A while ago, while out on a walk around the neighborhood we spotted these two Merlins flying around their tree and calling to each other. We had been hearing them regularly for several weeks but up until then had not been able to pinpoint where they were.
I wasn’t really pleased with how the photos turned out, but @wplalonde has been pestering me to post ever since, so here you are 😜
Gestern ging ein Meme durch die Runde, wie sich das Hobby Vögelbeobachtung an einen heran schleicht.
Heute habe ich #Merlin von Cornell ausprobiert und bin sehr begeistert: offline, live Ansicht aller erkannten Vögel und ohne Account nutzbar.
Hatte #BirdNet getestet, aber Merlin ist deutlich cooler.
In the early stories of Merlin, he would often laugh when his powers of prophecy revealed ironic situations, such as a man expressing love for his "son" without realizing the boy isn't his, or a woman buying a dress even though she'll drown before she wears it.
Myrddin Wyllt was a 6th-century prophet who inspired the Merlin legend. After being traumatized by war, Myrddin fled into a Scottish forest and became a hermit. He supposedly wrote down his intense visions, which are collectively known as "The Prophecies of Merlin."
🎨 Alan Lee
Many of the prophecies of the British mystic Myrddin Wyllt (the inspiration for Merlin) are monologs told to his only friend - a wild piglet he fed and befriended while living in the wilderness. Geoffrey of Monmouth changed the piglet to a wolf when he wrote Myrddin's biography. #FairyTaleTuesday
In many stories, Domdaniel is a cavern at the bottom of the ocean where sorcerers and spirits meet. In T. H. White's "The Sword in the Stone," Merlin says his duel with Madam Mim will test if a magic degree from Domdaniel (Mim's alma mater) is superior to tutoring from Merlin's mentor Blaise. #FairyTaleTuesday
The first record of Merlin is Geoffrey of Monmouth's "History of the Kings of Britain." Geoffrey based Merlin on the Welsh prophet Myrddin from 100 years after King Arthur, but had him perform magic previously attributed to Arthur's father Uther and uncle Ambrosius. #FairyTaleTuesday
Some say that the wizard Merlin (for no clear reason) created a magic bed that drove insane anyone who lay on it. Possibly this legend came from confusion about an enchanted bed at Carbonek, the Grail Castle, which gave prophetic visions to anyone who slept there. #FolkloreSunday
"For what, Merlin? For your ambition? For the great prophet and magician of whom men speak with bated breath and give more worship than they would a king or his high priest? And who is it pays this debt to God for carrying out your plans?"
Mary Stewart, "The Crystal Cave"
🎨 Aubrey Beardsley #BookWormSat
Personal #Inkvent — Inksmas day 11
Diamine Red Dragon
Bright red ink with no shading at all. This is what I imagine teachers use for corrections. Very similar in color to the dragon on the Welsh flag and likely the source of the ink name considering Diamine is based in the UK.
Writing sample from Magic in Merlin's Realm: A History of Occult Politics in Britain by Francis Young. Full passage in thread.
Excerpt from Francis Young - Magic in Merlin's Realm: A History of Occult Politics in Britain (2022)
During the Wars of the Roses, the story of Merlin's discovery of a red and white dragon under Vortigern's tower was given additional political significance. The red dragon represented the Britons while the white represented the Saxons, and Merlin prophesied that the red dragon would eventually overcome the white.
Two downy woodpeckers flushing insects (?) in the brambles
Red shouldered hawk alone in a lofty pine tree
Pretty sure I saw a hairy woodpecker as it was larger than a typical downy
And #merlin app from #Cornell indicated it heard a golden-crowned kinglet but I did not get it