Boy with cactus

Just to give you an idea of size, I have included a small lad in this photo.
After some very busy weeks, I have one more work day before vacation begins. The greater part of three weeks I will be without Internet access. Off to Mount Rushmore, the Badlands National Park, the Custer Memorial, the Mammoth Site, Thunder Bay and Dryden. If you are in the area, introduce yourself and I will buy you a Coke.

Buxom cactus

In my high school days, when we lads had to travel out of town for a bit, the favored girls left behind would say, "Look, but don't touch." My suspicion is that the locals would have wished their distant siren sisters were bedecked in accoutrements such as these. Gives a whole new understanding to "the living bra." (Which of the actresses on "Laugh-In" had the line "I dreamt I wore a living bra and it bit me?") Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix, Arizona.
Freud could write a book with this entry.

Sunset over Lake Michigan

The last glimmers of sunset on the last evening of our camping trip. ISO 800; 1/60 sec.; f4.5, 62mm (93mm for 35mm equivalent).

Music I'm listening to: The Irish Tenors, Be Thou My Vision.

I am in my last two weeks of work before three weeks of vacation. You know how that is -- a month of work in the last two weeks and a month of work in the two weeks when you get back.

The voyageurs

The boys are testing out the raft in a place of 2 or 3 foot depth; it is a big lake for a vessel of such seaworthiness.

The raft builders

On the last evening of our camping trip, the boys combined their genius and set themselves to build a raft. These are two digital natives, weaned as cyberboys. I was concerned that cold turkey withdrawal from their toys might be too much, but they filled every minute with activity. On the other hand, the raft might have been a means to head south for their XBox, etc., etc., etc.
(Aside for photographic purists: The horizon may seem tilted, but the further north you get, that happens. At the pole, the horizon is vertical. I lived in New Zealand for a year -- the horizon tilted the opposite way: I have the pictures to prove it.) ;-)
I, as a digital immigrant, tempered my withdrawal pangs by bringing along my camera and my iRiver. (For Toronto Dave: I was listening to John McDermott singing And the Band played Waltzing Matilda, a haunting and poignant ballad of the plight of the wounded after the war is long forgotten.) It was 9:47 in the evening when I took this shot, so ISO was 1250 (hence the graininess), shooting at 1/60 sec (metric time), 29 mm, f4.5.

Gunwhale pumping

The idea is to stand on each end of the canoe and get it rocking until you dump. The water is cold, so even when they were out in the lake, these lads thought it better to be out of the lake as much as possible.



But inevitably, Neptune claims the gamesmen.

The third time they toppled, their zeal had been dampened and they headed for the beach. The air was 27C (80 degrees F), but the water in the straits between Lakes Michigan and Huron was much colder.

Independence Day USA

There have been fireworks for several days (much to the dis-ease of my collie "Guy"). But parades are in the daylight and make it easy to take pictures and small towns are great for "people parades." Happy 230th birthday to the United States!

Canada Day

From the cable car on Grouse Mountain, one of a trio on Vancouver's north side, looking down to inlet and city. The picture below is looking back at Vancouver from the ferry headed over to North Vancouver (one of the ways you can get there in the public transport system.)
Celebrate Dominion (oops, strike that) Canada Day. These are a couple of shots of Vancouver taken several years ago on vacation. What a beautiful city, wonderful people, and great public transportation.

Wild thing

I took 4 or 5 shots of this stump and yellow flower.

Some wild things are well rooted. The camping outing last weekend produced a lot of flower shots, but many more views of meadows filled with a great variety of flowers. So peaceful and refreshing.