I'm in the big boy section at Houston

BB Test

Random shot....

Wintering Over

Ounce for ounce, one of the loudest of our local songbirds, the House Wren is supposedly a migratory traveler. Several pairs stick around all year I would imagine due to the mild winters, suet feeders and, if they get really hard up, they can always try a few seeds as this one did.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_Wren

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Essential Hardware

A special adaptor for my travels involves a 110 vac female adaptor on one side and a 220 vac male plug on the other end. I have been somewhat aware, but now almost completely up to speed on that quite a few power supplies sold are good up to 240 vac. Makes me a tad suspicious on the UL listings, but makes things very convenient. I also am carrying a small converter for those items which may not have the wide range though I've found none so far that I'd be taking with me on my travels.

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Canada Goose

My abled-bodied assistant is modeling my jacket that will be my best friend in the weeks to come :) Worn by people who travel in the frigid arctic (and antarctic) regions of the globe, the Canada Goose brand has gotten the reputation for being the best jacket for the job. Yours truly will be sporting his favorite color in the wilds of Siberia soon.

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A Northern Breed

The White-throated Sparrow, one of the several types of sparrows that frequent the backyard feeder, are migratory and winter-over in the states. This breed is a bit skittish and has a definite hierarchy. In a another month or so, they'll fly north to spend the spring and summer with my friends in Canada, "Eh?".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-throated_Sparrow

http://gatoringoldcountry.blogspot.com/

Update on the sparrows: one fewer will be making the trip back north as they are just a tad naive about cats!

Lazy Weekend

With the weather still cold and the day overcast, Big Red has crashed on our college-bound Senior's bed for a mid-morning nap. The canine knows better and I usually look the other way, especially if its not my bed.

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I Hear Nothing!!!

Sargent Schultz and I have more in common besides our northern European heritage and natural good looks :) We both can "Hear nothing!" when needed though the good sargent could also "See nothing!" and "Know nothing!". The noise reduction headphones will come in very handy for traveling---I would never dream of putting them on at home!

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Mini Decorations

Mini is sporting some new bling lately-----and if this week's Senior flip-flop holds it will be good for another 4 years or so....

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Union Station---Toronto

My last trip to our friends to the north had me across from Union Station in downtown Toronto. The train station serves 200,000 passengers a day and is the largest in Canada. Connecting the station to quite a bit of Toronto is PATH. A series of underground walkways that spread out under central Toronto for over 17 miles. There are over 1,200 shops along the way and the tunnels have an indoor mall feel with food courts, windows displays and sitting areas.

http://www.toronto.ca/path/

HD Weather Delay

Had to do a little brushwork before we watched another SEC team win the BCS the last night......

Small Stuff

A female Downy Woodpecker, one of perhaps a half-dozen types of woodpeckers that commonly frequent our area, sits perched waiting her turn to swoop down to the suet feeders. Though the smallest of the North American woodpeckers, these little guys tend to be a bit fearless and can be easily observed from just a few feet away.

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Snow and Ice

Had a little bit of a snowfall last night---about 1-2" of the fluffy stuff. Should stick around for a day or two before the temperatures move up again.

Note: We still have about a foot to go in the main lake to bring it up to control levels and I'm very positive that the spring rains will get us there!

Tennessee Sea Life

Not content with just throwing up anything on the walls (or in my case nothing), the oldest of the BAM crew paints her own artwork for hanging. Mostly underwater ocean life so far but I'm sure the talent will focus on other subjects as needed.

Pppwawmmj

Tired Duo

Dudley (the 110 pound lap dog) and his new BFF rest after the big day recently. Dudley has the habit of finding a stuffed friend for a few weeks and carrying around his affection all day, to bed, etc.

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No Country for Old Men Intro--Amateur Version

I snapped a 360 degree video standing on the slopes on the west side of Smoky Valley this past summer. The wind is typical...

Wintering Breed

A male Dark-eyed Junco (or in our area of the country the sub-species are called Slate-colored Juncos) enjoys some seeds on the feeder out back. He has many friends, both feathered and furred, to help out with the task that requires constant addition of new seeds and suet.

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Kids Nowadays

Gee, I remember when nice homemade sugar cookies and milk were always left for the big guy :)

Merry Christmas!!!

Looks like all the girls and boys have been good this year!!!

The photo above is of the tree at 54 Holly on Christmas Eve evening.....the oldest has her own tree now (see photo below) with its presents but the last two siblings here have been rearranging presents under the pretense of "making things look good".....yeah right.

Our MTSU student's Christmas tree.

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Off Road Tandem

On a recent fueling stop, a pair of rugged off road vehicles caught my eye---and heart. I guess you would have had to have owned one of these (in liquid or air cooled versions) to understand. Very cool.

Random Exit Sign

But I truly have to believe they have great margaritas somewhere in town with a local band that plays some Buffett :)

Long Way from Home

Sliding into one of the two elevators at the Hampton Inn in Albuquerque, I was greeted with this spread across the doors when they closed. The "Monument of the States" has rocks from all 48 states (Hey, it was made as a show of unity after attack on Pearl Harbor so Alaska and Hawaii weren't on the list). I've driven by it many times but the last time I actually stopped and looked was ~40 years ago on an elementary school field trip.

Carol of the Bells

The Christmas Choir Concert in Dyersburg is an annual tradition. All of our children have sang at this concert---once all three together. Our two youngest sang last night and, as all parents can, we could pick out their individual voices throughout the evening :) The last piece of music was "Carol of the Bells". Things are doing very well in the Mid-South.

Trans-Siberian Orchestra eat your heart out :)

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Dawntreader and Mini arrived safely

Dawntreader and Mini arrived safely at 54 Holly Lane at 4:15am CST.....

Just outside Oklahoma City

Copse of Giant Windmills

Texas Panhandle

Big Mesa

Small Mesas

Double Decker in New Mexico Mesa Country

Somewhere near the Texas-New Mexico border

Mini and her best friend

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