Photos from your area..

[Han]

Here is where I sometimes go fishing.

Last year I saw a large snake! after some armchair research I discovered it was an Aesculapian snake and not dangerous, but at the time I was really worried that it was a venomous snake that had escaped from the London Zoo which is about 50 meters away!
It was in the tunnel on left of picture and a female tourist was taking close up pictures of it, I tried to explain that it was probably not a good idea to get so close to it as I did not know if it was dangerous or not, but she did not understand, and thank goodness it was not.
I have always wanted to see the pictures she took, but I have found equivalent ones. (see below)

The Camden Creature - Reptiles and Amphibians of the UK - Forum - Page 7

Just for the record I have been visiting the regents canal for at least 25 years and had never seen a snake before or since, I have seen wild Nadders and grass snakes in England but never in London.


Just for context here are some more pictures from the local area.

This one was taken about 500 meters from where I saw the snake (below)

The bus I catch to go fishing

 

[Goggs Mackay]

Why would someone Photoshop a factory into a picture of a flying pig?

My favourite post response this year from easily the best profile pikker around...the one and only spookymulder!

 

[Randall]

We've got a flood going - Never seen it like this in my whole life here.​

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Fortunately I'm on higher ground !​

 

[Wade]

We've got a flood going - Never seen it like this in my whole life here.​

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Fortunately I'm on higher ground !​

Synchronivity ! I just (tried) pm'ing you about that to see how it was going and to see if you had pics to share . . I understand there's no casualties although the stampede is due to start soon isn't it?

 

[Randall]

Synchronivity ! I just (tried) pm'ing you about that to see how it was going and to see if you had pics to share . . I understand there's no casualties although the stampede is due to start soon isn't it?

I'm not out taking pictures. I'm sure there will be plenty of those taken by other people. I don't want to go out and add to the problems by being in trouble spots. Just Google "Calgary Flood". There's all kinds of videos and photos being uploaded. Here's one from our downtown core:

For us here in Calgary this is just surreal. It's like what we've watched on the news happen to other places, always thinking we were relatively safe because of the dams, landscape, and climate. It's literally a once in 100 year disaster. The Ghost dam operations report that in the entire 90 year history it has never had to release so much water through the spillways:

I spent the first part of the morning clearing our eves troughs and downspouts to avoid pooling water around our foundation, and stocking up on a few groceries. There were lineups at the supermarkets all the way down the aisles for people getting bottled water and food. We went over to Indigo Books to have a coffee, and evacuees were camping out inside using the Starbucks WiFi to contact friends and family. Most of the homeless shelters are also in the flood zone. At least 75,000 people have been ordered to evacuate their homes.

The Trans Canada highway is closed to the west and trucks with supplies are backed up because they can't get through. Tourists are trapped in lodges in recreation areas around the city and being evacuated by helicopters. The downtown core is closed They've declared a state of emergency and called in the military. Fortunately I'm in a part of town that is above the reservoirs and has recently had storm drain and water system upgrades. Our power delivery substations are also up and out of the flood areas, so we're still OK.

This is a picture of the Glenmore Reservoir Dam that is near where we are. I haven't seen all the spillways flowing this fast in many years.

 

[Goggs Mackay]

What's the actual cited cause, if it's so rare? I mean, if you aren't in a known flood-plain etc, is it just the volume of rain uphill has caused rivers to burst banks etc? Shows you how much I knew about Calgary, I always had it pictured at the foot of the Rockies and certainly not in a place that could flood the way the pictures show.
Far out.

 

[Randall]

What's the actual cited cause, if it's so rare? I mean, if you aren't in a known flood-plain etc, is it just the volume of rain uphill has caused rivers to burst banks etc? Shows you how much I knew about Calgary, I always had it pictured at the foot of the Rockies and certainly not in a place that could flood the way the pictures show.
Far out.

There was a circulating system carrying moisture north-east from the west coast of the USA that was pushed back west toward the mountains as it entered Canada, and as it approached the mountains it started to dump all over us and into the mountains to the west, causing massive run-off that compounded with the local rainstorms. I also suspect that there were some issues with flood control at the reservoirs as well. They're supposed to prevent this kind of thing, and I've heard no explanation yet for why they let so much water through the spillways. So far everyone is presuming they had to, but It should be interesting to see if there will be an investigation into the specifics of the water management in this disaster. There are dozens of smaller dams that all work together as part of the regional water management system, so it's hard not to think that if they were all better managed that this disaster might not have been averted. So far everyone is just presuming they all knew what they were doing. Personally, I'm waiting for someone to ask whether or not there shouldn't be an inquiry.

 

[Goggs Mackay]

Our everyday experience with water is usually so tame - we drink it, swim in it, use it as a solvent etc but occasionally, like with Tsunami's and floods, nature can show how destructive and terrifying large volumes of water can be when moving or in the 'wrong' place...

 

[Polterwurst]

. It's literally a once in 100 year disaster.

That's what people said in 2002 when flood marks along the rivers were surpassed all over Germany. This year it's been worse. I don't want to be a stormcrow but... I don't like this at all.

 

[Goggs Mackay]

Down beside Aberdeen's harbour entrance, their is a little self-contained village called 'Footdee', locally pronounced as 'Fitty'.
There are houses designed as houses but also lots of little sheds etc that have been converted into little 'grandma apartments' or 'granny-flats' as we say here. Some are really colourful and 'different' - see what you think.



And here are a couple more from last week, a bridge close to me which is over 700 years old! Also some hills a little inland a bit, in the direction of Balmoral, the Queens Scottish holiday home.



These last two are of contrails and a little weird, hence me taking snaps. I can only imagine it was military jets on formation, then changing formation. Certainly could not have been commerical flights and really we don't get such military flights here, on occasion, we may get one or two single jets overflying, or landing at the airport, but not anything more, because about 90 miles away there is a large AirForce base where these things would happen. Any ideas?

 

[Goggs Mackay]

Hey folks, I am on holiday over in the Western Isles, also know as the Outer Hebrides. Specifically the Isle of Lewis, the largest of these islands. Today I visited some ancient standing stones which are around 5000 years old. The place is called Callanish and it is one of the best stone circles in the UK and unlike Stonehenge, you can get up close and personal. The largest of the stones is really tall and considering it must have a large percentage underground for vertical stability, the effort involved for the builders of the time must have been staggering.

I will be adding a few more phots in next few days as there are other ancient sites nearby. The weather was atrocious but that does not detract from the stark beauty of the place.

 

[pixelsmith]

These last two are of contrails and a little weird, hence me taking snaps. I can only imagine it was military jets on formation, then changing formation. Certainly could not have been commerical flights and really we don't get such military flights here, on occasion, we may get one or two single jets overflying, or landing at the airport, but not anything more, because about 90 miles away there is a large AirForce base where these things would happen. Any ideas?

Geoengineering (chemtrails) at work. I have photographed many of them this week here in MN. I was across town without my camera when I saw the same type of trail being formed. A jet came towards trails already formed and made a sharp angled turn. Seconds later another jet did the same thing. By the time I got to my camera the trails were already forming clouds. These were right over our city. I will post the pics I took later today.

 

[pixelsmith]

sorry about the dirt on the lens. here are similar "contrails" like those that Goggs posted. There were several crisscrossed together, they looked like Goggs' contrails at first but spread out like this within 15 minutes and eventually turned into large massive cloud cover. i have lots more but will probably post them in a different thread.

 

[Ian]

Hey folks, I am on holiday over in the Western Isles, also know as the Outer Hebrides. Specifically the Isle of Lewis, the largest of these islands. Today I visited some ancient standing stones which are around 5000 years old.

Hi Goggs. I'm fortunate engough to have travelled to many places around the world, but my favourite places out of the lot I think are the Scotish Western Isles. Hope to visit Mull again soon.

I'd love to live out there, but taking a day to get to the nearest B&Q (large DIY store to non-UK readers) or chemist rather puts me off! Will post a picture of 'where I live' soon...

(Great idea for a thread BTW!)

Ian

 

[Goggs Mackay]

Cheers Ian. My mother hails from Lewis, where I am right now and she is with me now. Although she comes home quite regularly it's been 10 years since I've been here and there is a huge difference in that there are many 'incomers' now. Many english accents can be heard and not the tourist ones.
It seems there are plenty people fed up of the rat run and city life who've come here for the peace and quiet and ever-present real sense of community. For instance, when I've been out for a run in the car, I come home to find a relative has deposited a bag of coal at the door, another day it's a jar of jam (jelly) and another time it's milk. People here really look out for one another and in a way that is totally absent in cities. The weather is poor but if you can put up with a lack of hot days, the other things about life here are priceless.

I've never been to Mull but in Lewis, we have the town of Stornoway which has pretty much whatever you need in terms of shops and of course these days, everyone is ordering stuff online so what took major hassle to procure 'back in the day' is now a click away!

 

[Ian]

My place "somewhere in England" this winter. It was cold...

 

[FilmguyLee]

Really interesting photos on here. I got tons of cool pics from where i live (Oxfordshire), as well as other parts of the UK i visit - I shall definitely put some up when I get some more free time to do it.

Haven't yet visited Aberdeen Goggs, but have spent time in Edinburgh - lovely place, although strangely, apart from the lady in the tourist information center at the time, did not encounter anybody with a Scottish accent!

 

[Goggs Mackay]

Really interesting photos on here. I got tons of cool pics from where i live (Oxfordshire), as well as other parts of the UK i visit - I shall definitely put some up when I get some more free time to do it.

Haven't yet visited Aberdeen Goggs, but have spent time in Edinburgh - lovely place, although strangely, apart from the lady in the tourist information center at the time, did not encounter anybody with a Scottish accent!

I suppose like London, Edinburgh is very international and full of non-natives!

 

[Goggs Mackay]

Check this bad boy out for a 'mothership' -

 

[Wade]

Check this bad boy out for a 'mothership' -

worthy of the cloud appreciators thread which sort of degenerated into a sunset sunrise thread.