A new visitor to the backyard

This guy was rather proud of the fact that he got a prime spot to look over the small backyard here at the hotel. He called until more of his kind showed up and joined him for a bath.

A sub-species of cuckoo birds...which explain some of the weird behavior :)

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

Mostly forgotten German Heritage

Somewhere Wernher Von Braun is giving a "thumbs up"!

Keep the kids inside around here :)

Walking around the Admin building here in Brazil I was, let's say, "suprised" at this somewhat large bird standing in the yard watching me---I suppose it was waiting to see if I'd trip or stumble so it could see what a plump gringo tasted like. I was told not to worry, that the bird was "domesticated". Yeah right, sounds like a good Far Side cartoon---"Let's go feed the chickens....."

I've attached a link about this distant cousin to a velociraptor.

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

Those AP Classes come in handy...

The Littlest Princess shows why she was excempt from all of those tests---a 4.4!!!! Way to go Kenz!

Nautical Decor

A blue crab wine holder is the latest of a seemingly endless string of nautical trinkets

And a 3D version as well

Pain at the pump

Most of the boaters here at Green Turtle Bay are "power boaters" with the majority of those folks with large cruisers with big diesel engines. The recent cruiser we were on consumed about 10 gallons an hour at 15mph---about 50% faster than the Time and Tide cruises (in theory yet to be realibly verified). So the photo above is the fuel cost of a local power boater with a cruiser going out for a long weekend on the lake..ouch!!! Certainly one of the top 10 reasons to own a sailboat :)

Vinyl Caligraphy

Got the vinyl lettering installed on the Time and Tide along with a little extra graphic :)

Photo Restoration

Snagging digital photographs off old, sometimes broken, hard drives can be rewarding. The photograph above originally looked like the one below but with some cutting, copying and pasting along with a little Photoshopping, the corrupted file comes back to life!

Happy Valentine's Day

Mo and the BAM Crew hamming it up a few years back!

Happy Valentine's Day to all!!!

One last shot...in 3D

Familiar subject in 3D...

Pick a Number

With a light snow falling the cardinals are beginning to get a bit rushed.

Hidden Gold

A male American Goldfinch is slowly molting his way to his snazzy bright yellow spring colors to impress the ladies.

Turbo-charged Toiletry

I'd like to read the instructions describing situations where you use the "Three Drop" flush as opposed to a "One Drop" flush. All part of using a bit less---Continuously Improving :)

In the Big City this Week

Dawn breaks over a slowly awakening Toronto where I am working this week. Unseasonably warm as with the rest of the lower 48.

Homemade 3D

As I mentioned in a previous blog, I usually have my camera on "Burst" mode that allows it to take 3 full resolution shots fairly quickly.  This comes in handy with that shuffle technique for homemade 3Ders----not all of us can have those fancy cameras :)

Since I won't have precise alignment of the images I use the software below to create the anaglyph and, if needed, then "tweak" the images up/down/left/right to give it the best depth.

http://www.stereoeye.jp/software/index_e.html

I spy something beginning with the letter "F"

As dawn breaks over the trees I noticed some movement down by the lake....

One of our local foxes was resting and peering out over the lake. She(?) was soon joined by a somewhat larger fox; they kissed, rubbed cheeks and moved on down the shoreline.

First Bloom of the Season

Always an early bloomer, this variety of daffodil is a couple of weeks early this year due to the mild winter. I'm fairly sure we'll have our usual spat of spring snow showers but these do not affect the flowering bulbs.

Return of the First Mate

While she didn't get that exclusive I-4 Overview and Lakeland flight again, the little woman is heading back home!

Heading North

Many flights of geese have been cruising northward the past few weeks following the weather fronts coming from the west and southwest.  This flock of snow geese (at 12x optical) were merrily honking all the way across the sky.

Why do geese fly in a "V"?  Because it is too hard to fly in an "S"!!

The Handyman Will Play While the Wife's Away

Yours truly purchased a ladder stabilizer that rests the extension ladder off the edge of the roof along with giving a wider, more secure, stance.  The little woman is off in Florida enjoying family and the warm sun while the weather here is clear and a cool 50F---a great time to do a little work "up high" without traumatizing the spouse :) 

The unit assembled quickly and the attachment was fairly straightforward.

Up we go!!!!!!!!!!!  Boy, it's a long way up :O

The sturdy feet are doing their job.  Giving me great support and allowing me to do some much needed repairs to our gutters without that nagging "is my ladder sliding?" feeling.

This photo could have gone viral under much different circumstances with a "Darwin Award" heading--(my ghost would have never rested being lumped into that crowd!)  But I played it very safe---note the requisite three points of contact, warm quilted flannel shirt (with extra pockets) and the manly, one day beard growth of an experienced DIY'er :)

First Mate off to Florida

The little woman is off to Florida for a few days to visit family and soak up some rays!

Hopefully not her pilots :)