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worlld · 4 years

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TOP 10 most unusual places in the world, as if from another planet

Looking at these photos, it is difficult to imagine that everything that is depicted in them is a creation of nature and is located on our planet.

1. Pamukkale, Turkey

Pamukkale is consistently present in numerous ratings of the most beautiful places on Earth, and this is absolutely deserved. This is a series of thermal springs, intricately carved "steps" in the snow-white limestone slope. Today, not only travelers who want to see the miracle of nature come here, but also those whose goal is health improvement, and they gladly immerse themselves in shallow travertines. Among the open for swimming, one of the most popular is the Cleopatra Pool.

2. Waitomo Caves, New Zealand

The Waitomo Caves in the Waikato region of New Zealand are quite interesting in themselves: here you can observe intricate limestone outgrowths and bizarre passages created many centuries ago. But what makes them truly unique and worth seeing are the "inhabitants" of the Firefly Cave. These are thousands of mushroom mosquitoes, which, accumulating on its vaults, create the effect of a "starry sky".

3. Fly Geyser, USA

The American Artificial Geyser Fly would be more correctly called a permanent thermal spring, because one of the signs of a geyser is inconstancy. It appeared as a result of human activity.

Once upon a time, a well was drilled at this place, after it ceased to function, natural reactions began underground, which led to the formation of this miracle.

4. Colorful dunes in Lassen Park, USA

And this multi-colored geological formation has long ago earned the fame of an unearthly and one of the most beautiful places in the world. The dunes are located at the cone of an ancient dormant volcano in the Lassen National Park.

Their unusual colors appeared due to the oxidation of ash, which settled directly on the lava flows during the eruption.

5. Glowing water in the Maldives

The most amazing places in the world can be found in popular vacation spots, the main thing is to know where and when to look. Maldives is a heavenly place, but you may not have known about one of its facets yet. In the Maldives, a unique "starry sky" appears right in the ocean! This is due to the luminescent plankton inhabiting the waters off Vaadhoo Island. An incredible place!

Usually it starts to glow at certain stressful moments, for example, during the surf and, of course, at night. But keep in mind that it is better to refrain from bathing at this time, because phytoplankton can release toxic substances.

6. Son Dong cave , Vietnam

Located in the Vietnamese province of Quang Binh, Son Dong Cave is considered the largest in the world. Here you can see passages up to 200 meters high and up to 150 meters wide. In addition, travelers are delighted with the underground river, as well as the plants under the holes in the vaults of the cave, because of which sunlight breaks through. For a look at the cave, head to Fong Nya Kebang National Park.

7. Lake Retba, Senegal

Going to Senegal, you should understand that there are so many colorful sights that you will hardly be able to visit everything at once. But what is definitely worth your attention is the mysterious "pink lake" - Retba - one of the most beautiful places on Earth. It looks like a picture from a children's book - snow-white shores and pink water. The oldest cyanobacteria living in the salt lake are responsible for such an unusual color.

Getting there is quite simple: the lake is located just 30 km from the local capital, Dakar. The city will certainly offer you a taxi service; trips to this attraction are incredibly popular.

8.Saline de Uyuni, Bolivia

Listing the most unusual places in the world, one cannot but recall the Salar de Uyuni. The natural gem of Bolivia, Uyuni is a salt marsh, that is, a dried up salt lake. It becomes a real miracle of nature during the rainy season. By being covered with a thin layer of water, the salty surface turns into the largest natural mirror in the world. On a fine day, this "mirror" reflects the clear Bolivian sky - the perfect backdrop for a photo.

The locals claim that the best time to visit the salt marsh is February, but in autumn and spring this unique place is also very beautiful.

9. Giants Causeway, Ireland

This Irish landmark also emerged from volcanic interference. Thanks to an eruption that took place many centuries ago, 40,000 basalt columns appeared here, going into the sea, like steps for a real giant himself.

In addition to walking along the columns, it will also be interesting to climb up and observe the picturesque panorama. In addition, there is an opportunity to rent (or come on an already rented) bicycle and ride along a well-equipped route in the vicinity.

10.Dragon trees on Socotra island, Yemen

If at heart you are Indiana Jones, who loves unexplored lands, you are on your way to one of the most unusual places in Yemen - Soctor Island. The reason for the fancy trees growing here is the bright red sap secreted. By making an incision in the bark, you can see how the Dragon Tree begins to bleed.

Previously, there were quite a few such trees (sometimes thousands of years old) in the Canary Islands, but due to the active collection of valuable red resin, their number has significantly decreased. You can still see the small grove in Yemen.

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pleckthaniel · 4 years

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some maps for hoar frost, my warriors fanclan story in development

more info under the cut:

Neutral Locations (claimed by no Clan)

1. Salmon’s Den Pond. Home to moonlight gatherings and any diplomatic talks.

2. Poplar Grove. The main point of connection to StarClan, and the meeting place for the medicine cats’ half-moon meetings. A place of magic.

3. Skyview Cliffside. Home to daylight gatherings and friendly inter-Clan competitions.

4. Man’s Place. A fishing town, known to Man as Copper Landing.

RainClan Territory (encompassing most of the wooded foothills of Copper Mountain)

5. RainClan’s camp.

6. Outlook Rook. An outcropping uniquely positioned to give a cat a view all the way to the sea. Useful for watching borders from afar.

7. Training hollow. Legend says the mountain stream used to pool here, creating a treeless area, before changing course many years ago.

8. Snowmelt Pond. A great source of fish.

FenClan Territory (encompassing most of the salt marsh along the coast of the ocean)

9. FenClan’s spring/summer camp. A relatively dry patch of land which resists most floods.

10. FenClan’s fall/winter camp. Made up of natural burrows in the salt marsh which are useful for storing prey and keeping warm in winter, but which flood with the thaw.

11. Blight’s Antlers. Legend says this hunk of driftwood, half-embedded in the marshy dirt, was once only a small chunk of a massive elk’s antlers.

12. The Beach. A useful place for finding clams, fish, and seabirds. Watch out for coastal bears.

13. Pakak’s Cabin. The once-home of a Man who hunted and lived away from the other Men. Now abandoned.

14. Karst Caves. A place of connection to the world of spirits and magic. StarClan can be found here, but so can many other mysterious things. Sometimes used as a place of burial.

15. I accidentally skipped this number because I was labeling this map at 12am whoops :P

MistClan Territory (encompassing most of the tundra plains below Copper Mountain’s foothills)

16. MistClan’s camp.

17. The Hot Springs. In winter, when most of this territory is turned into a snowfield, the hot springs produce the mist for which this Clan is named.

18. The Reaching Elm. A singular elm which has managed to dig its roots into the tundra. A sprawling, but empty warren stretches underneath. Commonly hosts secret caches, covert meetings and silent prayers.

19. Foxes’ Den. The usual spot for local foxes to raise their young in springtime. Beware if you come too near.

Other Notes

These Clans’ conception of StarClan is a bit unique. To them, StarClan is only a small part of the world’s overall magic, and StarClan enjoys only a small amount of the total power of the spirit world. The other major aspects of the spirit world which they show respect to are the Great Bear, the poplar trees, and Copper Mountain itself. All of these are visible in the night sky in some way, similarly to StarClan - the Great Bear is seen as a constellation, the aurora borealis represent the poplars, and the mountain itself literally blocks out a part of the night sky in these cats’ view.

Therefore, going past the outer edge of RainClan’s territory and further up the mountain is strictly forbidden, as it is essentially trespassing on the territory of the spirits. Visiting the poplar grove is permitted, but only for medicine cats, who have the ability to withstand and control poplar magic, and their guests, who are protected by the medicine cats. Finally, the karst cave is permitted for any cat to visit if they need spiritual guidance, but generally apprentices are discouraged from doing so because cats who visit the caves often return changed due to the strange nature of the visions the karst caves grant as guidance.

These cats also have a unique relationship to their local ecology and to mankind. Feral cats are not native to the local ecosystem, and their arrival is relatively recent. These Clans are quite aware of that and actively cultivate a good relationship with the local environment. They have stringent laws against overhunting and storing too much food, and give any animal they don’t hunt a wide berth. They also hold a much higher respect for mankind than the canon Clans, although they have no wish to live among them, they acknowledge that they owe their existence to mankind and hold no grudges against those who do live with them. Because of this, kittypets are usually treated with friendliness and are allowed to come and go as they please, so long as they obey the Clans’ hunting and caching laws.

#hoar frost #warrior cats #wc #warrior cats fanclan #wc fanclan #scout.png #scout.txt #scout talks

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pghbabesonbikes · 5 years

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Frigid Bitch 2019 Results

Frigid Bitch - back for year 6!

Continuing tradition as probably the biggest ladies/non-binary bike race in the universe with over 100 riders, this year’s Frigid Bitch expanded with first-time-ever-offered pre-registration and MORE PODIUMS. Held at Threadbare Cider in Spring Garden, at 10am on Saturday, February 16th, 2019, racers started flooding in to stock up on gear, check out the competition, and pick up their maps & manifests.

As always, there is a one hour window for racers to frantically plan their routes, forge alliances, and make friends. A few local ladies’ racing teams showed up in force, and some veteran Frigid Bitch ride-or-die gangs side-eyed up their matching kits and focused efficiency with determined fuck-it, let’s-do-this attitudes. New racers met riding partners on-site, and a handful of volunteers showed up to take in the crowd before heading out to their no-longer-secret positions.

A quarter to go-time, everyone was hustled outside to unlock their steeds and gear up for the start line.

THE CHECKPOINTS

Grandview Overlook Every year, for the out-of-towners, suburb queens, commuters who never stray from the beaten track - there’s always one checkpoint that everybody knows how to get to. Not that we’d make it easy! Pittsburgh’s famous overlook is a slag up Mt Washington, and with the main thru way closed, racers had to either bump it up via shattered sidewalks, or find away around. Volunteers were ready with a toast at the top!

Fineview Overlook In a city of hills and bridges you’re gonna have a lot of overlooks … Grandview’s much lesser known cousin on the Northside had racers figuring out how to find their way above the ballfield. Anyone who actually followed the map to this checkpoint found themselves climbing one of the toughest Dirty Dozen Hills….oh, did we do that? Whoops!

Herr’s Island Keep following the map in the other direction, and it’d take you down Rialto St (another Dirty Dozen Hill! Who drew this?!) and across the 30th St Bridge to Herr’s Island, haven of local crew teams and isolated Pgh elite. Everyone knows it’s there; most cyclists have zero reason to ever trek over. On the far end of the island, through some woods & down some steps to a gravel lot in a crumbling wall, volunteers were waiting with a camp fire to check off numbers of the racers who hiked-a-bike or threw down and hustled on foot.

5 Points Speaking of hike-a-biking, the furthest checkpoint from the start was tucked away in Pgh’s mountain biking mecca, Frick Park. There’s only one spot in the woods where 5 trails spike together in a star formations, colloquially known as…. FIVE POINTS!!! Entering the trail from Beechwood Blvd in Squirrel Hill, anyone who made it this far had to off-road their ride down dirt paths and over exposed roots. But hey, there was hot chocolate at the bottom!

Murray Hill Not far from 5 points, Murray Hill Ave gave everyone the opportunity to experience off- roading on a one of the most quintessential Pgh urban this-is-actually-still-a-road terrains (second only to massive potholes): brutally steep cobbles!

Iron Eden Metal Works Oh, but there were potholes. Snaking the back way up & down bombed-out Sassafras St, nestled in the shadows of the Bloomfield Bridge, lies a two-tiered & strange-looking structure. ~By night!~ a times-past underground venue in the woods, ~by day!~ a rustbelt relic: Iron Eden!

Bonus checkpoint feature: ~ * g l a m o u r s h o t s * ~

The Hot Metal Bridge It’s a classic. Need we say more?

The Boob Mausoleum Probably the most infamous tomb in the Allegheny Cemetery, the WHITE mausoleum features a bafflingly intense commitment to full-blown Egyptian theme&decor. Stationed just outside the crypt’s brass-cast pillar-flanked doors, 2 ~prominent~ sphinxes stand guard over the venerable (?) White family portal. Stationed just outside the sphinxes….Frigid Bitch BEACH PARTY!!

Mohawk St Finally, last in line but top of the list as far as checkpoint shenanigans go; bomb down Fifth Ave from Pitt campus and right before you hit the Birmingham Bridge, there’s a set of city steps that ascend into the woods of West Oakland. They spit out at Landslide Community Farms and a pink jersey barrier where volunteers waited with a camp fire* and a case of PBR. They’d set up a beer chute along the top of the stairs and stood in suspense while racers ran up the steps, not taking the bait. Finally, the vet bitch gang of Alex K, Katherine J and Frankie M threw their bikes over their shoulders, rushed the chute, grabbed a beer, cracked it with their teeth and chugged on the way up.

*if you missed the campfire, it’s because the fire dept showed up to put it out. See? Shenanigans!

Once the clock struck 2, everyone had 1 hour to race back to Threadbare. Bikes were slammed into the temp parking, road shoes clacked across the parking lot, the doors were thrown over and spoke card numbers hollered at the waiting table-side officials.

P A R T Y T I M E

Pizza was eaten, cider was drunk, war stories were exchanged! Multi-year Bitch Queen Elise R regaled audiences with a story that started as a complaint that she couldn’t run any red lights on the North Side because there were too many cops around, then perked up with details about bombing down towards an intersection from Mohawk, where a white SUV veered into the corner of the intersection, blocking traffic for Elise & her crew to blast their way through, waved them past and yelled “YEAH FRIGID BITCH!!!”

Podiums

For the first time, the Frigid Bitch podium split into multiple categories. Singlespeed, Mountain Bike, Masters, and Out-Of-Town were added in addition to the all-encompassing Women & Nonbinary Open Field. Check back next year; more are comin!

Fixed/Singlespeed 1. Alexandra Korshin 2. Rachel Thompson

Masters 1. Louanna Bailey 2. Frankie Montenegro 3. Kelly Haderly 4. Monica VanDieran 5. Jen Damon 6. Suz Falvey

7. Christa Ross 8. Stacie Truszkowski 9. Barbara Jensen 10. Sarah Crawford 11. Simone Riddle 12. Suzanne Kinsky 13. Athena Marsh 14. Cynthia Billisits 15. Suzie Silver 16. Heather Mccracken 17. Jolynn Gibson 18. Kelli Jones 19. Dorothy Voelker

Mountain Bike 1. Suz Falvey 2. Vincent Zeng 3. Nikki Turner

Out Of Town 1. Jane Hodge 2. Caitlin Woodson 3. Sara Khalil Open Field Results! 1. Elise Rowe #10 2. Shaena Ulissi #18 3. Caryn Willis #73 4. Anna Bieberdorf #114 5. Katie Webber-Plank #93 6. Julie Grove #91

7. Louanna Baily #15 8. Lydia Yoder #50 9. Lindsay Dill #28 10. Alyssa Crawford #62

11. Jessie Appleman #87 12. Ania Jaroszewicz #6 13. Amy Wincek #111 14. Emily Palmer #54 15. LaurynStalter #79 16. Mary-Wren Ritchie #86 17. Alexandra Korshin #69 18. Frankie Montenegro #44 19. Katharine Jordan #78 20. Lan Tran #89 21. Naomi Anderson #107 22. Alexandria Shewczyk #29 23. Jaime Martina #26

24. Megan Andrews #43 25. Cansu Ozen #39 26. Sara Horsey #75 27. Shequaya Bailey #7 28. Kelly Haderly #84 29. Megan Sybeldon #46 30. Allison Glick #104 31. Acadia Klain #37 32. Robyn Brewer #34 33. Anna Barensfeld #52 34. Kelsey Kradel #83 35. Monica VanDieren #4

36. Jen Damon #80 37. Suz Falvey #88 38. Christa Ross #82 39. StacieTruszkowski #102 40. Greta Daniels #60 41. Elizabeth Salesky #33 42. Barbara Jensen #41 43. Sara Madden #92 44. Vanessa Jameson #110 45. Jane Hodge #112 46. Sarah Crawford #90 47. Rachel Dingfelder #59

48. Mary Kate Minnick #27 49. Caitlin Woodson #13 50. Simone Riddle #64 51. Sara Khalil #94 52. Suzanne Kinsky #71 53. Taylor Wescott #35 54. Kathleen Blackburn #49 55. Athena Marsh #57 56. Riesa Lirette #14 57. Vincent Zeng #32 58. Anna Faber #47 59. Erin Potts #51 60. Molly Orzechowski #666 61. Jenna DeVivo #23 62. Laura Watson #99 63. Ngani Ndimbie #108 64. Rachel Thompson #113 65. Alexandra Falk #81 66. Cynthia Billisits #48

67. Sarah Martin #97 68. Laura Everhart #53 69. Bonnie Weibel #61 70. Mary Jackson #65 71. Leah Nicolich #103 72. Charlie Eddington #106 73. Catherine Armbruster #42 74. Paula Zamora #16 75. Ramona Stanley #38 76. Morgan Sulik #21 77. Anusha Simha #119 78. Yvette Aban #58 79. Hwa Han #63 80. Sarah Scherk #101 81. Hayes Indigo #1

82. Milo Spiders #100 83. Jenna Geiman #22 84. Hannah Berg #31 85. Suzie Silver #56 86. Julie Mallis #36 87. Morgan Tunstall #30 88. Heather McCracken #45 89. Shannon Frishkorn #115 90. Jamie Parke #66 91. Kate Bechak #105 92. Jaclyn Sternick #74 93. Jolynn Gibson #40 94. Maureen Duncan #9 95. Kelli Jones #12 96. Sarah Pearman #96 97. Lauren McKenna #17 98. Jennifer Ross #20 99. Kimberly Garrett #98 100. Chen Li #55 101. Rachel Shockey #25 102. NickyTurner #95 103. HEather McClain #109 104. Emily Voelker #24 105. Nicole Toney #68 106. Jenny Bender #67 107. Shelby Schmidt #72 108. Dorothy Voelker #19 109. Elizabeth LeDonne #77

Prizes

Were there enough prizes to go around? Were people bugging the f out over how awesome they were? We’ll let these photos speak for themselves.

The Best Part

The Frigid Bitch has always been a race to promote empowerment in the cycling community, to show that underrepresented groups of people can kick just as much ass as the status quo, and to support organizations that in turn provide for others in need. To that end, funds raised via registration fees and anonymous pledges have always been given to the Greater Pittsburgh Women’s Center & Shelter. Over the past year, another organization has provided immeasurable support for the founders of the Frigid Bitch in their hour of need. This year’s race raised $730 for the Women’s Shelter and $400 for the Women’s Law Project. It couldn’t be done without the support of our racers & our community.

THANK YOU for another great year! To all of our sponsors, who are solely responsible for the joy fest you just witnessed above! To all my lovely volunteers, without whom this race would never get off the ground, and who pull out all the stops to make this the funnest goddamn alleycat in the whole universe. Thank you to my photographers, without you no one would ever know how fucking awesome this event is! Thank you to my little brother, who always finds the time to churn out another amazing race flyer! THANK YOU TO MY TEAM OF LADIES who helped me throw this race! Without you, Frigid Bitch #5 would have been the last of its kind! Thank you Di-ay, Elise #1 & Elise #2, Kat, Mattie, & Kaylin! Thank you Pittsburgh for being the only city I’d ever wish to be from! I’LL BE BACK!

SEE YOU NEXT YEAR!

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cardiffhistory · 7 years

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Spotlight: Danescourt Estate

In the northwest corner of Cardiff, sandwiched between Llandaff and Radyr, sits Danescourt. This 1970s development of c.1,200 houses has at its heart a thirteenth century church, a fifteenth century manor house and, for some inexplicable reason, a postbox dating back to King George V. Anachronistic postboxes aside, there is a surprising amount of history for an estate which is just 40 years old...

Origin of the name

As previously covered ‘Danescourt’ is an amalgamation of the names of two properties which predate the estate. “Danes” refers to Danesbrook House, a private dwelling built during the Edwardian period and later extended and converted into a private nursing home, while “Court” refers to Radyr Court House (after which the nearby Radyr Court Road is named).

Radyr Court

In the 12th Century to the west of St John’s Church (on what is now Heol Aradur) stood a house called Radyr Isha (Lower Radyr), it had passed into the Mathew family in the 1450s through the marriage of Thomas Mathew (3rd son of Sir David Mathew, Standard Bearer of England under King Edward IV during the Wars of the Roses) to Catherine Ferch Morgan (daughter of Welsh nobleman Morgan Ap Llewellyn and heiress of Radyr). The marriage elevated the Mathew family so significantly that they felt it necessary to replace their grand Radyr Isha property with a larger and far grander manor house.

The new home (known as Cwrt Radur, or Radyr Court) was constructed at about 1469 to the east of St John’s Church alongside an existing track which led to a ford at the River Taff. The property was said to be a grand manor house, similar in size and style to that of the ‘Van House’ in Caerphilly built several years earlier. Radyr Isha had been left to ruin, as noted by Rhys Meurig in the 16th century:

“ye manor house by the west of ye church, sometime ye house of Morgan Llew ap Jeban, now decay'd"

In subsequent years the derelict house would be removed in its entirety (foundations and all) by David’s grandson Sir George Mathew to make way for a large deer park. Deer were seen a status symbol in Tudor times, but this unnecessary extravagance would signal the beginning of the end for the Mathew dynasty.

Creation of the deer park required the eviction of several tenant farmers in the manor, this loss of potential income coupled with the high cost of looking after a herd of deer led to significant financial problems. George’s eldest son William attempted to revive his family’s fortune by investing in the Pentyrch Iron Works. By 1625, with crippling debts and very little income, Captain George Mathew was forced to sell what remained of the estate to the Lewis family of Caerphilly ending nearly 200 years of the Mathew family’s reign in Radyr.

By 1830 a large portion of Radyr Court had to be demolished after being ravaged by fire. The remaining wings of the house were renovated and converted into a farmhouse. It remained as a working farm until the 1970s (top picture) when council planners purchased the surrounding lands and set about creating a new estate to satisfy the needs of the expanding city. By 1979 the farmhouse had been extensively renovated and reopened as a pub known as The Radyr Court.

The pub has changed hands a number of times in 40 years and undergone several transformations, including a stint between 2003 and 2013 where the upstairs became an Indian restaurant. The current incarnation is viewed as more of a restaurant than a pub and is owned by three local men who saved it from closure in 2013. It officially reopened in 2015 after an extensive (and no doubt expensive) refurbishment, with a new logo featuring a deer and the year ‘1469′ in reference to the history of the building.

Radyr Chain

In Tudor times the responsibility for maintaining the local road network was that of the Parish. Each parishioner was duty-bound to do one week (6 days) unpaid work on the roads (although records from the time suggest payment in the form of free ale may have been given). As traffic on the roads increased, and parishioners were less willing to give up their free time, it was necessary for the parish to use paid labour. By the 1770s it became apparent that the present system was unsustainable and before the end of the century major roads in the county became turnpikes (an early name for a toll road). The concept worked in much the same way that modern toll roads do where an appointed trust takes control of a section of road and charges road users for using that particular section; the fees collected would then be used for repairs and maintenance.

The main road from Llandaff to Capel Llanilltern (modern day Llantrisant Road) became a turnpike and was operated for profit by the Cardiff Turnpike Trust. A toll booth was built at the junction of modern day Waterhall Road, but road users soon realised they could bypass this toll by instead travelling via Llandaff Bridge and using nearby Radyr Court Road. In a bid to combat this, the Trust installed a chain across the road which was only lowered on receipt of payment. This led to the area being referred to as "Radyr Chain".

One known operator at the Radyr Chain toll booth was an elderly woman by the name of Rachel, also known as "Rachel of the Chain". Little is known of Rachel, though she is mentioned in this 1895 account by the Reverend William David, Rector Of St Fagans:

“Rachel, of the Chain, who lived alone in a comical little cabin about nine or ten feet square which stood at the corner of the adjacent crossroads, where she kept charge of a chain stretched across the road and lowered only on payment of toll by any traveller.”

The turnpikes were never popular, particularly with vendors living north of Radyr wishing to sell their wares in Cardiff. The hostility eventually turned to rioting in the 1840s, and by 1851 the turnpike trusts throughout South Wales were disbanded. Responsibility for the roads initially passed to a Llandaff Highways Board before eventually coming under the jurisdiction of the newly formed Glamorgan County Council in 1888.

With the former turnpikes now in the hands of the local Government, money for road maintenance was collected through taxes instead of individual tolls. This rendered the toll houses surplus to requirements and across the county they were demolished or sold off. Although Radyr Chain had been suggested for demolition in 1864 (and again in 1865) to facilitate the widening of the turnpike road, it is known to still be in place in 1879 as a local government report commented on the poor sanitary conditions and lack of running water at the building. The toll house had certainly been demolished by the early 1890s, and within 10 years the site had been redeveloped and the modern day “Radyr Chain” house (pictured) and lodge house were built.

The tree around which the chain was connected is believed to have been removed when construction of Danescourt began in the 1970s, the stump now sits in the foyer of the the Church Hall in Danescourt.

Surprising street names

Modern housing estates are usually littered with bland street names typically named after arbitrary items such as trees or plants (Pontprennau's Blackberry Way, Greenacre Drive and Acorn Grove immediately spring to mind!). When choosing the names of Danescourt's streets the planners appear to have consulted the history books for some rather more interesting and relevant names.

Radyr Court Road remains in situ (although the section leading north from the Taff through to Llantrisant Road is almost entirely pedestrianised) and off it you can find Mathew Walk (a reference to the Mathew family), Rachel Close (widely believed to be a reference to Rachel of the Chain) and Cadoc Place (an Anglicisation of the Saint Catwg).

Further afield at least 17 of the streets are named after former Deans, Archdeacons and Bishops of Llandaff, the first of which was a cleric by the name of Urban (a Latinised version of his birth name "Gwrgan") who is said to have established the Diocese of Llandaff and served as it's first Bishop in 1107 until his death in 1134. His name lives on as Heol Urban ("Heol" means "Road"). Heol Urban leads to three cul-de-sacs which are also named after former clergymen; Lynch Blosse Close (after Henry Lynch Blosse who served as Archdeacon from 1859 - 1877 and Dean until 1879) Bruce Knight Close (after William Bruce Knight who was Dean between 1843 and 1845 before becoming Chancellor) and Marshall Close (believed to be after John Marshall, Bishop between 1478 and 1496). Elsewhere in the estate the surnames of former Bishops William da Braose (1266-1287), Robert Holgate (1537-1545), Francis Godwin, (1601-1617), Charles Sumner (1826-1827) and Alfred Ollivant (1849-1882) are used as prefixes for the word "Close", as is that of James Rice Buckley the Archdeacon from 1913 - 1924 who has his own statue on the Cathedral Green in Llandaff (pictured).

Other streets named after former Bishops include Richard Lewis Close (1883-1905), Timothy Rees Close (1931-1939), Blethin Close (Anglicised version of William Blethyn, 1575-1590), Herbert March Close (a mis-spelling of Herbert Marsh, 1816-1819) and Hugh's Close (a fairly common name, but believed to be in reference to Hugh Jones, Bishop from 1567-1574). John Morgan Close (1939-1957) and Glyn Simon Close (1957-1971) are particularly significant as they both served as Bishop of Llandaff before becoming Archbishop of Wales.

In addition to the wider Diocese of Llandaff, a number of the streets are named after people who have made a contribution to Llandaff Cathedral. John Prichard and John Pollard Seddon, the Victorian Architects charged with restoring the Cathedral in the late 19th Century, are immortalised by the street names Heol Seddon and Pritchard Close (another spelling mistake). Jasper Close is named after Jasper Tudor who designed and helped fund the northwest tower of the Cathedral in the 14th Century, while Pace Close is named in reference to George Pace who helped restore the Cathedral in the 1950s following significant damage during World War II.

Other streets are named after artists and sculptors who have created significant pieces of artwork for the Cathedral, including:

Burne Jones Close: after Edward Burne-Jones, artist (Six Days of Creation, c.1893)

Edward Clarke Close: after Edward Clarke, stonemason (Trinity Corbel, 19th C.)

Epstein Close: after Sir Jacob Epstein, artist (Christ in Majesty, 1954)

Piper Close: after John Piper, artist (stained glass window "The Supper at Emmaus" 1959)

Roper Close: after Frank Roper, sculptor (Flowers of the Virgin Mary, 1964)

Rossetti Close: after Dante Gabriel Rossetti, artist (The Seed of David, 1864)

Wyon Close: after Allan G. Wyon, engraver (life size Brass of Timothy Rees)

The artists Thomas Woolner (Moses Before the Glory of God, 1860) and Alan Durst (Scenes From the Bible and the Life of St Teilo, 1952) have also been honoured with street names, but like many in the area they have both been spelt incorrectly as Woolmer Close and Allan Durst Close.

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warriorsredux · 7 years

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Trippy to get three of these in such a short span of time. Anyway, pictures/descriptions are under the cut! Bear in mind that these aren’t perfectly exact (most of them aren’t, anyway). I got as fitting images as I could.

ThunderClan: I tried to stay as close to the original New Forest park as possible, given that it was the original inspiration for the forest territories. The territory is pretty big with plenty of ridges and flat areas. There’s plenty of tree roots risen out of the ground from the cats digging to place bodies under them. And there’s a lot of underbrush, fallen branches, and leaves on the ground. Here’s the closest image I could get to the Clan camp - it’s a hollow surrounded by bushes and fallen trees.

RiverClan: RiverClan’s just the stereotypical pretty English countryside. There’s a house on the border, and the area itself is flat enough that flooding can become a problem. The trees and bushes are spaced out in clusters, and while the river’s shallow in one or two places, overall it’s deep enough for a human to swim across. If you remove the trees, the gorge in the north is about this size - an athletic human could make the leap, but no cat would attempt it. Their camp is near the house in a grove of trees.

WindClan: WindClan’s camp looks pretty much exactly the same as canon, so I don’t think much needs to be elaborated on there. The territory in general is pretty simple, but here’s a few images anyways. I honestly don’t have much to say here. They’ve got the plainest territory by far, so I don’t think it requires too much explanation.

ShadowClan: Somewhere between a moor and a marsh (but mostly a marsh as far as the main territory is concerned). Everything’s generally moist, but only in the spring and winter does it turn into a wetland. There’s only a few mounds where the cats can get away from the water. The camp, which is basically a large, prickly bush, is one of those places.

Hopefully this was a helpful response!

#i had to be so careful looking up bushes #ask #anonymous #readmore #territories #i speak

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seniorbrief · 6 years

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The Most Spectacular Sunset from Every State

The Most Spectacular Sunset from Every State | Reader’s Digest

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Nebraska

Courtesy Cathy Bruha

“I was lucky to have the opportunity to observe this little fox family from across a canal in our area (rural central Nebraska) for a couple of months a few summers ago. I enjoyed watching them grow and hunt and play. This evening shot was one of the last times I saw them before they disbanded towards the end of summer. We have seen a couple of them briefly since, but none of them returned to the same den.” — Cathy Bruha

Nevada

Johnny Adolphson/Shutterstock

Cactus flowers help this springtime sunset shine in the Nevada desert. Don’t miss the most stunning desert escapes around the country.

New Hampshire

Courtesy Lydia Williams

“The gorgeous sunset on the hay wagon on Wagon Hill in Durham, NH was a beautiful eye catcher. In the winter, children sled down the hill. But this summer sight was so spectacular.” — Lydia Williams

New Jersey

Courtesy Janet Klecz

“This is the vast salt marsh estuary that makes up a large part of the south Jersey topography. It teems with life; mammals, shellfish, and birds. Butterflies, lightning bugs, and frogs. Fish, turtles, and snakes. I captured this photo just between sunset and the rise of the transparent new sugar moon. It is a full briny smelling flood tide, with no breeze at all. This was a very tranquil moment. The entire marsh begins to sing, as unseen creatures awaken to compose new music in the moonlight.” — Janet Klecz

New Mexico

Dean Fikar/Shutterstock

The Red Rocks area of northern New Mexico is home to some of the most marvelous sunsets in the state.

New York

Courtesy Marisa Wiedl

“This photo was shot after a major rain storm this summer. The landscape can change very quickly in upstate New York as summer storms move in, but the good news is they end with lots of rainbows.” — Marisa Wiedl

North Carolina

Courtesy Heidi Saunders

“Last Friday night was really chilly and the sky was cloudy! So we decided to take a drive up the Blue Ridge Parkway to Water Rock Knob! Twenty minutes later and several degrees colder, the sun was slowly going down and providing a gorgeous show for all to see! Since my new telephoto lens had not come yet, I used my cell phone to capture a few shots! It was a truly perfect evening!” — Heidi Saunders

North Dakota

Courtes yCarmel Meier Hardison

“I chose this image because this is taken out in rural North Dakota, known for its wheat fields; it also is known for its beauty in sunflowers as well as its sunsets, and I had the opportunity to capture them both in this beautiful image.” — Carmel Meier Hardison

Ohio

Michael Shake/Shutterstock

“Beautiful sunset over the Maumee River in northwest Ohio.”

Oklahoma

Courtesy Marshalene Wimer

“Rupturing skies above a little country church in Fairview, Oklahoma made me think of the day we have to look forward to when Jesus will come back in the clouds above to come and take His children to Heaven. What a sight and what a day that will be! This was taken on 10-04-16 above our little country town as a dry line was moving through.” — Marshalene Wimer.

Oregon

Courtesy Liz Watkins

“On an evening bike ride, I noticed how beautiful the sky was as my daughter rode in front of me. We had to stop and breathe in the still air and capture the feeling in the last few minutes as the sun went down. These are the moments where I’m reminded to be thankful for the serenity of the great Oregon outdoors. It’s beautifully quiet yet intense, especially when you take the time to listen to the sunset.” — Liz Watkins

Pennsylvania

Courtesy Susan Grove

“Living in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania you have a front-row seat to history. Surrounded by the mountains, it is a beautiful place to visit at any time of the year. The last few years, fields of sorghum have been planted on parts of the battlefield, and they put on quite a show as they begin to acquire their rust-red fall color. On my way home from work one evening, I took a small detour so that I could capture one of the fields with the backdrop of the beautiful orange sunset behind the mountains.” — Susan Grove. Don’t miss some of America’s most stunning hiking trails to see more beautiful sunsets.

Rhode Island

P Meybruck/Shutterstock

The Castle Hill Lighthouse stands in Newport, Rhode Island, to greet ships headed for Providence by way of Narragansett Bay.

South Carolina

Courtesy Mary Fosnow

“I have always enjoyed stepping outside with my camera around sunset. It’s my favorite time of day. The last moments are sunlight are magical to me. I have witnessed many breathtaking sunsets, with vivid shades of red and orange. But this particular evening, I was stopped in my tracks by the masterpiece in the sky. I was mesmerized by the brilliant hues, all uniting and blending in a perfect display. I live in South Carolina, a beautiful state. I savor the scenery around me as I go about my day. But that evening, I felt especially grateful and lucky to have witnessed such a splendid scene.” — Mary Fosnow

South Dakota

Courtesy Sherrie Kersting

The older I get and the more difficult life becomes the more I am reminded the simple things in life are what matter most. Well, those simple things all began on this farm 50 years ago. It is through this farm that I realized the importance of faith, family and farming. All of which are tried in today’s world. My quote for this picture is ‘Some old-fashioned things such as fresh air and sunshine are hard to beat,’ by Laura Ingalls Wilder. God placed this quote in my lap the day I took this picture, as the picture was taken south of De Smet, SD, home of Laura.” — Sherrie Kersting

Tennessee

Courtesy Raymond Gobernatz

“Beautiful sunsets on Reelfoot Lake in West Tennessee are unbelievable. Wildlife is abundant. The color these sunsets provide are fantastic.” — Raymond Gobernatz

Texas

Courtesy Susan Moore

“Fall may not be as pretty here in Rockwall, Texas but the sunsets are gorgeous on Lake Ray Hubbard. I cross the long bridge coming home every evening and kept my camera in my car to catch the perfect sunset by the lighthouse at the harbor. Every night I would wait to have this red color and finally captured it. I have yet to see it again. It’s amazing how quickly it moves when trying to get the pictures!” — Susan Moore

Utah

Courtesy Katherine Plessner

“On a visit to Bryce National Park on a spring day, it was almost a blizzard when we got there. The sun came out late in the day for some beautiful evening colors.” — Katherine Plessner. Don’t miss these stunning photos of national parks covered in snow.

Vermont

jiawangkun/Shutterstock

Boats bask in the golden sunset on Lake Champlain near Burlington, Vermont.

Virginia

Courtesy Austin King

“This is a 1933 Dairy Barn in Bedford, Virginia. I’ve taken many pictures of this old dairy barn and this one captures the beauty the most. The work done by farmers in the heat of summer and the cold snowy days of winter is the reason this barn is still so special today! This photo was taken by photographer Austin King around August 2016.”

Washington

Courtesy Tara Fritz

“This picture reminds me how the sky can be an ever-changing canvas. An evening stroll can turn into a masterpiece in the sky. The picture is taken in Washougal, Washington at the Columbia River looking towards Oregon. The beauty of the Pacific Northwest seems to never stop amazing me. The colors, sky, water, marsh grass all make this photo so beautiful.” — Tara Fritz

West Virginia

Steve Heap/Shutterstock

The sun sets over the mountains of West Virginia, illuminating the New River Bridge.

Wisconsin

Courtesy Gini Waltz

“I could hardly get my camera fast enough when I saw the brilliant sunset over Deer Lake in northern Wisconsin where we have a cabin. I knew that the changing colors in the sky would soon be fading, so I hurried to capture its beauty from several different angles. At the same time as the sun was setting, my husband Jim was casting his fishing line out to try to bring in a bass or walleye. I like the way the silhouettes look against the setting sun.” — Gini Waltz

Wyoming

Nagel Photography/Shutterstock

Clouds over Grand Teton National Park highlight the colors given off by the setting sun. Next, be sure to check out these gorgeous photos of national parks in full bloom.

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rusticrevivals · 7 years

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My mother does not approve of swearing. Of even the most mild sort. My sister and I were not even allowed to say ‘shut up’ to each other without being sharply reprimanded. When my father used to say “what the hell?” in absent-minded consternation over some project he was attempting to repair, she would sharply remind him with his name or an exclamation of shock, that our young, innocent ears were in the vicinity. One of my very earliest memories when I was about 6 and my sister 4, was when we collected our first trial instruments from the London Suzuki Institute, Jennifer’s being the instrument she still plays hours daily as her profession and passion, and mine being the instrument I finally sold to help fund my own profession and passion.

As my mother, who had had to take a few lessons on each instrument first just so that she could help us at home, was attempting to make a sound from Jennifer’s strings (in front of both sets of grandparents, I might add, who were most interested in these new additions to the family) she became exasperated because no sound was emanating, and in her frustration she said her “F-word”: “Oh, FIDDLESTICKS!” without realizing how incredibly apt and timely this choice of ‘swear word’ actually was. (Although we laughed at her, it became even MORE apt when we realized the problem was in fact to do with the bow, or ‘fiddlestick’ – she had forgotten to resin it!)

Richard’s sons both took violin lessons for a while too, and we still have each of their instruments at Blue Belldon Farm, for some reason, but of course I’ve never owned another ‘cello (“violincello” is its proper name; thus the apostrophe in front of it each time is technically correct) since I was 18 and sold it to buy my first proper showjumper. Our father always got a kick out of saying that Jennifer was busy ‘FIDDLIN’ AROUND’ whilst I was outside just “HORSIN’ AROUND’. But the daily reminders of ‘fiddling’ are everywhere around us. As mentioned last week, the New Denmark ‘Music Ranch’ has a country band every Saturday night with Atlantic-based expert ‘fiddlers’ (although having been brought up on ‘proper classical music’ and the term ‘violin’, Mom and I don’t quite have the appreciation that we should have for the fast ‘fiddling’ that is a tradition in these Eastern provinces.)

But as soon as I came here last spring I began seeing and hearing the word ‘fiddle’ in another sense. Fiddleheads are everywhere! Plaster Rock, one of our nearest towns, is the Fiddlehead Capital of Canada, and being that our goal is to live self-sufficiently here, Mom/Joy gave us a book called Edible Plants of Atlantic Canada. The chapter that takes up the most pages is all about the picking and cooking of fiddleheads. They are highly celebrated here and other than the World Pond Hockey which was mentioned in last week’s blog, they are a main attraction to the area:

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Fiddleheads are one of the first signs of spring, and since we had a bit of a thaw last week, and actually see some grass blades emerging in the Birch Grove and under the apple trees where the ground is slightly warmer because of the tree roots, we are perhaps prematurely, already getting excited about harvesting these delightful delicacies. Fiddleheads are essentially ferns before they become ferns. They are the furled up stage of a fern when they just start to shoot through the ground in early spring. As they emerge through the fertile, wet April soil, they grow and unfurl quickly, sometimes lasting just a few days in their furled-up stage.

Though all ferns have a fiddlehead stage, it’s the Ostrich fern that is most commonly eaten, and it tastes, when boiled and then sauteed in butter, very much like a combination between broccoli and asparagus. In the farmers’ markets, where they will only be sold for about 10 days, they can be quite pricey, so we definitely will be hunting the marshes and swamps for them ourselves!

Fiddleheads grow prolifically throughout the damp areas of the Eastern Seaboard. Though they are not hard to find, people tend to keep their locations secret so they will not be over -harvested. Scary thing, though. Some fiddleheads look like the Ostrich fern varieties and are not only not edible but can be toxic. So, just as I didn’t attempt to harvest the multitude of wonderful-looking mushrooms that sprouted all over our lawn last autumn, I am tentative about this process also.

In the book Mom gave us as a Christmas present, it mentions an interesting bit of folk lore: it was once believed that to eat fiddleheads would make one invisible! (Kind of ironic, given that the old Polaroid above DOES make us look nearly so!) Shakespeare even refers to this in Henry IV, Part 1 when he writes “We have the receipt of fern-seed; we walk invisible”. The “fern-seed” superstition pops up again in “The Fair Maid of the Inn,” a 17th century comedy by John Fletcher, et al., as well as in Ben Jonson’s “The New Inn.” A wonderfully-named fiddlehead cookbook , “Fiddleheads and Fairies”, by Nannette Richford, includes many references to the mysticism behind these succulent tasties.

A neighbour recently gave us a frozen bag of them to try. (Herein is a humourous example of rural life, especially among the proud Danish community. This lady’s husband was ill, so I made some extra chicken and vegetable soup for them, and sent it over in a thermos with Richard. He came back with home-baked coffeecake, a bar of marzipan and the aforementioned bag of frozen greens!) We ate them immediately for lunch, boiling for about 6 minutes as directed (just in case there are any dangerous toxins left in them!) and then frying with some butter and a touch of salt. Absolutely delicious!

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I put a walnut in the one photo, to show you the size of them before cooking (although they don’t actually shrink in size as do so many vegetables, as you can see when put out on the plate at right.

That day must have had violins and decorative scrolls in the vibrational airways, because in the afternoon, in our Scrabble game, I could have TWICE put down variations of the word ‘violin’ (although nothing on the board ever did lend itself to my doing so!) And once while I was waiting the half-hour or so that is standard for Richard to take his bloody turn, I looked over to where one of his boys’ old violins (out of their cases to get humidity from our humidifier) was laid out near my beautiful hand-made butter dish by Ontario potter Natalie (from Remembrances Pottery , a friend who worked hard to make the Carlisle Country Craft and Old-fashioned Market Mercantile a success : https://www.etsy.com/shop/RemembrancesPottery ) How beautiful these ‘scrolls’ look side-by-side! And you can certainly see where the “Fiddlehead” delicacy gets its name!

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Richard went to meet his brother where he lives in Saint John this past week, and they had a flying trip down to Cape Cod to look at some car parts his brother wanted. Richard noticed that the fiddlehead is a symbol of beauty throughout the province, as this sculpture in the city centre is a popular photo for tourists year-round as well . (That’s right, neither Saint John nor Boston/Cape Cod have snow anymore!)

So yes, while we’ve enjoyed the respite of the winter months to recuperate from the struggles of the big move out here, on top of the arduous efforts to plant, tend, harvest and preserve both garden and orchard, we ARE looking forward to spring! Mom/Joy is even more anxious than we are for it, as she just returned from her two weeks in Florida with her Aunt Jane, and was none-too-pleased to see those 8 foot banks of snow still along our back roads and caked on the cliff walls as we climbed up Lucy’s Gulch! She had brought back for us a T-shirt each with a happy stick figure on a lawn tractor, and this has definitely got Richard chomping the bit in anticipation of the first time he can fire up the ole John Deere.

It was his idea to wear the shirts with the snow outside the window in the background. The irony is actually a bit sad at this point, however! We harken back to last spring, the week before I moved out here, when my friend Leanne was visiting from Scotland. She’s coming again this summer, and Richard has promised her another try on the lawn tractor. (Although she’s a good ole country girl as well, who grew up on the 25,000 acre estate on which I worked with her in Aberdeenshire, in 2009, she had never had the opportunity to cut grass on a tractor, as all the bigger jobs on the estate were naturally done by the team of maintenance staff and groundskeepers! So she put up with the long-winded professorial lectures from my dear counterpart, and endured his shouting when her ‘track’ wasn’t perfectly aligned, or when she didn’t raise the mower at the right moment, and apparently she’s coming back for more of the same – only on the sides of mountainous hillsides this time!)

I look back now on this dreadful Ontario ‘flatness’, and just think how blissfully happy we are to be here, with our stellar and breath-taking views, away from the busy roads, (I remember waiting to snap the above shot so I could catch the moment with no cars whizzing by on the highway!) the pollution, the noise… But I DO miss being able to be out in the garden already, as I know some of you in Ontario are doing! My friend Anne in Carlisle thought it hilarious to send me the following. The chick is even wearing my hat and peasant skirt here!

That’s about the size of it here, too. We are desperate to get turning over some ground with the pitchfork and rototiller! Remember last spring, when I posted this cartoon, where Richard thought he was made to look old but I thought I looked JUST like the female graphic?

Well, I told him I wouldn’t do anymore ‘devilish’ comics with pitchforks in hand this year. So instead, I have done an artists’ rendering of the Canadian Gothic, complete with live-in mother:

And I even have the artist, in fields of gorgeous green, painting it on his canvas!

Surely Pippi can’t complain about this, as it’s his actual FACE? Anyway, the pitchfork is representative, not just of the devil and devilish qualities, but is of course exactly what it stands for – the act of ‘pitching something to the side’. So, although my mother detests swearing of any kind, and although my old co-“Katima-victim” Dave Landry taught me that “Fiddlesticks” is not the REAL “F-word”, I have taken it upon myself to tell winter to go

And stay tuned for next week, when we WILL begin planting, whether or not there is still snow out there (and there will be!). We ordered all our seeds yesterday (organic, with biodegradable packaging, from the same company as last year – Hawthorne Farm in Ontario), and Richard has made most of the seeding tables for our basement greenhouse. All that remains is to drive over the ‘wall’to Trumpty Dumbty-land, where we can buy flourescent lights much more cheaply than here, sadly, get them hung, get the earth into the tables, and voila! Seeds will be going in for our whole next year’s quality smorgasbording ! It’s nearly time! Dirt under the (non-existent) fingernails again! Wahoooooooooo!

Fiddleheads and Pitchforks My mother does not approve of swearing. Of even the most mild sort. My sister and I were not even allowed to say 'shut up' to each other without being sharply reprimanded.

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