Birds Among the Willows and More

Sometimes the birds choose to perch on a part of the bush that is nicer than simply the bare limb. On this occasion, this savanna sparrow treated us with a pose on one of the open willow blooms.

Along the Nome-Teller Road

Now that I have you all calm and settled on churches in southern England, I thought I'd shakes things up with another round of birds from Alaska.

Above (and below) are a few images of the western (aka Wilson's) snipe.

St. Denys, A last Look

Just above the roster of those lost in the first war, we see remnants of a painting from a much earlier century. These have only been uncovered in the 19th century.

St. Denys - IV

 

Inside the church we find a mixture of old and very old construction. All of it is handsome. The roof rafters are special. More to come.

St. Denys - III

Today we start with another one of the beautiful doors of the church. 

St. Denys - II

As you well know by now, I am taken by these colorful markers. I find that even though I cannot read much of what it says, the color feels like a painting of the life that once dwelled in the body lying here. Sometimes I stare at one of these photos and conclude that I know the deceased in ways that reading the words carved there cannot express. Just my imagination, I suppose.

St. Denys

There is a small town in East Sussex called Rotherfield. Here we find a most interesting church. On this site, in 792 AD, A church was founded by Duke Bertoald of the South Saxons to honor St. Denys. St. Denys was the first bishop of Paris, martyred for his refusal to make sacrifices to Mercury as the behest of the Roman Emperor Valerian. The Benedictine Abbey of St. Denys was founded northeast of Paris in 629. It was here that the ill Duke went seeking healing. Having been healed, he returned home to found this church in thanks.

St. James the Less Church

 

This is a handsome church even if this photo is crooked.

St. James the Less Church, Nutley

On our drive from Brighton to our house sit, we stopped in any small town we passed through that had an interesting church or cemetery. Most of these were not open, so we did not get to see the insides. Nevertheless, the church yards held many interesting finds.

St. Nicolas and All Saints

 

In the village of Icklesham, we found a small church that was interesting. although we could not get inside to have a look about, we did find a cemetery and church yard that was worth a look.

More Brighton

Surprisingly, there is no admission charge to get on the pier. However, once on board, everything comes at a price.

Brighton

After leaving Vienna, we flew to Heathrow, rented a car and headed south. We found us a place to stay out in the country in a converted bus. It was interesting. Tight quarters, but we had great views since there were windows in all directions. We stayed here a couple nights since our next house sit did not start just yet.

Our first outing was to Brighton, the seaside resort for all the British looking for a summer getaway without paying to go to the continent. We only spent an afternoon here so we by no means saw it all, but we saw enough to satisfy us.

Chihuly Museum at the Seattle Center

Here we have a boat filled with glass "floating" on a "sea" of glass. I really like the reflections.

Chihuly Garden and Glass Museum

Just to let you know that we do still visit the US once in a while, here are some photos from our recent stop at home. We visited the Chihuly glass museum again at the Seattle Center to see what was going on. Some things were the same and some were different. You can see our previous visit back in 2019 here.

Vienna State Opera - IV

Here is another room for social functions.

Vienna State Opera - III

The curious thing about this opera house it that it has a narrowly defined repertoire of operas from a certain period (very roughly before 1900...ie. during the Austrian Empire) all written by composers who were from or spent a lot of time in Vienna. It also only considers compositions of a serious nature except for one...Der Fledermaus by Strauss is the only operetta.

VIenna State Opera - II

Lots of gold and red decorate this hallway. The splashes of azure in the inset paintings really adds a sparkle to the scene.

Vienna State Opera

Since we are in VIenna out of season, the only way to see the Vienna Opera House is on a tour. Probably cheaper anyway. As you might expect, it is a fancy place with lots of gold brightening the walls.

St. Stephansplatz

As is the case in many place in Europe, Vienna is a city of many curious juxtapositions. In this square, we find McDonald's located in a building of great beauty... not your neighborhood modern, boring, glass and concrete structure.

St. Michael's Church - II

This is not a huge place like St. Stephen's Cathedral nor an intimate chapel. It is a space that feels larger than it is and it provides wonderful acoustics for the pipe organ.