Lotus, Mystery Photographer Extraordinaire

Many of you know Lotus, our mysterious "flower."
Did you know that our Lotus is also a great photographer?
Lotus took these photos on her last trip way up north in Wisconsin.



Cedar




Tiger Lily




Black-eyed Susan




Cattails




Foot Bridge




Milkweed with Bumble Bees




Mushroom




Lady Slipper




Lotus


Thank you, Lotus, for sharing your wonderful photos with us!
You have many talents, love!

Musée d'Orsay

This first photo is especially for Cranky!!!

Musée d'Orsay...welcomes you...and a big "Bonjour" to you too!




This museum was a railway station called Gare d'Orsay.
It was renovated around 1980-86 into this art museum that best known
for it's impressionism collection.







Renoir




The scale of some paintings was incredible.
This is a painting of Paris. I don't remember who the artist was, sorry.




I loved this one. Alfred Sisley.




????




Monet




Degas




Degas




They had a section in the museum for art that needed special lighting
so that the art wouldn't be damaged by harmful light spectrum.
No camera flash allowed...or you would be escorted to who knows where!
This photo is un-retouched.




With the magic of PhotoShop we can see it a little better.




Toulouse Lautrec. I never knew this painting was that big!!



One of his drawings in the "special lighting" area.
Unretouched photo.




Adjusted photo to see his drawing better!




One of my favorite painters...Vincent Van Gogh







One of Van Gogh's more famous self portraits...




and one not so famous. Notice the background in both.
Interesting...starry sky in one....wavy lines in the other.
Put them together and you get his famous painting "Starry Night."




The museum had huge clocks...I mean HUGE!
The view through them was spectacular.
In the distance you can see Basilique du Sacré-Cœur,
"Basilica of the Sacred Heart"




That ends our quick tour of d'Orsay!
There is so much to see and we just scratched the surface.

For more info about Musée d'Orsay
and info on Impressionism.

Thanks for taking the tour & coming to the Island!
Have a great day all!

A long walk around Devils Tower

Devils Tower National Monument

It is a most improbable mountain, sticking up a thousand feet in the air above the surrounding valley like some giant, prehistoric tree-stump. Native Americans from ancient times designated it a sacred place. Stephen Speilberg used it as a backdrop to his blockbuster movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Yearly, thousands of tourists come to gawk at its unusual shape.

Devil's Tower rises 1,267 feet above the nearby Belle Fourche River. What makes the mountain so striking is its sharp, near-vertical cliffs with regular, furrows and flattened top. The ancient Native Americans have several stories that explain its creation. In one two girls playing in the woods are chased by an enormous bear. The girls jump on top of a rock, but it is too small to give them safety. The Great Spirit sees the girls' predicament and causes the rock to grown to an immense size. The giant bear jumps at the girls, but cannot reach the top. His claws leave the gouges in the side of the rock that can still be seen today. Source: The UnMuseum

Turkey Vultures gliding around on the top of the Tower.
In the winter, Golden Eagles and Bald Eagles are often seen too.




As you walk around the Tower you will occasionally see things hanging in the trees.




They are Native American prayer cloths & bundles...
do not disturb them!!
Devils Tower is sacred for all!




The path around the tower is an easy walk for everyone!







The rock formations are beautiful!!




There are many boulders around the Tower.
These people are having fun sitting around and taking a break!




There were lots of rock climbers that day. If you look close you
can see one in the shadow directly in the middle of this photo.




It looks like a lot of fun!!




We spoke with the Park Ranger that day...
he said "I think there are more rock climbers today
than people walking around the Tower."




One more brave climber!




Devils Tower National Monument was awesome!!
I plan on going back many times!!

Here is good link for more info.... National Parks Service-Devils Tower

Have a great weekend all...
thanks for coming to the Island!!