This Guy Spent 4 Years Growing A Church From Trees…!!!

The enchantingly beautiful live-tree church in New Zealander Brian Cox’s backyard is already impressive enough, but it’s even more amazing when you learn that it took him only 4 years to create!

Cox carefully selected from a wide variety of trees for his beautiful church. Some have stone-colored trunks, while, others, with sparse foliage, ensure that his church will always be illuminated by sunlight. His secret is that he owns a gardening company called Treelocations, which replants whole, live trees using enormous mechanized spades. This allowed him to plant live trees in any way he wanted, completing this church (and the iron frame supporting it) in only 4 years.

Cox was inspired by the years he spent traveling abroad and observing churches around the world; “I walked out my back door one day and thought, ‘That space needs a church’ – and so it began. I cleared the area in April 2011 and made the iron frame, drawing on all the research I had done over the years of studying churches,” he told stuff.co.nz.

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Image credits: Sally Tagg

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Source…….www.boredpanda.com

Natarajan

Soldier Gives the Best Birthday Present to his Mother…..See What it is !

Surprise military homecomings are always emotional, but what makes this video of a son surprising his mother on her birthday especially emotional is that he just found out his mom had been diagnosed with cancer.

After getting the terrible news, the young man serving in the Army National Guard hurried back home just in time for Mom’s birthday. Something tells me that this was her best birthday ever.

What a precious family moment. That smile on her face says it all.

Source………..www.viralnova.com and http://www.youtube.com
Natarajan

A Hearty Home Prayer to Thank GOD …….

Having a roof to live under is a luxury. Having ample food on your table every day is luck. And above all, having a family to care for you is a blessing. The unconditional love of a family is something we should all be thankful for, notwithstanding the messes we make, the chores we complain about, the heartbreak we experience, and the distances that separate us. Let us all express our gratitude to the Lord, for having given us a comfortable house for us to live in and a warm family that makes it a home.

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Lord, thank you for this sink of dirty dishes;
      we have plenty of food to eat.

 

Thank you for this pile of dirty, stinky laundry;
      we have plenty of nice clothes to wear.

 

And I would like to thank you, Lord, for those unmade beds;
      they were so warm and comfortable last night.
      I know that many have no bed…

 

My thanks to you, Lord, for this bathroom,
      complete with all the splattered mirrors,
      soggy, grimy towels and dirty lavatory;
      they are so convenient.

family prayer

Thank you for this finger-smudged refrigerator
      that needs cleaning.
     It has served us faithfully for many years.

 

Thank you, Lord, for this oven that absolutely
       must be cleaned today;
      It has baked so many things over the years.

 

The whole family is grateful for that tall grass
      that we all enjoy in the yard.
     My kids are healthy and able to run and play.

 

Lord, the presence of all these chores awaiting me says
      You have richly blessed my family.
      I shall do them cheerfully and I shall do them gratefully.

family prayer

Even though I clutch my blanket and growl
      when the alarm rings,
     Thank you, Lord, that I can hear.

      There are many who are deaf.

 

Even though I keep my eyes closed from the morning light
      as long as possible,
     Thank you, Lord, that I can see. Many are blind.

 

Even though I huddle in my bed and put off rising,
     Thank you, Lord, that I have the strength to rise.
     There are many who are bedridden.

 

Even though the first hour of my day is hectic,
     when socks are lost, toast is burned and tempers are short,
     my children are so loud,
     Thank you, Lord, for my family.

There are many who are lonely.

Even though our breakfast table never looks like
      the pictures in magazines
     and the menu is at times not balanced,
     There are many who are hungry.

 

Even though the routine of my job is often monotonous,
     Thank you, Lord, for the opportunity to work.
     There are many who have no job.

 

Even though I grumble and bemoan my fate from day to day
     and wish my circumstances were not so modest,

     Thank you, Lord, for life.

Share this sweet message with anyone who means family to you…

 

Source……..www.ba-bamail.com

Natarajan

 

The Corn Palace of South Dakota………

The Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota, is one of America’s corniest attraction. The palace is a regular building built of out of reinforced concrete and bricks, but every spring, during the time of harvest, its exterior is completely covered with thousands of bushels of native South Dakota corn, grain and grasses that are arranged into large murals. Each year there is a different theme, and the palace is decorated accordingly. Hundreds of thousands of tourists come to see the crop art every year.

At other times of the year, to sustain the flow of tourist and revenue, “the World’s Only Corn Palace” —as it likes to call itself, hold popular events such as the Corn Palace Stampede Rodeo in July, the Corn Palace Festival in August and the Corn Palace Polka Festival in September. The Corn Palace also has an auditorium for touring celebrities and a sports arena for various school and college basketball teams.

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Photo credit: Matt Hintsa/Flickr

The original Corn Palace was built in 1892 as part of a six-day festival at the height of harvest season. It was a wooden castle structure built on donated land on Mitchell’s Main Street, whose exterior was decorated with corn. The idea was to showcase the rich soil of South Dakota and encourage people to settle in the area. The success of the Corn Palace and the annual festival encouraged the townsfolk to invest in a better building in 1905, but soon this building became too small for Mitchell’s growing population. A more permanent structure, replacing a second corn palace, was erected and opened in time for the 1921 festival. This is the present Corn Palace, but the Russian-style onion domes and Moorish minarets were added later in 1937.

Every year, local artists redecorate the Palace with naturally colored corn and other grains and native grasses such as flax, rye, wheat, oats, and millet as well as bromegrass, bluegrass, and straw. Thirteen different colors or shades of corn are available for artists to work on.

Besides the annual corn festival, the palace building is used for various events including exhibits, dances, stage shows, meetings, banquets, proms, graduations arena for Mitchell High School and Dakota Wesleyan University as well as district, regional and state basketball tournaments.

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Photo credit: Mike Ault/Flickr

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Photo credit: Scott Robinson/Flickr

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Photo credit: Mike Ault/Flickr

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Photo credit: Robin Zebrowski/Flickr

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Photo credit: Robin Zebrowski/Flickr

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Photo credit: Robin Zebrowski/Flickr

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Photo credit: Robin Zebrowski/Flickr

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Photo credit: josephbergen/Flickr

Source……..www.amusingplanet.com

Natarajan

Tarr Steps: An Ancient ‘Clapper Bridge’ in Somerset…

In the lonely moors of Devon and in other upland areas of the United Kingdom, the ancient people had built stone bridges by placing large flat slabs of stones over piles of stones, without mortar or cement, to cross narrow streams. These bridges are called clapper bridges. The name is derived from the Anglo-Saxon word “cleaca” which means “bridging the stepping stones”, suggesting that the first clapper bridges might have been stone slabs laid across the top of existing stepping stones. Most clapper bridges were built during the medieval times, although some of them age much much more.

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Photo credit: j.e.mcgowan/Flickr

 

One of the most famous clapper bridge is Tarr Steps, located in the Exmoor National Park, in Somerset, across the River Barle. It is also the longest clapper bridge in Britain with 17 spans and measuring 55 meters in length.The bridge lies very low in the water, less than a meter over the river’s normal water level. Over the last century, the river has silted so much that during flood it often flows over the stones. Several times in recent years, the slabs of stones, which weigh up to two tons each, have been washed up to 50 meters downstream. The bridge was repaired each time.

The age of Tarr Steps is unknown with several theories claiming that it dates from the Bronze Age, but others put them around 1400 AD. According to local legend, the Devil himself built it so that he could sunbath on. A more elaborate story says that the Devil never fully completed building the bridge, because his apron strings broke and he dropped the stones he was carrying. The Devil then denounced destruction on the first creature to venture across, so the villagers sent a cat across. The poor creature was torn to pieces. The parson then crossed the bridge without harm, and traded insults with the Devil.

The Tar Steps has been a tourist attraction for at least two hundred years.

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Photo credit: James Morley/Flickr

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Photo credit: Matt Neale/Flickr

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Photo credit: Exmoor NP/Flickr

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Photo credit: lee roberts/Flickr

Sources: Wikipedia / Theaa.com / www.everythingexmoor.org.uk

Source……www.amusingplanet.com
Natarajan

Expressive and Whimsical Watercolor Art……

Artist Luqman Reza creates expressive animal paintings using watercolor paint. He has always had a knack for art, even as a child. Having grown up in the countryside in a modest family, Luqman’s parents did not have much money to buy their son toys. They gave him a drawing book and a set of markers instead. From that moment on, Luqman would sketch and draw instead of play. For him, a piece of paper is his playground – a blank space that could be filled with anything. “I have the freedom to build my imagination and I knew from the very beginning that I have found my joy in life.” As the years rolled on, Luqman began to experiment with his art using various mediums – including pencils, crayons and oil. But then he discovered water color paint, from that point on, his art became expressive and whimsical. Let’s take a look:

See more of Luqman’s work by clicking here.

Timescape

Animal Watercolor Art

Autumn

Animal Watercolor Art

Lonely

Animal Watercolor Art

Lay me by your side

Animal Watercolor Art

See you in heaven

Animal Watercolor Art

Big surprise

Animal Watercolor Art

Burning sky

Animal Watercolor Art

 

Ma boy

Animal Watercolor Art

Memories

Animal Watercolor Art

 

Spring

Animal Watercolor Art

 

Reflected in the blue sky

Animal Watercolor Art

 

Leo

Animal Watercolor Art

Peace

Animal Watercolor Art

Have a nice dream

Animal Watercolor Art

 

Lovely spring

Animal Watercolor Art

Deer

Animal Watercolor Art

 

Taken

Animal Watercolor Art

 

h/t: boredpanda.com

Source…………www.ba-bamail.com

Natarajan

Image of the Day….Double rainbow !!!

Double rainbow, Brooklyn Bridge, NYC

EarthSky community member Jennifer Khordi caught this spectacular double rainbow on Sunday, after storms passed over Manhattan.

View larger. | Photo taken January 10, 2016 by Jennifer Khordi of Matawan, New Jersey. Visit Jennifer’s Facebook page.

Source….www.earthsky.org

Natarajan

Anamorphic Art by István Orosz………

István Orosz was born in 1951 and after training as a graphic designer, he first gained recognition as a stage designer and for his work in animated film as animator and director. His posters and graphic art have featured in countless international design exhibitions, and he is well-known as a printmaker and illustrator too. He is perhaps best known for his renewal of the technique of anamorphosis.

Anamorphosis is an art of distorted projection or perspective requiring the viewer to use special devices or occupy a specific vantage point to reconstitute the image. The art of Anamorphosis was invented in China and brought to Italy in the 16th century, about the time Renaissance artists like Leonardo da Vinci were mastering 3-D and discovering slant anamorphosis.

István Orosz specializes in mirror anamorphosis, where a conical or cylindrical mirror is placed on the drawing to transform a flat distorted image into a three dimensional picture that can be viewed from many angles. He also does slant anamorphosis.

István Orosz’s best creation is probably the one called Mysterious Island. It’s a sketch of a seashore with a sail pushed along by the wind, and two men trekking.

 

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But if a cylindrical mirror is placed over the circular sun, a portrait of Jules Verne emerges.

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His other works

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Source…..www.amusingplanet.com

Natarajan

Positive Affirmations to Help You Through Tough Times….

When the going gets tough, I have found that positive affirmations have helped me push through and overcome the odds. After all, just like every muscle in the body, the mind needs to be exercised too. Positive affirmations remind us to believe in ourselves and move forward. They tell us exactly what we need to hear at the time we need it most. And if we train our mind with positive affirmations every day, soon enough, the right thoughts will spring to mind without needing to make the extra effort. Here are 10 of my favorite affirmations I repeat each morning. I hope that they will benefit you as much as they have me.

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Source…….www.ba-bamail.com

Natarajan