Tag: nature

The Stone Spheres of Bosnia

Petrospheres: The Stone Spheres of Bosnia

There have been several reporting’s of Petrospheres from Bosnia, a country which has been in the limelight recently following claims of the discovery an ancient pyramid complex near Visoko in Bosnia Hertzogovnia. Although this has fuelled the idea that the Bosnian petrospheres are carved, all such claims have been refuted by geologists.

The largest site in Bosnia known for stone balls is the County Zavidovici, approximately 100 km north of Sarajevo. It is the first place in Europe which has established an “Archaeological Park of Stone Balls”. This site contains approximately forty stone balls of enormous size, all of which are recognised as natural ‘concretions’.

Fred Michel

The Photography of Fred Michel

Fred Michel explores Horticultural Art through creating still life images of plants and their component parts. Inspired by a deep love of his garden, his images are broad and diverse, ranging from botanically inspired photos to mandalas, patterns, textures, and designs made from plants he disassembles and reconstitutes.

Equisetum arvense, the field horsetail or common horsetail is a herbaceous perennial plant, native throughout the arctic and temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. It has separate sterile non-reproductive and fertile spore-bearing stems, growing from a perennial underground rhizomatous stem system. The fertile stems are produced in early spring and are non-photosynthetic, while the green sterile stems start to grow after the fertile stems have wilted, and persist through the summer until the first autumn frosts.

The plant contains several substances which can be used medicinally. It is rich in the minerals silicon (10%), potassium, and calcium. The buds are eaten as a vegetable in Japan and Korea in spring time. E. arvense herb has been used in traditional Austrian medicine internally as tea, or externally as baths or compresses, for treatment of disorders of the skin, locomotor system, kidneys and urinary tract, rheumatism and gout. All other Equisetum species are toxic.

The Salina Turda Salt Mine

The Salina Turda Salt Mine, Romania

Salina Turda was a massive salt mine in Turda, Romania. covering an area of 45 square kilometers. Its origins date back to the 17th century and it was a working mine up until 1932. After its closing in 1932 the salt mine was forgotten until the second World War, when it was reopened and used as an antiaircraft shelter. Up to the year 1992 when the salt mine was opened to the public as a touristic site, the first 500 metres of the Franz Joseph conveyance gallery had been used for quite a long time as a warehouse for cheese storage.

The Turda Salt Mine is today a History Museum of Salt Exploitation. The excellent condition of the mining compartments and the equipment used for salt transportation , as well as the care with which the mine was prepared for tourism, have turned it into a place of mingled history and legend. The ever higher number of tourists coming here from most various parts of the world to visit the mine are a confirmation of its historical and touristic value. The Salina Turda Mine features a museum, event space, walking tours and random activities like pool, table tennis and even boat rides.

The interior maintains a steady 11-12 degrees celsius and 80 percent humidity, completely devoid of any allergens and an almost absence of any bacteria, making the unique micro-climate a destination for those suffering from allergic respiratory diseases.

Photography by Ana Maria Catalina and Cristian Bortes

Reblogged from http://twistedsifter.com

Beth Moon

Beth Moon, “Diamond Nights”, Series of Balboa Tree in the Makgadikgadi Pan

The Makgadikgadi Pan is a salt pan situated in the middle of the dry savanna of north-eastern Botswana, is one of the largest salt flats in the world. The pan is all that remains of the formerly enormous Lake Makgadikgadi, which once covered an area larger than Switzerland, but dried up several thousand years ago.

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