Waiting for our ship to come in....

Any day now, any day.......

Tryouts

Waiting in line for Darth Maul tryouts in the feathered version of Star Wars (tm). (Zoom in for detail)

Say Cheese!

Was it something I said?

Sunrise!

Nothing like a good sunrise to get the day started!

Road Trip!

Wheels down in 5 hours for 2 weeks in Colorado for Rose & Eddie's wedding and some simple R&R!

Used Tires?

Let me check my inventory.....

Please Sir I Beg You....

No bricks!

Looking for a load

Shave & A Haircut, 2 bits

And the overhead is low!

Spital

If you see a large pool of swirling water (a.k.a the spital), you might not want to get too close.....

I Call Luggage Rack!

Shotgun was taken.....

Lawn Sweepers

I always wondered where the term "lawn sweeper" came from........

Hell or Helmet?

The gospel according to the Faridabad Traffic Police, Chapter 1, Verse 1.

Leteracy Proeramme

Never take a computer leteracy proeramme that is not from an ISO 9001:2000 certifieb institute. (Zoom for details)

There's No Place Like Home

Always Carry a Spare

There is more than one way to get around! I am taking a better one however!

Fuel Truck

I suspect you pay by the pie......

Excuses

So the guide was telling us that each of these towers leaned outward 2 degrees so that in case there was an earthquake, they would fall away from the main building......I suggested that it went more like this: King to Engineer: Why is it leaning out.....ummmmmm....in case there is an earthquake?......yea that is.....In case there is an earthquake King!

My guide was not amused :)

The Taj From the Spot

We had a guide at the Taj that liked to tell us where to take pictures from....not a bad choice :)

We Drive On The Left.....

You don't say.....


Welcome to India. I am going to share some shots of my trip this week, hope you enjoy them.

Bill

Swimming Rule #3

Listen to your Mother!..........I told you, wait at least 30 minutes before you go in the water after eating......I'm not in the water Mom, I'm...um...practicing my Yoga....this stretch works the....well pretty much every muscle group.

Swimming Rule #2

Always shower before entering the cave, because you never know who you will meet inside! Did you hear that noise??????

Swimming Rule #1

Always check the water temperature before you enter the water!

Seeds

Can you please help me get the seeds out?

Truth In Advertising

Have you ever lived on Knucklehead Way?

Nice Day for a Drive...

With the top down & Neil Diamond blasting from Hot August Night of course!

Happy 4th of July!

Hope you have a great 4th of July in these dog days of summer!

Welcome to Texas!

I find it easier to drive friendly when wearing Blue Jeans!

Just Swing Already!

Orderly

New developments tend to do everything possible to keep everything orderly, even light patterns!

With the right bait......

Chances are that if you toss in your line just be for lunch....

Refreshing!

Tricks

I think the trick is to keep your arms up and take big steps.....

Splash Down!

And then the air was suddenly gone.......

Good Morning Sunshine

The Earth says hello!

Too Hot for Ice.....

Peeling Paint......

Or modern art....you decide!

You Lookin at me?

I think she is a about to....

Get Wet!

Lookout for that

Tree!

I'm Sorry Officer

I'm Sorry Officer, I did not see the signal.....

Details

Sometimes, paying attention to details is fun.

Out for a Walk

I decided to take a walk tonight and took the camera with me. It was getting dusk, but I was able to take this at 1/25 of a second hand held. I love fast glass :)

Keep Your Eye On The Ball

Or if need be, your entire face will also do!

It has been a while since my last post, and I hope to change that. Dorothy loved to tell us to do what we want to do, and do it now! Well today I did something that I have wanted to do for quite some time. My trusty 7 & 1/2 half year old Canon D60 has been relegated to the "kids camera", and I am now shooting with a Canon "EOS 5D Mark II" and a "70-200 f2.8L IS II USM" lens. I will keep my "17-40 f4L USM" lens handy as well, but I am really looking forward to seeing what this new setup will do. Dort, thanks for the encouragement and all you have done for us. I will try not to let you down. This first published shot from the new rig is dedicated to you!

Bill
(Doing it as fast as I can)

Until We Meet Again

The Lord puts some very special people in our lives, and it is never easy when He takes them home. Today is not an easy day, as I have lost one of those special people. Dorothy was my Aunt, my Godmother, and my friend. From the first day we met there was a special bond. She loved to tell the story of her visiting when I was still in a crib. She was getting dressed, and turned around to find me standing in the crib just watching her. She then said to me in a stern voice with a smile, “I’m gonna have to keep an eye on you!” And she did. We would see each other only once a year at most, but we made the most of those times. There were jeep trips to Yankee Boy, Corkscrew, and her favorite Silver Basin. There was penny poker at the dining room table, “99” everywhere we could find a flat surface, including the top of a fire tower, and the Christmas trips! The Green Bay Wisconsin area in the winter when warmth was a distant memory, where we would still get out and cross country ski and hike at “The Ridges”, walk the shores of Lake Michigan, or visit the Red Mill with the chapel the was so special to her. And then there were the vans. Dorothy loved the vans her and Marie bought, and I remember once, I got to drive us all to the “House On The Rock” in one of them and as it turns out we were oblivious to the tornadoes that touched down all over the state that day. We really heard about it from Grandma when we got back! Why did you not call! And I recall the pain and struggles that Dorothy had while she cared for my Grandmother in her later years, and how somehow God would prompt me to call her at just the right time to give her encouragement. There were many tears of sorrow and of laughter spent on the phone over the years.

In the later years, there was a very special trip where I drove her and Marie down to Gulf Shores AL which turns out to be her last trip there. It was a hoot to explain how a GPS worked, and hear her retort that she was so far removed from technology that she did not know how she was still alive! I still recall the large volume of meatloaf sandwiches they made for the trip which we had for dinner, breakfast, lunch, dinner, breakfast, lunch…….and we laughed together about that just a couple of weeks ago. Our mantra became no meatloaf please! There was the day we just sat on the grass in front of her home nicknamed “Treemenless” and watched the kids play in the lake, jumping off the floating dock, and paddling around in the Kayak.

I remember her visit to Colorado when we were there caring for my Mom in her last months. She wanted to come and say goodbye to Mom, and she gave us encouragement as well.

Special memories all.

Not too many years ago, as her health declined, she came to live with my father in Colorado for a year or so, and that time was special for me. We would sit out on the back porch with a glass of port or take a drive in the G6 with the top down to see the colors of fall. I remember her sitting in a chair in our driveway helping to decide where to place the trees in our landscaping project, and her comments of how good they looked. She got to enjoy a number of birthdays with us on the back porch, and we laughed as we often did.

As her memory faded, the last years were the toughest. Last summer we got to take her for a drive around the Chain-O-Lakes, and out for lunch at the Wheel House. She had done this many times for us, and we wanted to return the favor. It was hard on her to get out, but she really wanted to spend more time together. We showed her movies of the kids, reminisced about all the good times we had together and about meatloaf. We laughed and hugged, both knowing that this would likely be the last time we would see each other on this earth. I still recall how melancholy I felt as I left her apartment for the last time…….

Dorothy did not want to burden anyone, and at her request, there will be no memorial service, but I still want everyone to know that she was a very special lady to many, but especially to me, her nephew, her God- son, and her friend. I love you Dort, and look forward to when we can meet to hug and laugh together again.

It seems fitting to end with Dort’s admonition:

• Live With Your God,
  


• Do what you want to do,
  


• and DO IT NOW!

We will do our best Dort.
Bill

McKinney Falls

It gets hot in Texas, and one of the ways to cool off is to swim in the many swimming holes in the rivers of the area. McKinney Falls is one of those SE of downtown Austin. This shot is looking down the lower falls. You can actually swim up to the bottom of these falls. The perspective does not show it, but you are looking down 10-15 feet here.