April 22, 2011

San Francisco Bay

The Vicksburg campaign can best be understood when divided into four phases. (1) First came the spring 1862 upriver attack by Union gunboats. (2) Then came General U. S. Grant’s fall campaign, which involved the invasion of north Mississippi and an attempt to flank the Confederates with General William T. Sherman’s Mississippi River expedition to a point just north of Vicksburg called Chickasaw Bayou. (3) Grant then launched his spring 1863 campaign of diversions that eventually allowed him to get his army across the river south of Vicksburg. (4) The final phase included Grant’s hard-hitting overland campaign into central Mississippi and his siege operations at Vicksburg.

An approach via the Yazoo River, north of Vicksburg, was blocked by rafts, chains, and torpedoes stretched across its mouth. Even if the city could be bypassed, an approach from the rear was difficult because of rugged hills, steep ravines, thick forests, and numerous swamps and bayous. After Shiloh and the capture of Island No. 10 on the Mississippi, the North shifted the emphasis of its war in the west to conquering that mighty river in an effort to divide the Confederacy in two.  Fort Pillow fell on 4 June and Memphis, Tennessee fell on 6 June. Vicksburg, Mississippi was the next obstacle, and it took more than a year to remove it.  Those efforts occupied the union gunboat USS Tyler intermittently for the ensuing 13 months.  Her first action of the Vicksburg Campaign came in mid-July 1862 when she joined the ironclad USS Carondelet and the USS Queen of the West in probing the Yazoo River above Vicksburg in search of the incomplete Confederate ironclad ram CSS Arkansas which had eluded capture at Memphis and sought refuge far up the Yazoo. On 15 July 1862, the Union probe and the falling river brought Tyler and her colleagues into a collision with Arkansas.  After a brisk exchange of cannonades, Carondelet was disabled.  Only Tyler, abandoned by Queen of the West, remained to suffer the full onslaught of the powerful Southern warship. Recognizing the futility in attacking her adversary unsupported, Tyler reluctantly retreated with Arkansas in pursuit.  After a running fight all the way down the Yazoo, the two warships reached the Union fleet lying near the confluence of the two rivers.  Tyler sought refuge among the fleet while Arkansas ran through it, delivering salvo after salvo into the aggregate of ships, and moored safely under the protection of the Vicksburg shore batteries.

THE YAZOO RIVER

General Grant's Bayou Expedition landing 50,000 troops at Young's Point above Vicksburg, March 29, 1863

In December, 1862, Grant launched a two-prong assault. While he marched through central Mississippi towards Vicksburg, Major William T. Sherman attacked it from the river. Confederate cavalry turned back Grant's force by destroying his supply base at Holly Springs, while Sherman suffered a devastating defeat at Chickasaw Bluffs. By January, 1863, Grant began assembling his 'Army of the Tennessee' along the Mississippi River from Lake Providence to Young's Point, but his attempts to capture Vicksburg were thwarted by the difficult terrain and strong rebel defenses. The approaches to the city were protected from both the north and the south for almost twenty miles. Floodplains made it impossible to land troops north of Vicksburg. There were twenty-eight heavy-caliber guns mounted on the riverfront bluffs well above the maximum elevation of the guns of the Union fleet. It would be suicidal to run ships below the bluffs to land troops below the city. Even if they could succeed, rifle pits defended the ground between the river and the bluff defenses.

NIGHT SCOUTS--SURPRISE OF AN OUTPOST--SURVEY OF THE REBEL GUNS

Grant resolved to move his soldiers south of Vicksburg down the Louisiana side of the river, cross the Mississippi, and attack Vicksburg from the south. Although this meant the Union fleet would risk passing downstream beneath Vicksburg's Mississippi River batteries to get in position south of the city to ferry the army across the river, it seemed to be Grant’s best option. Admiral Porter made the dramatic run down the Mississippi past the Vicksburg batteries on the night of April 16, 1863, under heavy fire, but with the loss of only one boat. "At half past ten P.M. the boats left their moorings and steamed down the river, the BENTON, Admiral Porter, taking the lead ~ as they approached the point opposite the town, a terrible concentrated fire of the centre, upper and lower batteries, both water and bluff, was directed upon the channel, which here ran within one hundred yards of the shore. At the same moment innumerable floats of turpentine and other combustible materials were set ablaze. In the face of all this fire, the boats made their way with but little loss except the transport HENRY CLAY which was set on fire and sunk." The boats that ran the blockade were (all USS): BENTON (Flagship), LAFAYETTE GENERAL PRICE, LOUISVILLE, MOUND CITY, PITTSBURG, CARONDELET; and transports SILVER WAVE, FOREST QUEEN, HENRY CLAY; and TUSCUMBIA.

CITY IN THE CLOUDS

ONE HUNDRED FAMOUS VIEWS OF EDO (TOKYO) NUMBER FORTY-THREE

NIHONBASHI BRIDGE AND EDOBASHI BRIDGE

In the foreground we are about four feet above the surface of the Nihonbashi Bridge, identified by the metal ornament capping the post to the left.  Such ornaments were reserved for bridges of distinction. The upper railing of the bridge here appears oddly flat in comparison with the square beams parallel to it below. In fact, this top railing was round, a quality that Hiroshige was unable to render with conventional Japanese painting techniques.  For all the influence of Western method on Hiroshige, the elements of chiaroscuro modelling remained alien to his art. To the lower right, one glimpses the bucket of a fish peddler returning from the market.  In the bucket is the famous "first bonito" that the Edokko prized so highly.  Fishermen competed in the early summer to rush the earliest catch of the bonito schools to Edo's market knowing that they could command outrageous prices.  The appeal to the Edokko proverbially eager to part with his money the day he earned it lay less in the taste of the fish than in its rarity.

Sinosauropteryx
	Sinosauropteryx ("Chinese lizard-wing") is the first and most primitive genus of dinosaur found with the fossilized impressions of feathers. It lived in China during the early Cretaceous period and may have been a close relative of Compsognathus. It was the first dinosaur genus discovered in the famous Liaoning Province.
The largest known specimens are 1-1.20 meters (3 ft) in length, most of which was taken up by its extremely long tail. The remarkably well-preserved fossils show that Sinosauropteryx was covered with a furry down of very simple feathers - though some contention arose with an alternative interpretation of the filamentous impression as collagen fiber remains. These filaments consisted of a simple two-branched structure, roughly similar to the secondarily primitive feathers of the modern kiwi.

ITALY pixdaus.com

TREVI FOUNTAIN

You will not find any other place in the world that celebrates the ever-mutating and incredible power of water like Rome.  The Trevi Fountain is a fantastic work of art that is much more than a mere sculpture.  This triumphant example of Baroque art with its soft, natural lines and fantasy creatures embodies movement as the soul of the world.  The fountain is a true wonder, a jewel of water and stone that is nestled between the palaces of the historic center of the city.

The central figure of the fountain, in front of a large niche, is Neptune, god of the sea.  He is riding a chariot in the shape of a shell, pulled by two sea horses.  Each sea horse is guided by a Triton.  One of the horses is calm and obedient, the other one restive.  They symbolize the fluctuating moods of the sea. On the left hand side of Neptune is a statue representing Abundance, the statue on the right represents Salubrity.  Above the sculptures are bas-reliefs, one of them shows Agrippa, the general who built the aqueduct that carries water to the fountain.

Phalaenopsis

The first Phalaenopsis was found by the Dutch botanist Blume in the Moluccas.  The flowers reminded him so much of tropical butterflies, the plant was given the Greek name of Phalaenopsis, after phalaina, meaning moth or butterfly, and opsis, meaning appearance. Moth orchids have thick, broad medium-green leathery leaves.  The flowers are long sprays of 3- to 6-inch-wide blooms.  There are many flower colors and combinations of colors available, such as white, cream, yellow, pink, and lavender.  Plants bloom mainly spring to fall, but may come into flower at any time of year.  Many varieties have blooms striped, barred, or dotted with contrasting hues.  In some varieties, the sprays of bloom may grow three to five feet in length. Unlike many other orchids, Phalaenopsis do not have pseudobulbs that store food and moisture.  It needs to keep growing all year round.  Never allow the potting medium to dry out.  It is equally important not to overwater.  These plants store moisture in the tips of the shoots, and too much moisture could cause stem ends to rot. Growing a Phalaenopsis Orchid in your home can be rewarding and fun. It is particularly well suited for the conditions you already find at home. Phalaenopsis hybrids flowers range is size from 2" to nearly 5" in diameter.

Colors range includes white, pinks, lavender and yellow in both solid colors and mixes of stripes and spots. Many new a bold color pattern are beginning to show up also. Phalaenopsis flowers offer both exotic form and superb longevity. Individual blooms can last as long as 3 months. Flowers open sequentially at 2-5 day intervals along an arching spike.

In the home, Phalaenopsis orchids enjoy a spot near or in a bright window. You’ll want to avoid direct mid-day sun but early morning or late afternoon sun is great. An east or west facing window is ideal. In darker or cloudy environments a shaded southern window might be best.

You can supplement normal light with fluorescent lights placed approximately 1 foot above your orchid. Time your lights to simulate normal day length. If you have a home greenhouse you should consider using a heavy shade cloth (especially during the summer) to limit light levels to 1,000 – 1,500 foot candles.

Phalaenopsis can live a very long time. That means you will have to know when and how to repot you plants. There are two reasons that a plant will need to be re-potted. Either it has outgrown its current container or its media has decomposed and no longer is aerated well enough to maintain health roots.

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