The Magic Fountain of Montjuic in Barcelona Spain

Below the hill of Montjuic, by the Palau Nacional  in Barcelona, you'll find the dancing waters of The Magic Fountain, constructed in 1929 for the Barcelona International Exposition.
The fountain of Montjuic dances and sways in rhythm to ever-changing colored lights and music ranging from classic to modern, and is one of Barcelona's top attractions, visited by 2.5 million people a year.   

Sunset at the Grand Canyon

From the south rim of the Grand Canyon in Arizona, a pine tree is silhouetted against the red clouds of sunset.  Sunset is when the trailing edge of the sun goes below the horizon.  Dusk is when the sky becomes completely dark.  The period between sunset and dusk is called twilight.  So technically, I think I took this shot at twilight.

Green Iguana in St. Thomas

I was having a drink on a patio overlooking Charlotte Amalie in St. Thomas when this green iguana ambled by.  Beautiful creature.  They socially interact with a series of head bobs.  Juveniles stay as a group the first year of their lives, and the males in the group use their bodies to protect and shield the females from predators - the only species of reptile known to exhibit such behavior.

Riva Bridge

The South River is traversed by two bridges: the South River Bridge, carrying Solomons Island Road, and the Riva Bridge, carrying Riva Road.  Riva, the community on the side of the bridge I stood on when I took this picture, is southwest of Annapolis.  Its name is an abbreviated form of Riverview.

 

Village of Oia in Santorini, Greece

Oia, pronounced "Ia" is on the north end of the island of Santorini.  Houses and hotels built right onto the cliffs provide fantastic views of the sun setting over the Aegean Sea.  Below Oia is a small harbor and Armeni Beach, accessible by foot or donkey traversing 300 winding steps.

Magnolia Blossoms at Quiet Waters

The magnolia is one of the oldest plant species, with fossils dating back 58 million years.  In ancient China, depending on the variety, they were called Yu-lan, or Mu-lan.  The Japanese called them Shidekobushi.  To the Aztecs, they were known as Eloxochitl.  In Martinique, the plant was known as Talauma.  While in Martinique botanist Charles Plumier wrote about it in 1703 and named the flower after Pierre Magnol, a 17th century French botanist.

A Robin and Cherry Blossoms

The meterological begining of spring is March 20, the vernal equinox.  Retailers like to think it's on the day after Presiden't Day ( the Tuesday after the third Monday in February).  Calendars and retailers aside, I think spring arrives when the robin sings and the cherry blossoms bloom. 

Yoshino Cherry Blossoms alongside the Jefferson Memorial

As a gift of friendship, in 1912, Japan sent 3,020 cherry trees to the United States.  They were shipped from Yokohama to Seattle, where they were loaded onto a train bound for Washington.  The first two trees, planted by First Lady Helen Taft and Viscountess Chinda, wife of the Japanese ambassador, still stand on the north end of the Tidal Basin.  In 1965, the people of Japan gifted the U.S. with another 3,800 cherry trees, which were planted around the Washington Monument.    The National Cherry Blossom Festival commemorates these gifts each spring.

A Snowy Landscape

Throngs of people and photographers will be milling about the DC Tidal Basin the next few days, hoping to time their visit to see the cherry blossoms in peak bloom. 
It's a good sign of spring - along with finally seeing the groundhogs waddling around the yard again, and the osprey couple touching up the same nest they have used for so many years.

It was only a few weeks ago when snow feathered bare branches.  It was early morning, and other than a few joggers and dog walkers, I pretty much had the park to myself.  My camera and I prefer it that way.  But now I am compelled to go to Washington DC.  The weather forecast is for thunderstorms this Friday, which may blow away a lot of the blossoms.  But even without the thunderstorm, the blossoms only last a few days anyway.  Which makes witnessing them bloom even more special.  Like admiring the fleeting beauty of a snowy landscape.    

USNA Bridge and Jonas Green

The U.S. Naval Academy Bridge crosses the Severn River, in Annapolis.  A segment of MD Route 450, it provides an alternate entrance to the Naval Academy.

I took this picture on the grounds of Jonas Green Park.  The park is open from dawn to dusk, except for the fishing pier, which is open 24 hours a day.  Now who was Jonas Green?  He was an 18th century printer and editor, who, in 1738 moved to Annapolis and was appointed the colony's public printer.  Records of the Tuesday Club of Annapolis, of which he was a member, referred to him as,  “Jonas Green, P.P.P.P.P,” for “Poet, Printer, Punster, Purveyor and Punchmaker general.”