PRETTY GIRL

I recently got to spend the evening with my mom, sister and brother, in Houston, TX (IAH). My brother lost his job back in January and has been staying with my mom and sister in The Woodlands. When Eddie moved from Dallas to Houston, he brought along his beautiful Himalayan (long haired Siamese), that thinks she's part of the family and part dog. She plays, runs around, and generally "owns" my sisters house. LOL She certainly does entertain everyone and seems to make friends rather quickly. My brother thinks my sister will miss the cat more than him when he moves out. Animals........aren't they wonderful?

Maria

First off, a very happy birthday to my mom, Dorothy, and may you have many more! Thanks for everything you do for us! Today Maria and I went to see her daughter in a play that she's been working on for the past couple of weeks. It was a nice way to spend the morning and I think Adriana was glad to see us. Since I couldn't take any photos of Adriana during the performance, I had to take at least one of Maria AFTER the show. I hope Maria's parents like this shot.........I certainly do. Maria es muy Guapa!!!!

MASSIVE THUNDERSTORM

Here's a nice view of a HUGE thunderstorm dropping torrential rains on the ocean, just off the coast of Ft Lauderdale (FLL). It's always neat to see mother nature displaying her awesome power. I haven't seen such a downpour for quite some time. You literally can't see through this shower it's so hard. Luckily it only takes a few minutes to fly around a storm like this. Too bad the sun wasn't shining from the opposite direction or I'd have had an incredible rainbow shot.

BOATS IN BOSTON

While on approach into Boston last week, I observed a LOT of boats in one of Boston's harbors and thought they made for a neat photo. You really have to wonder what happens when you "lose your boat" among the masses. "I'm sorry, but have you seen my boat? I know I left it here floating somewhere!" :-)

HAPPY 75TH ANNIVERSARY CONTINENTAL AIRLINES!!!

Continental Airlines celebrated it's 75th birthday last week. In recognition of this milestone, the employees got to vote on a paint scheme that showed a bit of the "history" of the airline. This was the winning paint job and here's a shot I took of the plane in Houston (IAH) last week. Although I didn't vote for this paint scheme, I think it looks great. Here's to another 75 years Continental!!!

PUFFINS EVERYWHERE

During my recent trip to St John's, Newfoundland (YYT), I was able to go on a tour and view whales and seabirds. We drifted by an island that has one of the largest bird populations in North America, and believe me, there were MILLIONS of them. Puffins, seagulls, common murres (you'll see the photo with thousands of them facing towards the rocks), and others. It was certainly a sight to behold. One photo shows an observer in a green tent who sits and "watches" the birds all day long for science....how fun is that??? I kept wondering with all the bird "condos" on the sides of the hills, how they ever found where they lived. Ahhhh, the mysteries of wildlife. ;-)

HOW TO SPOT A WHALE

I learned something new the other day during my trip to St. Johns, Newfoundland (YYT)......how to spot a whale. The key is to look for either blow spouts or turquoise colors in the water which mark the humpback whales fins. I really didn't have much idea what I was looking for till I spotted one.........and here it is! I'll post something neater tomorrow.

FLIGHT UP FROM EL SALVADOR

Here's a couple of shots I took during my recent trip from El Salvador (SAL), to Newark (EWR). We flew by quite a few volcanoes and I thought these cloud formations were pretty neat too. I'm home for two days and then back on the road again for a week. Sorry I haven't been able to post much lately, but when I get some "home" time, I'll post more photos of my recent travels.

REDNECK DATSUN 240Z

While on our way to the Foley Orchards, we passed by a "redneck Datsun 240Z X 4". You have to admit this is quite the "sports car". I guess they use it for deer hunting or something. The body seems to be in pretty good shape. My buddy Bill said he sees it on the road every now and then. Rednecks.........they think of everything! Well, off to work again for 5 days. Heading up to St. Johns, Newfoundland, today. I'll post more when I get back. For now, sit back relax, and just dream about four wheeling in a Datsun 240Z.........LOL!!!

JUVENILE OSPREY FEELS THREATENED

During my recent visit to The Dalles, about 70 miles east of Portland, OR (PDX), I had the pleasure of photographing this juvenile osprey. His mom circled high above us as I waited to capture some of these photos. When I first arrived, this little guy was screeching away, and whenever I'd move within 50 yards or so of his nest, he'd grab his fish and off he'd go, flying above the nest while waiting for me to move away. Whenever I retreated a bit, he'd fly back to his nest, eat a bit more, and watch for my movements around his territory. As soon as I hit a certain distance, he'd grab his fish and off he'd go again. It was kind of funny to see this fish get smaller and smaller as the time went buy. The osprey is quite a beautiful bird of prey. Click on the photos to make them larger. I hope you enjoy them.

INCREDIBLE CHERRIES FROM THE FOLEY ORCHARDS

As promised, I finally made it home for TWO days, so I'll show you a few shots I took on the road over the past week and a half. The cherry trees at my buddy Bill Foley's parents orchards are AMAZING. They produced some of the best cherries yet and were HUGE. I've taken a few shots of these trees just to give you an idea of what they look like. One shot is of Bill (the guy with his hands in his pockets "supervising"), his brother John, and sister Annette picking "culls" from the bins. Each bin contains approximately 475-500 pounds of cherries. I've also attached a couple of short videos to show you just how fast these cherry pickers work. Some can pick upwards of a TON (2000 pounds!!) a day. Also, check out the buck eyeing us as we were walking around the cherry orchards. He's fairly young since his antlers are still covered in velvet.

CHERRIES FROM THE FOLEY ORCHARD!!!

Here's a "preview" of some of my next posts' content. I'm only posting this today as I had access to a computer with photo downloading capability for a few minutes. I'll be back home for two days on Sunday night. See you soon....... and yes, these cherries are INCREDIBLE!!! MMMMMM!!!!!

UPDATE COMING SOON

Hi everyone..........still on the road for three more days (till the 12th of July), and then I'll have some nice new photos for you. Cherry picking was awesome, and I was able to get some great shots in the Dalles area of Oregon. Chat with you in a few more days. Check back soon! karl

GALVESTON STILL DEVASTATED

While flying into Houston (IAH) the other day, I noticed that Galveston, TX, was still pretty much nothing more than a deserted coastline. Hard to believe that it's been a year since their last major hurricane and nothing has been done to fix this place up. There's still a few houses standing, but the place is pretty much barren. I guess folks aren't up to gambling with living on the water any more. Hopefully this hurricane season will prove mild so we don't have to see this type of destruction any more. Off on a trip for the next five days, cherry picking, and then three more days of flying. Will try and post something when I can. Thanks for checking out my blog.

AERIAL SHOTS

Here's two shots I took during my last trip. One is of Miami South Beach (one of my favorite hangout places), and the other is of an incredible sunset during our departure out of Newark (EWR). Luckily I had my camera ready for the sunset shot since it was only in "photo" range for a few seconds. Seems like I miss more photos not being ready than I care to admit, but I still manage to get a few goods one every now and then. Tomorrow I start my journey to Newark, Los Angeles, San Salvador, back to Newark, and then on to pick cherries at my buddy Bill Foley's place in the Dalles, Oregon. I'll be back in about a week and a half! Ciao.