"You see, Wendy, when the first baby laughed for the first time, its laugh broke into a thousand pieces, and they all went skipping about, and that was the beginning of fairies." James M. Barrie Peter Pan.

Monday, March 29, 2010

Fran's no chemist but here's

The periodic table of all periodic tables on the Web
(click to zoom in and out to see some amazing periodic tables available...

"Also available on Flickr — make sure to read the caption if you're a chemist, datageek or curmudgeon.
Sorry for the lame interface here. Click anywhere to zoom/drag and click the arrow icons to go to that periodic table (link will pop in a new window)."


Fran's favourite is CA of course....

Photobucket

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Why Fran and pilates don't work

While the bench didn't actually roll over on Fran it was 'this' close. Three years and she's STILL traumatized.

Home is where the Horn is?

OR the Odd Couple?

or the Antelope with its own Website!

Photobucket

Photobucket

This Impala antelope has become a home for a contented spider.

The insect appears to have settled in the web after it became caught between the antlers of the small antelope as it walked through a national park.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Male #50

... and if you need to hear El Condor Pasa.. [I did].. click here even tho' it has nothing to do with the picture. It is possibly the best-known Peruvian song worldwide due to the S&G cover version

Photobucket

California Condor, Gymnogyps californianus; population 356; Phoenix Zoo, Phoenix Arizona. Sartore: “This species nearly didn’t make it, but now there are more than 300 condors alive, and some of those birds fly free again. The bird you see here is known simply as Male #50. He flew in the wild for a time, until a collision with Arizona’s Navajo Bridge dislocated his right wing at the wrist. He’ll be an educational bird from now on—starting with this photograph.”

Friday, March 5, 2010

Kinda like a Pizza in Outer Space

Photobucket
The Hubble Space Telescope, named after astronomer Edwin Hubble and launched into space in 1990, has since taken almost 200,000 pictures
of the Universe which have been released to the public.

Fran feels kinda close to the Hubble. It was launched when she was in Florida on April 24, 1990 and she watched Discovery launch the telescope successfully into its planned orbit.

Photobucket.....Photobucket

Yup

Photobucket

OMG - Look at his eyes!

Photobucket

The "other" Sphinx

PhotobucketPhotobucket

Dust Devil

Photobucket

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Predator

Photobucket

Rarely has there been a purer image of death from above as that of the Snowy Owl swooping down out of the sky on its prey, the hushed sound of its feathers moving the air the only sign of impending doom for the animal scuttling along on the frozen floor. The mouse or lemming will soon find itself enveloped in the death embrace of this colourless bird of prey – seized in the lethal grip of its razor-sharp talons.

Death is milliseconds away: Snowy Owl about to sink its talons into its prey
Photobucket

Caught in the shadow of its killer’s metre-and-half long wingspan, the tiny creature skidding along on the ice is one rodent among thousands for the veracious Snowy Owl. To keep up its strength in the freezing wastes of its wintry habitat, this powerful predator must capture and devour between seven and twelve mice every day, and can eat over 1,600 lemmings each year.


Despite the persistence the Snowy Owl must show in order to meet its food requirement, it is also a patient hunter that perches and waits to identify prey before flying off in pursuit. This well-adapted Arctic raptor is equipped with keen eyesight and sharp hearing that enable it to detect animals under the snow – typically lemmings, mice and voles which it swallows whole.

Homing in on the spoils: Snowy Owl swoops down to pick up the slain rodent
Photobucket

As well as smaller rodents, the Snowy Owl also preys on larger mammals such as hares, muskrats and even foxes, plus other birds and fish – snatching quarry from on the ground, in the air, or off the surface of the water with its talons. Often, it swoops down on creatures it has spotted while waiting, though sometimes it flies low in the hope of surprising its victims.

Beautiful but deadly: Snowy Owl quietly surveys the scene for signs of life
Photobucket

Unlike many owls, this inhabitant of the extreme northern margins of the Arctic tundra hunts during the day. It spends much of its time on elevated lookouts, watching in silence to make forays for potential prey. The scanning of the surrounds is helped by its ability to swivel its head 270 degrees around. Whatever the Snowy Owl spies may soon find itself caught in its icy clutches.

Followers