Rondeau Ric

Impaled. Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur That's got to hurt. I think the joey might be ready to leave the pouch permanently. This is one of the wild kangaroo species we saw in Australia. They didn't seem too interested in us as long as we didn't get close.

Hurry up! it's time for my breakfast! Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur I was too slow filling the suet and other feeders this morning, at least according to the woodpeckers. I had at least 6 downeys, 1 harry and 1 redbellied waiting, impatiently, for me to finish. The should be apologizing to me. I grabbed my camera to get some shots of the morning feeding chaos, when a coopers hawk flew in, saqw me and flew away without his breakfast. Uploaded by ricmcarthur on 24 Feb 10, 9.38AM EST. Compose your blog entry

Everything is relative Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur To get an idea of just how big an albatross is, check the birds in front of it. They are pigeon size, large than most common birds, at least in Canada. The albatross was truly huge. Wing span is over 9 feet.

Winter's Lace Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur What a way to start a Monday. Freezing rain,high winds, rain, snow sleet, high winds, snow, freezing rain... you get the idea. Fortunately we are retired now and I don't have to go out in this mess. It did look pretty on the window. It's so bad the birds are walking.

Now that's estate planning. Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur This isn't he type of thing that normally comes to mind when I think of estate planning. Wills, living wills, who gets what, or at an earlier stage, do I have enough to retire on, is what as, a retired banker, comes to mind. I'm going to stop now because several tasteless comments have bubbled up in the back of what passes for my mind.

I bring you FIRE!! Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur This is from 2007 at a controlled burn at a private marsh to get ride of the bio-mass of an old phragmities stand. In Canada phragmities is taking over our lake side marshes and it is a major problem. It is dense and chokes out all other plants and is of no use for local species. An eradication program is under way in several marshes along Lake Erie. ALTERNATE TITLE - Alright, who's got the marshmallows? What's your title?

Crested pigeon Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur Strutting his stuff in typical pigeon/dove manner. The head bobbing back and forth. Looked even sillier than usual with the crest emphasizing the motion

Ph.art Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur Excuse me! Copies of this clever sign were every where in Sydney, Australia. The first one I saw was on a double decker tour bus. I really like the word play.

Tree kangaroo Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur We were lucky enough to see this young tree kangaroo near the town of Yungaburra. The tree kangaroo is a macropod and have developed exceptionally long tails for balance, and stronger forelimbs for climbing. The feet are shorter and wider, they have longer claws on all feet, and rubbery soles for better grip.

Here birdie, birdie. Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur I was at a local print shop and this coopers was sitting on the hedge terrorizing the local sparrow population. Didn't seem to put off with me as long as I stood still.

Where's the sun? Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur Maggie, the Warbling Cat, wants to know when the sun and warmer weather are coming back

Flower swords of summer Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur When I was a youngster I would break off a stalk of hollyhocks and use it as a sword. We had mighty battles in our neighborhood and pity the outcast who was designated the "dragon" that day. All the mothers chastised their "knights" for devastating their flower beds and for pummeling each other.

Have you heard of a self fulfilling prophecy? Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur Well this is a self fulfilling solution. Bring your dog to the beach and you’re fined, probably for feeding the wildlife You notice I have warm sunny weather in this post. We went swimming here, in the Coral Sea, and the water was a delight. I would have to chip a hole in the ice to go swimming today

Red Admiral? Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur I'm to lazy (hibernating) to fo look it up. Bright and relatively warm -15C or 5F. Still need a summer boost to help get through a Monday. Actually there wood frogs singing yesterday, boy, are they confused.

Summer colours Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur I have the February winter blahs. I want sunshine, colour and warm breezes. My older son is off to Jamaica on Saturday for a week. I don't do envy very well. I plan on posting butterflies and flowers for the next few days in effort to banish winter. With dial up it is hard to look to see if I've posted this before. If it's a repeat just enjoy anyway.

So many possible titles Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur Take me to your leader. Bug eyed monster. What's yours? This is a cicada, summer photo. You remember summer don't you?

Clever is Good Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur By now most of you know I have a thing for signs, the good, the bad and the ugly. The ones I like best are the ones that make me laugh, like this one. It is at a local, road side "greasy spoon". Clever is good.

I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll............ Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur Went by one day and it was a small barn/shed. Went by the next day and...

to sail on blue waters Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur On our tour of Sydney harbour we got off at Shark Island which offered great views. A large number of big and small sails were out and about. What a great way to spend a day. -23c (-5F) and sunny here today. It was 35c (88F) and sunny that dsy. I'd rather be there.