worldwideglimpses

2009-10-20T14:11:00.000-04:00

Earlier this year, I camped out on the Continental Divide between Idaho and Montana. I also peed into two watersheds.....at the same time!

Most Recent Trip: Norway / Denmark

2009-09-13T12:13:00.000-04:00

I just returned from a trip to Norway with a side trip to Denmark, visiting my friends Anita, Arve, and their daughter, Ina. I had a great time, in no small part to my hosts and their extensive planning efforts. Upon arrival, 3 hours early, Anita and Ina came to pick me up at the airport. From there, we went to the house and picked up a few things before heading off to their cabin, a few hours' drive away, where Arve met us for a weekend of fun. The cabin is perched on a hilltop overlooking a fjord, and is near only 3 other cabins - remote but fully modern inside. What an escape! In the morning, we all headed to Arve's home town, Odda, which is famous for its fruit orchards. We stayed at Arve's mom's house - she was vacationing in Spain - and her house has a fantastic view along yet another fjord.

The next day (Saturday?) started off rainy, but that didn't stop us from going fruit-shopping, directly at the orchards. Arve's long-time friend, Oysten, has a plum orchard and his family treated us to waffles and cases of plums. Later that day, we went hiking up to a glacier. It was a good hike but a bit steeper than what I'm used to. So, as a result, I was passed up by an old man, Anita who was carrying Ina, and Arve who was following their dog, Bajas. By the way, their dog is a wirehaired dachshund!

On Sunday, Anita, Ina and I headed to Kristiansand to catch the ferry to Denmark in the morning. Finding an open restaurant there at 9 pm was quite difficult. Unfortunately, Anita received a speeding ticket along the way - I offered to play 'dumb tourist' but she wouldn't let me. The next morning, we were on the 3 hour ferry to Denmark. Anita reserved seats in the restaurant, so we were guaranteed a comfy place to sit, an all-you-can-eat buffet, and a child seat. We dressed Ina in her "pooping in progress" shirt, which was quite unfortunate, because she lived up to that statement several times that day. The girl is certainly a trooper - loves travel, and has been to more countries before the age of 1 than I had visited by the time I was 23!!

In Denmark, we did a bit of shopping. I found a *killer* pair of black knee-high boots, a nice top, and a chic jacket. We also stopped at a Wal-Mart like grocery store to buy LOTS of meat, cheeses, and other supplies. Later that week, Anita and Arve were holding two birthday parties for Ina's first birthday, in addition to hosting a houseful of guests the following weekend. Thankfully, we had a refrigerated cooler. It was much cheaper to take the ferry to Denmark to purchase the quantity of meat and supplies needed.

On Tuesday, we went back to the house in Stavanger to unload groceries, relax, and spend some time with Arve. Unfortunately, my flight back was Wednesday morning, and I returned to work on Thursday (albeit hit by jetlag pretty strongly in the afternoon).

On my flight back, I had the pleasure of being seated next to a cultural anthropologist (what I would be if I could choose professions). She had just spent 3 weeks in Finland studying and researching native folk art. We had a great series of conversations, between laughing at the in-flight movie, Sunshine Cleaning. (The Hangover was not showing on that flight :-().

Anyway, I'll add a few photos here and more single photos above. Enjoy! And Thanks, Anita & Arve!!

Danish Modern Architecture

2009-09-13T12:11:00.000-04:00

Unbelievable - a Lamborghini Tractor!!

2009-09-13T12:10:00.000-04:00

Oysten's family's plum orchard

2009-09-13T12:09:00.000-04:00

Ina is eager to stark hiking!

2009-09-13T12:07:00.000-04:00

Drive-By Shooting: taken while riding in the car

2009-09-13T12:06:00.000-04:00

Great Driving, Great Scenery

2009-09-13T12:05:00.000-04:00

Yes, Caviar in a Tube

2009-09-13T12:04:00.000-04:00

Arve and Bajas, the Mountain Climbing Daschund

2009-09-13T12:03:00.000-04:00

Me and Ina

2009-09-13T12:01:00.000-04:00

Danish Street View during 2-week Denmark Birthday Celebration

2009-09-13T12:00:00.000-04:00

Church Interior

2009-09-13T11:57:00.000-04:00

Church Interior

2009-09-13T11:55:00.000-04:00

Danish Delinquents

2009-09-13T11:54:00.000-04:00

Old Danish Church - initially started in 1060

2009-09-13T11:52:00.000-04:00

Old Danish Building

2009-09-13T11:50:00.000-04:00

Very Unfortunate - ticket time

2009-09-13T11:49:00.000-04:00

View from the Top

2009-09-13T11:48:00.000-04:00

View from an old road - note the snow patches at the top

2009-09-13T11:47:00.000-04:00

Reaching the Glacier! (at left)

2009-09-13T11:44:00.000-04:00

Fun Footbridge over Freezing Water!!

2009-09-13T11:42:00.000-04:00

Sweaty, Drizzled Goofball Alert!!

2009-09-13T11:40:00.000-04:00

Anita, Ina, Arve, and Bajas on our Glacier Hike

2009-09-13T11:37:00.000-04:00

Glacial Runoff

2009-09-13T11:34:00.000-04:00

View from Glacier Hiking Trail. Note the village area below...and the lake beyond it...

2009-09-13T11:31:00.000-04:00

Hiking up toward the glacier. Note how seemingly tropical this looks, with the moss and ferns...

2009-09-13T11:27:00.000-04:00

Typical Roadside Waterfall

2009-09-13T11:22:00.000-04:00

Cloudy morning drive

2009-09-13T11:17:00.000-04:00

Roadside Fjord View

2009-09-13T11:15:00.000-04:00

View from Anita and Arve's Cabin

2009-09-13T11:14:00.000-04:00

2009-09-13T11:12:00.001-04:00

Arve at the cabin on the fjord...

Think they're related?

2009-09-13T10:38:00.000-04:00

This is my Norwegian friend Anita, and her daughter Ina

New Month, New Destination - Montana! Road Post #1

2009-07-16T22:23:00.002-04:00

I was planning on doing a little daily blogging from the road, but opted not to lug my laptop along with me. Having an iphone is enough but it's difficult to blog. So, on occasion, I'll post some short updates on this blog as my trip progresses. So far, so good - no travel hangups, delays, or other misfortuntes.

True to form, however, I have forgotten to pack something. This has become an unfortunate habit. At least for thsi trip, my forgetfulness has a minor and completely remedy-able impact. I forgot to pack socks. I'm in Montana, to hike and camp and experience other outdoor adventures yet to be experienced - and I have no socks for my hiking boots. Fortunately, tonite I'm in Butte and there is a great local outdoors supply store nearby. I just know they'll have ThorLo socks. Or SmartWool.

Otherwise, I've been scribbling notes in my new moleskine. One of the things I love most about a trip is that it opens my head up to think. Aussies go walkabout; I go drive-about. The open landscape, sky, and road are apparently precursors of an open mind, for me. I begin to remember what inspiration and creativity feel like, and the timeliness of the landscape helps reset my internal nanosecond, multitasking, frenzied clock.

Today I'm road weary and just a touch pink on my 'driving arm'. It's a laundry night (apparently I packed a dirty outfit or two...) and an early morning exploring Butte's mining history before heading further Northerly-ish.

Chicago, IL - May, 2009

2009-05-24T21:00:00.004-04:00

Click here to see a Picasa slide show link to the snapshots taken thus far.

April trip to Houston

2009-05-03T11:08:00.005-04:00

I traveled to Houston on April 23 through May 2 recently for work - a very productive trip. In addition, I was able to visit family and friends while there - including one friend I haven't seen in 20 years!!! Here are a few snapshots from that trip -

Me & Brad Moore at his new Big Star Bar - I'm indicating to Martin where the photo button is on the camera, and nothing more -

Martin, me & Patrica. Martin looks this way because he's trying to hold the camera far enough away for a good portrait, after some failed attempts...this one he's got!

Me and my Sister From Another Mother - Patricia Hernandez

Friday Night at Poison Girl

Somehow, San Felipe is *still* under construction.

Kyle sleeping with Sienna

Aunt Kristi and Casey

Meanwhile, back home, the Lilacs have blooomed!!

New Website Launched!!!

2009-04-19T20:26:00.002-04:00

After much work, WorldWideGlimpses the Website has been resurrected. WorldWideGlimpses the blog will continue as a basic communication site about what is going on at the website, or with me in general. Thanks for your continued readership, and please check out the new site!

Countdown to Weblaunch - April 15th! Tax Day!

2009-04-13T19:38:00.001-04:00

COMING SOON!!! New Website!!

2009-04-09T21:34:00.003-04:00

I have resurrected my www.worldwideglimpses.com website (vs. this blogsite). It is not yet active and will be a professional photography website featuring, of course, my photos. Much of this blog will be archived but it will remain active as a posting place for a number of whimsical things. Keep posted!

And Now, for Something Completely Different...

2009-01-31T12:52:00.001-05:00

...a few snapshots of an Austin, TX sunset, thanks to Russel B...

The Recession is hitting Denver Pretty Hard....

2009-01-31T12:51:00.001-05:00

....and apparently driving the McGoverns (Marty, Gabe, and Kendra) back into the 19th century!

No caption needed...

2009-01-31T12:49:00.002-05:00

....and More Snow!!!!

2009-01-24T11:27:00.002-05:00

I love it.......

Finally! Real SNOW!

2009-01-18T09:44:00.003-05:00

Living this close to Canada, this is the kind of snow I expect in December. Better late than none...with more to come, yay!

Singapore Daydreaming

2009-01-11T14:05:00.004-05:00

Got a nice card from my friends at Lanson Place, where I lived in Singapore. Gotta love Google Earth: here is an aerial image of the roooftop pool. It's over the bridge between two buildings, just above the caption...

Ice Storm.......woo hoo!

2008-12-21T14:51:00.003-05:00

So, we've had a tiny recent ice storm. It was actually sleet, but on top of a thin layer of snow and ice. The problem was that the temp was 32, and the sleet had been coming down for hours. So, everything - I mean everything - was coated with ice. The hard part? 32 was to be the warmest temp for several days. It's Sunday, December 21st, the first official day of winter. Appropriately enough, the temp outside is 7, but with the wind - gusting up to 40 mph - the wind chill temp is between -15 and -20. But today, at least, it's half-assed sunny. The next time we move above the freezing point is Wednesday, on Christmas Eve, when we'll hit 40 -with rain. yay, wintertime in NW Ohio...

The hard part for some folks in town is tree deadfall and downed power lines. Fortunately I haven't experienced that yet - but as a backup plan, I can always walk to work a half mile away - and make coffee! Oh, and I'm all set with a ton of wood and a wood stove. At any rate, here are some photos of our ice, which is going to be around for a few more days -

For this one, I was outside, and though sheltered, still couldn't avoid the falling sleet.

Brrr!!!

My Animals are So Great.....

2008-12-21T14:30:00.004-05:00

Of course, any animal parent would say the same, but mine really are. In case you've been wondering how Djiini & Kathman are doing, here are some updates!

Below, Kathman is on one of his favorite posts, on top of the wall unit...that angled thing behind him is actually the narrow stairway to the upstairs.

Djiini, who is notorious about avoiding a camera at all costs, must have let her guard down for me to capture this one. I love her death-ray aimed at Kathman, who was inadvertently walking by a hidden doggie bone.

And finally, Kathman has decided to learn to read. He loves to sit on the TV stand - in this case, he seems really interested in Humana's health benefits for AARP members.

Smart Squirrels!

2008-11-22T18:59:00.000-05:00

I found this out in the front crabapple tree the other day - it's a small gourd that was part of my Halloween yard decorations. The squirrels (there are 2 that live in the back yard and play in the front) wedged it into the fork of two branches, resulting in a little gourd-ateria!

I couldn't help myself....mwa ha ha ha...

2008-10-26T09:19:00.000-04:00

Halloween Decor

Punkin' Carving 2008

2008-10-18T11:20:00.005-04:00

This was my first ever pumpkin carving event, at the age of 39. What a sheltered life I must be living! My friend and his children came over to show me how it's done. Amid pizza, root beer, and a break to warm up and watch the Simpsons, we ended up with some real show-stoppers, I think!!

The pumpkin guts were truly disgusting. I'd heard that they smelled bad, which I didn't really find to be true - but getting the stuff out of the pumpkin wasn't nearly as easy as I thought. I started with a big soup ladle, went to a serving spoon, and then a regular tablespoon - it's hard work. But at some point, it seems inevitable that you have to just roll up your sleeves, shove your hand in, and pull out the goop. Which made me feel a bit like doing what I intended for my pumpkin to do......

I can't take original credit for that - think it's a classic - but all those pumpkin guts, as we called them, came in handy for this guy.

Mwa ha ha ha haaaaaa!

The Evolution of a Bedroom

2008-10-12T21:56:00.001-04:00

The Before...

And the After.....

I KNEW it!!!!!!

2008-10-06T20:11:00.000-04:00

They ARE having an affair!

Photos from recent trips

2008-10-05T14:56:00.007-04:00

Washington, D.C. Note the cool orange eclipse - my rental sportster - and the proximity of my streetside parking spot in front of the Capitol!

....and adjacent to the newest Smithsonian addition, the Museum of the Native American Indians. The architecture was breathtaking. Part of the landscape are some rows of corn, sheltering beans and gourds growing on the ground. The Capitol in the background provides an interesting juxtaposition.

From the interior; a kiva-inspired dome.

Lone tree, South Dakota

Gary's horses nuzzling.....

Badlands, South Dakota

Djiini is good about tolerating my occasional quick photo stops.....note chin resting on dashboard!

Djiini is confused - it's snowing, but I'm wearing my vacation lei! (note the snow flakes on her nose)

Later that day, at the river that runs through Gary's ranch....

Hiking in the Big Horns, Wyoming

Wild Horses (there were more but I could only get two in one frame because of their spread).
Christmas in September! In the Big Horns, we encountered a bit of snow one day.....followed by a day at lower elevation (and much hotter!).

So, I think I've found my first ever Christmas Card Photo in September......

On a recent trip to Wyoming and back, I took my dog Djiini. To make up for some doggie photos to come, I'm posting an image of Kathman here....kind of a cat and doggie karma.

South Dakota: sunflowers. Giant, big-as-your-head sunflowers.

Crazy Horse, South Dakota.
Seems to me it is taking an awfully long time to complete this sculpture. In fact, an Egyptian pyramid could have been built in the time it has taken this sculpture to reach its current state. Egyptian as in ancient & without tools. I think it's a shame that such a wonderful tribute and idea has been so long delayed.

Djiini at Gary's house, Hyattville, Wyoming.

Travel photos coming soon.....

2008-09-20T10:25:00.003-04:00

So far in September this year, I've done a bit of travel - driving from NW Ohio to Wyoming and back, and then flying to Washington D.C. (and staying in Virginia). So, in less than 2 weeks, I've been to:
Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana (and back), Washington D.C., Maryland, and Virginia.

Unfortunately I haven't been super photography oriented during these trips, but there are some worthwhile images that will be posted here soon.

What's your Geography IQ?

2008-08-16T11:09:00.006-04:00

Well, mine was 112...which I'm not sure is good. The only issue: If the map were larger, you could actually see specs on the map such as Easter Island or the Maldives. Good fun, though! Good luck -

Yellow......

2008-08-03T10:25:00.001-04:00

The sunflowers are from the yard, and I hear that a squirt of lemon helps preserve them as cut flowers. Not sure if that's true or not, but I picked up a lemon yesterday. Oddly, Kathman is crazy about this lemon. He has 'kneaded' it several times, no doubt releasing some lemon oil essence. I couldn't help but snap a photo - the yellow of the hibiscus outside - the flowers - the lemon - and a little yellow glint in his eye just seemed to jump out at me.

Here Comes the Sun(flower)

2008-07-26T11:47:00.003-04:00

Turns out the overspill from the bird feeder provides a delayed gift. Unfortunately, the squirrels like them...so the day after these photos were taken, all that was left of this sunflower was a bare stalk and some petal remains on the back deck. Which is where, I suppose, those buggers like to sit, relax, and dine.

Anita & Arve, Photo Gold!

2008-07-20T17:30:00.000-04:00

Well, going through the 1000+ photos from Anita & Arve has been a thrill! Thank goodness for high speed wireless.... I think it's about time for another vacation visit...

You All Apparently Want Homemade Cherry Pie...or, Home-Made Cherry Pie, redux

2008-07-19T14:30:00.005-04:00

In reviewing some site statistics, the most repeated google search landing visitors to the site are those searching for some alphabetical variation of home made cherry pie. Last year, I posted an entry about just such a thing when visiting friends in Wyoming. With a photo. Here is that photo, and just so that those searchers actually find what they're probably looking for - a recipe instead of a photo - I'm posting that here as well. Bon Appetit!

Homemade Cherry Pie Recipe
Stuff you’ll need:

Pastry for Two-Crust Pie
4 cups of fresh de-stemmed and de-pitted cherries
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
2 tablespoons margarine or butter

Stuff you’ll need to Prepare:

Preheat oven to 425F
Prepare pastry for Two Crust Pie - 9 inch pans.
Prepare pie pans (glass or metal: add a touch of oil, butter, Pam, etc - to extra-non-stick it).

Stuff you’ll need to Do:

Combine cherries, sugar and flour and blend lightly. Most recipes advise adding a splash of almond extract, but I'm not sure why.
Taste your cherries. Are they a touch too sweet? Add a splash of lemon juice. Too tart? Add a squirt of honey.
Spoon into pastry shell.
Apply a little butter/margerine here and there.
Add the second pastry shell to the top, or use it to make a lattice crust.
Fold edges of top pastry under bottom pastry.
Press together to seal and flute edges.
Cut slits in several place in top of pastry.
Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until juice bubbles through the top crust.

Alternative / Options:
Create a show-stopping top crust by applying an egg wash and some raw sugar crystals!!

To create an egg wash you’ll need an egg yolk and a splash of water, and a new ~2” paintbrush.
Blend an egg yolk and a teaspoon of water. If the wash doesn’t appear to be easily spreadable with your brush, you may gradually add a little more water – but be careful of making the mixture too runny.
Brush mixture on the top pastry of your pie – whether lattice or whole crust.
This yeilds a shiny, golden-brown effect to the pie crust. Additionally, it allows things to stick – like a couple of sprinkles of raw sugar crystals. For the same effect, but with less shine, use the whole egg.
For an additional neat presentation effect, use a decorative item to press into your pie shell fluting. Examples are something with grooves, lines, patterns, etc. If the texture is flexible, it can be wrapped around a pencil, using the pencil to press in the fluting
Finally, add a sprig of spearmint (not catmint) to the top for presentation zing.

Norwegians Sweep America!!

2008-06-15T19:51:00.003-04:00

I wonder how many erroneous futbol or rugby hits that title might gain.....

Well, my short trip with my Norwegian friends Anita & Arve is over, and they're on their way back to Norway today. Somehow, I didn't end up taking a lot of photos of Las Vegas. That truly is another planet.

The Norwegians Have Arrived!!

2008-06-15T17:05:00.000-04:00

Anita & Arve (pronounced like Ave, kind of) arrived on Monday, June 2, and we quickly proceeded to the grocery store to load up on a few necessities. Like an extra "big ass" suitcase for their trip, in which they could pack their extra purchases. And of course, beer, wine, brats, and other bbq accouterments. The bbq went off without a hitch, with some new and old friends and co-workers enjoying a meal graciously cooked up by my friend Jim, who took on grilling duties.

Exploring Amish Country, and Colorado.....

2008-06-15T16:16:00.001-04:00

Day 2 of our adventure began with our having a little time on our hands prior to our 7 pm flight out of Detroit. So, after a quick breakfast, we hopped on south a bit to explore an Amish area. I've gone out into Amish country before, but had not previously seen so many Amish people. You couldn't throw a rock without seeing an Amish person. And then we realized: Because of Anita's pregnancy, she's a good luck charm. Every time from this point on during our trip that Anita said, "I'd love to see _______!", it would literally appear around the next corner. This included marmot, buffalo, elk, a condor, Amish, snow-covered mountains, good weather ......you name it. There are too many examples to recall.

Despite arriving at our Denver hotel at 1 am due to storms in Chicago (long story), we were raring to go the next morning. I should mention that I am often cursed in rental car arrangements at Denver International. And it appears this is contagious. On one previous trip there to pick up a rental and explore Wyoming, I was 'upgraded' from a basic economy to....an electric-spandex-lame-ass-blue PT Cruiser. Good mileage and drive, but ugh, what an ugly freakin' car. Such was our luck - queer blue color and all - on this trip. Hopefully we won't also hit an elk.

At any rate, our Colorado venture was essentially a LONG day of driving across it on I-70. Wanting to break up the scenery a bit, we had time for one side trip, and that was to the top of Mt. Evans. This mountain, along with Pike's Peak, is one of two in the country that have a paved road to the surface and whose summits are over 14,000 feet (or over 4200 meters). The highest peak in Norway is 2,469 meters (8,100 feet). En route to the top, we encountered marmots, road mice, and even some scavaging mountain goats before they were able to see a span of the Rocky Mountains laid out before them. Below: road marmot - found an erosion-created pothole that he called home, which I'm sure was warm, but noisy as hell when cars rolled over. And not very life-preserving!

Now, we all know about not touching wildlife, but this miniscule little bugger was literally sunning himself in the middle of the (thin) blacktop roadway. We stopped and tried to wave him to the side of the road, but he went instead under the car. So, Arve picked him up and moved him to a nice, flat, warm rock on the side of the road, where he stayed - at least until we drove away.

Utah - Red Rock Country

2008-06-15T15:51:00.004-04:00

After whizzing through Colorado, our next leg was to take us just into Utah on I-70 and then cutting south toward Moab, and along the east side of the state. We were in Moab at the onset of a gale force wind, announcing a fast-moving storm. It was fantastic! During our time in Utah, I kept mentioning I'd never seen it so pretty so late in the spring - there was much remaining green, and having actual cloud cover was fantastic. My last camping route through the area was in May, prior to Memorial Day a few years ago, and the heat (at 92 degrees) was unbearable - mostly due to the lack of any possibility of cloud cover. We had great weather for our trip, in fact keeping us quite cool until we reached Vegas (at 102). Some Utah pics:

This is probably my favorite: Fisher Towers on the left; Colorado River at the bottom; snow-capped La Sal mountains behind. yay!

A real-life tumbleweed on a fantastic reddy-purple sandstone background.

The electric-spandex-discotronic PT Cruiser. PS: Chrysler, I'd be glad to lease you a copy of this image...

Onset of storm. This literally blew in during the time it took us to fill up the tank on the car, and take a bathroom break. There were trashcans rolling down the street.

Heading south from Moab, adjacent to Canyonlands. Some real, and some ghost rain.

Mmmm.....red geology........

The goosenecks of the San Juan River.

Grand Canyon 08, with Norwegians

2008-06-15T10:00:00.000-04:00

We made it to the Grand Canyon with plenty of daylight left to eat, shop, and do a little hiking before sunset. And, in keeping with our trip's trend, just as Anita was wishing to see elk, they seemed to stumble right across our pathway - nibbling on the grass in front of Bright Angel Lodge.

And Arve, the perennial quiet humorist, has a great sense of physical comedy!

Hufta!!

Watch out, Vegas.......

2008-06-01T23:16:00.003-04:00

Anita & Arve arrive in the morning, and we'll launch into our whirlwind tour of the West - Denver to Vegas, via Moab, Canyonlands, Monument Valley, the Grand Canyon, and the Skywalk bridge. More to come soon!

Congratulations, Nepal! You new Republic, you.....

2008-05-30T22:32:00.005-04:00

In another post of shameless self-promotion, I present to you another photo of mine published by a news service, regarding a topic especially close to my heart. Nepal! And its newborn freedom!

And here's a link to this story (my photo, ahem, at top right...).

Old Farm Accents

2008-05-11T12:39:00.006-04:00

My friend Jim's family has an old farm nearby, and I visited recently to snap a few photos of what I call 'interestingness'. Enjoy.

Mmmmmmm.........Lilacs!!

2008-05-10T11:05:00.002-04:00

39 and counting

2008-04-20T13:21:00.003-04:00

Today, I turn 39. Call the senility hotline. For some reason, I put my entire roll of Reynold's Wrap aluminum in the dishwasher. Of course I only realized this when unloading the dishwasher. Off to a great start!

ps - the roll of foil is fine, if damp - but the entire outer box lost its color and design. In case you were wondering.

******************
I'm NOT senile after all! Turns out Jim put it in there, after being flustered while trying to find the real place for the foil - and in theory, I would have found it and chuckled. Oh, well!!

The great thaw of 2008

2008-04-19T12:54:00.003-04:00

Spring has sprung, the birds are singing, and everything is greening up and blooming. My fave tree in the yard is this cherry willow. I took the shots of this tree on Friday, April 18th. At mid-day, many of the blossoms had just opened up - widely. The day before, they were all just buds.

Then, last night, we did a little cooking on the grill - outdoors - without coats - and burned some scrap wood in the firepit. It was a fantastic evening, and at one point, my friend Jim suggested taking night-photos of the cherry willow. I thought that was a good idea, but reminded him that my tripod got 'accidentally broken into pieces' during our Christmas hike up K2. So, sans tripod, and sans flash (I hate flash), here is my fave shot of the cherry willow at night:

...and this one is Jim's fave. The difference between them is the ground spotlight. In my photo, we have that light diffused (albeit through a dish towel). In Jim's preference, below, we see spotlight unabashed.
So, Happy Spring, y'all!

Whaa......Spring??

2008-04-19T12:40:00.003-04:00

While I'm still hesitant to put the coats and jackets away, I have finally moved the snow shovel from the deck back into the garage. I was so eager for spring this year I started growing some things indoors. My favorite: the tulips!!

And, it seems this week everything in NW Ohio not only enjoyed good weather (one day getting up to 77!), but also began vigorously sprouting and blooming. Which means I am spending more time outdoors.....

This shot is of my tulip tree. It's like a naked magnolia, except the flowers are a little less sturdy than regular southern magnolias, and a little less fragrant, but not by much. There are a few trees like this in the neighborhood, and at first glance, I can't help but think that someone's tree has recently been tp'd. Albeit creatively.

I've got a scattering of daffodils in the front, back, and side yards...

And new this year, two forsythia bushes.

Animistic Fun!

2008-04-19T10:25:00.000-04:00

I don't want to be one of those folks who sends 2 dozen photos of all their kids' or pets' antics to everyone in their email list (a few is fine, thanks friends!) - so instead, I'm going to load some recent pet photos here. I've mentioned before that Djiini (pron.: Genie) just hates to be photographed face-on. She's really camera shy - I've tried several times to get a good facial or close-up shot. I've been very unsuccessful. But, I was recently able to capture her in one of her more odd positions: sitting on the back deck, monitoring the yard for squirrels. (That's the old bbq in the background.)
And, on one other occasion, I was able to bribe her into a face shot with the carrot of "wanna go for a WALK?" Of course, this only worked once, and in a low-light situation, I wasn't able to get a crisp shot. So, this will have to do.

Now, with Kathman(du), I've got no problem getting portrait-style shots out of him. He looks directly at me, even in low light requiring long exposures (and by nature, stillness). He is a zen-cat. Here, he's peering down from his perch atop the bookcase:

...and, still on the bookcase, not at all perturbed by my many photo attempts, here he is at eye level: perched, but not really ready to pounce.

Where in the World is it the 21st,, the 22nd, and the 12th century - simultaneously? Why Nepal, of course!

2008-04-12T23:23:00.006-04:00

Happy New Year, or Navavarsha, Nepal! Today, April 12, 2008, is the Nepali New Year: 2065, or 1129, 2140, or continuing 2008 - take your pick.

Not to be forgotten, the large number of Tibetan refugees in Nepal celebrated Tibetan New Year, or Losar, previously - on February 28th. By this Sherpa calendar, derived from Tibetan and Chinese calendars, February 28th turned the page into the year 2140.

On the Nepali Sambat calendar, today is the first day of 1127 for the Newar people of Nepal, who count the years since a prominent citizen paid off all outstanding debts to provide a new beginning for his countrymen.

The current government calendar, the Bikram Sambat, is a North Indian calendar adopted in Nepal in the early 1900s. By the Bikram Sambat calendar it is 2065. This according to multiple Nepali friends, who generously sent me well wishes for "2065 BS". However, Kantipor - Kathmandu's main newspaper, the last day of 2060 BS faded without much ceremony - yesterday.

These are of course in conjunction with the western Gregorian calendar, which is more predominantly used for commerce.

And all of this comes amidst a hive of other activity for the tiny country: Tibetan protests against the Chinese embassy, and the related crackdowns; and an election.

The election was for a constituent assembly, and occurred on April 10th, 2008, 2064 BS (or 2060 BS), 1126 NS, or 2140. This election will decide the fate of Nepal's future: federalism, or continuing the monarchy - a pivotal point in its history. This was no small feat for those who voted. You think things are hectic here with a mostly 2 party system - try choosing candidates from a choice of 55 parties!

P. S. - Additional April New Year Celebrations...

2008-04-12T10:15:00.000-04:00

Well, seems I've inadvertently overlooked several other New Year's celebrations. Not to be dissed, Happy New Year to Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Tamil New Year (Sri Lanka, Singapore), and the Dai of Yunnan, China.

What, March Already? And it's almost over...

2008-03-30T13:53:00.004-04:00

March in NW Ohio is, obviously, not much to write about. Our winter cycle has been, for the most part, Snow - Melt - Rain - Flood - Repeat. Except, finally, at the end of March, we've had a few snow- and rain-free days. The coming week promises daily rain, with swollen rivers and creeks, so while the Snow - Melt cycle seems to have faded, the Rain - Flood cycle will likely continue.

At any rate, I've been neglecting updating the blog. I'm sorry. Where to start. OK - early March, snow, and sun. Opportunity for a good walk with the dog, which yielded only one photo in which she did not point her butt toward the camera. I think she's lens-shy.

Next is a photo of the scarily long icicles hanging from the west side of the house. (All the weather, for the most part, hits the west side). I shot this from inside my bedroom, so outside, from the edge of the roof, they looked much longer. I hear that's bad to see - could reflect ice damming in the gutters - but to my relief, all the other houses showed the same cold weather impact. I took the photo from inside because, well, I didn't want to layer up to go outside just to snap a photo.

These next few pics don't reflect my excitement about Spring's arrival. While it's here according to the calendar, many signs that I've noted in my previous Springs here. (Of note is that I have been here for more than one Spring.) At any rate, there are a few spots in the yard that can reliably signal the start of spring - a few patches of seemingly randomly sewn little crocuses (I think):

....and a singular little patch of Snowdrops (the viney stuff to the right, fortunately, stays green year-round), ...

.....and finally, a mystery patch. I'd have to look back at last year's photos, if I have any, of this section of the landscaping. But, I seem to remember Daffodils emerging here, and neither of these plants look like Daffodils. The light green shoots are the only ones like them in my yard, and, as far as I can tell, in the neighborhood. I have no idea what they are. I'm hoping the darker green grouping might be Tulips (!!!). Last year, there was one single Tulip in the yard, and it was about in this area. The previous year, there were none.

Can you see the little crocuses in the photo below?

Here they are!!

Here's hoping for a green spring!

Yeah!!!!!! SNOW!!!!!!!

2008-02-02T09:43:00.001-05:00

.......is what I was thinking as a result of our recent local weather forecast, calling for 3-5 inches on Thursday night, and another 3-5 inches on Friday night!!! I couldn't wait to try out my newly adopted sport, skijoring. This sport, originated in Norway, is one in which a dog (or dogs) are hooked up via harness and belt to a person, and tow that person on skis. In my version, since I have no skis, I strap Djiini up with her car-riding seatbelt harness. She never wears this in the car, but it has a similar x-back design, which is better than just hooking up her leash. Then, I take her shorter leash, wrap it around my waist, and clip it to her longer leash, which is attached to her harness. We then step out into the back alley, whereupon I put down my cheap-o sled. My sled was actually much cheaper than the one in the link: instead of handles, it just has cut-out holes to grab on to. So, what I did was to enlarge two of the cutout holes so that I could stick my shoes through them, to ride the sled on my butt rather than my stomach. This also allows me some steering opportunity, albeit via a leash and dog. The only requirement: SNOW! Which we really haven't had much of this winter. I was so excited about the prospect, I kept looking through the windows Thursday night - waiting for the snowfall.

Imagine my disappointment when, upon waking Friday morning, what I saw outside was not at ALL what is pictured above, shot by my friend John S. in Colorado sometime in 2007. I'm still hoping for another skijoring opportunity this year.......

Just Your Ordinary January evening....

2008-01-16T21:13:00.000-05:00

Spent eating some grilled steak, rice & veggies, bruschetta, fresh snickerdoodles, german beer, black coffee, a roaring fire, and in the company of two of my favorite animals.

What YOU, gentle viewers, have been up to...

2007-12-26T23:14:00.000-05:00

I have to give credit to JKirlin for the "gentle viewers" moniker. I probably know very few of you, and for all I know, you could be smearing yourselves with peanut butter while reading this.

A quick perusal at my Sitemeter stats over the last couple of months shows a few interesting trends in the readers who visit the site. First off, thanks for visiting, and re-visiting! Next time you do so, would you mind logging into some server or network in a really obscure place on the map, so my map's red dots can fill in more fully? I need a few hits from Outer Mongolia, or all of Central Asia, for that matter, to help fill in the blanks on my world map hit-shower.

Apparently, a couple of folks are really interested in the following posts, in this order (with links!):

Various Nepali holy day festivals
Ankor Wat, Cambodia (and every spelling iteration imaginable)
The post about my dog potentially having OCD
Iframe, Morocco - the mountain retreat
The 2006 Christmas Shot (not the 2o07 version). Sorry all you who thought that this was an actual, drinkable shot recipe
My front porch railing repair (perhaps because I used the term "This Old House" in the post title? hmmmm)
Cherry Pie (sorry, a friend made that and I don't have the recipe)
And finally, one that makes absolutely no sense to me. Now, I can see the others getting lots of hits because of travel, food, or home repair interests...I get that. But this one? I have no idea...Marty & Kendra's son, Gabe....aka, Dolphin Boy

At any rate, thanks for reading!!

I've bagged K2!!!

2007-12-26T22:19:00.000-05:00

Well, this was a goal I didn't think I'd accomplish this year. At least not before year-end. But, as luck would have it, circumstances allowed the most perfect window of opportunity. It took some huevos, though, and without my friend Jim to climb lead, I wouldn't have been able to reach a previously unattainable goal.......summiting K2. Especially not on a spontaneous decision made just Christmas morning of this year (aka, yesterday). My minutes of training were about to pay off!

The landscape is so sweeping, I couldn't fit the entire summit scope into one photo and had to do a bit of a collage mash-up:

It was a pretty cold day for climbing.....but I managed to get this shot snapped before the gales blew my tripod over. Jim's summit pose:
While I struggled to shoot photos with some event integrity, Jim opted - during his turn behind the camera, and my turn to summit - to document my clumsy ascent:

oops, never mind the ladder.....or the cornfields, or the barn either, for that matter....
...and a Rocky Balboa-style fist-pump....

Finally, the last summit shot!

Finally, got THAT off my life list, and a couple of years early, to boot. Bring it on, ought-8!!

The 800th Post! or, Christmas Eve 2007

2007-12-24T22:39:00.000-05:00

So, another year's Christmas is among us. I've been especially jolly with this one, for some inexplicable reason. I've spent much of the afternoon and the evening baking goodies for friends....what I like to call a mini-epicurean artistic experimentation.

I wanted to try a new twist on my nearly famous low-fat pumpkin pie. It includes layering marshmallow creme on the pie crust before adding the punkin'y goodness, in which I have an admittedly heavy 'spice' leaning. But that's another post. At any rate, when I went grocery shopping (after Tom's pre-New Year's Eve party, probably not the best idea) I couldn't find marshmallow creme. So I got marshmallows instead. And of course, the first pie turned out horribly, horribly wrong.

What is supposed to happen is that the marshmallow creme marbles through the pie filling and in places, bubbles over the top, to add a fake meringue-type covering. What actually happened was kind of that, but not. I carefully layered the small marshmallows on the bottom of the pie crust before adding the filling, taking care to even spritz them with butter and coat them with spices. Then I slowly added the pie filling. Turns out, marshmallows float. So even before going into the oven, it was visual chaos.

To add to that, I used a whole can of fat-free evaporated milk (12 ounces) instead of a true cup (8 ounces). So besides being visually chaotic, it was a runny, soupy mess. I baked it anyway. It's still runny. (But not so much that my cat & dog weren't able to feel as though, briefly, I baked a pie especially for them.)

Which reminds me: Tom & Maria - sorry I wasn't able to come through on that pie I told you I was making for you guys......

So, with the second pie, I adjusted accordingly. I microwaved a bowlful of marshmallows, but must have overdone it - because the result was a yellow-ish series of globs resembling melted plastic, by sight, smell, and consistency. I had to throw away my rubber spatula! So I tried again, half the time, to zap the marshmallows. This time, it resembled marshmallow creme, but that apparently doesn't spread so well on a graham cracker crust. So the underlayer of marshmallow creme ended up being kind of star-shaped, rather than covering the entire base of the pie crust.

Then I got creative, and added marshmallows around the border. Then I thought it might be neat to try to make a Christmas Tree out of marshmallows on the pie. I even cut cold marshmallows with angles for the tree (pre-cooking), but of course, none of that effort remained after cooking. The end result, though, is much better by comparison. I had some left over during my third pie, so made a small snack-size pie for myself. I figured I should at least taste my new recipe iteration before gifting it to others!! (It was an insulin-overloading taste explosion, if I say so myself.)

So here is the first pie: a picked off scabby topped goo:

...and here is its refined version (much better looking!). Now this pie was able to pass the quality test for gift-giving, for looks (meh) if not for taste (spicy!) :

While waiting for my second pie to complete, and before making a batch of Snickerdoodles, I took a walk along South Main, to see the luminaries. These are lit by homeowners all along S. Main on Christmas Eve. The neatest part: whole families were out strolling along the walks, and each one to a person that is encountered offers wishes of "Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!" It's like the happy ending part of some Dickensian tale.

So, with that, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

It's a Picture-Perfect White Christmas!!

2007-12-23T23:18:00.000-05:00

...That's what I thought when I viewed this photo from a friend, J. Stevens, taken in Colorado earlier this year. Oh, well - a girl can always dream!

YAAAY!!! SNOW!!!

2007-12-16T17:11:00.000-05:00

The first real snowfall this year happened for much of the central and eastern states this week, so this corner of NW Ohio was included in that sweeping series of fronts. FINALLY!! There is very little that's more peaceful than spending an afternoon out on foot, in fresh snow. It's got such a wonderful non-smell....smell. The absence of smell. And sounds seem much more hushed. The most wonderful way to spend a Sunday is watching a day's worth of snow falling - slowly at times, furiously and blowing at others. I didn't take as many (good) shots as I thought....but here are a few.

The first was an "ohmygod" moment....of course I imagine the worst in terms of ice dams along the roof/gutter joins, but then, every house had icicle arrays.

a little drift!!
This rosebush is so jammed up on its seasons - poor thing was trying to bloom a late bud - that instead froze solid on the fence. Goody photo op for me, tho!

Have a seat! I love that you can see how wonderfully the snow piled up here. Despite the blowing. This is some great, snowman potential snow. Now, to dust off my old Calvin and Hobbes ideas....
I inherited this birdhouse with the house. It has never had a roof, and as far as I know, it's never had birds, either.
Still the cutest damn gingerbread house on the block!

Crabapples that the birds didn't get to...

Latest photos......

2007-12-06T21:46:00.000-05:00

On a recent road trip nearly cross-country, with my new dog Djiini, I learned what the true meaning of luxury is. Lying stretched out in the passenger seat listening to some funky interesting music, dozing, while someone else gets to deal with traffic! That stick-thing with cloth butting the end against the window? My new old scythe. Everyone should have a long, heavy, rusty-bladed farm implement for decor inside a house with an active dog-cat relationship.....

....and that traffic wasn't fun. Or fast. This sign was in place to slow Thanksgiving traffic on interstates, but in this case, it was merely a miserable reminder of how long it would be to drive thru Cincinnati.

Well, the decorations are up, and if I do say so myself, it looks a little ginger-bready this year. But still the best on the block....meager as the decorations are......

Our first real snow of the season was picture perfect - a powdery still 4 inches or so!

My New Kitchen Commode.....

2007-10-29T21:51:00.001-04:00

I picked up a commode this weekend, and put it in my kitchen. It's the old style that was basically a cupboard to contain ye olde chamberpot and such. But, I'm going to use it for something it was never intended.......food. Pet food, to be exact.

...playing with the sepia toning feature......

...and not.

My dog's food is stored in a nice, airtight container of thick plastic that my cat can't get to. I store cat food in the fridge crisper drawer, because my cat is an omnivore and can get to it if I place it in any cupboard, using child safety restraints, or even in plastic airtight containers. Unfortunately, I don't buy the volume of cat food that I do dog food, so I don't find it worth the effort to buy a large container like the one I keep the dog food in. Or have that much temptation on hand for Kathman. But - I just know he won't be able to pull open a drawer or turn the handle to unlatch the chamber pot door to get to his food in its airtight container.

So, it's in the Commode with the cat food - and even better that I now have a surface that is not my kitchen table to hold things like mail, keys, the occasional surprise flower bouquet from a friend, etc.

MWA-HA-Ha-ha haaaaaa.......

2007-10-25T15:45:00.001-04:00

Fall - and by association, Halloween - are in the air.

Recently we had a wickedly foggy morning - which seemed a great opportunity to snap an image or two of the house in character for its Halloween preparation.

This is one of my favorite trees in town. It's an apple-shaped maple that has been gloriously evolving into its fall hues.

Finally, a parting shot of Djiini - who for some reason gets tired out during walks! What you can't see very well behind her is the end of my pumpkin vine - a surprise from last year's Halloween decoration that was eaten through (and apparently dispersed) by squirrels. It's obviously genetically retarded, because it's been blossoming every day for a week or so. At the end of October. When all the other pumpkins have grown, ripened, and ended up as pie mix or decorations. I figure I'll see what happens with it.

My Dog has OCD....??!!

2007-09-23T12:20:00.001-04:00

You can expect to see more dog pics as time goes on, and as Djiini adapts to Kathman(du) and I (and vice-versa). At any rate, I have observed some very interesting behavior in Djiini recently. They always say to be wary of dogs adopted from the SPCA, but I've never paid that much mind - as a kid, most of our dogs found us when they were dropped off at the pound at the end of our dead-end road after hours, and we never had any real problems with those that adopted us. But, as a kid, I wasn't much into observing dog behavior. Not that I'm much into it now, I just seem to notice it more.

Djiini has already proven to be a particularly picky eater. She initially did not like any of the variety of dog food types that I purchased. I asked at the SPCA what she was fed (Science Diet), and she wouldn't touch that here at home. Nor any of the other 9 brands or types of dry food. And I refuse to feed a healthy dog wet food - that's for old, toothless dogs in my opinion (and I've got no appetite to handle or smell it). So, I finally found a mix - and after time, I think she got used to the routine. Of course, I still have to apply a good dousing of that dog food gravy stuff that comes in a kethcup-like squeeze bottle.

Then there's Kathman to consider. He's gained a pound since Djiini's joined us, which doesn't make a lot of sense - you'd think a cat that encourages play with a dog 4 times his size would get plenty of running exercise to keep fit. Not mine. He's getting pudgy, but not lazy (thankfully). The hard part is that he'll eat anything except black olives. Trust me on that - I've tried giving him some really strong human food to see what he wouldn't eat. Jalepenos, onions, broccoli (even I don't eat that), feta cheese, you name it - he'll eat it. Now, I've learned, dog food is not above his palette. So, this requires I feed them at the same time, and that when they're done, I pick up Djiini's bowl from the floor and put it in the top shelf cabinet. I feed her about 12 ounces of dry food (tho the recommended serving size is 8 oz.), because she was a little thin when she came in, and she wasn't eating any of the food varieties. Now, she eats most of her bowl, but always leaves a little covering the bottom. Kathman, on the other hand, gets 1/3 a cup of his indoor cat food twice a day, and licks his bowl clean. He eats like a front-end loader.

So, to Djiini's Obsessive Compulsive behavior - once she landed on a preferred dog food.
OCD Behavior #1: First, she licks the gravy off of all of her dog food nuggets.
Then, she takes a mouthful into the office area, drops all the nuggets, and eats them all except the dark brown ones.

OCD Behavior #2 - But - I noticed during play times and lazy times around the house - she absolutely does not like to walk on the kitchen hardwood floors. The utility room floor laminate is no problem, the ceramic tile in the bathroom is not a problem. But for some reason, she hates to walk - or even stand - on the hardwoods. So, I placed a carpet piece under her food and water bowls. She began eating at her bowl after this, which is good, but then.......

OCD Behavior #3 - she continued to pick out just the dark brown nuggets (liver flavored?) from her food and drop them, one by one, out of her mouth when chewing. The weird part: her placement of these nuggets - the spacial arrangement is almost like that of a series of constellations.

But, this is not a problem, because Kathman, aka "the Cleaner", follows behind and promptly eats up the rejects.

Then this is just an odd photo: She was standing perfectly poised when I tried to take a portrait, but decided that was the perfect time to do a full body shake, which I happened to catch on camera. Kind of funny.

yawn A little chaos to keep things interesting

2007-09-15T14:30:00.000-04:00

Dolphin Boy Sighting in Mexico!!

2007-09-02T11:01:00.001-04:00

This summer, a rare Dolphin Boy (aka Gabriel Synge) sighting was reported from a resort area in Mexico. He was allegedly vacationing with mom and dad (Kendra and Marty), but it appears here more of a family reunion of sorts - just look at how intrigued this real dolphin is to come up and greet the little guy!! And, I think now we know which side of the family Gabe's Dolphin interest comes from. Just look at dad's mouth.....other than this strange contortion, it looks like Marty's transition to human form has served him well, and that the family is enjoying themselves tremendously. Gabe's a lucky guy!...I mean, Dolphin Boy!

VW Phaeton - Shadowplay Commercial

2007-09-02T10:51:00.001-04:00

This is one of the most creative VW commercials (but aren't they all?) that I've seen. It was part of one of those 'funny commercial' type programs recently, but I had to find it online and watch it again. It's all shadowplay, and its point is to indicate that the VW Phaeton is hand-built. Incredibly artistic!

Findlay, OH Flooding - The End is Near??

2007-08-28T11:24:00.000-04:00

These images are about a week old, but (surprise, surprise!) access was down for a bit, and then I was distracted by some other things for a couple of days.

According to the First Evangelical Lutheran Church (Evangelical Lutherans? Who Knew!?) - Then End was apparently near......this sign was up the day before the Great Flood of August 2007. These photos were taken the day after, Wednesday, August 22, 2007, in Findlay, OH.

This was my backyard on the morning of Tuesday, August 21st, after the night of rain - about 9 inches. I was slightly worried. As you can tell, my neighbor's yard, to the East, is a bit higher and drains into mine. The water came up to my crawl space (a first), but I didn't get too much water in there. I started the day pretty upset at the water in my yard, because the 4 or so previous floods in town, all purported to be worst than the last (and I haven't been here 2 years yet), yeilded more water accumulation in my back yard. I was worried that this would be a growing trend in my yard, and what I could do - besides adding dirt - to amend the problem. The maple tree roots would be so prolific that adding drain lines would be difficult; adding dirt may force water into the crawl space or under the house, so some sort of sighting would be required to ensure it ran to one side of the property and then along the property line to the curb, so not to flood the neighbor's yard, etc etc. Then I heard it was 9 inches or so of rain - so, that made the impact a little softer, I guess. A never-before-amount of rain. And with plants in full glory, roots were able to suck much of that up. In fact by noon, much of the water in my yard had been absorbed.

But, the next day, the rain that fell in surrounding areas drained into our area, flooding our rivers, creeks, and drainages. This is a shot of the Blanchard River at Main street. Note the people driving over the bridge, as the water level of the river - over flood stage - is at the bottom of the bridge:

Finally, our offices were flooded, along with hundreds of homes in the area. The offices are still coming online a week later. Many homes are not. Why homes here are built with basements I'm not sure - only a hundred years ago, this was called the Great Black Swamp, and the water table is relatively high for a midwest/northern region. The few people I knew here with a basement, prior to moving here, said not to buy a home with a basement - they all had horror stories of basements whose sump pumps had failed, whose walls had seeped, where mildew provided a constant presence. So I purchased a home with a crawl space. To me, basement = place where everything goes down in horror movies.

The good news is that while many people were affected, I believe only one fatality occurred, and bulldozers have been making their way through town picking up debris piles on multiple daily runs. The local response and cleanup effort has been commendable. Here, two years after Katrina, I'm quite amazed at the difference. Findlay is up and running - albeit we didn't lose all aspects of infrastructure - some areas of town were not impacted, the mall was operational the day after the flood, we didn't lose power or services, etc. It's not a one-to-one comparison. But seeing New Orleans and many of its neighborhoods in the conditions that they remain in, after Katrina, and the state of cleanup that Findlay is in not quite one week later, provides stark contrast as to the level of involvement and engagement of community and civic leaders. And to be fair, both could be considered to be flavors of the good-old-boy network, to varying degrees. The differences with which both were able to enable response, however, is glaring.

New Djiini Shots

2007-08-28T10:03:00.001-04:00

Only from my best side, please........

I'm a Mommy!!

2007-08-17T14:37:00.000-04:00

...again...

Below is the newest member of the family. Her SPCA name was "Melody", which is so lame I can't even say it out loud. So, until her new name reveals itself to me, I'm calling her "Doggie". I pick her up on August 22nd.

Update!! Meet Djiini (pronounced Genie).
Djinn is the original spelling for what we know today as Genies, and contrary to western culture, they're not the prototypical good helpers; historically, they have been documented as often tricksters or malevolent spirit beings. They have also been noted as being benevolent to 'true souls' in need of help. Not that I need any help....but when I saw her she reminded me of a dog that "found" a friend and I who wandered off-track in Morocco and walked with us all day until we reached the next town. There is an old proverb in the Sahara......that if one is of good will, and finds themselves lost in a desert, a genii will appear to them in the form of a dog to lead them to safety - hence my new dog's new name, with a modern twist on the traditional spelling: Djiini.

A little more about Doggie: She enjoys long walks, having her hair brushed, and bon-bons. She's part German Shepherd/part Whippet or Greyhound. She is about 4 years old, and knows how to sit, stay, lay down, and is ambidextrous in her handshaking ability. She's also knowledgeable about where to potty (e.g., outside). I asked the SPCA folks if she was cat-friendly, and was in for a shock. The girl I was talking to said she'd check - and then came back with 2 cats! Holy god. Epiphany - it all made sense. In January of 2006, when I went to adopt Kathman(du), no WONDER all the cats there seemed neurotic!!

But, the clinchers, for me, were the existence of a few oddities present in Doggie:

First, she has an oddly shaped head. As though the bones that fuse upon the top of the skull did so too rapidly. Doggie is, in fact, an egghead.
Second, she seems a little shy (but who wouldn't at the dog pound!), but also very loving. I don't think she has come from an abused home, because she was dropped off by someone who said he'd found her as a stray, but she had a collar, and she cried for that man after he left. This besides being trained, housebroken, and immaculately clean, considering her purported 'stray' status. Apparently, people often do this at the SPCA rather than pay a pet surrender fee that helps the pound's operating costs. One woman at the pound said that the majority of people who bring in animals that way often are bringing in their own pets, for whatever reason, and as a result, full histories don't come with them. For a dog that seemed shy and a bit sad, she showed no hesitation in being very loving to 'strangers'.
Next, I don't know what planet this dog came from, but she had no idea what to do with a tennis ball or a chew/pull toy. She barely paid attention to either of them during our "get acquainted" time, and then looked at me as though I were crazy. So she's got character. Or she doesn't like the smell of other dog-spit.
And finally, when I was squatted down and eye-to-eye with her, she would sidle up next to my right, lean up against me, and use my right leg as her left front paw-rest. Not in a doggie domination way, like trying to herd me, or in being possessive of me. This behavior didn't strike me, either, as though she were shy or afraid and required physical reassurance. Instead, it was more like, "Hey. How's it going? Cool. Let's do some doggie-watching!. Check her out. Poor pooch. Can you believe they made that Bitch wear a red collar?!?!"

Doggie seemed to be very interested in seeing what kind of adventures she and the two Experiment Kitties could get up to, but the Experiment Kitties were not having any part of it. Since she exhibited curiosity - not agression - I feel OK about introducing her to Kathman. I may end up needing to keep them separated initially and work on training and integrating them together as 'friends'. We'll have to see what kind of hilarity ensues next week.

In the meantime, I've got some Doggie-proofing to begin this weekend.......

As Promised...Wyoming Photo Update

2007-08-03T21:35:00.000-04:00

Finally, here are some additional Wyoming photos. Some have stories, some don't....enjoy!

A little horseback riding does a body good....

While in Wyoming, I got to help (or at least observe and photograph) feeding some animals...

chinking some interior cabin walls (the top row!).....

Cabin interior....

Hyattville's Annual Old-Timer's Festival and Street Dance

Prairie Chickens

Some bunnies.....

2007-08-03T21:16:00.000-04:00

Some bunnies are less shy than others.....this one seems not to have developed a healthy fear of humans yet. He came up to within two inches of Gary's boot, but moved a little too quickly for me to perfectly focus on him.

I Say, It's a Pig-Nic!!

2007-08-03T21:02:00.000-04:00

So, one of my adventures over the weekend was an annual company picnic - I mean, PIG-nic - in Wyoming. This event and the antics surrounding it have achieved near mythic status within the company. It only occurs in Wyoming as a joint effort of the folks in that region, and probably has much more historical / company significance than I can even begin to relate here. It's also fairly common for annuitants to join in the celebration if they are in or near the area. One aspect of the tradition is that the pig-carvers don upside-down trash-bags as aprons to protect them from their work. I'm not much of a meat eater (as guessed by Shawn, second from left), but couldn't resist - it smelled delicious and tasted even better. Gary and I were able to go there together as employee and annuitant of the company, and it was great to see familiar faces from Texas, Louisiana, Tennessee (via Wyoming), as well as the Wyoming folks and a number of annuitants. Oh, and seeing the other folks that I see every day at work in Ohio was really fantastic, too! The most amazing aspect of this and numerous other events that took place surrounding the meetings the previous week was the sheer hospitality of the Wyoming hosts. I always thought people in Texas were friendly - but people in Wyoming, I have to say, have them beat, hands-down.

The PIGnic took place in National Forest in the Big Horn Mountains, so everything needed for it had to be brought in, and it was the Wyoming folks who did so - from the custom-made roaster on a trailer, to the drinks-and-ice trough, to the firewood for the all-night campfire from the previous night (and that night's fish-fry), to all of the varieties of side-dishes: sweet corn, pasta salad, bread, salads, baked beans, and other goodies too numerous to count. We're not talking Kroger ready-mades, either - these were all home-made delights. It was a treat, and a massive effort that the Wyoming gang undertakes each year to maintain the PIGnic tradition. Job well done!

What the....??

2007-08-03T20:46:00.000-04:00

An unfortunate angle, perhaps, of a pig after having been removed from a rather large diameter spit.

Table of Friends

2007-08-03T20:44:00.000-04:00

At this table, we've got Jerry (in yellow) and his wife Jackie, who I was able to meet during some previous project activity. We called Jerry and another annuitant, Wayne, out of retirement to join in on the project activities, and the two of them worked circles around many of us. Wayne wasn't able to make the Pig-nic, which was a shame, because it would have been a great Triple Threat reunion. Together, Jerry and Wayne (who have known eachother forever) were nicknamed on the project as "Double Trouble". I enjoyed them so much, when the three of us were together, others would call us "Triple Threat", and I felt like a 12-year old up to mischeif. It was this duo who bestowed the nickname of "Ramrod" upon me, which is no small feat in a male-oriented industry, during project activities, largely secured during field visits. I tried to spend a little time at each table - because each had new faces and names, as did this one, but this was definitely the most entertaining table at the event! They kept me in stitches (even still!).

Wildflowers at Meadowlark Lake, Bighorn Mountains, WY

2007-08-03T20:37:00.000-04:00

...and from West Texas:

2007-08-03T20:36:00.000-04:00

Mr. & Mrs. Marty Bootman. These are two of the nicest folks anyone could hope to meet. And in person, their eyes are blue-er than the clearest, most blue sky day you've ever seen.....

Turk, Linde, & Fancy (in that order....)

2007-08-03T20:32:00.000-04:00

I initially planned a quick (1.5) day visit to Gary's place in WY after my work commitment, prior to a work-related picnic on Saturday, and then to do some camping and hiking afterward. In my time visiting Hyattville, though, I had such a good time, I was reluctant to leave - for one thing, I hadn't been able to visit with Gary other than a few emails and phone calls since around late 2004 - and for another thing, because we had not yet had time to go horseback riding. So, we ended up working a deal - I offered my completely inexperienced, tenderfoot labor / assistance services on a part-time-ish basis in exchange for a little more R&R time at the Hyattville hacienda. This seemed to work in well with "if you were going to be here tomorrow, we could take the horses out......" and flash! - plans were afoot. So, anticipating great adventure, this was my first meeting of the Horses that Would Eventually Be Ridden. yay! You can tell from this photo they're equally excited about the prospect of toting around a tenderfoot who doesn't know how loosely to hold the reins.