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Sunday, June 27, 2010

Shining Gold

The abbey cloister at Monreale, Sicily Monreale, Sicily ~ April 29, 2004

Amazing architecture and design of the Normans in Sicily.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Friday, June 25, 2010

Megatooth

Megalodon or Megatooth (Cacharodon megalodon)
Newport, Oregon ~ March 11, 2006

Megalodon lived from about 23 million to 4 million years ago, and reached a length of over 50 feet. Its remains have been found on six continents, and its closest living relative is the fearsome great white shark. The brave man in photo #1 doesn't look too worried.


Two Critters, Toe to Toe

Bird mosaic with human toes, Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas Texas ~ April 13, 2007
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport

In an earlier post, I showed another bird from the same mosaic.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Byzantine Lion of Ravello

Stone Lions, Ravello, Italy Ravello, Italy ~ April 22, 2004

Byzantine Lions (1272) hold up one of the mosaic-decorated pulpits in this remarkable church on the Piazza Vescovado.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Extinct Horned Turtle and Atlas Lion on the Dodo Carousel

Extinct Atlas, Barbary, or Nubian lion and Extinct Horned Turtle on the Dodo Carousel, Paris, France Paris ~ October 14, 2008
The Dodo Carousel
of Extinct and Endangered Animals,
Jardin des Plantes

I want to focus on two animals today: the Horned Turtle (Meiolania sp.) and the Atlas Lion (Panthera leo leo), also known as the Nubian or Barbary lion. While some animals on the Dodo Carousel became extinct thousands of years ago, the last wild Atlas lion was shot and killed in 1922. This is terribly sad. Extinction was not due to a natural process, but was brought about by our thoughtlessness or uncaring behavior, and could have been prevented. It was later discovered that there were some "possible" descendants of this lion in zoos or circuses, but I believe that to this day the ancestry has not been proven or is mixed. The former range of this lion subspecies was Africa from Morocco to Egypt, and it may have been the heaviest of the lion species, although some experts believe the weights found in literature were exaggerated.

Poignantly, a few living species such as the gorilla and giant panda are also included on this carousel, and we can only hope they don't disappear under our stewardship.

Meiolania horned turtles survived in New Caledonia until about 2,000 years ago.

Click the keyword link below for more images of the Dodo Carousel.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Splash!

Bottlenose Dolphin Dolphin
Miami Seaquarium
Key Biscayne, Florida ~ January 14, 2008

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store

Thematic Trout at Tapiola

A trout at Tapiola Park, Astoria, Oregon Astoria, Oregon ~ May 20, 2010
Tapiola Park

In a town where so much of the history and economy is about fish, the playground has done a beautiful job of incorprating local elements, including this approachable trout in the toddlers' section.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Wet Money?

Key Biscayne, Florida ~ January 14, 2008

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Monday, June 14, 2010

Stylized, Heroic

New York ~ May 6, 2009

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Wings, Horns, Antlers, Hooves

Tacoma, Washington ~ May 23, 2004
Tacoma Art Museum

Unfortunately, I didn't take a photo of the sign explaining who, what, when. I only captured the sign that said not to touch. What a necessary pity - I'll bet it feels amazing.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Sunday, June 13, 2010

The Beautiful Money of Belize Includes Lots of Animals, Even a Tapir


This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Deadly and Beautiful

Amanita muscaria mushroom near Astoria, OregonNear Astoria, Oregon ~ November 8, 2002
Amanita muscaria or fly agaric

Thanks to Emilio for reminding me to look for the photo. It's an old one taken with an older camera. In several different years, I've looked near the beach where I found this one, but have not seen them. Maybe this year I'll find some and take more photos. I remember one year when the forest floor seemed carpeted with them.

To see some amazing mushrooms from Colombia, check out Emilio's mushroom photos on Facebook.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Friday, June 11, 2010

Embera Basket Animals

Baskets of the Embera people near Panama City Panama ~ January 7, 2006
An Emberá village on the Chagres River
near Panama City

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Flood Waters near Tucson

Flooding in Sabino Canyon near Tucson - The Beginning of our HikeSabino Canyon, Arizona ~ December 30, 2004

We got our feet wet, although many who had taken the bus (tram? open bus?) hoping to reach the trailhead did not venture past the watery roadblock. Although it had rained hard the night before, it turned out to be a beautiful day with perfect weather for our hike in Sabino Canyon, north of Tucson.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Crocodiles of Paris

Cuvier Fountain with CrocodileParis ~ October 14, 2008
Cuvier Fountain, Rue Linne and Rue Cuvier

For more about the fountain and its location, check out this post on my personal blog. For more crododiles in Paris, take a look at Jacob's Paris post from the Musee d'Orsay.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Onramps, Offramps

Northwest Portland Portland, Oregon ~ May 19, 2004
Near the north end of Northwest 23rd Street

This is what makes me nervous about driving in cities I don't know very well. Often I take the wrong ramp.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Trimmings on St. Andrews Square

Los Angeles ~ October 29, 2006

Sometimes it can't be helped. You see something from the car window that you want to remember. I could have touched it up to remove the reflections, but I didn't.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Friday, June 4, 2010