Rick Gaehl

This is Caerlaverock Castle, near Dumfries - notable for being the only triangular castle in the UK. The earliest parts of the building date to the C13th. In earlier times, the Cumbrian king Gwenddoleu ap Ceidio died at the Battle of Arthuret, in 573, in a fight over Caer-Laverock. This drove his bard, Myrddin Wyllt, insane and he run off into the woods, an act that possibly inspired the character of Merlin in Arthurian legend. #Photography #History #Myth #Scotland #Architecture

I came across this piece of restored flooring recently. It's a 1,000-year-old stretch of medieval tiling from a Benedictine abbey. What makes it especially interesting is that the monks made their floor from repurposed Roman tiles and hypocaust bricks that they found on site. This seems, to me, to have been a practical, attractive, and environmentally sound arrangement, and I was much taken with it. #Photography #History #Archaeology #Church #Tiles #Romans

Sometimes, small and simple architectural features can be just perfectly conceived and proportioned. Manchmal sind kleine und schlichte architektonische Elemente einfach perfekt gestaltet und proportioniert. #Photography #FensterFreitag #Architecture #Doors #WindowFriday

We're home again now. 300 miles of cycling in a week probably doesn't seem like much to some people, but I'm pleased to be able to still do it in my 70s. Anyway, the good people of Roscoff put on a fine firework display to mark our achievement - although they said it was laid on to celebrate the end of European Heritage Weekend... 😉 #Photography #Cycling #Fireworks #France #Heritage

The door is straight - it's the wall that's on the slant... #Photography #DoorsDay #Doors

I took a grandson to visit A la Ronde last week. It's an C18th architectural curiosity, near Exmouth, built by a pair of female cousins. This is one of the ground floor windows. #FensterFreitag #Photography #Architecture

A #SilentSunday with swan. #Photography #Landscape #Nature #Summer #Wetlands #Swan

Let me lead you down the garden path... 😉 #Photography #Gardening #FootpathFriday

Sometimes I go to the beach and it's all about the far horizon, the waves hitting the shore, big skies, and sunshine. But other times, it turns out to be all about the detail, and the beauty to be found in small, random things... #MeerMittwoch #Photography #Beach #Colours #Sea #Psychogeography

A cloudburst in the Sonoran Desert. Sometimes, the land will turn from baked to flooded in a matter of minutes, which can be quite frightening. We could really do with some heavy rain round here just now though. There hasn't been a drop in over a month, and we normally get about 900mm a year... #Photography #Landscape #Nature #Rain #Drought #ClimateChange

The yellow plums are the first crop to ripen in our community orchard this year. They make great jam and crumbles. #Photography #Gardening #Fruit #Produce

A #SilentSunday under Loughrigg. #Photography #Landscape #Cumbria

This is King John's Hunting Lodge, which can be found in Axbridge - the 'smallest town in Somerset'. Oddly, it was never either a hunting lodge or anything to do with King John. It's actually a wool merchant's house, built in 1460, and is currently a small museum. #Photography #History #Architecture #Somerset

Down on the shores of the Mediterranean, in Tunisia, the breeze eddies the fine sand around under sturdy sunshades... #Photography #Beach #MeerMittwoch #Sand #Shadow #Psychogeography

The water lilies have just come out in Cumbria. #Photography #Bloomscrolling #Pond #Cumbria

This is a souvenir from my trip to Rotterdam a few weeks ago. The city turned out to be much nicer to look at, and built on a more human scale, than I'd imagined. #Photography #Netherlands #Canal #Boat #Cityscape #Psychogeography

I was sat at a pavement café yesterday afternoon when I noticed this chimney, opposite. My first thought was: 'I bet those ferns aren't enjoying this 30° heatwave very much'... #Photography #Silhouette #Psychogeography #StreetPhotography

A #SilentSunday - when sheep may safely snooze. #Photography #Landscape #Sheep

I saw this dramatic, underground construction in the salt mines of Wieliczka last year. There were an awful lot of tree trunks deployed in it, and they were all painted white. #Photography #TextureTuesday #ThickTrunkTuesday #Underground #Monochrome

The wisteria is out, late spring is upon us already. #Photography #Spring #Gardening #Blossom #Bloomscrolling

Yesterday, I cycled over 25 miles on gravel trails. The scenery was good, but the only cool point in the trip was going through this disused railway tunnel. #Photography #Cycling #Heat

A broken tree-limb with dark red gum - for #TextureTuesday. #Photography #ThickTrunkTuesday #Trees #CloseUp

Reflections at Goosey Foot Tarn - from yesterday's bike ride. #Photography #Cumbria #Cycling #Reflection #Lake

I'm very fond of geraniums - and so are the local bees... #Photography #Closeup #Bloomscrolling #Gardening #Flowers #Bees #Nature

Saguaros in the Sonoran Desert, on a #SilentSunday. #Photography #Landscape #Desert #Nature

I'm useless at painting and drawing, but sometimes I can create a photograph that looks a bit like a painting. This Australian scene reminds me of some of the C19th landscape works I've encountered. #Photography #Landscape #Australia #Painting

A sea cave for #MeerMittwoch. Eine Meereshöhle für #MeerMittwoch. #Photography #Sea #Coast

On another blistering hot day, here is a restful picture of a sunset. #MeerMittwoch #Photography #Sunset #Clouds #Seascape

One from the archives for today's #TextureTuesday. I call it 'jamon persiana'. #Photography #StillLife

Viennese windows for #FensterFreitag. Wiener Fenster für #FensterFreitag. #Photography #Architecture #StreetPhotography #Urban

Sign by the track.

All the recent fuss about the arrival of the Bayeux Tapestry in London reminded me of my visit, last year, to the alleged grave of King Harold, in Waltham Abbey. If you look carefully, you can see his memorial at the bottom left, by the wall of the Abbey Church. It was a black day for England when William the Bastard became king and stole everyone's land. A millennium later, we're still suffering after effects from the introduction of a feudal aristocracy. #Photography #History

Bridge over tranquil waters... #Photography #Bridge #Water

There's always one who wants to stand out in a crowd. I'm not sure I'd ever seen a sheep do this before... #Photography #MonochromeMonday #SpotColour #Sheep #Animals

More reflections on a bike ride today - this time from Grizedale Tarn. #Photography #Cycling #Cumbria #Water #Reflection

@grumpydad@infosec.exchange Dendrochronology - a fascinating science. Check it out on Wiki.

This is how they used to do it: https://mastodon.social/@OEWordhord/116843433257935594

@haiku_shelf@nrw.social Bannister rail starts at the bottom left - you can then follow it up. 😊

@LittleRedhead@social.vivaldi.net Thanks 😊

@ninawillburger I was there many years ago. It completely dominates the old town, and was still in use as late as 1973. As usual with such structures, no mortar was used in its construction, of course.

@VickForcella@mastodon.derg.nz @edgeofeurope@mastodon.social Had to look that word up, but it's a great word - and I'm inclined to agree.

@Photo55@mastodon.social Nice!

@janalex Follow the handrail from the bottom left and it becomes easier to see.

Yesterday, I went down to Cornwall and cycled the Camel Trail - 40 odd miles of woodland, river, and estuary. This is the halfway and turnaround point at Padstow Harbour. #Photography #Cycling #Cornwall #Boats #BikeTooter

@hannaB@social.vir.group Most stairwells are rectangular, circular or ovoid. I'm not sure that this teardrop shape would look like a stairwell without a caption.