July.18.2007

yesterday i finally installed the roof rack on my car and washed the kayak down, and the plan was to paddle around paradise pond today, but it's raining, so i'll paint the bedroom ceiling instead, and paddle tomorrow. the bedroom is going on and on like all projects that don't really have an need date.

last sunday before breakfast, mike hiked me up into leominster state forest and we hiked part of the midstate trail..... not a hard hike. near the top, you come out to rock ledges that look east over the local lakes .... and the view was just great .... next time i bring my camera!! .... here's a google-image of the area.

the garden cart restoration is almost done.....looks good (even in the rain) for a fairly easy project..... have plans to make 2 more carts (one for the john benson's and one for me!).


the birds are amusing today ... watched a little yellow finch chase 4 larger birds from the feeder .... they sat in the tree until the finch left, then they came in !!. got a snapshot of papa cardinal and the yellow finch at the feeder ..... this is a rare event!



July.19.2007



Well..... I finished the coffee and started wondering "what should I do today?" Then it came to me in a flash and I must leave now.....


foiled again .... as soon as i locked down the kayak, i started raining again.... well, there's always tomorrow i guess, but i'm leaving it on the roof !!


my brother Bob just sent the neatest link ... new york city traffic website ... they have live cameras set up around the city and you can watch images flash by of the current traffic .... check it out !!.

so i thought ..... why not a local traffic webcam right here on my street .... well .... here's the local traffic at 4:11PM July.19.2007.....




July.20.2007

Wrote an opinion on The Immigrant Dilemma


July.22.2007

had breakfast with mike .... talked about trucks trucks trucks trucks and kayaks.
then ..... at long last ..... i made it out to paradise pond (that's really the name) in the kayak today.

from a satellite ...



from a kayak ....




July.24.2007

#53 arrived in the mail yesterday. the collection is now at 51 film cameras and 2 digital cameras.
this one is too too cute ... too small also (that's my computer mouse behind it!! ), but now i recall thats why i bought it.


pix from new camera are not bad..... these were full auto mode (forced no-flash) .... and post-compressed in GIMP for web display .....
porch shots were tough due to backlighting, but the little jewel did just fine ....






July.27.2007




recommended by me ....


Birds really do eat butterflies

i just saw something extraordinary..... two brown sparrows flew up to the feeder, found it empty and shot away. but at that moment, a small butterfly happened to flash by flying with, as usual, very eratic fluttering.
one of the birds changed course and chased it .... looked like two warplanes in aerial combat ..... the bird won and ate the butterfly after landing.

i can see things now that i never saw in all the various cubicles i spent 40 years in.


abbie: " are you sure there's birds out there, zak?"

zak: "ssshhhhh "


July.29.2007

Came back from Tully Lake with too many pictures, so decided to create a separate page for a Hike around Tully Lake



From A Moveable Feast (written about events in the 1920's) ........



A satellite view today ..... note the park with chestnut trees at the bow-shaped head of the island Isle de la Cite.
The staue of Henri Quatre is there between the bridge and the park with trees.