Looking east out the window at the front of the Brigham Young University Museum of Art, you get your own artwork with the hanging mobile and the mountains at sunset. I like to take photos out of windows because it automatically frames the subject and gives you an interesting viewpoint.
On Saturday, May 12, 2012, ground was broken for the Provo City Center Temple in a ceremony presided by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve. "What an absolute stunning site!" said Elder Holland. He confessed to being deeply touched by the occasion. "You can tell people Elder Holland was downright giddy today about the temple groundbreaking." After the Provo Tabernacle was tragically lost to fire, Church leaders contemplated the future of the building's empty shell and spires, and a decision was reached. "It is inspired to build a temple out of the ashes of the tabernacle," said Elder Holland. Having two temples within miles of each other is a "tribute to you that the Brethren would approve another temple here. That says very much about you."
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints News Release, "Ground Broken for Provo, Utah's Second Temple," 12 May 2012.
Coralline algae are red algae in the order Corallinales. They are characterized by a thallus that is hard because of calcareous deposits contained within the cell walls. The colors of these algae are most typically pink, or some other shade of red, but some species can be purple, yellow, blue, white, or gray-green. Coralline algae play an important role in the ecology of coral reefs. Sea urchins, parrot fish, and limpets and chitons (both mollusks) feed on coralline algae. In the temperate Mediterranean Sea, coralline algae are the main builders of a typical algal reef, the Coralligène ("coralligenous"). Many are typically encrusting and rock-like, found in marine waters all over the world. Only one species lives in freshwater. Unattached specimens (maerl, rhodoliths) may form relatively smooth compact balls to warty or fruticose thalli.
If you have a better guess, let me know. Oh, this photo was taken on the Pacific side of Costa Rica.
As I travel around the world, I am always surprised to find things that are familiar and remind me of home. I have always been fascinated by shelf fungi. Here is a short explanation of this interesting fungus from Wikipedia: Polypore.
Polypores are a group of fungi that form large fruiting bodies with pores or tubes on the underside (see Delimitation for exceptions). They are a morphological group of basidiomycetes-like gilled mushrooms and hydnoid fungi, and not all polypores are closely related to each other. Polypores are also called bracket fungi or shelf fungi, and they characteristically produce woody, shelf- or bracket-shaped or occasionally circular fruiting bodies that are called conks.
Most polypores inhabit tree trunks or branches consuming the wood, but some soil-inhabiting species form mycorrhiza with trees. Polypores and the related corticioid fungi are the most important agents of wood decay, playing a very significant role in nutrient cycling and carbon dioxide production of forest ecosystems.
Over one thousand polypore species have been described to science, but a large part of the diversity is still unknown even in relatively well-studied temperate areas. Polypores are much more diverse in old natural forests with abundant dead wood than in younger managed forests or plantations. Consequently, a number of species have declined drastically and are under threat of extinction due to logging and deforestation.
The year prior to the pandemic, we were able to travel around the United States and include a trip to Costa Rica. Hopefully 2022 will allow us the opportunity to travel again.
Answer: It is a salt deposit on a granite countertop.
You can see how shallow the water is in this image taken in Farmington Bay, next to the Great Salt Lake. This is a huge freshwater drainage area for the Farmington Creek. Lake levels have been dropping because of the year's long drought. The birds are in the Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area. This is an excellent spot for bird watching.
This lovely bird is a kestral falcon. Here is a short explanation of this beautiful bird from Wikipedia: Kestral.
The name kestrel (from French: crécerelle, derivative from crécelle, i.e. ratchet) is given to several members of the falcon genus, Falco. Kestrels are most easily distinguished by their typical hunting behavior which is to hover at a height of around 10–20 meters (35–65 ft) over open country and swoop down on prey, usually small mammals, lizards or large insects. Other falcons are more adapted to active hunting in flight. Kestrels are notable for usually having mostly brown in their plumage.
It is hard to see the birds and that is why all of the birders were carrying long-range spotting scopes, binoculars, or cameras with very long lenses. We visited Farmington Bay on a day when there was a tour for all the birders. There really are a lot of interesting birds out there on the bay.
Winter hangs on through the first few days of Meteorological Spring. The storm clouds move in but drop little rain or snow, but it does make for a dramatic image.
The construction site is surrounded by a high fence with portals covered in plastic that you can see through. This photo is taken from the west side of the temple. You can see the reflection in the plastic window I used to take the photo. The construction site is very complicated and also very interesting.
