Native orchids in northern Italy

...cur! ;-)

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Some time ago I took a break from the job, from telephone, from Internet, even from TV and radio, 

but (of course) not from photography. 

Taking photos is a kind of  meditation and relaxation for me, especially if I paddle my own canoe!

We found a nice and quiet haven amidst a great olive grove, a small B&B hotel high above Garda Lake. 

What enchanted me most on the hotel grounds (aside from the fantastic view on the lake) was the fact that we found native orchids right on the grassland above the building we lived.

So please follow me on my orchid tour through the olive grove; 

the five different native species I found end of April flowered in the sunshine next to the olive trees,

but not directly in the shadow of the trees. 

This white beauty is Cephalanthera longifolia, known as 

Sword-leaved Helleborine or Narrow-leaved Helleborine in English.

Der deutsche Name ist Langblättriges oder Schwertblättrige Waldvöglein.

The most frequent orchid species on our grassland was of the genus orchis - 

known as Knabenkräuter in German.

More precisely: Orchis simia, the Monkey orchid (Affen-Knabenkraut)

Crimson red or nearly white - it's the same species:

orchis morio - Green-winged orchid - Kleines Knabenkraut

Now we chance the genus: Ophrys - Ragwurzen. Most of them small but colourful floral gems.

The characteristic "H" gives the right hint: it's a Ophrys sphegodes,

the Early spider orchid, in German "Große Spinnen-Ragwurz".

Last but not least the ophrys gem you only find in northern Italy, mainly around Lake Garda:

Ophrys benacensis - the Lake Garda orchid/ophrys - die Gardasee-Orchidee!

I hope you enjoyed my little tour through the hotel garden on top of beautiful Lago di Garda.

Cordiali saluti, Uwe.

Whitsunday's floral gems

Yesterday evening I charged the battery of my old Olympus SLR,

because I have a fantastic close-up lens for this camera system with an aperture of 2.0

The idea behind the recharging of the battery was to use the (promised) great sunshine on Whitsunday morning to take some close-ups of flowers on my way to my Sunday breakfast location. Because for the afternoon the weather prophets promised us end-of-the-world weather (we have currently).

Anemone sylvestris (snowdrop anemone) was my first object of desire I found on a piece of dry grassland next to a parking area near a highway.

Next to the anemones I found my first military orchids [Orchis militaris],

a species of orchid native to Europe.

To get the best shooing position I had to go flat, in close contact to some thorns and a lot of creepy-crawlies like ants, bugs and ticks... ;-)

I really like the involvement between nature, light and camera technology,

the game with aperture and focus depth.

Scharfer Hahnenfuss [Ranunculus acris], known as meadow buttercup, tall buttercup or giant buttercup.

Finally: a close-up of a part of my breakfast:

sausage salad with peppercorns.

;-))

Sigmundskron Castle / Messner Mountain Museum Firmian

Welcome to a very special location.
Welcome to Sigundskron Castle close to Bolzano, South Tyrolia, Italia.

There you find the MMM Firmian, one out of five museums of the MMM - the Messner Mountain Museum, a museum project by Italian mountaineer and extreme climber, Reinhold Messner.

Firmian is the centrepiece of the Messner Mountain Museum, based in Sigmundskron Castle.
The castle dates to the Late Middle Ages and houses the museum's headquarters, administration and event facilities. The museum was opened on 11 June 2006 after three years of restoration to the virtually ruined castle.

MMM Firmian addresses the subject of man's encounter with the mountains.
The theme of the museum is the history and art of mountaineering.

Messner wants to show "what effect the mountain has on people" as well as giving an understanding of mountains and mountain peoples.

So a large part of the museum is dedicated to main theme, Messner demonstrates this by means of pictures, sculptures, symbolic objects and memorabilia of various expeditions, which are portrayed as part of a tour through the castle.

Messner also displays the history of alpinism and the impact of alpinism and tourism on nature and the environment.

But the museum is more: it really defies its visitors.

You have to travel more than 400 meters in height up and down the stairs if you walk the way as given in the museum's plan to explore the whole exhibition.

But my favourite part of the museum was the great exhibition of the founders of religions from the mountains and their disciples.

Messner dispays a great collection of buddhas and other sculptures from Nepal, Tibet, Bhutan and other mountainous regions.

In this part of the exhibition you find a unique mixture of the medieval European architecture and a meditative atmosphere from the Himalaya region.

Sounds of Tibetan monks chanting prayers and mantras reinforced the spiritual mood of this place.

MMM - insights and prospects.

桜 Sakura - the flower of the Japanese Cherry in my hometown

Bad Mergentheim, spa gardens, today.

  

Japanese relief stele and Japanese Cherry trees sponsered by Bad Mergentheim's Japanese twin town

Fuefuki 笛吹市  in the Yamanashi Prefecture.

Who can translate the Japanese characters cut in the stele for me?

--> "Gift from Isawa, Japan, (on a happy day in) May, 1993"

Thanks, Sapphire & Yoko & Sarah!

The two cherry trees left and right side of the relief stele are short prior the full bloom.

While taking the photographs of the blossoms and petals I tried to put the focus on a suitable background for my prime motifs - what was not always a simple task because of unfavourable surroundings in our park.

The thought flashed through my mind that ...

... I should try out my flashlight to create a different atomsphere on the blossoms.

On the spring equinox

Clouds wander about

The entrance of a mountain temple.

- Iida Dakotsu -

Happy hanami - happy flower viewing!

varieties of magnolia

- yESTERDAy -

- dREAM INTERPRETATIOn -

 

- tOMORROw -