Thinking today about Hungary, the beautiful Danube and all the Hungarians affected by the toxic mud.

A photo from a very bright, very hot day in August when I went for a walk at Gilsland Farm. These flowers were in the community garden.

We took a drive down to Old Orchard Beach after work Wednesday evening.

This one’s a mistake, but an interesting one. At least I think so. The “sun” pictured here is the Moon with too long an exposure. The blue sphere beneath it and a little to the right is a reflection of the Moon on the camera filter. But it does kind of look like what I’d expect the sun earth to look like from a great distance floating in space.

Green Lakes State Park is just east of Syracuse. We visited the park with Jim’s sister and her husband a couple of summers ago. The two lakes at the park have beautiful clear green-blue water. I came upon this egret while we were walking around the lake. He (or she) was fishing for a meal.

Obligatory lighthouse photo. We’re in Maine, right?

The midday sun was pretty bright, but I like the clouds in this shot. They make the blue sky interesting.

When the Aya Sofia, or Hagia Sophia, was built between 532 and 537, it served as an Orthodox basilica, then when the Ottoman Turks conquered Constantinople in 1453, it was converted to a mosque. Now it is a museum. During the time that it was a mosque, most of the mosaics were plastered over. This image shows the Theotokos (Virgin Mother and Child) mosaic, along with one of the medallions showing an Islamic inscription.

The Desert of Maine provides an interesting historical and geological lesson about Maine. Plus, kids can hunt for gemstones at the end of the tour!