Sunbathers!

Marco enjoying the afternoon sun!

Jackson catching some rays!

Tornado April 2011



Last night we experienced the worst weather to hit the south in over 40 years. A tornado a mile and a half wide that started in Alabama traveled some 400 miles through Georgia. The death toll from these severe storms that roared across the U.S. South has risen to at least 209 across five states with Alabama and Mississippi each reporting increases in the number of deaths in their states. Alabama's state emergency management agency said it had confirmed 131 deaths, while there were 32 in Mississippi, 24 in Tennessee, 13 in Georgia, eight in Virginia and one in Kentucky. The National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla., said it received 137 tornado reports around the regions into Wednesday night.

New planting and backyard over seeding!

This weekend I extended the flower garden along the woods and our lawn guy aerated and over seeded to lawn with new fescue seed. Hopefully in a few weeks we’ll have a beautiful lawn!

Maddy gets her learning permit!

Somehow my niece Maddy has gotten to the age that she is now with the aid of a learning permit able to drive her Mom to Easter at Grams!! We are all so proud of her and I would guess she is totally embarrassed due to the attention and my posting her picture for the world to see, lol!!

Deck Weather!

Perfect flip flop Easter afternoon in the deep south!

Easter 2011

The Easter Bunny visited a very special girl with a homemade pink Easter basket this year. The very special girl was very pleased because the Easter Bunny loves her so much!

Spring Rose 2011

Our rose garden along the south side of the house has begun to bloom with pink, yellow and red roses!

Two friends napping!

Beth and McCloud napping Saturday afternoon! They're so cute!

Second year for our Clematis!

The Clematis I planted last year is really having a growth spirt this year!! There was little interest in clematis until the 1850s when many were crossed and improved. Plants from Japan and China became the parents of many hybrids. Much breeding occurred in Britain, France, Belgium and Germany until about the 1890s; in fact, more new varieties were introduced during this period than any other in history and many clematis grown today originated then. The leading hybridizer in Britain in the 1860s was the Jackman Nursery, which produced C. x jackmanii (introduced in 1862), still the most popular clematis grown today. In the 1880s, interest in clematis died down. Hybridizers were running out of ideas and the wilt "epidemic" put a damper on cultivation. Today, there is renewed interest in clematis, particularly in very hardy and disease-resistant small-flowered types.

Fuel Leak

Today on my return Delta flight to Atlanta I watched fuel or some sort of liquid trail from this wing access panel down the wing and off into the air for most of the flight!!

I think I fly way to much!

Spring 2011

Lola's Garden

Backyard Garden

Heart Attack Bush

Front Yard Tree

Carmella and Marco

Since I travel so much Beth happily sends me almost daily picture updates of life at home. Here’s Carmella and Marco together at Gram’s. No we didn’t get another dog!!!! Carmella belongs to Beth’s sister!

They could be twins, lol!!!

Chair Ride!!

Marco got a chair ride from Papa during a recent visit to Grams!!

Marco loves Papa!

Baltimore Power Plant

Maybe you didn't know it, but Baltimore has long been an inspiration to musicians of all kinds. In fact, Francis Scott Key penned the words to our national anthem here long ago! As for Downtown Baltimore, well, that's just a mix of old and new. The Hard Rock Cafe Baltimore is located between the world-renowned Baltimore National Aquarium and Fell's Point, and is housed in the historic Power Plant Building that dates back to the site of the first Civil War battle.

Pretty cool!

Baltimore's Emerson Bromo Seltzer Tower

The Emerson Bromo Seltzer Tower is a landmark that helps define Baltimore's skyline. At the time of its construction in 1911 at Eutaw and Lombard streets it was the tallest building downtown. The clock tower's designer, Joseph Evans Sperry, modeled it after the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, Italy. It was later built by Captain Isaac Emerson, inventor of the Bromo Seltzer headache remedy. In addition to its size, the structure has several other distinctive features. A 51-foot rotating illuminated blue replica of a Bromo-Seltzer bottle once topped the structure; the ornament was removed in 1936. The tower's clocks, which appear on all four sides, are still operational.

Please take me with you!

As I was packing and loading the car for my trip to Baltimore Monday I lost track of Marco. My search lead my back down to the garage and this is where I found him! He was heartbroken to learn that he could go! 

Heart Attack Bush

My little 6" forced plant that Beth brought to my hospital room in 1999 is in full bloom in the front yard. Now 3' tall it blooms pink every year as a reminder to me that I'm a very lucky man in many ways!

Don Juan de Oñate at El Paso International Airport

Don Juan de Oñate, (AKA) Juan de Oñate y Salazar was to be the official name for this gargantuan statue that now stands outside El Paso's airport. Instead, it is slowly becoming known simply as "The Equestrian." A noble name, yes - but too generic for such a titanic work.

The world's largest bronze equestrian statue was bolted into place on October 25, 2006 at the entrance to El Paso, Texas's international airport. It stands 36 feet tall on an eight-foot base, and is the second-tallest statue in Texas, overshadowed only by a titanic Sam Houston in Huntsville.

Video view of El Capitan and adjacent Guadalupe Peak

On my return trip home from New Mexico I stopped again to enjoy the view of El Capitan (8,085 feet) and adjacent Guadalupe Peak (8,749 feet). The view as you can see by this short video taken from my I-Phone is breathtaking!