Wingin' it on CREATIVE ARTS Three Day Weekend
Male House Sparrow
© A. Mac/A.G.
Starling
© A.Mac/A.G.
Coming in for a landing in this weeks article.
RED BOX RULES: AN IMPORTANT REMINDER
From time-to-time, I should remind all members of NT, etc., that when posting photos, artwork, etc., it's important, when posting, that you own, and/or legally represent the licensing, copyright, etc., of what you post, and TO PROTECT YOUR WORK, TO INCLUDE YOUR COPYRIGHT SYMBOL/INFORMATION; and/or, WHEN POSTING COPYRIGHTED PROPERTY BELONGING TO PARTIES OTHER THAN YOURSELF, TO …
• BE SURE YOU HAVE PERMISSION TO POST, TRANSMIT, etc, SUCH PROPERTY, and,
• IF/WHEN SUCH PERMISSION HAS BEEN GRANTED, TO PROPERLY AND CLEARLY ATTRIBUTE THE COPYRIGHTS TO THEIR RIGHTFUL OWNER(S).
VERY IMPORTANT … IN THE FUTURE, I WILL REMEMBER TO POST THIS CAVEAT REGULARLY.
Thanks, A. MAC
Article is LOCKED by moderator [A. Macarthur]
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Fly-by-night. Post you creative stuff.
... and please don't forget to vote up this article, NT art lovers.
Two great catches using a very fast shutter.
Lots of spring migrators are flying by night right now.
... and trying to not get confused by city lights along the way.
The long and short of it at Stone Creek, Ocala, FL.
LOL. Funny, and a great photo.
Haha, that's great.
Some birds I have seen here...
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Is a painting acceptable? Saw this great painting of a peacock here.
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Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Well, I guess it's a plane since birds don't create a sonic boom.
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Okay, Buzz, now you've gone too far....
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Cool, Buzz. Are those mallards in the fourth photo?
Yes, they appear to be mallards.
I didn't realize they could be found in China, but I looked up their geographical range and by golly they can. Europe and a small part of Africa, too. Non-breeding season only, but still, pretty cool. I never knew that.
I forgot this one. I'm looking down at them so maybe I'm the one who's flying.
Ooops. I just realized that I meant to add this photo to my series of "flying" photos below.
Arvo...these are some of Australia's most colourful birds..only one I have never seen..the Gouldian finch.
I did not take any of these photos...
And our world famous Budgies...
They sure are colourful.
Wow
Those are fantastic, shona.
Yes we may have snappies, bities and stingies..
But mother nature makes up for it in our birds ..
so, which of those feathered creatures are the human killers?
Morning Devangy...well err umm we actually do have a bird that can and has killed people...met the Cassowary.. has an extremely powerful kick and has killed other animals and humans..
Not my photo and I wouldn't get anywhere near the flipping thing in the first place..
yikes, please tell me that freaking oz turkey can't fly...
No they can't fly but they sure can run...chase you down no probs and then they kick you.. easily break arms and legs.
Very aggressive at nesting time and only live up far north Queensland thank goodness...
you could beat somebody to death with one of those drumsticks. do the locals eat them?
Not really they are tough as old boots..
As the locals say when cooking one you have to put a stone in the pot as well...when the stone is tender the Cassowary is cooked..
Emus are bigger but they are not as mean as the Cassowary..they stand about 6 foot and run about 50ks per hour..
I had a client that raised emus and ostriches for meat. they did pretty good just selling the eggs.
The only cassowary I saw when I was in Australia was behind a fence.
Good place to be.. people have been chased by them on the beach and in the rainforest...and when they come into the small towns..
what if you were to spread vegemite on a muffin, and they were a thinly sliced addition?
... with a spot of tea.
Morning.. afraid even Vegemite can't fix that tough old bird..
... just teasing, LOL.
probably a delicacy on the next island north...
Morning...no I don't think they are particularly fussed with them either.. besides I wouldn't want to get near them..
Ahhh must be Monday the garbos (rubbish collectors) have just been.. they are early this morning...
aren't lizards on the menu in the islands? hopefully you put the bins out last night.
Arvo..not sure about the islands but Goanna is certainly on the menu here and croc..
Yep garbage bins out every Sunday night..
fozzie proof bins?
I haven't eaten either before...
I don't really know how I would feel about eating something that would eat me first if given the chance.
Morning...fozzies are fine they have more sense .
It's the cockies (Cockatoos) that raid bins..they have worked out they are a food source and work together to lift the lid.. cockies can live up to 60 years...
there goes the bird brain myth...
sorry, I forgot the oz slang for snakes...
Awesome birds. So many colors.
Fish are in the 60g cube now. Everything is looking good except the Utroculria Graminifolia has almost all floated out. I will have to find something to replace it that has a bigger root, but I'm not certain what that will be yet.
The 75g has been cleaned and setup for yellow lab cichlids. They are a rock dwelling African fish from Lake Mbuna. This is what I came up with on Sunday. I don't like the mix of rocks so I will be taking out the pagoda stone from the background and replacing it with some more of dark beach stone you see in the foreground.
I just came to the realization that what you are doing is in fact a creative art, and you're really good at it.
Thanks Buzz. Aquascaping follows many of the composition rules I learned in photography. Leading lines, rule of thirds, rule of odds, triangles, golden spiral, contrast and scale all apply to setting up these tanks. These are living works of art that we keep in our homes and they should be pleasant to look at.
cool. my last experience was a futile attempt to make one escape proof. goddam tiger barb eating, albino african frogs...
One always has to have a plan B on hand when it comes to mixing fish types. I like the African dwarf frogs. They look really cool, but they need special attention. I've seen online they need to be live feed and often hand fed. I don't know if I can dedicate that kind of time.
gee, they started off so small. I could never find any of the fish I thought had jumped out, then I watched a frog swallow my last tiger barb whole in a fraction of a second. he finally escaped the tank and was found under the dresser mummified. my plan b was to unload all that stuff on another newbie.
That happens all too often. HA!
Great stuff. I especially like the texture and color layering of the rocks in the bottom one.
Crab apple.
Up close.
First blossoms on the peach tree I put in two summers ago.
Up close.
The garden, not quite done with spring prep yet. There's 4 rows of seed potatoes in there that had already sprouted in the garage. An overnight freeze a few days ago killed the sprouts that were exposed, but I hope they'll come back. That's why I usually never plant stuff this early, but it's been so warm this year that I thought I'd give it a try.
The grass is greening and starting to grow, but the oaks are still dormant.
Front yard. Looks like I'll be mowing soon, at least the clumpy areas. I suppose it's also time to put the bird fountain out again, but I still need to clean it up from last year's use.
Hyacinths around the yard are in full bloom now.
Gotta love spring.
Morning...ahhh Spring everything is green and flowers bloom..
Here at the moment everything is brown and crispy..had three days in a row around 40oC and everything is fried from the roses to the tree fern...we haven't had rain for weeks..
Yikes. That's 104 in Fahrenheit. Hope it gets better for you soon.
And I bet it's bound to get hotter, says me, living in a city known to be one of the three furnaces of China.
Spring, the welcome awakening of nature, wherein you, as the consummate gardener, take such great advantage of it.
Great photos, as always.
Getting the HANG of it.
Male, Red-bellied Woodpecker
© A. Mac/A.G.
hey, how's your pecker hanging? sorry, couldn't resist...
I stand firm on the question.
yeah, ... it was a rhetorical question...
Is that a bird known to be hanging out in places?
Things with Wings
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Butterfly Girl Lamp (© G. Gam)
Incheon International Airport, Seoul (© G. Gam)
Nike: Winged Victory of Samothrace - Louvre Museum, Paris (© G. Gam)
I like that butterfly lamp. And a Louvre photo? Fancy.
I like both the lamp and the sculpture.
I got the lamp many years ago when I was in Houston for work for a few days. I went into an antique shop, although it's not an antique piece, and I knew my wife would love it.
On my trips to Paris I have spent two days during each trip in the Louvre. There is so much to see. Since the trips were two weeks at a time, I went to the Louvre once a week. They opened up a new wing since the last time I was there. I was last in Paris quite a while ago. Our most recent trip to France was only to Provence in the south of France. I want to go back to Paris, but I want to wait until they finish restoring Notre Dame from the devastating fire.
The thing I like about the airport photo is the city skyline in the distance.
yeah, that is a cool perspective...
Well, "You'll always have Paris". I thought they did finish restoring the Notre Dame cathedral.
Not yet. The reopening is scheduled for late 2024...
A worldwide celebration will be in order after Nov 5!
As Him Who Must Not Be Named is utterly defeated.
Thanks for the correction. Maybe it was just the spire that was rebuilt.
I've seen a similar lamp on-line and it was called a fairy lamp with stained glass wings, which may be more accurate than a butterfly girl.
The spire was restored in December 2023. It's my understanding that the opening of the restored cathedral itself is scheduled for December 8th of this year. That will be a great day.
I happened to visit Notre Dame on the 44th anniversary of the liberation of Paris, and they were having a ceremony in the cathedral. The cathedral was filled with World War 2 veterans in uniforms, many of them crying. It was quite an event.
Fairy does seem more fitting. Still, it's pretty either way.
I've never been to France, but I've heard that the 4 most important places to see/visit are the Eiffel Tower, The Louvre, Notre Dame and the Musee D'Orsay.
The gardens at Versailles are a must see, the Eiffel Tower was overrun with vendors trying to sell crap souvenirs when I was last there.
The 4 places you mentioned are absolute must sees. Versailles is very close to Paris and is a definite must see.
One of my favorite places in Paris is the Cluny Museum, which is the National Museum of the Middle Ages. Part of it is a medieval abbey and another part is Roman ruins. It's a smaller museum in the heart of Paris and it has a fantastic collection. This is a link to the Cluny's website:
Paris is full of amazing sights. Just walking the streets for hours is amazing.
There are many wonderful things to see all over France.
Yes, I personally would have added that to the 4 if I had ever gone to Paris. After seeing the movie A Little Chaos, how could I resist?
I guess I would also have wanted to take in some special meals at famous Michelin-rated restaurants. Been all around France - England, Switzerland and Spain, but never France.
So many things that bear wings:
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Some can fly WITHOUT wings...
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Flying without wings, from the James Bond movie Live and Let Die...
This photo was taken today at ''Live Oak Horse Jumping Championship'' in Ocala, FL.
Photograph by ''Red''.
Tell, Red, nice shot!
I definitely will.
traditional, proper, boring. when do they hold the loincloth on bareback at a dead gallop championships?
You need to see Indian Relay Racing, the first Extreme Sport by the greatest light cavalry in history.
that's the first thing I thought of when I saw the picture.
Following the photography rules well - rule of thirds, subject heading INTO the photo, not out of it.
Day two at the Live Oak Horse Show, today is Marathon Day.
Photos by ''Red''
giddy up...
Those photos make me almost feel as if I were there.
Red will be pleased to hear that, Buzz.
Horse and Ostrich Race Mt. Holly New Jersey Fair 1901
Restoration from Magic Lantern Glass Slide
© A. Mac/A.G.
LOL. I wonder who won?
I don't know why but for some reason I'm unable to open that photo - normally I have no problem with your photos.
Try it now.
Thanks, that worked. I once attended an ostrich farm here, and ate an ostrich steak there. It tasted like chicken, but then I read the fortune cookie....
We were in a restaurant in Florence, Italy one night and everyone was ordering the house specialty, which was a huge, thick grilled steak. They looked so delicious, but because there was an epidemic of mad cow disease in Europe at the time my wife, the nurse, insisted I had to have ostrich instead. Blah...
Perhaps you will return and enjoy the work famous Bistecca alla Fiorentina. That t-bone steak comes from a Chianina cow, which is only found in Tuscany. It is grilled over wood and is cut so think it must be shared.
If you make it back, I recommend the Buca Lapi, Via del Trebbio, 1R (near Palazzo Antinori). It’s an older restaurant with frescoes on the walls. You can see the kitchen at work from your table. The beef is perfectly aged and grilled a beautiful medium rare.
Buon appetito
I want to go back to Florence for that, for the Uffizi and for Michelangelo's David in the Accademia.
On the wingin' it theme, from earlier today.
Northern Cardinal.
Chipping Sparrows have returned for the summer...
...but Juncos and White-throated Sparrows are still here. Snowbirds that haven't headed north yet.
A Tufted Titmouse tossed a sunflower seed up in the air just as the shutter snapped, and a Red-bellied Woodpecker.
A not-yet-gold Goldfinch and a Chickadee.
Red Admiral butterfly. I think these can be found everywhere in the world except Australia. Sorry Shona.
Honeybee on hyacinth.
Another one. Check out those full pollen baskets.
Absolutely a great bunch of photos.
Good morning Mr Sunshine..how you brighten up my day..☀️☀️
Is that looking towards what looks like a river or small lake?
Morning..no just looking across a housing estate...the sea is about 3km away from me...I can hear it sometimes but not see it...
Thank you all! Back Thursday night.