That Time of Year

Flowers are blooming.

Daffodils

Anemone

Scilla

Bees are buzzing

(actually, these were silent….working on an identification)

And, love is in the air

Got 'em

I learned on Rarebird.org that there were Horned Grebes in the area.  

Sure enough, I started seeing them on the river, too; nothing looks quite like a Grebe, except a Grebe.  The trouble is, they don't stay in one place long.  They float down river and when they aren't floating they're diving.  

After many failed attempts, I was finally able to get enough of a shot to correctly identify them this evening.  

If you'd like to see a better photo, click here.  

I've never seen a Horned Grebe here before.  

They spend their winters on the Atlantic Ocean and breed in Canada.

New Camera

My digital SLR has been on the fritz for several years and I've been relying on my little point and shoot - and phone.  Our friend Alan finally recently convinced me to buy a new camera.  

I am now the proud owner of a Panasonic DMC-FZ1000.  

I'm still getting to know the ins and outs, but it did a relatively good job capturing this fleeting fox in the yard this morning.

Could this be the same animal?  This photo was taken in January 2011.

Spring

This is one of my favorite pictures of my parents.  

I took it for a Girl Scout photography badge in the 1970's.

Today would have been their 60th anniversary.

My Dad passed away many years ago, but I remember their anniversary as a sign of spring because the crocus near our family house would always bloom by this date. There are no flowers out today, but the snow iris are popping up and the days are warming.

Down South

This is always a good time to get out of Toledo, so a few weeks ago we headed to Houston to visit old friends and hit the road for an adventure.

We found a wonderful coffee shop in Alexandria, Louisiana (1921 Jackson Street). 

We drove the Natchez Trace Parkway.  

We learned more about the battle of Vicksburg than we ever thought we could. 

We had the best fried chicken EVER at a place called Walnut Hills.

We found another great coffee shop in Vicksburg.  

Paula took a quick look in the Museum of Coca Cola History and decided we did not need to spend time there.  

We did spend quite some time in the H C Porter Gallery across the street.

We drove through the Mississippi Delta.

We listened to a lot of blues.

We saw the cabin Muddy Waters was born in at the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale, MS.

Courthouse in the town square in Oxford, MS

We spent a lot of time in Square Books - the heart of the Literary South.

City Grocery is on the left.  

It is one of four restaurants owned by Chef John Currence 
- who can really cook great southern food.  

We also ate at Boure and Snackbar.

Yum.

William Faulkner statue on the town square in Oxford

(this and last two photos by Alan Schlesinger)

Faulkner's study at his home, Rowan Oak 

(which has neither Rowan nor Oak)

We counted the blondes at Old Miss.

We soaked up Southern Hospitality.

Exploring the Port of Houston 

It was not easy returning to the Great Frozen North. 

Monroe spreading cheer

One of my favorite movies is the Masterpiece edition of Pollyanna.  There is a scene where Pollyanna brings home a stray dog.  Her Aunt Polly asks "What possible use is a dog?"  Pollyanna replies "Dogs just make you happy to be alive."

Monroe has been going with me to Elizabeth Scott on Saturdays to visit Mom.  We barely make it into the lobby before someone wants to pet him - or just say "hello".  Even those who do not interact get a smile on their face.

Laura and Lotty like to talk about dogs they have had.  

Normally Mom isn't too happy when someone who is visiting her pays too much attention to others, but she doesn't seem to mind when Monroe is there.  It makes her popular.

Busy Busy Busy

The Sunday before Christmas my nieces, Sarah and Katie, brought Monroe to stay for a while.  They will be moving to an apartment in Minneapolis soon where no dogs are allowed.   They will be reunited when they find a nice house to live in.

We had dinner and breakfast with lots of Aunts and Uncles and they made it home in time for a birthday party, then 2 more days of school.

Sunday of that weekend Phyllis passed the torch and Susan and I (mostly Susan) made the potato pancakes for Hanukkah dinner.  It was Patrick's first Hanukkah and he thought it was pretty cool.  He hung out with us for a few days because his Dad was called in when the Monroe power plant went down.

We had 20 for Christmas dinner.  

The Saturday following we had a Maumee Bay brewpub lunch with Deb and Dan and their newly married son Andrew and his wife Maya who were visiting from Portland, OR.  After lunch we headed over to the Mud hens stadium for outdoor hockey.  The Walleye played the Kalamazoo team, kicking off Winterfest.