Sat/Sun Nov 18/19 2023

[Dave]

I apologize for my low participation lately - just a lot of everyday life things to attend to.

And about a week ago my camera started acting up; the shutter stopped functioning and it took several cycles of turning the camera off then on to get it to work. This got worse and worse, and I checked everything that came to mind. Then yesterday I thought the lens probably wasn't communicating with the camera, so I removd the lens and reseated it. Eureka! Problem solved.

   

I didn't know that Aloe plants had teeth; did you?

[Man From Ironbark]

Oh yes they do. That's a great contrast you have going on there Dave.

[Rich]

Dave, good for you fixing the camera! The plant looks deadly! Are they carnivores like a Venus Fly Trap? Good exposure!

Peter, looks like a row of shark teeth!

Here is a shot of the Ryman Auditorium, home of the original Grand Ole Opry.  There is about 8 inches of leg room between pews.

[Man From Ironbark]

Oh and Australia did give India their only loss of the World Cup comp!
I did suggest they were capable.

Rich; They obviously wanted as many bums on seats they could fit in.

Yes. Aloe can have what looks like shark teeth.

Cactus can be a bit sharp to get close to as well.

Freshly opened flowers are worth getting close to though.

[Luv2shoot]

Well, nice assortment of flowers, teeth and seats.

Dave, I am so glad that your camera is not broken. My stomach started to turn when I read the second sentence of your post. Poor lens, it didn't have anyone to talk to.
But I see that it is in fine working order now. Your photo is looking good.

Peter, those look like shark's teeth. It makes me wonder, "why were the stems/petals (?) designed this way. What purpose does the teeth like edges have for the plant? Cacti do produce some of the prettiest and most colorful flowers, be they on the smaller size though.

Rich, If I sat in one of those seats, I would worry al through the evening performance that I would need to get up and go to the bathroom. OMG, everybody would have to get up to let me pass! I do not know if it is an optical illusion, but all of those benches look curved.

[Man From Ironbark]

The spikes or teeth deter animals from eating the fleshy leaves for their water content.

[Rich]

Rich, If I sat in one of those seats, I would worry al through the evening performance that I would need to get up and go to the bathroom.  OMG, everybody would have to get up to let me pass!  I do not know if it is an optical illusion, but all of those benches look curved.

Thats funny but I would worry about that too! They are curved. The auditorium was a Church back in the day.

[Man From Ironbark]

So that's why they are pews.


and for Lorell's interest, these cacti flowers are a foot long and up to five inches wide at the mouth.
You can see them here where the wind knocked them off. So, they are not small.

   

[Rich]

Peter, beautiful soft pastel colors on the Cactus flowers.

Among the most striking features of the Ryman are the original oak pews. The pews on the main floor are the original from 1895 and the balcony pews date back to 1897.

[Dave]

Thanks MFI, Rich, and Lorell.

MFI, you have shared some especially fine photos recently, both here and on Flickr. And congratulations to the Aussies. That's considered quite an upset, isn't it?

Rich: no, I'm pretty sure the Aloe is not carnivorous.

Lorell, to respond to your question about whether I am joining Flickr groups: I'm just starting. I've placed a number of photos in the Catchy Colors group. And I've joined a few other groups (one of them is the Water Birds group you recommended) but haven't placed many photos in them. A few things have held me back:

1) I'm not sure whether one needs to be invited before posting photos.
2) It seems that each group has different rules, and that gets confusing.
3) I'm unsure if I need to resize images to conform to varying group restrictions.