Small bird hovering by purple flowers
CMMC,  Themed galleries,  Travel in general

Gallery: searching for M and M

July 29, 2023 / 40 Comments

The daily hummingbird assaults existence with improbability

Ursula K. Le Guin

Hummingbirds are among the hardest of birds to photograph, I find. So even though it’s not perfect I was happy to get this shot of one in Costa Rica last year.

I’m pretty sure I shared this shot previously (she checks: yes she has), so why has it made a reappearance today? Well, I’m having a go at Cee’s challenge to share photos of subjects that feature two Ms in the name.

I could argue that all my travel shots fit that brief, as each contains a special MEMORY. But that would be cheating, I fear!

Putting that aside, this challenge is harder than it initially sounds, despite the fact that the two Ms don’t need to be together. This isn’t about double Ms, just two in the same word. Nevertheless, it’s tricky. Even when you think of a word, have you got a photo to match? Often not, in my case!

But I came up with a few and had such fun looking for them that I wanted to share. A couple may be stretching the rules a little (are place names allowed, for instance? I’m not sure) but hopefully Cee will let them all pass!

SKIMMERS

Flock of large black and white birds with long red and black beaks, on a beach

Black Skimmers disturbed on the beach at Cape May, New Jersey

DRUMMERS

Two small children drumming

At a performance at a kindergarten in Chongjin, North Korea

SWIMMING

Looking down at a man swimming in a rock pool

Swimmer at Bimmah Sinkhole, Oman

[Double points for the two Ms in Bimmah?!]

COMMUNISM

Imposing statue of Lenin on a plinth, with arm outstretched

The statue of Lenin, Kharkiv, Ukraine (since dismantled)

[Of course since I was there Kharkiv has suffered and been greatly damaged as a result of the Russian invasion]

AMMUNITION

Rows of bombs on a stand, some labelled

US bombs on display (incongruously) in the gift shop at the Cu Chi Tunnels near HCMC, Vietnam

MAUSOLEUM

Large concrete block building with guards in front

Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum, HCMC (Saigon), Vietnam

MUSEUM

Girl drawing in front of damaged old statues

In the National Museum, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

MATSUMOTO

Building with series of floors each smaller than the one below, and steep grey tiled roof

Matsumoto Castle, Japan

[This five-storey tower is the oldest surviving castle tower in the country]

SYMMETRY

Tiered round building with blue tiles

The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests at the Temple of Heaven, Beijing

MONUMENT

Carved stone face with backdrop of old and modern buildings

The Monument to the Indigenous People (Monumento a los Pueblos Indígenas) in the Plaza de Armas, Santiago, Chile

IMMIGRATION

The Great Hall at Ellis Island’s immigration station, NYC

Stars and Stripes hanging in a large hall with an arched ceiling

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