardens and supervising their construction. The gardens would take ten years to build, and would extend over more than twenty acres.
Elsie Reford had to overcome many difficulties in bringing her garden to life. First among them were the allergies that sometimes left her bedridden for days on end. The second obstacle was the property itself. Estevan was first and foremost a fishing lodge. The site was chosen because of its proximity to a salmon river and its dramatic views – not for the quality of the soil.
To counter-act nature’s deficiencies, she created soil for each of the plants she had selected, bringing peat and sand from nearby farms. This exchange was fortuitous to the local farmers, suffering through the Great Depression. Then, as now, the gardens provided much-needed work to an area with high unemployment. Elsie Reford’s genius as a gardener was born of the knowledge she developed of the needs of plants. Over the course of her long life, she became an expert plantsman. By the end of her life, Elsie Reford was able to counsel other gardeners, writing in the journals of the Royal Horticultural Society and the North American Lily Society. Elsie Reford was not a landscape architect and had no training of any kind as a garden designer. While she collected and appreciated art, she claimed no talents as an artist.
Elsie Stephen Reford died at her Drummond Street home on November 8, 1967 in her ninety-sixth year.
In 1995, the Reford Gardens ("Jardins de Métis") in Grand-Métis were designated a National Historic Site of Canada, as being an excellent Canadian example of the English-inspired garden.(Wikipedia)
LES JARDINS DE MÉTIS
Créés par Elsie Reford de 1926 à 1958, ces jardins témoignent de façon remarquable de l’art paysager à l’anglaise. Disposés dans un cadre naturel, un ensemble de jardins exhibent fleurs vivaces, arbres et arbustes. Le jardin des pommetiers, les rocailles et l’Allée royale évoquent l’œuvre de cette dame passionnée d’horticulture. Agrémenté d’un ruisseau et de sentiers sinueux, ce site jouit d’un microclimat favorable à la croissance d’espèces uniques au Canada. Les pavots bleus et les lis, privilégiés par Mme Reford, y fleurissent toujours et contribuent , avec d’autres plantes exotiques et indigènes, à l’harmonie de ces lieux.
Created by Elsie Reford between 1926 and 1958, these gardens are an inspired example of the English art of the garden. Woven into a natural setting, a series of gardens display perennials, trees and shrubs. A crab-apple orchard, a rock garden, and the Long Walk are also the legacy of this dedicated horticulturist. A microclimate favours the growth of species found nowhere else in Canada, while the stream and winding paths add to the charm. Elsie Reford’s beloved blue poppies and lilies still bloom and contribute, with other exotic and indigenous plants, to the harmony of the site.
Commission des lieux et monuments historiques du Canada
Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada.
Gouvernement du Canada – Government of Canada
© Copyright
This photo and all those in my Photostream are protected by copyright. No one may reproduce, copy, transmit or manipulate them without my written permission.
Excerpt from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nieuwe_Kerk_(The_Hague):
The Nieuwe Kerk (New Church) is a Dutch Baroque Protestant church in The Hague, located across from the modern city hall on the Spui. It was built in 1649 after the Great Church had become too small. Construction was completed in 1656.
The church was designed by the architect Peter Noorwits, who was assisted by the painter and architect Bartholomeus van Bassen. The church is considered a highlight of the early Protestant church architecture in the Netherlands. Like many churches of that time was the New Church, a central building. Unlike other central building, the church is no simple circular or multifaceted plan but there is a space of two octagonal sections which are connected by a slightly smaller proportion in which the pulpit was prepared. The Dutch Baroque architecture of the church shows elements of both Renaissance and Classicism. Two church bells by Coenraat Wegewaert in 1656 hang in their original bell-chairs, 100,2 cm and 81,5 cm in diameter. He also designed the clock.
The church has an organ built by the Dutch organ builder Johannes Duyschot (1645-1725) in 1702. The construction has left most of the pipework and the case. The organ was rebuilt in 1867 by one of the best organ builders of that time, the business of Christian Gottlieb Friedrich Witte. They adjusted the design of the organ to make it suitable for modern Romantic music.
Up until these canals in The Hague were filled in at the end of the 19th century, the church was accessed by boat or from the Wagenstraat on a square island between the Spui river, the St. Anthonisburgwal or Rotterdam Veerkade (the old trekschuit route to Rotterdam), the Stille Veerkade or Amsterdam Veerkade (the old trekschuit route to Amsterdam), and the Paviljoensgracht.
In the 20th century, acoustical adjustments were made to the interior in a modern face. In the thirties the church was notable as the most impressive building on the Spui, which was one of the streets in the Dutch game of Monopoly. The church was closed in 1969 after a long restoration and reopened as a concert hall.
Wiki: Teufelsberg Mountain) is a non-natural hill in Berlin. The hill is made of debris and rubble. During the Cold War, there was a U.S. listening station on the hill, Field Station Berlin.
SUNSET - Great Egret - Ibis - Florida Everglades
Boynton Beach - Palm Beach County, Florida U.S.A.
*[avian flight-levels]
*[left-double-click for closer look]
----
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seguin,_Ontario
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parry_Sound_District
----
Nikon D300 + Nikon Nikkor 18-135mm 1:3.5-5.6 G ED-IF AF-S DX
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikon_D300
www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond300
www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/18-135.htm
www.opticallimits.com/nikon--nikkor-aps-c-lens-tests/241-...
_DSC3228 Anx2 1200h Q90 1.5k f25 f50
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sioux_Falls,_South_Dakota
Sioux Falls is the most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the 131st-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha County and also extends into Lincoln County to the south, which continues up to the Iowa state line. As of 2020, Sioux Falls had a population of 192,517, which was estimated in 2022 to have increased to 202,600. The Sioux Falls metro area accounts for more than 30% of the state's population. Chartered in 1856 on the banks of the Big Sioux River, the city is situated in the rolling hills at the junction of interstates 29 and 90.
Source: www.experiencesiouxfalls.com/falls-park
If you only have time for one stop in Sioux Falls, it has to be Falls Park, the city's namesake. The park is comprised of over 128-acres and located just north of downtown, along the Big Sioux River. An average of 7,400 gallons of water drop 100 feet over the course of the Falls each second. Enjoy the Falls from the many different viewing platforms, including the five-story observation tower. Falls Park is also home to a rich history that includes some of Sioux Falls' oldest buildings.
Additional Foreign Language Tags:
(United States) "الولايات المتحدة" "Vereinigte Staaten" "アメリカ" "美国" "미국" "Estados Unidos" "États-Unis"
(South Dakota) "داكوتا الجنوبية" "南达科他州" "Dakota du Sud" "दक्षिण डकोटा" "サウスダコタ" "사우스다코타" "Южная Дакота" "Dakota del Sur"
(Sioux Falls) "شلالات سيوكس" "苏福尔斯" "सिओक्स फॉल्स" "スーフォールズ" "수폴스" "Су-Фолс" "Cataratas Sioux"
From Wiki: "Spiral Jetty is an earthwork sculpture [by Robert Smithson] constructed in April 1970 on the northeastern shore of the Great Salt Lake near Rozel Point in Utah. The sculpture is built of mud, precipitated salt crystals, basalt rocks, and water. The sculpture forms of a 1,500-foot-long (460 m), 15-foot-wide (4.6 m) counterclockwise coil jutting from the shore of the lake. The sculpture is sometimes visible and sometimes submerged, depending upon the water level of the Great Salt Lake." Spiral Jetty was submerged for about 30 years shortly after its construction, but drought in the last several years has left it mostly exposed. This photo was made in June 2015, and the edge of the Great Salt Lake is some distance from the artwork. Taken with a DJI Phantom 2 Vision + at an altitude of 116 ft/35 m.
Excerpt from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikk%C5%8D_T%C5%8Dsh%C5%8D-g%C5%AB:
Nikkō Tōshō-gū (日光東照宮) is a Tōshō-gū Shinto shrine located in Nikkō, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan.
Together with Futarasan Shrine and Rinnō-ji, it forms the Shrines and Temples of Nikkō UNESCO World Heritage Site, with 42 structures of the shrine included in the nomination. Five of them are designated as National Treasures of Japan, and three more as Important Cultural Properties.
Tōshō-gū is dedicated to Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate. It was initially built in 1617, during the Edo period, while Ieyasu's son Hidetada was shōgun. It was enlarged during the time of the third shōgun, Iemitsu. Ieyasu is enshrined there, where his remains are also entombed. This shrine was built by Tokugawa retainer Tōdō Takatora.
During the Edo period, the Tokugawa shogunate carried out stately processions from Edo to the Nikkō Tōshō-gū along the Nikkō Kaidō. The shrine's annual spring and autumn festivals reenact these occasions, and are known as "processions of a thousand warriors". Cedar trees line the roadway, termed the Cedar Avenue of Nikkō.
Five structures at Nikkō Tōshō-gū are categorized as National Treasures of Japan, and three more as Important Cultural Properties. Additionally, two swords in the possession of the shrine are National Treasures, and many other objects are Important Cultural Properties. Famous buildings at the Tōshō-gū include the richly decorated Yōmeimon (陽明門), a gate that is also known as "higurashi-no-mon". The latter name means that one could look at it until sundown, and not tire of seeing it. Carvings in deep relief, painted in rich colors, decorate the surface of the structure. The next gate is the karamon decorated with white ornaments. Located nearby is a woodcarving of a sleepy cat, "Nemuri-neko", attributed to Hidari Jingorō.
The stable of the shrine's sacred horses bears a carving of the three wise monkeys, who hear, speak and see no evil, a traditional symbol in Japanese culture that is derived from a quote in the Analects.
The original five-storey pagoda was donated by a daimyō in 1650, but it was burned down during a fire, and was rebuilt in 1818. Each storey represents an element–earth, water, fire, wind and aether (or void)–in ascending order. Inside the pagoda, a central shinbashira pillar hangs from chains[3] to minimize damage from earthquakes.
Hundreds of stone steps lead through the cryptomeria forest up to the grave of Ieyasu. A torii at the top bears calligraphy attributed to Emperor Go-Mizunoo. A bronze urn contains the remains of Tokugawa Ieyasu.
In 2008, Yuri Kawasaki became the first female Shinto priest ever to serve at Nikkō Tōshō-gū.
Excerpt from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wan_Chai_station:
Wan Chai (灣仔) is a station on the Island line of the Hong Kong MTR rapid transit system. The livery colour is lime green. It serves the Wan Chai locality within the district of the same name. The station platforms are located underneath Hennessy Road, a major trunk road connecting the Central and Eastern districts.
The station was built under Southorn Playground. It opened along with the Island line on 31 May 1985. It was built by a Bachy Soletanche–Dragages joint venture and Japanese contractor Maeda. Entrance D was opened for public on 22 December 2017. Its passageway crosses underneath Southorn Playground and Johnston Road, then joins the underground mall in Lee Tung Street Redevelopment Project. It is expected to ease the overcrowding problem at entrance A3 and Johnston Road crossing.
The platforms of Wan Chai station are constructed in a stacked arrangement, with Platform 1 above Platform 2.
Due to the large catchment of Wan Chai station and the locality as a business hub and centre for tourists, government offices, foreign embassies and institutions, the station houses more than 50 ticket gates as distributed across three ticket halls (two at the concourse and one at platform level). There are 8 station exits, two of which were constructed in 1999 to provide a more convenient reach for the southern areas of Wan Chai. The footbridge above O'Brien Road, which connects the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, the Immigration Tower (Immigration Department of Hong Kong) and the Star Ferry Pier (Wan Chai Pier), was extended to reach one of these new exits above Hennessy Road.
The tunnel for eastbound trains towards Causeway Bay station has once featured a mobile advertisement, which was presented in the form of a slideshow across the length of the tunnel. The large number of sequential panels allowed passengers to view the advertisement as a slideshow, as trains undertakes their journey to the next station.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whalley_Abbey
Whalley Abbey is a former Cistercian abbey in Whalley, Lancashire, England. After the dissolution of the monasteries, the abbey was largely demolished and a country house was built on the site. In the 20th century the house was modified and it is now the Retreat and Conference House of the Diocese of Blackburn. The ruins of the abbey are recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building,[1] and are a Scheduled Ancient Monument.
History
Monastery
In 1296 the Cistercian monks from Stanlow Abbey moved to Whalley. Stanlow Abbey had been founded on the banks of the River Mersey in the 1170s by John FitzRichard, the sixth Baron of Halton and Constable of Chester. This abbey had suffered a series of misfortunes, including flooding in 1279, the destruction of the church tower in a gale in 1287 and a fire in 1289. In 1283 Henry de Lacy, tenth Baron of Halton agreed to the move from Stanlow to Whalley but this was not achieved until 1296. The first stone was laid by Henry de Lacy in June 1296 and at least part of the site was consecrated by the Bishop of Whithern in 1306. Building proceeded slowly and the foundation stone was laid in 1330. Stone for building the abbey was obtained from quarries at Read and Simonstone. A royal licence to build a crenellated wall around the site was obtained in 1339. The church was completed in 1380 but the remainder of the abbey was not finished until the 1440s. In 1480 the North East Gatehouse, which provided a new entrance to the abbey, was completed. In the 16th century, John Paslew, the last Abbot of Whalley, reconstructed his own lodgings and added a Lady Chapel. The abbey closed in 1537 as part of the dissolution of the monasteries. Also that year Abbot Paslew was executed for high treason for his part in events connected with the Pilgrimage of Grace the previous year.[4]
Private house
In 1553 the abbey lands and the manor of Whalley were sold for just over £2,151 to John Braddyll of Brockhall and Richard Assheton of Lever near Bolton. The properties were divided and Assheton took the monastic site and buildings. The abbot's house and the infirmary buildings were demolished and a large house was built on the site. In the 17th century most of the remaining church and monastic buildings were pulled down. The house passed through a succession of owners and further alterations were made to it in the 19th century. Around 1900 the house and grounds were bought by Sir John Travis Cragg.[5]
Modern Religious Centre
In 1923 the house and grounds were purchased by the Anglican Diocese of Manchester when the bishop was William Temple. When the diocese was divided in 1926, the property passed to the new Diocese of Blackburn. In 1930 Canon J. R. Lumb was appointed as the first warden of the centre and it has since become a centre of religious education with residential accommodation for guests. Two of the ground floor rooms have been converted into chapels.[6] In the 1930s the site of the abbey church was excavated and the foundations discovered were exposed and consolidated.[7]
Present day
Retreat and conference house
The former private house, which is now a retreat and conference house, was reopened in September 2005 following refurbishment. It contains conference rooms, a dining room and en suite rooms for residents. The north range contains a visitor centre, with a coffee shop, exhibition centre and a bookshop.[8] A spirituality programme is available for resident and non-resident guests.[9] Guided tours of the abbey ruins can be arranged in the summer months.
Abbey ruins and grounds
Only the foundations of the church remain. The remains of the former monastic buildings are more extensive. The west range, which was the lay brothers' dormitory, consists of two stories, and is roofed. This is currently used as a Roman Catholic church hall. To the south of the cloister, part of the walls of the former kitchen and refectory remain. The east range is more complete and includes parts of the walls of the former monks' day room, parlour and vestry.[1]
Other related buildings
The North West Gateway is separately listed Grade I. It is built in sandstone rubble, is in two storeys and is roofless. It is also a Scheduled Ancient Monument.[11] The lodge at the entrance to the abbey grounds is listed Grade II. It dates probably from the late 18th century, and is built in ashlar sandstone with a stone slate roof.[12] Also listed Grade II are a pair of gatepiers at the entrance to the grounds.
Stavropoleos Monastery, Bucharest, Romania
www.flickr.com/groups/stavropoleos/
www.monumenteromania.ro/index.php/monumente/detalii/en/St...
I was in the house reading with my back toward the door. I kept feeling like I was being stared at ......
Ocelot.
From Wiki:
The ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) is a medium-sized spotted wild cat that reaches 40–50 cm (16–20 in) at the shoulders and weighs between 7 and 15.5 kg (15 and 34 lb) on average. It is native to the southwestern United States, Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean islands of Trinidad and Margarita. Carl Linnaeus scientifically described it in 1758.
The ocelot is efficient at climbing, leaping and swimming. It prefers areas close to water sources with dense vegetation cover and high prey availability. It preys on small terrestrial mammals, such as armadillos, opossums, and lagomorphs. It is typically active during twilight and at night and tends to be solitary and territorial. Both sexes become sexually mature at around two years of age and can breed throughout the year; peak mating season varies geographically. After a gestation period of two to three months, the female gives birth to a litter of one to three kittens. They stay with their mother for up to two years, after which they leave to establish their own home ranges.
The ocelot is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List and is threatened by habitat destruction, hunting, and traffic accidents. While its range is very large, various populations are decreasing in many parts of its range. The association of the ocelot with humans dates back to the Aztec and Incan civilizations; it has occasionally been kept as a pet.
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vereinigte_Staaten
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States
die groesste EXPO-GRUPPE bei flickr
=============
the biggest EXPO GROUP on flickr
www.flickr.com/groups/1253656@N25/
expo2010-----SHANGHAI-----expo2010------SHANGHAI
expo2010-----SHANGHAI-----expo2010------SHANGHAI
expo2010-----SHANGHAI-----expo2010------SHANGHAI
expo2010-----SHANGHAI-----expo2010------SHANGHAI
expo2010-----SHANGHAI-----expo2010------SHANGHAI
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
我爱中国 / Ich liebe China / I love China
加油中国 /China gebe niemals auf , geh voran /Go go China
EXPO 2010年 Weltausstellung 上海世界博览会 Shànghǎi shìjiè bólǎnhuì
information to logo---information zum logo
----------------------------------------------------------
the three symbolised a family-----die 3 menschen sollen eine familie darstellen
======================================= ====================
die weltausstellung findet im jahre 2010 in der aufstrebenen metropole shanghai statt .
shanghai hat mittlerweile ueber 18 millionen registrierte einwohner.
Die bedeutung der grossen veranstaltung ist sehr wichtig und alles laeuft auf vollen touren.
Das motto der weltausstellung heisst “bessere stadt, besseres leben” . ein schoeneres leben fuer die in shanghai in einer sauberen umwelt.
Die umgebung von ca. 5,28 quadratkilometern, werden die veranstaltung abdecken
Dauer
01.mai bis zum 31.oktober 2010
erwartete besucherzahl
70.000.000 aus dem aus-und inland
======================================= ======================================
the world fair takes place in the year 2010 in the ongoing metropolis shanghai. shanghai meanwhile registered inhabitants have over 18 million. The meaning of the large meeting is very important and everything runs on full routes. The slogan of the world fair is called “better city, better lives”. a more beautiful live for in shanghai in a clean environment. The environment of approx. 5.28 square kilometers, the meeting will cover Duration 01. May up to the 31.oktober 2010 expected number of visitors 70.000.000 from foreign coutries and domestics
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
expo2010-----SHANGHAI-----expo2010------SHANGHAI
expo2010-----SHANGHAI-----expo2010------SHANGHAI
Excerpt from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Sea_flood_of_1953:
From midday on 31 January 1953, water was driven from the northern reaches of the North Sea between Norway and Scotland by a strong north-west gale. A surge developed along the coast of the Netherlands, which coincided with a high spring tide, leading to many water levels on the Dutch coast on the morning of 1 February 1953 being higher than any previous recorded figures, particularly in the south-western areas of the country.
At 10:30 p.m. on Saturday evening 31 January, it was low tide. But this time the water remained high. The strength of the hurricane had broken the tidal movement.
On the night of 1 February 1953 around 3 a.m., many dykes in the province of Zeeland, the southern parts of the province of South Holland and the northwestern parts of the province of North Brabant proved unable to resist the combination of spring tide and a northwesterly storm. On both the islands and the mainland, large areas of the country were flooded.
At 4 p.m. on 1 February, the flood reached a second high. The water rose even higher than during the first flood, and more dikes broke. Many people who had survived the first flood died, as the houses on which they sheltered on the rooftops collapsed due to the persistent water pressure. At that time, the government did not yet know that Schouwen-Duiveland, Goeree-Overflakkee and Tholen were almost completely under water, and no large-scale rescue operations had yet taken place.
Only on Monday 2 February were fishermen the first to sail deep into the disaster area to save hundreds of people. Rescue operations from the air were hardly possible: the Netherlands had only 1 helicopter and had to wait until other countries offered help.
On Tuesday February 3, a large flow of people and relief supplies started. Planes dropped sandbags, dinghies, boots, food and water over the disaster area. At the same time, thousands of Dutch soldiers, administrators, aid workers and volunteers arrived to carry out coordinated actions in the disaster area. Tens of thousands of residents were being evacuated from the area to shelters elsewhere in the country.
Foreign helicopters and amphibious vehicles also came into action on Tuesday, but the vast majority of rescue operations had already been completed by then.
Donations and relief supplies were pouring in at the National Disaster Fund in The Hague. Other countries, including England, Sweden and Canada sent more than 61 million guilders in relief supplies.
Many people still commemorate the dead during the Herdenking Watersnoodramp on 1 February.
----
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dufferin_County
----
Nikon D300 + Nikon Nikkor 18-135mm 1:3.5-5.6 G ED-IF AF-S DX
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikon_D300
www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond300
www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/18-135.htm
www.opticallimits.com/nikon--nikkor-aps-c-lens-tests/241-...
_DSC1128 Anx2 Q90 f25 f50
.
My Hungary tour album is here:
www.flickr.com/gp/jenslpz/06PRz63n8B
My bird album is here:
www.flickr.com/gp/jenslpz/1240SmAXK4
My nature album is here:
www.flickr.com/gp/jenslpz/27PwYUERX2
My Canon EOS R / R5 / R6 album is here:
www.flickr.com/gp/jenslpz/bgkttsBw35
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kormoran_(Art)
Kormoran
Der Kormoran (Phalacrocorax carbo) ist eine Vogelart aus der Familie der Kormorane (Phalacrocoracidae). Das Verbreitungsgebiet der Art umfasst große Teile Europas, Asiens und Afrikas, außerdem Australien und Neuseeland sowie Grönland und die Ostküste Nordamerikas. Die Nahrung besteht wie bei allen Vertretern der Gattung Phalacrocorax fast ausschließlich aus Fisch. Kormorane sind zu allen Jahreszeiten gesellig, die Brutkolonien liegen an Küsten oder größeren Gewässern. Bestand und Verbreitung der Art wurden in Europa durch massive menschliche Verfolgung stark beeinflusst, im mitteleuropäischen Binnenland war die Art zeitweise fast ausgerottet. In den letzten Jahrzehnten ist eine deutliche Bestandserholung zu verzeichnen. Der Kormoran war in Deutschland und Österreich Vogel des Jahres 2010.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skagafj%C3%B6r%C3%B0ur
Skagafjörður is a deep bay in northern Iceland.
Location
Skagafjörður is about 40 km long and 15 km wide, situated between Tröllaskagi to the east and the Skagi Peninsula to the west. There are two municipalities in the area, Skagafjörður Municipality (approx. 4140 inhabitants) and Akrahreppur Municipality (approx. 210 inhabitants).[1]
This is one of Iceland's most prosperous agricultural regions, with widespread dairy and sheep farming in addition to the horse breeding for which the district is famed. Skagafjörður is the only county in Iceland where horses outnumber people.
It is a centre for agriculture, and some fisheries are also based in the settlements of Sauðárkrókur and Hofsós. The people living in Skagafjörður have a reputation for choir singing, horsemanship, and gatherings. There are three islands in the bay: Málmey, Drangey and Lundey.[2] [3]
The bay is located in a submerged glacial valley which is continued southwards by a plain in which lies the delta of the Héraðsvötn river. The main settlement of this valley is Varmahlíð.
Twin towns — sister cities
The following cities or towns are twinned with Skagafjörður:
• - Kongsberg, Norway
The Neon Museum in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States, features signs from old casinos and other businesses displayed outdoors on 2.62 acres. The museum features a restored lobby shell from the defunct La Concha Motel as its visitor center, which officially opened on October 27, 2012. For many years, the Young Electric Sign Company (YESCO) stored many of these old signs in their "boneyard." The signs were slowly being destroyed by exposure to the elements. The signs are considered by Las Vegas locals, business owners and government organizations to be not only artistically, but also historically, significant to the culture of the city. Each of the restored signs in the collection holds a story about who created it and why it is important. The Neon Museum was founded in 1996 as a partnership between the Allied Arts Council of Southern Nevada and the City of Las Vegas. Today, it is an independent non-profit. Located on Las Vegas Boulevard and Bonanza, the Neon Museum includes the new Neon Boneyard Park, which is adjacent to the former YESCO Boneyard. The impetus behind the museum was the loss of the iconic sign from The Sands; after it closed in 1995, there was no place to store the massive sign, and it was scrapped. To mark its official opening in November 1996, the Neon Museum restored and installed the Hacienda Horse & Rider sign at the intersection of Las Vegas Boulevard and Fremont Street. However, access to the collection was provided by appointment only. Annual attendance was approximately 12–20,000 during this time. In 2005, the historic La Concha lobby was donated to the museum, which moved and reassembled the building 4 miles (6.4 km) north along Las Vegas Boulevard after cutting it into eight pieces. It now serves as the museum's visitors' center and headquarters. Although it cost nearly $3 million to move and restore the La Concha, the plans to open a museum became concrete after the donation of the building, drawing a number of public and private grants and donations. In total, approximately $6.5 million was raised for the visitors' center, headquarters, a new park, and restoration of 15 major signs. In November 2009, the Neon Museum restored and installed the famous Silver Slipper sign across from its welcome center, and two more restored vintage signs were installed near the northern end of Las Vegas Boulevard to mark its designation as a National Scenic Byway. Paid public admission commenced on October 27, 2012, replacing the prior appointment-only basis. Attendance during the first year was 60,461, exceeding the early estimate of 45–50,000 visitors. After outgrowing its space in the former La Concha lobby shell, the museum moved its headquarters to old City Hall in 2016 and converted the offices into a museum store. In 2017, the museum purchased land for its first expansion since opening to the public in 2012. For its fifth anniversary, the Neon Museum offered free admission on October 28, 2017. In 2018, the Neon Museum administrative staff moved again to a space on the campus of the Las Vegas-Review Journal and opened a programming space there called Ne10 Studio.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neon_Museum
Official Website: www.neonmuseum.org
From Wiki: The greater ani (Crotophaga major) is a bird in the cuckoo family. It is sometimes referred to as the black cuckoo. It is found through tropical South America south to northern Argentina. It feeds on large insects (such as beetles, grasshoppers and caterpillars) and even spiders, lizards, frogs, fruits, berries and Euphorbia seeds.
The nest, built and lived in communally by two to five pairs, is a deep cup lined with leaves and placed usually 2–5 m (6.6–16.4 ft) high in a tree. A number of females lay their chalky deep blue eggs in the nest and then share incubation and feeding. These breeding groups may also include non-breeding helpers. Nests have been found containing 3–10 eggs, with an incubation time of 11–12 days, with nestlings free to leave the nest after five days. They will be fed for several weeks if they choose not to leave.
In a longterm study, it was found that around 15% of females lay their eggs in the nest of another nesting group. This conspecific brood parasitism happens primarily when a female has lost her own clutch to predation. In regards to the nesting group, the first couple eggs will be rejected by other nest members when the mother of those specific egg leaves to forage. Egg rejection happens more often with larger groups, and one theory claims there is a balance within having more ani's to defend the nest from predation, and less ani's to minimize intraspecific competition. This leads to an average of two to three breeding pairs in one nest, with any greater amount being rare.
Excerpt from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Studio_City_(Macau):
Studio City is a hotel casino resort on the Cotai Strip in Cotai, Macau. The Hollywood studio-themed leisure resort is the first in Asia to integrate television and film production facilities, retail, gaming and hotels. It is majority-owned by Melco Resorts & Entertainment and its subsidiary Studio City International Holdings Limited (SCIHL), Its two towers are connected by the world's first and highest figure-8 ferris wheel.
Inspired by the Golden Age of Hollywood, the cinematic-themed resort comprises a 30,000-square-foot Family Entertainment Center in collaboration with Time Warner Inc. subsidiaries Warner Bros and DC Comics. The entertainment center features DC Comics characters, such as Superman, Wonder Woman and The Flash.
Studio City features an Art Deco design inspired by two asteroids shooting through a Gotham City building. The resort was designed by Goddard Group, a Los Angeles–based entertainment design firm that also designed Galaxy Macau.
The resort's two hotel towers – Star Tower and Celebrity Tower – are connected by the Golden Reel, the world's first and highest figure-8 ferris wheel.[15] Boarding at the hotel's 23rd floor, the wheel features 17 steampunk-themed cabins holding up to 10 passengers each, also designed by the Goddard Group, with hardware manufactured by Liechtenstein's Intamin Amusement Rides. Batman Dark Flight is a 4D flight simulation theatre attraction, along with a 40,000 square foot children's playground, the Warner Brothers Fun Zone.
Facilities include Legend Heroes Park, an immersive tech-based entertainment park (TBE), a 5,000-seat live performance arena, an indoor/outdoor water park, opened in May 2021, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, a fitness centre and meeting rooms. Star Tower is rated 5-star by Forbes Travel Guide and houses several award-winning restaurants, the Zensa Spa and Pacha Macau nightclub, as well as 1,233 gaming machines and about 250 gaming tables. Studio City Event Center hosts concerts and sporting events.
Guests may also view space through giant portal windows at the Cosmos Food Station food court. Restaurants at Studio City include Michelin-starred Pearl Dragon, Bi Ying, Rossi Trattoria and Hide Yamamoto.