This blog will be about History, wildlife, endangered species will feature in it and other wildlife that are not so endangered as others Whales will be in it for sure.
Where I live will be featured from time to time; In fact most things
Just a few tips for stumblers new at this and also for a lot of older ones who oddly enough do not know all of them; I was much the same until a friend told me, so we are or have been guilty at some time. Here is one that a lot do not know about at all your shares; if someone sends you shares and the message vanishes it is easily found. It is in your inbox the place you try not to use and send a message via the toolbar; which is a bad habit. I sent the whole page to a friend once, her reply was; all I received was your page; not true. When you go to your inbox it says Inbox. View Shares, the image below shows this. All images are clickable Sharing, a thorny issue at times lots will not use the bulk share option, if you favourite a site by thumbing up just use the bulk share method, one friend who has over 40 thousand shares cannot do this, the image below shows you, where it says share. Click on the share button this is what you will see, merely tick all you wish to share to and it goes to your friends e-mail and their toolbar. If you scroll down before you decide who to share it will show you who has this share; another thorny issue as people just share without looking so consequently you may well get the same share several times.
This is all mentioned on your page if you scroll to the bottom and click on help or FAQ’s. However nobody takes any notice they share without checking to see if you have it on the info bar, MOST DO NOT EVEN KNOW WHERE IT IS.
In 1917 the Russian revolution was whistling along to supposedly free Russian citizens from the Tsar’s yoke; this did not happen in fact it was worse for the poor Russian citizens; however the Russian fleet, which was in Helsinki Finland at the time mutinied; in my day military personnel do not mutiny.
The provisional government of the day in Helsinki cancelled most if not all of the Tsar’s government policies in regard to its neighbour Finland; to be blunt they wanted independence and frankly I don’t blame them.
Both the Tsar’s and the new communist regime were both degrading and shocking.
In these troubled times Finland was not ruled by a government per se, most of the power came from what was known as strike committees, breaking that down middle class and working class; this happened once before in 1905; same rules applied, they even had their own private armies or militias, police were replaced; that sort of thing, in fact things were sticky all round.
Unease set in, arguments, violence; and then the so called power act was passed which led to the making of decisions highly unpopular.
Finland’s government was then dissolved (and we think we have problems) murders were committed, in fact a highly unpleasant atmosphere was abroad.
Cutting to the chase non socialists won, in fact socialists had 92 seats out of 200.
Man being the beast he is (still can be at times) made the socialists royally pissed off, in fact Finnish society was gradually splitting up into two camps; both armed and damned dangerous and I bet you thought they were gentle people; they were not at that time I assure you.
Then along came the Bolshevik takeover in Russia; middle class Finns quite naturally dreaded this; not so the workers who thought quite differently.
However in November a middle class government of Finland was established; run efficiently by Pehr Evind Svinhufvud, on December 6 1917 Finland was declared independent.
Bolshie Lenin (and to think he lived in London once, relax he was in gaol there) recognised Finland’s independence; December 6 has been known to Finns as their independence day; it is still celebrated as such.
Finland’s point of no return came when Svinhufvud’s government authorised the white guard to be the security force, and try and establish law and order, as by this time it had all but broken down.
Returned German guards transformed this white guard into a very credible fighting force; run by a former fighting Tsarist General, named Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, this General was a Finn but a Swedish speaking one; he also had a number of professional Swedish Military officers to aid and abet his cause
Military action was called for on Jan 27-28 1918; foreign intervention helped a little in this struggle
After the Brest-Litovsk treaty was signed artillery troops were withdrawn, the conflict was finally resolved; General Mannerheim entered Helsinki on May 16 1918 just to end the conflict on a formal note.
Strangely every year until WWll was celebrated as a kind of second Independence Day.
This tragedy was really because of the horrific terror released by reds and whites. In hindsight it should have been nipped in the bud; I have never met anyone with hindsight; it could well have prevented many wars
Finland’s civil war was a catastrophe, in a few months around 30,000 were wiped out, society was divided; I won’t go into the fine details, I would never finish (excuse the pun) this blog
Kakadu lies in the far north of Australia...only two seasons really...wet and dry...in fact its wetlands are well known along with the abundance of wildlife especially flying animals...over 280 species and maybe 60 mammals or so. This National Park is in the Northern Territory of Australia, 171 km south-east of Darwin. Kakadu National Park is located within the Alligator Rivers which in itself is a misnomer there are no Alligators here only in zoos. It covers an area of 1,980,400 ha extending nearly 200 kilometres from north to south and over 100 kilometres from east to west. It is the size of Israel, about one-third the size of Tasmania, or nearly half the size of Switzerland. The Ranger Uranium Mine, one of the most productive Uranium mines in the world, is contained within the park. Myself and a friend have decided to go next year...there are many aboriginal sites there...I have been told that some are taboo to us whites...I'll go along with that...many things to see here
Here is a short video of some of the bird life below
A few images of the park to round off this post
This is an Australian Bustard
A frill Lizard...not toxic but will bite...all Australian lizards are not poisonous at all but some will bite
Beware of these beauties they stalk and will killthe saltwater or estuarine crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) is the largest of all living reptiles
Bottlenose dolphins use bits of marine sponge to protect their noses while they probe the seabed. Scientists say the behaviour is evidence that they show signs of culture learned from their forebears, rather than passed down in genes....some research done on these very clever mammals in Australia has proven this...two Dolphins many years ago helped my Granddaughters who were very young at the time...I can assure readers it was not part of the act either (it occurred in a marine park long since removed)
Whale song, which is associated in particular with the humpback, is something of a mystery to scientists. Male humpbacks sing mainly during the mating season, but it is not known whether the song is used to attract females or to ward off other males. The song itself is complex. At any one moment, all the males in a population sing the same song. Over time the song slowly evolves into something new, with all the whales making exactly the same changes to their pattern of singing...other whales such as the sperm and beluga also make songs but none are as complex as that of the humpback....I've seen a few of these huge creatures....I felt so different after seeing them at close quarters...overawed is the word
Leatherneck Turtles are also clever...they have to be to stay alive...scientists tracked a leatherback turtle that swam from Indonesia to Oregon and back to Hawaii in an epic 13,000-mile search for food — research they hope will boost international efforts to save the endangered species....this was in 2008...these turtles can be found from Alaska to New Zealand.
These creatures are so huge in fact their size is awesome
The next animal was really amazing...an octopus it seems this creature can and does use a coconut shell for armour...according to Melbourne scientists...it can scuttle away with one pretty quickly too...this means it has picked up the knack of using tools...this is normally associated with us, vertebrates, monkeys and some birds
The Orang-utan Scientists from Harvard University studied orang-utans in Borneo and found them capable of tasks that chimps could only dream of...such as using leaves to make waterproof hats and roofs. They also gathered evidence that the orange-haired apes have developed a culture in which adults teach the young how to make tools...these men of the jungle are adept at a lot of things
This is Coolum a tourist spot on the Pacific Ocean in fact quite a few of these images are from there. It is an attractive tourist spot and much cheaper to visit than beach suburbs like Mooloolaba and Maroochydore further south. Here is one of Maroochydore which I took a year or so ago now. Below there is another I took on Mother's day this year (winter) people swim all year around here although I must admit I don't think I would. Most of these were taken on the same day
Below this is a shot of the Marina at Mooloolaba...underwater world is here along with shops pub milk bars etc.
The fishing trawlers come in here so it's an excellent place to purchase fresh seafood. Here is a shot of the Marina below where you can go for a canal cruise a great experience I know.
The video was taken by my youngest son of a surf ski carnival at Alexander headland beach in Maroochydore so sit back and enjoy it. Audio recommended
A rare reptile with lineage dating back to the dinosaur age has been found nesting on the New Zealand mainland for the first time in about 200 years so I read here.
Some eggs from an indigenous Tuatara were found at the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary in the capital of New Zealand purely by accident so there could well be more who knows. They resemble our concepts of dragons and can grow up to 32 inches (about 81 centimetres) according to zoologists these reptiles are the last descendants of creatures that roamed our world 225 million years ago. They can still be found on outlying Islands though where there are no predators that were introduced by Europeans many years ago. 200 have been introduced to this sanctuary from 2005 onwards They have very unique characteristics, such as two rows of top teeth closing over one row at the bottom with a pronounced parietal eye, a light-sensitive pineal gland on the top of the skull. Called a third eye it gradually vanishes as they get older.
Yes an easy one the Giraffe strange animals for all that I guess.
A familiar sight is the Elephant of course, a huge creature of remarkable intellect; it is said an Elephant never forgets.
They do converse with each other if you get a chance to watch them in their habitat and are sociable creatures especially when rearing their young.
Chippy the Chipmunk is next cute looking but a pest in gardens I was told by a friend of mine.
This little bloke is a Wombat an Australian animal I was told they looked like a Badger personally I can't see the similarity.
They are not so little either and get overweight in captivity.
Below here is an easily recognised animal often called the king of the Jungle
This is a male Orca and below are two Dolphins off the coast of New Zealand.
This polar bear crossing the Tundra near the Hudson Bay in Churchill, Manitoba which is a sign of global warming if you notice the Tundra and how barren it is.
Picture of a Galapagos Giant Tortoise, photographed
on the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador.
One huge animal and ancient I bet.
Below is an image of a Rhino in Zimbabwe built like a tank huh!
