IT'S VACATION TIME

I will be traveling internationally for three weeks starting 071516 and I will have limited access to internet during this time so I will almost certainly not be posting here during this trip. Daily posts will resume early August.

SMALL BOAT - LARGE WHALE

I have said it before and likely I will say it again; our natural world is just plain awesome.

"DEEP BLUE" - CRAZY BIG GREAT WHITE SHARK

Personally I think I would be a little more hunkered down in the cage!

THE WORLD'S MOST DANGEROUS HIKING TRAIL?

This may or may not be "the world's most dangerous hiking trail"; that is obviously a rather subjective description. That said, while I doubt I will ever get the chance to visit China, if I do I will most likely give this a miss.

NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL A BACK YARD!

I guess if someone really twisted my arm I could put up with this for my back yard! Taken on MyKonos Island, Greece from the Facebook Page Amazing World.

THE PRESENT

No comment needed; if you do not get this you are less empathetic than me, and that is not easy, and have no soul! Great animation too.

A TRAGIC MORNING IN DALLAS

I am not much for politics and do not all that often that often voice my opinions [in public at least]. I have never voted, either back in the UK or since coming to the US, there has never really been anyone I would want to vote for and personally I think anyone who actually wants power has a fatal character flaw that makes them singularly unsuitable to hold power but that is just me. That said this morning I awoke to news of a tragedy in the city I call home, Dallas, and for once I feel obliged to opine.

There is rightful outrage across this country at what seem often times to be unjust shooting deaths of blacks by police; in this age of social media and instant coverage there have been many cases that seemingly cannot be argued, the cell phone footage is too damning, and where the actions of individual police officers were unjust even given the fact they have to make life and death decisions in an instant [and most of us, myself included, do not have, and never will have, the slightest idea of what it is like to try to do that].

I have never lost someone to violence so I guess many would say I do not know what I am talking about - perhaps they are right - but I would like to think that even in what must be the darkest moments of a life I would be able to recognize that randomly targeting a "group" for the ill deeds of an individual cannot be the right thing to do. Personally I do not see the sense in revenge on the individual either, those lost are not returned as a result of it so what is the gain, but at least I can see some sort of perverse logic there.

If someone on my street shoots a friend or family member would it make sense for me then to target everyone on my street? If a car hits my car and kills or injures a family member would I then be justified in seeking to take action against all car drivers; of course not, everyone would see that as insane.

There is good and bad in every group be those groups defined by geography, color, religion, race or anything else for that matter; to think otherwise is not to think at all.

"Stealing" from several different tweets this morning:

• All Cops are not bad
• All African Americans are not thugs
• All Hispanics are not illegal
• All Whites are not racist
• All Muslims are not terrorists
• Labels are for clothes not people

I AM THE UNDISPUTED "KING" OF STRAWBERRY EATING

FIREWORKS FILMED WITH A DRONE

A new, and for me very impressive, perspective on a Fireworks display.

ON SITE WITH LUEB POPOFF - AWESOME TREE CARVING

Just incredible skill to carve this - with a chainsaw no less - and wonderful vision to "see" the end result "withing the tree stump".

TRAFFIC IS RIDICULOUS THIS MORNING ...

Nice to see that it is not only us homo sapiens that have to endure the dreaded "traffic jam". From the strangely named Facebook page I don’t let my friends do stupid things. ALONE

A PITBULL AND A VERTICAL WALL

KUNG FU POLAR BEAR

From the Facebook page Beautiful Nature World. Looks for all the world like a kick right into the camera to me!

THAT PESKY FLOOD WON'T BEAT ME!

This intrepid homeowner was not going to be defeated by flood waters from the Yazoo River on 050611 near Vicksburg, Mississippi [from a Pure Nature Facebook post