Hey, let's go to Daytona Beach...
September 29, 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
It was a dark and stormy night, part 2...
September 24, 2023
...in Florida with rain.
Image courtesy of Ring
September 19, 2023
Daytona Beach through a small lens
August 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
It was a dark and stormy night...
July 29, 2023
Outside the front door in yesterday's rain
July 12, 2023
Standing by himself in the summer rain
Studiously being ignored by the resident Quackery
July 11, 2023
Miscellaneous
July 09, 2023
Winery Wanderings- Virginia
June 14, 2023
Wine Friends Reunion
Charlottesville, VA
Memorial Day weekend, 2023
First, a sunset in route
(first sunset picture of the year)
Florence, SC
Horton Vineyards
Barboursville Vineyards and Ruins
(also where we had an outstanding Dinner)
Main Building: tasting room and restaurant
Ruins of a mansion designed by Thomas Jefferson for Governor James Barbour.
Tasting by Ann with Kim perusing the menu
A lot of glasses for the group!
Gnomes after a tasting
Blenheim Vineyards
(owned by musician Dave Matthews since 1999)
Pippin Hill Farm and Vineyards
A bride party, all with wine-themed tee shirts
Wisdom Oak Winery
A tasting in the wine cellar at a boutique family-owned winery
Septenary Winery at Seven Oaks Farm
(once owned by Dave Matthews Band's manager)
The tasting room, which was the manager's office, looks out over his former pool
There were once seven oaks on the south lawn of the manor house, each named for a President from Virginia. Hurricane Hazel destroyed all but one of them in 1954. The lone survivor is named for Thomas Jefferson.
Chiswell Farm and Winery
Hazy Mountain Winery
A relatively new winery: so-so wines but gorgeous mountain views. Note to self: revisit in a few years when the vines have matured.
Gnome pictures, with people getting in the way
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
Happy Memorial Day
May 28, 2023
May Flowers- Rainbow Fire
May 03, 2023
Out of Business: after-effects of a Hurricane
April 18, 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
Something new for Images by Bill
April 15, 2023
Crossin' the pond
March 31, 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!
Hadrian's Villa
March 08, 2023
The ruins of the villa of Roman Emperor Publius Ellis Hadrian in Tivoli, Italy. Built 118-134 AD.
Olive trees on the path up to the ruins
Part of the border wall, the Wall of Poecile
Poecile
The Centro Camerelle
The Small Thermae (the smallest of three baths)
Figure at the entrance to the Canopus
Two images looking at the entrance of the Canopus
The alligator at the Canopus
The Serapeum of the Canopus
Looking back from the Serapeum
Wilson (and Ruth) admiring the view
Caryatids
Headless
Same alligator, different angle
The Praetorium
Another bathhouse
On the way out
Ruin hidden in the woods
The Temple of Venus
Looking out over the land below
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
Villa d'Este, Tivoli, Italy
February 26, 2023
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
Hercules fighting a lion
View from the patio leading to the Gardens
The Gardens and Fountains
Little fountains leading down to the gardens
Another small fountain in a grotto
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)
The ‘’castellum aquae’’ and hydraulics have been replaced with an actual pipe organ
Looking down from the Fountain of the Organ
Fountain of the d'Este Eagles
Looking away from the gardens
Three masks of The Hundred Fountains. When built they were white marble but time has worn them.
The boat with an obelisk mast, symbolizing the Tiburtina island in the Tiber, below the statue of Rome Triumphant
Looking out from the exit
Someone famous? An untitled sculpture
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.
Crank up the Wayback machine...
February 11, 2023
From 2009 hiking the Grand Canyon with Jodi and Mike
using new Radiant imaging software
Bright Angel Creek trail and the Colorado River
South Kaibab trail
Full sized images are much better: click here
April, 2009
All around Rome - 2022
February 05, 2023
A day traveling around Rome.
Stone Door
Wear caused by water makes it look like he is losing lunch
Famous Fountain Di Trevi
Postcard view
What you actually see
What you actually see !
Office building entrance and self-portrait
Spanish Steps, famous scalinata (monumental staircase)
Sign at a park
Obelisk
Street scene
Lots of obelisks in Rome
Pantheon- a temple dedicated to all the gods
Fire hose outlet with accompaniments
A little fuzzy; shot through car window
The Colosseum
Postcard view
What you actually see
Ruins in black and white
Click here to go to all my Rome images
December 5, 2022
New guests in 2023
January 10, 2023
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
A Drive around Rome: Part 1- The Vatican
January 02, 2023
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.
Ruth about to be engulfed by the only group that were not tourists
If you look very carefully at the right background you can see the line to get in.
Wilson guarding a fountain. Does he look like a Vatican Guard?
Another view with people
St. Peter's Basilica, a traditional view
Another view of the fountain, no Wilson but better lighting.
A side street beside the Vatican
A very nice upscale tourist shop and art gallery
12/05/22
At sea in oil
December 31, 2022
Final Sunset at sea
December 24, 2022
The Night before disembarking.
And, since the sun was shining through our balcony window as it set, images of us!!
12/22/22
Merry Christmas!!!!!