SWFL Eagles - The ORIGINAL LEGACY OF HARRIET, M15 & HIS NEW FAMILY

 For those who consider the title of this post (and the name of the Facebook Group) to be incomprehensible gibberish, allow me to introduce you to the superstars of the Southwest Florida eagle cam. First there were Ozzie and Harriet, the original pair of mated bald eagles, observed all the way back in 2006. In 2013, a hidden camera was first installed in their tree-located nest, just in time to observe a brood of 8-week-old eaglets. To have called them little, even at that stage, might have been an understatement. They were already over a foot high, with almost adult-sized beaks, at reported in the very first nest notes. After Ozzie vanished, Harriet welcomed a new "husband" to her home, M15, and by now, Harriet too is gone, and the feathered-Mrs-in-residence is now dubbed F23. Earlier this year, this dignified pair suffered the loss of their youngest to avian flu, but they remain resilient. One of the most fascinating episodes of this long-term project has been when M15 did his stint as solo eagle dad, after Harriet's disappearance, raising two young eaglets on his own, before choosing a new companion. For regular updates or even livestreams on the private lives of these magnificent birds, you can visit their website or check out the Facebook Group for highlights. There will also be news and footage from other raptor families in different locations. 

Members: 55.1k, at the time of writing.

Trigger Warnings: Nature is nature.

Go here to visit or join. 

Birding, Nature & Wildlife Diaries of World

Birds in the World

Feather Identification Worldwide

Birds with Threatening Auras

DIY Ponds & Water Gardens

There is something tranquilizing about the sound of running water. There is also something soothing about the presence of a water body outside your window. If you're super rich, you can opt for a seaside villa, a lake cabin or even an island of your own. But if your budget's a little more modest than that, there is a deeply satisfying alternative you can craft in your own time. Welcome to the cozy magic of do-it-yourself fishponds and water features. Secret sanctuaries for pet turtles. Magical nocturnal lighting. Quaint bridges. Gnomes, faeries and toadstools. If you're looking for advice on wholesome pond maintenance or even tips on fish whispering (no, seriously - there are ways to make the fish come to you), this is your village of sage advisors.

Members: 274.6k, at the time of writing.

Trigger Warnings: None.

Go here to visit or join. 

Related Posts:

Dream Cottages and Gardens

Birding, Nature & Wildlife Diaries of the World

Snapshots of the World

Cemetery Arts

 Tiddles's tombstone was what drew me in to take yet another look at this Facebook Group. Tiddles was a church cat, remembered in a lovely gravestone and monument. But Tiddles is not the only cat immortalized in this manner. Further down, "the beautiful cat endures". The macabre funerary art of a Czech ossuary. An automobile engineer's grave communicates his passion for wheels - in life and in death. The loveliness of early springtime in Savannah's Bonaventure. The famous Highgate cemetery in London. Angels, angels and more angels. Stone puppies frozen in a moment of play. A Hello-Kitty memorial for the tragic young victim of a murder. The popular mausoleum of a Persian poet. A remembrance for unknown soldiers observed in Copenhagen. An Argentine memorial garden pays tribute to musical stars such as bandleader Anibal Troilo and singer Carlos Gardel. There are flowers everywhere and even after all this time, admirers make sure that the cigarette between Gardel's fingers stays lit. A ray of sun lights the tombs of tranquil Yanaka cemetery in Tokyo. Guatemala's land of the joyful dead. There is so much beauty here.

Members: 75.5k, at the time of writing.

Trigger Warnings: Some non-English text.

Go here to visit or join.

Related Posts:

Sunrises and Sunsets of the World

ghost stories and awesome haunted places

Snapshots of the World

Reg Smythe - The Cartooning Genius behind Andy Capp

 If ever there was a paragon of disgrace and infamy, you need look no further than Reg Smythe's pint-sized, permanently pickled lay-about, Andy Capp. I should know. However inappropriate for juvenile consumption they may seem today, we grew up with a stack of the Andy Capp comics, usually hauled out on Sundays or rainy days. Andy Capp drank until he was horizontal, abused snatching privileges on his wife's handbag to finance his vices and avoided work and the rent collector like the plague. On top of that, he was toxically misogynistic and all too frequently, his endless battles with long-suffering spouse Florrie turned physical. About the only nice thing one could say about the diminutive Northerner was that he liked pigeons. Andy and his regular supporting cast of victims and enablers are shrewdly observed and drawn, providing brutally honest social commentary. To quote Charlie Chaplin (yet another flawed human being, by modern standards), "Life is a tragedy when seen in close-up, but a comedy in long-shot". 

Members: 109.8k at the time of writing

Trigger Warnings: Inappropriate humor.

Go here (https://web.facebook.com/groups/2129216097198954) to visit or join. 

Related Posts:

Vintage and Rarely seen comic strips

Old Post boxes UK

People Incorrectly Correcting Other People

Old Post boxes uk

Some overlook a moody coastline. Others languish among other discarded relics in scrapheaps. Or take up the mantle of inanimate ambassador to the Best of British across the pond and further beyond. Occasionally they attract yarn bombers or other fiber art enthusiasts, inspire visual tributes or attract graffiti. But many still stand sentinel, guarding the unfettered flow of the Royal Mail system. There's a post box in Cardiff that's more than a hundred years old and not showing that much wear and tear of its many decades of service. Poldark Tin Mine in Cornwall boasts the deepest post box. And, just to show that postboxes are moving with the times, there are newer editions that bear the monogram of King Charles III. Even Edward VIII, famous for his short and scandalous reign, left his mark on post box culture. If you mentioned postbox red, everyone would know what you're talking about. But in Ireland, they're green. In Guernsey, you might stumble across a blue one. In Cyprus, they are as yellow as the sun. And - this is no legend - there is a gold-painted one in St Stephens, Cornwall. If you're keenly interested in the world of the post box, there are books and groups dedicated to their charm, as well as museums in London, Colne Valley, Halstead and the Isle of Wight. 

Members: 22.1k, at the time of writing.

Trigger Warnings: None.

Go here to visit or join. 

Related Posts:

I love Haworth and the Bronte Parsonage

Scotland's Turntable

BANKSY