read.cash Log in
@valo

@valo in November 2022

@valo

I had a trip to a swamp looking for cranberries no long ago. In addition to the berries, there were also some bright red mushrooms, possibly Russula paludosa or Russula emetica. Some basic knowledge of medical Latin tells that you probably don't want to put the latter species in your mouth unless you want to test your digestive system. If you truly insist to taste it, you would need to boil it. #Photography #Fungi

@valo

Yesterday was the first day when the frost persisted all day. The sun managed to melt some of it, but most leave on the ground they had their beautiful sugar coating. There are no signs of snow yet, but in other parts of the country, the temperature is well below 0 and the first snow has fallen already. I love winter and I hope that the ground will soon be covered in white. I hate those November days when it's gloomy and drizzling. Do you like snow? Below I made several…

@valo

I went out for a walk, carrying a sandwich in my backpack, and I sat under a birch to get some energy for the rest of the trip. On a piece of wood, I saw something moving. It was an unusual caterpillar. I have no idea what this species could be. #Photography

@valo

Birches are my favourite tree, and this one was no exception. Elegant long white spotted trunk covered with some lichens. The leaves were golden-coloured... and the contrast was beautiful against the blue sky. Some sunshine to make the colour temperature even warmer would have been welcome, but it was nice even with the haze. #Photography #Nature

@valo

Cranberries in a swamp Early autumn is amazing. Now we have lost pretty much all leaves, and it's just bare branches and a gloomy sky. But I will go back in time to a trip from last month. The rain stopped pouring, and the clouds started going away, which meant that it was time to go for a walk. The destination for that day was a swamp. I walked into the forest consisting mostly of lichen-covered pines. Neither of them was a 10+ metre tall majestic tree with a thick trunk -…

@valo

Chances are that you have tasted dried cranberries, those that are soaked in sugar syrup and advertised as health food. While the berries are undoubtedly healthy, I prefer skipping the sugar, and I pick them myself from the swamp. I am lucky that in my country, berries are provided by nature for free, so you just need to take a box and pick some to enjoy with your morning porridge or yoghurt or just on their own. Cranberries grow in wet areas surrounded by moss. The leaves…

@valo

Churches are a classical photographic subject, and this one didn’t disappoint when captured on a black and white film. I actually didn’t use a filter here, though there is detail in the sky. Maybe it is slightly underexposed but still not too far off perfect exposure. #Photographic #Blackandwhite

@valo

A blank canvas - how to approach your life There are times when your mind is blank, your thoughts are empty, and there is just fog everywhere around you. You are confused and lost, maybe looking for direction or just utterly scared to move. Maybe you are too weak and exhausted. This is fine. This is your body saying that it needs your attention. You have been ignoring it for too long. Listen to its voice, and ask it how it is feeling. Even though you do not realise it, at…

@valo

Both artworks for today depict the theme of fatigue and an uncertain future. It's hard to push towards goals or even to define them when your mind is drained. I happened to hit 7k steps, but it was not associated with a fun, relaxing walk. #Artwok #Digitalart

@valo

Mushrooms in a swamp The other day, I was telling about my trip to a swamp where I was looking for cranberries. What I didn't mention is that there were also some bright red mushrooms, possibly Russula paludosa or Russula emetica. Some basic knowledge of medical Latin tells that you probably don't want to put the latter species in your mouth unless you want to test your digestive system. If you truly insist on tasting it, you would need to boil it.…

@valo

Cranberries are not the only berry you can find in a swamp. These black ones are called crowberries. They have a mild flavour, but I pick them anyway. They are much smaller cranberries. The leaves are also really small... like everything else in this harsh acidic environment. Swamps like this one are also known as bogs. Underneath the layers of moss, there is peat that can be burned in power plants to produce heat. You may notice in the photos below that there are some trees…

@valo

A busy schedule brings the stress level up, causes insecurity and decreases the quality of sleep. Poor sleep means low capacity for fighting with daily tasks. Anxiety builds up and causes insomnia. Tiredness piles up. The only piece of advice is to prevent this kind of vicious circle from forming altogether. Getting out of it while also tending to your responsibilities becomes a true challenge. #Artwork #Digitalart

@valo

Swamps are the home of a species of short plants with extremely small leaves. These are actually swamp birches. They hardly reach even 1 metre in height, unlike the typical birch. The leaves are more rounded, though their edge has the characteristic jagged pattern, often 1-1.5 cm long. #Photography #Amazingnature

@valo

Money is the root of all evil Yes, money causes suffering in many. It is power and authority. Those possessing lots of money decide the direction where the world moves in. Yet, is money itself the problem? If you stop and think about it, money is just a tool. It's not any different from, let's say, a knife. It has a particular purpose - it's a means of exchanging items and services. How does a knife even compare? Well, it's a tool, too. It serves to cut an item into pieces,…

@valo

Orange and purple make an excellent combination because they are complementary colours in the red-yellow-blue colour space. This combination is often used in design, as it can create a very striking effect. Orange is warm and vibrant, while purple is cool and calming. #Artwork #Digitalart #Abstract

@valo

Actifit did its job yesterday! I came home and realised that I've made 4500 steps during the day. So close to the limit of 5000! I just had to walk a bit more and reach it. Thanks, Actifit, for the motivation! 500 steps are more than 0. The image below is unrelated to my daily activity. I generated it using starryai. #Artwork #Digitalart

@valo

Spotted red toadstools Arguably the most famous species of mushrooms is Amanita muscaria. Already child books depict forest mushrooms as white polka dot spots on a red cap. I thought that the English word for Amanitas is toadstool, but today I learned that a toadstool can be any fungus that pops above the ground and has the typical mushroom shape. Still, colloquially, a toadstool tends to refer to poisonous fungi, while a mushroom would be an edible one [1]. So, in this…

@valo

Technology is amazing and the rate at which it evolves is mind blowing. At home I have multiple items that used to be common but nowadays are obsolete. Well, this sounds like I'm really old. Sadly I haven't held punch cards in my hands, though I would buy a pack (and maybe a reader?). The items that come to my mind include CPUs floppy disks (different sized) EEPROMs logic gates (you know what's a logic gate, right?) This beauty below was rather easy to reach - it was…

@valo

Do you like inspirational quotes? Are they just a cliché? #Artwork #Digitalart #Inspired

@valo

I was walking back home along the usual route, but that night the fog made it feel spooky and dangerous. Suddenly, a car left a loud braking sound... I was still alive, but I feared that somebody (or something) might not be anymore. I instinctively turned around, but I couldn't see anything in the dense fog. I didn't dare go back. Probably I should have. Self-preservation took over, and I was almost running for the remaining 500 meters or so until home. No ambulance sounds…

@valo

What Is It Like To Live With Migraine It is more than just a pain in the… head “Headache” — an AI-generated artwork I prepared in starryai. We all have a bad headache occasionally. Migraine = a bit of headache, after all… right? Actually, migraine headache is just one part of the following three-course meal. **. . .** **Starter** (Days or hours prior to the onset of headache) Mood swings, agitation, anxiety, lack of patience Thirst, food cravings, yawning countless times…

@valo

Do inspirational quotes actually inspire you? Likewise, do motivational quotes bring the vigour to do activities you have to get done, yet you just postpone and postpone them? #Artwork #Digitalart

@valo

An autumn flower medley This title is somewhat deceptive since while the photos are taken in autumn, most of them are actually summer flowers that ended up blooming late. A clear example is this cute small wild violet. The next flower looks like a daisy just that it was huge. It was covering half of my palm, and the plant itself was quite tall, reaching well above my knees. Next to the oversized daisy was a slightly smaller pure-yellow relative of daisies. We tend to call…

@valo

Violets usually bloom in summer, but I saw one during a walk in October. That area where it was growing is nicely lit by the sun all afternoon, and it seems that the rocks absorb enough warmth for this little one to smile with its beautiful violet and yellow petals. #Flower #Photography

@valo

This vortex is like a portal to another world. This swirling mass of energy can take you wherever you want to go. It can be a place of mystery and adventure, or simply a way to get away from to this world and all its problems. Would you jump in? #Artwork #Digitalart #Abstract

@valo

This one is hard to describe in words. There is the central six-pointed star. The diagonal lines create a feeling of dynamics and unrest around it, but the circles are like vortices of energy around it. #Artwork #Digitalart #Art

@valo

These abstract shape remind of gears. Cogwheels are usually symbols of industry, productivity and innovation. In a more abstract sense, they represent the ability of our minds to create new ideas and solutions. Progress is possible as long as we keep turning the gears. #Artwork #Digitalart #Abstract

@valo

This picture turned out so abstract that I’m out of words how to describe it 😄 Any suggestions? #Artwork #Digitalart #Abstract

@valo

This closeup on a fractal reminds me of the cells on a leaf. Though… can you really have a closeup of an infinitely repeated structure? I guess mathematicians will call me illiterate. Anyway, I like the result. #Arrtwork #Digitalart #Abstract

@valo

I like purple and violet, and this strand of a Mandelbrot fractal utilises both colours nicely. The big structure looks a bit like a unicellular organism spreading around - like amoebas which don’t have a shape but “flow” around. #Artwork #Abstract #Digitalart

@valo

This picture reminds of the green veins of moss agate. Even though the gemstone is called moss agate, it looks more like the mold in blue cheese… but I guess nobody would want to wear a gemstone named smelly rotten cheese. And no, I’m not against blue cheese. It’s good, just the idea that it’s literally rotten is funny. #Artwork #Abstrack #Digitalart

@valo

The 10+ days of gloomy, cloudy and drizzly weather are not particularly inspiring to go out. My work responsibilities took me to the city, and running errands brought me to the magical 5k steps. My energy level is really low, so I find it really difficult to force myself to exercise. It's sad that the leaves of the trees have pretty much fallen off the branches completely. This inspired me to try asking the AI to create pictures with the prompt "Tree branches without…

@valo

I tried "Late autumn" but starryai was a bit too optimistic, and it made the trees in autumn colours. It's a pretty picture but it doesn't represent what nature looks like at the moment. #Artwork #Digitalart

@valo

Actifit did its job yesterday! I came home and realised that I've made 4500 steps during the day. So close to the limit of 5000! I just had to walk a bit more and reach it. Thanks, Actifit, for the motivation! 500 steps are more than 0. The image below is unrelated to my daily activity. I generated it using starryai. #Artwork #Digitalart

@valo

I can't wait for snow to arrive. It's still warmer than usual for this time of the year, though. Often in November it's around 0 an sometimes sub-zero. There have been some frosty days, but it melts even without sunshine. Here are some winter-themed artworks using the prompt "First snow". The castle turned out great. #Artwork #Digitalart

@valo

Does anybody know if there is a way to change your email?

@valo

I lisuke the cool bluish tones of the snow here - it looks exactly like this peaceful evenings when fresh snow is falling and the orange streetlights leave blue shadows. Also turned out interesting with the river and one more picture... a peaceful pine forest with lots of snow.

@valo

Spending 14 hours in the city while you usually work remotely most of the time feels almost like being on a work trip. I hadn't been there in a few months even though it's not a super long trip to the city centre. But who wants to go to the city when you have enough time to go for a walk in nature anyway? It was again chilly, with nothing but clouds, yet the snow reflected the limited amount of light, and it looked brighter than earlier this month. I'm sharing some more…

@valo

I've been having lots of issues with the firewall of my phone and at times, the internet connection gets cut completely... really annoying... I admit I turned it off because I want to post my activity, but there's more to M I couldn't create a new picture because the artworks are generated on the servers of starryai... it's such a pity. I'm sending an old one. #Artwork #Digitalart

@valo

Self-made miserable life — is it worth blaming ourselves for the missing happiness? When is the last time when you laughed for real? Do you remember what made you genuinely happy? What defined the moment when you were elated and feeling as if on cloud nine? *If you are struggling to reply to these questions, you truly need to stop and review your life and its direction.* Something is holding you up. There is an obstacle between you and your happiness. It is time to evaluate…