Sky Watch Friday # 30

Vigeland Sculpture Park - Oslo - Norway

For more Sky Watch photos, visit the Sky watch site - Sky watch was Dots idea, now hosted by Sandy, Klaus, Tom , Ivar and Imac.

I promised you penguins...

Boulders Beach, Simonstown

So, we've done whales... now it's time to waltz with penguins...

The Boulders Beach penguin colony was formed in about 1983 and is now home to some 3000 (or more) African Penguins. The penguins were formally known as Jackass Penguins because they bray - loudly - just like donkeys. This time of year is the moulting season and the penguins, having gone on a massive feeding frenzy in the preceding months, come ashore to moult. During this time they're particularly vulnerable. They can't go into the sea to feed and have to conserve energy. So, what you see is a lot of penguins lolling about looking decidedly scrappy and scruffy - and lethargic!

Conserving energy on a sunny rock

Click to enlarge images above and below to read more about penguins and moulting

Hanging about, all a-moult...

A wooden boardwalk leads visitors down to the rocks and onto the beach. The beach and rocks themselves are not accessible, so as to give the penguins some space and peace. However, when not moulting, the penguins can be found everywhere, on the beach, on the rocks and in the neighbouring gardens - and they can get decidedly territorial! It goes without saying the penguins make a lot of mess and dig deep hollows for nesting. Not really the sort of bird you'd want in your garden... (about as bad as guinea fowl really....)

Early moult and late moult. The penguin in the front is pretty much in his new feathers. The one in the rear of the image is decidedly mid-moult!

Now, open wide... Didn't you just always want to stare down a penguin's throat...

Sunbathing

Me and my shadow

Sssh, I'm meditating

Not now! I'm resting! Point that camera somewhere else!

(I know it looks peaceful, but there were a gazillion tourists all snapping away and making a lot of ooh and ah and other noisy sounds!)

Plump and shy, getting ready to shed my feathers...

Teenage penguin

Please do not disturb

Stepping out - and looking decidedly "lean"

A final view of penguins slumbering on the rocks

And this is a sign to heed before getting in your car and driving away!

Red water

At our newly started photoblog, there has been a show of water this week - both dripping and running and and a lively discussion of the techniques to be used.

I have little experience with this kind of thing, so I have used the evening for some experiments. With the camera on a tri-pod, a powerful flash, my daughter armed with a large white paper and a mirror for reflection and a red towel at the bottop of the sink, I set to work.

Drip-drip and 52 pictures later....

I had better do some more experiments

N is for Night in ABC Wednesday

My view at NIGHT.

Today's post is part of the the third round of ABC Wednesday. The founder, Denise Nesbitt, has changed the rules to make the system more practical. There is now a no-comment blog where you can post a copy or short version of your post with a link-back to your original post for the full version and comments. Scanning through this no-comment blog will give you No Nonsense (I hope)! She has also set up a site where you can log on via Mr. Linky if you want to do that.

I give you whales...

From behind, there was this...

Glencairn Station

The train runs from Cape Town station, through the suburbs and then from Muizenberg (see previous post) it travels along the coast to Simonstown, which is the end of the line.

To the left there was this... Muizenberg, St James, Kalk Bay, Fish Hoek...

And ahead... well, there was this. Which is why we're all here, isn't it...

The great whale race...

Last one round the marker is krill!

Heavy breather...

Now where did she go...

I could have sworn I saw here here a moment ago...

Come here, darlin', you know you wanna...

Blogger's note: Did I mention it's the mating season...

Getting saucy...

Why do men always fall asleep afterwards?

Zzzzzz....

Some general frolicking...

It's a whale of a tale...

Flipper flapper...

No, it's not a shark...

Here's lookin' at you, kid!

Big momma...

Fins and fun...

Sunday cruisin'...

And here's where you get the bird's eye view. The whales really were no more than 100 - 200 meters offshore. Cool, huh?

Next, we'll do penguins...

And, then we'll do what's just happened in my garden... Yeah, I'm a godmother! To 19 small fluffballs... It's the first guinea fowl hatch of the season, and they're all in my garden! I've turned into a real mother hen!

This is My World

A new Meme is being launched today called That's my world.

This is My world. This what I see every day. This is the Fjords of Norway - it is even three of them meeting beneath my terrace an evening in June. I cannot live without the water. If I can't see it , I have at least to know that it is near at hand. I have to be able to smell the salt water.

For the particulars: This is the seaway entrance to Bergen, on the western part of Norway. It is what the cruiseships meet when they come (this is for you IMac!). I have seen them all and have photos of many of them.

This is my world. This is my life.



Have a look at other places around the world That's my world.

Drammen City - Norway

Drammen kommune
— Municipality —
Coat of arms Buskerud within Norway
Drammen within Buskerud
Coordinates: 59°44′16″N 10°12′18″E / 59.73778, 10.205
Country	Norway
County	Buskerud
Municipality ID	NO-0602
Administrative centre	Drammen
Government
- Mayor (2003)	Tore Opdal Hansen (H)
Area (Nr. 366 in Norway)
- Total	137 km² (52.9 sq mi)
- Land	135 km² (52.1 sq mi)
Population (2008)
- Total	60,145
- Density	421/km² (1,090.4/sq mi)
- Change (10 years)	8.2 %
- Rank in Norway	9
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
- Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Official language form	Neutral
Demonym	Drammenser [1]
Data from Statistics Norway
Website: www.drammen.kommune.no

Drammen is a city and municipality in the county of Buskerud, Norway.

Drammen was established as a municipality 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The rural municipality of Skoger was merged with Drammen 1 January 1964. (And then transferred from the county of Vestfold to the county of Buskerud.) There is also a town called Drammen in Wisconsin, named after the Norwegian city in 1877.

Source wikepedia

Drammen River