Pumpkin Blossoms!

Zandmotor aka Sand Engine

Those crazy Dutch have placed 20 million cubic meters of sand along the coast in a special shape so that the wind & waves will move it around and provide up to 20 yes of protection.

Rotterdam 2011

 The Port of Rotterdam.

 Beers on the first day, to help with the afternoon jet lag nap.

Work brought me here last summer, but we stayed in another part of the city. Weather is quite a bit cooler here, and lungs are not used to cold weather running, yet. Nice park near the hotel, though.

What might be different about a jail cell?

Smallest hotel room, ever.

I Will Dismember You

 Troublemaking redbud tree that fell while I was out of town, best possible scenario, though, since it fell away from the house and needed to come down anyway.

 I took off some of the smaller limbs and such with loppers and my hand saw.

 Philip & Jay showed up with their chainsaws and made short work of the truck, but the roots gave them fits, requiring a break for water and blade sharpening.

 This is a barrel full of just roots!

And I have quite the pile for a bonfire this fall! Calling all pyros...and fire safety personnel.

Last Day in South Africa

My favorite of the Big Five--the cape buffalo. Awesome.
Jeff, Geri and I play with some South African kittens. Wow.
This white lioness was lounging in the sun and swatting a fly. So beautiful.

And Johan, one of my favorite South Africans. He taught us a lot about his country in a shirt period of time. And provided one of the best quotes of the trip when he said to me "I bet you were a naughty child, you have a mischief in your eye, you look like you are always up to something!" And he nailed it.

Afternoon Safari in Pretoria

Yes, this is for real. Only designated areas for getting out of the car.
Hard to tell, but this was a hippo across the water. Working on better image from a jumpy video I took.
These look like rocks on the ridge, but they are white rhinos. Two adults, one young'n!
Female ostrich. Head not in sand.
This guy greeted us, as we came into the park.

Diplomatic Photo

Jeff and I take a minute to pose between flags. In the kickoff to the workshop, it was high level, including the US Ambassador to South Africa, the Deputy Minister of S&T for South Africa, and the Science Advisor to the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. I was trying hard not to embarrass myself or my country, so naturally, I chose to blend in by wearing a bright blue dress amongst a room of black suits.

On the Road Again

It's been nice being in one place for a few weeks, now it's time to travel again. 9000 miles away. Spending this week in beautiful Pretoria, South Africa. This is an impressive building across from our hotel. Need to confirm, but I heard it is a National Library. And the spot for tomorrow morning's run! This is me having my first glass of South African wine. It helped with the jet lag travel coma.

another season at rock bottom

That is the name of our league, and each year, we assume it will all fall apart (that's what happens down there), but somehow we get it together. Tirpak is transitioning commish duties to me, as he and Blair plan to make a move soon, and he is too busy for such things now. I plan to add it to my CV and rule this kingdom with an iron fist. Yeah, right.

Long flight, plan of attack

I usually just power through jet lag, but with this flight being so long, a friend who is a pharmacist suggested taking melatonin. Here's to hoping...