Lugs. Chicks Love 'em!

...Well, at least this chick does. I think lugs are absolutely beautiful. Plain or filigree, generic or custom, I love them all. Here are some nice ones I've photographed around town:

... on a powder blue Dusika

...on a sage green Puch

... two-tone red and white lugs, on an unusual Glockner Rad with a cool headbadge depicting a mountain range. Notice the pretty filigree work on that pedal! Where can I get pedals like that?

... on an old KTM in olive drab (I love green bicycles!)

... and some simple, austere lugs on a silver Hercules.

To me, a bicycle frame without lugs just seems to lack soul, and this is probably why I can't feel any attachment to the modern bikes whose manufacturers do not use lugged frames. Seeing those welding marks grates on my nerves like hearing nails on a chalkboard.

Is my love of lugs unreasonable? Not according to Rivendell Bicycle Works. They understand! Have a look at their articles "Why Lugs Are Good" and "A Lug Primer".

See also "Lugs: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" by Bohemian Bicycles. Lots of useful information and photos there!

North and South Fowl Lakes

For quite a while now I've known about a road that goes to a boat access on North Fowl Lake on the Canadian side of the lake, but never knew just how to get there. Yesterday I spent the afternoon in Thunder Bay and on my way home I took some time to drive the logging roads and try to find the route to North Fowl Lake. It was actually fairly easy to find (of course, I had a GPS with me so I knew how far away from the river I was. This made it easier to find the route, even though the GPS didn't show any of the roads that I was on). I arrived at the North Fowl shoreline just in time to make the sunset image seen above. As I watched the sun go down I could hear several loons calling from across the lake. Loons are always a treat to hear, but their call is so much more magical when accompanied by a beautiful sunset.



(Above: The sand spit that separates North Fowl from South Fowl)

Now that I knew how to access these two lakes by road, I couldn't wait to get my kayak out on them. So, the next day I crossed the border back into Canada with my kayak and headed back to the boat landing on North Fowl. I spent the whole afternoon and early evening paddling on the lakes, wandering my way around, exploring the shoreline and the many wild rice beds that occupy the lakes. By the time I made it back to the landing I had been on the lakes for about 5 hours and covered over 10 miles. It sure was a great day!



(Above: Launching into the surf on South Fowl Lake)



(Above: "Goose Rock", South Fowl Lake)



(Above and below: I recently purchased a Canon G10 camera and an Aquapac underwater bag for it, with the intention of using it as my primary camera when I am out in the kayak. I also have several ideas for underwater images... one of them being the image below, which is an underwater view of wild rice on North Fowl Lake)

Yesterday's Sunset

Summer at The Villages

We have been settled at Peace River for so long that we have started to grow roots there. It has been a great place to grow some roots and yet we have still looked forward to traveling again. We considered heading out to travel this spring but decided to stay put for just a bit longer. To give us some sort of a compromise between traveling and staying put we decided to go to The Villages for the summer.




The Villages is the place we visited Rich and Donna last summer. We fell in love with it during our short stay here with them. There is pickleball everywhere in The Villages. Beyond the great pickleball, there are tons of other activities to do here. It is a great way to have a lot of options while staying in one place. We rented a place for the summer so we could have plenty of time to soak up the fun there.




We were up and ready to head out before I am normally even out of my PJ's this morning, which says a bit about how excited we were to get to our summer spot. We had a nice drive up, passing right by Aric on the way. We were tickled pink with the house and the neighborhood we will be at for the next few months. I think the outside space will be our favorite space when we are at the house. Ava seems to agree so far!





Since Aric is so close by, we also managed to get him to come and spend the night with us. We are hoping he will visit us a lot while we are here! We have plenty of room for him and the other kids so we hope to get visits from all of them. We are looking forward to many good memories this summer!

a date which will live in infamy

photo - remember December 7th poster
http://www.umkc.edu/lib/spec-col/ww2/aboutimages.htm#phposter

photo - USS Bennington
http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/images/u030000/u036055.jpg
The USS Bennington (CVA-20) passes the wreck of USS Arizona (BB-39) in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on Memorial Day, 31 May 1958. Bennington's crew is in formation on the flight deck, spelling out a tribute to the Arizona's crewmen who were lost in the 7 December 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Note the outline of Arizona's hull and the flow of oil from her fuel tanks. Official U.S. Navy Photograph.

• University of Missouri - Kansas City Voices of World War II
  
• USS Arizona (BB-39) Memorial at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
  
• National Park Service USS Arizona Memorial
  
• USS Arizona Preservation Project
  
• National Park Service Photo Gallery
  
• The University of Arizona Library
  
• USS Arizona and Pearl Harbor Remembered

Toys for Kittens

There are lots and lots of ways to entertain a kitten. It is not necessary to go to the store and buy fancy, expensive toys for cats. First -- as seen in the photo-- is the stuffed animal. I have found that boxes are a favorite as seen in the following pictures. Wiley our new kitty loves the boxes that RC Cola come in. At this time he is about 8 weeks and still fits into one. Our grown cats need something a big bigger. Easter eggs, the plastic kind, are a good toy. They roll but not straight like a ball. Wiley will carry a half an egg in his mouth that is open. He likes to carry wadded up copy paper. Plastic water bottles are good as they don't roll straight either. Drop a couple of pebbles in it to rattle. You can try egg cartons, pens, and pen caps. pieces of candy wrapper, crunched up cigarette packages, old socks with a knot in them, plastic cups, and small bowls.
Of course they love string and pieces of rope but this should only be used with supervision as they can choke to death on a string very quickly.
Remember to never let them have plants, or anything sharp to play with. All house plants should be considered poisonous as there is no telling how an individual cat will react if they eat part of one. The same with all medicines. Never give a cat any kind of medicine with out your vets approval . Even aspirin can be deadly to cats. Never give a cat things like needles, straight pens, or any tiny object that it could swallow. A sudden death or big vet bill is not fun for the kitty or you.
Just like children and puppies, cats shouldn't have plastic bags to play with. To the kitten it looks like fun, but they can suffocate quickly if it gets over their head.
Remember your kitten is a baby. He needs frequent rests while playing. If you keep encouraging him to play he will, but could get overly tired and become sick.
Just a few of the things I have remembered since I now have a kitten.

A Morning Visitor

Thursday, September 20th - - As I was taking down the tent, then waiting for it and the tarp to get dry, I saw movement down on the beach - an eagle had landed. The tide was low and the eagle was apparently looking for some little tidbit in the detritus along the shore. I quietly got the camera out of the van and slowly approached the edge of the bank overlooking the bay and was able to get off several shots before the eagle took off. . . these are cropped versions of the original images.

Chocolate making in Brussels

Brussels is the chocolate centre of the world and I had the chance to attend a chocolate making session in the European capital last month.

If you have been reading this blog, you would know of my penchant for anything else other than sweets. Now, I was in Brussels for work, and after the business meeting we were given the option to participate in a beer tasting session or a chocolate making session.

I was quite confused about the agenda actually as it was a last-minute surprise, thus I ended up following the women to another location where the chocolate making session is held. Had I known about the beer tasting option, I would have changed course.

We first had a chocolate history lesson and some chocolate snacking. Afterwards we were asked to dress in plastic gowns, plastic head caps and plastic shoe covers before we start the actual hands-on activity. The whole dressing up process was like a déjà vu to me. More than a decade ago I used to sell enterprise software applications and services to the manufacturing industry in the Philippines. By protocol, visitors to these production sites are covered head to toe with head caps, lab gowns, and shoe covers. This was a standard ritual for me back then.

Anyway, we proceeded to the basement of Planete Chocolat and started the chocolate making session.

Honestly, I don’t think I paid any attention at all. I was too busy taking pictures and just going along with the flow to have a good comprehension of the whole chocolate making process, haha.

It was a nice event though. At the end of the chocolate making session we were treated to a hot cup of chocolate drink. We were also able to bring home the chocolates we made. A handy present for the Dutchman.


Most of these pictures were taken by my Nokia Mini phone and a few from my iPhone.

Yellowstone :: West Thumb Geyser Basin

Wednesday, August 31st - - After spending the night at one of the campgrounds in Buffalo Bill State Park west of Cody, Wyoming it was a relatively short drive (a little over an hour) to the eastern entrance to Yellowstone National Park. Then another 30 miles to the campground at Bridge Bay in the southeast portion of the east side. I had decided to give the park a “second chance” since simply driving through it last year just before the Fourth of July weekend. My visit this time was quite pleasant with less people, far less traffic, and much cooler temperatures!



After checking into the campground, which would be my “base” for two nights, I drove the southern loop through the park. My first stop was the West Thumb Geyser Basin, which overlooks Yellowstone Lake, the largest lake at high elevation (7,733 feet) in North America – it encompasses 131.7 square miles, is 14 miles wide and 20 miles long, with an average depth of 140 feet. In other words, it is HUGE! And beautiful, with the Absaroka mountain range on its eastern side.





The volcanic caldera at West Thumb contains many geothermal features including pools, springs, geysers, and paint pots. Above is a view of the central portion, which sits above the lake. The geysers, however, are currently in a dormant stage, thus no eruptions were seen.





The Abyss Pool is one of the deeper hot springs in the park, descending to a depth of 53 feet.





The trail guide states that Black Pool was, at one time, actually black. Cooler water temperatures allowed thick mats of dark green and brown thermophiles (heat-loving microorganisms) to grow in the pool, causing it to appear black. The water temperature rose during the summer of 1991, killing the organisms.





Walking alongside the pool on the boardwalk you could feel the heat from the hot water. At times, the steam rising from the pool was so thick you couldn't see the other side!





The water appears to be turquoise but it was so clear you could easily see portions of the bottom. There were several deeper areas – the “black holes” where the bottom could not be seen.





Interesting formations line the sides of the pool.



Constantly in a state of change, new features appear every day.



Hot water from Black Pool and other features in the area flows into Yellowstone Lake. The color variations are caused by those little thermophiles – microorganisms that thrive in the hot water.





Along the shore of Yellowstone Lake is this feature, called Big Cone. It's difficult to tell from the angle of the photo, but the cone rises about 12 inches above the outer surface.





Boiling hot water bubbles up in the Big Cone.



Further along the path and completely surrounded by water is the “Fishing Cone” so called because Mountain Men told of catching a trout in the lake, swinging the pole around, dipping the catch in the boiling pool, and cooking the fish without even taking it off the line! Sometimes in spring and early summer the Fishing Cone is underwater due to the rising lake waters from snow melt.