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~~~~~
Seeing out the rest of its days
in the shade of an old gum tree.
Where sheep can be found during
the hottest part of a summer day.
Botswana’s Kalahari Scrub Robin
casting a shadow much larger
than its actual size.
kalahari desert
Cee-BW-Challenge-Smaller-Bread-Box-or-Bin
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~~~~~
~~~~~
This week I have chosen birds which are all,
according to Google, smaller than a breadbox
which are usually about 16 inches wide
by 8 to 9 inches high and deep ,
or 40cm x 20cm x 20cm.
I would have thought the
Northern White Crowned Shrike
was considerably smaller than its
Crimson Breasted cousin.
However, at 19-23 cm long and
tipping the scales between
42 to 58 grams it more than
holds its place with its cousin.
The Crimson Breasted Shrike
is a smaller bird than I remembered it to be.
Measuring 23cm in length and
weighing 40-57 grams it is roughly
the same size as the
Northern White Crowned Shrike.
Bread box: 40cm x 20cm x 20cm
The Kalahari Scrub Robin
measures only 16 cm in length and
weighs between 17 and 23g
Bread box: 40cm x 20cm x 20cm
At 14 cm, or 5.5in, long and weighing
only 8–13 grams (0.28–0.46 oz),
the Superb Fairy Wren
Bread box: 40cm x 20cm x 20cm
~~~~~
Cee’s Black & White Challenge:...Smaller-Than-Bread-Box-or-Bin
~~~~~
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Word-of-Day-Challenge-Queer
~~~~~~~
queer
differing in some way from what is usual or normal
~~~~~
I remember at the time thinking what
an unusually shaped tree root, this was.
Unfortunately, I don’t think I captured
another image to put it in context.
Then as now all I see is a reptile hanging out of a tree.
One of my more interesting images from
Botswana’s Lekhubu Island in the
Makgadikgadi Salt Pans.
Another oddity sighted on Lekhubu Island
was this split rock.
The only other rocks I have seen split so cleanly
by Mother Nature were at
The Devil’s Marbles in the Northern Territory.
The Marble which was photographed
the most was some 10-12 feet in diameter.
Apparently desert extremes (heat and cold)
causes the split.
~~~~~
~~~~~
FOWChallenge-Space
~~~~~
space
available, or unoccupied.
****
The wide open spaces of Makgadikgadi Salt Pans…
…which are located in Botswana,
on the north-eastern edge of the
Kalahari Desert.
*****
~~~~~
Fandango’s One Word Challenge:…Space
One-Word-Sunday-Ugly
~~~~~~~
ugly
~~~~~
I would be…
…hard pressed…
…to find any beauty…
….in these arachnids
although many would disagree.
Even this one, long embedded in resin
made me jump when I saw how close
it was to my hand.
~~~~~
One Word Sunday Challenge:...Ugly
A-Photo-a-Week-Challenge-Off-Centre
~~~~~
~~~~~
*****
Point Nepean flag pole at the 2014
Commemoration of Firing the First Shot
of World War I,
August 5, 1914,
at 1245 hours.
Geelong Football Stadium
home of the
Geelong Cats.
Sadly the art work is no longer.
Technically I believe my Kalahari Scrub Robin
is in the wrong half of the frame.
It should have room to run into.
However to include its shadow
the rule had to be ignored.
Living street art in Melbourne.
~~~~~
A Photo a Week Challenge:….Off-Centre
~~~~~
~~~~~
One-Word-Sunday-Empty
~~~~~~~
empty
containing nothing,
not filled or occupied.
~~~~~
Makgadikgadi Salt Pans…
…are located on the North Eastern edge of
Botswana’s Kalahari Desert.
We drove for several hours over what appeared
to be empty acres of salt.
The only time we knew there was life was when
we sighted some wildlife.
Lekhubu Island, our destination,
was a pleasant site on the horizon…
…which only temporarily blocked our view of the emptiness…
…all round us.
The emptiness did make for a beautiful sunset…
…followed by an equally beautiful sunrise
in the morning.
Packed and ready to go,
we were soon out of salt pans…
…however, apart from the occasional tree
the landscape was still very empty.
~~~~~
One Word Sunday Challenge:...Empty
One-Word-Sunday-Small-Smaller-Smallest
~~~~~
~~~~~
Some
Small, Smaller, Smallest fauna
from Africa.
The Masked Weaver, 11–14.5 cm (4.3–5.7 in) long,
which makes it nearly the same length
as the Scrub Robin.
However, at 35 grams, the Weaver weighs
nearly twice as much.
The Scrub Robin is roughly the same length
as the Weaver, however, at just 17–23 grams
it is the Roboin is the smaller of the two.
The of my images today is the Dung Beetle,
which varies in size from 5mm to 30mm,
or about 0.2 to 1.2 inches.
Some dung beetles can bury dung 250 times
their own mass in one night.
~~~~~
One Word Sunday Challenge:...Small, Smaller Smallest
Silent-Sunday-Lekhubu-Island-Sunrise
SUNDAY-STILLS-PC-Mountains-Valleys-Nature-Landscapes
~~~~~~~
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Drakensberg Mountains,
South Africa.
The Grampians…the southern end of
Australia’s Great Dividing Range
Two views of…
…Geelong’s
Moorabool Valley.
~~~~~
After our night at
Botswana’s Lekhubu Island
we headed off to
Maun and the Okavango Delta…
…through the North-East
Kalahari Desert landscape.
The almost bare open landscape was…
…interspersed with several
Kalahari Bushmen Villages.
Salt Pans on the horizon
~~~~~
PictureThis-Mountains-Valleys-Nature-Landscapes
~~~~~
