2022 Sunday challenge from #519

TSC Fragrance

A seagull in Newcastle, New South Wales, taken at Queen's Wharf, on St Patrick's Day. Queen's Wharf was opened in May 1988 by Queen Elizabeth II, it was completed as a Bicentennial project... the vision of Joy Cummings, who became Lord Mayor of Newcastle in 1974, the first woman ever to hold such a position in Australia. In PiP the location on the wharf. Sunday challenge

Extracts from Global Conflict Tracker Last updated March 25, 2022 Armed conflict in eastern Ukraine erupted in early 2014 following Russia’s annexation of Crimea... One month later, in March 2014, Russian troops took control of Ukraine’s Crimea region... Armed conflict in the region quickly broke out between Russian-backed forces and the Ukrainian military... Beginning in February 2015, France, Germany, Russia, and Ukraine attempted to kickstart negotiations and broker a cessation in violence through the Minsk Accords... In April 2016, NATO announced that the alliance would deploy four battalions to Eastern Europe, rotating troops through Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland to deter possible future Russian aggression elsewhere in Europe, particularly in the Baltics... In September 2017, the United States also deployed two U.S. Army tank brigades to Poland to further bolster NATO’s presence in the region... In January 2018, the United States imposed new sanctions on twenty-one individuals–including a number of Russian officials–and nine companies linked to the conflict in eastern Ukraine. Ukraine has been the target of thousands of cyberattacks... In October 2021, Russia began moving troops and military equipment near its border with Ukraine, reigniting concerns over a potential invasion... By December, more than one hundred thousand Russian troops were in place near the Russia-Ukraine border and U.S. intelligence officials warned that Russia may be planning an invasion for early 2022. In mid-December 2021, Russia’s foreign ministry issued a set of demands calling for the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to cease any military activity in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, to commit against further NATO expansion toward Russia, and to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO in the future. The United States and other NATO allies rejected these demands and warned Russia they would impose severe economic sanctions if Russia invaded Ukraine... Since Russia launched a full-scale military invasion into Ukraine on February 24, 2022, fighting has caused over nine hundred civilian deaths and pushed millions of Ukrainians to flee to neighboring countries—the majority of whom have arrived in Poland, a NATO country where U.S. troops are preparing to offer assistance to refugees. cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/conflict-ukraine Sunday challenge - Blue and yellow

Sunday challenge - Weed appreciation day Seen on a stroll in the woods near our local village. It has been raining for a long time, but the sun is out today.

Capsicums, spring onions, avocado, cucumbers, tomatoes, ginger, carrots, mushrooms. Bonus with our cat Dora in PiP Sunday challenge - Something you can't live without - food...

Sunday challenge 533 - Fake

Distant view of Cape Hawke, which is in Forster, New South Wales, Australia. It was named by Captain James Cook on 12 May 1770, honouring Edward Hawke who was First Lord of the Admiralty. Sunday challenge - dreaming

Sunday challenge 535 - beginning with B & C Black and Coral out and about, my phone's battery was flat, so I borrowed Ian's, but didn't realise that it was set to flash... Hibiscus, New South Wales.

Sunday challenge 536 on my old bicycle. The terrain around here is not very flat, so not much opportunity for cycling.