Natural life

Farmer Robert Duncan was born in Utah, USA, and began painting at the age of 11.
I am happy to offer you this magnificent post, which allows us to discover an artist with a remarkable talent.
The thought will surely come to your mind that the paintings you will see seem to be photos.
Enjoy the realism of these images.
The End

All pictures by Robert Duncan, from the Internet.

And do yourself a favor and go find the artist: https://robertduncanstudios.com/

Thank you, Mr. Duncan!

Beautiful story – amazing

An amazing story

The famous Italian diver, Enzo Majorca, swam in the warm waters of the Siracusa sea and chatted with his daughter Rossana, who had stayed on the boat.

Ready to submerge, he felt something tap lightly on his back. He turned and saw a dolphin. He realized then that he didn’t want to play, but to express something.

The animal dove and Enzo followed.

About 12 meters deep, trapped in an abandoned net, was another dolphin.

Majorca quickly asked her daughter to pick up her diving knives. In a few minutes the two managed to free the dolphin, which, at the limit of its strength, managed to emerge, emitting an “almost human scream” (so described Majorca).

A dolphin can only resist underwater for up to 10 minutes, then it drowns.

The freed dolphin, still stunned, was controlled by Enzo, Rossana and the other dolphin.

Then came the surprise: It was a dauphin, which soon gave birth to a baby.

The male circled them and, stopping in front of Enzo, touched his cheek (as if it were a kiss), in a gesture of gratitude… And they walked away.

Enzo Mallorca ended his speech saying: “Until man learns to respect and dialogue with the animal world, he will never be able to know his true role on this Earth.”

Natural Wonders by accident

  1. A path with history
    (Dark Hedges, Ireland)

It is a single stretch of road near Bregagh Armoy in County Antrim, Ireland. The beeches that protect the road have grown too close together, competing for the light. The trees were planted by a family to decorate the access to their Georgian mansion many years ago. Today, the road is one of the most photographed postcard in Ireland.

  1. The Gerlach Desert Geyser
    (U.S.A.)

Everything was pure aridity in the Gerlach area, near Nevada, until a group of men decided to drill insearch of water for their livestock and crops. What they found was thermal water that, since then, emanates from the rocky terrain, initiating a sedimentation process capable of forming a natural sculpture that looks more like a fantasy landscape. Today, it’s almost a tourist attraction, but it was all an accidental fluke.

  1. The wonderful remains of an ancient mining exploration
    (Las Médulas, Spain)

In the region of El Bierzo, in the province of León, there is an incredible natural place, although the curious mountain shapes were originated by the gold mining carried out by the Romans in that place.

  1. Tunnel modeled by train passage
    (Ukraine)

This time, nature adapted to the passage of man in the form of a train. In a dense forest, along a railway track, a tunnel was formed that fits the train, a leafy gallery known as the “Tunnel of Love“!

  1. The landslide that gave birth to a paradise of scale
    (Texas)

This time, the “accident” did not involve the hand of man, but the tireless work of Nature for hundreds or thousands of years.

A little over a century ago, in an area near Austin, Texas, an underground river (after having eroded a cavity for thousands of years) caused a landslide that gave way to a small sheltered oasis, with calm waters, a waterfall and vegetation which is seen as a completely unusual place.

The pool (Hamilton Pool) is surrounded by huge limestone slabs and decorated with stalactites, mosses and some bushes that grow hanging between the rocks. Today, it receives hundreds of visitors, especially in summer.

Taken from a PowerPoint presentation that can be found here https://fdocumentos.com/document/maravilhas-por-acidente-58a740fba27bc.html.

A big thank you to Linito for amazing work!

TIBETE – train travel

From what I saw, this documentary was made in 2011.
TIBETE – train ride …. with the best technology in the world

As I do love to travel and Tibete it’s one the spots I really want to go, when I saw this PowerPoint I had to share it! The Author is Eddy Cheong. Thank you!

From Beijing to Lhasa

Tribute to railway builders

CHALLENGES

Since the founding of the Republic of China by Dr. Sun Yat-sol in 1911, it has been a dream of that country to have a national railway system connecting all its provinces.
Tibet became the last province to be linked, as there were major obstacles.

This is the “Mother of thousands of Mountains”.
How to build a railway line in these mountains to reach China’s most remote province, Tibet? Like, if about 85% of the railroad will have to stay in the “forbidden zone”, also known as “Zona da Morte” (Death Zone) because of bad weather:
air, severe and unpredictable weather, ferocious storms and high UV radiation.
Average annual temperature is below zero degrees, reaching negative 45º C; average elevation of the railroad: 4,115 m above sea level; highest point: 5,100 meters.
When building the Mountain Tunnel Fenghuo – 4,800 m above sea level – workers had to be equipped with oxygen cylinders.
Seventeen oxygen-producing stations were built along the railway line to “feed” the tunnel.
5,180 meters of high mountains to climb, valleys 12 km wide, hundreds of kilometers of ice and mud that could never support trains!
How can a tunnel be opened through the rock, in a climate of minus 40 degrees and with serious oxygen difficulty?
550 km of ice along the rail route; non-compact ice and damp soil in the Summer – a nightmare for railway engineers.
As most cattle and wildlife graze freely, the line was raised in most places.
Four areas have been specifically reserved to protect wildlife species in the Tibetan plateau, including the Chiru population.
Environmental protection of ecosystems:
High investments were made in the project.
Routes were selected to prevent the railway from passing through major wildlife habitats.
Chiru, whose wool is known as ‘shahtoosh’, or ‘wool queen’, for sale for up to $10,000 each, despite legal protection, is threatened with extinction.
Wool is smuggled from Tibet, mainly to Kashmir, where shawls and scarves are made.
Although Chiru is protected in China, it is still legal to weave shahtoosh in India.
In all trains, toilets, waste water tanks and waste treatment facilities were installed to protect the environment along the route.
Beijing West, here begins our story
Beijing West Railway Station is the first stage of our train adventure to Lhasa.
Travel companion, Joey, points to the sign that says, “Beijing West to Lhasa “.
All trains entering Tibet from China are equipped with trash compactors and vacuum toilets. In this photo, you can see a worker collecting sanitary waste from a train on the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, using vacuum technology installed at the Golmud station.
Protection of the environment was an important priority.
Joey appreciates the landscapes that take place throughout the trip.
Western cuisine available on the menu.
The service is excellent. Friendly, it serves fruit juices, snacks and drinks.
Passengers do not suffer from high altitude sickness, as the carriages are fully air-conditioned and pressurized, as in airplanes.
Oxygen masks are also available in your bedrooms, as well as along the corridors and in the trains’ bathrooms.
Beautiful setting and healthy hot meals.
Mountain tunnels.
The construction of a bridge over the icy soil.
This has the least impact on the area, but it is also the most expensive.
Qingshuihe Bridge is the longest bridge in the world built on icy ground.
Animals graze peacefully, oblivious to the passage of the train
Whenever possible, the railway line is elevated to allow the passage of migratory species and to minimize any adverse impact on the natural environment.
Timeless beauty of Lake Namtso.
Train rises to an altitude of more than 5,000 meters.
The length of the Qingzang railway is 1,956 km. The line includes the Tanggula Pass, at 5,072m above sea level, the highest in the world.
Stopping to take a picture with ice as a backdrop.
The train passes ice and snow-capped mountains on the way to Lhasa.
From the beginning, the design departments were concerned with the migration of antelopes.
Wildlife, bears and wild donkeys have already adapted to the presence of the railway line.
Yaks grazing peacefully, indifferent to the passing of the train.
The enchanting beauty of the blue lake of Yamdrok.
The train passes by the Patola Monastery, on the way to the Lhasa Railway Station.
With the opening of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway and the new Nyingchi Airport, there was a flood of tourists in Tibet, reaching 4 million last year, up 60 percent.
Interior of Lhasa Railway Station.
Departure from Lhasa Station.
Exterior of Lhasa Railway Station.
The Lhasa Station it looks more like a first-class airport terminal.
Tibet’s economy has never been self-sufficient to give its people meaningful life. The Central Government of China has invested more than $4 billion to build this rail system – the most expensive in the world.
Since the time of Emperor Kublai Khan, Tibet has belonged to China and is its most remote province.
The new bridge over the Tsangpo River to the railway station.
Hotel reception area – Lhasa.
The Lhasa River bridge connects the center of Lhasa to the new train station.

Copyright reserved:

E. Cheong

New Huaren Federation

16 February 2011

“I have a dream”

Russian Mother Takes Magical Pictures Of Her Two Kids With Animals On Her Farm

These wonderful photographs by Elena Shumilova plunge the viewer into a beautiful world that revolves around two boys and their adorable dog, cat, duckling and rabbit friends. Taking advantage of natural colors, weather conditions and her enchanting surroundings, the gifted Russian artist creates cozy and heartwarming photography that will leave you amazed.

The boys in the photographs are the photographer’s sons and the animals belong to the farm she runs. “I largely trust my intuition and inspiration when I compose photos.”

Iguaçu River Mouth – Brasil (The limit of 3 coutries)

The journey will begin
Admire this wonder of Nature.
3 countries separated only by water.
Is it not pretty?
Here progress.
Here Nature.
We feel so small.
Given such greatness.
Here the challenge.
The beauty.
The power .
A different world.

The Internet provides us with the expansion of our knowledge.
Look at these images …
Photos from a never seen angle …

Nature has ways to show us the greatness in its purity.

If you liked this post, go find the base PowerPoint at https://pt.slideshare.net/josemorales/iguazu-tres-fronteras?next_slideshow=1

Thank you to the author, for sharing this little piece of Eden!

The extraordinary snail

Snails are terrestrial gastropod mollusks.
They breathe through a lung …
… therefore being of the order Pulmonata.
They have a spiral limestone shell.
Belong to the suborder Stylommatophora which also includes slugs.
Let’s look inside its body …
The aquatic species are called sea snails…
Fantastic Nature !!!
Snails have no hearing. They use touch and smell and they not see very well.
Snails are an incomplete hermaphrodite…
… and so they need a partner to…
In Portugal, France and Italy, snail is considered a delicacy.
Escargots in France
Lumache in Italy

As it should be, here’s an anecdote involving Snails:
An Alentejano leaves home at dawn for his rural work.
At the end of the day he returns to his house but before entering he looks back and sees a snail on the floor.
Furious, he steps valiantly exclaiming:
Take this big f *** ~ * ’cause you’ve been chasing me all day !!!

Credits: Based on the PowerPoint “O extraordinário caracol” by José Cervantes. Images from Internet.

You ca find the original here: https://pt.slideshare.net/jmpcard1/o-caracol-50089647