My foot fell asleep on me

It must have been a tired old sole, always feeling stepped on and out of pace with the rest of the world. So when it fell asleep on me, I let it sleep and went to the pool without it. "Are you coming in?" she asked. "I think I'll just dip my foot in" I said. "Well, hop to it" she said with a wry smile on her face.
My sweetie and I celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary yesterday. It is our "iron" anniversary. If she can stay married to me for 35 years, well, that's what she's made of.
We are having our wedding bands engraved on the inside with the letters "MTTY BLTT".
It stands for "more today than yesterday, but less than tomorrow."
(insert "aww" here)

The smell of the kerosene, the roar of the crowd.

I love helicopters. Oh, how I love helicopters. The sound of a turbine spooling up, the smell of kerosene fuel, the whir of the rotor blades, that breathtaking, wonderful feeling when you realize that with the grace and ease of an bird....you're flying. Like being on a magic carpet - one second you're on the ground and the next, you're flying. Man! I love helicopters.
If I can't be on one, I love to watch them.
This is an Air Ambulance taking a little kid to the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto about five minutes after midnight. You can see how close some houses are to the helipad, yet the homeowners have never complained. They don't hear the sound of a helicopter, they hear the sound of help.

Something else you may not know about Canada; babies have feasted on "Pablum" for years. It was developed at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto.

It's a Zen thing

There was a young lady who sat on the shore,
Enjoying the sounds - who could ask for more,
Where she is now, I do not know
When the tide came in she went with the flow.

The 5th Dimension

Up, up and away in my beautiful balloon. I took this shot before they started using the propane heater.

Outdoor bathtubs in Canada

Most Canadian homes have indoor plumbing now, but the true north strong and free folks still enjoy a good old-fahsioned outside bath during the January thaw. Hopping from -30 air temperature into a hot bubbly tub at 102F is good for what ails you.

U.S.S. Arizona

It is hard to believe that a twin of the massive battleship U.S.S.Missouri is lying beneath these waves in Pearl Harbor. The white buoy in the photo marks the bow of the U.S.S. Arizona.
May they rest in peace.

No photos - Just questions

It's 2:30 AM and I'm still awake. Still awake looking for answers. Answers to stupid questions.
If a turtle loses its shell, is it naked or homeless?
Why does an alarm go off - by going on?
If vampires have no reflection, how is their hair always so neat?
Do we shred cheese because it's a secret?
When a cow laughs does milk come out its nose?
Does the person who inventories sheep ever fall asleep on the job?
What happens if you're scared 1/2 to death - twice?

Just curious.

Fstopsteve - Photojournalist

I always have a camera with me and I came across this deserted house that was set ablaze just one day before the demolition permit was to be issued. What a coincidence!
Yes. I have an alibi in case you're wondering.

The sun will come out tomorrow, bet your bottom dollar

Well, as you can see, the storm passed and all is well. Except that you will have that song stuck in your head for two days now.
Sorry about that.

Out running the storm

If the bottom part of the photo is blurry, it's because I was driving fast. This was a wicked storm. I'm positive I saw Dorothy & Toto pass through one of those clouds.

No Photos - Just news today

Well, I did it. After years of being an arm-chair politician, I filed my nomination papers and I am in the running for Town Councillor. I put my money (not much) where my mouth (a fair bit) is and took the plunge.
I believe that if you don't participate, you forfeit the right to complain.
My Mom told me our family motto is: Lead, follow or get out of the way, but do something! (I think she heard that somewhere but it does sound good.)
So, wish me luck and remember - Vote early and vote often!
I'm gonna need all the help I can get.

Summer fun

Is there any more fun than running through a lawn sprinkler on a summer's day? Yes. Being a little kid and running through a lawn sprinkler on a summer's day.

Instant Obedience

This is a photograph of a 7 year old girl who, like her mother before her, does exactly what she is asked to do.
I wanted her to stand still so I could take a nice photograph. This is what I got. I'm blessed I tell you.

Charming, Simply Charming

Yet another thing you didn't know about Canadians - we are the world's leading experts in training snakes.
The "Ontario Puff Snakes" although quite rare, are very well developed for training. Soft words and little puffs of air are all they require. This is similar to Vinyl Shark Wrassling except you stay drier. Even little children (with the correct coaching) can train the puff snakes to do almost anything.
There are some side effects though. If one of the snakes does bite you - you blow up but then so does the snake.
Available at Wal-Mart and Canadian Tire. Some assembly required. People with allergies to latex should not engage in training.

A Strange Phenomenon

I drove by the empty gas sation one night (if you saw the price of gas up here you'd know why it's empty) when I noticed some bright green lights above the station. Rather than think it was a reflection of the lights from the layers of lenses in my camera, I choose to believe the lights are coming from alien spacecraft travelling to Earth to see how stupid we really are to pay as much for this stuff as we do.

Was it something I said?

This was my loving family's reaction to a comment I made. I'm not exactly sure what it was but it was either "I'm thinking of growing a beard" or "I'm thinking of buying a Speedo this summer". Whatever it was, it wasn't THAT funny.

Bowing out

A foggy morning at the marina, the only sounds were from the loons and the camera shutter. That's what should be called "prime time".

Guest Photographer - Jake

I loaned my camera to my Grandson and he took this photograph of his aquarium.

Horseplay

If you think all this silliness is bad for the couch springs, how do you think Jake felt?
He's on the bottom.
He was fine by the way.

Ice is thicker than water

as these four ducks will soon find out.

A foggy night at the airport

The solitary air traffic contoller at the small municipal airport was expecting a quiet night. A good night to catch up on some paperwork and finish that book he had started. It was just after midnight when his trained ear heard the sound. An aircraft engine. "Strange" he thought, "that sounds like and old radial engine". "That can't be." He walked to the door, opened it, and listened quietly for what he thought would be a car on the nearby highway. It was an aircraft and it was a radial engine. "Why isn't he turning on the runway lights with his radio transmitter?", thought the controller. "Damn!", he said, "I must be losing it. His radio is broken. That's why he is buzzing the field and not turning on the lights himself."
He ran back inside and turned on the runway lights. A few minutes later, the plane landed safely and he found himself looking down at an antique. "What in the world....?". He hurried down the circular stairs to the tarmac in time to see the pilot exit from a 1932 Beechcraft Staggerwing. A plane that was almost 75 years old sat on the tarmac in front of him looking like it just left the showroom floor.
The pilot appeared confused. "Where am I?" he asked. "King City" said the controller. The confused looking pilot asked, "What time is it?". "Just after midnight, Where are you coming from?" inquired the controller.
"I just left Omaha when the fog rolled in. I couldn't climb over it and I couldn't go around it. I just flew through until I saw your beacon."
The controller knew he was the butt of a practical joke. "Good one" he said, "Omaha is over a thousand miles west of here".
The pilot looked dumb-struck. "That's not possible. I've only been flying for two hours." "I had just listened to Al Jolson on the radio and I took off before sunset."
"Al Jolson?" "What year are you living in?" asked the controller with a trace of sarcasm.
"1932, of course" said the pilot.
"It's 2006, wise guy" said the controller.
"You're crazy!" said the pilot "I'm calling the cops!" He turned and ran into the fog.
"He'll be back" thought the controller. No-one would leave an expensive aircraft like this for long.
He trudged back up the circular staircase and, after turning off the runway lights, finished his reports.
He was more than a little concerned when his relief came in in the morning and asked why a Staggerwing was parked downstairs. He asked where the pilot was.
"He'll be back", muttered the controller, "Any minute now", knowing that no-one would leave an expensive aircraft like this for long.
"He'll be back".

What is she up to?

I don't know if it's just me, but this little sweetheart looks like she's been up to something.

Air traffic control? We seem to have a problem.

The Snowbirds. The pride of the Canadian Armed Forces. Nine highly trained pilots with skills unimagined by the general public. Until that fateful day when the other "Snowbirds" arrived. The baby-boomers with all the money. Instead of going South every year, they stayed home. They jumped at the opportunity to buy up surplus aircraft from the military and they had them painted to look just like the 'real' Snowbirds and then, without warning, just showed up at airshows. The Copycat snowbirds. From a distance, you can't tell them apart.
It's when they get up close that you see the tell-tale differences. The copycat Snowbirds sit lower in the seats and just peek out over the instrument panel and they will be the CT-114 Tutor with their turn signal on for hours on end.

All together now

Take 1 really cool little dog (Otis) - add all of the stuffed white toys your daughters own - put them together with some doofus and his camera and what do you get?
All together now.....aaawwwwwww!