Cardiff, Wales, UK

Cardiff's Mermaid Quay was developed over two decades ago. To the new waterfront was brought the Helwick Sands lightship, where it became a "floating Christian centre." Light towers have long been a favorite symbol of Christianity. Alas, the ship has since been moved to a harbor in England. [2015]

Cardiff, Wales, UK

The daffodil is the national flower of Wales, and March 1 is the national holiday. Let's hope these daffs find a home garden where they can root and flower before St. David's Day. Oh, wait! That's today! If you think this Jersey produce began its life in New Jersey, think again! [2015]

Cardiff, Wales. UK

The state's official name is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Cardiff is located in Wales, which is one of three countries that comprise the island of Great Britain. Wales was absorbed by the Kingdom of England in 1535. After a referendum in 1997, Wales regained self-governing powers, including over its own language and university. [2015]

Cardiff, Wales, UK

How many propellers do you see? One is right in front of your eyes: a seed pod of the maple tree. You've seen them twirling to the ground from the boughs above. Does anyone else call them propellers? Or, is that a word usage that hasn't entered the dictionary yet? [2005]

Cardiff, Wales, UK

Under one roof, scores of businesses compete for the Welsh food dollar. Each has a stall, and each stall needs to be supplied with its daily victuals. Here one of the butchers, with his signatory apron, unloads a tray of meat from the refrigerated van that pulls up to the main entrance. After all, why hide food deliveries in the alley? [2015]

Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, UK

A fountain like this is reflective of the wealth that used to pour into Merthyr Tydfil and the steam coal that used to flow out. It was given to the town in 1906 by a wealthy industrialist. Perhaps he was saying thank you for making him a millionaire. Perhaps he was assuaging his conscience. [2015]

Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, UK

"Quality meats" from the butcher. That's all he does, so you know he has to deliver quality. His customers are local, so you also know he will be held accountable for his misjudgments. Worried about refrigeration? It is the middle of February and he is operating out of a food truck. [2015]

Cardiff, Wales, UK

If you could turn back the clock 2000 years, Jesus would have been 15 years old. Actually, he might have been 18 years old. What we know is that Jesus was born during the reign of Herod the Great, who died in what we now call 4 B.C. Either way, as an adolescent, we know nothing about Jesus. He disappears from history at age 12 and reappears at age 30. [2005]

Cardiff, Wales, UK

We ready ourselves for changing weather by carrying an umbrella. What shall we carry to ready ourselves for changing climate? [2015]

Cardiff, Wales, UK

There's a century sandwiched between the Pierhead Building, Cardiff's left brain, and the Millennium Centre, Cardiff's right brain. The left brain coordinated all the activities on the waterfront a hundred years ago. The right brain delivers on the promise of visual spectacle and musical ambrosia today. [2015]

Cardiff, Wales, UK

The international mermaid, icon of globalization, confronts the Welsh dragon, icon of national pride. The mermaid clearly has the upper hand and the larger size. What do you get if you cross a mermaid with a dragon? Glocalization. [2006]

Cardiff, Wales, UK

Anything can be yarn bombed. In this case, it's a tree. From a Texas hearth, the art of yarn bombing has spread around the world. Now, you can fight seasonal affective disorder and arboreal nudism during the low-sun season by knitting knickers for your pet trees. With a little imagination, you could even add some bling. [2015]

Swansea, Wales, UK

For Methodists, it's Aldersgate Sunday, a commemoration of the day, in 1728, when John Wesley felt his heart 'strangely warmed' with the holy spirit. Here he is in Wales, preaching the gospel. It is part of the tradition of "open air evangelism" that would give the American landscape so many camp meetings in the 1800s. [2005]

Cardiff, Wales, UK

She is far from her homeland, lucky to be in Wales and lucky to be in a neighborhood with so many other Somali families to make her transition to modernity a little bit easier. Modernity? Not in reference to the hijab, which is a traditional part of Somali culture, but to the jogging stroller. How much more hip can you get? [2015]

Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, UK

The street market must go on even when it's cold and even when it's rainy. A few layers will fix the former and a few stripes the latter. Beyond the canopy, colors are few in the dead of winter. But, under cover of canvass, flavonoids create a warmth of their own. [2015]

Cardiff, Wales, UK

Flowers can be depended upon to brighten up any landscape. These giant daffodils are pole sculptures, a not-so-subtle reminder that you are in Wales and that St. David's Day is today. The daffodil is Wales' national flower and David is the saint who Christianized the Welsh. [2015]

Cardiff, Wales, UK

What is the capital of Wales? Cardiff. What was the capital of Wales sixty years ago? London. In 1955, Cardiff became the official capital of Wales, but it was a capital in name only. The country had no government! In fact, it took until 1997, for the people of Wales to create a National Assembly of their own, now in a new building on the old Cardiff docks. [2015]

Cardiff, Wales, UK

The visual arts keep memories alive: memories of the coal industry and memories of Dylan Thomas, Easy to recognize the Welsh miner who made the Industrial Revolution happen; not so easy to recognize the Welsh poet who made the world listen. His Ballad of the Long-Legged Bait inspired this beastie bench on Cardiff Docks. [2015]

Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, UK

"Proper proud Welsh!" That was his answer. The question was: "Are you a Welshman?" And, then, he bared the evidence: He pulled up his sleeve and there was the Welsh Dragon. [2015]

Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, UK

There has been a Christian church on this site for over 1500 years. The first was built over a martyr's grave, the final resting place of St. Tudful (Welsh spelling), murdered by marauders in 480 AD and later canonized because of her acts of compassion. It is after 'Martyr Tydfil' that the town was named. [2015]