Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Right in our own backyard

Came home from church on Sunday to find these lovely intruders, basking in the afternoon rain/sun/er, whatever it was doing.

Saturday, May 26, 2007

I thought she played violin, not bass!

Julie caught her first bass at Lake Whatcom...just over 2 lbs! As for me? Got skunked.

Thursday, May 24, 2007

Do you know how to drive?

Ok, so my number 1 pet peev is people who don't know how to drive. Yes, it's true, I have this complex that I drive better than most people. So, I found this article that interested me (read here). In the article you can link to the test that the article talks about (here) and take the test for free. I couldn't resist. My score? 20/20 (that's 100%) - so, I guess I really can say 'I'm a better driver than__________.'

An Amazing Story


I didn't believe it when I first got this email - found this article online and it appears to be legit. If you love animals, and especially humpback whales, this is worth the read.

Monday, May 21, 2007

Chuckanut's!

Our first official hike of the "spring" (as in, no snowshoes required). We went out into the Chuckanut's for a few hours of fun. The pictures of the "rocks" were actually taken on the shores of Puget Sound at Larrabee State Park.









Friday, May 18, 2007

Bike to Work Day - and glad I didn't have to ride this bike...

Today, May 18th, is bike to work day! I did it. Here's my log;

Totals for the day:

Avg speed: 10.62
Max speed: 32.5
Total miles ridden: 12.93
Ride time: 1:14:10
Approximate money saved on gas? about $1.20 - my Honda gets about 30 mpg city, I pay about 3.60 per gallon...
Satisfaction at getting exercise? Priceless

So, it's not that far from my house to work but I went a longer way so I could visit a "Celebration Station." Bellingham has these stations scattered all over the city to encourage people to ride to work (today only). Problem? By doing that, I doubled the length of my trip and forced myself to ride up a BRUTAL hill. The first 4.1 miles I averaged 12.6 mpg. The next 1 mile (after the Celebration station) I averaged about 5 mph, and had to stop twice. The last part was back to mostly flat.

Oh, and a word on the "Station." They're supposed to be an encouragment and incentive to get people to bike to work and promised of refreshments and the chance to win some cool prizes. So, what did I find at the station? Chocolate/Fudge Brownies, Starbucks coffee, and a couple of muffins. Now I'm no Lance Armstrong but I'm guessing that brownies and coffee at 8:00 in the morning while riding a bike up a big hill isn't a great combination. Needless to say, a little disappointing.

On the flip side, I did get the satisfaction of "looking down" on everyone who drove a car today. It's funny the way that works... After doing this, my goal is bike to work twice a week during the summer. We'll see if I'm able to do it!

Monday, May 14, 2007

ORCAS FINISHED

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE PICS - What took so long to get my photos up and edited? Did I take a bunch of junky pictures and doctor them up to make them look good? Ok, here's the deal.

I have a mac now, and this is the first batch of photos I've worked with on it. Apparently, mac monitors and pc monitors have a different gamma setting. Bottom line, when the images looked great on my mac, they looked bad on the pc...so anyone looking at these pictures without a mac, saw them very poorly (and probably concluded that I was no longer taking good pictures). So, of course, it's because the pc monitors are so bad. All that to say, I think I've worked out the kinks.

Julie and I had an awesome trip to Orcas Island last weekend. Enjoy the pictures!

Monday, May 07, 2007

Orcas Island - updated


Here they are - new pics from Orcas! The pictures are going to appear dark, however...I will be "fixing" that soon, so check again later!

Julie and I just returned from 4 days at Orcas Island. As usual, a big part of the trip for me was taking pictures! It's late, and I just got home tonight, but here's 1 to whet your appetite. Make sure to check back over the next few days as I'll be uploading and adding posts all week long!

Tuesday, May 01, 2007