Category: Uncategorized

Churches of Belarus (part LXVII):  Orthodox Church of the Birth of the Holy Mother of God (1718-1720), Dubjanjets 2013.  Цэрквы Беларусі (частка LXVII):  царква Нараджэньня Маці Божай (1718-1720 гг.), Дубянец 2013 год. The Dubjanjets church is one of the most splendid examples of surviving 18th-century Polesian wooden churches.  Unfortunately the parish has substituted golden onion… Continue reading Photo of the Day for May 4, 2014

Storks of Polesia: hunting frogs in the waning days of the spring flood, Vuhaljets 2013.  Палескае паляваньне на жабак, Вугалец 2013 год.

Bachelor storks, Tsjerablichy 2013.  Буслы-халасьцякі, Цераблічы 2013 год. Lingering unseasonably cold weather in March 2013 delayed the arrival of storks in Belarus.  The delay caused many storks which would normally have returned to the north of the country to nest instead to halt their migration in Polesia.  As a result many storks were unable to… Continue reading Photo of the Day for April 30, 2014

Radaunitsa (homage to forefathers and other deceased relatives), Azdamichy 2013.  Радаўніца, Аздамічы 2013 год. There are as many as 11 dates during the cycle of the year when Belarusians formally honor their ancestors and other deceased members of their families.  Radaunitsa, which traditionally falls on the Tuesday nine days after Orthodox Easter, is one of… Continue reading Photos of the Day for April 29, 2014

Radaunitsa (blessing the graves of forebears or other family members), old cemetery, Tsjerablichy 2013.  One of the two or three most important commemoration rites in the Belarusian cycle of the year, Radaunitsa traditionally falls on the Tuesday nine days after Orthodox Easter, but Tsjerablichy observes the rite on the preceding day. Радаўніца, старыя могілкі, Цераблічы… Continue reading Photo of the Day for April 28, 2014

Small-holder farming in Belarus:  planting potatoes, Tsjerablichy 2013.  Сямейнае фермерства на Палесьсі:  пасадка бульбы, Цераблічы 2013 год. The potato is a fundamental part of the Belarusian diet.  In late April-early May extended families gather to plant their annual crop of potatoes on the small plots surrounding their houses or, as here, on the small acreage… Continue reading Photo of the Day for April 27, 2014

Spring Landscapes of the Pripet Marshes: Vjeljamichy 2013.  Веснавыя ландшафты Сярэдняй Прыпяці:  Велямічы 2013 год.

Spring flood, Vjeras’nitsa 2013.  Last year brought exceptional numbers of storks to the central Pripet (Prypjats’ – Прыпяць) area.  The prolonged spring flood obligingly created the conditions for a bumper number of tasty frogs. Палеская паводка, Верасьніца 2013 год.