Category: Black & White.

Hilary Hahn.

For anyone that has wondered what Hilary Hahn has to do with photography and why I would put her site on my blogroll – they have never heard her play Bach and Stravinsky.

Other than that nothing…….

Her interpretation of Bach’s Concerto for violin is simply superb. She plays without pretension and has an intuitive musical understanding that is rarely seen.

Oh and she does not use excessive vibrato! The Barber Violin Concerto is maybe the exception; although she does generally try to control it. But double stops with two fingers can be interesting if one is trying to follow such things as fingering – don’t ask I just have a long time interest in the violin.

Juniper tree.

Juniper tree taken on Shams at about 9000ft.

Root & Plant – Shams.

The Juniper is widely distributed throughout the northern hemisphere although its birthplace is obscure. They can be found in Europe, North America, North Africa, Middle East and northern Asia; it is a very slow growing tree (bush) and can live many hundreds of years.

A papyrus from ancient Egypt was discovered which showed Juniper berries as an ingredient for a medicine.

The number of juniper species is in dispute, being somewhere between 52 and 67 species.

Many of the earliest prehistoric people lived in or near juniper forests which gave them food, fuel, and wood for shelter.

Berries have a bitter-sweet taste and aroma which goes particularly well with strong meats and game, it also compliments chicken and certain fish such as Salmon; many Elizabethan food recipes mentioned the berries and I suspect that had a two fold reason, hide the taste of suspect meat and help with digestion.

Khawr Barr al Hikman.

Barr al Hikman.

Khawr Barr al Hikman, is one of if not the largest khawr in Oman and very important for birds, because the area is rather isolated and sparsely populated.
A total of 119 species has been recorded according to ′Bird Life International’ and the area is proposed as a national nature reserve (288,000 ha).
It is in the Ash Sharqiyah: الشرقية‎ / Al Wusta : الوسطى‎ area of Oman.