Organ pipes of the White Church or Wieskirche, Steingaden, Weilheim-Schongau district, Bavaria, Germany

 

The White Church or Wieskirche is located in Steingaden, Weilheim-Schongau district, Bavaria, Germany and it is one of the most important places of pilgrimage in Southern Germany. Here is a description of the place from Wikipedia: Wieskirche. 

The Pilgrimage Church of Wies (German: Wieskirche) is an oval rococo church, designed in the late 1740s by brothers J. B. and Dominikus Zimmermann, the latter of whom lived nearby for the last eleven years of his life. It is located in the foothills of the Alps, in the municipality of Steingaden in the Weilheim-Schongau district, Bavaria, Germany.

It is said that, in 1738, tears were seen on a dilapidated wooden figure of the Scourged Saviour. The legend of this miracle resulted in a pilgrimage rush to see the sculpture. In 1740, a small chapel was built to house the statue but it was soon realized that the building would be too small for the number of pilgrims it attracted, and so Steingaden Abbey decided to commission a separate shrine. Many who have prayed in front of the statue of Jesus on the altar have claimed that people have been miraculously cured of their diseases, which has made this church even more of a pilgrimage site.

Construction took place between 1745 and 1754, and the interior was decorated with frescoes and with stuccowork in the tradition of the Wessobrunner School. "Everything was done throughout the church to make the supernatural visible. Sculpture and murals combined to unleash the divine in visible form".

There is a popular belief that the Bavarian government planned to sell or demolish the rococo masterpiece during the secularization of Bavaria at the beginning of the 19th century, and that only protests from the local farmers saved it from destruction. Available sources, however, document that the responsible state commission clearly advocated the continuation of Wies as a pilgrimage site, even in spite of economic objections from the abbot of Steingaden.

The Wieskirche was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1983 and underwent extensive restoration between 1985 and 1991.

Neuschwanstein Castle, Hohenschwangau, Germany

 

Neuschwanstein Castle, Hohenschwangau, Germany. Here is a brief explanation of the castle and its background. See Wikipedia: Neuschwanstein Castle.

Neuschwanstein Castle (German: Schloss Neuschwanstein, pronounced [ˈʃlɔs nɔʏˈʃvaːnʃtaɪn], Southern Bavarian: Schloss Neischwanstoa) is a 19th-century historicist palace on a rugged hill above the village of Hohenschwangau near Füssen in southwest Bavaria, Germany. The palace was commissioned by King Ludwig II of Bavaria as a retreat and in honour of Richard Wagner. Ludwig chose to pay for the palace out of his personal fortune and by means of extensive borrowing, rather than Bavarian public funds. Construction began in 1869, but was never fully completed.

The castle was intended as a private residence for the King, until he died in 1886. It was open to the public shortly after his death. Since then more than 61 million people have visited Neuschwanstein Castle. More than 1.3 million people visit annually, with as many as 6,000 per day in the summer

I think that this, and other hilltop castles in Germany and other places are the basis for the idealization of castles by Disney and other movie producers. Obviously from the description, this was not a castle with a moat and all the other military accuments that go along with the real purpose for castles.

Kappelbrucke (Chapel Bridge) in Lucerne, Switzerland

 

The Kapellbrücke (Chapel Bridge) in Lucerne is the oldest wooden bridge in Switzerland. Here is a short explanation of the bridge and its history. Wikipedia: Kapellbrücke

The Kapellbrücke (literally, Chapel Bridge) is a covered wooden footbridge spanning the river Reuss diagonally in the city of Lucerne in central Switzerland. Named after the nearby St. Peter's Chapel, the bridge is unique in containing a number of interior paintings dating back to the 17th century, although many of them were destroyed along with a larger part of the centuries-old bridge in a 1993 fire. Subsequently restored, the Kapellbrücke is the oldest wooden covered bridge in Europe, as well as the world's oldest surviving truss bridge. It serves as the city's symbol and as one of Switzerland's main tourist attractions.

We enjoyed our walk across the bridge. You can see where the original wood has been replaced from the fire.  

Two large Agave plants

 

When I was quite young, we had huge agaves in our front yard. They were sharp and not friendly to small children. I remember them being huge, much higher than my head. These are similar agave plants from the Desert Botanical Garden. They are just as big and unfriendly as when I first say them as a child. However, they are quite useful to those who know how to process them. 

Cereus forbesii "Spiralis" Cactus

This Cereus forbesii "Sprialis" Cactus is one of the most unusual cactus plants I have ever seen and I have seen a lot of cactus plants. Apparently the plant comes from Peru but no one seems to know a lot about it. This nice flower was in the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, Arizona. 

Young Boojum Trees

 

The Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, Arizona has a huge collection of desert plants. It is a lovely place to visit especially in the cooler parts of the year. Over the past few years, the garden has been improved and beautified. One addition that I noted was that there are now several boojum trees growing in different parts of the garden. Here is a short explanation of these plants. 

Fouquieria columnaris, the Boojum tree or cirio (American Spanish: [ˈsiɾjo]) is a tree in the ocotillo family,(Fouquieriaceae) whose other members include the ocotillos. Some taxonomists place it in the separate genus Idria. It is nearly endemic to the Baja California Peninsula (both the northern and southern states), with only a small population in the Sierra Bacha of Sonora, Mexico. The plant's English name, Boojum, was given by Godfrey Sykes of the Desert Laboratory in Tucson, Arizona and is taken from Lewis Carroll's poem "The Hunting of the Snark".

 

A Flock of Ducks

 

We made a short visit to the Riparian Preserve at Water Ranch in Gilbert, Arizona. It was a lovely, warm, sunny day in the Fall and the ducks were in abundance on the ponds. There were some children throwing bird feed into the water and the ducks were frantic to eat each piece. The Water Ranch is one of our favorite spots in the Salt River Valley. It was respite from the cold and snow of our home in Provo, Utah. 

Mushrooms on a log

 We have had a very dry summer with little or no rain. As Fall progresses we have a some rain. Apparently, this rain has been enough to grow a huge crop of mushrooms in the forest land next to our house. We have had a few mushrooms in our lawn before, but nothing line this huge cluster. There are also a huge number in the surrounding grass and leaf areas near the log. The world is always full of surprises.

Lake Powell and Glen Canyon Dam

 

Lake Powell is the second largest reservoir in the United States. However, both Lake Powell and Lake Mead are suffering from the prolonged drought in the Southwest. From this photo, you cannot tell that the lake level has dropped over the past few years. The top of the white stone line is about the mostly full level of the lake. As of October 2021, Lake Powell is 155.16 feet below Full Pool (Elevation 3,700).

House Boats at Wahweap Marina, Lake Powell, Arizona

 

Everything in Northern Arizona looks small compared to the land itself. Dozens of houseboats are stored at the Wahweap Marina but they are only a small smudge on the vast landscape surrounding Lake Powell. What is not obvious in this photo is the record low level of Lake Powell. Here is a quote from a NASA article entitled, "Lake Powell Reaches New Low."

Straddling the border of southeastern Utah and northeastern Arizona, Lake Powell is the second largest reservoir by capacity in the United States. In July 2021, water levels on the lake fell to the lowest point since 1969 and have continued dropping. As of September 20, 2021, the water elevation at Glen Canyon Dam was 3,546.93 feet, more than 153 feet below “full pool” (elevation 3,700 feet). The lake held just 30 percent of its capacity. To compensate, federal managers started releasing water from upstream reservoirs to help keep Lake Powell from dropping below a threshold that threatens hydropower equipment at the dam.

I might remind anyone who wants to know: we live in a desert.  

Clouds over the Colorado Plateau

 Form and color are the essence of my photos. There is no place as suited to abstract naturalism than the Colorado Plateau.  I have to acknowledge that the wind was blowing about 40 mph when this photo was taken and it was really cold. 

Thermal Spring Fomations, Yellowstone National Park

A combination of hot water from a thermal spring and erosion from rain and snow provide a miniature forest of calcite formations. There is an abundance of thermal formations in Yellowstone. I like the contrast of the deep blue water with the brown and white formations. 

Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone National Park

 

A few if the thermal features at Yellowstone National Park are so big that they defy your ability to comprehend their extent. The Grand Prismatic Spring is one of those features. This one hot spring is an attraction in itself. There is no other place in Yellowstone that compares in size and color and the variety of formations. 

Balloon Plant Milkweed

 

I never seem to run out of strange plants to photograph. Quoting from GardeningKnowHow.com,

Like all members of the milkweed family, balloon plant (Gomphocarpus physocarpus) is one of the best plants for attracting monarch butterflies. This unique shrub, which reaches heights of 4 to 6 feet (1-2 m.), is also known by a long list of alternate names including balloon cotton bush, family jewels, Oscar milkweed, goose plant, and swan plant to name just a few.

I sometimes hesitate to touch an unfamiliar plant because some plants are not friendly but the spines on these were not hard but might be when the pods dried out. 

Egg Plant in a Fall Garden

 Most of the plants in our Fall gardens are waiting for the first frost. There are still some wonderful examples of the different plants that can be grown. I don't expect that Egg Plant is on the top or anyone's list as their favorite vegetable. It is more commonly used in Europe and Latin America. Also, you should not eat the stems or roots because they are poisonous. Here is a short article from Wikipedia: Egg Plant about how it is used. 

Most commonly purple, the spongy, absorbent fruit is used in several cuisines. Typically used as a vegetable in cooking, it is a berry by botanical definition. As a member of the genus Solanum, it is related to the tomato, chili pepper, and potato, although those are of the New World while the eggplant is of the Old World. Like the tomato, its skin and seeds can be eaten, but, like the potato, it is usually eaten cooked. Eggplant is nutritionally low in macronutrient and micronutrient content, but the capability of the fruit to absorb oils and flavors into its flesh through cooking expands its use in the culinary arts.

A Drive up Squaw Peak Road, Provo, Utah

 

Fall has come to the Wasatch Mountains of Utah. Just a short distance from our home, there is a road up to the Rock Canyon Campground. This road is only partially paved and climbs almost 3000 feet up into the mountains just east of our home which is at almost exactly 5000 feet up the side of the mountains. We live about 500 feet above the floor of the valley. The timing of the change in the color of the leaves depends on their elevation. That 3000 extra feet make a lot of difference. Very few of the trees around our home have even begun to change.