Q is for Quartz

Quartz eyeglasses is what I offer for ABC Wednesday's Q day.

This may be a case of "you had to be there" - because I ended up with only one photo to share with you. But we sure got a giggle from all the over-sized glasses worn by the menfolk in Gansu, a northwest province of China. I've not seen these anywhere else.

Gansu, 2007

[MyWorld] Portrait of a Redhead

She is a groundskeeper at Humayun's tomb in Delhi. I wondered what her world was to her, working on the grounds of this over 400-year-old site, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, seeing visitors from all over the world every single day. 

 Delhi, 2010

This was a small side entrance, and she seemed to be as fascinated by me as I was by her. She did not mind my taking pictures of her. 

A long view of the architectural splendor.

This is linked with MyWorld Tuesday and Ruby Tuesday.

Autumn Gold

The Kansai region of Japan may be more famous for its pink cherry blossoms in spring and red maple leaves in fall, and no one could possibly deny their stunning beauty. But I fell in love with the golden ginkgo tree.

 Osaka, 2009

The botanical name of this tree is ginkgo biloba. It is a unique species of tree with no close existing relatives, and but for a few possible locations in eastern China, it does not grow in the wild; it is an entirely cultivated tree. And yet it may be one of the oldest species of trees on earth. 

If you suffer from lapses of memory like I do, they say the extract of the nuts and leaves of ginkgo can help restore your powers of concentration. I've bought it before, but I never remember to take it.  In concentrated form ginkgo is also used to help people (yeah, me too) with blood circulatory issues.

Whatever its benefits, I just find it a beautiful tree with unique shaped leaves. This is the kind of gold I can get attached to.

I'm linking with the blogging communities at Mellow Yellow Monday and Mosaic Monday.

Black Forest Castle

Black Forest, 2006

This is a drive-by shot of what I presume is a castle that we spotted one misty morning on our journey between Gengenbach and Strasbourg.  The low resolution given by an early model of a digital camera does not diminish the charm of the image for me. As usual, more details can be seen when it is enlarged.

PS. Thank you to Randi for identifying this as the Ortenberg Castle located in the Kinzig Valley near Offenburg. It was first built in 1167 and destroyed in 1678; then this Neo-Gothic palace was built between 1838 and 1843 among the medieval ruins. Today it is a youth hostel.

Posted for Scenic Sunday. Many beautiful scenes to enjoy there.

Rainbow Bridge

Rainbow Bridge is not really what it's called, but I failed to note the name of this colorful bridge I captured in Kaiping, a town in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong, so it will have to do.

Kaiping, 2010

Today I am joining the fun at James' Weekend Reflections and Louis' Sunday Bridges. Why not join us?

A postscript: after reading the first dozen comments, I realized that of course all what you see here is a blue bridge. I forgot to mention that the colors change every five seconds - green, red, yellow, blue - so in my mind, it was a rainbow. Silly me.

[SkyWatch] Feather in the Sky

Manila, 2010

Beautiful skies around the world can be found at SkyWatch Friday.

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.