This Creative Arts Three-Day Weekend will Begin Tonight * … Wednesday
* I'll be heading to the woods tomorrow (Thursday) morning, so, I am posting this week's article tonight (Wednesday)
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© A. Mac/AG
© A. Mac/A.G.
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I felt like doing some "illustrations" for a change. But, everyone should post what they feel like posting. I will look in throughout.
Your top two images are quite unique and interesting, but the Salmon Run one is fabulous - you could make a fortune doing signs and advertising with creations like that.
A/noon Mac..
They look absolutely fantastic..Thank you.
Enjoy your trip into the bush..
Interesting images.
Great images, Mac. I love the one of the Kitty. (smile)
Awesome images !!
Just some memories of my first year in China...
My colleagues took me to a jojoba orchard. Jojobas are like dates. They are dried in the sun and get wrinkled and look like prunes, and are quite sweet. This is a very old jojoba tree.
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We were given bags at the entrance, and allowed to pick the jojobas and pay for them determined by weight on the way out. However, in my case it was two for the bag and one for my mouth, and I paid for that the next day for eating them raw.
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A street market in Zhengzhou, where I lived for my first 10 or so years in China. It recently suffered massive flooding.
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Longmen Grottos near Luoyang. Two students invited two of us for a weekend in their home city.
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The view through a window of the man-made lake at the Emperor's Summer Palace near Beijing.
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My nephew's sister-in-law gets married. Although it was a traditional Chinese wedding ceremony, they chose to be in western dress rather than in traditional red silk.
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I'm on the Great Wall on a very cold windy day.
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The cable car up the mountain to Shaolin Temple, birthplace of Zen Kung Fu. I was on a cable car going in the opposite direction when I took this photo.
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Those are just SOME of the experiences I had in my first year here.
Evening....great photos Buzz...
Great photos.
Thanks GG.
Great photos of a wonderful tour of various areas in your first year in China. While I am not fond of China's current politics, I am very fond of its magnificent history and artworks and ancient culture. While it has many museums to enjoy, there are many more areas of great interest just in the entire country as a whole.
Thank you for posting so many of your wonderful photos to share with us, and allow us to see through them what many of us are not able to see in person.
And I'm not fond of America's "Tonya Harding" current politics method towards China either, but thanks for your comments about my photos.
You're welcome, Buzz. I don't let any country's politics get in the way of how I enjoy their history, traditions and culture. While their politics represents the views of their government, the country represents all the people who live there, many of which many not feel the same way as their leaders.
And that can be said of America and most other countries. And what is here today in America can be way different in a thousand years.
Thanks, Shona1.
This American Goldfinch was on my backyard fence last night. He didn't mind me taking pictures of him, but he didn't want me too close either.
That is a beautiful bird. Wonderful color.
A second shot of the same finch.
An even nicer photo!
He does indeed look like he is enjoying the photo shoot, and giving it his best pose for you . (grin)
Great photo, Dig. I once had one of those beauties trying to feed off of my hummingbird feeder near my front porch. My Father was sitting out on the porch and I could hear him laughing. I went to see what he thought was so funny and sat next to him and watched as the clumsy little bird tried to get a drink from the feeder. The owner of the feeder territory left no time in taking the big bird on to protect his territory and its feeder. But, the bigger bird would not be deterred by the little guy.
Needless to say it was a riot to watch the on-going back and forth between them up until the Hummer decided enough was enough and began to get serious peck the intruder heartily on the head. Soon the intruder decided it was not worth a serious injury and left. Then the Hummer flew around and around the feeder as if clearing the air of the intruder before enjoying a drink from feeder for himself and reclaim his territorial supremacy.
A double rainbow over Big Arlington Pond in Stone Creek. Ocala, FL.
I was listing to starboard when I took the photo.
I overcompensated and I'm listing a bit to port on this photo.
Nice, Kavika. Rainbows means rain. I'm jealous. It's been over 100 degrees here every day for the last week.
It was raining here this morning. I tried to grab some fog photos but I mist.
LOL is that like ''Play Misty for Me''...
hmmmm.... I was watching that on my smart phone and mist an important call informing me of fowl weather. People kept bumping into ducks and chickens in the fog.
As long as they didn't run into Foghorn Leghorn they should be OK.
Great photos of the double rainbow, Kavika. It has been triple digits on and off here, but, not unusual in the Inland Empire for this time of the year. I would sure like to share some of that rain here.
Great catch.
Sunset over the lagoon, Rarotonga, the Cook Islands
© G. Gam 2021
This is an image I created from underwater photos taken while snorkeling on Kauai.
© G. Gam 2021
On the island of Tutuila, American Samoa
© G. Gam 2021
Beautiful shots G. I especially like the first one. Very mood evoking.
Thanks, Perrie. I love that photo. Rarotonga was a beautiful island. I spent a week there.
The tropical fish image took hours of editing until I got a final version I liked.
I like the impressionistic quality of the photo from American Samoa. The impressionistic quality was created using effects tools.
That photo of Samoa looks like it was taken from ''Two Dollar Beach''..
When you were in Samoa did you ever go to Tisa's Barefoot Bar?
It could be "Two Dollar Beach". It's been a long time since I was there, and you would know better.
I don't think we went to Tisa's Barefoot Bar. Is that at "Two Dollar Beach"?
No, it's another couple of bays down, it's in Alega Bay.
Wonderful photos, great creativity and beautiful editing, G. Very Spiritual and enchanting.
Well done!
Wonderful photos - I snorkelled on Kauai too. There was a logoon at the far end of a beautiful beach that was lined with palm trees, and some hippies were living in makeshift tree houses there. The colours of the fish in that lagoon were amazing.
My daughter and I were swimming at a beach near Poipu. There were large flat fish that were a beautiful aqua blue color. My daughter's swim suit was the same color and she got out of the water because they kept following her around, lol.
Following her around..LOLOL. We stayed in a hotel at Poipu Beach, but that was almost half a century ago when it was about the only hotel near the beach.
They're all nice, but I really like that sunset in the first one, G. The cloud reflections are fantastic.
the angry trill of raccoons
full sweaty nights
running salt into eyes-
the words are gut heavy
and hard to move
angels slip their sheets
to cover the moon
leftover stars blink in disbelief-
the words are now shields
and will not move
love failing to time
falling to lack of restraint
flailing in memories wind-
the words are now worlds apart
and have stopped to move
i carry the weight of three lost words
that were meant to carry the wind
fault is to one who speaks the words-
too soon, too soon, leave some room
too late, her heart is not moved
A wonderful poem, Hallux. Very emotional, and telling of one's true heart.
Did you write that? Very effective conveyance of feelings.
I did.
Great addition to the thread and the GROUP! A major thank you!
TY
A rerun from an earlier time to share today.....an Eagle Dancer...
An Eagle dancer? Not a Raven Dancer?
Yes Buzz....he is an Eagle dancer. The Raven dancers were from the Alaskan Tribes.
Okay, they do look similar. Kavika and I posted a Famous Photographer article quite a while ago that showed a Raven Dancer.
As with many different Native American Tribes, there is a lot of similarities in their culture, traditions, beliefs, dances, arts and crafts, and many other ways. The different Tribes have their own version of them, but, as many Tribes come from the same hereditary ancestry, there are bound to be such similarities among them.
Sorry that it took me so long to reply on the Raven dancers.....here is a photo of a Raven Dancer in full regalia.....
Yes, and this is the one on the Famous Photographer article that Kavika and I posted
A great photo, Buzz. The Raven has a prominent role in the mythologies of the Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, including the Tsimishian, Haida, Heiltsuk, Tlingit, Kwakwaka'wakw, Coast Salish, Koyukons, and Inuit. The Raven in these indigenous peoples' mythology is the Creator of the world, but it is also considered to be a trickster god. With the Raven perceived as the Creator, many Haida myths and legends often suggest the Raven as being a provider to mankind.
I found these two frogs in my backyard. Thought it was interesting that they were basically the same but one was black. Finding frogs in my yard is weird too, since I live in a well manicured subdivision and the nearest water source is at least 1,000 feet away.
I believe they are Toads not Frogs.
Holy crap! You are alive. Nice to see you Dean, and thanks for the correction. You are correct.
Thanks, it’s nice to see you too.
Hey Dean! Good to see you.Indeed, they are toads.
Nice to know they hang out together, so they aren't racist. Your great photos make them look big enough to eat a mouse.
Very interesting find, Hal. They do resemble each other, just different colors.
Smallmouth Bass this evening.
Nice looking catch, Mac. Never saw a small mouthed Bass, just the big mouthed ones.
It's no different than the NT membership - some with big mouths, others with small ones.
I think that can be true anywhere. (grin)
Come on A.Mac, it looks like a minnow. Maybe that's because of the scale.
It was about 8 inches, a second year fish.
LOL. Isn't it great to be able to enlarge our photos.
How many minnows did you catch today?
How about did I eat any fish today?
I hope you packed a can of chili, just in case of this kind of thing happening...
I have multiple aquarium projects planned for the next few months. This brand new 20g cube came last week and will be the first to get done. This quick snap from last weekend is the beginning of an idea for it's new aquascape. I don't know exactly what fish will go in here. I'm thinking a pair of apistogramma cacatuoides . I have some of the plants and a few more coming. The light comes in today's mail. The rest of the hardware is already in the back hidden compartments. I've never used a setup like this before so it'll be a new experience. I'm hoping I can get water in it by tomorrow afternoon. I also need to figure out how to get better pictures of this without all that background reflection.
Here's a shot with the light and some minor changes.
I'll predict that the new aquarium will be outstanding.
In my prior life, I was known as '''The Great Karnac''..
"In the beginning......."
Looking forward to seeing the finished tank.
Many TANKS for these updates!
You create great aquariums. I wonder if the fish appreciate it.
The fish (and shrimp) do benefit from the plants and hardscape. Depending on the fish there are hierarchies, territories, breeding habits and feeding habits. So fish can find safe places around the aquarium from other fish among the plants, rocks and wood. Also microfilm and algae builds up on the surfaces of everything in the tank and the shrimp as well as some fish will eat that.
A new big thing in the hobby is biotopes (and biotope inspired) which just means that people are starting to setup the tanks as if it were a small slice of where the fish would be found naturally in the wild. I'm seeing a lot of the Rio Negro river setups online these days. I may do something like this in a tank at some point too as it really interests me.
That thing looks huge. That's going to be awesome.
Happy Friday everyone......A Hopi Shaman.......
Very good, and excellent framing choice.
Thank you, Buzz. I'm very glad you like it.
Now moving onto Saturday, here is one of my favorite oldies.......
The epitome of "Oldie but goodie".
Thanks Buzz.
Anoon...Fozzy bear asleep in the gumtree in my backyard...
He must feel your tree is a safe place to sleep. How cute is that!
Evening Raven..Yes I watch over them as does everyone around here..They clomp along the fence at night and head off for other gumtrees. They like my fence as when it was replaced I had it built extra high..Namely because I had "ferals" living next door who were a pain in the arse...The Koala's love it so it was well worth the extra expense..
Great idea about the fence height. It gives some extra protection for the Koalas, as well as helps keep the other critters from invading your space.
Can a kangaroo jump your new high fence?
Evening..the Eastern Grey's which we have around here would struggle..the fence is approx 2 metres high..but if you had a Big Red like the one's in the Outback he would jump it with ease...
Fozzy bear on the move..my fence is a Koala Highway..
It must be fun to have such cute visitors to watch. Thank you for sharing these great photos.
I was thinking the same thing as Raven, that you have a lot of interesting wildlife around you. Glad to see you starting to photo them for us.
Evening Buzz. Still can't work it out how send photos on my phone so send it via my lap top..bit of a saga but it gets there in the end.. technology is not my friend..
Love the photos, shona.
This is my view at morning coffee on the patio. The feeders are quite busy this morning. It’s nice that everyone gets along - too bad humans don’t share that trait.
Nice to have the birds around in the morning. How old do you think that tree on the left is. This isn't a criticism, but a suggestion - have you thought of adjusting the size of your posted photo so it fits the frame so we don't have to scroll to see the whole photo? Or that only a problem for me that I can't see the whole photo without scrolling?
Hmmm - on my phone the photo fits the screen. I don’t even use a computer anymore so I don’t know how it shows up on a monitor. This is apparently the effect of using the “original” setting for photo size, which is what Amac suggested when I lamented about the low resolution I was getting when I used other settings. When I upload the photo it is huge like you describe, but once it is posted it ends up fitting the screen of my phone but at the maximum resolution. If I choose “384px-xlarge” this is how it looks.
The tree is probably as old as our house - about 30 years. It’s quite large now and creates a hell of a mess around November when the leaves finally decide to fall off.
384 px comes out kind of small - "original" is the largest. I use 800 px - try that and see what happens.
This is 800px.
Still just a little bit too large, but almost there. With your phone, do you have something that will act as a mouse? If you post the photo, then click on it you will see little squares in the corners of the photo. If you click and hold on a little square you can drag the picture smaller or larger. If you can't do that, then try 512 px. The width of your photos is okay, the problem is the vertical size.
For others who might need help with how to resize your photos and/or images, you can find how to do that in the NT Help section:
How To Resize Pictures In Comment Windows
An incredibly powerful yet serene image! WOW!
Is that a sculpture on the side of the tree ?
Yes it is. It’s part of my collection that I had hanging inside the house but it’s so hideous that I moved it to the tree a few years ago. Sometimes the squirrels will perch themselves on it.
A version of the Green Man.
If you give me permission to do so, I can adjust your photos to fit a full page so members will not need to scroll up and down to see the photo. Obviously you aren't able to do it using a phone. If you wish I can adjust all your photos when I see them - only to fit the page, no other adjustment, but I won't do it without your permission. It's up to you.
Looks like that could be a version of the 'Grapes of Wrath'. (grin)
Saturday once again........
Adding to the first word that runs through my mind when I fook at one of your creations - "religious". The next word, "The Three Sisters".
It is a different version of The Three Sisters, Buzz. But, why would you think of the word religious? Just curious.
It made me think of stained glass windows I've seen on houses of worship.
Ahhh I see. Thank you for the explanation.
Flying bugs.
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And a goldfinch to go with EG's.
Beautiful Flutter Bys. Are those Dragon Flies? And the lovely resident Finch. Great photos Dig.
Yeah, common whitetails. An adult male and an immature male.
I have never seen any like that before. Thank you for sharing them with us so we can learn more about the different types of critters who share our world.
I guess I could have identified the butterflies, too. I'm pretty sure they're all Eastern Tiger Swallowtails. The yellow ones are males, the rest are dark morph females (they're dimorphic, some are yellow like the male but with more blue on their backs, others are dark like the ones above).
They're all beauties, Dig. Some may be more colorful than others, but, they re all beautiful in their own way.
Outstanding group of images!
A flagwaver among the butterflies? Oh, checkered wing colours.
This photo is above the clouds over Stone Creek and was taken by a neighbor with his drone. You can see a parasailer in the photo.
Pretty darn impressive.
That's amazing. It's like something you'd see in a magazine.
I agree, it really is spectacular, Dig.
I had a chance to talk to the person that took the photo. There is a correction, it wasn't a photo taken from his drone but he took it from a Paramotor (paraglider with a motor)
WoW! That is just awesome! It is so surreal to be real. Kind of other worldly.
That gets filed under “UNFORGETTABLE!”
Fascinating.
Sunday is just around the corner......
Do you know the song that Dean Martin sings "When the Moon Hits Your Eye Like a Big Pizza Pie, That's Amore".
I like that old song
Oh yes, I do remember that great song. One of Dean's best in my opinion.
Spicebush Swallowtail Butterfly
© A. Mac/.G.
That's a beauty, Mac.
Morning...Just a little tacker...a Huntsman Spider..
About the size of one and half hand spans..
What a cuttie...
What'a whopper! Me and spua spuas are not kindred souls, so to speak.
One and a half hand spans??? Would scare the s*** out of me.
Anoon Buzz...Nah he is harmless..
He doesn't bite, sting, snap or eat you..So that is pretty good for us..They are good fly catchers...There is one thing I do dislike..They have a nasty habit of dropping on you from the ceiling...
I had a couple of hopper spiders that lived rent free in my apt when I lived in No VA, and they would follow me around the house room to room. And one liked to zoom down its silk and hang just in front of my face. They were harmless so I didn't evict them, as they kept the creepies at bay.
Anoon Raven...yes most are harmless but we do have funnel webs and red backs.. they can and have killed people...and white tails give a nasty bite that often leads to gangrene and amputations etc...
So those ones are in the nasty category...
I use to feed a spider at work.. had a web on my window sill and would squash flies and drop them in the web. Spider would rush out and drag it back inside. My boss sprung me one day so I told him what I was doing...
Said I was following the companies clean and green policy...
Rolled his eyes and went out the door shaking his head and muttering.
a state of war has existed between the arachnids and myself for decades. they started it. the ones that dare cross in front of me face certain death. inside my home, even an 8 legged sprint across the floor is no match for the devastating impact of my size 12EEEE nike's. chemical warfare starts this fall.
Most of the spiders around here are the harmless ones, and like the little lizards that help keep the ants at bay, the little spiders help control the flies and other creepies. So both are most welcome in my areas. Although, I prefer that they stay outside, sometimes some will find their way inside as nothing here is air tight. When I find them inside, I simply gather them up and put them outside. Depending on what kind of spider they are. Nasties are dealt with a bit differently, and more cautiously.
I was scared to death of spiders of any kind when I was young, as we lived in Texas for a several years and the tarantulas there were everywhere, as were the Widows. I would find tarantulas in my bed, in my shoes in the closet, in my clothes drawers, and Widows hanging from my closet shelves. So every time I saw a spider I would spaz out and scream to high heaven. It wasn't until we moved to California that I was finally able to live in somewhat peace. I am not totally fond of them, but, I tolerate them as most of them do serve a purpose for the good.
uh, no. cricket bat, just before bedtime...
I didn't take this photo but it is a Male Blue Wren..I get them in my garden and they are very hard to photograph...They dart around to much and never still for long...
What a cutie! And its colors are beautiful.
© A. Mac/A.G.
Ohhh WOW! That is an amazing work of art, Mac. Very interesting and enjoyable.
Never have to feed ‘em or change the filter.
Very true. And they don't poop either.
Scintillating.
The little jar terrarium I made up last year was overgrown so I added a couple of new ferns and replanted everything in this little 5 gallon aquarium. I’ll have to find a tight fitting cover for it to keep the humidity in, but until then I’m using plastic wrap.
Way cool, EG. Do you use any of the plants that you grow in this tank in any of your aquariums? Or is this just for enjoyment?
This is mostly for my enjoyment. I am planning a kind of paludarium setup in my 45 gallon tank. It will have a waterfall into a pool of water where there may eventually be some fish. I am planning on using some of these plants in that depending on how I can get everything setup. This will be a big project for me. Unfortunately I used most of the rocks I was planning on using for this waterfall in the aquascape for the 20g up above. I think I'll go rock hunting locally now for some fish safe granite for this new project.
Sunday is here again, and time for another artwork from yester year......
Your yesteryear images are still shining brightly.
Thank you, Buzz. Some of the old techniques are as good as new.
I did not take this photo, but it's a river in north-central Florida (where I live). You probably shouldn't go swimming at night.
Uhhhh....I'll take an indoor pool and give them their space in the river.
At night? Are you kidding? You should NEVER go swimming there.
Rainbow Springs and the Rainbow River is about 1/2 hour from our house.
It's not unusual to see paddleboarding on the river right by gators.
So until next week, a more recent rerun.....
I don't recall what I posted a couple hours ago when I saw this - yet another case of a disappearing comment, but of course it's a great combo of image and frame. Maybe this time this comment will stay put for a little longer.
Thanks Buzz. I didn't see the earlier one either. But, at least I am seeing this one. Your comments are always appreciated.
For everyone suffering through drought, fires, excessive heat, or all three, here's a little ASMR therapy for you.
I put the camera on a tripod, set it out on the porch, and shot some video of a rainstorm today, zoomed in a little on the garden gate.
5 minutes of cool, refreshing rain with distant thunder. Nothing else.
The perfect storm!
Nicely done.
I don't know why the rain is so hard to see in it. I think the site compresses videos a lot more than it used to when you upload them, reducing detail.
Here's a shorter one from earlier in the storm that seems to have better rain detail. Slightly different sound, too.
These videos might seem kind of lame to some folks, but hey, if a person hasn't seen rain in a long time...
Better audio and video with this one.
Strange. I preferred the first one. No thunder on the second one that I could hear.
I thought so, too. It looks like I need to stop compressing my videos so much before I upload them, if the site is going to give them another huge round of it.
There was a little, but it was farther off.
Thanks for that - very refreshing. I always loved thunderstorms. We've had a few good ones here lately. At my lakeside home we had a big velux window in the sloped ceiling over our bed, and I really enjoyed the nighttime storms while in bed.
The good thunder and lightening didn't get here until after I was done filming (dead battery). There were some real boomers. It's a shame I couldn't catch any of that for you.
Thanks to all for another successful weekend.