A trip to the Zoo

We were well impressed with the National Zoo. We had visited a few years ago, and left disappointed. It appears that a great deal of work has gone into improving the zoo, and the results are evident.
His Majesty
Her Majesty
Marabou Stork
Red Panda
Peacock
Brown Pelican
Cheetah Girl at rest
FlamingoesAsian Small-clawed Otter
Greater Rhea

Late bloomers

The rose garden at Brookside is, I'm told, at its peak in May. These lovely blooms, however, kept their beauty hidden until now. There's a metaphor in there, somewhere.

Gentle souls

Homeschooling operations have been temporarily transferred to Montgomery County, Maryland. While Steve was being seen at Walter Reed Army Medical Center this morning, William and I took the Metro Train north to Brookside Botanical Gardens. The Wings of Fancy exhibit is incredibly beautiful, as is the entire park. More pictures will follow, if the gods of low-speed hotel internet allow.

And now for my daily moment of DUH!

For most of the five years that we've had Chocolate the Wundermutt, she has travelled in the crate in the back hatch of our Subaru/Saturn/Jetta wagon. This has generally worked well, resulting in only a few short whiny/excited periods on our long trips. Obviously, this mode of transportation is not an option in our Mini Cooper. When we took our first long trip in the Mini, I had anticipated a whiny ride. I was pleasantly surprised - shocked, even - when Chocolate settled right in on the back seat next to William and remained calm for the entire time.

It took me a while to process this new information, but then I had to smack my forehead with a "well, DUH, Rosie!" Chocolate is part Aussie Shepherd. Her instinct is to herd her sheep, and when the sheep aren't available, she likes to round up her people. That task is easily achieved when we're all sitting within 2 feet of her.

It's taken five years, but she's getting me trained after all.

La Serenissima

I had the great fortune to live in the Veneto Region of Italy for a few years. Venice calls itself La Serenissima - the "most serene" - but I beg to differ. In the early morning hours of the last days of summer, the most serene place on earth is the small lake upon which my parents live. As the mist rises over the glassy waters, the silence is broken only by the dipping of my paddle and the splashing of the pike as they jump out of the depths to have some breakfast.

Better to be silent and let people think you're a fool ..

.. than to open your mouth and erase all doubts.

A few years ago, Jan Wong of The Globe and Mail went "undercover" as a maid in Toronto to gain first-hand experience as a minimum-wage worker in Toronto.

She described the mess left for her by one "nouveau riche" family, including the nastiness that was the child's bathroom, and speculated on the correlation between the slovenliness of the patriarch and the large waistband of the underwear which she was required to iron for him. The family was never identified in the article.

The family, however, recognized themselves, and are now suing Jan Wong and The Globe and Mail. They are claiming "significant embarrassment and mental distress" and seem to think that $50K will be an appropriate salve for their wounds.

It seems to me that they just confirmed their sloth and stupidity to the world.

Why walk when you can ride on the John Deere?

We found this not-so-little critter on the lawn tractor when we were playing with our new toy cleaning it with the pressure washer. It's the first Walking Stick that we've found around here.

Dinner's ready

Fast, simple .. but who doesn't love a hot dog on a summer day?

Well, how do you like them apples?

A few months ago, I noticed a new flowering shrub in my back forty. I wondered if it was cherry or apple, and marvelled at its appearance. Then I promptly forgot about it.

This morning, some small red spheres caught my eye as I was hanging laundry. It turns out the the mysterious blossoms were the precusors to tiny MacIntosh apples.




I think I tossed a few apple cores in that general area several years ago, and Mother Nature did the rest.

None of the fruit appears edible at this point, as each apple appears to be blighted with some sort of black marking. Perhaps, with a little nurturing, next year's crop will be better.

The year of the deer

This evening, while we were picking up some pizza in the Jersey suburbs, my mother-in-law and I saw a pair of fawns at the edge of the treeline. This marks the fourth time in a month that I've seen baby McFawnersons - and only the fifth time in my life that I can recall seeing fawns in the wild.

One of the fawns had blue eyes. Is this a rare thing? I can't say that I've ever seen pictures of a deer with blue eyes, let alone one in real life.

Does anyone out there know - have the deer been particularly prolific this year? Or have I just failed to observe the fawns all around me?

Political Haiku

Dear Mister Powell
Please run for Vice President
Restore your honour.

Still can't understand
Why you lied to the U. N.
How did they make you?

Faux News is saying
You will endorse Obama
Maybe there is hope.

Aaaah, summer!

The first sunflower to reveal its sunny face!

That'll do.

It only took us ten years, but we finally made good on the promise that we had made to ourselves to take in the Kingston Sheep Dog Trials. It was a beautiful day, a truly perfect summer day - warm but breezy, surrounded by other dog-loving country folk.

To boldly go where no MMORPG has gone before ...

I'm not much of a gamer, but I'm an unapologetic, geeky Star Trek fan.

My husband, on the other hand, can often be found in Paragon City or Middle Earth. He's also a Trekkie, though he loses credibility by insisting that Kirk was the superior Captain to Picard. He's obviously wrong, but I love him anyway.

Needless to say, there was great excitement in this household when my brother-in-law let us in on the secret - that his company, Cryptic Studios, would be launching the Star Trek Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game. There's an interview with him about the game, here, on the CTV website.

Jack will also share the stage with Spock on Sunday.

dramatic pause ...

Engage!

Going batty

This little fellow took up residence on the stucco wall outside the Olive Garden in Clay, NY, this afternoon. I suspect that he wanted some breadsticks.

The magical world outside my window

If you feed them, they will come ...

It isn't every day that yer young man turns eleven!

Happy Birthday to my Eagle-Eyed Scientist!

Like a bird on a wire

Red Tailed Hawk, Jefferson County, NY

Say awwwwwwww!

A trip to the lake

Aaaah ... The County.

Juxtaposition

I have been dying to get this shot for ages.

A beautiful memorial

Last summer, a terrible motorcycle accident took the life of Heather A. Freeman. The butterfly house at our local zoo was renamed for her.

I didn't know Heather, but I don't think there could be anything more beautiful to honour her memory.

Here are some pics I took there today.

My Fifteen Minutes Approacheth

A few weeks ago, my husband encouraged me to submit my favourite daytrip to my favourite CBC radio show, Fresh Air, for their "Tell us where to go in the nicest possible way" promotion.

I just got off the phone with the host, Jeff Goodes. He is as delightful and down-to-earth on the phone as he is on his show.

This Sunday morning, at 0745, I'll get to talk to Jeff again about this trip! If you live outside the range of CBC Southern Ontario, and really want to know what this crazy blogger sounds like, you can hear a live stream from CBC Toronto!

My husband rocks!

Yeah, he kicked butt on the Lufthansa quiz.

Then again, he's more well-traveled than I am. And he had a parachute on most of the time, too.

Aieeeeeee!!!!

I think that bats are cool. I love to sit outside after dusk and watch them flit about, and I've even learned to cope with their presence within my own personal space.

But .. Sweet Sparking Jeebus, if I ever find a bat in my bra, while said bra is wrangling my bosoms into a socially acceptable form, please just shoot me and put me out of my misery!

{shudder}

Scared little bunny

Rescued from the clutches of a certain cat who shall remain nameless.

It took me a while ..

.. but I finally beat my brother's score on a Lufthansa geography quiz.

First rose of summer

Victory is mine!

I have finally scored a great photo of my favourite water bird, the Great Blue Heron!

Entymology lesson for the day

The Damselfly ~~

can be differentiated from ~~
The Dragonfly ~~

by observing the position of the wings while the insect is at rest.

The Damselfly holds its wings alongside its body, whereas the holds its wings horizontally.

I didn't know this, but my 10 year old did. It's a good thing we home school, or I'd never learn anything!

Unschool portrait, June 2008

Taken at Prehistoric World, Morrisburg, Ontario.