Erik Johansson

Erik Johansson is a professional photographer from Sweden, now living in Germany. His photo manipulations are quite extraordinary. Some made me laugh, others I found quite disturbing. You can find out more about him at http://alltelleringet.com

Magpie #104 Maggots

Photo Manipulations by Christophe Gilbert

copyright Christophe Gilbert

Look at this in negative and see squirming, desperate maggots seeking to consume the fresh young flesh of a dead woman but yet she looks enraptured so this may not be so.  Switch perspective and see spermatozoa, swimming to the ova, each hoping, if they had such ability to feel and aspire, to fertilise and procreate. Look again, are these not the wrinkles of the brain surrounding the pearl that is the hypothalamus, the reason for our waking and walking and thinking and feeling?

When the image is enlarged some force beyond renders it dark, forbidding, the hair like Medusa’s locks, so many snakes to poison man. In death she brought forth Pegasus, the winged horse of poetic inspiration and Chrysaor, the giant with a golden sword, so is this image one of hope for mankind?

Disturbing, so white, so black, a puzzle obscene and beautiful, a perfect tessellation of form and shape.

To read more interpretations please click here.

Not for arachnophobes!

Image courtesy National Geographic

I've just come across this and thought it absolutely fascinating.

One of the astonishing side effects of the 2010 flooding in Pakistan was that in some areas millions of spiders climbed into the trees to escape the rising flood waters. Because the waters took so long to recede the trees became cocooned in spider webs, a phenomenon that had not been seen before in this area.

The scene is quite surreal and strangely beautiful. 

The five-minute writer

I ordered a book from Amazon yesterday and it arrived this morning. (Actually, I ordered two but I knew I would have to wait a few days for the second.)

Today’s delivery is called ‘The five-minute writer’ by Margret Geraghty and comprises examples and exercises to stimulate just five minutes writing a day. I’ve been dipping into it and it looks promising, though being loquacious I cannot imagine restricting myself to five minutes.

I should never suffer from writer’s block again . . . yes, and pigs might fly!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Comment moderation

I know lots of people dislike comment moderation and I agree it can be something of a pain, slowing down the fleet of finger but I retain it; I don’t know of any other way to see that people have commented on my posts. I could consult the post list but that would involve remembering how many comments there were ‘last time’.

Anyway, that’s really beside the point. When I comment on my own posts I don’t have to verify my words so I don’t know what other people see. I’ve noticed that many people have, ‘Please prove you’re not an idiot’ when inviting commenters to verify. 

What I really want to know is, Do I? and if not, Why Not?

Crow Lake

Swans are graceful and elegant so it is appropriate that they have a ballet dedicated to them. Other birds, too, inspire poetry and music, crows among them.

Now, crows would be the first to admit that they do not have musical voices –far-reaching, attention-seeking, interesting, yes, but not musical. That is not to say that they do not appreciate the finer things in life – a cordon bleu meal, a night at the opera, glorious architecture, stunning art and ballet. We did not realise this – perhaps you, too, are ignorant of their sensitive nature.

The two crows who greet us each day in the forest (their names are Bill and Beatrice, by the way) noticed our scepticism about their aesthetic tastes and resolved to persuade us of their artistic leanings. We were treated to an impromptu performance of their latest oeuvre. Unfortunately they were still working on the choreography for their pas de deux so I can only show you stills from their solos. I think you will agree that their footwork is faultless. 

The photos were taken in poor light at sunset.

petit jeté(small jump)

petit jeté(small jump)

beginning of pirouette

petit saut (small jump)

 en pointe

completion of chassé 

échappé

For comparison I have downloaded a YouTube clip of Gillian Murphy, Principal Dancer of American Ballet Theatre, dancing Odile.

Free me!

A grave at the Novodevichy Cemetery, Moscow

My first irreverent thought was ‘We gotta get out of this place, if it’s the last thing we ever do’ which I’m considering having played at my funeral but then it was followed almost immediately by the sense of beseeching implicit in this monument.

Free me!

Free me, I beseech you,

Free me from this world of woe,

Dead roses and cold rubies

Are not enough to hold me.

See my hands outstretched,

Fingers splayed and reaching

Out from the grave below -

Release me from this clay.

My spirit fled my body

Yet you strive to keep me here,

Your tears and words restrain me,

Please let me go.

Remember the person I was

And laugh at the memories we made –

Don’t enclose me in your sadness,

Please let me go.

You can read more Mags here, thanks to Tess Kincaid who organises this meme.

Winston's February 2012 blog

Winston here . . . p’rrrrr . . . p’rrrrr

Mrs H told me I hadn’t blogged for AGES – what would I know, I’m a cat! I know night and day (you are the one, only you ‘neath the moon or under the sun) Can you hear that – she’s singing!

Anyway, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, I know night and day and breakfast and supper – oh, and watching birds - and that’s all so I don’t know what AGES is. It might be something nice for all I know and maybe it’s a reward for blogging – there must be something in it for a tiger cat like me.

Well, last time I told you all about the buppies. Do you know what, they’ve grown ever so big – well, bigger than me and that’s quite big. Mrs H is still banging on about me losing wait. I don’t want to lose wait, don’tcha know, ‘cos I’m very good at waiting and what would I do if I didn’t wait?

Now, I’ve told  you before, I’m a pashent sort of a chap and I can put up with buppies but only ONE AT A TIME and when Buster comes to stay he and Bertie make my life a livingell, jumping on me and chasing me round the house. It’s enough to drive me to drink, don’tcha know. I don’t really know what that means, ackcherly, but I’ve heard the humans say it. It don’t make much sense to me, ‘cos I don’t need to be driven to drink, I can walk to it and it’s only water anyway, so I don’t know what all the fuss is about. I think it means that it’s all too much to put up with, so why don’t they just say that? I don’t know, humans make life sound very complicated sometimes. I think it’s ‘cos they’ve got so many words. Us cats can say all we need with just miaous and purrs and the humans know what we mean. I s’pose we’ve trained them well.

We had some excitement here don’tcha know. You know I like bird-watching. Well, there was a big bird chasing little birds and that was good, then just now there was lots of birds in the holly tree and they kept coming back and pinching the berries. I thought that was naughty but the humans were really pleased and took thousands of photos.

I poked my nose out of the door and Mrs H said I wouldn’t like it out there ‘cos it’s really cold. Then Mr H decided to light the fire in the conversatory and it filled the room with smoke so he opened the windows to let the smoke out then he couldn’t find me and he was worried so he and Mrs H searched and searched. I knew they was looking for me and I didn’t quite hide but I didn’t come when they called and when they was getting really worried I sauntered into the sitting room and said ‘What’s the problem?’ don’tcha know and they was ever so relieved. 

I know it was a bit naughty of me but my stars, do they think I want  to go out in the cold dark? Intruder cat does that. She waits by the pool room and makes all friendly with little miaous, but I’ve seen her stalking Bertie down the garden path so I don’t think she’s as sweet as she makes out. I wouldn’t want any harm to come to Bertie – if anyone’s claws are going to be used they’ll be mine but I won’t ‘cos he’s just a buppy still and I can keep him in line perfectly well by batting him with my velvet paws.

It was Mr H’s birthday on Friday and Bethan and Robert come to stay on Saturday. I like it when they come 'cos they really like me, don’tcha know, and it’s always nice to be liked, isn’t it?


The world is covered in white stuff. The dogs seem to like it. Bertie even managed to walk on the pond - Mrs H said he was learning to ice-skate, silly human! 

That’s all I’ve got for now. Be good!

TTFN

Where is the Giant's pencil case?

The Giant was striding home from Giant School and stopped to draw a sketch of the changes in the forest. As he opened his knapsack he realised he had lost his brand new pencil case. 

His mother would scold him, he was sure. In panic he retraced his steps, desperate to find it, and dropped his freshly sharpened pencils on the ground.

Poor Giant! I hope he found it and remembered to pick up his pencils.

Keyhole bread

Having trouble  sticking to your New Year’s diet??

Can’t resist another piece of toast?

Why not try the new Keyhole bread?

All the satisfaction of cutting another slice but with fewer calories.

Try it today – you won’t be disappointed!!

Bertie's complaint

When we came home from our run yesterday we looked for our beds because we were tired but they had all been moved into the kitchen. There was talk of washing all the bedding. I don’t know why Mrs Boss does it, just when we’ve got it smelling the way we like it. Anyway, we decided we’d leave the comfort of the sitting room with its warm fire and slum it in the kitchen.

It wasn’t too bad because the bedding was next to our freezer. (We have our own freezer for all our food. It makes sense. Boss and Mrs have theirs and we have ours.) 

Frodo came with me to keep me company and we were soon fast asleep and dreaming.

 Then Gus barked and woke me up – he frightened me. 

So I cuddled up next to Frodo and I was able to relax again. Frodo looks as though he’s got devil eyes in this photo but he’s all right, really. 

We were soon asleep once more.

I don’t know what happened next but I woke up to find Gus had taken my place and pushed me onto the floor – the floor without any bedding. That was a bit mean but I am the youngest, nearly eight months old, and Gus was here before me and he really likes Frodo. It was quite brave of Gus, really, because that noisy floor-cleaning thing was nearby and he's frightened of that but Frodo was between it and him so I suppose that was all right.

ps: I must admit clean bedding does feel nice and it doesn’t smell bad, either, so I don’t think I’ll complain again, not about that, anyway. 


pps: Jenna was on a chair somewhere, naughty girl!

Redwings

Yesterday I was pleased to see a Redwing (Turdus iliacus) eating berries in the holly tree. We didn’t see any Redwings last winter and I had been wondering if we would see any this year. Soon I realised there were two birds in the tree and many photos were taken. 

Today there have been regular excursions to the tree by several Redwings – I counted seven in and on it at one time and there may well have been more. Sometimes this small flock perches in the tree gorging berries. 

Occasionally they fly off carrying berries in their beaks as well as in their crops.

The Blackbirds and Wood pigeons have steered clear of the holly during the last couple of days giving the Redwings free range.

The Redwing is a widespread winter migrant in Britain and Ireland. The greatest concentrations are seen in central and southern England and southern Ireland. Redwings arrive in September, leaving again in March or April. Those in Scotland have probably flown from Iceland while those from Scandinavia winter in the south of England and as far south as North Africa and the Mediterranean. Fewer than fifty pairs breed in UK – some sources say fewer than twenty - and there is concern about the decline in numbers.

The Redwing is the smallest of the thrushes, just 21 cm (8½”) long. I couldn’t identify males, females, juveniles – they all looked much the same to me. What I found really fascinating were the sequences that Barry shot of them eating, well, swallowing anyway.  I shot some too, but his are much better.

This looks juicy

 Carefully does it - don't drop it

 

 I can do it - I know I can

Swallow

Gulp! 

. . . and again from the front . . .

 It looks a bit more of a beakful from this angle

 Open wide!

Down the hatch

Much of today has been spent reporting – ‘they’re back’, ‘they’ve gone’, ‘there are four, no, five, six, no, seven’ (voice rising to an excited shriek at seven) We may not see them again but that’s part of the entertainment of amateur bird-watching. I was expecting to see a Sparrowhawk dive into the tree but that didn’t happen. I was glad about that though of course poor Sparrowhawk has to eat too.

Bird dogs?

Bird dog is not a term commonly used in UK. Dogs used for hunting are generally known as gun dogs, a term which brings to (my) mind a vision of a retriever holding a shot gun. A bird dog, particularly in the Southern USA, is a dog trained to flush, hunt or retrieve game that has been shot.

However, we may have discovered a different type of bird dog. Strictly speaking, it shares few of the physical characteristics of canines but can be trained encouraged to retrieve.

Master of Hounds?

 We usually carry dog biscuits – as rewards or distractions or for training – and the bird dogs have observed this. For many years we have noticed them watching closely, particularly near water, and collecting treats that our own dogs have omitted to pick up.

In recent months a pair of bird dogs has been following us soon after we begin our walk. They have excellent eyesight and keep us in view from a safe distance. They are not domesticated and are wary of humans and dogs but associate them – or, at least, us – with food. It may not be the food that you or I would choose to consume (although as a child I enjoyed the smell and taste of dog biscuits) but the wild bird dogs are less discerning in their habits and will eat almost anything, alive, dead, fresh or decomposing. They are omnivores – one might even call them obligate omnivores – and they look well on their diet, bright-eyed and wearing glossy coats.

Today, the bird dogs, a mating pair – they mate for life – met us early in our walk and followed us up the hill, past three ponds to the big pond at the top. They waited patiently, calling to each other, as we watched a couple of deer, well camouflaged in the sere grasses and leafless saplings of winter.

 Can you see the deer in this photo? In fact, I've just realised there are two.

Any clearer now? There's one dead centre and  

another smaller one bottom right.

In this photo there are three deer, left, right and centre.

Eventually they were rewarded. The dogs plunged into the water, Jenna and Gus chasing the Aqua Kong and Frodo and Bertie retrieving biscuits. When they emerged the bird dogs stood at the edge furthest from us, watching and biding their time. Then they swooped over the water, because of course they’re birds, not dogs, and snatched the biscuits in their beaks, one at a time.

Waiting, maybe admiring their reflections

This one has successfully grabbed a biscuit

Its mate has also succeeded

We dub them bird dogs because they follow us and ‘fetch’ biscuits. We suspect that other people have observed their characteristics and, equally fascinated, have taken to throwing titbits for them to pick up. They followed us at a discreet distance all the way back, almost to the car, sometimes flying up to perch on branches, sometimes waddling along behind us on the track, watching and hoping for more treats. 

Following us back to the car

Striding out

Carrion crows are very intelligent and my admiration for them grows. The following video clips demonstrate their determination and their ability to solve problems. The first clip will not endear them, I’m afraid, but the second is impressive.

I'm linking to Our World Tuesday where you can find out more about other people's worlds.