Royalty-free images by Mike¹ — No. 117 of over 1200 images

South Carolina Alligator, Drayton Hall plantation, Dorchester County,
15 miles from Charleston, June 11, 2012

Alligators²

An alligator is a crocodilian in the genus Alligator of the family Alligatoridae. The two extant species are the American alligator (A. mississippiensis) and the Chinese alligator (A. sinensis). Additionally, several extinct species of alligator are known from fossil remains. Alligators first appeared during the Oligocene epoch about 37 million years ago.

The name “alligator” is probably an anglicized form of el lagarto, the Spanish term for “the lizard”, which early Spanish explorers and settlers in Florida called the alligator. Later English spellings of the name included allagarta and alagarto.  (read more)

1. I am sharing some of my public domain images in periodic blog posts.
2. Alligators – Wikipedia

Notes:

• This image is also shared as public domain on Pixabay,  Flickr, and Pinterest.
• Images are being shared in the sequence they were accepted by Pixabay, a royalty-free image sharing site.
• Only images specifically identified as such are public domain or creative commons on our pages.
• All other images are copyright protected by me, creative commons, or used under the provisions of fair use.

2020 Vintage Christmas¹ #12

Christmas Greetings and New Year Wishes.

Raphael Tuck & Sons (Publisher)
Place: London (Printed in Germany)

The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Picture Collection, The New York Public Library. “Christmas greetings and New Year wishes.” New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed November 28, 2020. digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47e3-729a-a3d9-e040…

1. I’m sharing some vintage Christmas images I “collected” from the New York Public Library online digital images. Some are neat, some are quirky and there’s a couple that are downright weird.

Royalty-free images by Mike¹ — No. 116 of over 1200 images

Utah twilight afterglow, near Natural Bridges National Monument, September 29, 2011

Twilight²

Twilight on Earth is the illumination of the lower atmosphere when the Sun is not directly visible because it is below the horizon. Twilight is produced by sunlight scattering in the upper atmosphere, illuminating the lower atmosphere so that Earth’s surface is neither completely lit nor completely dark. The word twilight is also used to denote the periods of time when this illumination occurs.

The lower the Sun is beneath the horizon, the dimmer the twilight (other factors such as atmospheric conditions being equal). When the Sun reaches 18° below the horizon, the twilight’s brightness is nearly zero, and evening twilight becomes nighttime. When the Sun again reaches 18° below the horizon, nighttime becomes morning twilight. Owing to its distinctive quality, primarily the absence of shadows and the appearance of objects silhouetted against the lit sky, twilight has long been popular with photographers, who sometimes refer to it as “sweet light”, and painters, who often refer to it as the blue hour, after the French expression l’heure bleue.

1. I am sharing some of my public domain images in periodic blog posts.
2. Twilight – Wikipedia

Notes:

• This image is also shared as public domain on Pixabay,  Flickr, and Pinterest.
• Images are being shared in the sequence they were accepted by Pixabay, a royalty-free image sharing site.
• Only images specifically identified as such are public domain or creative commons on our pages.
• All other images are copyright protected by me, creative commons, or used under the provisions of fair use.

2020 Vintage Christmas¹ #11

Christmas Greetings.

Date Issued: 1907 (Approximate)

Place: Berlin

The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Picture Collection, The New York Public Library. “Christmas greetings.” New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed November 28, 2020. digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47e3-5a2e-a3d9-e040…

1. I’m sharing some vintage Christmas images I “collected” from the New York Public Library online digital images. Some are neat, some are quirky and there’s a couple that are downright weird.

Royalty-free images by Mike¹ — No. 115 of over 1200 images

Mesa Verde View, Montezuma Valley, Knife Edge Trail, September 13, 2009

Knife Edge Trail²

A short but sweet hike that leaves directly from the campground in Mesa Verde National Park. Knife Edge is a perfect place to catch the sunset!

The Knife Edge Trail leaves from a small parking lot located in Morefield Campground in Mesa Verde National Park. It’s definitely an easy trail, but it is perfect for the entire family. It offers an unhindered view westward, so it is a prime place to catch the sunset in the park, especially if you’re staying at the campground.

The trail starts out in a grassy meadow but quickly opens up to expansive views of the valley with the giant Mesas on three sides of you. From the turn-around point in the trail, you can see Utah in the distance.

Be on the lookout for wildlife while hiking, there are snakes and lizards and horny toads abundant on this path! The campground is also a popular place for mule deer to congregate, so you might see one or two or six of those closer to the trailhead.

There’s only a little shade on the trail, so if you’re hiking during the day make sure you wear sunscreen and bring along some water!

(by Haley Baker)

1. I am sharing some of my public domain images in periodic blog posts.
2. Hike the Knife Edge Trail – The Outbound Collective

Notes:

• This image is also shared as public domain on Pixabay,  Flickr, and Pinterest.
• Images are being shared in the sequence they were accepted by Pixabay, a royalty-free image sharing site.
• Only images specifically identified as such are public domain or creative commons on our pages.
• All other images are copyright protected by me, creative commons, or used under the provisions of fair use.

2020 Vintage Christmas¹ #10

A Happy Christmas.

Date Issued: 1908 (Approximate)

The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Picture Collection, The New York Public Library. “A happy Christmas.” New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed November 28, 2020. digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47e3-59f8-a3d9-e040…

1. I’m sharing some vintage Christmas images I “collected” from the New York Public Library online digital images. Some are neat, some are quirky and there’s a couple that are downright weird.

Royalty-free images by Mike¹ — No. 114 of over 1200 images

Blanket Flower, Great Falls, Montana, September 2, 2007

Gaillardia²

Gaillardia /ɡeɪˈlɑːrdiə/ (common name blanket flower) is a genus of flowering plants in the sunflower family, Asteraceae, native to North and South America. It was named after Maître Gaillard de Charentonneau, an 18th-century French magistrate who was an enthusiastic botanist. The common name may refer to the resemblance of the inflorescence to the brightly patterned blankets made by Native Americans, or to the ability of wild taxa to blanket the ground with colonies. Many cultivars have been bred for ornamental use.

These are annual or perennial herbs or subshrubs, sometimes with rhizomes. The stem is usually branching and erect to a maximum height around 80 centimeters (31.5 inches). The leaves are alternately arranged. Some taxa have only basal leaves. They vary in shape. They are glandular in most species. The inflorescence is a solitary flower head. The head can have 15 or more ray florets, while some taxa lack any ray florets. They can be almost any shade of yellow, orange, red, purplish, brown, white, or bicolored. They are sometimes rolled into a funnel shape. There are many tubular disc florets at the center of the head in a similar range of colors, and usually tipped with hairs. The fruit usually has a pappus of scales

1. I am sharing some of my public domain images in periodic blog posts.
2. Gaillardia – Wikipedia

Notes:

• This image is also shared as public domain on Pixabay,  Flickr, and Pinterest.
• Images are being shared in the sequence they were accepted by Pixabay, a royalty-free image sharing site.
• Only images specifically identified as such are public domain or creative commons on our pages.
• All other images are copyright protected by me, creative commons, or used under the provisions of fair use.

2020 Vintage Christmas¹ #9

“Health and all happiness”
Christmas Greeting and all good wishes.

Wolf & Co. (Publisher)

Date Issued: 1906

Place: New York

The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Picture Collection, The New York Public Library. “Christmas greeting and all good wishes.” New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed November 28, 2020. digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47e3-5a50-a3d9-e040…

1. I’m sharing some vintage Christmas images I “collected” from the New York Public Library online digital images. Some are neat, some are quirky and there’s a couple that are downright weird.

Royalty-free images by Mike¹ — No. 113 of over 1200 images

Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site, La Junta, Colorado, September 7, 2011

Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site²

Bent’s Old Fort is an 1833 fort located in Otero County in southeastern Colorado, United States. A company owned by Charles Bent and William Bent and Ceran St. Vrain built the fort to trade with Southern Cheyenne and Arapaho Plains Indians and trappers for buffalo robes. For much of its 16-year history, the fort was the only major white American permanent settlement on the Santa Fe Trail between Missouri and the Mexican settlements. It was destroyed in 1849.

The area of the fort was designated a National Historic Site under the National Park Service on June 3, 1960. It was further designated a National Historic Landmark later that year on December 19, 1960.

The fort was reconstructed in 1976 and is open to the public. The authenticity of the reconstruction authenticity is based on the use of archaeological excavations, paintings and original sketches, diaries and other existing historical data from the period.  (read more)

1. I am sharing some of my public domain images in periodic blog posts.
2. Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site – Wikipedia

Notes:

• This image is also shared as public domain on Pixabay,  Flickr, and Pinterest.
• Images are being shared in the sequence they were accepted by Pixabay, a royalty-free image sharing site.
• Only images specifically identified as such are public domain or creative commons on our pages.
• All other images are copyright protected by me, creative commons, or used under the provisions of fair use.