The Heron is back

 While making the salad and looking out the kitchen window, I saw this very big heron land on the deck railing.  It noticed me while I was backing away and going for my camera.  It flew to the garage roof where I managed to get a quick shot of it.  It then flew down to the edge of the pond, and as I was trying to sneak up to take a shot over the deck railing, it saw me and ran to the neighbors yard, where it has room to spread its wings and fly away.  It is a huge heron.

 This is the tomatoe that grew from the plant on the deck.  There are 2 more.  The one that grew on the garden tomato was full of flavour.  I really must try to keep them watered next year.

These are some of the ingredients that go into the mulligatawny soup.  Basically, it is a chicken, rice and vegetable soup.  I made a double recipe and have 10 of the 590 ml containers to add to my frozen soups.  I have made minestrone soup, and a squash with quinoa soup, also.  I have about 18 pints of the purple plums preserved and frozen.  I will be making a few more soups to freeze, for the convenience of having prepared lunch items.  We are trying to stay away from the high sodium canned soups available at the stores.  In this regard, Campbells Soups are shutting down several of their plants, due to the slowing down of their soup sales.  This is probably partly due to the economy and perhaps partly due to people wanting to eat more 'healthy'. I must say, the soups I have made so far are delicious.  I make my own chicken stock, and have now started to make my own beef stock, also.  I have made fish stock, also, but have none on hand right now.  These stocks add so much flavour and goodness to the soups.  I use them when I prepare rice or quinoa, also. 
Oh yes, we had a fig from our tree for dessert this evening also.  The green apples you see in the photo are from our backyard tree.  They are golden delicious, but not yet ripe.  The recipe called for green apples. 

Water Iris in July

 This is the gorgeous water Iris.  I spent a few hours playing in photoshop to learn how to make black backgrounds.  Using the layer mask method produced the best one.  It took time to get the edges nicely finished. 

 Here is the same iris before I messed with it in photoshop. 

 This is the white water iris.  It photographed it with the dark background.  I only darkened the background a bit and tried to make the white pop more by using a selection and inverse selection with adjustments ... all on layers.
These water irises do not have a very long bloom period, but they are lovely.  After blooming the leaves add a nice vertical aspect to the pond.

This photo is taken while sitting on my newly positioned bench and shooting towards the top of the garden over the cleaned up thyme circle.  oops.. left a few bamboo leaves on the thyme.  Its kinda strange that I am not seeing many bees on the thyme right now.  There were quite a few earlier.  That golden oregano is more yellow than the picture shows.  I should have adjusted that spot in photoshop.

I have the front garden weeded and watered.  The lupines are mostly planted out in the front garden, this year.  I must be diligent in keeping the daisies, grass and violets out of everything.  I love my black bamboo but its getting to be a bully with its shoots popping up everywhere.  I cut them off, now, as digging them up creates havoc in the garden beds.  Dead heading is an ongoing process, too, of course.  The lupines are all doing nicely and have grown considerably after getting out of their training pots.  The blue grass that I moved is surviving nicely too.  I used up a bag of the compost on these transplants, around the front.  I put a lupine in the clay pot Tara left behind.  This pot has a white achillea growing in it.  I added compost and top soil to the pot and put this out in the front garden by the boxwood hedge.  I also moved the little blue hosta back by the bench.  I managed to get a transplant for each side of the bench.  This transplant seems to be doing well, too.  I did a bit of rock work to make a couple of stepping stones to get to the bench from the sundial circle rock surround.  The thyme really does not like to be walked upon very much, so this will be another way to get to the bench.
I have chopped down the big plants in the woodland area and cleaned it up, watered it.  There were thistles, bindweed, and that huge herb (angelica - maybe--it has lovely ferny leaves and smells rather like licorice).  I transplanted Andy's Dougie tree out of its pot back there in the woodland.  I took out a sumac tree that was hanging over the fence.  I may not keep that Douglas Fir tree... although I could cut off the lower branches as it grows and just let it grow.   So, I have a start on cleaning up the woodland.  I refilled the pot that Dougie was in and transplanted an annual, Leptospernum.  The plant is quite big and was a bargain at the Mr. Grocer store a few days ago.  I moved this pot beside the door of the suite, so will have to be careful of watering it in this out of the way spot.  The other big plastic pot has a borage in bloom and I have added a lupine to it.  It lives on the back patio by the garage door.  My big green compost bin is heaping full.  They will come to empty it next week.

We had thunder and lightning storms the last couple of nights, but very little rain.

The Rock and Alpine Garden Club Sprring Show

This is a fine alpine plant shown at the Rock and Alpine Garden Club's Spring Show of a previous year.
This year the show is on April 15th and 16th at the Cadboro Bay United Church, 2625 Arbutus Drive.  There are  door prizes and sale of alpines, as well as a very good display of the show plants that have been  judged.  I have room for a few more little plants.  The ones that are growing in  partial shade (under a deciduous tree) and in gravel over clay seem to be thriving.  All the wrong growing things for alpines.  On my specially made little rockery at the back, I have a terrible time getting the plants to survive and grow.  My primulas are doing well in  the winter wet conditions in  clay at the back too.  Its been threatening rain the last few days and I have had my income tax return to prepare.  So, that is  finished.  Tomorrow I get my new computer.  So, there will  be another few days of a 'learning' hill to climb.  But if the sun is out... I  will be out in  the garden... the computer can wait!
I have my photos from our trip to view and sort.  Then I have been thinking about getting some of my old web page finished.  I need albums done for the Gardening  page.  When I finish these albums, I want to make a sub page that will show the highlights and changes each year in the garden. One of the gardening albums I finished last year is the paths and garden art, and I rather like this one.  The water garden album is also finished in  three  parts. Click on the thumbnail photos to take you to each of the albums and navigate back with the menu at the bottom of the albums.     The Travel page is now 6 years in arrears for its albums. I am especially happy with the Danube River cruise we took in 2005.  A very special one.   I have bits of each year done up, but I need to organize them into the albums and create each one.  The travel notes take a bit of time to do.  My town page is still  totally in  the planning stage.  I make the albums with  Photoshop and rework every page of each album, of course.  There is music on the page so it might load slower and some  people may not be able to get the music either.  There is a control to turn off the music if you do not want it.

Our Megashot, huge portal for photo uploads, and networking; with critique forum, ecommerce, customization of your own  page, communities, contests and much more is  going into version 2 and should soon be made.  Cyrus is working almost 24/7.  I have no idea how he gets all the stuff  done.  Our membership is growing steadily, too.  I need to spend time on the site, also.

Gardening in Summer

The thyme circle in bloom on July 21, 2010

The little rockery in the front garden on July 21, 2010.  You see the white perennial snapdragon beside the iberis in the front.  The snapdragon is an excellent little rockery plant.  The blue poppy just behind them has died.  No idea why. This area has had some attention this year and should be looking good next year.   There is an orange lily that was given to me and there is another lily that is just now coming up.  It is an oriental lily and should be taller and fragrant.  I have a daphne that is going to become a small shrub over time, and fragrant too.  It is new this year from the Rock and Alpine show and sale.  I am happy to say it is doing fine, now too.  The smaller daphne on the back garden rockery is in bloom now.  It is going to be another good rock garden plant.

This is a close up of the holes that some little wasps are building in between the stones of the stone path.  There do not seem to be as many of them now.  I have been seeing little wall lizards around the back and the front garden.  There has been garden snakes across the street in the wild park.  Hopefully they will migrate into my garden.

The last two photos are also from July 21st.  They are the decorative seed heads from the pasque flower and from the unknown plant that seeds itself every where.  I think I will call it the lovely nuisance.  I think it arrived in the bird seed, as I have seen finches feeding on the seeds.

This morning I watered around the front a bit.  I moved some of the Lady's mantle to a few new spots.  Its a very hardy plant.  It was growing over the path to the water meter.  I now have the path cleared, and some cement blocks and  flat stones put in place for the water meter reader, who seems to be quite helpless and blind.  This spot is ugly, but I am becoming accustomed to it.  I think my best heather did not survive  the move.  It looks like its dying.  I watered at the back a bit and did a bit of deadheading and topped up the pond.  The apple tree is loaded with fruit and is leaning way over.  There are no gold plums, as the late frost killed the blooms.    On Monday, I walked from the mall and brought home an erodium and another little rockery plant for the front garden.  I think our heat wave is over now, so I should be able to put them out in the ground now.  We have had some very hot days but today is cooler and cloudy.  Hoping for rain.

We went for lunch to the Gorge Vale golf course and we were to Matticks Farm at that golf course this week.  I had a spinach salad both places, both very good.
On Tuesday I found I had won $1000.00 on the extra of a lottery ticket.  We now have to go out to the casino to collect any winnings over $200.00.  If you win over $9,999.99 you must go to Richmond to collect.  We got out to the casino and found that I needed picture ID, which I did not have, to cash this winning ticket.  The whole process was extremely annoying.  I missed seeing this winning ticket on the lottery website.  This website is also a very annoying set up.
Last nite I set up a new 'Abstracts" community on Megashot.  It seems to be well attended for a new community.  My Adsense Ads  are not going to make me rich!  I have earned about $27.00 so far.

Our trip to Ecuador and Peru - Getting there

We had an early flight out of Vancouver, via Houston, and then to Quito, Ecuador.  Pat arranged our air fare from Victoria to Vancouver and our over night at the Fairmont Hotel, by paying with our Visa Points.  This was an adventure, in itself.  He persevered and used the points.  We taxied out the airport and caught our flight (No. 1 airplane - I will do a count of the airplanes we were on).  later in the afternoon.  Collected our bags and walked and walked in the Vancouver Airport.  Its a lovely place, but sooo much walking.  We checked into the Fairmount and went to dinner.  Maria had arranged to give us our dinner.  We really do have the best Travel Agent.   Upon inquiring, an Airport help person told us that we would need to be 3 hours early for our check in to Continental Airlines in the morning.  Our departure time was at 7:40 so we were up by 4:00 am.  We were far too early, of course.  Continental were not even open when we got down.  Finally got checked in and bags going through to Quito.  I get a few sunrise photos out of the windows in the lounge. 

on our way, at last.

This might be Annicus Island. not sure.  If anyone knows please tell me.  Its flying over Vancouver.

More of the Vancouver sunrise.
We manage to catch a nap after breakfast on the plane.

Flying into Houston.. I have no idea what these circles might be.  Please tell me if you know. 

More of Houston. 
We get off this Flight No. 2 and have no trouble finding our Continental flight to Quite.  Through the line ups.  We each have a light carry on bag.  We seem to have packed properly and do not lose anything going through the checks.

Over Quito, Ecuador.  This is our No. 3 Airplane.  We have a nice dinner, with wine, and again a nap. We get into Quito about 11:00 pm.  after a 5 hour flight.  Long line ups but no hassels.  We are met by our Celebrity representative, on our bus and checked into our room before 12:15.  We are at 12000 feet altitude, so must be mindful.  Pat and I both have slight fever and headaches.  Its been a long day, but a good one.  Pat took a pill for the altitude.  I took a tylenol.  To sleep.. with a meet in the lobby at 8:45 in the morning.  I think we are 3 hours earlier here.  Pat is keeping track of it.  But I set my wrist watch for this time, while at home.  This is March 5th.

In my garden yesterday  I managed to get the shrubs on Parmar's side of the house clipped back.  Dug out self seeded holly trees, dandilions and blackberries.  Cleaned up the clippings and have a wheel barrow full for the compost bin.  It was raining and I caught a chill, but am happy to have this done.  I have a camas growing in pure clay by the chimney.  It is underplanted with bishops weed, and has a back drop of the deep purple Jackamani clematis.  This little corner has a Japanese anemone, the pink Simplicity rose and the burning bush to screen their garbage cans from my front entryway.  In front of the rose, the boxwood hedge begins at that end.
In my Garden today, I planted out most of the alpines I had purchased at the rock and alpine show on Saturday.  Since we are going to be away, again this summer; I put the tiny drabas, and others, right into the small rockery.  I am hoping they get established by July and will survive.  I used up a bag of sand, and a bag of pea gravel, as well as a bag of compost.  I have yet to plant the fussy ones.  The pleiones, a daphne and a blue poppy.  These really should go into pots, but I do not want them drying out, so I will put them in the ground and hope they survive.  The pleiones need spagham moss to grow in.  The daphne is going to grow to 5 x 5 so it needs a spot with good drainage yet moisture retentive.  The little rockery is too small for it.  It may have to take pride of place in the front by the little rock wall.  Maybe the pleiones and the blue poppy can be in the same area.  I have a lovely little silene and a few other little rock plants in the area. 

Weeding and planting

This rock is for you, Jaromey. Its a lava rock from the roadside near Clearwater. :-))
This rock is in the inner garden at the front and is surrounded by a globalaria (a very good plant), some thyme, and you can see the leaves from the fern leafed peony. Sorry to say, I forget the name of the bright blue one. The other rocks are flat and part of the rock path.

Today was another perfect day. Bit of clouds and warm. I finally got outside at about 2:30. The slight breeze kept me hatless, but the sun was not too strong. I pulled back mulch in the veggie garden and planted a few little rows - lettuce, radishes, yellow beans, swiss chard, cosmos, marigolds. I covered the seeds with a very light sprinkling of top soil. I put grass clippings between the rows. I have a couple of feet of space to plant tomatoes when I get them. I replanted the dill, as it did not seem to be germinating. I think the spinach is germinated, and the sunflowers.

I transplanted the daphne and the cyclamen into the new little rockery and added more pea gravel mulch over it all. Weeded it, although I have been keeping it really clean.

I did some weeding in the bed by the garage and next to the sidewalk. These beds are not too bad for weeds either. The newest area is pretty clean. The rhodos and ferms need a little more attention, but I will do them when I get to the space under the deck. This is dense shade but gets water when it rains and water drips down through the deck boards. I want to make a shady sitting area under here, eventually. I will need more cement pavers.

I have started to clean up the Japanese garden area. The little stone path and the beds have violets growing in every possible crack. The soil is moist right now, so it is easier to pull them out. It looks so much better when cleaned up.

I was out for about 3 hours today and got quite a bit done. My back is complaining though... just new muscles being exercised, I guess. We don't have much on this week so I hope I can be out in the garden without worrying too much about fingernails and hair! I think I got a bit of sun today, but can't really see it yet. I didn't get out and take photos. Maybe when I have things a bit more cleaned up.

There are so many of the plants in bloom now. This is the best time for my little rockeries. I am happy to see the lewisias expanding. The bulb oxalis are in bloom and looking good.

Gardening.... continued

This trillium is called 'wake robin'. It is red with these lovely spotted leaves. This one is a transplant from a year ago from the specialty nursery on Saltspring Island (sorry, I have forgotten the name of the place). I have 2 other trilliums from them planted in this newly created 'rock garden/woodland area. Last year I made this new little garden by turning over some grass and putting stepping stones through it to the vegetable garden / lewiisia rockery. There is a tiny 'trillium' garden with an lovely anemone hepactica just beneath the Harry Lauder's Walking Stick (twisted branches of a variety of hazelnut). I don't see the dodecathenon or the ethronium showing in this new area. Although, I have some ethroniums doing very well in the woodland area at the back. Our lovely little indiginous lillies. I have yellow and white varieties. I should transfer some seed to the new area, as I understand they are impossible to dig up and move.
This is a tall trillium with a large flower. It is in the woodland area of my back garden. I am always happy to see it showing among the invasive blue bells and the other large plant it is near. I don't recall the name of the plant, but these dark green leaves look very nice in the photo.
This little trillium now has 2 flowers. It is in the front garden, by its large round rock. Today, I weeded out the violets and other invasive plants from near it. It seems to like the soil created from using bark mulch, and from the leaf fall of the black bamboo. The violets are running rampant again. You can see one in the lower left corner of the photo. They are pretty plants but they just take over! So, I must get my soil to the point where I can easily just pull them out. In my basic clay soil they get a good grip and the roots just stay put to come up again. I need more bark mulch, I guess.
This is another very good Primula vulgaris. Outstanding color on this one. It makes a tight bunch with multiple flowers. I think I should divide this one after it is finished blooming.

The primula marginatas in the pot and in the lewisia rockery are both coming up, and showing blooms. They both look a bit stressed though. I wonder if they need more 'lime'.

Yesterday, I was at Cannor Nursery to get some fish. I have 6 new goldfish - 4 of the least expensive 'comets' and 2 sarasa. It was a nice sunny morning, but when I was at the nursery, the wind came up and was very cold and raw. I have wind burn on my face from being out in it. As well as the fish I bought a few seeds: marigolds, dill, sunflowers and cosmos.

Now my uploading seems to be fixed for the moment. I went to the help forums for Blogger and found some interesting info. It seems our photos are loaded to Picasa albums and then to the blogs. I never knew I had such a thing. Well, blogspot bloggers check you dashboard and to the bottom and look at your Picasa albums and the limits. Apparently I am using " You are currently using 397 MB (38.77%) of your 1024 MB. " Thereafter, we can upgrade our storage space! Interesting.

This morning, after Capiccino, Pat drove me over to the Rock and Alpine show and sale. The show seemed to me to be rather less than what it has been. I don't know what has happened as I have not been attending the meetings. Perhaps some people have moved or are traveling. Beaver Creek Nursery was there. This is a great source for special rock and alpine plants. The plant list on Roger Barlow's website is very helpful. I bought a $15.00 tufa rock and two little plants. One a salix repetans (spelling) and a tiny lupine with silvery leaves, as well as a creeping phlox from the club sale. The people in the sale room seemed very sparse compared to the usual numbers. Oh well, guess clubs go through these changes.

The purchase of my tufa rock inspired me to go out and look at where to put it. I want to add to the lewisia bed beside the vegetable garden area. So, I moved the heavenly scented daffodil. There were lots of bulbs!!! I now have this daffodil all over the gardens! After I got back from the show, I decided to walk over a couple of blocks to see what the rezoning notice was about. Seems they want to make a duplex on their large lot. Well, the exciting part for me was that on the way I found that someone had dumped some rocks in the deer pasture, just across the street from my place! Just what I need! I got my wheel barrow and collected these rocks to complete the new addition to the lewisia bed! Now how convenient is that? I needed a few little rocks and they just appeared! So, I have a few more perennials to remove from the area, and then I will have space for the tufa rock and a few choice rock plants. I will probably let the new little area settle until next year. I have room for a few plants in the front little rockeries.

Gardening

I don't know just what is wrong with this persepctives shot, but something about it just niggles at me.

It was another nice day. I raked some leaves, clipped down the pink rose, the jackimani clematis, and the burning bush, all of which are in the same corner of the garden. They will come to take my big green bin full of stuff away tomorrow and leave me another bag of compost. Next I should start weeding the violets out of everywhere, as well as other weeds. But, starting with the Japanese garden area, as it looks so much better when it is weeded, trimmed and the gravel refurbished. Hopefully I will get the area where I am growing moss uncovered so the moss can grow.

Yesterday I loaded the 'Riga' photos to my travel album on Multiply. I still need to do Vilnius and Amsterdam. I have my Flickr groups caught up to date, have reduced my number of groups and contacts. It is a bit more livable now. Next on line, I should finish another album or two for my old home page. No one goes there, which is probably a good thing. Its just my travel pictures and other ramblings, and very amateur.

Cyrus' new site is slowly progressing. It is so exciting watching this beautiful site grow. Its gonna be terrific, I am sure, and well worth all his effort and expense.

Pat received his fat man steering wheel today. What an adventure. Arthur's sister, in Ontario arranged to go and buy it and ship it out to him. It is in very good condition and will be a really trick item for his new old Model T-- which is a beauty, too. Pat has been doing floor boards for it most recently, as well as got Pat Houle to make him a small part. There will be more to do. This is going to be grand when finished and painted up. I hope he keeps his Speedster, as he has a fine place for storage now.

Daffodils

The crocuses are about finished their show. Now the daffodils are beginning to open. A cheery sight when the sky is overcast and gray. The little blue anemones are in bloom also. I must make a bed somewhere with the blue as the carpet and the daffodils higher in the sea of blue. The bed along beside the gargage would be a good place to pop in a few daffodils. The tulips from that area seem to need rejuvenation anyway. The tulips do not bloom the same time as the anemones, so I shall add a few daffs there. And perhaps get a few anemones for along the driveway where the daffs are currently.

Himself cut up the trees for firewood. I swept up the patio area and we put the twigs,l sawdust etc. onto the rhodos. I then washed down the patio area. By the time I finished it was beginning to rain so that was the end of the gardening for the day. This area looks good, now. The moss is still growing but I kinda like this moss rather than the plain of textured concrete. The moss also extends up the path that goes around the garage. It adds a patina to the garden, making it look established and old... which it is. This part of the garden was started in 1988, so 20 years old.

The water garden looks good filled up. It is not losing any water and there were 3 fish visible in a quick look at it.

Some Gardening Stuff

Pat got home on Sunday. Thanks Dan and Irene for all you have done to help him get his 1912 Ford Torpedo Roadster. As the car is not yet completed or drivable, it is still in Dan's trailer. They might bring it up to us in a couple of weeks.

Yesterday Pat got some good groceries in. We had a scrumptious salad with avocado and scallops with peaches and frozen yogurt for dessert. A chardonay white wine. Yumm

This is a macro photo of the Iceberg Rose that blooms prolifically by the front door. The other one is one of the iris shots from June. I used these 2 photos on Flickr to thank Cyrus and Ken for their help in getting the ban lifted from the Canon Macro group, that this shithead control freak calling herself Captain Morgan... go figure .... put on me. The Admin of the group.. Greetz made me a Moderator along with her of the Group. Too funny. Hopefully that weed will soon be weeded out of the Canon S3 IS group. She deleted their entire Welcome thread because it was too long. Good grief what an idiot.

Gardening stuff? Oh yeah. I attached the old yellow sprinkler and it worked perfectly this year, and got some of the back watered. I filled the pond. I saw 5 of the new fish hanging around under the water fall. One of them was small like they were when I bought them. The others were twice the size. I wonder what happened to the tiny one. We had some red lettuce from the veggie garden, but the rest of the stuff is not going to amount to much. I have no idea why things are not growing in that soil. I shall have to add more manure I guess. Regular watering would help too, I guess. The yellow plums are almost ready. The first figs are starting to get brown. I need to mow the lawn and continue with dead heading, weeding and watering. In the Fall, I shall have to replace the little cedars along the fence by old weird's place. Funny how the cedars there all died but not the ones at the front that are in soil that is much more clay! The old baggage has been killing my trees.

Pete and Audree stopped in for a short visit on Saturday. Was good to see them. Hopefully we will get together with them at month's end for a week end and a trip to Steeples for a gala dinner for their anniversary. I don't know what they will do with their new little puppy. It is so cute and smart. They are getting it paper trained already and it even listens to them when they tell it to stop biting or barking.. its really just doing a natural puppy play thing, but it obeys them really well already.

Hollyhocks - Actually its FOXGLOVES, thanks, Cyndie

Sunny Summer

This photo is a scan of a slide (on my Epson 4870 scanner) of Fujichrome Velvia 50. Its a rose in my front garden.

I am getting a few more of my 'under construction' pages finished. There are 55 under photography to do and I have finished 5 so far. Most of these albums are going to be small. So, once I get started doing them, it should not take too long to finish this 'photography' page. They will probably be updated, also, as I improve my photography skills -- I hope.

Gardening Under Construction pages

This finishes the under construction pages of the Gardening page of my web site. There were 18 of them on the gardening page. I also have 18 to do for the Travel page, next.

Under construction pages

Loaded the October, November and December "under construction" pages to my website.

I used my Canon S3 IS for the November shot to get the good bokeh on the leaves.

More Under Construction pages

I loaded the 'under construction' pages for August and September. I really like the golden catapillar with his surrounding habitat.

This is going faster than I thought it might go.

Under construction pages

I have added the under construction pages to my web site for the unfinished albums of June and July. Only a couple of hundred to go.

Island Challenge

This is about the only good photo I got from the Island Challenge tour (pre 1927 cars). We toured around Victoria to some interesting places I have never been to before. It was good to see everyone. No one from Campbell River will be at this week-end's Can Am. That leaves us to speak to holding the meet in Canada next year. I hope Finalys are there, and can volunteer to hold it somewhere on the mainland next year.

I have 3 jars (apx 1 cup) of blanched plums, frozen. Gave some to A & T. I picked the grapes also, and shared them. When we get back from this week end, I should pick more blackberries to freeze. We are eating tomatoes (few) and spinach from the garden.

Today, a most wonderful boquet arrived at our house. The Grants send their thanks for the B & B. The flowers are a very classy move. They are gorgeous and have a lovely vase with them too.

I am taking my 35mm Canon, my old digital, and my new S3 IS on this short trip. Hope I get an opportunity to get some good shots to finish off the Velvia on the 35mm. I am anxious to see how the time exposures turned out... or not -- probably or not.

I have been spending hours and hours on this beta blog stuff. Mainly due to my limited knowledge of how things work.

I have been spending quite a bit of time reading on photo.net too. Philip Greenspun has taken back the management of the site. He has run Brian M. off the site, it seems. Nasty stuff. Must wait and see how things shape up with all the revisions. It might be a totally new and interesting site. I would not doubt that Brian will surface again. Hopefully with a web page critique site. That would be fun.

The wars continue in Afghanistan and the Middle East. Not something I like to think about at all.