Reflections in Toogood Pond

Right next to the historic village of Unionville founded in 1794 (in the Town of Markham, Ontario) there is a 33-hectare park with a partially naturalized pond and a marsh. With a university pal I had not seen since 1979, I took a leisurely stroll around Toogood Pond today. 

While we reflected on the years gone by, I also captured a few reflections for Weekend Reflections. A Great Blue Heron with three turtles on a log, a beautiful summer's day sky, and another turtle on a log surrounded by green foliage.

 

Markham, Ontario, 2012

Brown Deer

Almost two years ago I showed you some white deer in a private zoo quite near my home. Yesterday when we drove by there was a new herd of deer, this time mostly brown.

Since I know as little about animals as I know about flowers and plants, I'll refrain from trying to guess what species of deer these are. But they sure are cute Camera Critters!

Manila, 2012

This last one, better viewed enlarged, is for the meme Mosaic Monday.

We're solidly in the wet season now, but you can see from the dried out vegetation that it's been a long dry summer in Manila.

A Grand Armchair Grave

On our way home to Manila from Wuchuan ten days ago we passed through Hong Kong and again stayed with our friends in the countryside of the New Territories. It's a lovely secluded and green place to live, but as guests without a car, getting in and out is not always most convenient.

I wanted to visit a cemetery for Taphophile Tragics, but my honey and our hosts were not at all enthusiastic. Not only was it a work day for my friends, it rained most of the day, so it was not a good time for either an outing or photography.

Truth be told, Chinese in general regard cemeteries with mixed feelings. While on special days in the year they meticulously go through the rituals of ancestor worship I described before, they otherwise see cemeteries as places for powerful spirits both good and bad, places to be avoided. In sharp contrast with the West, Chinese do not regard cemeteries as positive urban spaces. To illustrate, I was told we'd likely have trouble getting a taxi driver to take us to the cemetery up on a hill in the area, let alone wait for us while I explore. Unfortunately it was much too far to reach on foot.

To appease me, my friend offered to walk me to this grave near her home. Or rather, she showed me the start of a narrow concrete path, pointed up, and said, "it's about 20 meters up there." Then she quickly turned to return home. No way was she going to accompany me!

So here is what I found: a grand example of a modern armchair-shaped grave (all photos can be enlarged).

 Hong Kong, 2012

Headstone: Here lie together Uncle Wong, Father Wong and Mother Lau. First built 1967, rebuilt Jan 2002 by all the offspring.

The two minor side graves are for the "guards" - in Chinese they are called "god of the earth."

You'll agree the grave resembles an armchair, with raised areas protecting three sides, from its back reaching around to the left and right. The front is left open and accommodates the platform where living family members engage in the rites of ancestor worship. I've shown less grand versions of the armchair grave here and here.

 

I have read that constructing graves in the armchair shape goes back to the Northern Song Dynasty, 960-1127 AD.  Many Chinese, especially in southern China, have long regarded the form of an armchair as the ideal shape for a grave. It provides a sense of wealth, comfort and dignity.

According to fengshui beliefs, it is considered auspicious for a grave to have a good view.

Historically only the ruling class or the mandarin Chinese could afford armchair graves. Today they are increasingly frowned upon as taking up too much valuable real estate. But as elsewhere, old customs and traditions here die reluctantly.

The property behind the grave had a dog that was not pleased with my visit and barked incessantly. Rather than any spirits that may have been hovering, it was this very living creature that made me wary of hanging around too long. Still I thought he was a handsome fella.

Goats on a Tropical Beach

Ilocos, 2010

All I need to say about this is that right about now I'd rather be a goat on a sunny tropical beach. Just for a few minutes, okay?

Linking with Camera Critters.

Marmot in Mongolia

For Camera Critters and Scenic Sunday, I am taking you back up into the vast alpine belt of the far western Mongolian province of Hovd. There in the desolate wilderness we did not see many wild animals. 

So when our driver Magsar spotted this furry ball, he stopped the van and went out for a closer look. 

 Mongolia, 2007

What his keen eye had seen is this little creature. 

It's a marmot, a Mongolian marmot, a rodent species closely related to the squirrel and groundhog. Marmots live in mountainous areas, eat mainly greens and hibernate in burrows through the long winters. This chubby little fella looks pretty well satiated to me, don't you agree?

A final piece of trivia: Marmots are hunted during a designated season - usually late summer or early fall when their furs are perfect - and are roasted on an open fire with hot stones in the cleaned belly to cook it inside and out. You can read about boodog, this Mongolian cooking style, in gory detail here.

H is for Horsepower

 Romania, 2011

It excites me that no matter how much machinery replaces the horse, the work it can do is still measured in horsepower.....even in this space age.  And although a riding horse often weighs half a ton, and a big drafter a full ton, either can be led about by a piece of string if he has been wisely trained. This to me is a constant source of wonder, and challenge.

     ~ Marguret Henry, American author (1902-1997)

 

A new morning... a new hard day for beasts of burden. For both man and his horse. And so it has been since the New Stone Age, roughly 10,000 years ago, when man transformed from forager to farmer.

[all photos can be enlarged with a click]

Then came the Industrial Revolution with its machinery. Since these new inventions often replaced the work of horses, it was considered useful to compare the output of machines with the power of draft horses.

Did you know that one horsepower equals 33,000 foot-pounds per minute? So it was determined by James Watt of the unit of power fame.

The story goes that Watt was working with ponies lifting coal at a coal mine, and he wanted a way to talk about the power available from one of these animals. He found that, on average, a mine pony could do 22,000 foot-pounds of work in a minute. He then increased that number by 50 percent and pegged the measurement of horsepower at 33,000 foot-pounds of work in one minute. It is that arbitrary unit of measure that has made its way down through the centuries and now appears on your car, your lawn mower, your chain saw and even in some cases your vacuum cleaner. [source: How Stuff Works]

To learn what other units horsepower are converted to, read here.

The letter of the week is H and this is my link for ABC Wednesday.

Yellow Wheels

Vienna, 2011

Visitors to Vienna can hop on a horse-drawn carriage and get a guided tour around this beautiful historic city. The old-fashioned carriages can be found parked on Stephansplatz I introduced earlier, right beside the famous cathedral.

There are people who oppose the use of horses for this purpose, no matter how well the animals are treated or protected by laws. In New York City, for instance, a bill has been introduced to ban them. 

What is your view on this topic? Is this an issue close to your heart, either way? The newly wedded couple of Britain greeted their well-wishers in a royal carriage. Was that a sweet nod to tradition or just painfully old-fashioned? Or does it matter at all?

These bright yellow wheels join Mellow Yellow Monday.

Portrait of Man's Best Friend

Bucharest, 2011

Linking with Camera Critters and Weekend in Black and White.

Hu U Lookin' At?

Bucharest, 2011

This cat lounging in the spring sun today joins Camera Critters.

Black Family

Family of black pigs, that is. 

 Gansu, 2007

Have you ever seen black pigs or swine?

Linked with Photo Hunter where the theme is mostly black and with Camera Critters.

Long-tailed Macaque

The Philippine long-tailed macaque can be found living in most forested areas on the many islands of the country. With an average tail length between 50 and 60 cm (20-24 inches), about the same as their body sizes, these macaques have the longest tails of all monkeys. 

 Subic Bay, 2008

 

We saw these macaques hanging out on the side of the road on our drive through Subic Bay, a former US naval base turned into a light industrial zone and tourist destination. The tropical rain-forest there is a natural habitat for this sub-species of the crab-eating macaque.

Check out other Camera Critters!

Y is for Yakow

A yakow, you might guess, is a hybrid between the long-haired yak of the Himalayas and a domestic cow; a bovid hybrid also called dzo. The hybrid is larger and stronger than either the yak or the cow and is considered to be more productive in producing milk or meat.

I've seen these scruffy looking beasts on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau in the outskirts of Xiahe in Gansu as well as in Mongolia. Today I share with you a few of my China photos. [Click to enlarge.]

Gansu, 2007

And this post is linked to the team at ABC Wednesday where you'll find many interesting posts on subjects with the letter Y.

Eagle

I'm not a trained nature photographer, so I must admit I was rather pleased with my capture of this eagle in Beautiful BC.

Tofino, 2006

Sharing this with Camera Critters where you'll find links to all kinds of "captured" animals... only with a camera, of course.

The Bird Feeder

 Osaka, 2009

At Camera Critters you'll find links to animals of all kinds.

G is for Goat

In the far, far west of Mongolia, in the great province of Hovd I've introduced before, we were driving through godforsaken yet glorious landscape when we came upon this family with their ger (aka yurt) tending their goats.

 

 Hovd, 2007

Besides watching the males sit idly by while the females worked, I found it amusing to see the goats all tied up. Yet after the milking was done, one small tug on the rope released them all and they galloped into the barren rocky field that had not a blade of greenery.

 
These goats are good not only for the nutritious milk they produce - and from which butter and cheese are made - or for the gratifying grub they one day become, but also for the grand cashmere wool shorn from their necks that is knitted into glamorous sweaters and shawls.

And this is posted for Jenny's Alphabe-Thursday, where others are joining in the G fun.

No Pet of Mine

I am sometimes flabbergasted by the unique finds along our evening walking routes. Last month I posted the white deer I had spotted close to home, and not too long after that we walked by an empty lot with eight, yes, eight very large tortoises. I had not brought my camera, so some days later I went back and three of them were already gone; sold as pets, I presume.

I know as much, if not less, about turtles and tortoises than I know about flowers, so please, no hard questions; although if I provide misinformation, do tell. I can't even say for sure that these are not turtles, possibly a more generic category of the shelled reptile, but usually the term refers to those living in and around water. They definitely are tortoises, the land-dwelling chelonian cousin.

Manila, 2010

My cursory research tells me these may be spurred tortoises aka sulcata tortoises, originally from the grasslands and woody scrub lands at the edge of the Sahara Desert in Africa. They can grow up to 76 cm/30 in, weigh up to 50 kgs/110 lbs, and live up to 100 years or more. You can get a closer look at these amazing creatures by clicking on the montage, and then again.

Let's just say one of these will not become a pet of mine. 

But they were interesting to learn about and I am posting them for Camera Critters (albeit a bit late to that party), Mellow Yellow Monday and Mosaic Monday.

Narcissus

Manila, 2009

Check out all the creative reflections linked at Weekend Reflections hosted by James.

Yellow Pulleys

This mix of bird breeds sitting cozily together on the dock railings and equipment among these big yellow pulleys caught my fancy. I took the photo from the ferry as we were landing at the Horseshoe Bay terminal. The day was ready to fade into darkness.

Vancouver, BC, 2010

More links to fun takes on YELLOW at Mellow Yellow.

[SkyWatch] Horses in Hovd

 

Mongolia, 2007

This photo is worth embiggening, if I say so myself.

More links to magnificent skies around the world are found at SkyWatch Friday and animals of all kind at Camera Critters.

Reflections in an Aquarium

You've had a glimpse of the Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan before on my blog, and today I show you a bit more.

The Kaiyukan sitting on the edge of the water near Osaka Bay is one of the largest public aquariums in the world.  Designed by British architect Peter Chermayeff, I think the  building has a wonderful unique style. I especially like the tiled mural. 

 Osaka, 2009

No one is sitting on the benches this morning, because it was raining... making it the perfect day to explore inside. There were a good number of school groups here this day.

And parents with their young. "Look ma, the manta ray is smiling at me!"

As well as other photography enthusiasts. Who's lookin' at who?

Interesting facts borrowed from Wikipedia: The walk-through aquarium displays marine life in several habitats comprising 27 tanks in 16 main exhibits with a total volume of 10,941 tons of water. The habitats are from the Ring of Fire area of the Pacific Ocean. The largest tank is 9 metres (30 ft) deep and holds 5,400 cubic metres (190,699 cu ft) of water and a variety of fish including manta rays and a pair of whale sharks.

I watched the sardines going round and round and round endlessly and couldn't help but reflect upon the human condition.

Back to the wiki: The tanks used in the aquarium are made of 314 tonnes (346 tons) of acrylic glass - roughly 1.5 times the world's annual production. The largest single pane measures six meters by five meters by thirty centimeters and weighs roughly 10 tons. At the thicknesses used, regular glass would be unwieldy and would not have the desired transparency.

I've linked my post to Weekend Reflections where you'll find others from around the world sharing their reflections.