Amazing Grace

I have named used this title for my blog because I am still amazed at how many smiles she gives me each hour we spend together! 
 I have  a short slide show of our time last week - (Please notice the lettering just above the first picture!)

New Blog Postponed

I am having issues with my keyboard and mouse - so it is too much work to attempt my post ...stay tuned...

Things I Have Learned This Last Week...

I recently started another new project -scanning all my old photograph negatives.  This picture represents what I have left to do. (I have already scanned in over 2,500 negatives.)

 Here are a  few things I have realized this past week...



I actually did document my first bald eagle sighting in September of 1994.



You need to keep your negatives clean - otherwise you will get white specks showing.


Puppies are cute-even when they catch moths...


Trains will always draw a crowd....


 You would never actually believe just how blue Paul Newman's eyes were- unless you met him in person.

The above photos were taken with a 35MM film camera.  I have always enjoyed photography and I have decent equipment for being just a "run of the mill" home photographer.  I have been using a DSLR camera for about 8 years now but Canon makes their cameras last way too long - how can I justify a new camera when my old one still works as well as it does!  GRRRRRRRRR

Those "Darling Cobras"

We have seen a few different things in our travels -but this is one of the more unique...

This is the Darlingtonia californica - also known as the Cobra lily.  It is a carnivorous plant that is considered rare so you really should stop by the Darlingtonia Wayside Park if you are ever near Florence, Oregon.
  (It is also just across the street from the Elks Campground  on Mercer Lake Road.)

The Sock o' Seeds

The other day I happened to find one of the "Socks" on sale in the grocery store. I am all about "sale items" so I decided to buy it since the seed date was good until December and once I saw that I could re-use the sock if the birds used it.


Well - the birds like it... as you can see from the slideshow below!


This slideshow is over a three day period - one of the days photos you can see the rain drops. All photos have been taken through windows at the house.

One Of Life's Little Annoyances....

Chain Letters...you know them -we used to spend time on them when we were younger...you know...back when you had to hand-write 5 of them so you could get $5.00 sent back to you after you reached the top of the list. They were fun because you would run to the mail box each day looking for a piece of mail with your name on it...

never mind that it never came - you had something to look forward to each day for weeks on end!

There is now a new form of Chain Letter..the Electronic chain letter - you know.. the one that warns you of immanent bad luck if you do not send it out immediately to everyone  in your address book.

These letters come from supposed friends.  Why would a friend send something that is going to give another friend bad luck?  I have decided that I will stop any emails that will possibly give another person bad luck- or for that matter any luck or anything else from here on out.  

I think I will go one step further - I will send out a polite email telling the sender that I will remove them from my email list the next time I get any type of  "You must forward this..." email from them... you may think "a bit harsh"? ... well I don't need any more of  bad luck...

The Great Backyard Bird Count

 Today I participated in the GBBC. The "Great Backyard Bird Count" is a 4 day event where people from all over take time to count the many different birds they see and also report what bird species they saw.
  I decided I have too many feeders out because there was no way I could count the birds as they flew back and forth to the 4 backyard feeders. (This is very difficult with only two eyes!)
 I did not leave the yard so I did not see that many species  but I do have a slideshow of some of the different birds I saw.  I do have a few of the same bird...he was very territorial of the feeder until he was finished - 


There is one more day to participate so why don't you grab a partner and have fun! You can find the instructions at this link.
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The Finches Are Back...

These small birds are what started me taking photos of birds last year - so I thought I would dedicate a blog for their return this past week...


Lesser Goldfinches:
The Lesser Goldfinch is a small, seed-eating finch of the Southwest. It comes in two forms: a dark-backed one in Texas, and a greenish-backed one farther westward.

Brainwashing Of Our Youth?

Today I witnessed what I am sure must be some sort of secret brainwashing of our young children.
Please take a look at these photos and tell me if it does not look like this wee one is in some sort of trance...

You will also witness these innocent children following the directions given to them...

...and these small children always answer back the responses that are wanted...




...and this is what is causing this trance...





Be aware of  "Dora the Explorer" -it has to be a brainwashing program because no child ever responds as well as they do to Dora!!
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Colusa National Wildlife Refuge Birds

I decided to add a few photos from my trip to the Colusa National Wildlife Refuge. The only complaint I had is that the  "Auto Tour" road is not wide enough to pull over so others can pass you if they are in a bigger hurry than you are.


It looks like I saw over 20 different birds this time out.  I enjoyed watching the Stilts dance gracefully in the sky, the Geese gander around in the water and the Hawk hunter for lunch. 
You can actually double-click on a photo to find the bird type if you are interested.
I hope you enjoy the recap of my drive...

Colusa NWR..

A trip was made to the Colusa Natural Wildlife Refuge today. It was fun discovering many different birds that I had not see in person before.  Here are just a few...

Birds of February First.

I was able to take a few photos through the living room window of some of my local birds yesterday so I thought I would share them with you today.







These last two were taken in the backyard.



You can see more of these birds and others on my Bird Blog.
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The Other Meaning of Quartzsite

I have had people ask me why I enjoy going to Quartzsite. I tell them it is more than just the comraderie that the gathering provides....

but it is also about helping each other.

You will always find someone teaching or assisting another with something when you are with this gathering...


...I am sorry to have missed all the new tricks and talents that were shared this year!



The photos used in this post are from previous QZ gatherings...owned by MM

The Quartzsite 13 Plus One....

William Willard saw how much fun the group was having so he drove over to QZ too - and I have proof!

Thanks again for the video, GoneFishin!

Payment in Full??

Happycarz claims this is "Payment in Full" ....but I am sure it is only for telling William Willard where to park when he pulled into QZ this morning...and not for the other project below that "BP" had done!



I am sure "William Willard" made it to QZ because he got his new residential fridge in - and what a beauty it is!!


Thanks for showing off, BP - now are you heading to Nor-Cal to do mine??!!
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Quartzsite Crowds...

I have a few photos from Happycarz  plus a photo given to GoneFishin by "Mrs wthomas1" that show a few different types of crowds - 
The "Posed" Crowd


"The Golf Lesson" Crowd


The "Girl's Club" Crowd


The "Hot Hot Hot" Crowd


The "Holy Moly-Can of Sardines" Crowd



You can enjoy all these crowds plus many others by coming on down to where the gang is!

..and Now Live Video...

...well, it was "live" earlier today when GoneFishin' shot it!!
Thank You for sharing this with the rest of us "non-Quartzsite" attendees!

Quartzsite 2011

I have been getting info and a few photos of the "goings-on" down at Quartzsite in the past 24 hours that I would like to share with everyone.
(Please excuse photo quality - photos were taken for my personal viewing pleasure and not necessarily for posting on blogs)

You can see exlaminator helping unload the firewood that Happycarz has brought down for the second year. (Actually this is well-seasoned firewood because it is the leftover firewood from last year! The weather last year was stormy and wet for many days so the campfire went unlit many nights.)


The following photos are of part of the group that had made it by 3:30 PM today.
(I can give you some of the rig owner names from left to right...
Drifter; GoneFishin/Fishbum; AKBrick/CheetahGal; OLYLEN; and maybe Redryder)



I can only be sure of the last three - from right to left...exlaminator; Happycarz; CruisinCondo(aka Mark92587)  and continuing on ...an SOB; I think itDave; and the one on the left end might be Deaton OR Duffys' Mom/Duffy's Dad!!!                                                                  
 

It certainly looks like there will be a great turnout!   Oh...and by the way...here is a preview of the weather....

Saturday Mainly sunny. High near 75F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph.
Saturday night: Clear. Low 47F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph.
Sunday Mainly sunny. Highs in the low 70s and lows in the low 40s.
Monday Sunny. Highs in the low 70s and lows in the low 40s.
Tuesday Sunny. Highs in the mid 70s and lows in the low 40s.
Wednesday Sunny. Highs in the mid 70s and lows in the mid 40s.
Thursday Sunshine. Highs in the low 70s and lows in the low 40s.
Friday Mainly sunny. Highs in the low 70s and lows in the mid 40s.
Saturday Mainly sunny. Highs in the mid 70s and lows in the mid 40s.
Sunday Mix of sun and clouds. Highs in the mid 70s and lows in the mid 40s.

2011 iRV2 Monaco Quartzsite Gathering

We have gone to Quartzsite each January to meet up with some new and old RV friends. We will not be making it this year but you can find the rest of the gang if you go to the Green Campsite that is on this map...


(You can also find an interactive map here.)

I hope everyone has a great time and enjoys the weather while you are in QZ ..and know that SacsTC and I are with you in thought!



View iRV2 Monaco Owners Quartzsite Location in a larger map

The Eagles Are Almost Back!

Some of you already know I am a fan of the Norfolk Botanical Eagle WebCam. The season will be starting soon -but here is a preview of the two. (The previous season has been hosted by WVEC ..I believe it may be the same this year.)



You may notice the view is a bit different from previous seasons. The reason is because the two have been busy building a new nest in a tree which is about 140 feet away from last year's tree.

Reese Lukei from CCB keeps an up to date blog of the happenings at the nest that also has some great photos. (Thanks again Reese and everyone else at CCB that has kept us informed of the "goings-on" at the nest)

You can also order a 2011 "Garden of Eagles" Calendar which will benefit the Wildlife Center of Virginia and will be earmarked for construction of a new permanent home for Buddy.