Puppy Love
Yesterday's BBQ at Marty's house was a wash out. It poured almost the entire day but we still had a good time. Brian got close with the pet dog, we got to meet Rich and Marty's brand spankin new baby girl, and I played cars with my nephew. Good times.

Memorial Day
Let's pause and remember all those who have died while fighting for our country...... OK, have a Happy Memorial Day!!! I'm out to a BBQ!

Chicken Hawk Update
These pictures were taken early this morning of the Killdeer living in the back yard. There are still three. The parents have done a good job protecting their chicks by luring dogs, kids and adults away from their bebe's by screaming and pretending like they have a broken wing. They Killdeer almost ready to fly. I saw them flapping their wings a bit and briefly lifting off the ground.

Deutschland
We are back from our trip to Germany. We had a great time! Brian's mom and oma were great hosts! The flight on Air India to Frankfurt wasn't too bad and the blanket they gave me this time around didn't smell like old man's drool. Anyway, while there we visited some of Brian's relatives and did a lot of hiking around the Saar and Rhine River Valley in the states Saarland and Rheinland-Pfalz. This region grows some of the best wine and wine I drank almost every night. The trip was way too short and hopefully going back again in December for the Weinachtmarkts (Christmas Markets). :-( Here are a random pics of our travel.

These Shneckes (slugs and snails) are pests to many gardeners in Germany but I found them rather interesting. They were everywhere and they weren't small either. Most were 2 to 3 inches long and came in two colors, black and brown. Aren't they cute?

The Ringwall near Otzenhausen was a celtic fort constructed as early as the 5th and 4th century B.C. as a defense against the Germanic people. We were able to find the site thanks to a friendly German couple in their 80's hiking along the trail!!! They made hiking look so easy! [Source]

Brian keeps telling me that the 3 Magi stayed overnight in this building on their way to Bethleman to visit Jesus. I don't buy it, do you?

This is a picture of Brian's Oma. She is one fast crazy driver! I almost soiled myself while riding in the front passenger seat with her. Luckily I survived. The picture above was taken in an underground tunnel of an old Roman bathhouse in Trier.

Here is a picture of Brian, his mom and I atop an old city wall in Overwesel.

This is the town of Bingen as seen from atop the edge of the Rhine River Valley. You can see the ruins of Ehrenfels Castle as well as the Mauseturm in the middle of the river.


I give the trip two thumbs up! Fun!

Bingen from Aussichtsturm Rossel.

Me high on the watch tower.

Rheinstein Castle

Brian crying at the D.E.

Devtches Eck

Koblenz, Germany

This should be on foolish buys.com !

Saarschleife in Saarland

Boat trip on the Saar River.

Trier - Roman Amphitheater

Roman Bath in Trier.

At a cafe in Trier.

The Porta Negra, Trier

Are we there yet? Not that it matters for Brian cuz he sleeping as usual!

Nexte halt, St. Wendel on die Deutshe Bahn. Ich bin mude!

White guy all scared on the Air India plane.

Our adventure 2 Germany begins on Air India. Um yeah.

27 and Fabulous!

One of our SATC-Cleveland gals is celebrating a birthday. Happy Birthday Melissa! Hope all your wishes come true!

Killdeer
It's that time of year again when the Killdeer start screaming in the back of my yard. That usually means one thing. Their babies have hatched and they are trying to convince some poor fool or animal that its wing is broken. They do this to get the attention of the person or animal that might be getting to close to their babies. These birds might fool others but they sure don't fool me. I heard the parents chirping away today and as these kids from the block looked at the poor Killdeer with the "broken" wing, I started scanning the surrounding area for the chicks. A few seconds later, I saw 4 little ones frozen and crouched low to the ground. These Killdeer parents deserve an Oscar®! They led these kids halfway across the other side of the block. I was able to take some pics of two of the chicks as they walked over towards my back window.

Baby chicks feeding in the backyard.

Close-up of one of the fluffy babys.

Momma Killdeer spots me through the window.

Momma Killdeer runs off with kids.

Sandmen
Seems like a few idigenous life forms from the planet of Tatooine have landed in Cleveland to help Jules sand the floors of his new home. "Hoooodeeneeeee!"

Sammy and the Kids
Yesterday we invited Sammy and the kids over for some burgers and dogs. It was a lot of fun but then I threw my back out. That's another story (my neck, my back....)! Here are some of the pics from last evening.

Happy Cinco de Mayo

Birthday Boy

Immigration March I came upon this picture in the Chicago Sun-Times today and it pretty much says it all. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)