Photoblog

I am experimenting with posting pictures on a new photoblog, just to give me something to do. It is at http://www.freewebs.com/mwalters/index.html. Check it out and let me know what you think. My intention is to put a picture there everyday; we'll see how that works out.

Not much is going on here, as usual. Yesterday we watched the shuttle launch from the front yard. I didn't try to take any pictures, as I think they pretty much look alike from this vantage point. (On the other hand, most of my pictures look alike, and that hasn't stopped me so far ...)

We went out to eat at the Chinese place last night, it was pretty good. Not as good as the one in Coca, but it is much farther away, about a 30 minute drive each way. This place is right down the street, so it is much more convenient.

I found a place online to listen to the Aggie football game, so I did that last night, and alternately ran in the next room to watch t.u. get beat. It was a hard game to watch, as I'm not a big Ohio State fan either. I was happy with the result, at any rate.

Hope all are well. Look at my photo thingy and leave some comments, so I can see if it works!

Gulf Fritillary

Gulf Fritillary Laying Eggs
Originally uploaded by mwalters2004.

Here is a shot of a butterfly laying eggs on our Passion Flower vine that I took yesterday. This is the same kind of butterfly that hatched out a week or so ago. This was just a lucky shot; I didn't know it would show this until I looked at it later. I knew what it was dong, but didn't expect to see anything like this. If you look closely you can see one of the eggs near the tip of the butterfly's tail. I think most of this crop of eggs are gone already, as I couldn't find any this morning.

Friday we had another goof-off day, this time it was a picnic for the whole organization. Seems like this place has more picnics and goof off things than anywhere else I've been in the AF. Left work about 11:15, and went. The food was good, and I managed to stay out of the Doritos and beer. After eating a few of us sat around and played spades for a couple hours while listening to the live band they had. They were not too bad. I left there about 2:30 and went to the gym and walked on the treadmill for 40 minutes, then went home.

We've had a nice quiet weekend. Yesterday I got up early and went to the base to get a haircut, then went to the gym for an hour or so. I like it better when I'm not in a rush to get home. Spent a little time outside chasing butterflies, and had a little success. We seem to have a lot more of them around now that the plants are growing in. Usually you don't have to wait more than 5 or 10 minutes to see one now.

Saturday night we went and tried a Chinese place that a guy at work recommended, and it was pretty good. Not a big place, but the food was good and service was good too. We all had a good time, and Anne seemed to be in a good mood and enjoy it too. It's nice to have another restaurant to add to our list.

Didn't do much today. Worked a little outside to try and fix some of the landscape lights that broke some time ago. Two of them are at the base of our three big palms. I'm not sure if the chunks falling out of the trees broke them, or the lawn mowing guys bumped into them. Managed to fix one, I think, but the other is too broken to support itself. We're thinking of having them all replaced with solar-powered lights, then they would be a lot easier to replace if something went wrong with them.

Not much more to say here! Hope all are well.

Swan

Swan nature wildlife
Originally uploaded by mwalters2004.

Here is a picture I took the other night when I took my new tripod (b-day and anniversary present from Sally) out to play with it. I used a longer exposure as an experiment, and think it came out interesting, it's nice and peaceful looking.

The last four days have gone by way too fast, but they were great. My birthday especially was real good. Friday the UPS man showed up with my tripod, which is real nice and allows me to try things I couldn't do before. Saturday and today were nice and quiet. Went to the zoo this afternoon and took some pictures of the alligator and crocodile feeding, some of which are OK but not great. Perhaps you'll see one of them in the near future ..

I'm having a hard time figuring out what to use my birthday loot for, so my current plan is to save it! I need probably one more lens at the wide angle end, and then I will be more or less happy for a while (ha). Other than that, I don't need too much!

Hope all are well!

New Butterfly

New Butterfly
Originally uploaded by mwalters2004.

Here is a newly emerged Gulf Fritillary on our passion flower vine! A nice way to start my birthday, after sleeping in!

We are well. I have been going to the gym real regularly, and feel good! I'm thinking of going 5 days a week rather than just the 3 they give me at work, so I can alternate some of the weight lifting with the treadmill etc. Hopefully I can keep it up, as I feel better and it gives me something to do.

Sally is busy making me a chocolate birthday cake! Can't wait! Wish all of you were here to help us eat it!

Space Shuttle Discovery

Space Shuttle Discovery
Originally uploaded by mwalters2004.

This is the launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery, graciously delayed by NASA until Anne's 25th birthday. I took this from the driveway. It came out better than I expected; at full size you can see the booster tanks. Hope you enjoy it! God speed to the astronauts.

We are all fine here; Sally made reservations for the good Chinese place tonight so we can take Anne and celebrate her birthday! Hopefully the other 200,000 who showed up to watch the launch will have gone home by then (but i doubt it, with fireworks scheduled).

Hope everyone has a great 4th of July!