Friday Night Photos - A Dark Stormy Night edition

It's dark, though not actually stormy,... however it's the only opening gambit I could think of.

With a supply of English cheddar, homemade bread and farm share onions, it's off to make a cracking sandwich.

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Bollox Ref's picture

Lincoln Cathedral

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Gëzuar!!
from a reasonably stable genius.

You have a great shot
of the moon with slip-streaming low clouds skimming past.
What we see in the middle of the night.
Looking up.

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Bollox Ref's picture

@QMS

a few months ago.

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Gëzuar!!
from a reasonably stable genius.

@Bollox Ref

the skies are pretty
I think we've had this conversation before
Again, thanks for sharing your lens.
Your perspective is enchanting.

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dystopian's picture

@Bollox Ref Beautiful shots BR! So they have the moon in Wisconsin too?

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We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein

Bollox Ref's picture

@dystopian

I thought it was just a Minnesota thing. Turns out it's everywhere.

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Gëzuar!!
from a reasonably stable genius.

Socialprogressive's picture

Killer moon shot. Enjoy your cracker sandwich.
A few bird shots taken on Monday at nearby Lindo Lake.
DSC_7517.1

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DSC_7520.1

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DSC_7511.1

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When I offer to wash your back in the shower, all you have to say is yes or no.
Not all this "who are you, and how did you get in here?" nonsense.

@Socialprogressive @Socialprogressive
for real, or is that somehow digitally enhanced?
Almost looks to be too real.
Appreciate your skills.
Thanks

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dystopian's picture

@QMS Hi QMS, it is a male Wood Duck. They nest in tree holes. Many consider it the most beautiful waterfowl in America. However the Harlequin Duck surely gives it a run for the money... Of course females are dull, doesn't pay to show off trying to hide a nest full of eggs.

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We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein

@dystopian

on steroids, or LSD.
Mine eyes aren't that swift anymore.
You are sharp.
From what I see..
Thanks for sharing.

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janis b's picture

@dystopian

a modest looking female and a flashy partner.

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dystopian's picture

@janis b and it pays to not be obvious. You would probably love Phalaropes. Phalaropes are the sexually role-reversed group of birds. They are a type of sandpiper. Three species. Two are high-arctic breeders that winter far at sea! They float. Females have all the beautiful colors, males are dull. Females select the mates, males build the nests, and do all the incubating and rearing of young alone (the opposite of hummingbirds). She just goes around laying eggs in all the best males nests. The female phalaropes are full of testosterone, and the males are full of estrogen. In breeding plumage they are spectacular.

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We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein

janis b's picture

@dystopian

some of your leads, and enjoy the direction and enjoyment they provide. Thank you dystopian.

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janis b's picture

@dystopian

First, the Pelican Ballet

[video:https://youtu.be/lViPmi08gSU]

Now, the Phalarope's Spinning ...

[video:https://youtu.be/lNhbptcfAFc]

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janis b's picture

@Socialprogressive

The duck photo looks like a painting, and the group of egrets look like they're doing a synchronised dance.

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dystopian's picture

@janis b Those are White Pelicans, with their heads under water, and they are very synchronized, grabbing fish. Brown Pelican dives into the water whereas, White Pelis dip, gracefully, in groups, sometimes huge, with incredible synchronicity. Mr youtube has some vids...

SP, hope you don't mind me cutting in... since I was here... great Peli pic too!

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We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein

janis b's picture

@dystopian

I'll check out some of those videos.

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dystopian's picture

@Socialprogressive Fantastic bird photos SP! Wonderful Wood Duck. A lot of places they move into city parks and get tame over the winter, even joining 'bread lines', as do many wild waterfowl. Which is great for photo ops, but for keeping the riff raff out of the frames.

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We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein

magiamma's picture

Great pics. Beautiful birds social. Love the angle on the cathedral Bollox.

Thanks for Friday POT....

This is a picture of a waterfall along the road that winds next to the Columbia River.

waterfall columbia.jpg

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@magiamma

somehow looks feminine
Gushing forth

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janis b's picture

@magiamma

That is a beautiful waterfall photo. I love the simplicity of it in it's lush surroundings of mossy rocks. The colours are subtle and such a perfect backdrop to the falls. Thank you.

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dystopian's picture

@magiamma Love yer waterfall Magi! Gorgeous! Always wanted to do that road... never got there.

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We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein

Socialprogressive's picture

@magiamma

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When I offer to wash your back in the shower, all you have to say is yes or no.
Not all this "who are you, and how did you get in here?" nonsense.

janis b's picture

I really like the composition and quality of light on the stonework of the cathedral. The image looks as if it were taken with b&w film, using a large format camera. It is so sharp and silvery.

Some Sweet Peas ...

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@janis b

great colors
sweet peas

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Bollox Ref's picture

@janis b

was taken with my oldest camera, an Olympus Camedia C-3000Z, which is essentially ancient in digital terms (3.3 megapixels....wow!). But it has a good lens and large sensor, so in the right conditions it can take a good shot. The image is small compared to stuff these days.

Sweet Pea was the name of our cat when I was very small.

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Gëzuar!!
from a reasonably stable genius.

@Bollox Ref

we had a red tabby named pumpkin
good cat
kept the great danes in check

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janis b's picture

@Bollox Ref

Sweet Pea is a great name for a cat and other loved ones!

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dystopian's picture

@janis b amazing sweet peas Janis... great pic... makes me wish I could smell them... They look huge. Are they normal sized flowers, or was it the purple berries I ate?

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We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein

@dystopian
Haven't got sick once
Can you tell me?
Who won

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dystopian's picture

@QMS rofl QMS

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We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein

@dystopian
Wooden ships
free and easy

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janis b's picture

@dystopian

They are normal size blooms. I think the intensity of their colour and your purple berries expand their reality. The intensity of their fragrance matches their colour. It's fragrance fills a large living area, and is a gift from my neighbour who is the most amazing gardener.

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@janis b

somehow, lily's smell like death to me
funeral parlor associations
amazing how colors and fragrance trigger
specific responses / memories
eye / nose mind

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janis b's picture

@QMS

almost nauseating. If the sweet peas where a bigger bunch, they'd come close to being sickly sweet.

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Socialprogressive's picture

@janis b
Very colorful. Thanks,Janis.

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When I offer to wash your back in the shower, all you have to say is yes or no.
Not all this "who are you, and how did you get in here?" nonsense.

janis b's picture

@Socialprogressive

during the cooler times. I've never grown them myself but I've seen them growing in all different zones and hemispheres. The bees love them.

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dystopian's picture

For $1K, what is the most cheezy most used novel intro? It goes with yer sandwich BR. Smile

So fall is here in central Texas. Actually felt like winter in the Arctic this week. This leaf is long gone now... a Mulberry. These make a good tea, young fresh best though.
mlbry110919a.jpg
and then thinkin' of y'all, I went all macro on it...
mlbry110919a-mac.jpg
This is the local wild Cherry, Escarpment Cherry, named for the Balcones Escarpment it lives around. They are bitter as they are cherry, actually quite good if you like bitters.
A week ago at the annual craft fair in the square got some of this cherry jelly from one of the Grannies in town I can't wait to try. Opened the dewberry first.
escarp-cherry101319a.jpg
The Bald Cypress turn a nice rusty color, for a day or two on their way to brown.
cypress111019e.jpg
This is the Frio River, at Garner St. Pk., the next canyon west of us. Before the Cypress starting turning a couple weeks ago.
Frio102719b.jpg

Thanks for all the great posts all over the site everyone...

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We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein

janis b's picture

@dystopian

environments. Thank you for showing me what they look like briefly in the fall.

Is that white lightning bolt in the mulberry leaf a crack? Can you describe the taste of the leaves?

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@janis b

white lightning thru the crack

used to roller skate to this

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janis b's picture

@QMS

blissfully skating away to some seriously goofy music ; ).

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dystopian's picture

@janis b the funny thing is that every year, right when they go yellow and drop, the horses and deer show up and eat the dickens out of them. So there must be something in them they know, want, and need because they are on them like a duck on a june bug when they fall.

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We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein

janis b's picture

@dystopian

The first info that came up for 'beneficial properties of mulberry leaves' was lowering blood pressure and blood sugar. What can you imagine causes high blood pressure or sugar levels in deer and horse? Do you think it was always so, and that mulberry was naturally a significant part of their diet, or is it a more recent dietary necessity? Nature is so fucked up, it's sometimes hard to know what's natural, and what behaviour is reflective of unnatural circumstances. Anyway, I'm glad there are mulberry leaves to provide sustenance to compromised animals.

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@janis b
saw a couple deer with BP cuffs
checking out their pulse
in the shade of a mulberry tree
wondering how many leaves
to munch I guess?

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janis b's picture

@QMS

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dystopian's picture

@janis b final answer for all the dough...

What can you imagine causes high blood pressure or sugar levels in deer and horse?

The males. It is rutting season for the deer now, the bucks are chasing the does around. The corral next to us is hundreds of acres with maybe 25 brood mares and one stud driving the poor mares crazy. I would guess there is some nutrient in it they want. There are a hundred species of wildflower I have ID'd in my yard, surely they all grow over there, and when these leaves fall, they all go get some.

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We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein

dystopian's picture

@janis b I was trying to get the sun to 'star' through that crack in the leaf...but couldn't make it happen.

The Mulberry leaf tea tastes decidedly, distinctly, absolutely berry. A more herbal and less sweet version than the fruit, but with that same very berry note, and a strong finish. My understanding is that always the fresh 'this years' new growth is what is best for teas, in general. But we grab late 'last' leaves to dry and store for the winter. It makes very good herb tea. My wife loves it.

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We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein

janis b's picture

@dystopian

It was a little odd seeing what looks like a blackberry growing on a tree. I see that they also grow in many places in NZ, but I've never come across the berries myself. Just from the visuals, I can imagine a kind of tart berry flavour, well matched with a sweet mousse or ice cream of some kind, or simply picked off the branch. Thanks d.

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dystopian's picture

@janis b ... They are sweet sweet when ripe, very like Blackberries. The trees can be male, female, or both. There was a childs rhyme when I was a kid (dinosaurs still roamed) that had a line about 'ring around the Mulberry bush'. They are ripe in late April to early May here, you have to fight squirrels for them... The pigs here eat them of course when enough to fall... with their pecans, makes 'em tasty.

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We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein

Socialprogressive's picture

@dystopian I really like the last shot of the Frio River.

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When I offer to wash your back in the shower, all you have to say is yes or no.
Not all this "who are you, and how did you get in here?" nonsense.

lotlizard's picture

I associate a certain kind of coldish weather in Amsterdam with the time window in fall and spring when the Eurasian coots come through.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurasian_coot

For some reason I have an emotional reaction to them as sort of the “punk rockers” among waterfowl, ungainly and raucous. Severe black plumage, with just a dab of white.

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orlbucfan's picture

these threads. Thanks! Rec'd!!

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Inner and Outer Space: the Final Frontiers.