I do not think I have ever posted Phone Images (gasp),
but last night, after a great birthday dinner,
friends took us to an amazing house in Clearwater lit up for the holidays. All I had was my iPhone, so here goes:
December 2, 2023
Thanks, Fred and Denise!
What?
Oh, deer
Wild Gobblers, also neighbors
Two Larkspur scenics
Assorted flowers
(still learning my macro lens)
See these at
www.ImagesByBill.us
Larkspur, Colorado
October, 2023
...we can go on a romantic evening walk on the beach after dinner, and
enjoy the sun and sand the next day.
September 27,2023
...in Florida with rain.
Image courtesy of Ring
September 19, 2023
Through the lens of a French DX0 One mini camera:
Daytona Beach clouds as oil paintings
Small lens sunrise
The ocean late at night from a 10th floor balcony
August 15-17,2023
Standing by himself in the summer rain
Studiously being ignored by the resident Quackery
July 11, 2023
Wine Friends Reunion
Charlottesville, VA
Memorial Day weekend, 2023
First, a sunset in route
(first sunset picture of the year)
Horton Vineyards
Barboursville Vineyards and Ruins
(also where we had an outstanding Dinner)
Blenheim Vineyards
(owned by musician Dave Matthews since 1999)
Pippin Hill Farm and Vineyards
Wisdom Oak Winery
Septenary Winery at Seven Oaks Farm
(once owned by Dave Matthews Band's manager)
Chiswell Farm and Winery
Hazy Mountain Winery
An unscheduled last stop:
Trump Winery
(Eric, not Donald)
And, to finish, a few B&W scenics
The Wine Friends Reunion group:
Ann ("KellyAnn"), Chris, Kim, Scott C, Susan, Scott P, and Ruth
It doesn't get any better!
Visit the gallery: https://www.imagesbybill.us/Places/Charlottesville-Wineries/
May 26-29, 2023
First, a couple of sunsets from Cape Coral, FL, one of the areas hard-hit by Hurricane Ian last year.
Hurricane Ian hit Florida in September 2022 as a Category 5 storm. It was the deadliest hurricane to hit Florida since 1935 and the 3rd costliest weather event on record.
Cape Coral is a smallish city on the west coast of Florida and was in the direct path of the storm. Even now, in April 2023, storm damage is very evident throughout the city as rebuilding continues.
A home's storm Damage at sunset
https://www.imagesbybill.us/Out-of-Business/Sunset-Storm-Damage-Hurricane-Ian/
April 14-15, 2023
The final image was posted in my Crossin' The Pond series last night!
Fifty-one images of a trip from Rome to Miami in December.
https://www.imagesbybill.us/Places/Crossin-the-pond
In addition, there are posts from Rome and Tivoli before the crossing.
https://www.imagesbybill.us/Places/Hadrians-Villa-Tivoli-Italy/
https://www.imagesbybill.us/Places/Tivoli-2022/
https://www.imagesbybill.us/Places/Rome-2022/
If you are looking to decorate a wall, there are some great choices.
More good news: the IT guys are finally done configuring www.imagesbybill.us and the site flows as it should!
The ruins of the villa of Roman Emperor Publius Ellis Hadrian in Tivoli, Italy. Built 118-134 AD.
Click here for full size images that really show the splendor of the villa
We were only here for three - four hours and missed a lot of the Villa... on the list for a return visit!
December 6, 2022
A 16th- century villa in Tivoli, near Rome, famous for its terraced hillside Italian Renaissance garden and its profusion of fountains. Construction began in 1560 for Cardinal Ippolito II d'Este. Wikipedia has a nice article on the Villa's convoluted history.
Inside the villa
Frescoes, statues and paintings
The Gardens and Fountains
The Fountain of the Organ (‘’Fontana dell’Organo’’)
is one of the most famous features of the garden; it was described and imitated throughout Europe. Work on the masonry structure began in 1566. The fountain itself was made by the French fountain engineer Luc Leclerc and his nephew Claude Venard. After the death of Leclerc, Venard invented the ingenious mechanism of the water organ, which was installed in 1571.
The fountain was the first of its kind, and astonished everyone who heard it; when Pope Gregory XIII visited the villa in 1572, accompanied by his court of cardinals and princes, he insisted on inspecting the interior of the fountain, to learn if someone wasn't concealed inside making the music.
A massive masonry arch behind the fountain, the ‘’castellum aquae’’ or water castle, conceals the water reservoir and the hydraulic machinery of the fountain. The original design featured a grotto in the niche of the arch, with a view of the twenty-two pipes of the organ. A statue of ‘’Mother Nature’’ or the ‘’Ephesian Diana’’ was placed in front of the arch in 1569; it now has its own fountain in the lower garden.
The water creating the music arrived first at the top of the ‘’Castellum aquae’. It went first through a series of whirlpools, which mixed air with the water; then it dropped down a pipe into the ‘’camera aeolia’’, or wind chamber, where the air and water were separated; the water turned a wheel, rotating a cylinder which opened the valves of the twenty-two pipes, so the air could pass through the pipes and make the music. (thank you, Wikipedia)
Three masks of The Hundred Fountains. When built they were white marble but time has worn them.
The full-sized images are a much better look. Click here!
Amazing villa. We only had time for a couple of hours there. I didn't capture a lot of this amazing place.
From 2009 hiking the Grand Canyon with Jodi and Mike
using new Radiant imaging software
Full sized images are much better: click here
April, 2009
A day traveling around Rome.
Famous Fountain Di Trevi
The Colosseum
Click here to go to all my Rome images
December 5, 2022
Welcome to 2023!
Our quiet pond, usually occupied by a small quackery of ducks and a few other birds, has seen an influx of visitors over the last several days. The visitors include seagulls, pelicans and an alarming number of turkey buzzards (over thirty yesterday). Thus far this morning only the ducks and a couple of pelicans are out and about.
Hanging out in and around the pond...
These guys, observing in a corner away from the maddening crowd, are part of our usual menagerie.
Turkey buzzards... why are they visiting?
Like at the beach, when it gets too crowded, some leave...
Meanwhile, the turkey buzzards circled in the air currents above the pond, looking very ominous.
01/09/23
The first stop on our drive around Rome was the Vatican.
Almost an overwhelming number of people, but our driver took us to a less-used entrance to St. Peter's Square. We were told the line into St. Peter's Basilica was so long that almost half the people in line might not make it in before everything closed that night.
12/05/22