SATURDAY SILHOUETTES #62

Welcome to the Saturday Silhouettes meme! This is a weekly meme that looks at SILHOUETTES in photography.

SILHOUETTE |ˌsɪlʊˈɛt| noun: The dark shape and outline of someone or something visible in restricted light against a brighter background.
ORIGIN - late 18th century: Named (although the reason remains uncertain) after Étienne de Silhouette (1709–67), French author and politician.

This post is also part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

Please add your contribution below, using the Linky tool.
As this is a small but select meme, please visit other contributors and add a comment - they like comments about their work as much as you do!

NIGHT GARDEN

Spotlit garden at night makes for an interesting lighting effect on the blossom and camellia leaves.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme,
and also part of the Friday Greens meme.

THE FIRST BUTTERCUPS

Ranunculus is a large genus of about 600 species of plants in the Ranunculaceae family. Members of the genus include the buttercups, spearworts, and water crowfoots. The petals are often highly lustrous, especially in yellow species. Buttercups usually flower in the spring, but flowers may be found throughout the summer, especially where the plants are growing as opportunistic colonisers, as in the case of garden weeds.

The water crowfoots (Ranunculus subgenus Batrachium), which grow in still or running water, are sometimes treated in a separate genus Batrachium (from Greek βάτραχος batrachos, "frog"). They have two different leaf types, thread-like leaves underwater and broader floating leaves. In some species, such as R. aquatilis, a third, intermediate leaf type occurs. Ranunculus species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Hebrew Character and small angle shades. Some species are popular ornamental flowers in horticulture, with many cultivars selected for large and brightly coloured flowers.

Ranunculus repens, the creeping buttercup shown here, is a flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae, native to Europe, Asia and northwestern Africa, The flowers are bright golden yellow, 2–3 cm diameter, usually with five petals, and the flower stem is finely grooved.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme,
and also part of the Friday Greens meme.

GREEN RAIN

This post is part of the Wednesday Waters meme,
and also part of the Waterworld Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Outdoor Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,
and also part of the ABC Wednesday meme.

SPINALONGA, GREECE

The island of Spinalonga (Greek: Σπιναλόγκα), officially known as Kalydon (Καλυδών), is located in the Gulf of Elounda in north-eastern Crete, in Lasithi, next to the town of Plaka. The island is further assigned to the area of Kalydon. It is near the Spinalonga peninsula ("large Spinalonga") – which often causes confusion as the same name is used for both. The official Greek name of the island today is Kalydon.

Originally, Spinalonga was not an island, but rather a peninsula of Crete. During Venetian occupation the island was carved out of the coast for defence purposes and a fort was built there. The Venetians harvested salt from salt pans around the island. Later in the mid-20th century, the island was used as a leper colony.

Spinalonga featured in the British television series "Who Pays the Ferryman?" and Werner Herzog's experimental short film "Last Words". It is the (unnamed) setting of Ali Smith's short story "The Touching of Wood" (in "Free Love and Other Stories", 1995). It is also the setting for the 2005 novel "The Island" by Victoria Hislop, the story of a family's ties to the leper colony; the book was adapted for television in the television series "To Nisi" by Mega Channel Greece. The short story "Spinalonga" by John Ware, about a tourist group that visits the island, was included in the 13th Pan Book of Horror.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Travel Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

THE EVIL EYE

The evil eye is a curse believed to be cast by a malevolent glare, usually given to a person when they are unaware. Many cultures believe that receiving the evil eye will cause misfortune or injury. Talismans created to protect against the evil eye are also frequently called "evil eyes".

The idea expressed by the term causes many different cultures to pursue protective measures against it. The concept and its significance vary widely among different cultures, primarily in West Asia. The idea appears several times in translations of the Old Testament. It was a widely extended belief among many Mediterranean and Asian tribes and cultures. The colour blue is thought to have a strong protective function against evil.

Charms and decorations with eye-like symbols known as "nazar" or "máti", which are used to repel the evil eye are a common sight in the Levant, and have become a popular choice of souvenir with tourists. A typical nazar is made of glass featuring concentric circles or teardrop shapes in dark blue, white, light blue and black, occasionally with a yellow/gold edge. As a legacy of the Turkish Ottoman Empire, it is a common sight in Turkey, Romania, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Greece, Southern Italy (Naples), Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Egypt, Armenia, Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq and Azerbaijan, where the nazar is often hung in homes, offices, cars, children's clothing, or incorporated in jewellery and ornaments.

This post is part of the Blue Monday meme,

and also part of the Macro Monday meme,

and also part of the Through my Lens meme,

and also part of the Seasons meme.

RED ROSE OF SUMMER

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme,
and also part of the Our Beautiful World meme,
and also part of the My Sunday Photo meme.

SATURDAY SILHOUETTES #61

Welcome to the Saturday Silhouettes meme! This is a weekly meme that looks at SILHOUETTES in photography.

SILHOUETTE |ˌsɪlʊˈɛt| noun: The dark shape and outline of someone or something visible in restricted light against a brighter background.
ORIGIN - late 18th century: Named (although the reason remains uncertain) after Étienne de Silhouette (1709–67), French author and politician.

This post is also part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

Please add your contribution below, using the Linky tool. As this is a small but select meme, please visit other contributors and add a comment - they like comments about their work as much as you do!

PANDANUS FRUIT

Pandanus tectorius is a species of Pandanus (screwpine) in the family Pandanaceae that is native to Malesia, eastern Australia, and the Pacific Islands. Common names include Tahitian screwpine, thatch screwpine, hala and fala.

P. tectorius is a tree that grows to 4–14 m tall. The single trunk is spiny and forks at a height of 4–8 metres. It is supported by prop roots that firmly anchor the tree to the ground. The fruit of P. tectorius is either ovoid, ellipsoid, subglobose or globose with a diameter of 4–20 cm and a length of 8–30 cm. The fruit is made up of 38–200 wedge-like phalanges, which have an outer fibrous husk. Phalanges contain two seeds on average, with a maximum of eight reported. The phalanges are buoyant, and the seeds within them can remain viable for many months while being transported by ocean currents.

The fruit can be eaten raw or cooked and is a major source of food in Micronesia, especially in the atolls. It is also one of the traditional foods of Maldivian cuisine. The fibrous nature of the fruit also serves as a natural dental floss. It is also used in Samoan culture as a Ula Fala, a necklace made out of the dried fruit painted in red and is worn by the Matai during special occasions and functions.

The tree's leaves are often used as flavouring for sweet dishes such as kaya jam, and are also said to have medicinal properties. It is also used in Sri Lankan cookery, where the leaves are used to flavour a variety of curries. Leaves were used by the Polynesians to make baskets, mats, outrigger canoe sails, thatch roofs, and grass skirts.

Here the fruit is seen on top of some oranges for scale.

This post is part of the Friday Greens meme,
and also part of the Food Friday meme.

Here is a method for preparing pandanus purée:

DAPHNE ODORA

Daphne odora (winter daphne) is a species of flowering plant in the family Thymelaeaceae, native to China, Japan and Korea. It is an evergreen shrub, grown for its very fragrant, fleshy, pale-pink, tubular flowers, each with 4 spreading lobes, and for its glossy foliage. It rarely fruits, producing red berries after flowering. The Latin specific epithet odora means "fragrant".

It grows best in fertile, slightly acid, peaty, well-drained soils. It grows in full sun or partial shade, and is hardy to −10 °C, possibly lower. In Korea, the plant is also poetically called "churihyang" - a thousand mile scent - referring to the fragrance being apparent from a great distance. In Japan, the plant is more commonly known as "jinchoge".

Plants are not long lived, senescing within 8 to 10 years. Daphne generally do not react well to root disturbance, and may transplant badly. D. odora is also susceptible to virus infection, which causes leaf mottling. All parts of the plant are poisonous to humans and a range of domestic animals and some people experience dermatitis from contact with the sap. Daphne odora is propagated by semi-ripe cuttings in summer.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.