Lens-Artists Challenge #394 – History Through the Lens

/ Leya / 5 kommentarer

History plays a big part in all our lives, and John urges us to post some interesting history this week. Please visit his site for wonderful stories and photos!

Some years ago we visited Tjolöholm Castle, which is not very old, but contains a great mix of old and new. In many respects it is a fairytale castle, built 1898-1904 by James Fredrik and Blanche Dickson. In fact it was Blanche who finished it, as her husband died shortly after the plans were ready.

The Dickson family had moved from England and bought Tjolöholm to build a new home. The style is Arts and Crafts, and the whole interior is intact – rather fantastic. The furniture, tapestery and almost everything indoors was bought from Liberty in London – a company that still exists.

The young architect, Lars Israel Wahlman, combined the Tudor style with modernities from the turn of the century such as showers with circularly flowing water, electricity, central heating, and a vaccuum cleaner (so big and heavy that it had to be drawn by horses). The intention was to create a home that was both comfortable and dignified.

Dresses? One made for side saddle and some showing what to make them all stand out – I can imagine how cumbersome it must have been for women to ride – and walk…

Some of the most impressive ideas and rooms were the bathrooms with the special showers. All ordered from Liberty in London – the worksmen as well! I loved the flower room and the children’s room, where the vases and the toys still stood waiting.

The player piano or pianola to the left, is one of the last existing, working pianolas. The many boxes on top of it contains pieces of music for the instrument. The last picture shows the quite elegant vaccuum cleaner…

At the back of the castle waited a wonderful garden, English style of course. Well worth a visit. And it contained one of my favourites – this white thistle – like beauty.

There is a famous history of these flowers as well, Eryngeum giganteum, often called ”Miss Wilmott’s Ghost”. Ellen Ann Willmott (1858-1934) was a trailblazer in the male dominated world of horticulture, she challenged the gender roles and redefined what women could achieve in science and art. She won the Royal Hoticultutral Society’s Victoria Medal of Honour for her work.

The flower then? Well, they say Miss Wilmott used to carry seeds from this plant in her pocket, scattering them secretly in gardens she visited.

Thank you to Sofia for last week’s wonderful Lucky Shots – many smiles and wows! Lucky shots certianly play a big role in what we catch with our lens. Next week, it’s Beth’s turn to host. Be sure to follow her [here] so you don’t miss her challenge that goes live on Saturday at noon Eastern Time.

Thursday Thoughts – Fighting Poachers

/ Leya / 17 kommentarer

On the reserve where we stayed, they had a powerful program to save the rhinos from poachers. According to the ranger who checked them up every day, driving around in her jeep, they had only lost two rhinos the last years, which is amazing. Instead of taking away their horns, they use radioactive isotopes – that do not harm the animal.

Klicka för att komma åt The-Rhisotope-Project.pdf

One of the rhinos was a bastard with a white rhino as the mother and a black rhino as the father. In fact, he is the only one in the world – according to the rangers. As he cannot have any offspring, he might be the last one ever.

On top of this mountain, they raised the orphans – before releasing them into the reserve again. They do not reveal how many rhinos they have in the reserve…which is good.

We were lucky to see quite some of them, both white and black ones, going about their daily chores as well – such as scrubbing their stomach against termite stacks and mud rolling.

Finishing off with the wonderful ranger who had dedicated her whole life to the rhinos, and a phone photo from our guide, taken while passing by our outdoor picnic place…(where we used to sit peacefully at the tables – luckily without rhinos!) Thank you, Conni, for sending me those spectacular shots!

Macro Monday – Golden Orb Spider

/ Leya / 15 kommentarer

I admit it is elegant and beautiful… about 50mm body and at least 50mm legs.

The female is a giant and the male a dwarf in comparison. Several males can sit in the web, waiting for an opportunity to mate. If they move too fast though, they will be her prey instead of her lover.

Leaving a line of waste is done to protect the net from birds flying into it.

Spiders are not my favourite animals, but our ranger’s story made it fascinating. Their bite is harmless and comparable to a bee sting. Their webs are strong enough to stop small birds in mid-flight. The silk is as strong as Kevlar, which is the strongest known man made material.

Lens-Artists Challenge #393 – Lucky Shot

/ Leya / 33 kommentarer

Sophia has a fun challenge in store for us – lucky shots we have saved, either while photographing or while editing. Please go to her lovely site for great inspiration!

When flying in to Victoria Falls, we saw the pillar of water drops rising from the river and falls up in the sky. And, I did not have a window seat… that’s why this photo is such a lucky shot!

Arriving at the gates, we were welcomed by Pumba himself.

I loved the kudus with their big ears and beautiful faces. Back home, at the computer, I found a bird sitting between the ears of this female, naturally there were some sitting on her back too.

Home again, a summer some 7-8 years ago, we had planned ”fika” at this table. But when we got there, it was already taken…

Ten years ago, in our garden, I was lucky enough to catch a series of our neighbour’s cat raiding two magpies’ nests. I could hardly believe my eyes – or my luck! 6 photos show it all.

Finally, an old, well used photo of my favourite dogs. Sweet memories.

Mille and Totti always had fun together – this quick shot, (on the computer) showed young Totti giving a full head blow to his old friend Mille.

With children and animals, you can always get lucky and surprising pictures!

Thank you, Sofia, for a great challenge! And thank you to Patti for enlightening us on the three layers! A good teacher and many excellent answers!

Thursday Thoughts – Birds, birds, birds!

/ Leya / 24 kommentarer

Among the many African treats were the beautiful birds. Here is a collage of: Striated Heron, Hadada ibis, Southern Banded Snake Eagle, Lesser Blue-eared Starling, European Roller, Bee-eaters, Magpie Shrike, Egyptian Goose and Lilac breasted Roller.

The glossy starlings were everywhere – shining beauties. Bee-eaters were also frequent.

I really loved all the birds, for their colours and for them being easily spotted in trees and on twigs on the savanna. I’ll finish with two charming couples that caught my heart:

The Southern Yellow-billed Hornbills (flying bananas according to our ranger…) and the Southern Carmine Bee-eaters. The Hornbills came very close and seemed to seek our company, and the bee-eaters flew through the soft air like sparkling jewels.

April is the month when our migrating birds return to nest. I am looking forward to welcoming them – their nesting boxes are ready for new families! In fact the last two or three years we’ve had bee-eaters too in Skåne, the southernmost part of Sweden. At least something good with the warmer climate.