Facts/pictures about your country

[Karhu]

Ca. 150-170 wolverines (going by the figures provided by environmental conservation organisations as opposed to the above-mentioned ministry) and ca. 120-130 wolves. Hardly enough to be sustainable in either case, given the size of this country.




They're legendarily shy of humans, smart little fellas. Hope the wolves get better at hiding soon, too, before it's too late for them.

This company offers Wolverine photo safaris, but I couldn't tell you how strong the guarantee is to actually see one. I guess they've "trained" a few to regularly show up at the same food place, so it's not quite the same as a chance encounter in the wilderness.

For some real-life wolverine pics, check out Antti Leinonen's page. His book is fantastic, I first came upon it in a shop this spring and could hardly put it down; it was a bit too expensive so I didn't buy it then but might someday anyway.

Oh my that's so cool! For reference, Finland is about the size of Minnesota and Iowa (US state just south of us) and we (not including Iowa) there's 3,000 wolves and barely a Wolverine sighting. HMMMM Lots of bears though... Althoug I did get to see a Mink a few weeks ago during a fishing trip. But what I've read about the wolverines is that they (or One) will have the balls to piss off a bear! I have to talk to my mom about this imbalance of nature...:Smug:

 

[Karhu]

So I checked out Antti's page and just about pooped in the woods. FANTASTIC stuff. Oh I wish I was there.

Kiitos paljon

 

[Tuuletar]

Some pics that I have taken recently:

And one from Lappeenranta harbour:

 

[xptrinity]

^Nice pics

Today is Sofia day, so here is the page of an art project: https://www.facebook.com/pages/ENJOY-SOFIA/260219197335674?fref=ts

 

[xptrinity]

 

[Eurynome]

Is that a liquor store? THERE'S MY KITTY!!!

And beautiful pics from Tuuletar again, especially the one with the plane. Just the right moment.

 

[xptrinity]

Yep, alcohol and cigarettes

 

[Eurynome]

A wildlife observation camera hidden in a Western Finnish forest captured this four-cub bobcat family. Cuteness alert.

www.youtube.com/watch?&v=IrgXIlusnCc

 

[xptrinity]

Thracian kings valley. The little hills are Thracian burial mounds.

 

[tuonelan]

Love those burial mounds. Very cool.

This one is close to home for me. Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972)

I've taught class many times in that building (Social Science Tower at the University of California, Irvine). Forty years from when that picture was taken, there's a row of tall pine trees behind the building and Jacaranda trees coming up along the side, turning the sidewalks purple every spring. There's also a lot fewer apes. Fortunate for us, since the film was supposed to take place in 1991.

 

[xptrinity]

Love those burial mounds. Very cool.

Some of them have very well-preserved murals on the inside. Like for example the one in Kazanlak.
There are also quite a few Thracian treasures, discovered all over the country.

 

[Tuuletar]

Few autumnal pics

 

[tuonelan]

Some of them have very well-preserved murals on the inside. Like for example the one in Kazanlak.
There are also quite a few Thracian treasures, discovered all over the country.

Saw an exhibition of grave goods taken from kurgans in Georgia when it was at the Getty Villa a few years back. Amazing stuff. Would love to have pictures from that exhibition, but that docent was on us like a bloodhound.

Gotta dig up some pictures of the Villa. Amazing, free museum in the Malibu hills just north of Los Angeles overlooking the ocean. One of the dozen or so free things I would recommend to visitors over a stupid Star Tour to stare at a bunch of closed gates.

 

[papajohnny]

Tuuletar, those are amazing pictures. Especially the first one. Looks as if the maple leaf is flowing on the star-filled skies.



And, damn, I need to get myself some sweet little Ukonvasara. Anywhere I can order one?

 

[Eurynome]

And, damn, I need to get myself some sweet little Ukonvasara. Anywhere I can order one?

Kalevala Koru doesn't make them anymore, but have you checked with our own goldsmith here on the forum? You'll find Marko's contact details on his website under "Yhteystiedot".

And back to topic, the newspaper warned yesterday that the nice fall days would be over soon, so I left my desk for a little Sunday walk. Should do it more often. All of these places are within 500-1000 m from where I live, some of you will remember this spot:

Some 20 meters up from the previous view, we have this - not a Thracian burial mound, admittedly, but an ancient grave just as well. Photographed from the opposite angle, the backdrop would have been the building where my friends of the local liquor store tend to their business, but they opened some 3000 years after these stones were piled up, so even if whoever rests here died of liver failure, it wasn't their fault.

This little shack I found in the park that surrounds the residence of the President of the Republic. He might wanna invite the members of Parliament to take turns spending a night here before discussing the next round of cuts targeting services for the poor.

Plowing the sea of gold...

Welcome to the Machine.

And a series of random color impressions...

 

[papajohnny]

Kalevala Koru doesn't make them anymore, but have you checked with our own goldsmith here on the forum? You'll find Marko's contact details on his website under "Yhteystiedot".

Thanks for the link, I'll probably drop him an e-mail one of these days.

Also, nice pics.
"a series of random color impressions" feels good to the eye

 

[xptrinity]

Great pics! Love the autumn colours.
Here are the ones from my Sunday walk. Mother and I went to the Vrana Palace park, which has now been open to the public for a few months. The palace used to be the out of town residence of the last Bulgarian tsars, then it was used by the communists as a residence. One of the tsars - Ferdinand - was very interested in botany, so he invited gardeners and landscape specialists to make the park around the palace. It is full of trees, that don't normally grow in Bulgaria, there used to be flower hothouses and a small zoo, which had the first elephants in Bulgaria (they were actually used for work). It is a big property and some land and a hunting lodge are still owned by the descendants of the tsars, but the rest is open to the public. The palace itself is still being repaired and the guide couldn't say when it's going to open.
The memorial that you see on one of the photos marks the spot where tsar Boris III was buried, after the communists undug him from his grave in the Rila Monastery. In 1954 they undug him once more from Vrana and blew up the chapel, that the tsaritsa had built. The remains went missing, except for his heart, in a jar, which is now buried again in Rila Monastery.

 

[xptrinity]

A gallery from the Rhodope Mountains. It's not mine, as I haven't been there for ages. But I made my mind that I will go back at first opportunity. Those pics reminded me what a special magic place those mountains are.

 

[Tiiti]

Happy Kekri / Jakoaika / Samhain / All Hallows Eve / Día de los Muertos / What ever you like

From todays' orienteering

 

[xptrinity]

Where did you find those masks?