Time to do some work around the house…

This is only part of the results of the first storm that dropped several limbs around our property.  I could JUST pull these two together with my 4WD ATV.  A day or two after I got these cleaned up, another storm dropped several more.  I guess it keeps me in shape and out of trouble. :)

I figured you might want to see some of Andy’ handiwork too.

It's fun to be able to look over and see him organizing the work crew for the day before they head out!  We're proud of our boys!

A nice view of a warship and the bridge over the Thames river

This is NOT the London Bridge, however. I believe is it the Tower Bridge.  I am sure you will see more pictures of it…

RetroBlog 2005-06-05

Then I made my way over to parliament

This is a shot of it including the tower that holds Big Ben, one of the famous double decker busses, and a random pigeon. :) This view is looking back towards parliament from the base of the London Eye Ferris wheel. 

RetroBlog 2005-06-05

This is a good excuse to jump in the pond…

I was working on cleaning up the underside of the mower deck…  Needless to say, I got in the way of the falling debris and ended up looking like this.  I cleaned up by taking Zoe and jumping in the pond with her.  It also helped cool me off. :)

In current day, we got a chance to see a little of John’s day at work

Here he's working on printing some graphics and stickers for their projects in the plant.  We're proud of the work both of them are doing in their careers.

I managed to see the changing of the guard.

It sure was an impressive bit of pomp and circumstance!

RetroBlog 2005-06-05

Retro blogging at Buckingham Palace…

So, I am picking up where I left off before Lakeside.  I promised you I was taking a trip to Europe.  Because of the time difference in travel, I usually had about half a day before having to report for work.  I would often use this time to catch some sights on my trips.  This was one case where I explored London.  I managed to get a chance to see Buckingham Palace back in the 2005 time frame.

RetroBlog 2005-06-05

Julie and I enjoyed picking some mulberries together.

It helped me get in my fruits for a couple weeks!  Now the black raspberries are ripe on our property.  They're good too!

Just as we were leaving the park…

…I got the chance to grab a shot of this guy!  I've seen them a couple times before but never had a chance to get a good picture of a red-headed woodpecker.  But I think I did this time! :)

Sometimes, you just have to carry your girlfriend…

I thought this made a cute picture of the two of them. 

We were invited to celebrate Hannah’s graduation with her family.

They had it in this cute little wooded setting at a park.  It was a nice day, and a nice time.  I enjoyed talking with her grandparents and her parent's friends for a long time.  Travel, photography, projects around the house… We had a lot in common.  :)

Zoe has discovered that she can run all around the pond.

She enjoys running and splashing in the shallows, chasing water bugs and nipping at the floating plants.  She and I even went swimming after a long day of work in the yard. She's enjoying sitting there and drying off after.

Julie’s latest wild creature.

She's raising a baby song sparrow named Flappy Bird.  He's been a lot of fun because he's so friendly and interactive.  He comes hopping right over to you and starts talking to you as soon as you enter the room.  When she opens the cage, he flies right onto her arm and starts walking all around and chirping hello. 

Looking easy in San Jose while the sun sets.

I was on the phone with Julie and asked to to hold so I could go grab a shot.  This is that shot.  She agreed it was pretty.  I don't know if she agreed it was worth interrupting her, haha.  The peak just to the right of the lighted lamp post is where the observatory is that I mentioned yesterday.  This is from the same window as yesterday's sunrise shot too.  It's always interesting to me how the same view can look so different depending on the time of day and how you compose it.

Finally got a nice shot of a seagull.

They are usually backlit by the sky so it's difficult to get the light balance right so you can see their colors.  At my hotel in California a couple weeks back, they were flying low and I was on the third floor and could get a better angle.  I like having the added character of the palm trees in the background.  You can zoom in and see the detail of his individual flight feathers. :)

It was sure a busy week of decisions and politics!

Both of the Supreme Court rulings changed the course of those issues which have been needing attention for my entire life or more.  Concealed weapon laws have been at odds with the constitution since the mid sixties (they were targeted at minorities initially, but used against everyone these days).  Roe vs. Wade has been in effect for fifty years… It's encouraging to see those change.  The "children safety bill" doesn't seem to be doing much, seems to be missing some good ways to help, but it doesn't seem to directly infringe rights either.  Time will tell on that.

I could see the observatory from my hotel room…

…It was off in the distance on the hill tops.  I was staying in San Jose.  It's fun to be back out there some and see what's the same, and what's changed.  I remember visiting that observatory back in the 2002 time frame.  I've always enjoyed the golden hills of San Jose.

Sometimes, just taking the stairs is pretty.

I just though this courtyard view made a nice picture.  I usually take the stairs up and down when I stay in a hotel.  I've been know to to that for three or even 23 flights… Sometimes, you even find a nice view.

My Father’s Day contribution

 The kendama community put together an edit of all the Dama Dads out there.  This was my entry.  I got a $10 gift certificate out of the deal.  Andy loaned me his GoPro. ;) The fun part was I got it all in one take.  It’s not pretty, but it’s mine! Haha

This is the pretty view I woke up to

It was a good way to start the morning on my second day of my trip to California.  

Oh yeah, back to current times…

We had a nice celebration of life and accomplishments last night at our church.  Food, singing, and a good reminder to let your light shine in the dark world.  It's been an interesting week of clashing world views for sure.

End of the first day of my trip.

I kind of felt like I'd taken a step back in time next to this old school motel.  I liked the look of the night sky, neon lights, palm trees and mountains.

Some people I know think THIS should be my new slogan…

In pants we trust! Haha.

Still a couple weeks behind on my blog

But, I am off for a trip to California for a few days.  This was a rude awakening to reality when the morning after our arrival home I was already awake to get this flight reminder at 2am…. The airport was crazy too.  I got there about two hours ahead of my 6am flight and STILL almost missed it because of the lines!  ✅Pre-check saved my bacon for sure.

A Lakeside compilation

 You’ve reached the end of our Lakeside trip from a couple weeks ago.  Enjoy a few movie clips I collected along the way.  It starts with watching a little storm blow in, and ends with peaceful waves lapping at the shore.  Thanks for checking out all my pictures and enjoying vacation along with us.

Once we finally got home…

…Zoe was REALLY happy to see us!

A quick stop on the way home for shopping….?

Over the years this little place in Helena has been an antique shop, a flea market, an auto store and now…?

We always wanted to stop and look around but were either anxious to get to Lakeside, or ready to be home and unpack.  So, I finally stopped for a quick picture.  Time hasn't been friendly to this building, but it made for some cool pictures.  It looks mostly abandoned now with someone using it to tinker with car repairs in the back…

It is a milestone year for the lighthouse.

I saw these flags waving while I was on my bike ride to take pictures of the lighthouse. 

Nice Breakfast!

 The good news for you is that I am now posting pictures from our last day at Lakeside so you won’t have to see too much more. ;)

Andy wanted to cook up his nice walleye before we left, so Julie and he made it for breakfast!  Here it is, hot and steamy, ready to eat!  It was yummy of course!

Grow where you’re planted!

I sat on "my" rock and had my quiet time, on our last full day of vacation, on the shore of the lake.  I enjoyed God's nature while praying, and refreshing.  I noticed this flower, growing from the rock.  Life might not be easy sometimes, but grow where you're planted and be a testimony to those around you of the Lord's peace, plan and provision.

I could have sat there for hours…

…watching nature fly and swim by, enjoying the wind and the waves.  I liked this shot with an egret and Perry's monument.  It was a beautiful clear day to end our trip.

Quack!

It was interesting to watch how far ducks would glide on their final approach for landing on the water.  In the process, I was happy I got this shot.  Although I accidentally deleted it, and had to go use recovery software to get it back.  Was it worth the effort?! 

It's amazing to me that I can be sitting on the shore and get detail like this in a picture.  You can zoom in and see something as small as his eye.

Maybe I’ll sail one of these some day?

I captured a nice shot of this boat under sail.  It looks like just the kind of thing I would enjoy.  Julie says she'd join me for a summer on the lake too… Dream big, right?! Hahah.

Andy had to do one better than Hannah…

…He pulled in this nice walleye on our last full day at the lake!  He said he was going to have it for breakfast before we leave the next day.

My mom and my dad

It's alway great to remember the fun times AND the example that my mom and dad are to me.  There is no better place to do that than in the Lakeside area.  The memories flow freely there!  I paid a visit to one of my dad's favorite spots and where my mom has left a marker in his memory.  You can see both in this picture.  The marker is highlighted in the blue rectangle.  If you zoom in, you will see it's a brick inscribed with the words "faithful servant".

Even more fun is that fact that it takes some effort to get a picture with both of these objects in focus.  Dad would have appreciated those details. :)

I pray I live my life as a faithful example too and that others see Christ in me.   

If you’re getting pictures of waves, you might get wet…

My camera was taking a sun bath to dry off.  Luckily, no cameras were harmed in the making of this film!

They say imitation is the greatest form of flattery…

They say imitation is the greatest form of flattery. To the best I could find, I took this from the same spot dad did. No drone tricks either. Just my camera and me braving the same breakwater rocks he had to .❣️ The trees have gown up and block a little of the lighthouse though. ;)

Here was his original version that won a popular choice award in the lakeside photography show in 1977.

We had two girls on our trip that enjoyed playing the Steinway!

Both Hannah and Savannah.  I thought it made a good picture too. ;)

Someone discovered a love of fishing on our trip! :)

It was fun to see Hannah and Andy enjoying it together.  Reminded me of Julie over the years.

I sure wouldn’t recognize the main unit in 512 these days!

Where it all started for us at Lakeside

 I spent many weeks here.  Sometimes on vacation, sometimes in renovations over the years with the Blums.  I sure learned a lot and enjoyed a lot.

I enjoyed watching this!

I was happy to sit and watch this great egret hunt.  Luckily I got a few picture before he flew off to other spots.  Pretty bird, lethal fisherman, not good for ponds… 

THIS made exploring Kelly’s Island worth the trip!

We decided to stop by the old rock quarry and see what we could find.  It was a nice, secluded spot full of wildlife and places to explore.  It was a beautiful day for it too!

Interesting pic…

The vibe from the weather, the tree full of egrets, Cedar Point in the background, and the weird looking churn of the lake all added up to make this an odd (if not interesting) pic…

A happy place on Kelly’s Island

Andy, Hannah and I found a nice little happy place on the very north east tip of Kelly's island up past Camp Patmos.  I could have sat there and listened to the water lapping at the rocks for a long time!

What a nice Father’s Day surprise this morning.

The neighbors surprised me by bringing over all the fixins AND making them up for me.  What a great Bacon Fest.  Turn about is fair play.  I guess I raised them right if they can do that all by themselves and better yet, FOR me. :) Love you John and Andrew, and thanks for a great morning❣️

Thanks for being part of the conspiracy too, Julie 🥰

All time fave?!

This might be one of my all time favorite Lakeside sunset pics…?

Andy found this cool place to hang out

This is just off the beach on Kelly's Island.  I love this shot of Hannah and him walking on the trail.  They're all matchy matchy. :)

Unexpectedly encountering an ocean freighter in the middle of Lake Erie…