Some Local Fauna

Seen on the way to the bus stop. It was actually a bright shiny day and the snail was crawling in it's shadow. Of course, I didn't think to turn the flash on. If you look closely you can see how far out of its shell it is stretched. It picked up an extra small shell on its travels.

It’s hard work being a parent.

With real estate prices being what they are, the vacant birdhouse in our backyard did not stay vacant very long. Some cute little birds decided to stake a claim to the premises. SJ named them Mr. and Mrs. Cheeks because of the white patches on the sides of their heads. It was interesting watching them during the decision phase. They would peek in then fly off, hop in and out then fly off, until I'm guessing that Mrs. Cheeks put her claw down and declared this was the place. After that you could see them ferrying in nest building materials. Recently, with the flurry of comings and goings we think there must be new little baby birds. The pictures aren't the best, since these are fast little birds, and we had to take them through the kitchen window. Anyway, you can get the idea: bird comes out, bird goes in, bird comes out,etc.

Fountains of Versailles

It was a bit overcast, so the light isn't the best, but there are only a few days during the year they turn on the fountains, so you have to take what you can get.

All these are public video - so click and go! One is below, but to save space, you can get to two and three by just clicking, well, two and three. Don't forget, there is sound too. Sorry about the quality, but they were made with the movie function of my still digital video camera.



....and an extra bonus. A private video (email if you forgot how) of GM rowing away some travel stress.....