A few years ago I was working in my yard when a man approached me and asked for money. He said his little boy was sick and he needed money for the doctor. I haven't given money to beggars for years, so I didn't give this man any. About six months later the same man came around again asking for money. He said he had just gotten a good job an needed to get his car fixed so he could go to work every day. I asked him how his little boy was doing. He gave me a puzzled look and asked what I was talking about. I told him that he had asked for money for his little boy the last time he came by and that if he was going to lie he should at least remember the lie he told me previously. He gave me a confused look, gruffed out a sound of disgust and walked away.

I think this particular model does not have focal plane shutter. Looks like it has a lens mounted leaf shutter.

While my preference is Nikon, I have an Olympus OM Em-5. I like it a lot. In my opinion, Oly and Nikon are the two optics champions with both having over 100 years of building fine optical instruments. Nikon started in 1917 building high quality spotting scopes for the Japanese military and Oly has a long history of building high quality medical optics. Both camera companies build kit lenses that are, in my opinion, superior to other brands. My only annoyance with the Olympus is that many of its functions are menu driven, where as the NiKon has many of its functions that can be accessed with buttons on the camera. Being the old-schooler that I am, quality of results is not a bad trade-off for the inconvenience of access. I think you would be happy with the Oly for the purpose you have in mind for it.

Interesting article. I have long been fascinated with that part of the globe and the people who live there.
Thanks for posting.

Very nice. I also like the version done by Johnny Mathis.

The first time I learned that Santa Clause was not real, I was nervous and upset. My hands were shaking so badly I couldn't hardly shave.

Is the deer's head out of focus? Not trying to be controversial here, but I would have stuck with the Nikon.

Amen, Brother Ben. I've been using that combo for years and have been as happy as is possible with internet.

Mug-wump. That's a bird that sits on a fence with his mug on one side and his wump on the other.

It's been so dry in our area that the trees are beginning to follow the dogs around.

I think you mean 'homey'. Homely means ugly.

One of the unfortunate aspects of American english is that if it is used often enough and long enough, even though it may not be correct, it becomes accepted as proper english.

Example: I am 76 yrs old and ever since I can remember the word was 'preventive'. Now, due to long misuse, most dictionaries give 'preventative' as an alternate pronunciation.

Probably fresh out of the cocoon and the wings aren't fully 'pumped up' yet.

Very cute. Although we say 'shammy', it is spelled 'chamois'. It is the skin of a European goat. If the rules of French pronunciation apply, it would be pronounced 'sham wah'. See attachment from wikipedia.

Chamois
The chamois is a species of goat-antelope native to mountains in Europe, from west to east, including the Cantabrian Mountains, the Pyrenees, the Alps and the Apennines, the Dinarides, the Tatra and the Carpathian Mountains, the Balkan Mountains, the Rila–Rhodope massif, Pindus, the northeastern mountains of Turkey, and the Caucasus.Wikipedia

Your first picture is a passion flower. They are truly a beautiful example of the floral world. There are now two basic kinds. The wild variety and the domestic. The wild ones can be pretty invasive. The domestic can be found in a variety of color combos and if you want to grow them in your yard they are not so prone to take over.