Kiva.org

This recent article in The New York Times seemed like a good reason to mention Kiva again. It's just such a great idea and great ideas get me excited and then I can't stop thinking about 'em! Read the article by clicking on the images above, or watch a video here of Nicholas Kristof of The New York Times visiting his loan recipient: a baker in Kabul.

This is a good excuse to mention to a couple certain someones who received Kiva Gift Certificates for Christmas to redeem those things! C'mon folks -- tomorrow is April 1st -- time to take care of business. (micro-loan style)

Anyway.

Gram I posted a couple word games and things to the blog. (Like you need any help kicking everyone's butt at Scrabble. I must be a glutton for punishment.) I hope you like them, I think they are fun. And more fun is to be had shortly, Michael is making a fire in the back yard and I'm on my way out the door.

Michael Behind the Camera

Since my last post featured some of Michael's shutter bugging, I figured I'd keep a good thing going. I had to crop his thumb (or maybe it was a finger) out of the top picture, and his knees out of the closeup shot -- but good work, Honey! You captured the true essence of laziness in these photos :o)

Look at how content Punk is.
Mr. Smoochy Pants! It's really a shame how terribly mistreated all the animals are around here...

What a Bunch of Turkeys

In addition to the fattest, sassiest squirrels on the planet, we get a good variety of wildlife in our trees, yard and nearby woods. One dark, rainy day last fall Michael slipped outside while a number of turkeys were on our front lawn and snapped some pictures with the digital camera. The shots were really under exposed -- basically all black -- but I wasn't able to correct them at the time.

Well, I've been teaching myself some Photoshop baby steps and recently came across these pictures again. I was able to mess with the exposure and color balance... and ta da! The turkeys have reappeared!

I apologize for the distorted water droplets visible in all the pictures. I haven't learned much about retouching yet. Stay tuned! ;o)

Lucky 13 Photo Contest

That's right, baby! WaterMonkey is celebrating 13 Years of Monkey Business! We've put together newspaper ads, flyers, store signs, rules and an entry form -- and we're ready to roll! I can't wait to see what kind of pictures people send us! Visit our website for all the details... and think about entering -- especially Johnny Cat and Jason -- I KNOW the two of you both have Monkey Gear and (excellent) digital cameras!

Adams Point

This morning after breakfast, Michael and I drove out to Adams Point so I could try and get pictures of the herons that we'd seen there on Saturday. I don't know if it was the cold, snowy weather, or what... but the herons were taking the morning off. We walked around the shoreline a little and I photographed a couple of the beautiful rock formations. I love the colors and geometric patterns. Nature is amazing.

I've been visiting Adams Point for more than 20 years (Boy, does it make me feel OLD to write that!) and although the Great Bay and Little Bay areas are becoming more and more developed, this small place is still very simple and nice. I hope it always stays that way. It's important to have places where you can escape and delve into the natural world. Such spots are getting harder to find around Seacoast New Hampshire.

BBC News website Photographer of the Year 2006

This picture is a-m-a-z-i-n-g! I can't stop looking at it! Click on it to enlarge and just look at how incredibly beautiful that sky is!

I was going to write a post about the exhibit we visited today at UNH: The Disasters of War by Goya: Selections from the Georgia Museum of Art. It was interesting, disturbing, provocative and dark. I got online to find a Goya print I could post... and one thing led to another... and I ended up on the BBC website. (Because I'm a news junkie and I always end up there.)

I stumbled upon the photos from their contest, and the winning shot by Max Pickering absolutely derailed my train of thought. From Dark to Light in the blink of an eye.

Pre- and Post- Punk Surgery

Yesterday Punk went to the Brentwood Animal Hospital to have a lump on his back removed and his teeth cleaned. He wasn't allowed any food after 10pm Monday night. To be fair, we picked up all the cat food so Punk wasn't the only one feeling hungry. By Tuesday morning all three of them were sharking around the food bowls and Leo took up post on top of the bucket o' cat chow -- look at the expression on his face in that photo!

Punk had his usual unpleasant ride to the Vet Tuesday morning (he DOES NOT travel well). Even though he was upset, he was very well behaved while I checked him in and talked to the doctor. I felt terrible leaving him there. I got a call a few hours later to tell me that Punk was recovering and doing fine. While they were cleaning his teeth, they noticed one was broken and extracted it.

Michael picked Punk up that night and said everyone commented on what a good boy he was. He had shaved patches on his back, forearm and inside left chop, his eyes were completely dialated and he was pretty whacked out. The after effects of his anesthesia and other drugs lasted through until this morning -- it was a long, restless, sleepless, freaky night for Mr. Punk and me.

By this afternoon he FINALLY started to rest and I was able to take a couple pictures. (Sorry about the close-up of the incision -- Erica always wants to see the details.) Punk is fine now and he's catching up on some well deserved sleep. I crashed this afternoon and took a good, long nap. All is well and slowly returning to normal around here... well, except for Leo. He's having a hard time controlling his urge to wrestle with his brother. Though to be fair, he's being remarkably patient for only having a tiny, LeoKitty brain.

Woo Hoo! Way to Go Gram!

These fireworks are for you, Gram! I'm so happy you figured out how to post comments! Before we know it you're gonna have your own blog! Go CyberGram, Go! We love ya!

Funny Pictures

Tonight, while going through a bunch of photo archive CDs, I found these shots from a trip to Canada. Michael and I have been daydreaming about Canada a lot lately. In the top picture, Michael is "lifting" a giant pine tree in Kouchibouguac National Park.

Check out this hydrant! Unfortunately, Mr. Hanky was the best part of our experience at the worst motel we've ever stayed at. Nasty, nasty, nasty place. As we left the driveway of the Scumbag Motel the morning after a creepy, sleepless night, we thought it was perfectly fitting that he adorned the nearest fire plug. All the hydrants along Main Street were painted with different South Park characters... but Mr. Hanky and that turd-of-a-motel will always have a special place in our memories.

Happy Birthday Jr. Cat Snack!

In March 2003, Peanut caught two baby mice. One was so young it didn't have it's eyes open yet, the other was the same size and did. They were smaller than the tip of my thumb. I didn't have the heart to let the cat kill them and I couldn't throw them outside or flush them or whatever. So, I put them in a cherry tomato container and waited until Michael came home from work. I figured he could do the dirty work.

Well, he didn't want to kill them either.

So that night we fed them milk with an eye dropper and put some cotton in the carton. I named the close-eyed one Lucky and the other became Jr. Cat Snack. I jokingly told them that if they lived a week I'd buy 'em a fancy cage.

Lucky, wasn't. The next morning I found a new container for Jr. Cat Snack, tossed in some raisins, oatmeal and a tiny dish of water and waited to see what would happen.

Here's Jr. Cat Snack on his First Birthday with a pretty fancy cage ...


If you look carefully you can see a nick in his left ear and a kink in his tail. Those are from an escape he made while I was cleaning his cage one day. Over the course of the next three days, the cats caught him over and over again and he made narrow escapes. I ended up putting his cage on the floor with the door open and his favorite food (yogurt chips) inside. A skinny and dented up Jr. Cat Snack ran back into his cage and hasn't tried to break out again.

Here's the Four Year Old now...


Every year on his birthday he gets another chunk of trail-tube, a new exercise wheel (he wears them out) and other toys. He earns his keep by being a source of torment for the cats... he lives in my studio -- a Feline Restricted Area.

Brilliant

For John

Up too late... work fell by the wayside hours ago... was surfin' around... saw these pictures and thought of you, Brother. Have you seen all the beautiful pictures of Saturn from NASA?

Brewski

That dirty, beer swillin' cat!

He's Ready for Lunch

I didn't pose Leo for this picture, believe it or not! I had my camera set up in the living room to photograph an orchid and he flopped himself over the foot stool like this. Doesn't it look like he should have a plate in front of him and a fork in his paw? Or maybe a beer mug near his bent elbow?