William Sutherland's photos

New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, NY Note: After the second warmest December on record, numerous flowers around the NYC metro area were in bloom on New Year's day (See below) . On this 6 January 2024 the weather has turned more winter-like in the NYC metro area.

New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, NY Right now with a record snow-drought in the NY metro area, this is the closest we can come to snow as numerous flowers remain in bloom.

Larchmont, NY

One World Trade Center (Freedom Tower), New York, NY Additional Visual Displays:

Larchmont, NY

Mamaroneck, NY

Photos taken 5 and 9 November, 2023 in Larchmont and Mamaroneck, NY Note: It's now been one month since the terrorist attack on Israel (7 October 2023) in which more than 1400 innocent people were murdered in cold blood and more than 240 persons were taken hostage. May they not be forgotten and be brought home as soon as possible, in time for Hanukkah 2023.

Collage created by Craiyon AI art generator / digitally edited in Smart Photo Editor . _______________ Sanctity is the Light of the World, The reflection of God Who dwells within it. It is virtue, holiness and love. It is patient and compassionate – unstained by evil and violence. It is the inspiration and hope of all who desire the " holy place [of God]" [Psalm 24:1] with " robes... [washed] white in the blood of the Lamb. " [Revelation 7:14] _______________ Sadly today's world that immerses itself in bloodshed, violence and unimaginable acts of evil doesn't recognize the virtues of sanctity because " it cannot accept [H] im (God) ... [and] neither sees [H] im nor knows [H] im. [John 14:17] May the world accept God, discover His love and one day "[t] urn from evil... do good; seek peace... " [Psalm 34:14] and "[m] ake every effort... to be holy. [Hebrews 12:14]

Created by Dall-E 2, IMG2GO and digitally edited in Smart Photo Editor The image on the left depicts a traditional Halloween scene with ghosts, Jack O'Lanterns, and scary looking trees. The image on the right depicts an even scarier scene of terrified children with the planet Earth screaming above while on fire with darkened oceans because of all the spilled blood. This is so because of accelerating climate change featuring record global warmth during human existence, fires, floods and other natural disasters and because of the pitiful state of our affairs featuring wars, violence, depravity and other evils.

White Plains, New York -- 20 October 2023 and 17 October 2023, respectively. The Gates of Remembrance sculpture was created by American artist Rita Rapaport (1918-2003) in 1992 to "memorialize the suffering and death of millions during the Nazi era from 1933-1945." The sculpture features five panels (depicted in the black & white collage) depicting the Hebrew word "Remembrance" and torn fabric with a prisoner's number (top left), barbed wire that represents concentration camps (top right), broken tablets that represent the "Ten Commandments" (bottom left) and a Torah scroll in flames that represents Kristallnacht (9-10 November 1938), the beginning of the Holocaust (bottom right). The handwritten note in Hebrew and English was left by an unknown Jewish person. It reflects resolute determination in the aftermath of the worst slaughter of innocent Jewish people (1400+ on 7 October 2023 when Israel was attacked by several thousand Hamas terrorists whose barbaric acts are antithetical to true Islam) since the Holocaust (1938-1945). He or she defiantly wrote: 5784 years and still here! We aren't going anywhere. !יהוה ישמור ויברך את עמו הנבחר תמיד (May Yahweh keep and bless His chosen people always!)

Dalle-2 Generated Image to capture Israel's "9/11." Despite this genocidal abomination and the darkness of the moment, " The evil have no future. " [Proverbs 24:20] My deepest condolences and sympathies go to Israel and the Jewish diaspora. Finally, it is our generation's moment to unequivocally support Israel during her time of need especially for those of us who have said we would have opposed Hitler during the Holocaust but hadn't been born during that time to ensure " Never again! " doesn't re-occur again and again and again. stories.bringthemhomenow.net www.kidnappedfromisrael.com

Mamaroneck, NY

Marshlands Conservancy, Rye, NY

Mamaroneck, NY -- 19 August 2023; Ward Acres, New Rochelle, NY -- 25 August 2023 Cartoon Image created in DALL·E 2 "[T] he... strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown." – H.P. Lovecraft (1890-1937) Irrational paranoia directed at only one species is counterproductive. They don't bite, don't transmit diseases (e.g. Lyme, Malaria, West Nile, etc.) and are actually quite friendly. The Spotted Lanterfly (斑点灯笼蝇) arrived to the United States in 2012 from China after imported stoned included eggs. The first sighting of an adult spotted lanternfly was in Pennsylvania in 2014. This year, lower Westchester and parts of New York City have become a sort of epicenter for the spotted lanternfly. As spotted lanternflies are relatively new to the United States, the fear is palpable! While futile efforts are being made to eradicate them through spraying (that will also poison other creatures in the ecosystem) and "kill on sight" orders -- the fact is they have become endemic and American society will have to learn to live with them. As long as they exist in manageable numbers, grape crops and trees should be okay. Their favorite trees are the "Tree of Heaven" and "Sumac," with the latter being an invasive species. Perhaps the spotted lanternfly is performing a beneficial service (natural eco-management) with regard to the "Sumac" tree. Also, aside from grape plants, they don't appear to eat the plants or fruits and vegetables of other crops! As a recommendation, grape farmers might consider covering their plants in netting to protect them especially since such a step would be more ecologically friendly. At the same time, perhaps with research we can develop a sort of natural birth control mechanism that could further ensure spotted lanternfly numbers remain manageable. Overpopulation of any species – not just the spotted lanternfly, which does have natural predators here in the USA (e.g. some snakes, birds,praying mantises, hornets and spiders) – humans too – always wreck ecological havoc. Just look at our planet today with every new year setting extreme heat records, growing numbers of more intense wildfires, droughts, floods, not to mention the intense destruction we're causing all over the planet! Finally, whether it's popular or not, I choose to co-exist with the spotted lanternfly and won't kill them especially since I find it appalling we humans think the entire planet only belongs to us and have the right to decide what species live or die in nature! As a follow up, on 12 September 2023 I found several Spotted Lanternfly colonies in Rye, NY and it seems nature is adapting to create a population control mechanism . Yellow Jackets were swarming at all of these colonies where the Spotted Lanternflies have been laying eggs; they even created underground nests to be close-by. It seems they have discovered the eggs and found they are a new source of food. In fact, it seems yellow jackets are swarming in many places where Spotted Lanternflies have begun to or have laid eggs, perhaps attracted by the faint aroma of the white glossy substance they use to cover their eggs.

Mamaroneck, NY Also on this World Day of Photography, my deepest condolences go out to Andy Rodker's family and friends. He was a large part of this community and a great, caring person who loved to share the beautiful scenic pictures of his home country. He will be greatly missed and forever in our prayers and memories. Enjoy eternity Andy even if it breaks our hearts here. As a wonderful photographer, it is also ironic he should pass on this day of all days.

Marshlands Conservancy, Rye, NY

Mamaroneck, NY And the rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will see it, to remember the everlasting covenant between God and between every living creature among all flesh, which is on the earth. [Judaism: Bereshit 9:16] I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind… [Christianity: Genesis 9:13-15] The rainbow is a safeguard for the inhabitants of the earth that they will not be drowned and the Milky Way is the door of the heavens and the splitting of the heavens will begin from it. [Islam: Ibn Abbas]

Mamaroneck, NY Note: These conditions were created by the smoke from wildfires that are raging in Nova Scotia, Canada (the worst in that province's history) some 600 miles away. The center and right most photographs were taken around 2:30 PM 7 June 2023. The photo featuring the sun was taken at 2:46 PM 7 June 2023. During the peak of the smoky conditions today, the Air Quality Index that ranges on a scale from 0 to 500 with 0-50 being good rose to 484 (Hazardous). As a result schools closed early and evening events were cancelled including the scheduled games for the New York Yankees (MLB) and New York Liberty (WNBA). Masks were also back in fashion.